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The next day, we met at Francine’s. Gomer and Gloria decided that while the haunted house was a hit, one night was definitely enough. They would be working with Francine and Ally so they could gain some helpful insight on how to run a successful restaurant.
Francine was busy in the kitchen with Marie, trying to coach her on the best way to handle the banana pudding wars the next day. Meanwhile, Francine and Ally would spend a week or so working in Wasteland until Gomer hired a full staff.
Carter was the last one to show and he looked exhausted, almost as if it was a chore to take the long strides to our table.
“Rough night?” Walter asked.
“Rough morning,” he said, accepting a coffee mug as soon as Ally arrived with them.
“I forgot to thank you for saving my life,” she said. “I was on my way downstairs when Ida Belle texted. If I’d walked in there, why, Daigle could’ve shot me.”
“Don’t ever thank a friend for saving your life,” Ida Belle said. “You would’ve done the same for me.”
Ally set the coffee pot down on the table. “Francine needs me to help in the kitchen then we’re going to head over to Gomer’s.”
“Thank you for helping him,” I said.
“Of course.” She paused. “Gomer’s a good guy. Thinking about how tightlipped he was even when his life was in danger made me a believer.”
“Don’t go falling in love now,” Ida Belle joked.
“With Gomer?” Ally laughed. “Maybe I can work with Gloria some. She needs women in her life and after Gomer advertised his single-status, I’m afraid she won’t have good influences.”
“True.” Gertie lifted her mug. “Great coffee.”
“Thanks,” she said. “Holler if you need anything.”
About that time, the bell at the door jingled and we turned to see a Fed and a SEAL heading our way. The Fed didn’t look happy, but the SEAL looked amused.
“Bob.” Carter stood. He shook hands with the Fed and studied the SEAL.
“Good to see you,” Bob said, turning to his left. “This is Lee Tolliver. He’ll be staying in Wasteland. All questions pertaining to the WITSEC program should be addressed with Lee.”
We quickly introduced ourselves, but what happened next was enough to dim the polite pleasantries.
“We’ve cut a deal with Brigham Daigle,” Bob said. “He’ll be moving to Wasteland sometime after Christmas. Our goal for witness protection will still happen, if we have to use Gomer Hollowman to do it.”
“You would be well served if Gomer helped,” I said. “He’s loyal.”
“A vast improvement over the thugs that you keep bringing into our great state,” Ida Belle pointed out.
Carter sucked in a breath. “The deal is already done. I’ve spoken to Harrison. The CIA will be involved. Feds will be working with you also.”
“Working with me?” I asked, now understanding why Carter was so miffed.
“So Brigham is getting a free pass?” Gertie asked.
“Not exactly,” Bob replied. “I can’t discuss the details, but he will serve some time in a maximum security prison. While he’s away, Elle will be staying in foster care with two agents who are trained to handle children like Elle.”
“She’s a mixed up kid,” Ida Belle said. “But she’s smart.”
“She’s one of the brightest we’ve ever seen,” Bob said. “That act all of you witnessed is exactly that. Elle has her sights on her dad’s position. He’s aware of it. While he loves her, this kid is a troubled kid and he saw it for himself. He may even be afraid of her.”
“I doubt that,” Gertie mumbled.
“What do you know about Jax Daigle’s death?” Bob asked.
“Nothing much,” Gertie said. “Everything happened so fast.”
“Did you see a body?” Bob asked.
“No,” Ida Belle said, guarded. “But we trusted Sheriff Davidson to handle it and he’s the one who verified that he had been murdered by his son.”
“Davidson told you it was his son?” Bob asked.
“He told me,” Carter said. “I passed the information along.”
“How long have you known Davidson?”
“Not long,” Carter admitted, turning to me. “He started as a deputy around the same time that Daryl Arceneaux started with the department. When Officer Running was promoted up, something happened. He couldn’t handle the stress, I guess, but Davidson promoted on up and became the sheriff.”
“He’s one of ours,” Bob said, leveling his gaze on Ida Belle. “But I understand you’ve known him for a while.”
“Yes,” Gertie and Ida Belle said together.
“All those times that Davidson was supposedly out of town?” It was beginning to make perfect sense. “He was there in the shadows, waiting and watching.”
“That’s right,” Bob admitted.
“And Jax?” Gertie asked.
“Alive.” Bob didn’t offer anything more.
I gasped and turned to Carter. “You knew?”
“Bob met me this morning and explained everything.”
“So I’m assuming Jax knows who tried to kill him?”
“He does, but he’s not talking. That’s why Elle is going into foster care. It’s the only way that we can figure out what happened. We think she did it, or tried to do it, because she can’t control her grandfather.” Bob waited a beat. “Her dad is a different story. He will do anything to please her.”
“I’ve seen Elle with Jax,” Gertie said. “She loves him.”
“If you’ve seen Elle demonstrate love then she’s very good at deception. The only person Elle ever loved was her mother and she blames her grandfather and dad for her death.”
I frowned. I was a trained CIA sniper. Nothing in my background had trained me for this type of scenario, but had Elle really been that good at deceiving all of us?
“This is awful,” Gertie said. “Elle and Gloria are friends. Gloria is a good kid. The last thing she needs is a negative influence in her life. And Elle, if she’s dangerous, she could harm her.”
“Which is another reason that we’ll have her in a protected environment while she’s in foster care. She’ll be homeschooled until her dad is released.”
“And then?” I asked.
“And then, he’ll regain custody and bring her back here. At that point, if our agents haven’t made any progress, she’ll try to kill him.”
“You’re setting up Jax Daigle’s son to take a bullet from his daughter?”
“We set up Jax to take a bullet from his son.” Bob rose from the table. “It’s what we do. We cut deals with people. If they’re not the worst of their lot, it’s possible we cut the kind of deals that will change their lives for the best, but if they have a lot of baggage—and the Daigles do—then we can’t make guarantees.”
“Elle’s a child,” I said, shaking my head. “There has to be another way.”
“We hope someone finds it,” Bob said, standing. “If Elle shot her grandfather. She believes she killed him. If she’s responsible, she’ll attempt to take her dad out, too. In the meantime, Lee is your point guy.
“Gomer and Gloria need a lot of help at the Steakhouse, but we need help in designing the perfect community for the WITSEC program. Any help you can provide will be much appreciated.”
After Bob and Lee left, I remembered something Elle had said, there was a lot, but one thing stood out. “I asked Elle who shot Rizzy right after they moved here. She said, ‘Gomer thinks he did’ and she said it so flippantly, it startled me. I knew then that she was a bright kid, but I never suspected her of murder.”
Ida Belle shrugged. “Maybe it’s just easy for the Feds to pin it on her because Jax isn’t talking.”
“Jax would talk if the guilty party was his son,” Carter pointed out.
“Elle is on their radar because they don’t have anyone else,” Gertie said.
“He said they’ll be moving back after Christmas,” I said. “That gives us some time to help Gomer get his place up and running.”
“I guess Wasteland will see a lot of us in the coming weeks,” Ida Belle said.
Walter and Carter groaned.
“The good news is that we’re now free for a few days.” Gertie’s eyes danced with mischief. “How will we spend our time?”
“I don’t want to know,” Carter said.
Walter laughed. “That makes two of us.”