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Laura Lee’s gaze focused on the side of Garcia’s face. Maybe he was right, and Jessica Lansing would call him. “So, how does this new plan make me a more attractive target?”
“When you speak to Captain Burnside, you identify yourself with your real name and your rank,” Shepherd replied.
“My real name?” Laura Lee repeated, horrified. “If she calls West and gives him my name, he’ll know I lied to him, and that I’m in the country. He’ll know I’m looking into him.” Laura Lee’s voice overflowed with the panic she felt.
“I can’t think of a better way to shift West’s focus onto you,” Shepherd said.
“And push him to escalate his agenda,” Cooper added.
“I am not crazy about this plan,” Laura Lee squeaked out.
“You need to trust your team,” Madison said.
“And we start by safeguarding your family and insulating your mother from any stress,” Shepherd said.
“How can you do that?” Laura Lee asked.
“I’ve arranged a stay for your mother at a top Parkinson’s research facility in Miami,” Shepherd said. “No one we don’t authorize will reach her there. It’s a spa-like atmosphere to create the most peaceful setting for the patients. There are no unauthorized visitors or phone calls in or out.”
“That sounds strangely similar to the type of place in Colorado that I was recently a guest at,” Cooper said.
Shepherd nodded. “This one is legit, though. So, you’ll interview the DA in Florida first and then the major at Fort Jackson.”
“We can’t block my mom from calling my sister. They talk several times a day and I don’t trust Donna to not contact Mom if West drops this on her,” Laura Lee argued.
“Your sister and her children will be going on a vacation near your mother’s treatment facility to help support her and to be out of their normal routine. She’ll be read in on the fact that there is a threat to you, your mother, and to her and her children with no specifics given. I’ve assigned Burke from Charlie Team to be her protection detail. They’ll check into the resort under his name and pose as a family. She will have no choice but to go along with the plan,” Shepherd said. “We’ll threaten to pull her state aid if she objects.”
That would do it. Donna had three children by three deadbeat dads. She relied on state aid for housing, food, and medical care for herself and her children, as well as public assistance checks to pay for what the other welfare programs didn’t cover. She hadn’t worked a steady job in years. Laura Lee knew her mother was disappointed in her sister and her father was surely rolling over in his grave. One unplanned pregnancy by a guy who wouldn’t step up and help support their child was a mistake. Three was a pattern or a life choice.
“Before you head to Miami, you and Garcia will first drop in on your sister and divulge the plan. Burke will meet you at your sister’s residence. Then you’ll return to your mother’s house and surprise her with the opportunity to be evaluated at this facility. You’ll all fly to Miami on the agency Lear,” Shepherd said.
“You’ve thought of everything,” Laura Lee said. And he’d put the plan together so quickly. She couldn’t even fathom how he’d done that. It didn’t make her breathe any easier though. The thought of purposefully painting a target on herself for West to come after her scared her. “Thank you for arranging that for my mom,” she said as an afterthought. “You can just dock my pay for the costs involved in protecting my family.”
“We’ll discuss that later,” Shepherd said. “Questions?” He paused and waited for a beat. No one spoke up. “You have your assignments. Watch for a meeting invite. The team will touch bases again later this evening.” Then he exited the meeting room.
“Good luck,” Madison said. “Laura Lee, let me know if you want to bounce off of me what you’ll tell your family. I have some experience in telling family about us without really telling them about us. When I was first faced with this, I didn’t like the idea of lying to my family.”
“Thanks, Madison,” Laura Lee said. Though lying to her sister about what the agency really did, didn’t bother her. She was sure that her mom would have questions she couldn’t answer. Garcia, surely, would help answer those questions, though. But she did appreciate Madison’s offer.
Everyone logged out of the video meeting room. A text message buzzed both her and Garcia’s phones. It was from Shepherd, laying out the timetable of the day. Burke would meet them at her sister’s place at zero seven thirty. They were expected to wrap that meeting up and then convince her mom to pack a bag and leave her house by nine-thirty. They were all due at the Richmond Regional Airport by ten hundred to fly to Miami Opa-locka Executive Airport, where vehicles would be waiting for them.
Garcia glanced at her after reading the message. “We better get moving. We’ll go through a drive-through and get breakfast.”
Laura returned to her room to get her belongings. She grabbed another cup of coffee for them both from the lobby while Garcia checked them out. They were on the road, heading back to Richmond ten minutes later. “This is going to be a long day,” Laura Lee remarked. “The DA in Florida is in downtown Miami.” She was staring at the maps on her phone.
“I’d like to finish up in Florida early enough to fly to South Carolina today too,” Garcia said. He eyed her through a sideways glance. “I think the shit is going to hit the fan if the captain from Fort Jackson calls West and we need to be ready to shift gears.”
“I’m surprised I didn’t hear from him after Madison and Cooper’s visit to the major yesterday. I show up and questions start. It doesn’t take a genius to connect the dots.”
“Yeah, when Smith told me last night that the major made that phone call, I was expecting West would contact you.”
“What do you think it means that he didn’t?” Laura Lee asked.
“That he’s playing it more careful than we expected.”
Laura Lee was sure that would make it harder to trip West up.
“One step at a time,” Garcia said. “We have three challenges to get through today before we think about West getting back in touch with you.”