“Last night at approximately ten-twenty eastern time, four intruders entered the home of Jonathan and Amelia Root outside Royal Oak, on Maryland’s eastern shore. They incapacitated Mr. Root, bound and gagged him, and then left the residence with Ms. Root. According to Mr. Root, from start to finish the operation lasted less than four minutes. The intruders did not speak during the incident.
“At approximately eleven P.M., while walking his dog, a neighbor found a security guard lying semiconscious near the stone wall on the property’s eastern perimeter. The first police unit on the scene found the guard had been shot once in the back of the head, with the bullet exiting over his right eye. He was transferred by ambulance to Salisbury Memorial Hospital, where he’s in critical condition.
“When backup units arrived, a search of the property was conducted. Three other security guards — a number we now know is standard for the estate — were found dead, each shot in the back of the head. We found impressions in the dirt that indicate each man was made to kneel before being shot.”
“Christ,” Carolyn Fitzpatrick muttered.
Len Barber, the CIA’s acting deputy director of intelligence, spoke up. “You said three guards was the standard complement. Why were four on duty?”
“Good question. We’re looking into it. Upon entering the house, the police found the Roots’ alarm system — which was linked by microwave to a monitoring center in Cambridge — had been bypassed. They found Mr. Root in the upstairs master bedroom, shaken but otherwise uninjured. Upon his release, he informed the police that his wife had been kidnapped.
“There was little physical evidence left at the scene, but we’ve been able to determine the intruders entered the Root property from the seaward side by boat … here.” Oliver used a laser pointer to indicate a spot on the rocky shoreline. “Once inside the wall, they incapacitated the guards — taking all of them by surprise, it appears — then bypassed the alarm system and entered the house. Though Mr. Root claims to have seen only four intruders, we have reason to believe there were six involved in the operation.”
“What are you basing that on?” asked Len Barber.
“Physical evidence,” Oliver replied.
Barber chuckled. “What, John, don’t trust us?”
Oliver smiled back but didn’t answer. The FBI director spoke up: “Agent Oliver’s following my orders. Go ahead, John.”
“We’re still processing the scene, so more evidence might turn up, but I’m not hopeful. This was a professional operation; it was well planned and expertly executed. As of thirty minutes ago, no ransom demands have been received and no contact has been made. In the event that does happen, we’ve brought in Joe McBride. Joe specializes in hostage negotiation and kidnapping. He’s consulted with both the CIA and the Bureau in the past. We’ve slaved his cell phone to Root’s home telephone number as well as Mr. Root’s cell phone. If the kidnappers make contact, Joe will hear it in real time.”
Oliver raised the lights and looked around. “Questions?”
“Any idea how the intruders were armed?” asked Len Barber.
“Mr. Root only got a glimpse, but he described the weapons as ‘short-barreled assault rifles.’ None of the neighbors reported hearing shots, so we’re guessing the weapons were noise-suppressed.”
“That narrows the list, at least.”
“What do we know about these guards?” the director asked.
“They’d been contracted from a company out of Baltimore. Their employees are firearm qualified and heavily screened. With the exception of the guard found alive, all four had been working for the Roots for several years. Two were ex-military, one a retired police officer. The fourth had recently graduated from Wake Forest with a criminal justice degree and had applied to the Maryland State Police. We’re digging into each man’s background — bank accounts, credit problems, affiliations.”
Carolyn Fitzpatrick asked, “The fourth man, the one that’s still alive — do you have anything to suggest he was involved?”
“We’re working on it, but my initial impression is no.”
“What do you base that on?”
“Three things: one, the physical evidence at the scene; two, my gut feeling. As I said, this was a professional job. These kind of people don’t hire outsiders unless absolutely necessary. And three, the alarm system. Of all the obstacles the intruders faced, that would have been the biggest. If they’d chosen to coopt one of the guards, it would have been to gain access to the house.”
“I’m not following,” said Len Barber.
“The system wasn’t disengaged; it was bypassed — basically tricked into believing the house was still secure. Chances are, if one of the guards was involved, the system would have simply been turned off.”
“Unless it’s a ruse: One of the guards turns off the system, they bypass it for a red herring, take Ms. Root, and reengage the system on the way out.”
“We checked that,” Oliver replied. “The monitoring center logs each time the system is turned on and off. It was engaged at seven thirty-seven in the evening and stayed that way until we called one of their technicians out at two A.M.”
“Still …”
Oliver nodded. “Which is why we’re taking a hard look at the guards. If one of them was involved, it’d be for money, in which case we’ll find telltales: odd spending patterns, credit problems that suddenly disappear … But, as I said, I think we’re going to find this was an outside job.”
Carolyn Fitzpatrick said, “Which brings up the question, Who are they and what do they want?”
“And why the Roots?” added Charlie Latham. “The kidnappers had to have known who they were dealing with. Why a former DCI? I can’t imagine it’s money; there are richer targets out there — not to mention less well guarded.”
Bingo, thought Joe McBride. Latham has just asked the question. Though McBride had nothing to support it, his instincts were telling him the kidnapping had everything to do with Jonathan Root’s background and nothing to do with money. What was it, then? Information? Root’s tenure at the CIA had ended a decade ago; what could he possibly know that would be of interest today? If in fact it was information the kidnappers were after, it had to be something earth-shattering to warrant a gamble like this.
Concentrate on Root, McBride thought, then scribbled on his pad: What are they going to ask for, and what will they really want?
“Joe, you have something?” asked the director.
McBride glanced up. “Pardon me?”
“You’ve got a light bulb hanging over your head.”
“Oh … yeah. Most money-driven kidnappers make contact very quickly, usually with a note at the scene or a phone call within hours. Their focus is on getting the money, losing the hostage, and slipping into the woodwork. Charlie said it: This is about Root. If these people are smart enough to mount this kind of operation, they’re smart enough to know exactly who they’re dealing with and what kind of heat it’s going to bring down on them.”
There was silence around the table for a few moments. Len Barber of the CIA said, “We’re checking our side of the house right now. Here’s the problem: Professionals or not, the kidnappers might have bought into the popular view of DCIs — that they know every secret in the kingdom. Truth is, the need-to-know rule extends all the way to the top; DCIs rarely get down-and-dirty briefings.”
“Explain that,” said Carolyn Fitzpatrick.
“The DCI takes his policy cues from the White House, sets the agenda for the directorates, then turns them loose. How exactly things get done is decided by the deputies, division heads, station chiefs, and ultimately the case officers on the ground. Squeezing Jonathan Root for operational details would be like asking a former Procter and Gamble executive for the chemical formula for toothpaste — he just wouldn’t know.”