Page 31 of Benjamin and the Thief

“Is your mother in treatment there?”

Catalina nodded. “Yes, but it took several months until she could find a hospital that was willing and able to treat her. Santiago and I sent as much money as we could, but we didn’t have much either. Then Santiago got that job with the electrician. A few months later he was arrested.”

She looked at Benjamin. “The prosecution knew about all of this, and they used the information on our parents’ deportation and the need for money for Mama’s cancer treatment to paint him in the worst possible light. They tried to make the jury believe that Santiago was an undocumented alien, a parasite, even though he was born here and is therefore a citizen. And they claimed that he had a financial motive for stealing from the Prestons: so he could pay for Mama’s chemotherapy in Mexico.”

Benjamin felt his heart break for Catalina and her family. It wasn’t hard to imagine how the jury had reacted to the prosecutor’s allegations and come back with a guilty verdict. Santiago was the perfect scapegoat. But he’d seen something different in the young man he’d met in the San Bruno Jail. He was glad now that Catalina had withheld the information about the security tape from him. It had allowed him to form an unbiased opinion of Santiago. He liked the kid. He’d seen no deception in his eyes, no evil or treachery in him, no greed, just desperation and fear of what else would happen to him in prison.

Luckily, the latter issue was something he could handle.

“I’ll do what I can to help Santiago and your parents.”

For starters, from tonight, there’d be somebody inside the prison who’d have Santiago’s back. He’d have to pay for it, but that wasn’t a problem. He’d been working for Scanguards since he was eighteen, and because he’d been living in a flat owned by his parents, he’d never had to pay rent. He’d saved most of his money, and now it was time to spend it on something worthwhile. And protecting a life was always worthwhile. But he didn’t want Catalina to know that he was spending money on her brother. She would feel even more indebted to him, and he didn’t like that kind of dynamic between them. He wanted her to be with him because she wanted him, not because he was generous to her family.

As for her mother: he would speak to Maya, the Scanguards physician, to see if there was something they could do to help. This was a more sensitive issue, and it wasn’t his decision even though he wished it was that easy. It was something that Amaury, Gabriel, and Samson, the three top vampires at Scanguards, would have to vote on.

“We’re almost here,” Benjamin announced when he saw the Bryant Street exit.

He parked in the police lot of the SFPD building after flashing his special police pass that Chief of Police Michael Donnelly had ordered all Scanguards investigators to be issued. This was relatively new and had been instituted after Cooper, one of the vampire hybrids at Scanguards, had been arrested by his now-mate, Anita, who’d suspected him of being the serial killer she’d been hunting. Even though Cooper had reportedly enjoyed the handcuffs she’d put on him a little too much, Donnelly had insisted that Scanguards investigators carry additional identification they could flash should they get into similar situations.

“Come,” Benjamin said and led Catalina into the building.

His phone had chimed earlier, and he now checked his messages.

“Anita is expecting us.”

“Is she your friend’s wife? The one who’s the liaison?”

“Yes. She was a Sheriff’s Deputy back in a small town in Nevada when she came to San Francisco hunting a serial killer. That’s where she met my friend Cooper. They’ve been together for four years now.”

“She hunted a serial killer? She sounds impressive.”

“She is.”

After signing in, they made their way to the third floor, where Anita’s office was located. She was expecting them.

“Hey, Benjamin,” she greeted him, then looked at Catalina. “Hi, I’m Detective Anita Diaz-Montgomery.”

“This is Catalina Vargas,” he introduced Catalina.

She shook Anita’s hand. “Thank you for seeing us.”

“Nice to meet you, Catalina. You’re Santiago Vargas’s sister?” she asked, and Catalina nodded.

Anita looked at him. “I can’t give you a copy of the police file for the case, but you can both look through it as long as you do it in my office.”

She motioned to a table with several chairs in one corner of her rather large office. A thick police file lay on it.

“Thank you, I really appreciate it,” Benjamin said. “But we don’t want to displace you.”

Anita made a dismissive hand movement. “I have a meeting with the chief anyway.”

“That’s great! Thank you. And can we use your computer to play back the security video in the file?”

“The security video?” Anita asked, furrowing her brow.

“Yes, it was part of the evidence,” Catalina said quickly.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know there was video evidence, or I would have arranged for it to be sent up too.” She sighed. “I’m sorry, but all original audio-visual evidence is kept in a different area. You know, so that it won’t accidentally be wiped by a powerful magnet.”