Chapter 23

“Balm’s got some intel that may shed light on what happened to your cousin.”

“You have?”

“Yes,” Ben-David said. “To make up for your unfortunate experience at the Wheeler-Hardee House, I did a little… investigating.”

“We don’t have all day, Balm. Snap it up.”

Ben-David slanted Mark a glance and his lips twitched in a grin. “Certainly. I tracked down Kilroy, the deputy sheriff who was involved in this. He wasn’t… shall we say pleased?... with the outcome. Apparently he’d been promised more than he received. In addition, he lost his job because of this. So he was very willing to air what he felt were valid grievances.”

“Which he did.”

“Which he did,” Ben-David agreed.

“Keep talking.”

“He admitted he’d ordered the Hummer to be junked. He also made sure certain evidence disappeared. And as I said, when he wasn’t rewarded in the manner he’d been led to expect, he nursed his resentment. When I showed up at his door, he was more than willing to talk.”