“You could have come to me or gone to the police.”
“Hindsight is twenty-twenty. Crystal said we could stall Vine, promise him his money plus interest. She swore that it was only money he wanted; he wouldn’t hurt Evie.” Stan began to cry.
“Crystal came up with the life insurance scam? It still makes no sense. How would that play out if you got the money pretending Evie was dead and Evie suddenly appeared alive and well?”
He avoided her gaze, tears streaming down his face. “Don’t you understand? Like I said, I was desperate. All I wanted was Evie back. When she was back and safe, I planned to cross those bridges when I got to them.”
The explanation didn’t make sense to Lainie. Was Stan really that naive?
“When exactly did Vine take Evie?” It was hard to keep the fury out of her voice. Lainie fought the urge to stand and bang the table. Beneath the table her hands were tight fists.
Stan took several deep breaths. “He took her on the Tuesday before we were to leave for Hawaii. That’s why I took the boys to Mom and Pops’ house early. I was a mess. Crystal kept me from losing it completely.”
“Why didn’t you call the police if that monster took your wife?” Jaw tight, she barely kept her cool. The thought of an evil man like Vine having anything to do with Evie came close to making Lainie grab Stan by the neck.
“Because he said he’d kill her. And I stole money—they would have arrested me!”
Lainie nearly launched herself at Stan. She prayed for restraint. This was why detectives didn’t investigate crimes concerning their families. It’s too close—they couldn’t be objective and get the answersthey needed. Lainie needed answers. She took a deep breath. “Did Crystal go with you to Hawaii, pretending to be Evie?”
Stan gave a slight nod. “None of this was my idea. I’ve been played and manipulated. The trip was planned and paid for. Crystal said we could use it to our advantage. Extra money so we didn’t have to give back what we stole. She said we could have it both ways. I could get Evie back and we could still fool Vine.”
Lainie worked to control her breathing, and her anger percolated anew. She’d known that this interview would be hard—she had no idea it would be this hard.
“If it was her idea, you certainly worked hard to sell it. Your phone call to me, to my father. What have you told the boys?”
His head jerked up. “What can I tell them? Crystal insisted that it would work. I wanted it to work with all my heart. I want Evie to be okay.”
“You had to know that you wouldn’t get the money right away.”
“Crystal said that if I claimed a hardship because of the boys, they’d give me the money faster. Then it all went wrong. When you came to Hawaii and I could tell that you didn’t believe me, I panicked. I almost told the truth. I told her you weren’t fooled and asked her what to do about it.”
“What did she say?”
“She told me to man up. Stick with the story. You had no proof of anything; nobody did.” He closed his eyes for a second, then rubbed his chin. When he opened his eyes, he continued. “She insisted that the plan was perfect—if I kept my nerve.”
“She tried to run me over.”
“I had nothing to do with that. I was angry because of it. Crystal left Hawaii after that. The last words she said to me were that she was sorry she’d wasted so much time on me and that I was on my own. I asked her if Evie was still alive.”
“What did she say?”
“She laughed.”
Lainie ran a hand down her face. He had so many chances to come forward and tell them about her sister. Instead, he was only concerned about saving his own skin.
“What about Evie? Has Vine contacted you about Evie since you got back? Where is my sister?”
“I don’t know. I tried to call Vine; he won’t take my calls. I don’t have the money. I don’t have access to the accounts. Crystal has cut me out of everything. She left enough evidence so I’d be arrested for everything. Now she’s gone and I’m in jail.”
“I suppose that you had nothing to do with Ms. Abbott, the day shift supervisor who was murdered in your office.”
“I haven’t been back to my office since I returned from Hawaii.”
“You told my parents the other day that you were going to work.”
“I didn’t go. I was trying to find Crystal. I even sat outside Vine’s house for a bit, went to his cigar club. I never found either of them.”
Lainie leaned back. Stan sniffled; tears dried on his face.
