“A team is ready to execute a search warrant on Otis’s house the second the stay is lifted,” he told her.
“Excellent,” she replied. “By the way, Hannah’s going to need undercover cops watching her at school today for reasons I’ll explain when we talk in person.”
“Speaking of in-person conversations, check in with Jamil when you get to the station. He has some updates for you.”
When Nurse Patty came to relieve Nurse John, Jessie and Hannah left too. Ryan was still asleep so Jessie asked Patty to call when he woke up so she could say good morning.
“Our plan for your school day is being revised,” she told Hannah when they were in the car. “We’ll be making a pit stop at the police station first. I’ll explain everything soon.”
Once they arrived at the station, everything happened in quick succession. She pulled up in front.
“We’re here,” she texted Decker.
A minute later he and Detective Parker emerged and hopped in the back seat of the car. Jessie made the two-minute drive to Nickel Diner, where she’d had so many heart to heart conversations with Garland Moses. But this visit would be different.
When they walked in a server ushered them to the secluded banquette in the back corner, one that Decker had called to reserve. All three law enforcement professionals were equally paranoid that the police station wasn’t safe for extremely sensitive conversations. And after their multiple chats in the courtyard, Jessie noted that she was worried that someone might have even placed a listening device out there. The hope was that moving quickly and unexpectedly, they could stay ahead of prying ears.
“Give it to us quick. I don’t know how long we have,” Decker said as soon as they sat down. He pulled out a small box and placed it on the table. “This is a high frequency blocking device. It should offer some temporary protection.”
Jessie dived in, giving the basics of Hannah’s story while simultaneously sending Decker and Parker the audio recording, license plate, and photo of Elodie Peters. She mentioned the planned meeting with Rico’s boss this afternoon. Parker, her head down, furiously took notes the whole time. When Jessie finished, the detective spoke quickly.
“Here’s what I recommend. Based on your request to the captain earlier, we already have two undercover officers lined up for the day, one male and one female. They’re both experienced in high school environments. We’re already coordinating with the school for at least one of them to be in each of Hannah’s classes throughout the day. The other will tail Elodie.”
“Won’t that seem suspicious to her?” Hannah asked. “Two new kids showing up in her classes?”
“Unlikely,” Parker said. “We’ll rotate them. They won’t interact with her more than necessary. There’s no reason she would make any connection. Hannah—after school you will ride with one officer to the corner where Rico expects to meet you and identify him in his vehicle. That will be the extent of your involvement.”
Jessie was relieved to hear that, even as she saw that Hannah was disappointed.
“Wouldn’t it be better for me to play along so that he takes me to meet his boss?” she asked.
“It’s too risky,” Parker said. “The minute you get in his car, hell, the minute he sees you, you’re in jeopardy. As Jessie said, they may have already looked into your background. If they have, they might have figured out that your story doesn’t add up. We don’t know how Rico will react. We don’t know if he’ll have people with him. There are just too many variables. Instead, one officer will escort you home while the other follows Rico in conjunction with other unmarked units. We may ask you to text Elodie to have her tell Rico you’re not feeling well and need to postpone.”
“Why?” Hannah asked.
“We’ll need some excuse for you not to show up, no matter how lame,” Parker explained. “We don’t want Rico to get spooked. We still want him to go to his boss’s place this afternoon.”
Hannah seemed unhappy with the plan but Parker, unmoved, fixed her steady gaze on the girl.
“Your job, other than to text Elodie that you’re cancelling the meet, is to have a normal day. Go to your classes. Do your work. If Elodie approaches you, act as if everything is still on for this afternoon. Don’t try to record her or get additional information. We don’t want to spook her either and have her warn Rico off. Is that all clear?”