Taking Death by G.E. Mason

Chapter 1
    Donna leaned back in her office chair as her last client of the day left. The butter soft leather cradled her like a mother would a baby. She was an accountant for a small firm in New York City. He was a stockbroker who collected Faberge Eggs. Too bad. If she stole it, one of those would fund her next purchase if she wanted.
    The problem would be where to sell it. She didn't have many good connections on the black market. They could fence any electronics and even some items slightly rare, but a Faberge Egg would raise a few flags for any good fence.
    Except that she was pretty sure one of the eggs had been obtained by less than legal means.
    She tapped her chin. "If I knew which one for sure, I'd steal that one. He'd never make an insurance claim on it."
    Turning to her computer, she clicked on her favorite search engine. She typed in Faberge eggs, stolen and several pages of articles came up. Her client hadn't told her which one, but he did describe it. He seemed to be proud of his acquisition, though he hadn't let her include it on his worth statement. That led her to believe he'd stolen it. Or had it stolen.
    After searching for a few minutes, she had a few pictures that she printed out. She knew her client's address and that no one would be home tonight after six. He'd told her he was taking his wife out for their anniversary. She put the papers into a folder and set them aside on her desk.
    Her assistant, Kelly, poked her head in. A tall woman with red hair and freckles. "I'm going home? You staying long?"
    Donna shoo k her head. "No. I have about fifteen more minutes then I'm going to catch some dinner."
    In Donna's eyes, Kelly was one of the sweetest women she'd ever met. She had no idea why the girl remained single. She could cook like the devil and had a big heart. What more could a man want?
    "Drinks later?"
    The pair went out every few weeks. Just to be two women. Not to pick up guys. That's what Donna like d about Kelly. They'd been friend for years. She always knew that Kelly would never ditch her at a bar to go home with a guy. "Not a bad idea. How about eight?" Donna said.
    "Usual place?"
    "Riley's it is. See you then."
    Donna listened to the soft footfalls of Kelly then turned back to her work. "I might have time to get it all done tonight before I meet her."
    ***
    Donna slinked down the street past her client's house. She glanced back at it then at the rest of the block. With darkness falling, streetlights illuminated the neighborhood. No one walked down the street of row houses. Everyone must be home for dinner or not coming home. She'd grabbed a burger for her evening meal then made sure she washed any remnants of it off before donning her leather gloves.
    Dressed in black, she knew she probably blended into the night. If someone looked closely that person could see her, but if that same person looked out the window casually, she would not be spotted.
    Secure in the fact that no one would see her, she circled the block on foot, coming back to linger in front of her client's house. The porch light on the brownstone lit up only the porch. The path to it remained dark and unobstructed by a gate or shrubbery. No hiding places.
    To the left of the house, a lighted alley led to the back. Glancing down it, Donna saw no one. With quiet steps, she entered the empty alley. The house next to her target had no windows on this side on the first floor.
    No one would be able to see her now.
    The back of the house faced another house, but no lights were on there either. Both neighbors could probably see into this backyard, but not if she was flush with the house.
    From his file, she knew this client possessed an alarm system which made this job tougher than usual. Except that she had the code. Or at least the app on her phone that would figure it out.
    This job had been more work than usual, but the payoff would be bigger. She could replace her aging car with a newer one. Nothing too fancy so as not to set off