Chapter 5

Chapter 5—Kate’s mystery unfolds

5:15 p.m., Sunday, December 25

Jack’s flight arrived on time at LaGuardia, but Reginald was not there to meet him. When he called to see where his friend was, his call went directly to voice mail. That did not trouble Jack, because in their line of work there were many times when calls simply could not be answered. The unexpected became the norm. Jack left a message that he was checking into his hotel, and that Reginald could contact him later if he wished.
Jack was pleased that he was able to get some rest before and during the flight, and that the cab ride to his hotel was uneventful.
 “Kitty, it’s your old man,” Jack said to his daughter. He had called her as he was unpacking his suitcase.
“Dad,” Kate answered. “You’ve landed. Where are you staying? … Wait, let me guess. One of those hotels down by Penn Station. Am I right?”
“Kitty, you’re always right,” Jack teased his daughter. “Even when you’re wrong, you’re right. ... Right?”
“Dad,” Kate said.
“What time is it?” Jack asked, looking down at his watch. “Five-sixteen. Are you in town yet, or are you out on the Island?”
“I’m in town. I’m getting together with you—remember? I thought I would hang around in case you weren’t too tired. Maybe we could grab a cup of coffee yet today? What do you think?” Kate asked.
“Love to, Kitty,” Jack replied, quickly accepting his daughter’s offer. “I would like to jump in the shower first. How about you grab a taxi to Penn Station. We’ll meet up, and figure stuff out from there? Will that work for you? Can’t wait to see you.”
Kate knew her father well. She had anticipated what he would suggest, and he did not disappoint her.
“I’ll call you at 6:10. Does that sound about right?” she asked.
“Perfect,” Jack said. “I should be there by then. It’s only a few blocks.”
While Jack and his daughter were close, neither of them actually went out of their way to get together. But, whenever Jack was in New York, he would always give Kate a call. If she had time (and she always had time for him), she would meet her father at a restaurant—or, as was the case this time, at a coffee shop. But seldom at the same place twice.
The lone exception to that rule was Kate’s favorite steak house. Jack had taken his daughter there three times. It had become one of their favorite haunts. This time, Jack detected a sense of urgency in his daughter’s voice. He had no idea what was prompting it, but he knew she needed something that she was convinced he alone could supply.
Jack checked his watch again, as he stripped down. He knew this shower would take three minutes—no longer. Perhaps a bit less, given his desire to see his daughter. He had learned self-discipline from his time as an Army Ranger. Three minutes for a shower, two to shave, three to five to get dressed. It was not as though he were on a stopwatch, but he maintained that schedule just the same.
He was even a disciplined sleeper. He always tried to go to bed at 9 p.m. But, regardless of what time he retired, he seemed to wake up promptly at 5 a.m. He did not need an alarm, but he still set a reminder on his watch anyway. From 5 a.m. until 6, he worked out.
Sometimes his workout regimen interfered with an appointment. When it did, he merely shifted the routine enough to accommodate it. But he always found time to exercise.
As soon as Jack emerged from his shower, he quickly shaved and got dressed.
Just as he was ready to leave, he opened up a zippered section of his luggage, and removed a heavy Velcro sealed bag. From it he removed an electronic device that he had devised. It was a transportable magnetic lock. He took it out and carried it over to the door of his hotel room. Carefully he positioned it on the door. A permanent magnet held it in place. He then activated the mechanism by turning on a mechanical switch. Instantly, he could hear one side of the magnetic lock attach itself to the steel door jam, and the other to the steel door.
He then disengaged the mechanical lock on the door, and tried to open it. The magnetic lock held it securely. It was rated at 1500 pounds, when the battery was fully charged. That was enough locking power to discourage the largest sumo wrestler.
Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out an RF remote, like the one he used to unlock his car. He had programmed the magnetic lock to the same frequency. So, when he hit the button, his door released electronically, and he opened it up. After fifteen seconds, it relocked.
He wanted to test it from outside, so he unlocked his magnetic lock, and went out the door to the corridor. He listened for his lock to engage. After fifteen seconds, he heard the familiar “click” of the magnet attaching to the door jam. He then slid his hotel card into the lock, and turned the door handle. He pushed on the door heavily, but it would not budge. He then looked down the corridor to be sure no one was observing him, and he lowered his shoulder and hit the door with substantial force. Still, the lock held.
“That’ll be just fine,” Jack thought, as he headed to the elevator.
He knew the battery was fully charged, and would therefore secure his door to the maximum four hours. When he returned, he would attach it to a charger. He never left the charger on the lock when he was outside the room. His concern was that he might lose the remote; or, for some unknown reason, his invention might stop working. Were that to happen, he would only have to wait out the battery. After five hours, he knew that it would have discharged sufficiently, allowing him to force open the lock. Jack always had a contingency plan.
When he was inside the room, however, he would activate the lock with the charger engaged. That way he could be quite comfortable that he was untouchable against any attack through the door—at least, any conventional attack. He was well aware that the preferred method for forcing a locked hotel room door was a hydraulic spreader. The way that device worked was to spread the jam of the door away from the lock. Once the standard lock was free, the door could be opened enough to cut any standard hotel secondary lock, thus allowing entry. He also knew that this whole attack could be accomplished with virtually no sound, and would take only a few seconds.
His magnetic lock was not susceptible to this entry method. He had engineered the portion that attached to the door jam on a sliding pivot—that way it could travel the inch or so that the jam spreader might create, and still hold the door securely.
He was very happy with the way his lock worked, and often considered obtaining a patent. But he thought better of it, because he knew that should he do that, those interested in attacking hotel rooms would merely upgrade their methods.
Besides, he knew that once the drawings were filed with the patent office, offshore manufacturers would start mass-producing it for a fraction of what he could. He thought it sufficient that the lock served him well.
Sometimes he wore a disguise when he was traveling—even in New York. But this time, because he was meeting with Kate, he thought it best to be himself. He figured that there would be a fair chance that they might run into someone who recognized Kate, and that she would want to introduce the friend to her father. He needed to be himself, this time, and he was okay with that.
Besides, never in all the times he visited (or worked in) New York had anyone ever recognized him. He did always make it a point to stay at smaller, out-of-the-way hotels. While the hotel he had chosen this time was not particularly small, it suited Jack well because it always appeared to be fully-booked—probably due to the fact that the rooms were very small, and relatively inexpensive. It was a favorite of foreign and domestic tourists who wanted to save money.
Not only did Jack like the fact that this particular hotel provided a good level of anonymity, he also appreciated that it was very conveniently located across Eighth Avenue from Penn Station—only a five minute walk from Madison Square Garden, and a five minute taxi ride from Jacob Javits.
While it did not hurt that the price was right, and that the hotel was conveniently positioned, it was that aura of privacy that won his patronage for this trip.
Today, however, Jack’s privacy was going to be violated. Just as he prepared to exit the hotel on his way to meet Kate, he sensed a person sliding up from the rear much more quickly than suited him. He then saw the man’s reflection in the glass next to the revolving door. He was right. Someone was approaching him quickly.
So, instead of entering the large revolving door, he suddenly stepped aside, and turned toward the man. For just a moment their eyes met. Then, as his training kicked in, Jack checked out both of the man’s hands. He immediately spotted a six-inch long ice pick extending out of the man’s right hand, so Jack took a full step backward to prepare for battle.
But, instead of facing off with Jack, the would-be attacker simply slid the weapon into the pocket of his long wool coat, and proceeded to leave the hotel through the revolving door. Jack chose not to pursue the man. Instead, he remained off to the side, and watched the man squeeze out of the door as quickly as possible, forcibly stopping the mechanism as he exited.
The man glanced back to see if Jack was following. Their eyes met briefly once again.