The Art of Being a Con: A Guide by the Lion and the Fox | COMPLETE

Chapter Four: Mr. Hanks

"Tell me about him," Riley said, leaning forward.

"His name is Taylor Hanks," Nate started. "He's in the military unofficially. One of his best friends is actually a soldier. And his other best friend is a pilot."

"I see," the woman said. "And what exactly are you planning?"

"Okay, here's what I was planning: 1) One of us pretends to be in need, 2) That'll draw Taylor Hanks' attention and He'll come over to try to help, 3) Whichever of us it is will pickpocket him and leave, 4) Get out of there as fast as possible. He's fast so whoever is swindling him will have to try and lose him. There's a display near the docks that'll be easy to camouflage into. Then–

"This says he's located in New York, Nate," Riley said. "We're in San Francisco in case you've forgotten."

"He's visiting a friend here. I found his plane ticket online. I also tried to find a bank account but he doesn't have one. He just does volunteer work and gets paid for that and keeps everything in cash so his wallet's gonna be kinda hefty."

"Oh. You've done your homework! I'm so proud of you."

"Who's gonna be the pedestrian and who's gonna be on the run?" Nate asked, setting the laptop aside and moved to sit behind her on the bed, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her head.

"What does this display look like?" she asked. "I may have something that could work..."

***

Jameson entered the police station with Evie right behind him, Libby holding onto her mother's hand tightly.

"Evie, I'll need you to go into the interrogation room while I find someone to watch Elizabeth. She'll be fine," Jameson said, and took Libby's hand as she let go of Evie's. Jameson opened the door to the room for Evie and then led Libby toward his colleagues' desks.

She was left with one of the women and Jameson headed back to the interrogation room after taking up a paper and pen.

"Evie," he said as he entered. "I just need you to write down what you told me at home." He set the paper and pen down in front of her on the table.

She took up the pen and looked up at him. "What if we're wrong, though?" she asked. "And you won't be able to catch him. He's impossible to find."

"We're going to try our best," Jameson sat across from her. "Ev, he's a criminal."

The woman stopped writing and sighed, massaging her temple. "I know, I know. It's just... hard to believe. He wasn't like this when we knew each other."

"You don't know that, dear. He- You said he just disappeared before you found out you were pregnant."

"I know." She looked toward the door. "Elizabeth looks like him too. More like him than she looks like me."

"I'm sorry," Jameson whispered.

"Who's the woman they're saying he may be working with? And why are they called Fox and Lion?"

"We don't know her real name," Jameson explained. "But they leave behind messages after they con their victims. They sign them with a sticker of a lion or fox."

"Makes sense, I guess."

"I need you to finish writing this and sign it."

"Right, right, right," Evie said quickly and started writing again. "Sorry."

"It's fine. You're distracted," Jameson said.

***

Nate pulled his jacket's hood up over his head and glanced toward the black bauble display Riley was going to blend into.