CHAPTER 42
Ben nursed a couple cups of coffee in the hospital cafeteria before going to his car. What he hadn’t finished he poured into a to-go cup. He was sleepy and depressed. The expression on Lainie’s face when he’d told her about meeting her sister haunted him. He sat in his car and sipped the bitter, stale coffee.
Thinking back to the meeting with Evangeline, he knew at the time that it was dangerous to contact her. That’s why what he did was outside of policy. His fear for Efren overrode all of his self-control and professionalism. He’d talked himself into believing that nothing would happen because no one would know about the meeting. Did Vine find out about it and target her because of him, or was it because of what Stan and Crystal did? Obviously Lainie believed the former.
He prayed fervently that the contact with Evangeline was not the reason she went missing, but right now his fear was that yes, he was the reason the poor woman had been abducted and was now in the hospital.
What can I do to make it up to her and her family?
Catching Vine would go a long way toward easing Lainie’s anger. Added to all of this was the pain of knowing that while finding Evangeline was a miracle, the odds of a miracle for Efren wereminuscule. Saving Efren was the only thought on Ben’s mind when he contacted Evangeline. And now it was all for naught.
Ben knew exactly what he needed to do. He’d nearly caused the death of an innocent while violating policy. It was time to resign.
He started the car and left the hospital. First thing in the morning, he would submit a formal letter of resignation. He didn’t deserve to be a federal agent.
For a minute, Lainie couldn’t think.My house is on fire?“What?”
“We took a call from your neighbor. Your house is almost fully involved. Your parents live in Long Beach as well, don’t they?”
“They do. Not far from me.”
“Good thing you’re there. Anyone else in your house?”
“No, no, ahh.” She slapped her forehead with her palm, willing her thoughts back to Archie’s situation. There was nothing she could do at her house. She had no pets to save, and everything else could be replaced. If Archie was in danger, she had to act.
“Charlie, something is going on here, at my folks’ house. I’m not certain what—it’s just odd.” She gave him the address. “There’s a strange car out front. You heard about my sister in the hospital, how she ended up there?”
“Yeah, I did. Strange story—she didn’t get eaten by a shark in Hawaii but she did get abducted here?”
“That’s about it, and I’m afraid that my brother and nephews may be hostages here now. Send a couple of units to the house, call it unknown trouble. And let Collins know what’s going on at my folks’ house. I think Shea is still in San Bernardino.”
“You have a plate on the vehicle?”
“Ah, hang on a second.” She’d have to risk running out to the streetto uncover the license plate. There was no way around it; she had to know who the vehicle belonged to.
Frowning, she lowered the phone and jogged to the SUV, keeping an eye on the house. As quickly as she could, she peeled the duct tape off the plate and then recited the number to Charlie as she jogged back to the neighbors’ house.
“It may be nothing, but this car does not belong here. And if my house is on fire, something bad is going down.”
“Copy that plate, stand by. It’s not only yours, but there’s also a second house on fire not very far away. What a day in Long Beach.”
She heard the clicking of computer keys, and she knew Charlie was relaying information to another dispatcher.
“Lainie, that vehicle returns no want, no warrant, registered to Quartz Enterprises. Do you know that company?”
Vine.
“Yeah, I do. Please, Charlie, get me backup right away. I’ll try and see if I can get you more information.”
“Shouldn’t you wait for backup?”
“I need to know now.” Lainie ended the call, opened the gate, and made her way into the backyard. She couldn’t hear anything—not a TV or a radio. The back curtains were closed, so she couldn’t see into the house.
She backtracked to the window for Evie’s and her old room. Mom had long ago turned it into a sewing room. If the window was not locked, she could climb in. Lately the weather had been mild, and since her folks liked fresh air, the windows were likely open. She and Evie had snuck in and out through this window many times when they were growing up.
After silencing her phone, she shoved it into her pocket and then her gun in her waistband. Lainie worked on the window screen. It took some doing and she broke a fingernail, but the screen came off with minimal noise, she hoped.
She set the screen down and away from the window, then put her hands on the window and pushed up, holding her breath. It opened with a grinding squeak, and she winced. When nothing happened, she let out a sigh of relief and pushed it open enough to slip through.
