Chapter Fourteen
Rick was getting impatient, but he could understand why Jake wanted him to wait before having contact with Wes Montgomery.
“Now that you’ve found out that you’re going to need that surgery, I’m not sure you’re too anxious to return to active duty and sit behind a desk or handle training,” Jake said dryly.
“You’d be right. I’ve done my share of that,” Rick replied. “I’m beginning to think that I should work full time with AFOSI. I never realized how much this kind of work would interest me, although I’ve spent more time doing research for you and studying your files about the past trafficking operations that you’ve uncovered.”
“You needed to know what to look for,” Jake observed. “But I think I’m going to see how you get along with Montgomery tonight. He should be there at the same local bar he hangs out at every week. I think you should feel him out and see what he has to say. Have you got your new identity down?”
“I do,” Rick replied. “Dishonorably discharged airman, Rick Andrews.”
“It gives you a reason why no one will hire you, plus it’s good to stick with a past occupation you can complain about in detail.”
“So, this place where he hangs out is on the lake?”
“Yes. He’s usually here in Crystal Rock about once a week, on Thursday. We saw him driving the truck today. The boat registration says it belongs to him, but he uses the address in Rice Lake for everything. He owns the marina, so there are several cruisers in his name. No one’s been able to follow him because it would be too obvious. He’s usually here in town when there’s not much going on.”
“So, if I can get a job at the marina, I can probably keep an eye on him and let you know about his comings and goings.”
Jake shrugged. “Let’s not count on that yet. That might be too obvious anyway. Let’s just see if you can relate to him or not.”
“So, I’ll go over there tonight,” Rick said.
“I’d go in there about seven,” Jake said. “That beard does a good job of disguising who you are. Steve mentioned that someone might have recognized you.”
“I didn’t get a chance to see who it was.”
Jake nodded. “Well, this bar that Montgomery hangs out at is a hole in the wall, so I doubt if anyone you were close to in the past would be there.”
“I was pretty young, and I’ve changed quite a bit since then,” Rick agreed.
“I’ll have someone there keeping an eye on you,” Jake said reassuringly.
“Alright,” Rick agreed.
* * *
Gil’s was located on the outskirts of town. Jake had been right, Rick had to admit. The place was a dive. There was a mixed crowd inside—fishermen, bikers and their babes, and an assortment of guys at the bar who were factory workers from a nearby town.
They did serve food though, and surprisingly, whatever they were cooking smelled good.
Glancing around, he noticed that most everyone was drinking bottled beer, except for the bikers who had pitchers resting in the center of the table. He went along with the crowd, ordering a beer as he took a seat by himself at the end of the bar.
A couple of guys were playing pool and were looking to partner up. Since they didn’t appear to want to stir up trouble, after one of them found a partner, Rick thought it would be worth the risk to volunteer to play with the other.
One game he knew how to play well was pool, so he was patient, drawing out conversation from all three men, two who just happened to work at Montgomery Marina in Rice Lake but lived in Crystal Rock. That probably explained why Wes Montgomery hung out here. If he drank as much as reported, he was probably able to get a ride home to Rice Lake the following day with someone who knew him.
But maybe Wes did have a place here in Crystal Rock, just not in his name.
Eventually, Rick’s patience worked out. Around eight, Wes Montgomery walked into the bar ahead of another younger man who looked slightly familiar.
They sat at the end of the bar where Rick had been sitting earlier, both ordering drinks. Who was that younger guy? He knew him from somewhere. He was probably about Brian’s age.
That’s right. The guy had gone to high school with Brian and was kind of a leech. No one really liked him. Supposedly, he thought he was God’s gift to women and had come on to about every girl in the senior class.
Wade was his name—Wade Armstrong.
And then Rick suddenly remembered something that Brian had once said. There were rumors going around that Wade had raped a girl.
But then a chill ran up and down Ric’s spine, remembering the kid in the Camaro who’d dropped Shanna Weldon off in the high school parking lot, the first time they’d talked as teenagers.
It wasn’t a coincidence that he was hanging around with Wes Montgomery, then.
Rick kept playing pool and somehow his skills must have got him noticed, because before long, he was in a showdown with one of the guys after they’d quit playing with partners. After calling and shooting each ball into its pocket, he finally tapped in the eight and called it a night.
He joined Wes Montgomery and Wade Armstrong at the end of the bar, leaving an open seat between him and Wes. The guy he’d just beat called out an order for the beer that Rick had won from him. Thankfully, there were no big stakes, because Rick hadn’t brought along much cash.
Rick caught bits and pieces of the conversation between Wes and Wade. It sounded like they were going away for a while, he realized, on some kind of road trip.
Rick frowned. That meant he’d better do something now to get some attention. When the bartender finally approached with his beer, Rick leaned over. “Hey, have you heard about any job openings around here?”
“What kind of experience have you got?” the bartender asked.
“I’m ex-Air Force. Does that count for anything?” Rick replied.
The bartender pursed his lips. “Hey, Wes? Are you still looking for help at the marina?”
Wes glanced at Rick, giving him a once over. It wasn’t the first time tonight. He’d been eyeing Rick when he’d been playing pool a few minutes earlier.
Obviously disinterested, Wade Armstrong stood. “I’ll be back in about an hour, Wes. Will you be ready to head out?”
“I’ll be ready,” Wes answered, still staring at Rick. “Have you got any experience with speedboats or motors? What I could really use is a salesman.”
“I can drive, ski. Use a snowmobile, or jet ski,” Rick admitted. “I can be persuasive. But I’m not averse to manual labor.”
Wes pursed his lips. “We’re located in Rice Lake. If you’re interested, go to Montgomery Marina and fill out an application. I’ll check it out and give you a call if we can use you.”
“Okay.”
“Have you got family here?” he asked.
“In the state,” Rick replied. “We used to come here for vacations when we were kids.”
Wes nodded, surprising him by talking a little bit about Crystal Rock Lake and the fishing. He seemed to be a lot drunker than Rick first thought. In fact, maybe he wouldn’t even remember speaking with Rick the following day, but the longer they talked, the more certain Rick was that Wes would hire him.
What surprised him was that he didn’t appear to be the bad guy he was supposed to be. But how could you truly identify someone you suspect of being a pedophile as well as a member of one of the most prolific human trafficking rings in the state, or maybe even the country, just by their manner or appearance?
When Wade returned, Wes stood, nodding at Rick.
“Night,” Rick called out as Wes and Wade made their way through the bar toward the exit.
Trying not to be in too much of a hurry, Rick continued to sit at the bar, finally finishing his beer.
Another twenty minutes later, Rick arrived back home. As he walked inside, his phone began to ring.
“How’d it go? I heard you play a mean game of eight ball,” Jake said. “My guy in the bar said the two of you seemed to get along.”
“Yeah, I think it went well. I asked the bartender if he knew about any job openings and he was the one who introduced me, so there were no suspicions about me as far as I could tell. I’m supposed to go in and fill out an application. He’s looking for a salesman.”
“You might as well go do it tomorrow. I don’t think it’ll make you appear anxious. I’ve got a spin you can use. You need an operation on your knee, but you don’t have insurance, so you’re looking to make as much money as you can,” Jake said.
“I’m surprised I didn’t think about that myself. At least if I’m working in Eau Claire, I’m probably not going to run into Brian or Ashley. I can’t believe they’re back together.”
“I can’t believe I forgot to mention it sooner,” Jake replied. “Especially since they’re both working for me in a roundabout way. Brian’s probably going to be at the rehab center, so we need to make sure that you don’t cross paths.”
“I can probably make do on my own if I pick up some equipment,” Rick admitted. “That’s what I might have to do anyway if I end up working in Rice Lake. If I get the job and it’s full time, I’ll have to rent an apartment, I suppose.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Jake replied. “Alright. Give me a call tomorrow.”
“Will do,” Rick muttered, disconnecting.
* * *
Rick drove the twenty minutes to Rice Lake the following morning and filled out an application at the marina. Wes didn’t appear to be there, and the guy that was working behind the counter didn’t say much when he handed over the blank application.
“I met Wes last night, and he told me to come in and fill out the application,” Rick said, when he handed it back over.
He looked surprised. “He doesn’t do things like that much. I’ll let him know that you were here and filled it out. He should be in soon.”
There hadn’t been an online form to fill out, but judging by the surveillance cameras in the place, Wes might have wanted to check people out when they applied so there wouldn’t be any surprises.
Apparently, Jake owned some properties in Rice Lake, and he’d given Rick the address of an old house he owned and occasionally rented out, so Rick drove by to take a look. It would be a good place to live, he decided. It was on a shady street, with very few other homes, and it’d be close to work if he got the job.
He decided to hang around for a while and have lunch, just in case he got a call back from the marina.
But apparently, they weren’t in any hurry to hire, so once Rick was finished with lunch, he headed back to Crystal Rock.
After he was back at the house, he gave Jake a call.
“I hung around for a while to see if I’d get a call back, but nothing yet,” Rick said.
“Well, it’s off season, although they do offer vehicle storage, so I imagine they might need help with that before the cold weather kicks in for good,” Jake replied. “Meanwhile, I’ve got some work for you to do from home. That’s the drudgery of being undercover. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of watching and waiting involved.”
“Alright, sounds good. Especially now that I have to be careful about running into my brother,” Rick replied. “Dad would be happy to see what I’ve done with his office.”
“Thankfully, everything you need can be ordered online and brought to your door,” Jake said. “I have a feeling you’ll hear back from the marina within the week.”
“I’ll sit tight then,” Rick replied.
He couldn’t help thinking about Shanna again when he disconnected with Jake. What was really going on there? It had kind of thrown him, the obvious regard Montgomery seemed to have for her. Was it some form of Stockholm Syndrome that Shanna was exhibiting?
Rick refused to believe that she would actually be working with the traffickers.