Page 140 of Sunset Beach
“Yes, it’s all about Jazmin. Ben works with me, at the law firm, on the Justice Line, but he also does some of the firm’s IT work. He somehow saw the security videos from the hotel and figured out what was going on. He tracked Neesa down and somehow, he put it all together. I think he must have gone to the hotel’s insurance company and shared what he knew, for a payoff.”
“Okay…” Hernandez’s voice trailed off. “You’ve lost me now.”
“Ben was my friend. I confided in him that I thought there was something shady about the way my dad’s law firm handled the case.” Her face flushed with embarrassment. “I even told him that at first, I thought my dad had taken a payoff.”
Drue shot her father an apologetic look. “Ben knew I was looking into Gulf Vista. I even called him Friday night to tell him I was going over thereand needed a wingman. He didn’t answer his phone, so I left him a message. And then, after we got the goods on Neesa today, I mean yesterday, I called him again, to tell him about the arrest.”
She took a deep breath. “I told him Neesa mentioned that she’d talked to ‘some dude.’ I just assumed it was Jimmy Zee, our investigator. The next thing I know, he was standing on my doorstep, with a kale smoothie, pumping me for all the details.”
“You say he tried to kill you?” Hernandez said. “With kale?”
“He apparently spiked the smoothie with Oxy, spiked with fentanyl.”
“I’m still confused,” the detective said. “Why would he try to kill you?”
“For the money,” Drue said. “He wanted to keep me from telling my dad that I suspected somebody at the law firm had taken a bribe. I thought it was Jimmy Zee. Turns out it must have been Ben.”
“And you’re sure it was him? Spell that name for me.”
“It’sF-E-N-T-R-E-S-S.Yes, I’m positive. After you left with Neesa, I was alone all afternoon, until he showed up with that smoothie. He sat there, watching me drink it, until I was so stoned I could barely walk. He left, but then he came back, briefly, I’m assuming to get rid of the smoothie.”
Jonah spoke up from the backseat. “Hi. This is another of Drue’s colleagues from the law firm. I work with Ben too. We found Drue at seven-thirty tonight. She was barely conscious. Another of her friends, who was with me, recognized the symptoms of an overdose. He’s the one who called nine-one-one. While we were waiting for the ambulance, we found a bottle of OxyContin in her purse. But there was no smoothie.”
“How about my files? And my notes?” Drue turned to address Jonah. “They were on the kitchen table.”
“Nothing like that,” Jonah said.
“Okay, I’m gonna take this story of yours at face value,” Hernandez said. “Do you have the guy’s address?”
“I don’t,” Drue said.
“I’ve been to his place,” Jonah volunteered. “It’s in Woodlawn.”
Brice had been scrolling through the contacts on his cell phone. He spoke up now. “I have it: 1516 Hibiscus Street.”
“What kind of vehicle does he drive?” Hernandez asked.
“It’s a silver Honda Accord,” Drue said. “Late model, and I think it’s got, like, a Mötley Crüe decal on the back bumper.”
“Do any of you happen to know if this guy has a gun?”
Drue looked at Jonah. “I never heard him talk about owning a gun,” Jonah said. “He doesn’t seem like the type to me.”
“All right,” she said, after a long pause. “Woodlawn is out of my jurisdiction. I’m gonna call St. Pete PD and ask them to pay a call on Ben Fentress, and bring him in for questioning. In the meantime, sit tight until you hear from me.”
“You’ll call us, right?” Brice asked. “As soon as you have him in custody?”
“Yes, Mr. Campbell. I’ll be in contact.”
Drue disconnected and leaned back on the headrest. “I’m spent.”
“You’respent?” Brice said in disbelief. “This is the second night in a row I’ve been up with you at one-thirty in the morning. It reminds me of when you were fifteen, the last summer you lived with me and Joan.”
Drue scowled. “Or as I refer to it, my very own bummer summer.”
“Under the circumstances,” Brice said, “I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to take you home. You’d better come back to my house.”
“Noooo, Dad,” Drue protested. “Ben’s not coming back to the scene of the crime. He’s too smart for that. Just take me home, okay? I haven’t slept in nearly twenty-four hours.”
