The Lock Artist

Mike is reunited with the crew in Los Angeles. Gunnar is planning his highly dangerous hit on the infamous poker yacht. The others are leery, but they cooperate because “[i]t was just too much money to turn down” (281). Ramona makes up elaborate gift baskets that they will pretend to be delivering to the yacht; Mike will then crack the safe, and they will steal the cash. Lucy acts “strange” and “distant” to Mike after their tryst. The logistics of the plan change at the last minute, and the group almost abandons the undertaking, but they revise the timing and plan to go early the next morning when the yacht will be docked in San Diego.

Ramona and Lucy are scantily dressed to charm any security guards. The gang finds out that the boat they will burglarize is not the same yacht they have been on—the man in Detroit bought a new vessel. They worry their unfamiliarity with the boat might pose problems, but Gunnar is blindly enthusiastic, so they proceed. Once aboard, they break into what appears to be the master bedroom and find the safe, but it is electronic and has no gears, so Mike does not know how to open it.