Lainie checked and found one. She illuminated the inside of the vehicle. Wide open, brightly illuminated, the inside was spotless. She opened the glove box. Along with some Kleenex was the vehicle’s manual. She continued searching the vehicle, shining the light under the seats, flipping down the sun visors, peering into the door pockets.
When she finished, Lainie faced Ben and shook her head. He paused recording. “What?”
“There’s nothing here. This is a waste.”
“I don’t think so. Remember I told you that Vine hid things inside cars? He removed door panels, seat backs. There’s something here; I feel it.”
Lainie stood back, hands on her hips. “Have at it.”
Ben knocked on the front door panel, then the back passenger door panel behind the driver’s seat. They both sounded hollow. He moved to the car’s other side. The rear passenger door panel sounded different.
Lainie arched an eyebrow, feeling excitement rise. He knocked on the front passenger door; it sounded hollow like the other two doors.
Pointing to the door panel for the back passenger door, he said, “There is something in this panel. I need a screwdriver.”
“Tool kit.” Lainie went to the trunk and opened the kit. She grabbed the screwdriver and handed it to Ben.
Vehicle lights cut into the dark, and Lainie glanced over her shoulder. The tow truck was back.
He handed her his phone. “Keep recording.” Then he knelt and pried at the door panel. One edge came up rather easily, and with a quick pull, Ben removed the panel. There, taped to the metal frame, was a black leather notebook.
CHAPTER 53
Ben sat back on his heels when he found the book. He looked up at Lainie. “Can you believe it?”
“I need to call Shea. We should put this in an evidence bag.” She handed him his phone and pulled her own out of her pocket.
Chain of evidence would be important if this ledger got to court. As much as Ben wanted to rip it open, he could wait.
He put the screwdriver down, squatted, and took his phone, recording a close-up of the book. He was a little disheartened by what he saw. The cover was untreated leather. That meant that finding fingerprints was not likely; the surface was too porous. Depending on what they found in the book, they’d want it tied to Vine without a shadow of a doubt. His prints would have helped immensely. It also had a small lock on it, like a diary lock that needed a small key.
I’m getting ahead of myself,Ben thought.Jumping to conclusions. How can we prove that this was left here by Efren?
Standing, Ben waited for Lainie to finish her call.
“He’ll be in the office if we bring this down. What’s the matter? You look disturbed.”
“The cover excludes prints. And I guess I’m getting a little worried—what if this book is not what we think?”
“Why would Efren go to the trouble of hiding it?”
“How can we prove Efren hid it? You need to call your sister and make sure she or Stan didn’t hide the book.”
“I’m sure they wouldn’t do that, but I know what you’re saying. We’re likely to have to prove chain of custody to a jury. This is my sister’s car. Without Efren to testify, we need a solid connection to Vine.”
“Right. You and I can be convinced that Efren put it here and that it cost him his life, but we need to be able to prove that to twelve people who didn’t know him. Well, here goes, I’m going to pull it off.”
He stooped over and yanked the book from the doorframe. The book was the size of a diary. Ben turned it over in his hands. “No title.”
“If this puts Dallas Vine in prison, I think I’ll call it an early Christmas gift,” Lainie said.
Ben smiled. “I like that. Let’s get to the station.”
They bagged it, wanting to open it with Shea and Collins present so no one could imply that they wrote anything in the book or altered it in any way.
I pray this is from you, my friend,Ben thought, again hoping Efren’s loss was not in vain.
CHAPTER 54
