“Big news. Mark Benson slept at the farmhouse,” she said, pacing in front of the window.
“Are you sure?”
“LeVar and I found muddy shoe prints trailing through the kitchen and up the staircase. There’s a blanket and pillow stuffed inside the closet with a padded carpet strip on the floor. As far as I can tell, Benson curled up inside the closet and slept with the door closed, in case you stormed the farmhouse.”
“Not that we wouldn’t check the closets.”
“He isn’t the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree. I also noticed a gray hair on the pillow.”
“Nice work. Don’t touch anything.”
“LeVar and I gloved up.”
“Lambert started his shift at noon. I’ll call him and have him drop by with an evidence kit.” Thomas hesitated. “Just wondering, Chelsey. How did you get past a locked door?”
“If I told you the wind blew it open, would you believe me?”
“Not really, but we’ll go with that for now.”
“For what it’s worth, the back door was open. It appears Benson kicked his way inside.”
Thomas set the phone aside while he radioed Deputy Lambert.
“All right. Lambert should arrive after two-thirty.”
“Thomas, when was the last time you spoke to Raven?”
“Deputy Aguilar joined Raven at the municipal park a half-hour ago.”
“The Wolf Lake municipal park?”
“Another possible Benson sighting. Someone called the advertising firm Ellie Fisher works for and set up a meeting in the park. Raven showed up in Ellie’s place, and a red Mitsubishi Mirage fled the scene. She didn’t get a plate number.”
“Is Raven still with Aguilar? I’m uncomfortable with her investigating alone.”
“I don’t like it, either. Benson already went after Ellie Fisher. Seems he’s settling scores today.”
“The idiot should be in hiding.” Chelsey pushed her hair back. “If you talk to Raven, send her our way. There’s safety in numbers.”
“Will do. Put me on speaker phone. I have a question for LeVar.”
“Give me a second.”
Chelsey held the phone in her palm.
“Hey, LeVar. I interviewed Derek Jordan’s friend this afternoon, and a familiar name came up.”
LeVar stepped closer.
“Who?”
“The kids in Barton Falls purchase drugs from Troy Dean and the 315 Royals.”
The teenager cocked an eyebrow.
“Troy strayed far from home.”
“That was my thought too.”
“Makes sense, though. Without the Kings running Harmon, the Royals control everything. My guess is Dean wants to expand his reach.”
“Pretty risky for a gang leader to push drugs outside his territory.”
“Not when you’re surrounded by muscle. Who in Barton Falls can stand against the Royals?” LeVar tilted his head. “Is Dean a suspect?”
“He’s on my radar. How well did you know him?”
“Never had the displeasure. The guy is a scumbag. The Royals won’t take care of the neighborhood the way we did before Rev ran the Kings.”
Rev had led the Harmon Kings gang until August. After the gang member broke into LeVar’s house and tried to murder the teenager, the sheriff’s department arrested Rev. Additional charges ensured Rev would serve multiple years in prison.
After Thomas finished questioning LeVar, Chelsey turned off speaker mode and placed the phone to her ear.
“Not that I need to tell you this,” said Thomas. “Stand down until Lambert arrives. It’s not even a great idea for me to know you’re in the house.”
“We’ll play it cool.”
Thomas sighed.
“Okay. I need to go. Detective Presley and I are meeting with Derek Jordan’s girlfriend at three o’clock. I’m not looking forward to this.”
“Oh, God. Breaking the news that someone murdered her boyfriend…I’m sorry, Thomas. Do you have a suspect yet?”
“This early in the investigation, everyone is a suspect.” Detective Presley spoke in the background. “Gotta go, Chelsey. Love you.”
A soothing warmth poured through Chelsey’s heart.
“I love you too. Stay safe.” Chelsey pressed end and found LeVar smirking at her. “What?”
“You and Shep Dawg. You’re a modern day—”
“If you say Romeo and Juliet, I’ll slug you.”
“Was thinking more Bonnie and Clyde. Or Kanye West and Jay-Z.”
“A posse gunned down Bonnie and Clyde in rural Louisiana. And aren’t Kanye and Jay-Z on the outs?”
LeVar scratched behind his ear.
“Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny don’t see eye-to-eye, either. I’ll come up with a better comparison next time.” He strolled to the window and studied the countryside. “What are the chances Benson will come back tonight?”
Chelsey thought for a moment and shook her head.
“Not high. Even Benson isn’t that stupid. While we watched the house from the car, Benson attempted to kidnap Ellie Fisher in the village.”
“He’s spinning out of control.”
“The sheriff’s department and Kane Grove PD are searching the village. By now, Benson knows they’re looking for a stolen Mitsubishi.”
“Either he abandons the car and hot-wires a different vehicle, or he flees New York before the cops close in.”
“And Raven is still working alone. Benson might be crazy enough to go after her before he finds a way out of the state.”
LeVar pressed his lips together. The teenager did his best to conceal his emotions, but Chelsey spied the concern in his eyes.
“She can take care of herself.”
“I’ll feel better when she has backup.” Chelsey skimmed her contact list. “I’m calling Darren.”
LeVar returned to the search. His footsteps trailed down the hallway and disappeared inside another bedroom.
“Hey, Chelsey,” Darren said, answering on the first ring. He sounded out of breath. “How’s the investigation going?”
“Catching a ghost isn’t easy,” she said with a groan. “How soon can you leave work? Raven spotted Mark Benson in Wolf Lake.”
“He’s in the village? She didn’t tell me.”
“Because she’s stubborn and won’t ask for help.” The irony wasn’t lost on Chelsey. She’d just described herself from this past summer. “I don’t want Raven driving around by herself.”
Voices spoke in the background.
“Neither do I. But I can’t leave until the top of the hour. And honestly, three o’clock might be pushing it.”
“Sounds busy there. Did something happen?”
“Uh, a hiker wandered off trail and fell down the incline. The guy snapped his ankle. I carried the hiker out with his partner, and now we’re waiting for the ambulance to depart.”
“That’s not good.”
“The guy is fortunate he didn’t fall
