Chapter 39
Ben stepped off the elevator, hands full with bags of food from In-N-Out as the double doors of the Critical Care Unit burst open.
A man wearing a surgical mask and scrubs slammed the doors open, sprinted out, and rammed the door to the stairwell.
Realizing that it was a pull, he then pulled it open and disappeared down the stairwell.
Snapping out of his shock, recognizing something was off, Ben leapt through the double doors before they could close.
“Lainie?” he called out as he hurried onto the floor, fear biting when he realized there were no nurses and no Lainie. Leaving the burgers on the counter at the nurses’ station, he started for Benton’s room.
Just then a nurse stepped out of the room. She was disheveled, as if she’d been in a fight. “Who are you? You’re not security.”
“Security is busy. There was a gang fight in the parking lot. Cops and security are all over the place outside the Emergency department. I’m an FBI agent. What happened up here?”
“Some guy tried to inject something into our patient. I need to call security. Did you see the man leave?”
“Yes, he took the stairs. Tried? He wasn’t successful, was he? Where’s Lainie?”
“We stopped him.” The nurse pointed to the cubicle.
“Lainie,” Ben called out as he entered the room. She had her back to him. Next to her was a male nurse. “Is everything okay?”
The male nurse turned toward him. “Who are you?”
“I’m Agent Ben Isaacs. What’s going on?”
“I wish I knew.”
“Lainie?” He stepped next to her. “What happened? Did someone try to hurt Benton?”
She turned toward him, an expression of total astonishment on her pale face. “It’s not Benton.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“This is not Crystal Benton, this is Evie.”
By the time Ben had made all the necessary notifications for Lainie, calling LBPD, San Bernardino, and his own boss, the burgers were stone-cold.
He waited at the nurses’ station while Lainie sat with her sister.
After he got over the shock of hearing that Evangeline Moffit was in the bed and not Crystal Benton, he watched as Lainie talked to her silent, still-comatose sister, held her hand, and apologized for taking so long to find her.
It touched his heart, and it made him want to work so very hard to bring Vine to justice.
He found it hard to believe that Stan Moffit ordered his employees to kidnap his wife and hold her somewhere.
Sure, it was possible. His gut was just telling him that Moffit didn’t really have it in him; he was too much of a weasel. Vine had to be the culprit.
But where was Evangeline held and why?
Was it truly because Vine wanted his money back?
Where were they taking her when the car crashed?
Was Vine planning to kill her?
Too many questions.
His phone buzzed. Mark was uncharacteristically breathless. “I can’t believe it, but I’m happy that Evangeline Moffit is alive.”
“Yes, it is a great discovery.”
“I just got off a three-way call with San Bernardino and Long Beach. We are all working together now.”
“That’s good news as well. There’s some evidence from the crash that needs to go to our lab. There were three damaged phones—”
“Already at the lab. San Bernardino sent them. We’re trying to find any connection to Stan and/or Vine. The only bad news is they fear the damage is too extensive.”
“Well thanks for that information.” Ben glanced back toward Evie’s cubicle. Lainie had finished speaking to her sister and stood to confer with Dr. Hardin. He handed her some Kleenex. She blew her nose, and the two of them left the cubicle and walked toward the nurses’ station.
“I’ll let you go, Mark. Call you when I’m back in Long Beach.” He disconnected as Lainie approached him.
“Boy, that smells good.” She pointed at the In-N-Out bags, and for a second their gazes locked.
He smiled, glad to see some light back in her eyes. “It’s cold, but I’m sure it still tastes good.” He handed her a bag with a cold burger and soggy fries in it.
“I’m so hungry the temperature won’t matter.” The two of them took the food to the waiting room to scarf it down. While they ate, it did his heart good to see the change in her. She was animated, hopeful.
“Thanks for bringing the food,” she said, mouth full of her first bite.
“No problem. I was hungry as well. I only wish that I’d gotten here a little bit sooner. Maybe I could have stopped that guy.”
She shrugged and swallowed. “He wasn’t able to do what he came here for, so that makes me happy.”
“Shea and Collins will be here soon; I expect the San Bernardino County detective will be here first. They’ll probably want to fingerprint your sister, only to officially verify.”
She nodded. “I’m fine with that. I’m fine with just about everything right now.
I’m just happy to know that Evie is alive.
After my parents get here, I’m sure my focus will shift.
” She glanced toward her sister’s cubicle.
“Questions, I have so many questions. If Vine took her when Stan said he did, where did she go? Where did he keep her? Dr. Hardin said that when she was first admitted to the hospital, it appeared as if she’d been restrained for some time before the crash.
A lot of her bruises were old, not from the crash. ”
“I’ve been asking myself those same questions,” Ben said. “If we believe your brother-in-law, Vine took her and held her captive. Why were they on the move? Where were they taking her when they crashed?”
She nodded, chewing.
“What did your parents say when you told them?”
Lainie shook her head. “I didn’t have the words. I called Mike and asked that he bring them here. It’s too monumental to have them drive all this way.”
“I get it.”
“You must be thinking about Efren right now.”
Again, he held her gaze and saw compassion and understanding in her eyes. He could admit that it hurt right now. This was a miracle for sure, that Evangeline was alive. Was it possible Efren would be found alive through another miracle?
“I am. I pray continually. I have to rest in the knowledge that God is in control, no matter the outcome for Efren. It seems like ages ago when I spoke to your sister about him, and after all this time to—”
“You spoke to my sister?”
Ben swallowed. “I did. When Efren failed to check in, I met with her and asked if she’d heard anything from him. Despite what Stan told you, Efren knew him and your sister well.”
Anger built in her eyes, and it was justified. “When was this?”
“If we go by what Stan told you, the day before Vine took her.”
A few seconds of silence passed.
“Was this part of your investigation?”
“No. I overstepped.”
“You overstepped? You’re telling me that you could be the reason Vine targeted my sister? I can’t believe that you put her in danger like that.”
“It was a lapse in judgment. I was worried about my partner—” Ben stopped talking. There was really no excuse for what he had done.
“I don’t even know what to say. Who knows what horrible things happened to her during her captivity. And you’re responsible.”
She tossed the remainder of her food in the trash and left him sitting in the waiting room.
It crushed Ben that Lainie was probably right.