Ben walked through his neighborhood after finishing his delicious meal. While he’d enjoyed his lunch on the steps of Jayden’s old home with the young man and Hector, Evelyn had gone back to her desk in his office to eat as she wanted to follow up with the General and Louis Klein on separate matters.
He was walking past Gabriella’s home when he heard Chanel call out to him. He stopped to look back, and her grim expression immediately wiped the smile from his face.
She closed the distance to stand near to him to speak quietly. “They found bodies.”
Ben’s ears began to ring as he jolted. “What? Bodies? As in, more than one?”
Chanel nodded. “I need to inform you that there will be a very painstaking examination of every inch of the chambers found in the sealed basement extension. The house will be under police guard for at least a week.” She took a breath. “There are three bodies, found locked in what looked like prison cells.”
“Did you find Patty?” he asked.
She looked uncomfortable. “The team is still working on identifying the victims.” Her eyes told Ben she believed it was highly likely that one of the bodies belonged to Shelly’s missing sister.
Ben’s mouth opened as his eyes went to the excavation site. He tried to find words to express his horror, but he was at a loss. He closed his mouth, and his jaw flexed as he began to think of who might have done it.
“Was it Marion Spencer?” Ben asked quietly.
Chanel frowned. “It’s too soon to say,” she sighed and shook her head. “I can’t say too much. I won’t jeopardize the case. Now that we have this new evidence, I’ll be interviewing him again.”
Ben saw the grim determination in her lovely eyes. He knew she would get justice for the victims. Then he thought of the news getting out and Beth learning about it that way.
“Are you going to contact Beth to let her know?” he asked.
Chanel looked at him curiously. “The techs informed me that the extended basement was sealed before Beth and her husband purchased the home. They weren’t involved.”
“Of course, but I think she should be told directly, as hearing about this on the news would be a cruel shock,” Ben asserted.
The detective sighed as she contemplated making that call.
“If you’re okay with me calling her to let her know, I’ll do it. I won’t tell her the details, but she should hear about the investigation from us,” he offered.
She looked at him for a moment, then nodded.
“Thanks, Chanel. The site is yours for as long as you need it. No pressure from me. I’ve directed the crew to begin working on the other house I’m tearing down and replacing.”
“Thanks, Ben. I’ll talk to you later?” she said, and he nodded to her. She returned it, then headed back to her team.
Ben’s eyes went back to Beth’s house. He had an uncomfortable call to make, but his friend deserved to know.
Chapter 27
The rest of the week seemed to crawl by for Ben.
He couldn’t get back to working on the battery project as the company that rented space to him was refusing to rent to him again after the previous fiasco. The sergeant went back to researching options.
The crime scene techs were especially meticulous about their investigation, and getting news on their findings was impossible. He didn’t blame them, but it was frustrating to see Shelly so distraught. Trish kept an eye on her at her place and let Ben know she was there, so he felt a little better. He visited, and they spent an evening cuddled on a couch watching Shelly’s and Trish’s home movies.
Speaking of the redhead, while he was visiting, Trish told Ben she had a trip of her own coming up as she would be meeting with some of the marketing teams in the countries they were setting up Foundations in. She’d made a few video calls with prospective candidates, but she needed to have boots on the ground to make her final selections.
Ben let her know he had full confidence in her, and she gave him a searingly sexy kiss for that. Shelly got in on that action, too, much to Ben’s surprise. Then they spent the rest of the evening in Trish’s bedroom.
The demo of Rochelle’s old home was moving forward quickly while they waited to get access to Fourteen Ashburn Court.
He was able to complete his review of Catherine’s report, and Louis Klein was delighted to receive the final version.
Ben had a very terse call with General Davis, who said in no uncertain terms that going on a round-the-world trip was ill-advised. He recommended laying low. Ben let the General know he had no intentions of hiding for the rest of his life. He’d already lost years being a recluse and wouldn’t return to that. If he flushed out the assassins during the trip, he had confidence in his security to deal with them.
The General wasn’t happy, but he knew he couldn’t force Ben to stay home if he wanted his continued involvement with his projects.
After that unpleasant call, Evelyn let Ben know she’d spoken to the General, and while he wasn’t happy about it, he was on board. This also confirmed he was being kept in the loop. The General would be ensuring local resources at each destination were aware of Ben’s presence and keeping an eye on them.
Knowing they’d have boots on the ground watching over them eased some of Ben’s concerns.
Evelyn then told him Louis had confirmed the dates and locations for the meetings the following week. She’d reserved Thomasson’s largest jet for the round-the-world trip, and Dennis was tickled pink.
She was now working on booking their accommodations, and she said she was also making excellent progress on that.
Evelyn also told him the hit squad that came after him at the lab was part of a domestic terrorist network the FBI was hunting. How they’d been activated and sent after him was still being investigated, but the presence of the Russian-trained assassin pointed to their involvement in some way.
As he’d stayed at home, he hadn’t had to deal with any further explosions from Tatiana. Friday morning, he’d bumped into Liliya and Rose in the park as he brought his kids to the daycare. She let him know her partner was focusing on finding her center again. He was hopeful.
General Davis called Ben to say he’d been assured the bottleneck in the communication channels between himself and the CIA had been eliminated. Ben got the impression that this elimination may have had an actual body count connected to it from the way he said it. He assured Ben there were no current threats on the horizon, but they were being extra-diligent to keep tabs on all players in this arena. They wouldn’t allow such a mistake to happen again.
The week was dragging by, and still no sign of Frank until Ben got a call Thursday night.
“Hello?”
“It’s Jayden,” he rasped quietly into the phone. “Frank is on his way over while Penny is distracted with her racing game.”
“Oh, okay. Thanks!” The line went dead.
Ben stood up and walked to the door, arriving just as the doorbell rang. He opened the door and smiled at Frank, looking just a little winded from his run over.
“Come in,” Ben said. “I assume you’ll need to rush back before Penny realizes you’re away?”
Frank grinned self-consciously. “I-I’m sorry to be so rushed, sir.”
Ben shook his head. “I told you, call me Ben.”
Frank bobbed his head in apology. “Sorry, Ben. Yeah, I was hoping to do this properly.”
“Hang on one minute,” Ben said as he looked for Tina and Lucy, but they were still bathing the children. “Come downstairs so we can talk in private.”
Frank followed him down to the media room, and Ben shut the door. He turned back and noticed something different about the man. He seemed… bigger. “Have you been working out?” he asked.
Once more, Frank’s head bobbed but this time with a smile. “Yes, Penny said I had the frame for bigger muscles and thought I’d look good with them, so I’ve been strength training. She likes the bigger me, but I just want to be prepared if we ever get into a situation where I need to quickly put some thug down.”
Ben smiled and chose not to remark upon the strikingly similar hairstyle they now shared.
“It looks good on you,” Ben said simply, and Frank’s smile was wide and grateful, then his expression became earnest.
“What I really came over to speak to you about was to ask for your permission to marry Penny. We love each other, and I’ll be a good and faithful husband to her,” Frank said, and Ben picked up he might have been practicing that little speech.
He grinned at the man and put his hand on his shoulder. “Frank, I’m delighted for you both. I think Penny found a really good man. Did you have a date in mind?”
Frank relaxed, and his smile returned. “I was talking to Jayden, and his plan matches mine. We were thinking of the summer after next. This gives us time to stabilize our careers and gives the ladies time to plan their weddings. I heard Karen speaking to Penny a while back, suggesting a double wedding. This might reduce the costs too!”