Cantina Valley (A Ben Adler Mystery Book 1) by Trevor Scott Page A

like Ben’s kind of people.   “Did you see what they were driving?”
    Marlon hesitated and shifted his eyes to an unknown spot in the sky above Ben and Maggi.
    “No, afraid not.”
    “When was this meeting you had with them at the winery?”
    The Bigfoot man put up his hands in protest.   “Whoa, dude.   I said nothing about a meeting.   We just happened to be at the same place at the same time.   Like Karma.   They left while I continued my assault on the wine.”
    “When?”
    “I don’t know.   Two weeks ago.   Just a guess.   But it was a Saturday, since that’s my day to go to the wineries.”
    “You look like you’re heading out after Sasquatch.”
    “Yeah, I am.   We’ve heard about a sighting up in the Siuslaw National Forest.   A hunter found a nice print.   He covered it with his rain jacket.”   Marlon pulled out his phone and brought up a dark image.   Then he used his fingers to enlarge the image.   “It’s not very good.   It was almost dark when he took this last night.   You wanna head up there with me?”
    “I’d love to,” Ben said.   “But I promised this lady lunch.”
    “I thought you were. . .never mind.   Not my business.”
    “All right,” Ben said.   “Don’t let Bigfoot take you from behind.”
    “Wouldn’t that make headlines?   First human to be screwed by Sasquatch.”
    Ben thought Marlon was actually considering that prospect with longing.
    Ben and Maggi drifted back to his truck and got inside.   Without haste, Ben turned and drove slowly toward the front gate.
    “What do you think of our resident Bigfoot expert?” Ben asked.
    She let out a heavy sigh.   Then she said, “He’s a little quirky.”
    “He’s a skinny little liar,” Ben said.   “But I’m not sure if it’s a nefarious lie or something more innocent.”
    “Why do you say that?”
    “Three reasons.   First, he met your brother and his two friends at the winery.   Second, he knew what kind of vehicle they were driving.   And third, someone else also described your brother’s friends as rough-looking, but didn’t mention anything about the military.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “Positive.”   He didn’t want to mention the fact that Marlon’s story had changed to mirror Sonya’s.   But why?
    “Where are we going next?” she asked.
    “You mentioned your brother was hanging out in this area, but how do you know for sure?” Ben asked.
    “A girlfriend of mine checked on it for me.”
    “Girlfriend?”
    “Don’t get excited.   A girl and a friend.”
    “I’ve got no problem with girl on girl,” he said.
    “I know that guys like that stuff, but she’s just a friend.”
    “Law enforcement?”
    “FBI.”
    “Nice.”   But it made Ben wonder something.   “She couldn’t help you find your brother?”
    “She did as much as she could without getting in trouble.   We knew he was in this area because of his credit history.   He’s used his debit card and visa a number of times around the region.”
    “He drives a four-year-old Ford F-150.   Where is that?”
    Maggi shook her head.   “No idea.”
    “What has he been buying?   Other than the flight of wine at the Springdale Winery?”   Ben glanced to his right and saw Maggi bite her lower lip.
    She finally said, “Mostly food, and things at a sporting goods store in the Eugene area.   And another gun and ammo.”
    “What type of gun?”   he asked.
    “A nine millimeter Glock.”
    “You said another gun.”
    “Yeah.   He owns a number of guns, including an AR-15 and a tactical shotgun.”
    Ben thought she looked concerned.   “You mentioned you went to his apartment.   What did you find there?”
    She hesitated before saying, “It’s not what I found.   It’s what I didn’t find.   His landlord said Tavis moved out.   My brother was staying in a one-bedroom furnished apartment in Beaverton.   So he really owns just clothes, a laptop computer, a cell phone, and some military