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.
Mindy arrived in Dade City at eleven p.m. and checked into the Florida Palm Hotel and Motor Lodge about a mile north of Bonnie Groom's trailer park. The rooms were small and smelled like a musty gym locker. The flannel curtains were a urine yellow, and the matted shag carpet, which was probably white at one time, was now an uneven tan. The door on the small bathroom did not quite shut all the way, but Mindy was too tired to care. Besides, she was alone anyway. She dropped the little black overnight bag on the single bed, clicked on the TV, and went to sleep.
Mindy Holm awoke early, called in to the travel office to tell them where she was staying, then dialed Bonnie Groom's number to confirm the time for the interview.
"Hello, Mrs. Groom? I'm Mindy Holm. We talked yesterday morning."
There was a short pause. "The FBI agent," she said with a distinct southern drawl.
"No. Not exactly an agent. I guess you could say I'm one of their…investigators."
"So you, like, decide if a complaint is worth pursuing or not?"
"Yes, that's right. I just wanted to ask you a few questions about the scam you almost fell for."
