Names

Dade City, Florida Mindy's plane landed in Lakeland, Florida an hour late. She rushed to get to the rental car counter and was blessed with a blue Ford Taurus that boasted an interior that smelled like stale cigarette smoke, no air conditioning and a broken radio. She discovered, after talking with the reporter in Florida who ran the original story about Bonnie Groom, that the woman was open to talking about her ordeal. A personal phone to the elderly lady proved the same. Bonnie Groom was very talkative and more than willing to meet with somebody from the FBI. Mindy attributed the woman's willingness to the fact that she was a widow and living alone. She was probably just happy to have someone interested in her. The young would-be reporter set up an appointment for the interview on the following day, then headed for the airport. After all, Bonnie was willing to "help in any way she could."

The traffic between Lakeland and Dade City was thin. The four lane, divided highway offered very little scenic opportunities, but just to be alone in the car after the grueling flight was enough. Mindy was content to just watch the lighted subdivisions and dark patches of swampland scroll past the car windows. She already had her questions in order for the interview with Bonnie Groom. Her goal was to find out who was behind the "scam" and to track them down for answers. She had to be careful not to scare the woman off, however. Mindy wanted to keep her talking and, from what she had found out about the woman so far, that would not be too terribly difficult.