Something Missing_ A Novel - Matthew Dicks [71]
Martin liked the plan. He thought it might work. He estimated its probability of success at somewhere near 60 percent. With the incriminating evidence eliminated to a degree, it would all come down to Laura’s phone call. If Justine Ashley answered the phone when she called that evening, disaster would likely be averted. But if Daniel Ashley decided to pick up the phone first, or if the couple went out to dinner after work (a not uncommon event), allowing Laura enough time to leave another message on the machine, the surprise would surely be ruined. Martin set the probability for success at 60 percent based upon his belief that women were more likely than men to pick up the phone, and that Laura was more likely to be a friend to Justine Ashley than to her husband. Thanks to the advent of caller ID, Martin found that ringing telephones were often passed to the intended recipient before anyone answered them. Based upon these assumptions, he gave the plan a good chance for success, perhaps as high as 70 percent if the Ashleys came straight home after work.
Not bad for a contingency plan.
Half an hour after he had finalized the details, Martin was ready to make this his primary plan as well. It was almost two o’clock and he was no closer to finding a better solution than when he first sat down at the kitchen table. He had already spent more time in the Ashleys’ home than at any other client’s in history and though he was certain that the Ashleys would not be home for another four hours or more, he was becoming nervous just the same.
As with many of his ideas, it was when Martin had stopped struggling for a breakthrough that one arrived. He was standing in the Ashleys’ basement, examining the circuit breakers, when his mind took an unconscious leap out of the box and awarded him with a possibility.
The plan, as it developed in his mind, involved a certain degree of danger, and its success would depend on Martin’s ability to acquire critical pieces of information, but if it worked, Justine Ashley’s surprise would most assuredly be saved. Oddly enough, the danger in the plan appealed to Martin in a way that it never had before. He had always been painstakingly methodical, and this had allowed him to become as successful in his career as he had been thus far. But while trapped in the Claytons’ home, Martin had demonstrated an ability to think quickly and to adapt to a pressure-filled situation, and these were qualities that he hadn’t known that he possessed. As he reflected back upon that episode, he couldn’t help but be impressed by the rapidity and wisdom of his actions. Though frightened at the time, his quick thinking had kept him safe from any real danger. His years of planning and experience had paid off, and though the plan that he was formulating now included some risk, it was no more dangerous than what he had faced while trapped behind the Claytons’ sofa. Most important, the risk that he might face in no way jeopardized the Ashleys as clients. Even if his plan failed, Martin felt that he would be able to return to the Ashleys’ home the next day, his anonymity still intact.
So now Martin had another decision to make. With a solid contingency plan in place, he would have to decide whether this new plan was worth the risk. Did it afford him a greater chance of success than that of tripping the breakers and proceeding with his contingency plan? If his new plan failed, would there be time to come back to the Ashley home and put his contingency plan into place? If that were the case, was he willing to reenter the Ashleys’ home for a second time in a