The Black Coats(40)
“Do you want some company on the drive?” asked Bea brightly.
“No,” responded Nixon, slamming her car door shut.
“I could have told you that was going to happen,” deadpanned Casey. “C’mon, circus freak, get in the car. You belong with us.”
They rode in total silence, their thundering hearts swallowing all possible conversation.
Raphael Amadoor’s Mediterranean-inspired house sat on a high bluff overlooking a wealthy community just outside of Austin. Stunning views of the town below were visible from the portico in front of the enormous circular driveway. Casey pulled the car right up to the front of the house and parked. Thea leaned over. “You hacked the security cameras already, right?”
Casey nodded. “It was so easy. His password was one-two-three exclamation point. Now all that will be on there will be the loop from this morning.”
“He’s expecting us, remember?” Thea ignored the pounding of her heart.
“Right.”
“Let’s take off our coats.” As Thea’s slipped off her shoulders, she felt naked and exposed. Without her realizing it, her black coat had become her armor.
“But . . . ,” protested Louise.
Mirabelle shook her head. “No house cleaners wear coats like this.”
In their black shirts and leggings, all it took was a few name tags to make them look like an expensive team of maids. Casey grabbed a mop from the trunk, handing a broom and a bucket of chemicals to Bea. Mirabelle and Louise each carried buckets, though inside theirs was a lot more than cleaning supplies. Thea stuffed their coats into a large empty bucket and covered it with a rag. She looked up at the house for a moment while ignoring the doubt that was raging through her mind. She was a black girl about to assault a white man in Texas, and the consequences if they got caught would most likely not be doled out in equal measure. Thea took a deep breath, focusing on the job ahead; she was the team leader and needed to act like one. This was not a time for fear, no matter how justified.
“Thirty minutes, in and out.” She glanced over at Nixon’s car, parked beside the house. “We’ll be fine. We’re not alone.”
The team made their way up to the doorway. “Slouched posture!” Thea hissed at Mirabelle, who walked everywhere like she was on a catwalk. “Don’t look so haughty!”
Team Banner sagged. “Does everyone have their gloves on?” Thea asked. They nodded, and Thea knocked on the gigantic wooden door. They waited a few moments, and Thea shrugged and knocked again. The door was yanked open violently.
“Jesus, I’m here!” Raphael Amadoor stood before them with round glasses perched on the end of his nose and a bushy black beard. His short, stocky build reminded Thea of a bulldog, as did his face. He looked the girls over. “Come in. I have guests arriving in an hour, so you better work fast.”
They stepped inside. As Thea reached back to close the door, she took one last glance at Nixon’s car, which unexpectedly sped down the driveway and disappeared into a cloud of dirt. Her hand tightened on the doorknob: they were alone. She turned to her team, each girl eyeing her. She would not tell them, not now.
“What’s wrong?” asked Casey.
Thea plastered a fake smile onto her face. “Nothing!”
“Enough chatting!” snapped Raphael Amadoor coldly. “I’m not paying you girls to talk. The party will be just through here.”
They followed him down a set of wooden stairs into the loveliest room Thea had ever seen. It was designed with four open doors, where billowy white curtains led out to an enormous patio. Through the doors, tiny flecks of sunlight danced on his teal pool as olive trees shook in the wind. The garden was walled on every side. “Your house is beautiful,” muttered Thea, not having to pretend to look impressed.
Raphael’s eyes moved uncomfortably over her. “I know that, girl. I got this land for a steal about ten years ago. Good investments, knowing the right people, a little bit of naughtiness . . .” He winked at Mirabelle. “You look like you know a little something about that.”
Gross, thought Thea.
“We’re in high school,” whispered Bea.
Raphael licked his lips and held up his hands. “Hey! I didn’t say anything improper. I’m just a friendly guy having a party. But if you all feel like staying around afterward, I know that my soon-to-be ex left some very pretty dresses upstairs. I’ll show you girls a really good time, and what’s more, I’ll pay you for it—much more than Shiny House Cleaners pays you.”
He took a step down into the living room. Mirabelle stepped forward, seductively biting her fingernail. “Maybe you could give me a private tour? I would love to see the bedrooms. Unless anyone else is here? I just want to make sure . . . I’m kind of shy.”
Raphael’s eyes lit up like he couldn’t believe his luck. Thea felt anger rising inside her, and she could see it in her team as well—the way Louise stiffened, the way Casey’s eyes simmered. “Well, I would be honored, Miss— What’s your name? You know what? It doesn’t matter.”
Mirabelle reached out her rubber-gloved hand. “Shall we go?”
Raphael turned away from the girls, with his focus on his young conquest, and that was all the distraction they needed. Thea nodded once and then watched in silence as Louise pulled the head off the broom, twirled the stick once, and brought it crashing down against Raphael’s turned head in one swift movement. He slumped to the ground. The very stones beneath Thea’s feet seemed to shake as she looked down at this man, realizing that Team Banner had crossed an invisible line. There was no turning back from here, not from this. A small splatter of red blood was leaking from his temple onto the floor. The Code Evening had begun.