Chapter 62
Ben sat silently as Mark drove them back to Long Beach from County General.
He’d known Efren was probably gone, but without a body, there had still been a shred of hope.
That shred was now shattered. Benton had been clear and cold about Efren’s death.
Mark had already notified the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department.
They would conduct a search of the lake for Efren’s remains.
“That was not an easy interview,” Mark said when they were about halfway to the office.
“Do you believe her?” Ben asked.
“I’m leaning that way. She has nothing to lose.”
“I guess if the sheriff finds Efren’s body, we’ll know a lot better.”
“I’m so sorry, Ben. Do you want me to tell Candy?”
“No, no. I’ll go by her house. We should wait until we have confirmation, though.”
“Probably wise.”
“What are you doing here?” Mike walked in while Lainie was still searching old files.
“Hey, partner. I had my psych interview today.”
“Oh, and he confirmed that you’re crazy?”
“Ha. Nope, he cleared me. I’ll just have to wait for the medical doctor to do the same. I feel bad leaving you on your own for so long.”
He sat at his desk. “Don’t rush back on my account. I think I’m going to take a little vacation. My father-in-law needs some help with a home improvement project. I have some time to take off, and we don’t have anything pressing.” He pointed at her monitor. “What’s up?”
She told him about Callen and Avery West.
“I’ve always known that West had an axe to grind. Did you look up Avery West?”
“I was about to.” She returned to her search. “I wanted to find out if Callen was related to Avery.” After a few keystrokes and searching Callen’s bio, she found out that they were, in fact, related.
Mike glanced over her shoulder. “Avery is his uncle. He even listed Avery’s book on police brutality in his bio. No wonder Callen hates cops.”
Lainie nodded in agreement. Should she call Callen back and talk to him, now that she understood exactly where his animosity came from?
Her phone buzzed with a text. It was Shea in homicide. Instead of answering, she decided to walk back to their office on the way out.
“See you, Mike. Have a great working vacation.”
“Thanks, Lainie. You take it easy and heal.”
By the time Ben and Mark arrived in Long Beach, Ben’s mood had lifted. Though their interview with Benton had netted them sad news, it had also given them a probable location for Dallas Vine. The case was breaking open, and Ben wanted to be with the PD when Vine was arrested.
They’d begun to tell Shea and Collins about the interview when Shea stopped them.
“Let me see if Lainie is still here. She should hear all of this.” Shea sent a text and a few minutes later, Lainie walked in. Ben smiled when he saw her, glad that she was still in the station despite her injury.
“Lainie, we just interviewed Crystal Benton. She opened up, gave us some good information,” Ben said.
Surprise crossed her features. “I’m amazed that she talked to you.”
“It was not an easy conversation. We promised her protection. She was cold and pragmatic.” Then Ben let Mark detail the interview they had with Crystal Benton.
“You’re sure your agent is gone?” Shea asked.
“San Bernardino is dragging the lake.”
“I’m so sorry, Ben.” Lainie placed a hand on his forearm, and he appreciated the gesture and genuine care behind it.
He nodded. “What we really wanted you to hear was when we asked her where Vine would go to hide.” They played that portion of the interview.
Collins shook his head. “I was there with the team that searched Smokey Dreams, his cigar lounge. Secret room? I don’t think so.”
“Well, he’s afraid to fly,” Ben said. “We’re reasonably sure he’s not left the state, as sure as we can be without any kind of digital footprint. Maybe we should take another shot at the club.”
“And if the staff of the club is hiding him,” Mark added, “there’s no telling how long he could stay holed up there.”
“She doesn’t give you any hints at all about where the secret room is. Maybe Vine pulled one over on her, and there is no secret room.”
“Lainie, any suggestions?” Shea asked.
“I can’t see him hiding in the cigar lounge no matter how much of a hermit he is. Secret room?” She waved her hand. “Benton was playing you. We should dig deeper into Quartz Enterprises, or maybe work on his men who are still in custody.”
“I wouldn’t doubt that she was manipulating us,” Ben agreed. “And we have been over the company with a fine-tooth comb. Tracking a man who is completely off-grid is near impossible.”
Shea laughed.
“What’s funny?”
“It’s the twenty-first century, and a man can evade everyone with a nineteenth-century attitude. It just struck me as funny.”