Page 76 of Special Agent Murphy

“I’m here with one of the women from the bar last night, Roni Johnston. She gave me her card so I could contact her. I want you to hear her testimony.”

Kayti smiled reassuringly at Roni. “Can you start again where you overheard two men talking?”

“Okay. They both had accents, one was more distinct than the other. Russian, I’m thinking. They said as how they would hold the girl in the bathroom, then keep her high so she didn’t give them any trouble.”

“I bet that caught your attention.”

“Like I said, I thought it was a script for a play. One of the men talked like the boss, giving orders. He told the other fellow he’d be sending along one of his own men to help look after the place in case they had any trouble.”

“Is this the boss?” Kayti opened to Draper’s photo… his mug shot.

“No, that’s Serge. I took a quick peek. The guy I saw with him was much more polished, looked rich, lots of gold on his fingers and a crazy expensive watch.”

“Did they say anything about where they would be holding her?”

“That’s just it. They talked about the cabin. It had everything, plus privacy.”

“A cabin? Like at a lake?”

“I got the feeling that yes, it would be near a lake because the one guy, Serge I think, sounded disgusted. Talked about there being nothing to do but fish while they waited for things to kick in.”

“You say they mentioned keeping the girl in the bathroom.”

“Yes, that they could hold her in there and she’d look after her own ahh… toilet needs, my words, their meaning.” Roni’s nose turned up at whatever was actually said. Kayti had no doubt it was crude.

“That means there’d be two bathrooms, so not too small a cabin. Did he give any directions or addresses? Anything?”

“The boss said it was only an hour from there, which I took to mean where they were at the time… the bar. Then Serge complained, saying,yeah – right into the wilderness where they’d gotten dumps of snow.”

“Snow. Northern Virginia had a dump of snow last week. I saw it on the news.”

Murphy answered, “Okay, I’ll get the guys here working on lake areas about an hour’s drive from the bar. Maybe they can come up with some locations we can start researching.”

“Is there anything else, Roni. Anything else they mentioned?”

“Yes, the boss said as how they were to keep the girl safe. They wanted the job done quickly and cleanly. No accidents, no messing with the girl. He wanted to walk away without complications.” Roni stopped there and the look on her face let Kayti know she was thinking back to that night. “Then someone started to push away from the table. I came out so I could get a look at the kind of man who talked like that. Clothes can tell a lot about a person and this man looked like a professional, you know, suit and tie. Expensive.”

Murphy spoke, his curiosity apparent. “You saidtheywanted the job done cleanly? Must mean he had orders from someone over him. I’m sending you the photo with Viktor Baranov and Serge having lunch. Maybe this is the person Ms. Johnston saw that night.”

Seconds later, the photo arrived and Kayti held up her phone. “Is this the other man?”

“I think so. I only got that quick peek at his profile. When he walked away, I mostly saw his back. I can’t be sure.”

“Don’t worry. You’ve been a tremendous help. I just have to ask what you would have done with this information if I hadn’t come up to you in the bar?”

“That’s what me and Nate were arguing about when you approached. He wanted me to keep my mouth shut and stay the hell out of the situation. He hates cops and wanted nothing to do with the law. But I don’t agree. You couldn’t see what was happening, but when you came to over to us, he had my hand under the table, squeezing it, warning me to shut up.”

Kayti didn’t try to hide the disgust she felt. “He’s your man, your choice, but I’m thinking a nice lady like you could do better. Sorry. None of my business. Anything else?”

Looking thoughtful, Roni shook her head. “No. I’ve been thinking about the conversation so I wouldn’t forget it. That’s pretty much everything. After the boss left, Serge went over to the men’s table and joined them like he usually did.”

“Do you remember the exact date.” Murphy’s voice came clearly through the speaker.

“Yes, it was December 15th, the night of the bank’s Christmas party. They had a live band that night and one of the girls heard it was better than most. It’s why we were there.”

Murphy spoke again. “Agent Edwards, do you want me to pick you up at the restaurant?”

“No. I think I’ll head out to Fairfax County. I believe they suffered the worst of the storm. I’ll meet you there. I’ll let you know when I arrive.” She closed off the call before he could argue.

“Thank you, Roni. For your help and for being a conscientious citizen. You might be instrumental in saving a young girl’s life.”

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