“Thank you, Beck. So good to hear from you. Take care.”
She disconnected, glad he’d called but wishing that he were here. Mike was great, but Beck would always be her best partner.
She looked back at her computer screen. Could Callen West be related to Avery West? Maybe all of his hatred of cops came from that relative. On a hunch, she putWestinto the search of the document. It took her to another interview and an arrest report. Avery West had been brought in for questioning regarding Daphne’s case.
Lainie frowned. Why didn’t she remember this? Then again, she’d been fixated on Vine the whole time. She never considered that there could be another suspect. Tunnel vision was a bad thing. She’d learned so much from all the mistakes she’d made back then.
West worked part-time at the Barn when Daphne was murdered. He had been uncooperative and then arrested. He was released the next day. He’d been working when Vine was there. Another patron saw Avery and Daphne talking, but there was nothing in the arrest report that said West was connected to Sparks. If he’d cooperated in the first place, he would not have been arrested. He’d been a minor blip, which was probably another reason why Lainie had not remembered him.
If Callen was related to Avery, would that information help the current investigation in any way?
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.
