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“No, sir,” Hale said. “I left the pub and headed out. I had an appointment in Atlanta the next morning.”

“Who was the customer you paid the hotel bill for?” Remy asked.

“The commander of the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade, Colonel Jeffries,” Hale said. “His aide, Major Beaumont, made the arrangements; I paid the bill.”

“Do you have the names of the associates who used the rooms?”

“I do not,” Hale said. “Beaumont would be the one to ask, since he made the arrangements.”

“Mr. Hale, did you see a red-haired woman among the men?” Remy asked.

Hale’s eyes narrowed. “I seem to recall there was a young woman with the men celebrating. I think I recognized her the other day at the bar and grill in Bayou Mambaloa, where we met with you. She was the waitress…Danny, I believe.”

“That’s right,” Remy nodded. “Did you see her leave the pub that night four years ago?”

“That was four years ago. I only remember a big group celebrating, and she was among them. When I left, they were still partying.”

“Was Danny still among them?” Remy persisted.

Hale closed his eyes for a moment. “I think so. But I can’t be certain.” He opened his eyes. “Again, it was four years ago.”

“Is it normal practice for a contractor to pay for rooms for a customer who works for the government? Couldn’t that be construed as bribery?”

Hale didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he cleared his throat. “Beaumont asked me to do it as a personal favor. I don’t know who occupied the rooms. I left for Atlanta that evening and drove straight through. You can see my credit card payments for my hotel that night in Atlanta, and you can check with the hotel for the exact time I arrived. I have nothing to hide.”

“Except the purchase of hotel rooms outside Fort Benning for unknown guests as a personal favor to a military officer,” Remy reminded him. “We will be looking into the Atlanta hotel for the exact time you checked in. If there’s anything else you’d like to tell us, you know how to contact me.”

“Whatever happened that night,” Beaumont said, “it wasn’t me. I just had a meal and left for Atlanta.”

“Thank you for your time and honesty,” Remy said. “We might ask for another meeting in the near future to clarify findings.”

“I’ll help however I can.”

“The men we assigned to Jeffries’s protection detail should arrive in DC today. They’ll be in touch.”

Remy ended the call and sat back in his seat. “Well, that was interesting.”

Danny inhaled and let the air out slowly. “Do you think he’s telling the truth about leaving early to go to Atlanta?”

Swede’s face appeared on the monitor. “If he is, I’ll get the proof from the hotel records. I saved a copy of his credit card statement with the charges he mentioned. I’ll also work with the hotel at Fort Benning to find out if they have the names of whoever occupied the rooms Hale paid for.”

“Is there anything else we can look into or track down to shake out some more people,” Jacques asked.

“I’m still trying to get a contact number for the other assault victim,” Swede said. “I’ll let you know as soon as I get that.”

“I say our next conversation needs to be with Major Beaumont,” Danny said.

“I’ll work on that,” Remy said. “In the meantime, Cleyburn is on his way to the hospital in New Orleans to see if he can get any more information out of Sarley.”

“I checked the phone records of the number used to text Sarley and hire him to stalk Danny and break into her house,” Swede said. “It was a burner phone. Tracking down the person who bought it is difficult but not impossible.”

“But it takes time,” Jacques concluded. “Next up is a meeting with Beaumont. Hopefully, that will be more informative. Thanks, Swede.”

Swede waved a hand. “I’ll go back to my tech cave now. Stay safe. Out here.” The monitor blinked to black.

Jacques pushed to his feet and held Danny’s chair as she also stood. “We’ll be at the boarding house if you need us.”

“That should keep you out of range of random shooters,” Remy said.