Chapter 69

Chapter 69— The plan to free Kate unfolds

8:33 p.m., Thursday, December 29 

Jack drove directly to a Long Island residential neighborhood and parked.
“Do you have a specific reason to think Kate is being held nearby?” Reginald asked.
“We can’t be sure,” Jack replied. “But Roger and I talked about this earlier, and concluded that it just made sense that the kidnappers would have rented a house quite close to where Kate lived. So they could keep an eye on her prior to the kidnapping.”
“Kate lived near here?” Reginald asked.
“She did,” Jack said. “Her apartment was only a few blocks west of here. We concluded that it would be likely that the kidnappers would have rented a house, not an apartment. So that their activities would attract less attention. It really would not be difficult to find a house to rent in this area, given the number that are on the market. It’s just a guess. But it feels like a pretty safe bet.”
“Tell me again how this is going to go down,” Reginald said.
“I told the kidnappers to call right at ten,” Jack said. “I’m thinking that they’re going to want to get the upper hand—catch me off guard. So I am expecting them to call early. When they call, Roger will immediately patch the call through to this phone.”
Jack held up his throw away phone for Reginald to see.
“As far as they are concerned,” Jack said, “If they put a track on my phone, it will give them a location around Penn Station. That will make them comfortable.
“They already know that I’m not going to talk to them until they put Kate on. That will take some time. I will do all I can to keep them on the phone until Roger can pinpoint their location. His equipment is the best there is. He thinks that he can locate them within the first twenty seconds, or so—even if they engage in some sneaky routing. He said he might even locate them more quickly.”
“So, when we get the location, I direct you to it?” Reginald asked.
“I think it would be better if I concentrated on the conversation, and you drove,” Jack said. “I’ve got to take a piss. When I get out, let’s switch seats.”
“We’ve got over an hour,” Reginald said. “At least we should have.”
“I’m not so sure about that hour,” Jack replied, getting out of the SUV. “I spotted a very friendly group of evergreens on the way here. I’m gonna go back and visit them. It was only a block or so back. Damn prostate. … Your day will come, my friend.”
“Don’t get yourself arrested, Jack. You’ll end up on some sexual offender list.”
“Is that how you did it?” Jack chuckled as he closed the door and headed back down the street.
He located the clump of evergreens right where he had remembered them, and disappeared into it.
Just as he was zipping up his pants, his phone rang.