“Yeah.” Lainie didn’t like it at all. She would use the wordsinister. Vine didn’t just show up to check on Benton. All her instincts were tingling, telling her that Vine was here because he was up to no good.
Her phone rang, and she saw that Mike was calling. “Hey, partner, what’s up?”
“I wanted to let you know how it went with Bucshon. Are you still in San Bernardino?”
“I am. I was just getting ready to leave.” She took a seat back in her chair. “What did Hank say?”
“Some interesting things about Benton. Bucshon’s attorney allowed me to record the interaction. I’ll send it to you in an MP3 file and you can listen to it at your leisure. He offered nothing that we can use in court, but he did give some interesting insight into the relationship between Stan and Crystal Benton.”
“I can’t wait to hear it.”
“Are you heading back to the city?”
“I was, but something weird just happened.” She explained to him about Vine’s visit.
“Strange. From what I’ve heard, that guy never comes out in public anymore. If he showed up to try and check up on Benton, wow, something is going on.”
“I agree. I’m almost afraid to leave.”
“You can’t stay there indefinitely. At some point you must trust hospital security.”
“I know you’re right. I’ll call the sheriff’s office and give them a heads-up. Send the file.”
“You got it.”
After about a minute, her phone chimed with an incoming message. Lainie could sit here for a few minutes and listen to the interview. She put her earbuds on and downloaded the file. It took a few minutes, but the hospital Wi-Fi was more than adequate.
The file opened with the normal sounds of people moving around, and Mike announced who was present and that the recording was allowed by Bucshon’s public defender.
“Thanks for getting me sent here, Detective Pepper.”
“I wish I could take credit for it, Hank. But the Feds put you here.”
“Whoever, it’s just better here than County.”
“Are you ready to answer some questions?”Mike asked.
“I’ll answer whatever I can.”
“Do you know who Stan Moffit is?”
“Yeah. He was the stooge running Sudsy Place.”
“Why do you call him a stooge?”
“He isn’t that bright. He doesn’t really know what he’s doing. Out of his league really.”
“League?”
“Yeah, Vine is miles ahead of that guy. And so is that girl of his, Crystal. I think the two of them play Moffit, like an instrument. Especially the girl. Moffit is one of those guys who checks his brain at the door when he sees a pretty face. Just my observation.”
“Why do they need to play Moffit?”Mike asked.
There was the sound of fidgeting, whispering. Lainie heard a voice she guessed belonged to the attorney. The sound of someone clearing their throat, then Bucshon spoke again.
“Sudsy Place is a drop. Money comes in and instructions go out. Moffit ain’t going to question anything.”
“What do you mean by that?”
