Page 39 of Lost Truth
“Of course.” Daisy stood and held out her hand. “You’re Percy’s daughter. I was so sorry to hear about his passing. He was such a good friend to Mayor Sutton.”
“Thank you,” Cady said and left it at that as she didn’t yet know how to react when someone offered their sympathy. Maybe it was something she would learn as time went on, but right now these interactions were uncomfortable. She did shake Daisy’s hand, though, as it would be awkward not to.
Daisy gave a sincere shake, then held out a manicured hand toward the chairs in front of her desk. “Please have a seat, and tell me how I can help you.”
Hayden pulled out a chair for Cady, then took the seat next to her. She didn’t often encounter men today who had such old-fashioned manners. Most guys she interacted with thought it was outdated. Probably because a lot of modern women didn’t like things like door opening and chair holding and wanted to demonstrate their own independence. She respected their choice, but she loved the considerate attention, and the more she got to know him, the more she liked him.
“We’ve come about the incident at the surf shop,” he said. “I’m sure being the mayor’s assistant you’ve heard about it.”
“Sickening.” Daisy clasped her hands together on the desk. “I sure hope our sweet Kai wasn’t involved in such a horrible thing, but it doesn’t look good for him. Not when the women were found in the cave beneath his property with the only exit being through his shop.”
Hayden nodded.
Daisy stared at him. “I’m not sure how I can help, though. Unless of course you want to schedule an appointment with the mayor to discuss it. That I can help you with.”
“No,” Hayden said. “This is about Mayor Sutton.”
“Ernie.” Daisy looked off into the distance. “But Ernie’s been gone for months. How could he have any part in trafficking these women?”
Hayden shared the information they’d learned, leaving Cady’s father out of it.
Daisy fell back into her chair and gripped the arms, her fingers turning white. “I had no idea. If I had, I would’ve let you know that’s how he spent the cash he’d withdrawn or that it was the reason for selling his prized collection.”
“What do you think about the mayor’s brother-in-law being involved in this?” Cady asked.
Daisy scoffed. “No big surprise there. He’s been taking advantage of Ernie for years, sponging off of him. Taking money Ernie really didn’t have to give. But to honor his wife, Ernie helped her brother.” She tapped her fingers on the end of the chair, then shot back up. “This is probably why Ernie continued to support Collins for so long after she passed, isn’t it?”
Hayden nodded. “Other than Collins, do you know of anyone who could be involved in the trafficking ring?”
“Me?” Daisy’s hand flew to her chest. “No. No way.”
Hayden held up his hands. “I’m not suggesting you knew anything about this. I’m just asking if there were any men or women who Mayor Sutton dealt with that you didn’t know or know why they’d come to this office to talk to him.”
“You can be sure I find out what anyone needs before I allow them to schedule an appointment with our mayor.” Daisy tapped a calendar on the desk. “And before you ask me if they were potentially lying to me, I followed up on every appointment with Ernie. If I’m at all in question about the person’s credentials, I follow up with them as they exit the office too.”
Cady didn’t doubt what she said was true. If Mayor Sutton had any contact with the traffickers, it would’ve had to be outside the office.
“Is there anything else you can think of that we should know?” Hayden asked.
“How can there be?” Daisy blinked. “I told you everything I knew about Ernie’s life when you were looking for Becca and trying to find his killer.”
“I figured as much,” Hayden said. “But I thought maybe this would jog your memory regarding something else.”
She shook her head. “But I’ll think about it and call you if I do come up with anything.” She shifted to lock eyes on Cady. “Was your father involved in this?”
Cady explained his role. “I have to say the video made me thankful the dementia kept him from remembering something so troubling to him.”
“Like I said.” Daisy paused to smile. “He was a good friend to Ernie, and after hearing how he kept Ernie’s secret, it sounds like an even better friend than I knew.”
“Do you know if Mayor Sutton ever contacted ICE?” Hayden asked.
“He never met with an ICE official in the office, so if he did call them, it was outside of here.” She planted her hands on the desk. “But if you’d like, I can review his phone records to see if I can find anything.”
“Thank you. That could be helpful.” He smiled and stood.
“I’ll get to it right away and also keep my eyes and ears open for any information I can find about trafficking.”
“Don’t go digging for information,” Hayden said. “These men are dangerous.”
Cady stood too. If people were talking about trafficking and information slipped, this go-getter of a woman wouldn’t let them down. Problem was, Cady didn’t believe the information could easily be found. No, it would take some super investigating to get to the men in charge.
But more importantly, there would be extreme danger to anyone who dared look into a ring of men who were willing to sell women to the highest bidder. That meant she and all of the fine members of the Lost Lake Locators team needed to watch their backs.
