“Desperate men make mistakes. We’ve got two in custody, and we know that Vine is searching for a ledger. Help me finish the job, Ben. We can put Vine away for Efren.” He held out the file for Ben to take.
Ben stared at it for a minute. In his whole career, he’d never felt more useless than he had when Lainie Jensen called him out about putting her sister in danger. Now he knew what Mark said was true—if he left now, he’d be quitting on Efren.
Efren would never quit on him.
Finally, Ben reached out and took the file. Maybe closing this case the right way would provide some redemption.
“Thanks, bud. Let’s get this guy. What else do you have?”
Ben sat at his desk and opened the file Mark had given him. The burner phone was too damaged to retrieve any information. Besides the one call to the cigar lounge on the phone belonging to Raphael Diaz there was nothing useful on the phones. Those men were both dead, and other than the fact that Diaz worked for Stan, Ben saw no way to connect them to Vine.
He moved to the information on the two men caught in the Jensen home. Tom Thornton was a fired cop who worked for Quartz Enterprises. Davis Compton had been an armored truck driver until he got fired when money came up missing. His employer was also listed as Quartz Enterprises, not Dallas Vine.
Vine always built in plausible deniability.
Frustrated, Ben went back to the file containing all of Efren’s notes, searching for any mention of a ledger. Nothing. He reread Efren’s notes:I have no clue about the code—how important it is, who knows it. I’ve found no threads or notes to help with the code, but I will keep searching.
A couple of items Ben had missed before caught his attention. One was mention of Crystal Benton:So much going on here—Benton knows where all the bodies are buried, but she is as loyal as they come.
And the second was a note about Vine’s personal bodyguard:Plug, might be way more involved than I know.
He wasn’t sure why he’d missed those before and why they jumped out at him now. Hank Bucshon had told him he thought Plug and Benton were involved. Did that hold more significance than Ben thought? If Vine had an important ledger, certainly his girlfriend and his bodyguard would have access to it.
But why did Efren never mention a ledger? Everyone knew Vine was averse to technology, but the idea of his keeping important information in a ledger was never considered.
Maybe that’s what Efren found at the last minute and what cost him his life. But if so, where was Efren and where was the ledger?
After two days, her mother was finally convinced to go home and rest for a bit.
“Evie is doing so much better,” Mom told Lainie when Dad brought her home. Lainie was herself preparing to go for a visit.
“I was able to help her wash her hair and even gave her some lipstick to use. Not only was she up, but she was walking with the aid of a walker.”
The news cheered Lainie, and she was excited about what she’d find when she got to Evie’s room. By the time she connected with her sister, it was obvious that Evie was more clearheaded and alert. To Lainie, her sister was almost back to normal.
“I’m as weak as a kitten,” Evie said. “The first time I stood, I nearly fell. But every time I try again, I get better.”
She handled the news about Stan and the crash stoically.
“There were two people in the car with me?” Evie asked Lainie.
“Yes, one of them worked for Stan. Raphael, remember him?”
“The detailer. Sure.”
“You were on 330, coming down the mountain.”
“Wow, I have no memory of that.”
“Don’t fret, Evie. I’m sure things will come back to you in time.”
“I’m glad you’re so optimistic.”
“I am.”
“When can I see the boys?”
“Dad and Archie will bring them later this afternoon,” Lainie said. “Mom is resting.”
