by Toby Neal
And finally, Jake.
“Hey, partner.” An uneasy throat-clearing. “Hope you don’t remember too much of what went on last night. But if you do—don’t stress about it. Drunk talk is crazy; you wouldn’t want to hear some of the things I’ve done in my time. So just put it behind you, drink your water, and we’ll both forget it ever happened, okay? Okay. See you soon. We should discuss the situation at Kakela when you’re feeling better.”
“Thank you, Jake.” Sophie breathed. Thank God he had left that message, or her best solution would be to avoid and try not to see him. Ever again.
Sophie drank the rest of the remaining bottle of water, and called Lei.
“Hi, Sophie.” Lei’s voice sounded annoyingly loud, and Sophie lowered the volume on her phone, wincing.
“Hello, Lei. What’s new on the case?” Sophie tried to sound sharp and on top of things.
“You sick? You sound like you’ve been licking a bad stretch of road,” Lei said. So much for on top of things.
“I went out and got drunk. Not an experience I care to repeat,” Sophie rubbed the tingly-numb skin graft on her face.
“Oh no. I hope it wasn’t because of the case! Because I need you, it turns out.”
“Well, it was a little bit. I still have to talk to Magnuson, but I expect to be fired.”
“No, no. I already took care of it.” Lei cut her off. “I spoke to Pomai this morning and told her I thought you’d done a fine job considering no one expected more than someone to come into the site and dig a few more holes. I asked if you could help me with the artifacts burglary aspect of the case for the remaining time on your contract, and she agreed.”
“Thanks, Lei.” Sophie swallowed a lump in her throat. “That’s very kind. You and I both know I screwed up, and it won’t be the last time.”
“I’ve done way worse and still ended solving the cases. So, don’t beat yourself up. Get in the shower, drag on some clothes, and meet with me and Pono at the Kahului station. We’re setting up a murder board, and would like your thoughts.”
“On my way.” Sophie ended the call, swung her legs off the bed, sat up, and stopped abruptly to keep her brain from sloshing.
She was going to have to move a little more slowly, to begin with.
Sophie entered the square, putty-colored, urban-ugly Kahului Police Department headquarters an hour later, her head relatively high and step cautiously stable. The headache still pounded at the backs of her eyes, but felt manageable, and she was glad of this distraction to lift her self-esteem. Lei met Sophie in the lobby once she’d texted her arrival.
“Hey.” Lei grinned. “The walking dead arrives.” Lei’s curly hair was escaping its ponytail, and a pair of black jeans and a red tank top with a buff-colored cotton jacket hiding her shoulder holster completed her friend’s usual detective outfit. “How’s the hangover?”
“Not something I want to repeat.”
Lei laughed. “Follow me. I promise Pono and I will keep the lights low to accommodate your handicapped state.”
Sophie followed her friend down a hallway past the intake desk and through a beehive of modular units and down another hall. “I behaved badly when I was drunk.”
Lei paused in the hallway. “We’re alone here. How badly?” Her brows rose and a dimple appeared in her cheek. “Badly…like, involving men? Because it’s about time.”
“Yes.” Sophie shook her head. “The best thing about it is that nothing actually happened.”
“Nothing seems to have been happening with you for a very long time, my friend,” Lei said. “You and Remarkian should just hop in bed it and get it over with.”
“Maybe.” Sophie followed her friend’s abrupt push into a nearby conference room, unable to speak of the problems that had come up with Connor. “I’m not sure he’s the man for me.”
“What?” Lei exclaimed. “He’s the perfect guy for you!”
Pono, his broad muscular back turned, spun to face them, capping the dry erase marker he’d been using to make a timeline on the whiteboard. “What man? Sophie’s dating? This is a newsflash for all my buddies who’ve been dreaming from afar.”
Sophie narrowed her eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it. Tell me what’s going on with the case.”
“No. This is more interesting, because we’re in need of a break.” Lei pulled out a chair and dropped into it. “What was this bad behavior you got up to?”
Sophie’s face felt so hot her ears were on fire. “I drank too much. Said inappropriate things. Jake had to take me home and…put me to bed.”
“Oh my God. Jake? Your partner?” Lei clapped her hands to her cheeks as Pono grinned, rubbing his big hands together in anticipation of gossip. Lei and Pono had met Jake on one of their case-related trips to Oahu, and ribbing had ensued ever since. “He’s so hot. I don’t blame you a bit.”
“Oh, and bruddah Jake, he was so shock fo’ be used for sex li’dat,” Pono slipped into pidgin, grinning. “Give us da scoops, sistah. On a scale of one to ten, how was he?”
“Oh no. No. Nothing happened. He turned me down.” Sophie groaned. “Please. The case. Make this stop.”
Lei looked at Pono. “Jake turned you down?”
“He has it bad,” Pono said to Lei. “Poor buggah.”
“I am done talking about this.” Sophie folded her arms tightly, and her lips, too. “The case. Or I’m leaving.”
Lei sighed. “You’re no fun. Okay, we got permission from Pomai Magnuson at the Hui to have you work with us, focusing on the burglary aspect of the case until we’ve ruled out that it’s related to the murder. Right now, we’re the only staff assigned to the case and there’s a lot to cover, so we need your help.” She pushed a pen and paper over to Sophie. “Here’s a confidentiality agreement. You can’t speak to anyone about the case, not even your immediate supervisor, without our say-so. I have a feeling this one has connections to Oahu, so we want to keep the cone of silence on it as long as possible. That includes Jake, okay?”
“Yes. But you might want to bring him on too.”
“We can’t afford him.” Creases of good humor bracketed Lei’s bright brown eyes. “And it appears, you can’t either. I’m sure he’d love to help, but for now, you’re our girl.”
“And I thank you for finding a way for me to be useful.” Sophie signed her name to the form.
“You kidding? First thing I want you to do is a deep background on Seth Mano using that off-the-books software you made—DAVID.”
Sophie grinned. “Good. Because I already worked up a profile on Mano.” She took a stick drive out of her pocket. “I just need a laptop for us to take a look at the information cache. I think you’ll be surprised at the president of the board’s unsavory connections.”
Chapter Ten
“No wonder Pomai didn’t like this guy,” Lei said, as they scrolled through a list of Seth Mano’s businesses and connections. “Looks like he had a finger in the Chang crime family endeavors. That art gallery is a front for money laundering. We busted them and shut them down, but six months later they opened another one and were back in business, just hiding it better.”
Sophie frowned. “Could the fact that Mano’s body was dumped at Kakela be a coincidence? Not related to the looting at the site?”
“Possible. Still possible it’s just a robbery gone bad, too. But I don’t believe it,” Lei said. “I think this has to do with his ‘unsavory connections,’ as you call it.”
“That’s what we have you for, Sophie.” Pono gave Sophie’s shoulder a little punch, and he shook his fingers in exaggerated pain. “Ow. Jealous of your deltoids.”
“You have to earn those deltoids, Pono. They don’t happen by accident,” Sophie said, scrolling further. “What else do you two see in this list? Mano had all the qualifications to be a board member. Did you get to the bottom of the reason for the conflict between him and Pomai Magnuson?”
“Pomai is a friend of my wife’s.” Pono dropped the jocularity. “And
Pomai has grumbled about Mano plenty when at our house. We interviewed her formally yesterday, and she thinks Mano was dirty and had some ulterior motive for his volunteer role as the board president, but she didn’t know what it was. She’s been trying to figure it out.”
“Well, someone had some reason to bash the man’s head in,” Lei said. “And these crime connections really help us look for motive and people to interview. Can you run a cross-check on people involved with the Hui and his list of roles and connections? Maybe he was meeting someone there and pissed them off.”
“So you think it was a…crime of opportunity?”
“Yes, and no.” Lei pushed away from the laptop they were perusing and stood up to pace a bit. “We’ve had longer to speculate on this—since the other night, in fact. We both think the timing of Mano meeting someone at Kakela was no accident. Someone knew when the Hui staffer left for the day, and when you would be returning. We think they arranged for a meeting with Mano—or Mano knew the timing and arranged the meeting—and they took the opportunity to bash his head in and dump him on the grounds, where he wouldn’t be discovered for at least some hours—maybe not until the following day.”
“They’d be right about that. If the wooden covering over the hole hadn’t been moved, I never would have looked inside the excavation site. It might have taken until the next day to notice flies or something,” Sophie said. “I appreciate you saying you liked the window of time I left by not covering the surveillance…it didn’t help me with my supervisor, but it made me feel a little better about my oversight.”
“Honestly, I believe that if you had the site totally covered, they would have had their meet somewhere else. So, who we need to look for is someone associated with the Hui who had some sort of bone to pick with Mano, and got mad enough to kill him—and knew you’d left a window of opportunity for the meet and the body dump.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s a short list. And Pomai Magnuson’s name has to be at the top of it,” Sophie said.
“Exactly why we’ve had her, and Brett Taggart, in for interviews already,” Pono said. “And we’re having them in for more.” He pushed the case jacket file over to Sophie. “You can check out the backgrounds we’ve run on them, but we’d like to see if you can come up with more with your fancy DAVID program.”
“Of course.” Sophie pulled the manila case file over and flipped it open. She scanned the brief record checks and driver’s license records. “Bare bones here. But at least they don’t have any infractions.”
“We need the kind of workup that you did on Mano for the remaining board members and the associates we can find attached to Mano,” Lei said. “Can I keep this stick drive to print out the information you’ve got on him?”
“Yes. But you cannot disclose how you got that information, Lei.” Sophie held her friend’s large, tilted brown eyes with her gaze. “DAVID is mine now, but the program is flagged by the FBI as a possible threat to national security. Which is ridiculous, but the issues around consent they have raised still have to be addressed. I’m not supposed to be using the program.”
Lei nodded, reaching out a hand to pull the file back toward her. “I understand. Pono and I discussed bringing you and DAVID on board; we both feel the end justifies the means and you’re only giving us background that will help us move forward faster.”
“As long as that’s the understanding. You can keep the stick drive—but honestly, I’d prefer if you didn’t print anything off of it. Go through and look for what you need, then link to the original sources and download it. That way, my butt is covered, too.”
Lei cocked her head. “You’re getting good at the slang, Sophie. Well, we have a meeting with Dr. Gregory and Mano’s body at the morgue tomorrow morning. I’ll call you with any results you should know, and any interviews I think you should observe.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Sophie stood. “I better find my laptop and get on it.”
“See, more slang. And sometimes I hardly notice your accent anymore.”
Sophie smiled. “You’re just getting used to it. But how much better can things get? I love living in Hawaii, and I’m embracing my American side more and more.”
“Just don’t lose that edge,” Pono said. “That edge that makes you good at what you do.”
“I don’t know how to be any other way,” Sophie said. “But you two. You work so well as a team. Jake Dunn and I are still figuring out how to work effectively together. We have such different styles. Was it always that easy between you?”
The two looked at each other and both grinned at the same time. “She my little sistah,” Pono said.
“And he my bruddah,” Lei replied. “And sometimes we bicker, but it’s all in the family. We each have strengths that complement each other’s. You guys will figure it out.”
Sophie wasn’t that sure.
Sophie was still on her laptop, seated at the coffee table of the condominium, when a knock came at the door.
It had to be Jake. Sophie felt her pulse speed up and her cheeks heat as she mentally composed an apology for her behavior the night before.
Still, she paused to look through the peephole—and saw Connor.
Her heart lurched and squeezed, a sensation like a fist closing tightly around it. She schooled her features into the blank mask that Assan Ang had taught her with his fists, and opened the door. “Connor. What are you doing here?”
Connor’s sea-blue eyes were shadowed by an overhead light that fell on his short blond hair and highlighted the musculature of his wide shoulders. He didn’t smile. He didn’t reach out to her—he just brushed past her and walked in.
“Well. Please, enter.” Sophie followed him, anger quickly replacing that first apprehensive surge of excitement she’d felt upon seeing him.
“You weren’t answering your phone.” Connor’s voice was flat, uninflected, the Australian accent that was part of his public persona gone. “I was worried.”
Sophie faced him, hands on her hips. “How did you know where I was? Oh, never mind that. You’re not only my boss, you’re spying on me.”
Connor narrowed his eyes. She could see their expression better as the kitchen light fell on his face—a deceptively friendly-looking, handsome face that hid a brilliant and devious mind. “I’m not your boss, and I’m not spying on you. I told you I wouldn’t do that.”
“You are certainly capable of it, and you seem entirely too well-informed about my activities and location.” She’d run a security app on her phone and computer to make sure they were clear of trackers, but still…
“Really?” He threw his hands up in frustration. “Your location is in the job file! And as to the real problem here, you were the one who was spying on me and got this problem started again!”
Sophie had no response for that, because it was true. “I didn’t want to know, before. And then I did.”
“And you don’t like what you found out, as is often the case. Another good reason I don’t spy on you.”
They stared at each other, and Sophie felt their breathing fall into sync as a flash of her drinking binge and Jake tucking her into bed filled her mind. Thank God he wasn’t spying on her, or he would know all about that. She wouldn’t put it past him to be able to track her phone and hack the security feed at the bar.
He was even better than her at tech, and there was nothing he couldn’t do if he decided to—it was so damn sexy.
Sophie tried to resist the attraction. “Do you think coming over here, invading my space, interrupting my work, is a good way to…make friends?”
“I don’t want to be your friend. Never did, really. It’s always been about more than that, for me at least.”
Connor had never held back from telling her how he felt about her, and it was more than slightly terrifying when she was afraid to even know what her own feelings were.
“Too bad, then, when it’s clear you don’t care about my opinion of your activities.” Sophie was getting in touch with the ange
r that had fueled her withdrawal, her drinking binge, and the impulse to have sex with a stranger.
“I care too much. That’s the problem. And I don’t know how to do this relationship any more than you do.” Connor reached for her, but Sophie stepped back.
“You can begin by listening to me. By respecting what I ask for, and feel.” She was surprised by the wave of sadness that replaced the anger as she said those words, and she knew it showed in her eyes. “It hurt to discover that you had not changed or slowed down, even by one iota, the things you were doing.”
Sophie couldn’t bring herself to say out loud what he was doing. He avoided any mention of his alias in any place that could be overheard by human or electronic ears.
“I thought we agreed to disagree.” Sophie saw the same sadness she felt reflected in Connor’s eyes. “You didn’t ask, and I didn’t tell. It seemed the best way to handle things. I’m sorry you feel this way, but it’s not something I plan to change.”
“Then I don’t know where that leaves us, like I told you in my text.” Sophie was way too familiar with the ripping, rending sensation of her heart breaking. “It looks like this is over before it ever got going.
Connor’s eyes were bleak, the color of clouds over the sea. “You’re in charge of where this is going and how fast or slow. If I’ve put the brakes on a bit, it’s because I didn’t want you to have any regrets.” He blew out a breath. “And unfortunately, our relationship’s not the only thing I came to talk to you about.”
“What else, then?” Sophie found that she had taken a step closer to him. She wanted to touch him, but wasn’t sure how—her inexperience and the chains of her past weighed down her arms. He noticed though, and reached for her, taking her hands in both of his.
“Assan Ang has disappeared.”
Sophie was so glad he was holding her hands. His warm palms were the bright point of contact in a universe gone gray and no longer safe—if it had ever been. Her ex had sworn to kill her the last time she saw him, and she had no doubt he meant it. “How?” Her lips felt numb, forming the word.