Chapter Twenty-Four
“All right,” Jack said as he stood at the front of the den, near the large TV on the wall. “We thought it would be good if we all met and took assessment of where we’re at with this thing. Sort of gather our facts and make a plan for moving forward.”
Sitting on the couch with Little Trixie on his lap, John was thankful for the time. He’d gotten so nervous with Trixie being in harm’s way that it would be good for him to breathe and put the situation in perspective.
“Today, the plan was to watch the hotel. We figured Todd Stark would come back. He was hired to get Trixie and he failed. The ones we suspect he’s working for demand results. Falling down on the job isn’t an option. We split our team. Had some watching Todd’s house. Some watching his office space. And a couple at the hotel.” He looked at Trixie. “But there were complications at the hotel and the plan didn’t quite work out like we had intended.”
John could feel Trixie tense a bit. He hugged her tighter.
“But we found out some valuable information,” Jack continued, now addressing the entire room again. “Actually, two pieces of valuable information. First, Stark has hired some muscle. Really just private eyes. We don’t think they knowanything about the mob. From what we can tell, they’re a legitimate firm. They were just told something that wasn’t true and doing their job based on that.”
Isaiah shook his head in frustration. “So, we aren’t one step closer to confirming that Trixie’s former employers are the ones behind this?”
“Unfortunately, no. But it’s all good. Because I think we should still divide and conquer,” Jack explained. “We’ll get to that in a minute. Now, for that second piece of intel we discovered. And this is crucial.” He paused and looked at everyone. John knew what was coming, but he guessed the rest of the room would be shocked. “John and I were able to sweep Trixie’s car in the garage. It was clean. They didn’t track her there using the vehicle.”
As John expected, everyone looked confused. “Then how did they do it?”
Jack smiled. “It was actually Annika who figured it out. At least, we think this is what it is.” Looking at Matteo, he said, “You want to share?”
John smiled as he saw how Matteo was grinning. That was one proud Daddy, clearly eager to share what his sweet Little had done.
“Yeah. Earlier, Annika heard Jack and John talking about all this and she jumped in on the conversation. Hang on.” He called her into the room. A moment later, when she arrived, he said, “Honey, will you tell them your theory?”
“Sure.” Annika looked around at everyone but settled her gaze on Trixie. “Did you ever log into your credit card account at work?”
“Yeah.”
Annika nodded. “They probably have capturing software on their computers to monitor what their employees do. I mean, these sound like really crooked, shady people. But they couldeasily get your login info. That’s basic Hacking 101.” She shrugged. “With that, they can log into your account any time and see what you’re using your card for.”
Trixie gasped. Hopping off John’s lap, she looked at him and then the rest of the group in wide-eyed amazement. “That makes sense! I booked the hotel using that card.”
“Yep. So, they didn’t have to follow you here. They just saw where you rented a room, hired some local guys to watch you, and here we are,” John agreed.
“But… it’s bad, John! That’s credit card I used to book my storage unit back in Vegas. You know, the one where the evidence is locked up.”
“Oh boy. This keeps getting better and better,” Kendrick muttered.
“Yeah. We have to assume they’re watching the storage place. They’re going to look for anything—patterns, places—that may indicate where she stashed evidence. Again, just like the hotel room, they can’t figure out which storage unit is hers just by knowing she rented one there. But I bet they’ll have eyes on it,” Jack said. He grinned. “But don’t worry. We have a plan for that. John actually came up with this plan. Do you want to share it.”
John nodded, but he didn’t bother standing as he spoke, as he didn’t want to be away from Trixie right now, even if he would be just a few feet away.
“Some of us stay here and some of us go to Vegas,” he proposed. “Trixie has the key to that storage unit where she stashed the evidence. Some of us can go retrieve that and hand it over to the FBI. The rest stay here, find Stark and keep eyes on him, and prove who he’s working for. Also, scare him away from the job.”
“Of course.” Kendrick spoke up. “Once the FBI takes these people down, Stark can’t keep the contract. But, until then, yeah. I think this is a good plan.”
“It’s as good as anything else we’ve thrown out there,” Ace said.
“Yep. I think it’s the quickest way to end this thing,” Isaiah said.
“So, who is doing what?” Matteo wondered.
The group discussed it for a while. Twenty minutes later, it was all settled.
“I’m sorry you all have to go to this trouble just for me,” Trixie told them.
John hugged her a little tighter, kissing the top of her head and swaying gently.
“Honey, we don’t mind one bit,” Matteo told her.
