Chapter 48
“You can’t quit now,” Mark pleaded with Ben. He had a file in his hand with all the information they had gathered regarding the crash and the incident at the Jensen house.
“I don’t know how I can stay. I saw that woman in the hospital, Mark. Lainie is right; I put her there. Thank God it wasn’t any worse. My actions were reckless. Unforgivable.”
“You don’t know that for sure. Ben, if you quit now, you’re quitting on Efren and Candy.”
That comment cut Ben to the quick. He ran a hand through his hair and said nothing.
Mark put a hand on his shoulder. “If you want to quit, quit. Just wait until this case is resolved. We are finally seeing some chinks in Vine’s armor. The phone records for the man in the SUV passenger seat, Raphael Diaz, show that twenty minutes before the crash he called Vine’s cigar lounge.”
“We can’t link that to Vine directly; he could have called anyone at the lounge.”
“Maybe not. But it is still a possible link to Vine. His next move was sending goons to search and burn houses. Vine is obviously desperate to be so heavy-handed.”
“I agree with that.” Ben nodded.
“Desperate men make mistakes. We’ve got two in custody, and we know that Vine is searching for a ledger. Help me finish the job, Ben. We can put Vine away for Efren.” He held out the file for Ben to take.
Ben stared at it for a minute. In his whole career, he’d never felt more useless than he had when Lainie Jensen called him out about putting her sister in danger. Now he knew what Mark said was true—if he left now, he’d be quitting on Efren.
Efren would never quit on him.
Finally, Ben reached out and took the file. Maybe closing this case the right way would provide some redemption.
“Thanks, bud. Let’s get this guy. What else do you have?”
Ben sat at his desk and opened the file Mark had given him.
The burner phone was too damaged to retrieve any information.
Besides the one call to the cigar lounge on the phone belonging to Raphael Diaz there was nothing useful on the phones.
Those men were both dead, and other than the fact that Diaz worked for Stan, Ben saw no way to connect them to Vine.
He moved to the information on the two men caught in the Jensen home. Tom Thornton was a fired cop who worked for Quartz Enterprises. Davis Compton had been an armored truck driver until he got fired when money came up missing. His employer was also listed as Quartz Enterprises, not Dallas Vine.
Vine always built in plausible deniability.
Frustrated, Ben went back to the file containing all of Efren’s notes, searching for any mention of a ledger. Nothing. He reread Efren’s notes: I have no clue about the code—how important it is, who knows it. I’ve found no threads or notes to help with the code, but I will keep searching.
A couple of items Ben had missed before caught his attention. One was mention of Crystal Benton: So much going on here—Benton knows where all the bodies are buried, but she is as loyal as they come.
And the second was a note about Vine’s personal bodyguard: Plug, might be way more involved than I know.
He wasn’t sure why he’d missed those before and why they jumped out at him now. Hank Bucshon had told him he thought Plug and Benton were involved. Did that hold more significance than Ben thought? If Vine had an important ledger, certainly his girlfriend and his bodyguard would have access to it.
But why did Efren never mention a ledger? Everyone knew Vine was averse to technology, but the idea of his keeping important information in a ledger was never considered.
Maybe that’s what Efren found at the last minute and what cost him his life. But if so, where was Efren and where was the ledger?
After two days, her mother was finally convinced to go home and rest for a bit.
“Evie is doing so much better,” Mom told Lainie when Dad brought her home. Lainie was herself preparing to go for a visit.
“I was able to help her wash her hair and even gave her some lipstick to use. Not only was she up, but she was walking with the aid of a walker.”
The news cheered Lainie, and she was excited about what she’d find when she got to Evie’s room. By the time she connected with her sister, it was obvious that Evie was more clearheaded and alert. To Lainie, her sister was almost back to normal.
“I’m as weak as a kitten,” Evie said. “The first time I stood, I nearly fell. But every time I try again, I get better.”
She handled the news about Stan and the crash stoically.
“There were two people in the car with me?” Evie asked Lainie.
“Yes, one of them worked for Stan. Raphael, remember him?”
“The detailer. Sure.”
“You were on 330, coming down the mountain.”
“Wow, I have no memory of that.”
“Don’t fret, Evie. I’m sure things will come back to you in time.”
“I’m glad you’re so optimistic.”
“I am.”
“When can I see the boys?”
“Dad and Archie will bring them later this afternoon,” Lainie said. “Mom is resting.”
“Oh, good. Archie is coming. It will be good to see him as well.” Evie pulled herself up using the bar above the bed.
Lainie watched her effort, so much emotion swirling inside. Her sister was strong, improving quickly, and she worked hard to get back to normal. The only nagging problem was her cloudy memory.
“Are you up to a jaunt out to the patio?” Lainie asked. “We can have lunch out there.”
Evie nodded. “I could use some sunshine.”
She sat up and swung her legs off the bed.
Lainie helped Evie into a robe and then stepped back to get the walker.
Evie got off the bed by herself and walked slowly, limping slightly, across the room to where Lainie handed over the walker.
Dr. Hardin had told them that while Evie’s brain was healing well, the other bumps, bruises, and strains would probably be sore for a while longer.
They left the room and passed the officer at the door.
“We’re just going to the patio. You can take a break.”
He nodded.
The patio was in a protected area of the hospital. There was no way to get to it from outside because they were two floors up. They found a table. Evie put the walker aside, and they both sat. It was a few minutes before she spoke up. “Lainie, can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“Once I’m released, will I be able to visit Stan?”
“What? Why would you want to?” Lainie couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“He’s still my husband and the father of my children. I pray for him every day.”
“He almost killed you.”
“I don’t know that he had anything to do with what happened to me. And neither do you.”
“You don’t know that he didn’t.” The rage Lainie had felt toward Stan that day on the beach when he tried to sell the shark attack resurfaced. She worked to calm down.
“I would be the first to say that he’s not perfect. I live with him, I know that. But we are all sinners saved by grace, Lainie. I know that you haven’t forgotten that.”
“Evie, he tried to convince everyone that you were killed by a shark. He knew you were in danger, and he was only concerned about himself.”
“I realize all of that. And I am angry and hurt. But I still need to talk to him and hear from him directly about everything.”
“Even the affair?” Lainie was immediately sorry she asked the question when pain crossed her sister’s face. But Evie recovered quickly.
“Sorry, that was mean.”
Evie gave a wave of her hand. “Even the affair. Stan has his faults, and so do I. I can’t walk away without talking to him and praying every single day.”
“I get it.”
“Do you? I worry about you, Lainie. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you in church. Do you really understand my faith?”
Lainie looked away, fighting the shame and guilt that threatened to engulf her.
At least it pushed away the anger. She turned back to answer.
“I wouldn’t have known how to answer that question a week ago.
I might have gotten angry. In fact, when you called me before all this mess started and I saw your caller ID, I didn’t want to talk to you, because I didn’t want a lecture about church. ”
“Is that what I do, lecture?”
“No, no, that was just how I saw it then. I didn’t like being called out for my sin.” Lainie took a deep breath and cleared her throat, the pain of that phone call hitting like bricks all over again.
“When I talked to Stan that day, I realized how far I’d moved away from faith. I regret that. I regret that I opened a door for hatred of Vine and closed a door on the love of God. I’ve prayed for forgiveness. I’m trying to move back.”
Evie reached across the table and gripped Lainie’s hand. “A sincere prayer is all it takes. God forgives, Lainie. He forgives you. If he asks me to forgive Stan, I will.”
He lied.
He cheated.
He almost got Evie killed.
Later, as Lainie drove home, she struggled with indignation. How could Evie forgive Stan after all the hurt and pain he’d caused? Then it hit like a fiery arrow to the chest—I expect God to forgive me. How am I any better than Stan?
For a time, I turned my back on God and my family.
I violated department policy and almost lost my job.
I was inches away from a full-blown affair with a married man.
Tears fell as she drove, and Lainie knew she had more soul-searching to do. Her festering anger at Stan was not justified; her sister was right. As someone who was so forgiven, she had no room to withhold forgiveness from Stan.