Chapter 52
Evie and her mother left after the unpleasant memories resurfaced. Evie wanted to rest, and Mom agreed. She was very protective. Lainie had a tempered excitement about what she’d heard.
“After a week, I doubt the car is still there.” She hated to put a damper on Ben’s unbridled optimism. In her mind’s eye, she remembered what had happened to Efren’s car, how destroyed it had been.
“Shea put a BOLO out for it. If it had been impounded, we would have heard from the impounding jurisdiction.”
“All the more reason to hope that it’s still there,” Ben said, countering her negativity.
“Ah, it’s a Toyota Corolla. They’re easily stolen.”
“Let’s think positively. You’re still up for a drive out there, aren’t you?”
“I am. Your car or mine?”
They ended up in Ben’s sedan, and he drove to Orange.
“Is this a company car?” Lainie asked. The nondescript Ford sedan reminded her of a rental.
“What, are you saying that it’s boring?”
“It’s a four-door sedan that could be a low-profile police vehicle,” she teased, feeling good today with a lead to follow.
“Ha, ha. Yeah, it’s my car. It’s efficient.”
“It is that.”
“Back on subject, I feel bad for your sister,” Ben said. “It appeared as if the recollected memories were hard for her to take.”
“Maybe, but she needs to know. Buried wounds usually only fester. Maybe she’ll remember something that will help us find the ledger if we come up empty on her car.”
“I don’t believe we’ll come up empty.” He turned to Lainie and smiled, and his optimism lifted her spirits. For a few seconds, as Ben sped up the freeway ramp, silence filled the car. It was not an uncomfortable silence, but Lainie had questions.
“Why did you become an agent?”
He shot a glance her way and chuckled. “It kind of runs in the family. Dad and Granddad were US Marshals. My way of rebelling was to join the FBI.”
“You didn’t want to save the world?” Lainie teased.
“Nope, nothing noble here. It was more than what I wanted; it was what I was supposed to do. I thought I’d only last a couple of years, though.”
“What happened?”
He didn’t say anything for a minute, tilting his head as if collecting his thoughts.
“After Efren and I became partners, we were part of a team that rescued several children and women from traffickers at the border. They were jammed in a shipping container in hundred-degree heat. The traffickers had left because they knew we were coming. If we hadn’t gotten there when we did, they all would have suffocated.
” He paused to check traffic and change lanes.
“It felt good, you know, freeing all of those victims. I guess for a minute I did feel like I could save the world.” He turned to Lainie and shot her a half smile. “So now, there isn’t anything else I’d rather be doing. Your turn.” His blue eyes sparkled with warmth.
Lainie had to look away for a second. This guy was getting under her skin in a good way, and she felt her face flush. “Nothing quite as dramatic. When I was a kid, my best friend was kidnapped off the street, right in front of her house.”
“Whoa. Not dramatic?”
“It turned out okay. I mean, the cops found her, arrested the kidnapper, and brought her home. I remember how scared her mother was while we waited and then how wonderful it was when Jaycee came home. The officer carried her up the walk. Everyone was so happy, so relieved. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to be a cop.”
“Is it everything you thought it would be back then?”
“Rough patches here and there. Vine almost cost me, but yeah, it’s been a good job.”
The freeway drive went fast. Before long, Ben exited the 22 freeway and approached the outlet mall. The parking lot was huge. Ben entered from The City Drive.
“Where do you think Evangeline would’ve parked?”
“She wanted a suitcase, so wherever you see Global Luggage. Let’s start there. And Evie doesn’t park close; she likes to walk.”
As Ben drove up the first aisle of parked vehicles, Lainie’s pessimism kicked in. “I find it hard to believe security here would let a vehicle stay parked in the lot for a week and not do anything with it.”
“I’m still praying we’ll find it.”
“We’re after an older-model blue Toyota Corolla, four doors.”
Ben cruised slowly up and then down several rows of parked cars. There was no blue Toyota near the luggage store. They entered another lot. They’d searched for about ten minutes before they turned a corner, and in the next row of parked vehicles, Lainie saw her sister’s car.
“I can’t believe it; there it is, the next endcap.”
“I see it.” Ben sped up and pulled in next to Evie’s car.
It was dusty, one back tire was low, but it was Evie’s car. There was a ticket under the windshield wiper blade. They both got out and walked around the Toyota.
Lainie pulled the ticket and held it up. “Three-day warning for an abandoned vehicle. Placed by a meter maid. They never would have checked the plate for a BOLO. It’s set to be towed tomorrow.”
Lainie leaned forward and peered into the driver’s-side window. Like their mother, Evie was a neat freak. The inside of the vehicle was spotless, save for a Bible on the back seat. Then again, she’d just had it detailed.
Lainie pulled out her phone. “I’ll call for a tow truck.”
“Great. I can’t wait to get inside this car.”
An hour later, the tow truck arrived. To pull the car up onto the flatbed, the driver needed to disengage the brake. He used a Slim Jim to open the driver’s door and get inside the car.
“I want to wait until we’re inside the yard to do a thorough search,” Ben said. “But how about a cursory one?”
“Sure.” Lainie popped the trunk, and Ben searched there while she checked the glove box and the car’s interior.
All she found, besides the Bible, was the manual for the vehicle.
She removed the Bible, intending to return it to Evie as soon as she could.
Knowing Evie, the Bible was probably well used, marked up, and very important to her.
The well-worn case Evie kept her Bible in bore the inscription His grace is enough.
“Anything in the trunk?”
Ben shook his head. “Just an emergency road kit, tools, and first aid, that kind of thing.”
Once the car was loaded, Ben and Lainie followed the tow truck back to Long Beach.
To Lainie it was one of the many incongruities of this case that they didn’t have the car keys.
For some reason, Evie had Crystal’s purse and ID and her own jewelry but not her car keys.
Or any other personal property belonging to Evie.
And, of course, the spare keys most likely burned up in the house fire.
Lainie called Shea while Ben drove, explaining the find.
“You’re supposed to be off, taking care of your house,” Shea teased. “What are you doing out in Orange, Lainie?”
“Evie’s car was the last big missing piece. Got to get to the bottom of things. I am an impatient sort, you know that.”
“Hugh and I can’t get to the tow yard tonight. Have Isaacs record everything.”
“Of course. And I’ll call you if we find anything important.”
It was dark by the time they arrived at the tow yard. Ben followed the tow truck through the gate, and it closed behind them. He parked and they walked to where the tow truck had stopped.
Mel came out of the office. “This car is in better shape than the last one you came here for,” he said to Lainie.
“What are you still doing here Mel? Isn’t it past your bedtime?”
“Ha. Night guy called in sick. I’m getting a little OT. And I have another call for the driver.” He pointed with a piece of paper in hand toward the tow truck driver.
Meanwhile, the driver maneuvered to a relatively uncrowded portion of the lot to place the vehicle, not far from the office. Ben and Lainie watched as he unloaded the Toyota from his wrecker. When it was unhooked and in place, the driver took the paper from Mel and headed out for his next call.
“It’s all yours, guys,” Mel said. “I’m curious, what are you after?”
“Evidence,” Lainie said. “We’re hoping there’s something hidden in the car.”
“I hope you find it.” The phone rang. The office had a ringer in the yard so calls would not be missed, and Mel jogged back inside, leaving Lainie and Ben to their search.
“Will you open all four doors, the hood, and the trunk as I record this on my phone?” Ben asked.
“Sure.” Lainie hit the unlock button and opened all four doors wide.
Then she lifted the hood and opened the trunk.
In the trunk she found a black backpack.
When she opened it, she saw the roadside emergency kit Ben had mentioned.
There were flares, an emergency blanket, a tool kit, and a first aid kit inside.
Under the hood was nothing but the engine.
She stepped back while Ben recorded a description of what they were doing and why.
“Is there a flashlight in the trunk?” Ben asked.
Lainie checked and found one. She illuminated the inside of the vehicle.
Wide open, brightly illuminated, the inside was spotless.
She opened the glove box. Along with some Kleenex was the vehicle’s manual.
She continued searching the vehicle, shining the light under the seats, flipping down the sun visors, peering into the door pockets.
When she finished, Lainie faced Ben and shook her head. He paused recording. “What?”
“There’s nothing here. This is a waste.”
“I don’t think so. Remember I told you that Vine hid things inside cars? He removed door panels, seat backs. There’s something here; I feel it.”
Lainie stood back, hands on her hips. “Have at it.”
Ben knocked on the front door panel, then the back passenger door panel behind the driver’s seat. They both sounded hollow. He moved to the car’s other side. The rear passenger door panel sounded different.
Lainie arched an eyebrow, feeling excitement rise. He knocked on the front passenger door; it sounded hollow like the other two doors.
Pointing to the door panel for the back passenger door, he said, “There is something in this panel. I need a screwdriver.”
“Tool kit.” Lainie went to the trunk and opened the kit. She grabbed the screwdriver and handed it to Ben.
Vehicle lights cut into the dark, and Lainie glanced over her shoulder. The tow truck was back.
He handed her his phone. “Keep recording.” Then he knelt and pried at the door panel. One edge came up rather easily, and with a quick pull, Ben removed the panel. There, taped to the metal frame, was a black leather notebook.