“It might be nothing. I just have a weird feeling.”
“What’s the plate?” Clint asked.
Lonnie rattled it off and pulled away from the back entrance of the hotel and drove down the street to circle around to the parking lot. When he drove by the other van, the men stared at him as he stared back before they put theirs in gear and sped off.
Something wasn’t right, but with as many people as there were attending this event, he wasn’t sure who they were after. But he had an uneasy feeling it might have to do with Alexis.
“It’s a rental,” Clint said.
“Any way you can find out who rented it?”
“On it. It’ll take a few minutes though. I’ll call you back.”
They ended the call, and Lonnie parked the van at the back of the parking lot. He would definitely be walking Alexis to her car later. He didn’t see the van again as he walked back inside, but he was now on high alert. The hotel was already getting busy with the paparazzi gathering outside, hoping to see someone famous. There had been rumors of a famous pop star who might be in attendance, plus some local celebrities.
As promised, Clint called back only a few minutes later. “So the van was rented by a John Doe.”
“Obviously an alias.”
“Yep. So, I did some searching based on the ID they provided to the rental company. The photo is linked to a man named Hugh Jackson. He works for a drug overlord named Vic Espinoza. Vic is currently in prison awaiting trial.”
Lonnie stopped in the hallway outside the ballroom and leaned against a wall. He lowered his voice as people walked by. “What’s he awaiting trial for?”
“It seems his girlfriend witnessed him murder someone. He’s linked to a string of murders, but they’ve never been able to get anything to stick. But his ex agreed to testify.”
“Who’s his ex?”
“Her name is Samantha White. Her whereabouts are unknown, but dude, she looks a lot like Alexis. I’m sending you a photo now.”
Lonnie opened the private texting app they communicated through and stared in horror as Alexis’s face popped onto the screen. There was no doubt in his mind that it was Alexis, just with different colored hair.
“Thanks. Can you pass all this information on to Cass? I want everyone to keep an eye out for these guys,” Lonnie said, rushing into the ballroom.
Alexis stood at the dessert table with Melissa, placing the desserts on display. He sighed with relief and looked at all thedoors. There were too many entrances to this place. It would be easy for anyone to come in at any time, especially when there were likely several men in that van, and they had no clue who they were looking for.
“You got it. Would you like Amy and I to come down and help?”
“Please.”
“We’ll be there soon.”
Lonnie ended the call and quickly walked toward Alexis. She smiled up at him, but her face immediately sobered.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
Lonnie took her by the elbow and led her away from the dessert table. “Is there any chance you can have Melissa finish up? I need to talk to you.”
“Sure.” Alexis spoke with Melissa for a second, who said she could handle the rest. Then she followed Lonnie out of the ballroom and to the elevators.
“Where are we going?”
“My room.”
Alexis giggled. “Um. What’s going on?”
Lonnie waited until they were inside the elevator and then looked in both directions before the doors shut. He didn’t see anyone in the lobby to be suspicious of, but he couldn’t be too careful.
“I’ll tell you when we get there.”
