Chapter 40
It was early in the morning by the time fingerprints confirmed what Lainie knew. The woman in CCU in a coma was her sister, Evie. The joy was somewhat tempered by what Ben had told her. His actions were completely unprofessional.
Lainie tried to puzzle everything out. Efren went missing before Evie—most likely because his cover was blown.
Then his partner contacted Evie, and Evie went missing.
True, Stan had told Lainie Vine took Evie because he found out about the missing money, but there was no way to confirm his story.
However, it was a fact that Efren was a federal agent undercover.
He got close to Evie and Stan. Stan could be lying because he had something to do with Efren’s disappearance.
She’d left Ben in the waiting area, grabbed some coffee, and now sat next to the bed and held Evie’s hand, once again whispering to her sister and trying not to let the anger dominate.
Was that why Evie had called her, to tell her that she’d been contacted by a stupid FBI agent and she wanted to know what to do?
Lainie took several deep breaths, tried to relax and forget Ben Isaacs. Evie was alive, that was all that mattered. And maybe she now held the key to arresting Vine. She spoke to her sister, wanting to believe that in spite of the coma she could hear.
“I’m so sorry that you’re here like this, Evie. I’m sorry that I didn’t call you back right away. I’m sorry that I walked away from my faith. I’m sorry for so much.”
Then she sat quietly, sipping her coffee and praying.
“Detective.”
Lainie turned to find Dr. Hardin.
“We need to do our morning assessment, change her bedding, et cetera. You’ll need to wait in the waiting room.”
“Of course. I know you started weaning her off the medication that is keeping her in a coma. How long before she wakes up?”
“It’s hard to say. Weaning off the drugs is a process. Brain swelling has resolved, so I’m optimistic that she’ll start to wake up before the medication is at zero.”
“Do you think there will be any permanent damage?” Lainie wondered if her sister would be impaired in some way.
“That’s also nothing I can tell you with certainty right now. However, she responded quickly and efficiently to the treatment. That’s promising. I will caution you about one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“While she may wake up and seem normal, she may not be able to help you with the information you’re hoping to get out of her. Even if there is no permanent damage, disorientation, memory loss, confusion all are likely to be present for a few days, maybe longer.”
Lainie nodded. “I understand.”
She kissed Evie on the cheek and left the doctor and nurse to go about their business.
She’d felt Evie’s pulse—it was sure and strong.
And she’d prayed as hard as she could. Her sister was in God’s hands, she always had been, and that gave Lainie great peace.
Her steps felt lighter as she joined her colleagues in the waiting room.
“Awesome.” Shea’s face split in a wide grin. He wrapped Lainie in a hug. “I’m glad something has worked out well in this crazy case,” he said when he let her go.
“Me too.” She nodded to Gardner but noticed Collins was absent.
“Where’s your partner?” Lainie wanted all hands on deck now. Except Isaacs. He was absent now, and she wanted it to stay that way. Though she’d grown to like him, even welcome his presence, now she never wanted to see him again.
“He stayed in Long Beach to coordinate with the Feds. There are now three teams working on this.”
“Sorry we missed the ID right off the top,” Gardner said.
Happy that she had an army in her corner now, Lainie smiled. “There was no way for you to know since you had Benton’s physical ID and the resemblance was so close. All that matters is that we know it now and that my sister’s prognosis is positive.”
Fatigue overtook her and she covered her mouth when a yawn forced its way out, not wanting to slow down now. “What can you tell me about what happened earlier? How did that guy get up here?”
Shea and Gardner exchanged glances and Gardner answered. “In hindsight, what happened downstairs was an obvious diversion. I’ve reviewed security footage.” He handed her some still shots of the would-be assassin, still masked, in various parts of the hospital, making his way to the CCU floor.
“As soon as the ruckus began, he slipped in through the emergency entrance. He had a key card that was stolen from an ER doc. He came straight to this floor and, well, you know the rest. He escaped down the stairs and out through the front entrance where a vehicle was waiting. The plates on the vehicle were covered.”
“Vine sent him.” She studied the photo of the man running out the front door. “I know that with every fiber of my soul.”
“I think you’re right,” Shea said. “However, we have no evidence of Vine’s direct connection. He won’t talk to us, and at this point, we have no way to force him to.”
“Maybe my sister will be able to give us some evidence when she wakes up.” Her hand that had been burned itched and she was tired, dead tired. But Evie was alive and Lainie was prepared to go full speed ahead to put whoever was responsible for Evie’s condition in jail.