Despite wanting to leave and figure out what Moffit was up to, Ben felt a wrench in his gut when he buckled himself in on the plane. Glancing out the window, he felt as if he were abandoning Efren.
He’d exhausted all avenues.
Moffit was a new angle.
The plane took off and he prayed the trip would be worth it, that something would happen on the island that would further his investigation and help him find Efren.
Ben landed late Monday morning at the Kona Airport. Since Hawaii was a couple of hours behind, he gained time. He contacted the local police as soon as he arrived and was told that the detective in charge was at the beach where Evangeline Moffit had been attacked.
The officer at the desk was kind enough to give him the detective’s cell number. Ben called it and Detective Yamada answered.
Ben explained who he was and why he was there. Yamada relayed the details of his investigation, and Ben’s impression of the man was that he was thorough, careful, and methodical. Sometimes methodical men could miss the obvious.
“Is that story plausible to you?” Ben asked after learning what Stan had told the first arriving officers.
“I have no reason to doubt his story. Shark attacks happen.”
“Is there any way Moffit could have killed his wife, then blamed it on a shark?”
“I have no evidence of such a thing.” Ben could hear surprise in the man’s voice and imagined raised eyebrows.
“But you have no evidence that Evangeline Moffit is dead, do you? Not by murder or shark.”
It was a couple of seconds before Yamada answered. “A bit of snorkel and a mask. Not enough blood to test. Others at the beach think they saw the shark, but no one witnessed the actual attack.”
“How did Moffit seem to you?”
“Distraught. He didn’t do or say anything that made me doubt his story. However, I do know that anything is possible. If you know something I should know about the man, please tell me.”
“No, I don’t. My job is to be skeptical. I’m concerned about insurance fraud. The policy is large, around four million dollars. People have committed murder and fraud for less. We need to be certain. Thank you for your help. Do you know if Moffit is still on island?”
“Yes, he’s here on the beach now.”
“Still helpful?”
“There is not much he can help with; still, he appears very worried. I have a helicopter and two men on Jet Skis. Additionally, Moffit’s sister-in-law is here. A detective from California, Elaine Jensen. She doesn’t believe Mr. Moffit. Perhaps the two of you should talk. In any case, we will revisit everything if we find any indication of wrongdoing or subterfuge.”
Elaine Jensen.
“She’s there now?”
“Yes. She plans to kayak in the bay.”
Ben thanked him, ended the call, then opened his iPad to pull up the file. There it was: Elaine Jensen was related to Stanley Moffit. Why hadn’t he connected that earlier? He was preoccupied with Efren, that’s why. He should have dug deeper into Moffit’s background.
Moffit was not considered a major player. Even though he worked for Vine, his connection was tangential. The Bureau had cast a broad net, and Ben was familiar with all the pieces, but obviously not as familiar as he should have been with Moffit. Ben couldn’t let Detective Jensen see him. Mark should have sent someone else.
But then would Ben have let anyone else come? Moffit was a connection to Vine, and no one wanted Vine stopped like Ben did—except Elaine Jensen.
How was Jensen doing now? She’d just lost her sister under what Ben considered suspicious circumstances. She was a good cop. If he found any discrepancies, she probably would as well.
Ben wasn’t certain of his next move. He prayed for Detective Jensen and found himself hoping that whatever happened to Evangeline Moffit was simply a tragic accident, not anything more sinister.
Ben had booked a room at the Hilton, where Moffit was staying. The closer his rental car got to the hotel, Ben knew that he wouldn’t approach Moffit. He couldn’t approach Elaine, so his plan was simply to study the report and to observe everyone. This was a flyover after all. He was getting a feel for the situation, not conducting a full-blown investigation into the attack or the fraud. That was not his job.
Ben knew that the insurance company would eventually send their own investigators, and they would tell Moffit that he would not receive an insurance payout until his wife was officially declared dead. That bit of information was likely to provoke a reaction. Of course,Ben had no idea if Moffit killed his wife. Yet there were notes in the file from one of the original task force agents.“Subject lies easily—no objective evidence he’s involved in illegality, but he bears watching.”
Ben remembered talking to Efren about Moffit. Efren was on the fence about the man. He had taken pains to befriend Moffit. He’d been over to the man’s house for dinner, met Evangeline and their two boys.
