Searching For Jenna novel Chapter 20

Mark looked around making sure that no one was within earshot. "They found that girl's body."

Elliot did the same scan of the people and leaned closer to them before asking, "When?"

"Two weeks ago," Mark said. "Some kids were fishing on a tributary of the Ohio River in Henderson, Kentucky and found a partial skeleton washed up on the shore. The medical examiner extracted DNA from the bones, and they matched it to the girl you identified as the person in your father's freezer."

Elliot ran a nervous hand through his hair. "Wow. So what happens now?"

"The agents who've been working in Evansville are compiling evidence of other offenses your father has committed. They'll put it all together and bring him in on multiple charges at once and then offer him a plea package to give up the names of the people in charge of the human trafficking ring," Mark explained.

"When will I have to testify?" Elliot asked.

"It will be a few months probably, but we wanted to give you time to prepare yourself mentally," Dana said.

Elliot leaned over the table, closer to Mark and Dana, and asked in a whisper, "Do I have to testify as Jenna?"

"We'll talk to the DA about your new situation when the time comes and see what he says," Mark said.

"If anything, it would be for one day," Dana assured Elliot.

Looking away, Elliot nodded silently. It will be hard to do that. Fortunately, no one in his life now would know it was him. His life here was so different from when he'd lived in Evansville. He was almost finished with school, had a great job, a nice apartment, and a few good friends. None of whom knew his deepest secret that he was physically still a woman.

"There's another reason we came to talk to you in person," Mark said.

Elliot turned and looked at him. "What's that?"

Mark looked at Dana, who chewed at her lower lip. "Someone has been tracking your father."

"What do you mean, tracking him?" Elliot asked.

"Your father found a tracking device on his truck last week," Mark said. "We also have a tracking item on his truck, but ours is more sophisticated and harder to find. Your father found out who was tracking him, and now he's tracking her."

Elliot was confused. Who would be tracking his father if it was not the FBI, or some other law enforcement agency? He looked from Mark to Dana, neither would look him in the eye. Then, it hit him and he sucked in his breath. "Cara?"

"What?" Elliot asked.

"We don't think your father is going to do anything before the Fourth of July. The news on the grapevine is that the leaders of the human trafficking ring your father is working with are going to have a big powwow at Cave Run Lake over the Fourth. If that's true, there has to be someone around Cave Run Lake who is making the arrangements for the party. We've got a couple of people in the area doing surveillance," Dana said. "One of the guys said that he was surprised that there wasn't a restaurant near the lake that served freshwater fish." She looked at Mark. "We were discussing it with headquarters and found out that there's an agent, Sandy Cannon, who just retired who was interested in opening a new restaurant near Cave Run. The Bureau is going to help Sandy open the restaurant, and Sandy is going to help get information about the Cartel."

Elliot furrowed his brow and looked at Dana questioningly. "Someone is going to open a restaurant just to help bust this ring of human traffickers?"

"No," Mark answered. "Former Special Agent Sandy Cannon is from Mayfield, Kentucky and was planning on opening a restaurant there. After she checked out Cave Run Lake, she fell in love with the area. She, too, was surprised that there wasn't a restaurant that specializes in freshwater fish, so she decided to open one."

"So she's already opened the restaurant?" Elliot asked.

"Yes," Mark answered. "And it's doing really well. One of the other agents who was doing surveillance offered to get in with the local hunters and fishermen. Hopefully, he will find out who is the local contact for the Cobra Cartel. We know that fishing and hunting are part of what ties the leaders of the Cobras together."

"How big is this organization?" Elliot asked.

"It's not as big as some of the organized crime families, nor is it as big as some of the gangs involved in this type of activity. We think there are roughly fifty footmen who do everything from acquiring girls and boys for the prostitution to selling drugs. We believe there are only eight to ten people who are actually in the leadership. If our intelligence is correct, there's only one guy who is in charge of the whole thing," Dana explained. "Your father is one of four men that are considered the waste management. They get rid of dead bodies and cover up the mess so that it doesn't link back to the Cobras."