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The group was already gathered when Kate arrived back at Cameron’s house. They were seated around the dining room table rather than lounging in the living room as they normally did. The table was spread with platters of takeout bar-b-que, potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans and bottles of beer.
“We tried to reach you when we decided to get together earlier, but it went right to voice mail.” Margaret motioned her to sit down. “Help yourself to some food. With all the latest developments, we have a decision to make. I told everyone about the cruise Danielle booked for Briana Hanley and that you were going to try to meet with her. I can’t wait to hear if you learned anything. Anyway, here’s why we got together early. We all agree we must back off from trying to do this ourselves, but that raises the question, who do we bring in? Nathan? The DEA? Barrington? Or all of the above, understanding how little credibility we’ve been given.
Garrett added, “They haven’t shared everything with us, of course, but we do know things they don’t. At this point I think our input will be welcomed and not dismissed as the work of amateurs. So, Kate, did you find out anything more?”
Kate reached for the platter of chicken and selected a breast. Then she scooped some of the potato salad and coleslaw onto her plate but didn’t take any of the baked beans. She opened a beer, then poured it into a glass. She’d never been a drink-from-the-bottle type. After enjoying a sip she said, “Okay. The answer is yes and no. The cruise was booked over the phone in the name of Briana Hanley and paid for with one of those ‘no limit’ credit cards. Nice to be able to charge fifty grand and know it will go through. However, that was all. She didn’t have Danielle book anything else, but my bet is that she reserved a rental car herself. I don’t think she stayed in the area.”
“Good. I’ve got something, too,” Garrett said. “One of my guys tracked her cell phone and saw that she booked an American flight to Chicago that left yesterday afternoon. She’s devious and most likely wanted us to think she left LA if we figured out that she wasn’t kidnapped. The mistake she made was using her own phone. Anyway, although she booked that flight to make her trail end at Chicago, odds are she never boarded that flight. The woman is very clever. I’d bet money that she has a car and hotel somewhere for the next two days. Of course, she had no way of knowing we would find out about the cruise, and that brings us back to the question of who we should share all of this information with.”
They discussed the pros and cons of each while finishing off nearly all of the food. Matt actually came up with the solution.
He said, “Look, you guys always suppose I’m thinking strictly as though we’re acting out a screenplay, but this time that’s not it at all. Yeah, if this was a movie, we would probably decide that we were the ones making the progress and we would finish what we started, wind up in a dangerous situation, then save the day, reveal everything and be lauded as the heroes. But I get it. This is real life, and in real life the only logical thing to do is step back and let them do the heavy lifting. I can’t believe I’m saying we have to call the United States Attorney General, but we do. We have to call Nathan and give him everything we know. Then how he handles it is up to him.”
It didn’t take long for everyone to agree. The Colonel was the last one to cast a vote, and it was clear he was adhering to everything he’d been trained to do relative to chain of command.
Cameron wanted to know if that meant they were out of it now. Garrett offered the thought that they should clue Barrington in on at least some of it because he had been so helpful.
Kate said, “I agree with Danny. We should let him know about our connection with Nathan, and that Barbara could be checked into a hotel somewhere near the Cruise Center as Briana Hanley. I don’t think they paid any attention to our theory of her being a Black Widow, and probably don’t know or if they do, don’t even care about her aliases. Maybe he could get involved in the search for her and stop her from boarding that cruise.”
“Good thought. However, even if she isn’t found before she boards, they could have someone at the check-in and arrest her for embezzlement when she tries to board. After all, it isn’t hard for them to confirm the booking, but Nathan might be taking care of that. We should give Barrington all of her aliases we are aware of. My money is on the cops only searching for Barbara Shady.”
Garrett confirmed he would contact Barrington but even wanted to clear that during the call to DC. Nathan said he would take it from there as well as giving them the go ahead to share some of the info with Barrington since he was already working with the DEA.
Garrett called Barrington, but it went to voicemail so he left this message for the detective. “Please come over to Cameron Harsen’s house on the canal as soon as you can. We have some very interesting information to share with you and don’t want to discuss it on the phone. You can reach me on my cell.”
They all retired to the living room where Cameron served slices of a wonderful cheesecake she had picked up at the Cheesecake Factory on Via Marina. The Colonel joked that he had gained five pounds since coming to these meetings because there was always an outstanding dessert. When Clarence got to his feet and made some grunting sounds as he eyed the remaining cheesecake, the Colonel reached for a plastic bag he had placed on the side table and gave his dog a nice little carrot.
“Can’t give Clarence anything sweet, although he would love it, but he really does like carrots. The poor old chap is borderline diabetic.” As though acknowledging that, Clarence begged for another carrot from the Colonel, took it in his mouth and settled down in front of the fireplace.