by Kathi Daley
Jason hesitated. My heart began to pound.
“They’re dead, aren’t they?”
“I’m afraid Mr. Palakiko is. We found his remains in a shallow grave on the estate.”
“And Mrs. Palakiko?”
“We still don’t know what happened to her, but I would guess she is dead as well.”
“So you think Tatsuo or his men killed his pilot?”
“The evidence would suggest as much.”
I sat up straighter. “But that makes no sense. Why would a very intelligent and street smart man like Tatsuo kill someone whom everyone is looking for and then dump him in a shallow grave on his own property?”
“I don’t know. I had the same thought, but we found what we found. I wondered something similar when you were imprisoned in the shed on the estate linking your kidnapping directly to Tatsuo. That didn’t make sense either.”
“Shredder said that Tatsuo hasn’t been on the island for months other than his brief stopovers such as the one we witnessed at the airfield. Maybe someone other than Tatsuo is acting on his behalf. Maybe this person is sloppy.”
“Maybe or maybe someone is intentionally trying to focus our attention on Tatsuo.”
I supposed Jason made a good point. Maybe someone other than Tatsuo kidnapped me, killed Kinsley, and then left evidence to be easily found to pin everything on a man who might not even be involved. “Did you find a link to Spade?”
“No, and I was unable to get a warrant to search Spade’s home since I didn’t have a single thing to link Spade to Tatsuo other than the fact that you observed him meeting with Tatsuo at the airstrip. Apparently, that wasn’t enough. I did dig around and found out that Spade is on the mainland and is not due to return to Oahu until mid-week. It occurred to me that perhaps you could score an invite to his place via your friendship with his wife. If you wanted to take a look around while you were there, I wouldn’t be upset by that.”
“Are you seriously asking for my help rather than lecturing me to stay out of it?”
“I’m as surprised as you are, but yes, that is exactly what I am doing. You would be wired so we could keep track of you and backup would be nearby. Maybe you can use Jasmine’s relationship with Luke as an excuse to meet. Maybe she left something at Luke’s place, or you wanted to ask her about some sort of a party for Luke once he finally returns or something along those lines.”
Just the suggestion of a party for Luke’s return made me want to pull the covers over my head and escape reality for a while longer, but I found myself agreeing to try.
“Remember, even though Spade is not on the premises, you know he will have men keeping an eye on things. You’ll need to be careful.”
“I will.” I glanced out the window. “Jason, do you think it is possible that Spade isn’t linked to the human trafficking thing?”
“Possible, yes. Likely, no.”
“I want to shut the operation down, and I want to do it sooner rather than later, but if Spade is guilty, I feel bad for Jasmine. She actually is a very nice woman.”
“I know. I feel bad for her as well, but if she is married to a man who is wrapped up with a man who kidnaps other men’s wives, sisters, and daughters, don’t you think she deserves to know that?”
“I do. I’ll call Jasmine, and let you know how it goes.”
A call to Jasmine to discuss a welcome home party for Luke netted me the results I was after, and she invited me to stop by. I felt bad that I’d had to lie to the woman. She was Luke’s friend, and here I was getting her hopes up that Luke was going to be coming back to the islands when I knew he probably wasn’t. I supposed once all this was over, I could apologize and explain things. Since Jasmine wasn’t able to meet until later that afternoon, I grabbed a cup of coffee and headed out onto the lanai. Shortly after I settled in, Shredder joined me. After the normal greetings, I filled him in on my conversation with Jason.
“I’m sorry to hear about Palakiko, but I have to admit I’m not surprised. When Mrs. Palakiko was taken and neither the husband nor wife showed up again, I pretty much assumed that we’d eventually find them dead.”
I tucked my legs up under my body. “I know; me too. I suppose technically, Mrs. Palakiko hasn’t been found, but I imagine it is only a matter of time until she is. I hate that so many people are being hurt because of one man’s greed.”
“I think it comes down to the greed of many men, but I agree with you.” Shredder took a sip of his coffee. “I’ve been thinking about the discussion you had with Jason relating to the unlikelihood that Tatsuo would bury Palakiko on his estate. I have to agree that makes little sense, and my experience with those who work for men like Tatsuo, indicates they aren’t generally free thinkers. They tend to do what they are told.”
“So, what are you saying?”
“I’m saying that it is likely that it was someone whose intent it is to finger Tatsuo. Someone who both kidnapped you and left you tied up on the estate, and killed and buried Palakiko on the estate.”
“Finger Tatsuo? For what? We know he is guilty? Right?”
“We know or at least have strong reason to believe he is the person behind the human trafficking, but we really have not been able to link him to your kidnapping, the death of Walter Evans, or the death of Kinsley Palakiko. Remember, as far as we know, he hasn’t even been on the island. Now, it could have been that one of his men acted on his own, but I really doubt it. For one thing, there aren’t many of Tatsuo’s men around. In fact, I have only been able to identify one guard, the caretaker, and the caretaker’s wife as even being on the property.”
“So who has been doing the killing?”
“Exactly. My guess at this point is that someone who wants to draw attention to Tatsuo is behind the deaths. Things have been handled much too sloppily for any of this to have been orchestrated at Tatsuo’s hand.”
I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my thighs. “Okay, then who?”
“At first, I thought it might be Spade. I figured he might not want Tatsuo getting a foothold of any sort on the island that he seems to consider his territory. But now, I’m not so sure. I suppose it could be Spade. The men did meet, but we don’t know why they met. They may have met to discuss a conflict between the two of them having to do with territory. But the meeting they had had a much more casual feel to it. I didn’t pick up the completion vibe.”
“Yeah. They weren’t yelling or anything.”
“And they were each accompanied by only one other man. It all looked very tame and cordial.”
“So if not Spade, then who?” I asked.
Shredder didn’t answer. He narrowed his gaze and took another sip of his coffee. It appeared he was noodling on the idea and would most likely come up with an answer in his own time. I’d watched him work through an issue in the past and, while it might take him some time to get the answer he was after, he usually always did. Eventually, he spoke. “The only missing key at this point seems to be Samantha Jones. We know she was involved with finding both Walter Evans and Kinsley Palakiko to pilot the planes used by Tatsuo. We don’t know for certain that she has killed anyone, but as the person who recommended these pilots to Tatsuo, it seems as if she would have a vested interest in how they performed. Apparently, based on the fact that both are dead, we have to assume they didn’t do all that well.”
“Do you think she killed these men or had them killed because she put her reputation on the line?”
“Maybe. Although there does seem to be more going on than just that. Maybe Samantha Jones isn’t voluntarily working for Tatsuo. What if she is being forced to work for him in order to pay off a debt or something similar? It’s possible she wants to fulfill her obligation and maybe find a way to get Tatsuo off her back if her debt to him is excessive.”
“It’s a good theory. How do we prove it?”
He looked at his watch. “I don’t know, but you have your meeting with Jasmine. Go ahead and get ready, and I’ll do the same. I’m coming a
long to keep an eye on things. From a distance, of course. After you meet with her, we’ll talk some more about Samantha Jones. Maybe I will have had the chance to come up with something by then.
Chapter 19
Jasmine had instructed me to ring the bell when I arrived at the estate, and that someone would meet me at the gate and escort me inside. I had to admit I felt somewhat intimidated by the whole thing, but I did as I was told. The man who met me at the gate was a large man with a revolver strapped to his leg. He was a taciturn sort who never expressed a single facial expression as he asked for my ID, which I presented. Once he was satisfied that I was who I proclaimed to be, he escorted me to the patio area at the rear of the house. Jasmine was waiting for me at a poolside table. When she saw me, she stood up and offered me a hug.
“I was so happy to get your call,” she said. “I was sure that Luke was gone for good.”
“Yes, it did seem that way. He’s been away for a long time, so I figured that getting everyone together once he returns would be a good idea. I’m really just in the initial stages of planning, but I wanted to get your input.”
“I see.” Jasmine poured me a tall glass of sweet tea. “And when exactly will he be returning?”
I hesitated.
“He’s not really coming home is he?”
I still didn’t answer.
“You are a terrible liar, Lani Pope. Why is it that you are really here?”
“Honestly, I’m here because I have reason to believe that Spade is working with a man named Mikayo Tatsuo to smuggle kidnapped women into the country.”
Jasmine frowned at me. “So you are just using me to get to Spade. I should have known. I’m afraid you’ve wasted your time. Spade isn’t here.”
I took a sip of my tea. “I know. I actually hoped to have a chance to look around.”
Jasmine narrowed her gaze. “Look around? Why?”
I glanced behind me to make sure we weren’t being observed and then answered. “I have reason to believe that Spade helped to broker a relationship between Tatsuo and a man named Kinsley Palakiko. I actually saw the three men together several days ago, and I know Spade invited Palakiko to his Saturday night poker game. The man has since been found dead.”
“And you think Spade killed him?”
“It is one of many theories.”
Jasmine folded her hands on the table. “I will admit that not everything Spade does is legal, and if I’d known the extent of his operations from the start, I would never have married him, but Spade is not a killer. I know he isn’t necessarily one of the good guys, but of all the questionable things he does, I don’t believe killing this man would be one of them.”
“If Spade didn’t kill Palakiko, do you know what role he played in the relationship between Palakiko and Tatsuo?”
Jasmine looked around and then answered, lowering her voice as if she too was afraid of being overheard. “Spade does not discuss his business dealings with me, but I do lurk, and I will admit that I have overheard things Spade probably doesn’t know I’ve overheard.”
“Such as?”
“A few days ago, he was speaking to someone on the phone. I’m not certain who was on the other end, although I do have my suspicions. It seems that the person Spade was speaking to needed leverage to get someone else to do what they wanted, so the person on the phone hoped Spade would lend a hand.”
“Lend a hand how? Does he rough people up for a living?”
“No, he blackmails, hustles, or bribes them. He has several ways of doing this, depending on the individual and their weakness.”
I paused to consider this. “So theoretically, he might arrange for someone to win big at poker, thereby getting their confidence up, and then he might invite them to a private game at his home on the following evening. He would make sure the target not only lost but lost big. He might even persuade the target to borrow money to continue in the hope of getting even, thereby putting the target in his debt?”
Jasmine looked at me with suspicion in her eyes. “I’d say that is one of the stings he has executed in the past. You seem to know more than you are letting on.”
“Not really. I’m just trying to take the facts I have and make them fit. Have you ever heard of a woman named Samantha Jones?”
Jasmine’s eyes narrowed. “Is she wrapped up in this?”
I nodded. “Yes. I’m just trying to figure out to what extent she is involved.”
“I knew it. Spade said I shouldn’t worry about her, but I knew they’d been seeing each other again.”
“Again?” I asked.
“Spade and Samantha used to date. Actually, that isn’t accurate. What they used to do was have sex. A lot of it from what I’ve been led to understand. After Spade and I got together, I asked about his relationship with Samantha, and he said it was over. I chose to believe him, but recently I’ve begun to suspect that she is back in the picture. I’ve overheard him speaking to her on the phone on several occasions, and Ace mentioned her in passing.”
“Ace?”
“Spade’s right-hand man.” Jasmine wiped a tear from her eye. “Darn it.”
“I’m sorry to have to bring up such a painful topic.”
Jasmine took a deep breath and offered me a glance. “Don’t be. It’s my own fault. I should have known that getting involved with someone like Spade was a bad idea. I really do love him, and I believe he loves me, but I honestly doubt he’ll ever be done with her.”
“If Samantha has done what I have reason to believe she has done and I can prove it, she will be spending a good long time in prison.”
“Well, I guess that’s something.” Jasmine adjusted her position and looked me in the eye. “How can I help?”
“Samantha has admitted to acting as a headhunter for Tatsuo and others involved in illegal activities, and we suspect she may be responsible for at least two deaths. The problem is that we can’t prove any of this. We know that Spade and Tatsuo have been working together, and I am hoping that if I can take a look around, I will be able to find something to prove what we think we’ve already figured out.”
She lowered her eyes. “Spade would have any correspondence or documents relating to his business activities in his office. The only way to access the office is to use a private elevator which is locked and secured with its own security system. Even if you could get past that, which is highly unlikely, the office itself is locked and secured with its own system, and one of his goons is always lurking around. Even I don’t have access to the space. No one does with the exception of Spade. Well, maybe Ace, but he is away as well. If you were hoping to let yourself in and take a look around, I’m afraid that is not going to happen. Spade is a smart man. He would never leave anything incriminating for others to find.”
I supposed I should have suspected as much. “Do you know anything that might help us? Perhaps you overheard something that could point us toward the person who killed Walter Evans or Kinsley Palakiko. Or perhaps you have information about the person who kidnapped me and left me chained up in a shed on Tatsuo’s estate.”
Jasmine’s eyes grew wide. At that moment, I knew that she did know something.
“It would help a lot if you knew anything at all,” I added.
She didn’t answer.
“Please.”
“He is my husband. I want to send Samantha to prison, but I don’t want to accomplish that by sending Spade away as well.”
“I know. And I know I am asking a lot. But three people linked to Tatsuo are dead, my dad ended up in the hospital, and I was left to die in a hot shed, not to mention the countless women who have been ripped from their homes and sold to buyers in the States. I don’t know if I can nail this guy, but I have to try. If Spade has been working with him, he will need to answer to that, but as long as he hasn’t killed anyone…” I let the sentence dangle.
Jasmine blew out a breath and stood up. “Let’s walk.”
The last thing I wanted to do was walk, but I agr
eed and followed Jasmine as she headed toward a lush garden rich with colorful blooms.
“I honestly don’t know the extent of Spade’s involvement in the human trafficking enterprise,” she said after a while. “As I mentioned before, Spade doesn’t discuss business with me. What I do know is that he received a call on Wednesday that caused him to leave shortly after that. He never said where he’d been, but the following morning, I overheard him having a phone conversation. It sounded to me that the person on the other end of the phone was upset that Spade had handled things the way he had. At the time, I didn’t have any idea who he was talking to or what he’d done wrong, but later, I overheard part of a conversation Spade had with Ace. Ace made a statement to Spade that indicated she was not happy.”
“The she was probably Samantha Jones.”
“Based on what you have just told me, I would assume that to be accurate.”
“Do you know where Samantha is now?”
Jasmine shook her head. “I assume she might be with Spade. She does seem to weld some sort of control over him. His entire demeanor changes when she is around. Spade is a con artist and a hustler. He is very good at finding ways to make money, but the only way I can see that he would ever get involved in anything having to do with murder or human trafficking is if Samantha managed to seduce him into cooperating. The woman is bad news. She needs to be put away for a good long time.”
“That is my goal as well,” I confirmed. “If you hear anything that might help us find her, will you call or text me? You have my number.”
“Sure. I can do that.”
Jasmine rang for her goon who escorted me out of the house. I headed to my Jeep, and once I’d pulled out of the drive, I stopped to pick up Shredder.
“You heard?” I asked.
“I heard. The more I hear, the more convinced I am that Samantha Jones is behind Walter Evans’ death as well as Kinsley Palakiko’s death. I would be willing to bet that Spade is behind your father’s stay in the hospital as well as your kidnapping. He seems to be the only bad guy involved in this little story who draws the line at murder. If I had to guess, Samantha found out that your dad provided evidence to Hoku that Kinsley was working for Tatsuo, so she sent Spade to detain the woman. Your dad showed up while Spade was there, so he knocked him out and drugged him, and then when you showed up, he did the same.”