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This man was a godsend. “That would be much appreciated,” Grayson said.
They all sat down. “Can you give us a rundown of what happened?” Jay asked.
Rider and Grayson filled in the men. “Delancey might be Paris’ biological father, but he only just learned he had a daughter. From what Paris has told us, he claimed her mom and then left, never to return,” Grayson said.
The men were rightfully angry.
“Jay, what are your thoughts?” Rider asked.
“When the general told me that a relative of Paul Statler’s was on his way, I had to think what Paul told me about his different homes. Of course, he had his main residence just north of Tampa, but Delancey wouldn’t go there.”
“He’d want some place that was secluded, I’d bet,” Rider said.
“Unless he wants us to follow him,” Grayson added.
“If he wanted you to follow him, why fly to Florida?” Jay asked.
“To bide some time. He’ll want to do some kind of plea bargaining. He'll say he'll free Paris if we agree not to come after him for the cocaine lab,” Rider said.
Jay huffed out a laugh. “Go ahead and promise him what you want, but the general won’t let that stop him from taking down Delancey.”
“You’re right about that,” Rider said.
“You said you might be able to track Paris?” Jay asked.
Grayson pulled out a phone. “Let me download the app on my US cell phone and see. She’d have to be within one-hundred miles for it to work.”
“Give it a try,” Jay urged.
Grayson downloaded the app. “Nothing shows up. Sorry.“
Jay looked off to the side. “Statler often said he preferred living in the woods. He owned a small house near Gainesville, which is about two and half hours from here. It's possible Delancey will hole up there.”
Jay must not know that both he and Rider were from Tampa and knew where that was. “Do any of you have access to a drone? Preferably one with an infrared camera?”
“I don’t,” Jay said. “But I can give Trax Fielding a call. He doesn’t live too far from here. It would be best if he came with us and fly the thing. They can be tricky to maneuver.”
Grayson smiled. “I am well aware of that.”
Jay contacted the security experts. They’d worked the last case with Rider and had helped Grayson with his security skills.
“Are you available now?” Jay asked. “We’re at the general’s house…Great. How long will it take you to get here?” He smiled. “Say hi to Liz for me.” He disconnected and faced the others. “They’re on their way.”
True to their words, Trax and Dante Fielding arrived in less than half an hour. They brought two different drones as well as some camera and sound equipment for picking up conversations.
While he and Rider were waiting for those two to arrive, Jay had called in a few favors. “I have an address,” he announced once he hung up. “The house near Gainesville actually belonged to Statler’s parents, who are deceased. My contact didn’t know if it was passed onto Delancey or not, but it's worth a look.”
“Do you know of any other homes Statler owned, other than his main house and the one in Gainesville?” Rider said. “If there are more, we could split up. Or do you think Delancey will call in favors from his Colter buddies to keep watch on all of the houses in case we make an appearance?”
Grayson wasn’t sure how Jay would know.
He shrugged. “If this were Statler who’d kidnapped Paris, he’d have all of the places well protected. I don’t know Delancey, so I can’t say what he’d do.”
“I vote we all go to this cabin in the woods. I think Delancey would want to hide out for a while,” Rider said.
“Trax, are you and Dante free to join us?” Grayson asked.
“We’re good to go.”
