“Has the woman continued to bring her son to see Wes?”
“No. We discharged him. Experience has taught me that this kind of thing will only get worse. We don’t need that kind of drama around here.”
Well, it seemed highly unlikely that the woman would be angry – or desperate – enough to kidnap Wes, much less Jason Boggess.
Still, she’d need to follow up on it. “I’ll need her name.”
Lexi pressed her lips together. “We take patient confidentiality quite seriously here. I can’t release any information without a court order.”
“I understand.” The response was not unexpected. She would have been more surprised if Lexi had willingly handed it over. “Nothing else stands out as being strange? No loiterers? Or weird phone calls?”
“No. Business has proceeded smoothly.”
“What are the chances I could see Wes’ schedule for the last week?” Kevyn already knew the answer to that question.
“Without a court order?” Lexi hiked an eyebrow and let the question hang.
Yeah, that’s what she’d thought. “I’ll get that subpoena.”
A solid nod responded. “Do that. Then we’ll gladly help your investigation.”
As she left, Kevyn couldn’t help feeling that not even the subpoena would help the investigation. Something told her this place was a dead end.
Four
Dak sighed and picked up the phone. Another call. Probably another waste of time.
His team had worked through all of the mayor’s staff already. Now they were wrapping up the volunteers who were assisting with the mayor’s reelection campaign this fall.
And there were a lot of volunteers.
The phone rang three times before being answered by a young-sounding guy with a thinly-veiled accent.
After identifying himself, Dak added, “I’m calling about Jason Boggess.”
“Man. That’s a bad deal, huh?”
Yeah. Bad deal. “Did you happen to speak to him the day he disappeared?”
“Yeah. Of course.”
Really? That was a different response than he’d gotten from pretty much every other volunteer. “Was that unusual?”
“Not for me. But he and I work well together and end up partnering on projects.”
“Walk me through that day. What’d you do?”
As the man launched into a sleep-inducing discourse of the day, Dak jotted down a few high points.
A public speaking engagement. They’d already looked into that of course, but another look might reveal a new lead.
A few feel-good appearances that would earn the mayor points publicly.
A little time spent at the campaign office organizing and inspiring the volunteers.
Nothing too monumental.
“You know the bummer of this whole thing? Jason had a hot date that night. Was super stoked about it.”
A date? How was he just now hearing about this? “With whom?”
“Don’t know her name, man, but she’s a looker. And a nurse, too. Works for the blood bank. Jason gave blood all the time and had asked her out a few times, but she always turned him down. That day she said yes.”
Coincidence? Maybe, but it was worth looking into. “I’ll take whatever information you can give me.”
By the time he hung up, he had a pretty detailed description of the woman who he suspected was a phlebotomist, not a nurse.
The idea of a phlebotomist being part of a string of kidnappings made him want to laugh, but stranger things had happened.
Given that Jason Boggess had been abducted leaving the gym at six-thirty, he obviously never made that date, but maybe the woman would have some insight nonetheless.
He snagged his badge off the desk with one hand and his keys with the other. If he headed out now, he could probably catch her before lunch.
₪ ₪ ₪
His phone dinged.
Tio looked at the notification.
The latest deposit had hit. And it was a good one.
Three hundred thousand.
Taking that Boggess kid had been a risky move, but well worth it.
Now that one was done. Time to look for the next payday.
He pulled up the newest wish list and scanned through it.
Easy. Easy. Moderately easy. Several of these could be fulfilled from his latest shipment.
His gaze stopped partway down the page. Now that one would be a little more difficult. Which meant he could charge more.
He jotted down the specifics.
This one was definitely worth pursuing.
Several more made his list.
Now to send the updated list to his inside source. That particular recruitment was one of the best business decisions he’d ever made.
A knock sounded from the door. He looked up as Zane stepped inside.
“Anything?”
Zane gave his head a single shake. “But he knows I’m watching. Pull back the detail. See what he does.”
Tio leaned back in his chair and thought about the suggestion. They had electronic surveillance measures in place.
What was the worst that could happen?
Mitch could go to the FBI before they could stop him. That’s what could happen.
But doing so would implicate Mitch in their other illegal activities. Would Mitch really risk his freedom?
One thing he could count on was Mitch watching out for himself.
Maybe Mitch thought he could cut some kind of deal and get off scot-free.
Zane didn’t move. Nor did he say anything. The man’s stillness was uncanny, always had been.
He couldn’t keep doing this. It was spreading his security team too thin. He needed them to focus on other things, not his supposed business partner.
Determining Mitch’s loyalty was now one of his top priorities.
“Pull back. Not too far, but far enough for Mitch to let his guard down.”
Zane stared at him for a moment, saying nothing.
But clearly had something on his mind. “What?”
“Why not let me have a talk with him? He’ll tell me everything he knows. Guaranteed.”
He had no doubt.
