“Archie, they won’t give your father bail. He’s been moved to a maximum-security federal prison, and there are new charges against him. I can’t even speak to him, and his own firm won’t even represent him.”
“Damn,” he uttered beneath his breath. “I’m sorry, Mom. I can’t help you. If I come back, they’ll arrest me, and then you’ll have no one.”
“Archie, I have no one now!” she screeched.
“Listen to me. You’ve always wanted to spend time in the South of France. Rent a villa or something and go. Take whatever cash you have on hand and leave the country as quickly as you can. Don’t tell anyone, not even the staff. Just go!”
“I-I don’t know how,” she whimpered.
“Jesus, Mother! You’re a grown woman with a college degree. Surely, you’re not that damn helpless. Find someone who can help you book the ticket. Use one of the fake IDs Father had made for us. How much cash do you have on hand?”
“I don’t know. Maybe a few million? He stashed in all the different safes around the house. I’ll have to count it.”
“Don’t count it, Mother. Contact Frank Bullock. He’s a private pilot that Dad would use for business trips to Europe. Tell him you need to get out of the country fast, and he’ll get you there.”
“What about you?” she asked, sniffling.
“I have something I need to get done. When I’ve done it, I’ll meet you in Europe, and we’ll spend some time traveling together. Does that sound good?”
“Oh, yes! That sounds wonderful,” she said, suddenly feeling lighter. “I’ll call Frank now and start packing. I knew you would know what to do. I’ll see you soon.”
“See you soon, Mom.”
He hung up the phone, staring at the television as his face flashed across the screen once again. Picking up the small hand-held mirror, he looked at his face, then back at the screen. Smiling, he set the mirror down.
“No one will ever know.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
By 0700 everyone was showered, dressed, and downstairs to eat breakfast. As the desk clerk had promised, the highway was cleared, and the roads were passable. They would need to use caution, but they should be able to get to Nashville without any issues. The challenge would be finding Archie. Hearing the tap in their ears, Carl spoke first.
“What do you have for us?”
“Good morning,”said Tanner.“We found our boy on camera coming out of a drugstore near Lexington. It took a while, but we were able to trace the purchase at the time of his departure to a receipt that had several snacks, a few sodas, some aspirin, and the winner – boxed hair dye.”
“Do we know what color?” asked Jonas.
“Chestnut. He should look lovely with that color. I’m sending an AI generated image of what we think he’ll look like with a beard and without.”
“You guys are the best,” said Jonas, looking at the table. “Any signs of him in the city?”
“No signs of him in Nashville, but his mother booked a private jet late last night to the South of France. There was no reason for security to detain her, as there aren’t any charges against her. D.C. police did go to the home with a legal search warrant and found that there were four safes, all empty of cash and jewels, but they still had multiple fake IDs for her husband.
“We did a search of the names on the IDs, just in case he did the same for the son, and we received a hit. He was in a hotel just outside of Nashville last night but checked out early this morning. We’re watching to see where he might check in tonight.”
“Fantastic news,” said Carl.
“Maybe not. We hacked into the hotel’s WiFi and found that he did a search of the AMA’s website last night. He was searching for where Khloe was registered to practice. We think he knows it’s Louisiana.”
All eyes turned to Jonas, waiting to see the panic come over him. Instead, they were surprised by his relative calm.
“I’m not worried. There are dozens of friends back home who will protect her. I’m sure you’ve told her to use caution,” said Jonas. “I don’t know if she’ll listen, but it would be great if she’d stay away from the clinic until this is done.”
“I’m impressed,” smiled Jak. “I don’t know that I could remain that calm.”
“I’m dying inside,” said Jonas, smiling at the other man. “But I trust all of you, here and at home. I know that you wouldn’t let anything happen to her.”
“We’ve got her, brother.”
