Chapter 16
At the last minute, Ben decided to stop back at Gail Boyce’s place of employment.
He needed to talk to her. Was it possible she could pass for Crystal Benton?
The more he thought about Evangeline and Benton, he could see that there was a fleeting resemblance, though Evangeline struck him as soft and feminine while Benton had an aura of hardness about her.
He drove back down to the Queens’ shops, hoping that Boyce was at work now. He was in luck.
“She’s in the back helping those people.” The clerk pointed to an elderly tourist couple.
Ben walked down the aisle stuffed full of artwork and knickknacks. Three people were in the back, but Ben frowned and stopped before he reached them.
The person helping the tourist couple did not resemble the person Kimo Alonzo had described. The couple found what they wanted, and the woman he guessed was Gail Boyce turned to face him.
“Can I help you?”
Ben stared, the woman before him was short and round with multicolored hair, lines of pink and blue and orange. “I was looking for Gail Boyce.”
“That’s me. How can I help you?”
“Were you down at the beach last Friday, when the shark attack happened?”
She frowned. “No, I don’t do the beach. Skin cancer, you know. Why would you ask me that question?”
“Someone used your name on the police report written about the missing person, saying you were the first person who saw the shark.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed, clearly upset at this information. “Why would someone do that?”
“Good question.”
Disturbed by this incongruity, Ben left the shop to return to his hotel. His phone buzzed. Mark calling. Ben answered and filled him in on the investigation so far. When he finished, Mark was quiet for a moment.
“The witness gave a fake name, and you think she really was Crystal Benton?”
“I do. I know Benton is here. I saw her. Can you check flight logs for me, find out when she got here and if she is still on the island? And there’s something else.” He explained to Mark about Elaine Jensen being hit by a car.
“How does that tie into anything? I’m not making the connection.”
Ben was at a loss; he couldn’t make a factual connection either. “I’m just throwing it out there.”
“Back to Benton and Moffit. Are you thinking they murdered his wife?”
“I haven’t gotten there yet, but I fear that is where the path leads.
You must admit, it all appears suspicious.
According to the police report, the Moffits arrived on island on Wednesday, and Friday morning Evangeline Moffit disappears, presumably eaten by a shark.
It might have been Crystal Benton who got everyone on the beach thinking shark. ”
“Still no sign of the body?”
“No. The search is over.”
“Hmm. I’ll check the flight logs and get back to you as soon as I can.”
“Do you want me to tell the police here what I’ve found?”
“I think we’re obligated. But wait until I can confirm the flight logs.”
Ben ended the call and continued to his hotel room.
Lainie forced herself to eat something downstairs at a coffee bar.
She really had no appetite but knew she’d eventually feel the calorie deficit.
The coffee was good, and she downed one large as she picked at a bagel sandwich and then ordered a refill to drink while she went to pick up a rental car.
Lainie had an Uber take her to the airport to get the car.
Driving back to the resort, she stopped at the Queens’ shops to talk to one of the witnesses of the attack.
Gail Boyce had seen the shark. Maybe she was the last person to see Evie alive.
The thought gave Lainie pause. The loss of Evie drained Lainie.
She still could not accept that her sister was gone.
Taking a deep breath, she exited her car and walked toward the store.
A woman with multicolored hair stood behind the cash register.
“Excuse me, I’m looking for Gail Boyce.”
The woman frowned. “You’re not here about that shark attack, are you?”
“Ah, yeah. Is Ms. Boyce here?”
“I’m Gail Boyce and I was not on the beach that day. Who are you anyway?” The woman’s hostility took Lainie by surprise.
“Detective Lainie Jensen.” She showed the woman her ID. Why was she so upset?
“That’s not a Hawaii ID.”
“No, it’s not. But the missing woman is my sister, so the detectives here gave me some leeway.”
The woman’s demeanor softened. “Oh, I’m sorry. But some guy was just here asking me if I was at the beach when the shark attack happened. I don’t go to the beach.”
“Some guy? A police officer?”
She shook her head, clearly frustrated. “I don’t know, it caught me off balance, I didn’t ask. And now here you are. Am I in danger?”
“I don’t believe so. Someone, claiming to be you, was on the beach yelling shark that day. I got your information from the police report.”
“Someone with the same name? It wasn’t me.”
Lainie showed her what she’d put in the notes app on her phone. “Is this your information?”
Profound confusion settled on the woman’s face as her brow creased. “Well, it’s the phone number and address here. And my home address.” Her face scrunched into an irritated frown. “I don’t go to the beach. Why is someone impersonating me?”
Lainie was at a loss. Why indeed? “I’m not sure. You might know the woman. I’ll pull up the newsclip where I believe she’s the one pointing to where the shark was.”
Lainie took a few minutes to find the newsclip on her phone, then she showed it to Boyce.
The woman squinted as she watched. “She doesn’t look at the camera. I just can’t place the voice.”
“Maybe you know her?”
“I’m not sure about that. Why would she give the police my name and address?”
Lainie’s shoulders tightened with stress. What was going on?
“I’d like to know the answer to that as well. I’ll let Detective Yamada know that someone was lying that day and pretending to be you. Sorry to have bothered you.”
“And I’m sorry about your sister.”
Was Kimo Alonzo fake as well? Lainie thought back to her time in uniform, taking down witness information.
Generally, you trusted witnesses. They weren’t suspects—usually.
And if they were describing a shark attack, there was no crime involved.
An officer would have no reason on the face of it to doubt a person who was ostensibly trying to be a helpful witness.
The woman was at the beach—Lainie could see the scenario in her mind’s eye. “I’m sorry, Officer. I don’t have my ID. But I can give you my information.”
He’d write it all down, and it would be up to the detectives to recontact if needed.
The officer trusted that the woman was not lying. After all, it was a local address: easy enough to check. If she intentionally misidentified herself, it was a good bet she was long gone. She’d have to be in case there was any follow-up, like Lainie was doing.
Hopefully, Alonzo was the real deal. His residence was about six or seven miles up the hill from the resort where Lainie was staying. It was late afternoon, and no one answered her knock.
She stepped back and studied the area. Alonzo lived in a large, spread-out condo complex. She heard kids playing behind the condo unit. As she walked toward the back, she saw a golf course there and kids kicking a soccer ball around on the fairway.
There was a hole in the hedges between the condo and the course, and she stepped through it. Lainie guessed golf was done for the day. There was one adult who was coaching the kids. A tall guy she recognized from the newsclip.
Walking toward him, she called out, “Kimo Alonzo?”
He’d just caught the soccer ball. He turned toward her, bouncing the ball in his hands. “Who’s asking?”
“My name is Lainie Jensen. You were at the beach the other day when the woman went missing.”
He rolled his eyes, tossed the ball into the air, then kicked it across the course, causing the kids to scream and all run after it.
“What do you want to know about it? I already told that other guy everything.”
“What other guy?”
“There was a guy here earlier, asking about what I saw.”
“A police officer?”
“No. His ID said he was FBI. He was investigating an insurance claim.”
“Insurance?” That stopped Lainie cold. The implications were dark.
“You don’t work with him?”
She shook her head. “The missing woman is my sister.”
“Oh.” He nodded once. “I’m sorry.”
“What was this guy’s name?”
“Ah, I don’t remember. I only saw his ID for a moment. I asked if the whole thing was fraud, and he said he was just asking questions.”
“Do you think it was a fraud?”
“Ma’am, I don’t know. That day I thought maybe there had been a shark, but in hindsight, maybe I just saw what the woman wanted me to see.”
“What woman?”
“The woman screaming shark. She was so loud she had everyone staring out at the ocean. That’s what I told the FBI guy. It seemed like she knew the guy, ah, you know. I guess your brother-in-law. Well, I got the impression that they knew each other well.”
The kids were back with the soccer ball, and Lainie found herself with a lot of questions, yet at a loss for words.
FBI?
Insurance?
Stan knew the woman yelling shark?
“Were they friends?”
“Ah.” He gave a tilt of his head. “They seemed to be a whole lot more than friends.”