“The doctor said this might happen,” Mom said. “She still has coma drugs in her system.”
“Did she say anything about the crash?” Lainie asked.
“No, I don’t think she remembers. She was more confused earlier. I told her that the boys were with Archie.”
Lainie gave her mother the change of clothes she had brought. “I’ll sit with her if you want to go change and get something to eat.”
Mom gave her a hug. “Thank you. I think everything will be all right now.”
She stepped into the restroom to change.
“I wish I could be as optimistic as she is about everything,” Lainie said to her father.
“Our faith gives us reason to be optimistic, Lainie, don’t you agree?”
“I guess I’m getting back to that, Dad. I would feel better if Dallas Vine were in jail.”
Later, after Mom and Dad left for the cafeteria and Lainie sat with Evie, she bent her head to pray.
What a roller coaster the last few days had been. She was so very glad Evie was going to be okay, but a killer still roamed free.
Lainie stood and paced for a bit, yawning. She was still bone-tired; she hadn’t been this sleep-deprived since she worked graveyard patrol. And she was younger then.
Evie began to stir a little and Lainie went back to the bed.
Her sister frowned and her eyes opened. “Lainie?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
Evie seemed worried, her eyes closed, and the frown deepened.
“What’s the matter?” Lainie asked.
“My brain is so foggy. My thoughts are bouncing around. Did I call you?”
“Yeah, you did, but you didn’t leave a message.”
Her eyes opened again. “I had something to tell you, I just can’t remember what it was.”
“It’s all right. I’m sure it will come back to you in time.”
CHAPTER 48
“You can’t quit now,” Mark pleaded with Ben. He had a file in his hand with all the information they had gathered regarding the crash and the incident at the Jensen house.
“I don’t know how I can stay. I saw that woman in the hospital, Mark. Lainie is right; I put her there. Thank God it wasn’t any worse. My actions were reckless. Unforgivable.”
“You don’t know that for sure. Ben, if you quit now, you’re quitting on Efren and Candy.”
That comment cut Ben to the quick. He ran a hand through his hair and said nothing.
Mark put a hand on his shoulder. “If you want to quit, quit. Just wait until this case is resolved. We are finally seeing some chinks in Vine’s armor. The phone records for the man in the SUV passenger seat, Raphael Diaz, show that twenty minutes before the crash he called Vine’s cigar lounge.”
“We can’t link that to Vine directly; he could have called anyone at the lounge.”
“Maybe not. But it is still a possible link to Vine. His next move was sending goons to search and burn houses. Vine is obviously desperate to be so heavy-handed.”
“I agree with that.” Ben nodded.
