Page 26 of Benjamin and the Thief

“Who do you wanna see?”

“Santiago Vargas, he was convicted a few months ago⁠—”

“I know who he is,” Donnelly interrupted. “It was a big case. What do you want with him?”

“He might have some info on another case I’m working on,” Benjamin lied. “Just wanna ask him a few questions.”

“Alright, I’ll make the call.”

“Thanks, Mike, appreciate it. Take care.”

He disconnected the call. He hated lying, but it was best if nobody knew that he was looking into Santiago’s case. It would ruffle too many feathers. And for all he knew, this was a fool’s errand. The only reason he was doing it was that he cared about Catalina and wanted to put her doubts to rest so she could accept her brother’s fate.

13

The drive to the California State Correctional Facility in San Bruno, just south of San Francisco, also called County Jail Number Three, was a short one. On two sides, the property was surrounded by a greenbelt and woods, the other sides bordered a local college and a residential community.

Benjamin hadn’t been here before. In fact, it was rare that he or anybody else from Scanguards had to deal with inmates, unless they were vampires, and those were housed in the vampire prison in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, a four-hour drive from San Francisco.

“There is visitor parking around the corner,” Catalina said, pointing to a road to the left of the main entrance.

“How often have you been visiting your brother?” he asked, while he drove to the parking area.

“Once a week. I’m trying to keep his spirits up…” She shrugged. “It must be awful in there for him.”

Benjamin parked the car and put his hand on Catalina’s thigh, squeezing it gently. “Let’s go talk to him.”

They got out of the car, and he took her hand into his. Together, they walked to the main entrance. It didn’t take long to get admitted to the visitor area. Donnelly had called ahead and even made sure that they could meet with Santiago in a private room normally utilized by inmates and their attorneys. He appreciated the gesture.

As they waited inside the small room with a table and several chairs, Catalina squeezed his hand. There was a large window that looked out onto the corridor so anybody could look inside the room.

“I normally have to visit with him in the main visitor hall. It’s loud there. How did you manage to get them to give us this room?”

“I know the Chief of Police. He made the arrangements.”

“Thank you,” she murmured.

A few moments later, there were sounds outside the door, and through the glass insert, he saw a young Latino appear on the other side, with a guard next to him. The door opened, and Santiago, dressed in prison garb, entered.

The guard nodded at Benjamin. “I’ll be watching from outside.”

“Thank you, officer,” Benjamin said.

With a look at the prisoner, the guard added, “There’ll be no touching. Vargas, sit down.”

He left the room and closed the door.

“Santiago,” Catalina said. “What happened to you?”

She pointed to his split lip. It wasn’t the only bruise on him. But the others were older. It wasn’t hard to guess what had happened to him. Some of the other prisoners were showing him who was boss. And a young man like Santiago, who looked no older than twenty-four and had fine features, was welcome fodder for the bullies behind bars.

“It’s nothing,” Santiago claimed. Then he cast a glance at Benjamin.

“This is Benjamin,” Catalina introduced him. “He’s a friend. He’s going to help us get you out of here.”

“Are you a lawyer?”

Benjamin shook his head and motioned to the table and chairs. “Please take a seat.”