“Yes, ma’am. My point is that I had it on the entire time we were in this room. If I’m not mistaken, you can track the conversations that I recorded over the last few days, including a conversation that Mr. Mansur was having in the hallway with someone.”
“Dude, you are so on our good side right now,” laughed Ham. He slapped the younger man on the back, laughing, and he choked, coughing it was so hard. “Sorry, brother. Don’t know my own strength sometimes.”
“It’s all good, sir.” He took off the device and handed it to Sophia Ann, who immediately went to work on the recordings. “I’ll leave you to it.”
“Hunt? When do you get out?” asked Carl.
“A little over a year, sir.”
“Call us when you do. If you’re interested,” said Carl.
“Interested? Sir, I’d have to be deaf, dumb, blind, and stupid not to be interested. I am more than interested.” The colonel laughed, shaking his head at the group.
“Captain Morgan? Nice job. Let’s meet tomorrow if the weather allows us to get into the office. For now, get home before you’re socked in here.”
“Yes, sir,” she nodded.
Morgan walked the team back to their exit and waited for them to button their coats.
“Be safe driving out there. It’s a mess,” she said, smiling.
“I can’t thank you enough, Jill,” said Georgie, hugging the other woman. “If you ever need us, don’t hesitate to call. We could always use another lawyer on our team.”
“Don’t screw with me, Georgie,” she laughed. “I could use a change of scenery, and my contract ends in June.”
“Then come and see us soon,” she said, hugging the other woman.
“Thanks for everything, Morgan,” grinned Ham. “Come see us, and you can babysit the triplets.”
“Pre-teen terrors? No thanks. I’ll stick to criminals,” she grinned. “Be safe out there, everyone.” Carl grinned at her, shaking his head.
“That’s always our intent, rarely our outcome.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
It took the team nearly an hour to drive eleven miles in the storm to their hotel. By the time they arrived, Evie and Autumn had a table ready for them in the restaurant. Sophia Ann was still downloading everything that Hunt had given them, listening to each conversation carefully for any clues as to Mansur’s whereabouts.
“We ordered some appetizers,” said Evie.
“How did you know when we’d arrive?” frowned Aiden.
“Sweetie, we all have trackers,” smirked Evie. “I follow all of you to be sure you don’t get into any trouble. I think of you all as my children.”
“Aw, thanks, Evie, but you’re too young to be my mom,” smiled Carl.
“Don’t tell your mother that,” she laughed. “How did it go?”
“We got the charges against Hunt dropped, and Mansur Sr. and Wentz are in custody. Unfortunately, Mansur doesn’t want to give up his son,” said Aiden. “But Hunt did us a solid and didn’t even know it. He had a secondary L412 on during his hearings. He recorded every conversation, even phone calls that were happening with Mansur and people on the other end of the line. With any luck, Sophia Ann will be able to pull something off of that.”
“Sounds like the kid was a help to us,” said Evie.
“He was a great help and good soldier,” said Ham. “He didn’t touch that woman, and it was clear that she was trying to frame him for something he didn’t do. The Japanese consul was embarrassed and immediately left, apologizing to him.”
“Is he VG material?” asked Autumn.
“We think so,” nodded Georgie.
The waiter set a few trays of appetizers on the table, and the team dove in, not realizing how hungry they’d become. The January nor’easter howled outside, the snow blowing sideways with the winds. You couldn’t even see across the street, let alone think you could drive or fly in the weather.
