But what if that wasn’t possible? What if the only way to tell Beth was by being brutally honest with her? That was the easiest path, but was it the best?
He was at a loss as to what to do, and he felt awful. All he could hope was that an answer would come to him soon.
Chapter 19
Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores were actually restaurants, and enormously popular in the Sunshine State, with over fifty locations. Most were located near a major highway, their parking lots filled with RVs and well-traveled cars with out-of-state plates.
The Saint Augustine location was packed, and Daniels and Special Agent Phillips had to wait for a table. A big-haired waitress seated them and went over the breakfast specials. Erce ordered the sausage biscuit breakfast sandwich, while Daniels got the apple and cinnamon oatmeal. The waitress left, and Erce put his elbows on the table and leaned in. It was loud enough for them to have a conversation and not be overheard.
“Someone in the bureau told me that your department conducts special training seminars for Cracker Barrel employees,” he said. “Is that really true?”
She nodded. “We train the waitstaff to spot human traffickers.”
“How did you get the funding for that?”
“I convinced my boss that it was a wise investment. So far, it’s paid off.”
“Are they the only restaurants you work with?”
“We’ve worked with other chains, but we’ve gotten the best results with Cracker Barrel’s staff, so we’ve focused our energy with them,” she said.
“What makes them better?”
“Their restaurants are located near interstates. If a trafficker is moving a victim from Miami to Atlanta, chances are, he’ll stop to get a meal for himself and his victim. If he does, Cracker Barrel is often the spot. We train the employees to look for odd pairings. A girl with an older man. Or a quiet child with an overbearing adult. Is the child sad? Quiet? Staring at the table and not speaking? Those are signs that things aren’t right. We also ask them to look for electronic devices.”
“Why?”
“Traffickers don’t let their victims have cell phones or iPads. The absence of a device can be a sign of foul play.”
“Isn’t all of this hard to do while waiting tables?”
“It is hard. But Cracker Barrel has a loyal staff, and they’re mostly women with families of their own. These women have good instincts when it comes to spotting trouble, and they won’t hesitate to report it.”
Their food came. While Daniels ate her oatmeal, she gazed at the booths lining the wall of the restaurant. In one booth was a young girl accompanied by an older man. The girl wore a troubled look, and didn’t have an electronic device, unlike every other kid in the restaurant. Daniels flagged their waitress and discreetly showed her badge.
“I’m with the FBI. What’s the deal with the man and the girl in the booth?”
“I spoke to them earlier,” the waitress said. “The girl got in trouble at school yesterday, so her daddy took her cell phone away from her as punishment. She’s not happy about it.”
“You believed them?”
“Yes, ma’am. They’ve been in before.”
“Did you speak with the girl?”
“I did. She confirmed what her father said. It’s all good.”
“Thank you for being so diligent. You can never be too careful.”
“Isn’t that the truth. How’s your food?”
“It’s delicious,” Erce said.
The waitress went to take care of another table. Erce had made short work of his meal, and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“You’ve got an army of spies,” he said. “No wonder J. T. likes you.”
Daniels realized she was being complimented. She didn’t know if Erce was being nice, or softening the blow for what he was about to tell her.
“Have you spoken to him?” she asked.
“He called last night,” he said. “You would think having a heart attack would slow him down, but no such luck. He’s as ornery as ever. I let his call go to voice mail, and then listened to his message.”
“Am I in hot water?”
“Why else would he be calling?” Erce retrieved a voice message on his cell phone and handed it to her. “Hit the seven on the keypad to listen.”
She did as instructed and placed the cell phone to her ear. J. T. Hacker was her boss and mentor, and had a voice as soothing as a just-awakened grizzly bear.
“This is Director Hacker, and I need to speak with you,” the recorded voice said. “I’m told that Special Agent Daniels is in Saint Augustine, interrogating the local police over her father’s death. Special Agent Daniels is perfectly within her rights if she wishes to conduct her own investigation. My concern is whether she is being accompanied by a man named Jon Lancaster. The reason I ask is, a dead Russian gangster was found in Saint Augustine with two bullets in his gut. The entry point of the bullets was within a few millimeters. That’s Lancaster’s trademark, and I’m guessing he was the shooter.
“Special Agent Daniels and I have had conversations about Lancaster before. I’ve told her in no uncertain terms that Lancaster is a liability, one that could cost Beth her job with the bureau. So far, my warnings have fallen on deaf ears. Call me to discuss.”
The message ended, and Daniels shook her head. Jon had helped her bust a trafficking ring in Tampa not long ago, and he’d broken so many laws that she’d had to whitewash her final report. J. T. had privately scolded her, knowing a lie when he read one. But he’d still signed off on the report, and she’d assumed that his issues with Jon had been forgotten. She handed the cell phone back to Erce.
“What are you going to tell him?” she asked.
“That’s why I wanted to meet. We need to come up with a story.”
His words caught her by surprise. “You’re going to lie?”
He nodded solemnly.
“Have you thought of the consequences?”
“That was the first thing I thought of,” he said. “I like my job, and I don’t want to jeopardize my career. But I’m still going to do it.”
It was not the response she’d expected. “May I ask why?”
“Because this is your family,” he said. “You have every right to get to the truth. If that means using Jon Lancaster to help you, that’s okay by me.”
“What about the other agents in your office? Are they going to lie as well?”
“They’ll do what I tell them. Now, what are we going to say?”
It took ten minutes to construct a reasonable story. They decided that Erce would tell their boss that Daniels was conducting an investigation in Saint Augustine without Lancaster’s help. Whatever Lancaster was up to, he was doing it by himself.
“Do you think J. T. will buy this?” Erce said.
“It doesn’t matter if he buys it or not,” she said. “The story covers our asses. I’m not responsible for Jon’s behavior, and neither are you. If we disavow that he’s working with me, we’ll both be in the clear.”
“I’ll buy that. Did he shoot the Russian?”
“Yes, he did. It was self-defense. I would have shot the bastard myself if I’d had the chance. Now, let me ask you a question. If Egor Sokolov is on the bureau’s watch list, then his brother Bogdan is as well. Have you run across these characters?”
“They’ve been on our radar for over a year,” he said. “They kept slipping into town through the private airport. Had a group of young women with them. Never saw them breaking any laws, so we couldn’t haul them in.”
“But you wanted to.”
“You bet. They’ve been linked to money launderers down in Fort Lauderdale named Vasilek. We figured they’re running some kind of scam up here.”