Searching For Jenna novel Chapter 22

The place made you feel like you had stepped into the late eighteen hundreds with solid wood booths, tables, and a bar that were decorated with red and gold that matched Sandy's family crest that she had painted above the bar. It also has a twenty-first-century appeal with phone charging stations built into the bar and free Wi-Fi. There was no big screen TV's to watch games on like a lot of the other bars and pubs. Sandy wanted this to be a place you could visit with friends without having to scream over the sound of ball games.

Sandy had thought about having the staff dress in the old world style, but none of the staff she'd hired had been willing to dress in period costumes. Elliot would have been game if he could dress like a pirate, but no one else would go for it.

Working with Sandy was so easy and fun that Elliot had almost forgotten the real reason he was here. He was watching for the men who hunted with his father. Elliot was also working on bringing the Cobra's leadership to the restaurant, or at least get them to request the restaurant to cater a party for them, by creating some delicious wild game dishes. Elliot knew that his father liked to eat what he'd killed, but if you didn't know how to cook wild game correctly, it was very nasty.

The new kitchen gave Elliot more space to cook and create. The seating was rearranged to provide the restaurant with an intimate atmosphere. Elliot's new menu was bringing in people from all walks of life including many of the Morehead State University students, as well as local fisherman and hunters. The restaurant was a perfect place to take a date, or to gather with friends and family.

Sandy had long-term plans for the restaurant since it was part of her retirement plan. She planned on staying long after the FBI's sting operation against the leadership of the Cobra Cartel was completed. Elliot wasn't sure what he was going to do after the cartel was brought down, but he wasn't going to worry about that until the time came.

After a few of the hunters had tried Elliot's wild game dishes, some of the hunters asked them to prepare their wild game meat for long-term storage during the hunting season. Sandy was happy to oblige the hunters, knowing that this could create long-term income that would supplement her pension check.

One of the guys Sandy hired to work at the bar was a twenty-six-year-old smartass named Steven Hardin. Elliot could barely stand the guy, but Steven was a local fisherman and hunter. When Steven interviewed with Sandy, he said he was looking for a job he could do when he wasn't hunting or fishing. For Sandy, Steven could be a potential gold mine. He has a lot of connections in the local hunting and fishing community who might be interested in selling their catch to Sandy.

Sandy was also confident they could get the information they needed about the groups who hunted in this area from Steven. He probably knew the guys involved in the cartel and had no idea what they were into.

Based on what the FBI knew about Cobra One, the apparent leader of the cartel, was that he came across as just another good ole' boy. They were convinced that he worked in law enforcement, or had enough knowledge of the legal system, to know how to get his victims without raising too many flags. The cartel had been run flawlessly until too many girls from the same area went missing and had been arrested by the same police officer, Michael Matthews.

"Looks like you are," Jason commented. Jason was a small man, only five foot, five inches. He was very laid back and let very little bother him. He ignored all of Steven's racist, sexist, and prejudice comments.

Elliot had a harder time ignoring Steven. He knew it was because Steven's snide comments hit home more than Elliot wanted to admit. Elliot wondered if he didn't have the secrets he did if Steven's remarks would bother him.

"Sandy said a beer shipment arrived earlier. She wants you to get the coolers restocked for tonight's dinner crowd," Elliot said as Steven headed to the bar area to prep for the opening.

Sandy had initially opened the restaurant for lunch and dinner, but they hadn't had much of a lunch crowd so now they were only open for dinner. They opened at three so the people who wanted an early meal could come in. They were always busy between five and eight. More often than not, they had a line of people waiting to get in.