She came back and looked closely at the screen. The outline of the bed was barely visible in the green-tinged image. It wasn't as good as Paltz had claimed it would be but she knew it would have to do. She got up again and went to the curtains, pulling them open just an inch or so and letting a sliver of light into the center of the room.

The added light was enough. The details of the room took on a more defined look on the screen. Cassie now had to hope that Hernandez wouldn't notice the slight opening in the curtains and close them before going to bed.

Cassie turned the light back on and returned quickly to the closet. She had to first make sure that during the hot prowl she would be able to get into the closet where the safe was without the interior light automatically going on and possibly waking the mark and exposing her. She could not simply loosen the bulb in the ceiling of the closet. Hernandez might notice that and have it replaced or, worse yet, become suspicious. She also needed the light working for the cameras she planned to set inside the closet to record Hernandez opening the safe.

The twin louvered doors to the closet slightly overlapped, with a strip of wood edging on the left door covering the joint between the two doors. This meant she could open the left door without opening the right. But if she attempted to open only the right she would pop the left open a few inches because of the overlapping strip. The problem was that the auto-switch for the light was inside the frame of the left door. A small button dropped out of the top frame when the door was opened just an inch, completing the electric circuit that fed juice to the light.

Cassie went to the desk, opened the drawer and looked for something to write with. She found a pencil with a sharp point and went back to the closet. On the exterior trim of the door frame she drew an up-and-down line at the spot where the auto-switch button was located.

From her tool collection she removed the painter's putty knife. She closed the closet doors and reached up with the flat tool to the spot on the exterior trim marked with pencil. She slid the putty knife in and brought pressure upward against the door frame. With her other hand she opened the left door a few inches and then opened the right all the way, the door swinging free of the overlap trim. She then closed the left side, removed the putty knife and stepped into the closet through the right side.

She had entered the closet without turning on the light. But she knew she had no time to celebrate. She opened the left door again and the closet light went on. She leaned over the front of the safe as if to open it with her left hand. She then looked back to her right and put her finger on the wall on a spot where she believed a camera would have the best view of the combination pad. She marked the spot with the pencil and then went back out to the equipment bag, from which she pulled the wall socket cover and one of the board cameras.

She quickly set the camera inside the fake socket plate, attached a battery and Conduct-O tape to the terminals and used the drill to mount it on the spot on the wall with the center screw. She adjusted the plate so that it was level, then ran the tape down the wall to the baseboard and back around the safe to the transmitter.

Back out of the closet she checked the receiver/recorder. She pushed the camera buttons until she had the socket camera on the screen. The location and focus of the camera was perfect. She was looking right at the combination pad and could read the numbers on it. It was perfect. She felt the stirring of excitement inside but it was quickly cut short by the vibration of the pager against her belly.

Cassie caught her breath and froze. She pulled the pager off her belt and looked at the digital display.

CASHING OUT – ON HIS WAY

"Shit!" she exclaimed in a loud whisper. She threw the pager into the backpack rather than put it back on her belt.

The page changed everything. She abandoned her plan to put a second camera in the closet – this one overhead – and quickly backed out of the closet area. The page meant Hernandez had cashed out and left the baccarat table, but he still had to go to the front desk and retrieve his briefcase. That gave her time to finish.

From the gym bag she removed the Ziploc bag containing the small pump spray bottle of paint and the aerosol can of deodorizer. She stepped back into the closet alcove and looked up at the ceiling while shaking the paint bottle. She then sprayed the paint up onto the Conduct-O tape. It wasn't a perfect match but it was close. She started spraying the paint in a large back and forth arc, covering the tape but most of the ceiling as well. She then followed the tape down the wall to the frame of the closet door. Inside the closet she sprayed the tape line running from the false electric socket down to the baseboard and left it at that. She then grabbed the deodorizer and sprayed healthy bursts into the closet and alcove, then throughout the rest of the suite as she hurriedly moved through it.

After quickly packing her equipment in the two bags, Cassie grabbed the Polaroids off the bed and went back to the closet. Using the photos as a guide, she moved the clothing and shoes back into the same positions they had been in when she first entered the suite. She was careful not to allow the clothing to rub on the rear wall of the closet where there was wet paint.

As she slid the hangers back into place on the clothing bar, something heavy and hard in the pocket of a large sport coat banged against her. She reached into the pocket and brought out a gun. It was a Smith amp; Wesson 9 mm pistol with a black finish. She ejected the clip and found it was full. She paused even though she knew time was critical. Should she leave it or take it? Should she unload it? Too much was happening for her to think through the possibilities and come up with the right answer. She remembered something Max had always said about the ripple effect.

Remember the ripple effect. If you change something in a room it changes the universe of the job. It creates ripples.

She knew the answer then. You take the gun, the mark may notice and the job is finished. You unload the gun and the mark may notice and it is finished. No action means no ripples, no change in the universe.

She shoved the gun back into the pocket of the jacket and backed out of the closet, checking her work against the Polaroid one last time. Time was up. In her mind she saw Hernandez having already retrieved his briefcase and riding up in the elevator.

She grabbed the two bags, hoisting the straps over her shoulders, and headed out of the bedroom. As she stepped into the living room she glanced backward and froze.

She had left the desk chair pulled out from the desk.

No ripples, she thought, as she quickly moved back into the room and put the chair back in its place. She glanced around and everything now seemed right – she had no time for a Polaroid check of the bedroom. She went back to the living room and to the suite's front door, picking her hat up off the floor.

She turned the light out and looked through the peephole. She saw an empty hallway. She turned her head and listened. She heard no footsteps or any other sound. She put her hat on, then opened the door and stepped out into the hall.

As Cassie pulled the door closed she heard the chime signaling the arrival of an elevator car in the alcove down the hall. She quickly pulled the card key out of her back pocket and crossed to room 2015.

She opened the door and stepped in. She had made it.