“I am. Your car or mine?”
They ended up in Ben’s sedan, and he drove to Orange.
“Is this a company car?” Lainie asked. The nondescript Ford sedan reminded her of a rental.
“What, are you saying that it’s boring?”
“It’s a four-door sedan that could be a low-profile police vehicle,” she teased, feeling good today with a lead to follow.
“Ha, ha. Yeah, it’s my car. It’s efficient.”
“It is that.”
“Back on subject, I feel bad for your sister,” Ben said. “It appeared as if the recollected memories were hard for her to take.”
“Maybe, but she needs to know. Buried wounds usually only fester. Maybe she’ll remember something that will help us find the ledger if we come up empty on her car.”
“I don’t believe we’ll come up empty.” He turned to Lainie and smiled, and his optimism lifted her spirits. For a few seconds, as Ben sped up the freeway ramp, silence filled the car. It was not an uncomfortable silence, but Lainie had questions.
“Why did you become an agent?”
He shot a glance her way and chuckled. “It kind of runs in the family. Dad and Granddad were US Marshals. My way of rebelling was to join the FBI.”
“You didn’t want to save the world?” Lainie teased.
“Nope, nothing noble here. It was more than what I wanted; it was what I was supposed to do. I thought I’d only last a couple of years, though.”
“What happened?”
He didn’t say anything for a minute, tilting his head as if collecting his thoughts.
“After Efren and I became partners, we were part of a team that rescued several children and women from traffickers at the border. They were jammed in a shipping container in hundred-degree heat. The traffickers had left because they knew we were coming. If we hadn’t gotten there when we did, they all would have suffocated.” He paused to check traffic and change lanes.
“It felt good, you know, freeing all of those victims. I guess for a minute I did feel like I could save the world.” He turned to Lainie and shot her a half smile. “So now, there isn’t anything else I’d rather be doing. Your turn.” His blue eyes sparkled with warmth.
Lainie had to look away for a second. This guy was getting under her skin in a good way, and she felt her face flush. “Nothing quite asdramatic. When I was a kid, my best friend was kidnapped off the street, right in front of her house.”
“Whoa. Not dramatic?”
“It turned out okay. I mean, the cops found her, arrested the kidnapper, and brought her home. I remember how scared her mother was while we waited and then how wonderful it was when Jaycee came home. The officer carried her up the walk. Everyone was so happy, so relieved. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to be a cop.”
“Is it everything you thought it would be back then?”
“Rough patches here and there. Vine almost cost me, but yeah, it’s been a good job.”
The freeway drive went fast. Before long, Ben exited the 22 freeway and approached the outlet mall. The parking lot was huge. Ben entered from The City Drive.
“Where do you think Evangeline would’ve parked?”
“She wanted a suitcase, so wherever you see Global Luggage. Let’s start there. And Evie doesn’t park close; she likes to walk.”
As Ben drove up the first aisle of parked vehicles, Lainie’s pessimism kicked in. “I find it hard to believe security here would let a vehicle stay parked in the lot for a week and not do anything with it.”
“I’m still praying we’ll find it.”
“We’re after an older-model blue Toyota Corolla, four doors.”
Ben cruised slowly up and then down several rows of parked cars. There was no blue Toyota near the luggage store. They entered another lot. They’d searched for about ten minutes before they turned a corner, and in the next row of parked vehicles, Lainie saw her sister’s car.
