She felt a little uncomfortable being without her duty weapon. She’d left it locked up in her car, thinking she wouldn’t need it. And in reality, the last place she wanted to get into a gunfight would be the hospital.
Vine arched an eyebrow. “Detective. I’m here to check up on a faithful employee. You might have heard that she was injured in a horrible traffic accident.”
“I have heard. She’s been here for four days. You just checking up on her now?”
“I only recently received the message. What did Crystal witness?”
Lainie heard the question; she wasn’t immediately certain how to answer. The last thing she wanted to do was give away anything she knew but he didn’t.
“I didn’t say I was here for Crystal. Why are you here now? Visiting hours just ended. How did you even get in without someone opening the door?” At that moment Lainie realized that Ava and Cherie were still not on the floor. Other than the patients, the only people on the floor were her, Vine, and his two goons.
“As I stated, I was only just notified.” He leaned forward. “On another subject, I’m astonished to hear that you’re still employed by the city of Long Beach.” His tone turned snarky, his lips curled into a smirk.
“I don’t really care what astonishes you.”
He threw back his head and laughed. The goons with him also smiled.
Lainie seethed inside but she kept her cool. She was fifteen years older and wiser; she would not make the same mistakes she had made when she was green.
When he saw that he hadn’t gotten a rise out of her, the laughing stopped. The smirk stayed.
“It’s just quite a juxtaposition. I read an article just the other day, and it appears as if you have a serious criminal in your family. The only thing he’s not guilty of is having a dead woman in his car. I’d think an officer of the law would have a tighter grip on such things. Amazing how situations turn in time.”
His expression told her that he knew something; he was baiting her. The problem was, as Ben had noted, she had no leverage.
“Nothing’s turned. You’re still a criminal and you won’t evade justice forever.”
His face darkened; a muscle twitched in his cheek. “You’ve been a shadow over my life for long enough. You’re nothing but a bug I’ll squash and then scrape off my shoe. Soon. I’ve waited too long as it is.”
“Are you threatening me?”
Through clenched teeth, he said, “I don’t make threats.”
Lainie tensed but Vine’s attention turned from her when the double doors opened, and Ava and Cherie stepped in. They were chatting, and Lainie caught snatches of their conversation.
“Weird.”
“I don’t think that’s ever happened before.”
Vine glanced behind him, then turned back to Lainie. “I guess we’ll just have to come back tomorrow.” His tone changed instantly to something less sinister and more conciliatory. But darkness never left his eyes.
He turned to leave, and the two goons followed him, but not before each cast a glare toward Lainie.
“You might want to take the stairs,” one of the nurses said. “The elevator malfunctioned a few minutes ago.”
He waved a hand toward her, and the trio exited through the double doors.
When she was sure they were gone, Lainie looked over at Cherie and Ava.
“Who were those guys?” Ava asked. “Did you let them in?”
“No. They opened the door and walked right in. What’s wrong with the elevator?”
“I don’t know,” Ava said as they exchanged glances. “We were both called downstairs separately, and when we got down there, there was nothing for us. So when we hopped onto the elevator to come back upstairs, it wouldn’t work. That’s why we came up the stairs.”
Lainie walked over to the double doors and peered through the window in the door just as Vine and his men stepped onto the elevator and the doors closed. “It works now. They just got on.”
“Weird, huh?” the nurse said.
