The Bartender's Guide To The Galaxy

19 - Diner Plans

The phone woke me up before the butt crack of dawn, and I squinted at the name on the screen. What was Jeffrey Mann calling about at this hour?

"Hello?"

"Hi, June. It's Jeffrey Mann. I apologize for waking you up."

"How do you know you woke me up?"

"You sound like a frog with a frog in its throat."

I cleared my throat. "Why are you calling so early?"

"I got a serious lead on your dad's location. And if you can cancel whatever plans you had for the day and drive to the gulf coast, we can investigate this lead."

"He was spotted in Florida?"

"Our friend hasn't put eyes on him, but they talked with a local who confirmed they've seen him. According to this source, he runs a charter boat service in Crystal River."

"Holy crap. That's ballsy. Why would he have stayed in the state where he's wanted?"

"I can think of two reasons—you and your mom. He's probably been keeping tabs on you."

I wasn't going to speculate about the reasons my dad would have stuck around. My guess was that he didn't want to lose his drug connections. "Okay. It's my day off. Where do you want to meet?"

"There's a gulf side diner called Big Betty's. From your location it should take you about two and a half hours, depending on I-four traffic."

"I'll take state road forty. I avoid the Disney turnpike like the plague."

"I don't blame you. Why don't we plan to meet between nine and nine-thirty and we'll do breakfast. If my intel is correct, we might spot him coming in for coffee."

My stomach took a dive at the thought of seeing my dad after all this time. I couldn't picture it as a happy reunion. "I don't know if I'm up for a confrontation with him."

"You don't have to confront him, June. We just need confirmation from someone who can positively identify him. Then one our people will serve him with the appropriate paperwork, and he'll be free to disappear again."

"What kind of paperwork?" I felt like I should have asked these questions before. This whole idea was sounding crazier by the minute.

"Our legal team has drafted a document with the relevant bar details you supplied. He'll be asked to sign it, along with a notarized affidavit proving his existence. This is standard stuff. It'll be quick and painless. Then you and your mom can do whatever you want with the bar."

Quick and painless, huh? I highly doubted that.

"I know it's feeling real right now," he said. "And this could be a false lead. Which means we'll have some food and a chat while we watch the waves roll in."

I didn't doubt Jeffrey was looking forward to cornering me in a booth while we waited to see if this lead was real. "Alright. I'll see you at the diner."

I jumped in the shower and my phone rang while I was shampooing my hair. I assumed it was Jeffrey with an update. Most reasonable people wouldn't call so early. I was wrong. The missed call belonged to Cabe. I had almost forgotten about his silent treatment last night.

"June."

"Cabe"

"You're awake."

"You're very observant."

"I just got a text from Jeffrey, so I figured you'd be awake."

"I see. Is that the only reason you called? Or was it to apologize for ghosting me last night?"