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.”

“Tanner, we’re headed to Nashville to check into our hotel there. If you figure out where he’s staying, let us know, and we’ll head in that direction. It’ll be slow going with the roads, but we shouldn’t have any issues.”

“Roger that.”

“Well, at least we know he’s in Nashville or was as of last night. By the time we get there, hopefully, we’ll know where he’s staying and can track him down,” said Matt.

“Eat up,” said Carl. “This might be our last good meal today.”

The drive to Nashville was slow, but the roads were better than expected. Checking into their hotel, Tanner sent a text letting them know someone under one of Archie’s aliases checked into a hotel just a few blocks away.

Breaking off into groups of three, they casually walked the blocks toward his hotel. Jonas, Carl, and Ham walked inside the posh luxury hotel and smiled at the young woman at the desk.

“Good morning,” smiled Jonas.

“Good morning,” she said with a bright smile.

“I’m supposed to meet up with an old college buddy, but he didn’t give me his room number. He’s a real jokester, so he’s either under his real name of Archie Mansur, or he sometimes uses a fake name, Justin Bell. He says it keeps the women away,” he smiled with a wink. The young woman laughed, blushing at the attention of the handsome man.

“I do have Mr. Bell checked in, but he left about twenty minutes ago. He asked about upscale men’s boutiques and a few good steakhouses.” She wrote down several names on a sheet of paper and handed it to him. “These are what I recommended. Should I tell him you were here if he returns?”

“Oh, no. We’ll find him,” grinned Ham. As they walked away, they heard Tanner’s voice in their earpiece.

“Room 1227.”

While they had been standing so close to the desk clerk, back home, they were using their secret squirrel technology to hack into the hotel computer and find the room number.

“On it,” said Rett, walking toward the elevator with Conor. A few moments later, they easily got into the room and began a search of the space. He’d definitely been on a shopping spree with more clothing than he had the previous times and enough cologne to choke a horse.

“Geez, it smells like a cheap nightclub in here,” frowned Conor.

“Maybe that’s where he’s headed. The clubs around here typically open early,” said Rett. “Let’s get back downstairs.”

With what little information they had from his room, the men followed the directions the clerk had given them about potential locations he was headed to. The first stop was an upscale boutique that seemed out of place on the streets of Nashville.

“This doesn’t fit my idea of Nashville,” frowned Jonas.

“Mine either,” said Carl. “Excuse me, sir. Have you seen this man come in this morning? He’s a friend of ours, and we think he might be off his meds.”

“Oh, he’s definitely off his meds,” frowned the man. “We carry some of the finest brands of menswear, and he snubbed our entire line! I’ve never been so offended in all my life.”

“Was he asking for something in particular?” asked Garr.

“Ridiculous clothing brands from Italy and France. Who wears those things in Nashville?!”

“I don’t know,” smiled Garr. “Did he purchase anything?”

“Only a sport coat that he criticized the entire time he was paying for it. That sport coat is only carried by the top boutiques and stores in the area. It’s not like he was buying from a damn department store or thrift store. We cater to some of the top Nashville stars.

“I hope he’s not a good friend. I have to confess I charged him ten percent more just because he was being an ass.”

The men all laughed, shaking their heads.

“What did the coat look like?” asked Carl. The man held one up in blue and turned it for them to see.

“He bought the one in black that I had in his size. Nothing special, but then again, neither was he. The thing that should stand out is the crest on the breast of the coat. It’s quite warm, made from pure virgin wool. He won’t need a winter coat over it unless he goes north. I should tell you that your friend has a terrible dye job on his hair, by the way. He obviously did it himself.”

The men all nodded, smirking at the gentleman.

“As we said, we think he’s off his meds.”