El stepped on board. “First, we pay Bonnie another visit.”
24
El didn’t waste any time making the short drive to the center, where they found Bonnie sitting behind her desk.
She lifted her head and froze. Then blinked. A long exhale of air followed. “Detective. How can I help you?”
Her personable yet detached tone irritated El, but she couldn’t say why. “We learned that Carl Acosta’s daughter attends your center. Is that right?”
She pointed at the chairs by her desk. “Have a seat.”
El opted to remain standing, and so did Gabe.
“Please answer my question. Does Carl Acosta’s daughter attend here?”
“Kind of,” she replied. “She’s his legal daughter, but he no longer has custody, and if he shows up here, we’re to call the police.”
“I don’t understand,” El said. “He was the man in the van watching your center, and you talked to him outside the center. If you’re supposed to call the police, why aren’t there police reports for such an incident?”
She sighed, her breath rushing out. “All he wanted to do was see her from the van. That was why he was watching us. He wasn’t a threat to anyone.”
El begged to differ. “That’s not your decision to make. He could’ve been here to abduct his daughter. But that doesn’t matter right now. What I want to know is what did he mean when he said to you, ‘We need her to come through for us, and you’re gonna make sure that happens.’”
“Talia Vogel’s dad told you this, didn’t he? She had him spying on us for days.” She crossed her arms. “Well, I don’t have to say anything. It’s personal.”
“Personal or not, this is a murder investigation.”
She raised her chin. “He wanted me to talk to his ex-wife. To try to get her to change her mind about his visitation rights.”
“Hah,” Gabe said. “You expect us to believe you when the last part of his demand sounded like a threat, not simply asking a favor.”
“No. No threats.” She held up a placating hand. “You’re misunderstanding. He was just upset.”
“Why you?” El asked. “What could you possibly do to persuade his ex to change her mind?”
She held both hands in front of her face as if she wanted to hide. “I was the reason he lost custody in the first place.”
Now they were getting somewhere, and El cast a knowing look at Gabe. He gave a brief nod of understanding.
“Explain,” El said.
She lowered her hands, her gaze darting about as if looking for an escape. She shook her head and let her arms fall to her sides. “We made a mistake. Spent the night together. It wasn’t planned. One night he couldn’t get to the center before closing to pick his daughter up, so I dropped her off at his apartment. I never do that, but he would have lost custody if he didn’t pick her up, and I felt sorry for him. He invited me in for a drink. Itwas one of those days, so I agreed. Then we had a second drink. A third. Maybe a fourth, and one thing led to another. We fell asleep. The next morning, his daughter saw us together. She told her mother. That was all the ammunition his wife needed to get full custody.”
“Will he corroborate your story?” El asked.
“I don’t know, but I hope so, because I’m telling the truth.”
“We’ll talk to him next.”
“You can’t,” she said quickly. “He’s out of town for the week.”
El wasn’t sure if she should believe her or not. “Give me his cell number. I’ll give him a call.”
Bonnie grabbed a notepad and jotted it down then shoved the page across the desk.
El picked it up to confirm she’d noted a full phone number. “You’re not to have any contact with him or try to coerce him into agreeing to your story. Is that understood?”
“Perfectly. I don’t want anyone to find out about this. Can it stay between us?”
