as evidence until the case against Lily and Heather is settled. So we’ll need to check some kilos out of the evidence locker to use for the trade,” Nick said to his boss. “Do we have that much on hand?”
Waverly shook his head. “I doubt it. Other than that bar raid, we haven’t made a cocaine bust in quite some time. Any cocaine we’ve confiscated would have already been destroyed.”
“We’ve got that much,” Rickloff said. “Not a problem. I can have an agent bring the drugs down to the Keys and meet up with you.”
“Good. We can place a couple of guys up the street here, and down here.” Nick pointed to the map. “Gonzalez chose a good spot. There aren’t a lot of hiding places. Maybe we could bring a few guys in from the water, have them hide out in a boat at the dock behind the bar.”
“All right,” Rickloff said.
“We’ll have to pick an undercover agent who can pass for Heather in dim light.” Nick glanced at Heather. “Five-two, small build, long, curly brown hair, blue eyes. Do you have any agents like that in your Miami office?”
Rickloff shook his head. “I don’t have any women in my office.”
Why did that not surprise him? Nick shook his head. He was less and less impressed with Rickloff the more he learned about him.
“I know the Keys office has some women, several of whom might be good candidates,” Nick said.
Rickloff shook his head again. “I’m not ready to involve that office just yet.”
Nick’s suspicion that Rickloff might be trying to hide his operation from the Key West office had just been confirmed. But since neither his nor Rafe’s boss were saying anything, he decided to let it go. For now.
“All right. There are five women in our unit here in Saint Augustine,” Nick said. “But they’re all taller than Heather.” He glanced at Rafe. “Do you have any policewomen who could pass for Heather?”
Rafe shook his head. “I don’t know anyone that small in stature here.”
“There has to be someone we could use,” Nick said. “We’ve got a state trooper headquarters down State Road 16. And the Saint Johns County Sheriff’s Office isn’t far from here. Or we could even ask for help from Jacksonville. Rafe, could you contact the other offices, see if they have someone available who fits the physical profile? The eye color may not matter. They could wear colored contacts.”
Rafe nodded and pulled out his phone, but Rickloff shook his head.
“This is too important to risk using a look-alike when we’ve got an exact match for Heather Bannon sitting right in this room.”
Nick swore under his breath. “You want to use Heather as bait.”
“What I want, Special Agent Morgan,” Rickloff snapped, “is to ensure that nothing goes wrong with this operation. We have a unique opportunity here. No matter what I’ve tried over the years, when it comes to Gonzalez, nothing sticks. I would have rather gone with my original plan to use Lily so I could get Gonzalez on drug charges. But they caught Capone for tax evasion. If I have to settle with getting Gonzalez for kidnapping, so be it. As long as I can put him away, that’s what matters.”
Nick stared at him in disbelief. “What matters is that we catch the bad guys without risking the lives of civilians. And please tell me you didn’t just categorize a woman’s abduction as a ‘unique opportunity.’”
Rickloff’s face flushed. “Poor choice of words.”
“You think?” Nick crossed his arms. “You have the note. You have the time and location to make the trade. All you have to do is send in a team with an undercover policewoman and four kilos. If Gonzalez or his men show up, great. You save Lily.” He thumped his fist on the table. “And you don’t risk the life of another innocent civilian by using her as bait.”
Rickloff shook his head. “Gonzalez and his men know Lily too well. They’ll expect her identical twin to look just like her. They won’t fall for a stand-in.”
“She’ll keep to the shadows. Wear the same clothes, a wig. It will work,” Nick insisted.
“If Gonzalez realizes we tried to trick him, he’ll kill his hostage.”
“You don’t know that,” Nick said.
“I’ll do it.” Heather’s soft voice broke through the argument and everyone looked at her. She swallowed hard and fisted her hands on the table. “I’ll be the bait. I don’t want to risk my sister’s life by using some other woman to pretend to be me. I’ll do it.”
Nick braced his hands on the table. “You are not getting anywhere near Gonzalez.”
“Tom,” Rickloff said, addressing the ADA. “Are you willing to give Heather Bannon the same deal we were proposing for her sister earlier?”
Tom nodded. “We are. Her full cooperation in exchange for dropping the charges.”
Heather glanced at Tom. “Drop the charges against my sister, too.”
“Done.”
“Then it’s settled.” Rickloff rubbed his hands back and forth. “Agent Morgan, you’ll escort Miss Bannon into the bar. I’m not sending a civilian in there alone.”
“Right, because you’re so worried about her safety,” Nick said, not bothering to hide his sarcasm.
“Nick,” Waverly admonished. “You don’t have anything to bargain with here. If you won’t agree to this plan, we’ll send a different agent to back up Miss Bannon.”
“Really? Who? Who else could you send that has a built-in cover already? If you send someone without a solid cover, you risk Gonzalez thinking the DEA is involved. He’ll kill Lily without even attempting an exchange.”
Heather sucked in a breath.
Nick immediately regretted his candor. “I could be wrong.” He didn’t believe that, but he didn’t want Heather to give up hope, either.
“Your concern for Heather Bannon’s welfare is commendable,” Rickloff said. “But you’re overthinking this. We’ll have backup nearby. She won’t be in any true danger.”
Rafe made a sound of disgust.
His boss shot him an admonishing look.
“If Gonzalez pulls a gun on Heather,” Nick asked, “can your backup get there faster than a bullet?”
Rickloff’s jaw went rigid. “If you’re convinced we can’t protect her, then agree to the plan. You can be the one to protect her. You’ll buy us the time we need to move in if something goes wrong.”
Nick shook his head. “Find another way to save Lily and bring down Gonzalez. I’ll take my chances with Internal Affairs. And Heather can take her chances with the judge.”
He strode toward the door and yanked it open.
“Nick, wait,” Heather called out.
