virtual drops and gathered more intelligence. At some point, Wally took a trip to a local electronics shop to purchase some additional items we were going to need for the actual operation.
The group rendezvoused back at the farmhouse around six p.m. We crowded around the dining table, laptops open, drinking tea, water, and soda, while eating pieces of a couple of frozen pizzas Kira had heated for us. That, and some sliced oranges, served as our dinner for the evening.
Hala provided the report on Isaac Remington. “We arrived at Remington’s residence a little after ten a.m. The neighborhood is quiet and suburban. He was already awake. We could see him through the kitchen window. About eleven o’clock, he left his residence and got into his car. Since it’s Sunday morning, there weren’t a lot of cars on the road, so we hung pretty far back. He made two stops—one at the gas station and the other at a nearby Target. Bo waited in the car while I went inside with him at Target. I observed the subject purchasing two burner phones at the electronics counter. No security tail of any kind.”
“Budget cuts,” Wally confirmed.
“After that, Remington sat in the car for an additional ten minutes, apparently activating one of the burner phones and using it right there in the car,” Bo continued. “Then he drove home, where he stayed for the rest of the day. We were able to observe him moving around in his house, but that’s it. There is one security camera by the front door, but we didn’t see any on the side doors as we drove by. We couldn’t see the backyard from our vantage point. There was a security company sign, and we got the name.”
“Excellent.” I tapped notes on my laptop between bites of pizza. “Jax and Frankie, what did you get?”
Jax spoke for his team. “We surveilled Ghat. After church, he and his wife made a late-morning trip to the hardware store and the grocery store. We had to be careful, because Ghat seemed to be constantly on the lookout for a tail, but that could just be inherent training. Frankie actually went into the grocery store and chatted up his wife in the pharmacy section, where she was gathering supplies for an upcoming vacation. Frankie learned they’re going on a weeklong vacation in the Caribbean tomorrow, so being involved in a kidnapping doesn’t seem likely.”
“Could be to throw us off the trail,” Wally said.
“It could be, but I didn’t get that vibe at all,” Frankie said. “Just a gut feeling. The wife was genuine, and they’re going to be away for a week. It doesn’t fit.”
I trusted Frankie’s gut feelings, especially about people, so her observations carried significant weight with me. “Okay, Mike and Kira, talk to me.”
“We followed Glen Sampson,” Mike said. “He didn’t leave his condo until after one o’clock. He went straight to the gym. Kira went inside the gym after him to work out. She signed up for a guest membership and was able to maintain eyes-on surveillance from a distance, as we weren’t sure if he had seen her from their surveillance of you, Angel. The guy worked out for about two and a half hours. A total gym rat for sure.”
Kira nodded. “Afterward, he went through a fast food drive-through and then headed back home, most likely to watch the football game. We waited until about five thirty, but he didn’t come out.”
“Other than that, neither of us saw him talking on a burner phone or doing anything out of the ordinary,” Mike added.
“Yeah, but if he took a call from Remington around eleven or so, he’d have still been in his condo,” Wally pointed out.
I tapped in notes on my laptop. “Good work, guys. Here’s my thought. Let’s narrow the focus to Remington and Sampson. Since Ghat is going on vacation shortly, let’s leave him out of the equation for now and move on to the next step.” I sincerely hoped it was the right move, because we didn’t have the resources or people to cover more. I had to go with my—and Frankie’s—gut feelings and hope I was right.
“And the next step is?” Hala asked.
“We plant bugs and trackers on Remington and Sampson. We intercept their communications and determine if they’re involved and what they know.”
“Bugs!” Mike pumped a fist in the air. “Excellent! Bugs are my thing.”
“What did you have in mind, Angel?” Bo asked.
“If Remington’s talking on the burner phone in his