Chapter 23
Watching Archie and her mother try to comprehend what everyone believed Stan had done was painful. Lainie sat in the living room with them while Bobby Shea explained the status of Evie’s investigation.
She heard some information she didn’t know.
Gail Boyce had been reinterviewed by the detectives in Hawaii, and they found a connection to Benton.
Boyce was shown a picture of Crystal Benton, and it jogged her memory.
The woman had been in the store, had chatted with Boyce, been extra friendly, and taken a business card.
In fact, during the questioning, Boyce also found her checkbook missing.
She rarely wrote checks, so she hadn’t noticed when it went missing, but she thought maybe Benton had taken it and that’s where she’d gotten her home address.
Lainie thought about that. If it were true, it showed quite a bit of premeditation. However, it probably couldn’t be proven unless Benton was caught with the checkbook in her possession.
The best lie was one with a shade of truth in it. When Benton gave the name, it was a real name, a real address, making her story more believable at first blush. She didn’t know the lie would be uncovered so quickly.
While Shea laid out the intricacies of the investigation, Lainie’s father stayed out in the backyard with the boys. After Bobby finished, Mom turned to her.
“Lainie, I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I just can’t believe it. You think Stan murdered your sister?”
“Mom, where is she? She didn’t die in a shark attack. I don’t believe that for a second. I don’t know what happened to her. I want to find out.”
“Stan has been in this family for seven years. Can you really be certain Evie married such a . . . ?” Her voice trailed off, and tears ran down her face.
Lainie could barely speak. “I’m considering the whole picture. At the very least, Stan has some explaining to do.”
Archie stood and ran both hands over his face. “If you find Stan, will you arrest him?” he asked Shea.
“We’ll have warrants to search his home and place of business soon, and we want to talk to him.”
“Is it possible this woman you mentioned, this Benton, coerced him in some way?”
Lainie held her breath, not surprised her brother would ask such a question. Archie had a soft heart; he always saw the best in people.
“Right now, anything is possible. Our goal is to talk to both Stan and Crystal and find out what exactly happened,” Hugh Collins explained.
“Do you know where she is yet?” Lainie asked.
Shea shook his head. “The Feds are trying to track her down.” He and Collins left after a few more minutes and asked to be notified if Stan came to the house before they found him.
With moist eyes, Archie touched Lainie’s arm. “I don’t want to believe Stan could hurt Evie.”
“But where is Evie?” Her voice threatened to break—she hated the fact that this was the foremost question. “Why did he lie about the shark attack?”
“This breaks my heart, Lainie. Everything points to a horrible truth.” Her mother sniffled and blew her nose. “What are we going to tell the boys?”
Lainie didn’t have an answer.
She left shortly after Shea and Collins, feeling as wrung out as a microfiber towel just squeezed tight in a vise. It was late by the time Lainie got home. Tired and emotionally drained, she took a quick shower and then tried to go to sleep.
Her phone rang, and it was Mike. “Hey, partner.”
“Are you back in LB?”
“I am. I keep praying I’ll wake up and find that the last couple of days were simply a bad dream. Yet the nightmare continues.”
“Anything I can do for you?”
“Pray we find out the truth.”
“Got it,” Mike said. “I talked to Bobby Shea. He’s sharp. He’ll get to the bottom of things.”
“I trust him. I just can’t believe this whole situation.”
“It’s crazy, no doubt.”
“Sorry about leaving you with the whole workload,” Lainie said.
“Not a problem. Take as much time off as you need. If I can help with anything, let me know.”
“Actually, there was one thing. Can you find out what happened to Bucshon?”
“The little wife beater?”
“Yeah, I met the FBI agent who took him away from us. The agent was in Hawaii. He said he didn’t get anything they could use from the guy. If you can talk to him—just to find out exactly how close he was to Vine and if he knew Crystal Benton, I’d appreciate it.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks, Mike, I owe you.”
“Naw, you’d do the same for me.”
Lainie ended the call, thankful for Mike. He’d do a good job if he were able to talk with Bucshon. Thinking about the warrant service that would happen soon, she wanted to be there for it, but that was not appropriate.
Sleep was elusive. She tossed and turned until 6:00 a.m., then got up and went for a run.
Lainie lived near California State University, Long Beach, and her course took her around the campus.
It was early, not much was going on. Sometimes the route gave her energy because of the bustling campus.
Not today. The run was hard, and Lainie felt as if all her energy was sapped.
As she neared home and slowed her pace to cool down, she saw that someone was on her porch. Slowing to a walk, she stood on her tiptoes and breathed a sigh of relief. Sara.
Breathing steady and calm now, Lainie hurried to greet her friend. “What a great surprise.”
Sara jumped up for a hug.
“I’m all sweaty,” Lainie protested weakly, and accepted the hug because she was so glad to see Sara.
“I don’t care. I had to come see how you are doing.”
Lainie closed her eyes and relished the embrace from her friend.
After a minute, they sat on the porch.
“I forgot that you were off today,” Lainie said.
“I’m working an overtime shift, but it’s an afternoon shift so I don’t go in until two. You have a lot on your mind. Tell me what’s going on.”
Lainie shared what was happening with her sister’s disappearance.
“Wow. I remember Stan and Evie together. He never seemed like the type to stray. He wasn’t as involved with church as Evie, but he was always there, he always supported her.”
“Is that what you saw?”
“Yeah. Church was the only place where I interacted with Stan. He seemed proud of her. Evie had a beautiful voice. I heard Stan compliment her more than once.”
The comment set Lainie back on her heels. “I always thought Stan was a jerk. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him compliment Evie.”
“To me, they were a nice couple. I certainly never saw strife. Did Evie tell you there were problems in her marriage?” Sara asked.
“No. Evie always defended Stan if I made any comments. She didn’t nag him or complain.
She wasn’t that way; she wasn’t a complainer.
The only time she would ask for help was for something she didn’t think she could handle or something that needed prayer.
I guess I got to a place where Evie didn’t come to me to ask for prayer. ”
“You never had an inkling?”
Lainie shrugged. “I didn’t like Stan when they were dating. He just struck me as fake, not dangerous. By the time they got married, I wasn’t going to church regularly.” Frustration built and Lainie tightened her fists and hit them together.
“I can’t believe I moved so far away. Evie and I used to be so close. I think I only saw her a couple of times a year after the twins were born. She called me, you know.” Lainie stopped as a lump formed in her throat.
“I told you, don’t beat yourself up. When did she call?”
Lainie nodded and cleared her throat. “A few days before I got the call from Stan about the shark hoax. She didn’t leave a message. Oh, how I wish I had called her back right away. Maybe she would have told me something important—”
“Lainie, you can’t let the past drag you down. It can’t be changed. You know that. You need to move forward. I want to help. What can I do?”
“I’m not sure. I guess it depends on what happens when they find Stan. When we find out what really happened to Evie. You can pray.”
“Count on it.”