by Amy Shojai
September spoke gently. “Don’t get me wrong, Lia. My Shadow would make some lovely puppies. But he had some injuries that wouldn’t heal from the frostbite back in February. So a couple of weeks before that August fire, Shadow was neutered.”
When Lia was silent, September continued, “Since Combs can’t come, I’m happy to give you a ride. That way, I can finally meet Karma and you can tell me the long version of your Shadow story. Sounds like quite a tale.”
Chapter 60
Lia sat silent and stunned for a long moment after September disconnected. She jumped when her phone sounded an alert for an incoming Skype call. She’d used the app to speak with Tee’s Auntie Isabella, but she wasn’t expecting a call. She’d had two conversations, scheduled when Tee wasn’t around. Her sister got prickly about family history.
She accepted the call, wondering why it came from a different account. “Auntie, I can’t talk for long.” Lia stopped speaking when the live image loaded on the phone. A man, a stranger with intense eyes and an odd familiar look, stared back. “What do you want?” She started to disconnect.
“Wait, Apikalia. Don’t hang up.”
Lia’s breath quickened when he used her full given name. Her Hawaiian name. She fingered the baby name bracelet that she never took off. “Who are you?”
But she knew.
“You look just like your mother. But you have my eyes.” He cleared his throat. “Isabella gave me your number. She insisted I should call, make amends. But there’s no way to do that.”
“You’re Wyatt Teves.” She couldn’t bring herself to call him father. After years of wondering, she finally faced the man who abandoned her pregnant, unwed mother. So many questions to ask, yet now she struggled to voice a single one.
“You’re how old? Twenty-one?”
“Twenty-two.” Her dry mouth turned the words into whispers. She had to steady the phone on the counter to stop from shaking.
“So long ago. A lifetime.” He paused. “You have questions, and so do I. They give us 20 minutes for these calls, so you first.” Wyatt smiled, and Lia could see more of herself in the expression. Somehow, that made the hurt worse.
“Who is they?” For the first time, she noticed his surroundings. He sat in a plain chair, bare walls behind him, and wore a nondescript uniform.
“Apikalia, I’m sorry to tell you I’m in prison.”
“Call me Lia.” She whispered the correction. Though not surprised—being in prison explained a lot—she couldn’t help feeling shocked. “They let you Skype?”
He smiled again. “The latest thing in prison visitation, Lia.” He tasted the name and nodded his approval. “They set it up so we call the local Skype number and the call is forwarded to a phone or computer anywhere in the country. Most inmates hate it, prefer a real face to face. Of course, works out good for long distance.” He spread his hands, indicating their situation. “Isabella gave me your number weeks ago. Finally got up the nerve.”
Her shock gave way to anger, and heat spread from her throat to her face. But she’d start slow, she told herself. She didn’t want to give him an excuse to hang up before he explained...tried to explain away abandoning them. “How did you meet my mother?”
“At a line dance in Pukalani, after the Makawao Rodeo. A bunch of us rode in the Paniolo Parade. I thought Kaylia was just a rich haole on vacation. Boy, did she set me straight.” He grinned, the memory bittersweet.
Lia nodded. That fit with what she’d managed to ferret out. “The Corazon’s used to make annual trips to the Big Island, buying and selling horses, I think.” That stopped after her mother died.
“Your mother was an expert horsewoman. She proved it in competitions, beat me bad.” He laughed. “She won my lariat off me, too. Hurt to give that up, been in my family forever. And I fell for her, hard. Imagine me, a poor kid from Waimea, in love with a Spanish princess. And, Lia, your mother was a princess to me.”
“Then why’d you leave us?” The cry came from years of anguish. “You got my mother pregnant and disappeared!” She blinked back tears, vowing not to give him the satisfaction, but couldn’t keep the pain from her voice. “If you loved her so much, how come you married another girl and got her pregnant not even six months later?” She was six months older than Tee. Her half-sister remained closed lipped about her family, but she knew they both shared the ache of losing mothers early in life. Auntie Isabella had adopted and raised Tee, so Wyatt hadn’t been around for her sister, either.
He looked away, and then back into the camera with a stricken expression. “Kaylia told me she was 18. I didn’t know otherwise, until too late. I was a kid, too, but that’s no excuse.” Wyatt’s expression hardened. “I didn’t abandon you. Wasn’t my choice. We loved each other, and I married your mother before we found out you were on the way. We even decided on your name together. Apikalia. It honors your mother Kaylia, and also your Hawaiian heritage. Do you know what that means?”
She didn’t say anything, but a lump clogged her throat. She’d looked up the name years ago and felt confused by the meaning. Lia figured her mother’s choice of Apikalia—my father’s delight—had been wishful thinking, not a reality. “You were married? Then why—”
“I was arrested for statutory rape. By the time I got out, our marriage had been annulled, and a restraining order issued. I never saw your mother again.”
Grandfather!
Chapter 61
Karma drummed her paws against the car door, barking and snarling with frustration. She pushed her blunt face through the open part at the top but couldn’t get more than her muzzle through.
A strident argument ebbed and flowed out of sight but not earshot. Tee’s distinctive voice increased in pitch and volume, alternating with a stranger’s insistent words, words a good-dog couldn’t understand. But the emotion told Karma everything she needed to know.
Anger. Fear. Danger!
When threats appeared, she needed to act. The instinctive drive for self-preservation extended to family. And Tee was family. The urge to protect overwhelmed Karma’s heart and mind, until all thought and effort crystalized into one, single imperative: out, get OUT, drive away the threat. Get out-Out-OUT!
Her barks and snarls gave way to whines as she backed away from the futile paw-battering of the barrier. She sniffed the door and window top to bottom, turned, and tried the other side. A puff of warm air from the front of the car caught her attention. Karma shouldered her way between the front seats, huffing with effort to squeeze her burgeoning girth through the narrow passage.
Tee squealed again, and Karma’s hackles bristled. This time, though, she managed to stifle her barks to concentrate on escape, although she couldn’t stop a deep-throated vibration that set her ear tips aquiver. Barking and bullying didn’t work to open car doors. Lia and Tee opened car doors all the time without any noise or fuss. What did they do?
Something with their hands. Not battering but grabbing. Karma’s paws didn’t grab, though. She grabbed with her mouth.
Nosing the side of the barrier, she found a smooth lever that moved a bit when she gripped it but she couldn’t manage a secure hold. Her broad nose prevented upper teeth from hooking over the lever enough to pull. She growled louder, as if the warning would make the lever do what she wished, still conscious of the loud argument that continued outside.
A car door opened and slammed, muffling Tee’s angry shout. They would drive away, and leave Karma alone, trapped, with no way to protect family from the threat.
With an anguished roar, Karma again resorted to paw-battering the door. This time, the glass scrolled down.
Karma didn’t pause to wonder what had happened. She gathered her haunches, and sprang from the front seat through the window, and sprinted to reach Tee.
Chapter 62
Tee huddled in the back seat of the SUV. She clutched the stuffed toy, trying to still the shivers she told herself arose from cold, not fear. She couldn’t escape with the childproof locks engaged.
She told herself that nerves made her sharp, not scared. Better to have that edge than be overconfident.
She’d expected to meet Momma Ruth. Instead, this gopher showed up, with as much muscle between his ears as his biceps. She tried to get answers, and confused him. It made no sense, unless Boss had found out and hired a delivery boy unconnected to the full operation. That worried her.
Was Momma Ruth still alive? Tee couldn’t retreat now, she had to brazen it out. Play hard-nose whiny street kid—a little soft in the head needing her toy for comfort—and pray she’d give an Oscar-caliber performance. She screamed when he tried to take the toy, and it hadn’t felt like play-acting, either. Tee would be dead if he discovered what was inside.
The muscleman stood outside, speaking into his phone with emphatic gestures of his other hand. She made mental notes of his appearance—hulking build, buzz cut hair and gray eyes, DIY prison tattoos that disfigured rather than enhanced. His distinctive appearance made him easy to track, either a stupid mistake on his part or a calculated move by Boss to deflect blame. She wondered how many were involved in the trafficking scheme.
She’d marked him, too. Tee wiped her mouth, grimacing at the taste of blood. Sure, he’d hit her when she bit him, but nobody put hands on her without permission, nobody. And she never gave permission.
“What the hell!” He scrambled back toward the car.
She twisted in her seat to see what had him on the run. Her stomach flip-flopped. “Karma. Oh no.”
The Rottweiler drove toward him in full attack mode. Tee’s horror mounted when he drew his gun.
“Stop, don’t, please don’t shoot!” She needed no acting skills to communicate fear and desperation. Dear God, what had she done? She’d left the dog safe in the car and couldn’t fathom how Karma got out. But the dog’s clever escape would get herself killed.
She could stop him, but that would blow the operation. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to sacrifice Karma, either.
“Please, leave her alone. Karma, WAIT!” She screamed the command, praying it would be enough to diffuse the situation.
Karma stopped on a dime, but kept her massive head lowered, threat clear.
Tee breathed again. Maybe, just maybe, she could salvage things. “Please mister, don’ hurt īlio, she good girl.”
Ears pinned tight, hard eyes drilled the man and his gun. Karma’s snarling barks spewed saliva as she fought the urge to complete the attack. But she held true to the wait-command.
The man’s attention flicked from the dog to Tee, but the gun’s direction never wavered. “Your dog? Mighty fine mutt for a homeless party girl.”
“My dog, yes. She go lost, no home like me. We stay t’gether.” Tee fell back into the pidgin that defined the character she played. She’d known many young girls on the Island, homeless or one paycheck away from worse. She’d come close herself, after her mother died and her father was sent to jail. If not for Auntie Isabella, she might not have escaped that world. That early life spurred her determination to help by being the best damn cop possible.
If she didn’t die trying.
“Trained good.” He eyed the still-slathering Karma with consideration. “Okay, Missy, here’s the deal. Momma Ruth told me to collect and deliver the merchandise. That’s you. Nothing about an attack dog. I should shoot you both and be done.”
She squeezed the lamb-toy, fitting her hand inside to what she’d hidden within. She’d never shot someone but wouldn’t hesitate if he made the wrong move. Dammit, she should never have brought Karma. This would kill her career, even if they survived the man’s threats.
Tee turned on her wheedling little girl voice. “No shoot, she good dog, the best. See? She stop, no bite. I go wit you, like Momma Ruth say. Jus’ let dog go, see?” Please let him just get in the car and leave Karma alone.
He pursed his lips. The wheels turned slow before she saw the mental click of decision behind his squinty eyes. “She’s a beauty. Too nice to shoot and I bet Momma Ruth could use her. Maybe get me some bonus time for bringing you both.” He kept the gun trained on Karma but looked at Tee. “I’m gonna open your door, and you’re not going to move a muscle. Nope, you’re gonna tell that well-trained dog of yours to hop into the car with you. One wrong move, and I shoot the dog first, and then you. Got it?”
Tee nodded, biting her lip and squeezing the lamb even harder.
“First, though, so’s you don’t get any idea about making a break for it and siccing that bad-ass dog on me, you’re gonna take off your boots.” He grinned. “Boss likes ’em barefoot so we’ll just get that out of the way now. Go ahead, shed them high tops, and shove ’em up over the front seat. Do it!”
Karma growled louder and took a couple of shuffling paw-steps closer to the threatening man.
“Wait! Karma, good girl, jus’ wait!”
Had she given something away? Why shed the boots now? Tee remembered that both Vicki and Mele had been barefoot when found. She unzipped the boots, mentally kicking herself she hadn’t thought of a better place to stow the tracking bug. She peeled off the first boot and stuck it through the narrow opening. As she skinned off the left boot—the one with the device—she fumbled with it to try and palm the bug. How else would Comb’s team find her?
“Hurry up, quit stalling, or I’ll shoot your sweet puppy and come in there and strip off more than your fancy boots.”
She shoved it over the front seats. If the boots and tracking device remained in the car long enough, the digital breadcrumbs could still work in her favor.
“Okay, that’s good, real good.” He clicked the fob on the car key, and Tee heard the door unlock. “Open your door real slow and call that dog. Make it quick, we already wasted too much time.”
She swung the door wide, and then backed away to the far side of the SUV when he motioned with his gun.
Karma didn’t look at her, though. She kept her focus steady, ready to sink fangs deep with Tee’s command.
Tee was tempted to give Karma what she wanted. But taking custody of this errand boy wouldn’t yield the top players they wanted. Besides, her pride wouldn’t let her. She could still salvage the operation, and prevent her personal disgrace.
“Karma, come!”
With a final aggrieved look at the threatening stranger, Karma turned and leaped into the car and Tee’s arms. The door slammed behind her.
The locks engaged, and he spoke into his cell phone. “I got the merchandise, just like Momma Ruth said.” He grinned, picked up the boots, and tossed them out on the road before shoving the car in gear and speeding away.
Chapter 63
Lia braced herself as the car took the turn too fast. “I appreciate the ride, September. And great to see Shadow again. At least we now know the Samaritan dog was Shadow.” There’d been no doubt in the way he had greeted her.
Lia turned in her seat to address the stunning black German Shepherd. A white stripe on one furry cheek and another trailing down his neck testified to the now-healed injuries that she’d seen last February. She had also learned that his notched ear came courtesy of a bullet, when the brave dog saved September’s nephew, Steven.
September smiled. “A car ride is nothing, Lia. I owe you for saving Shadow’s life.” Her voice trembled, and the big dog woofed softly in response.
Both women laughed. Shadow slicked back his ears and thumped his tail against the seat. Lia decided to risk asking September. “September, what do you know about animal communication.”
No hesitation at all. “It’s crappiocca.”
The unusual word shocked her to temporary silence. She looked away to blinked back tears. “Crappiocca?”
“Made up. Pretend. Scammers prey on gullible folks. Don’t tell me you had an animal communicator do a reading on Karma, after she got bred? Oh Lia.” She spoke as though to a child.
“It’s not that.” She couldn’t disguise the hurt and disappointment. “I read about it online and wanted your professional opinion. You don’t believe in—
”
“I didn’t say that. I’m sure there are talented individuals able to communicate on levels beyond the norm. I just never met anyone legit.” She sounded exasperated. “The wannabes do so much damage, I end up with the fallout in my behavior caseload.”
“Oh right, sure. I could see that.” Lia forced a smile. She hadn’t imagined things. September admitted as much. Even Grandfather said Lia had “the touch” with dogs like her mother had had with horses.
September was kind, but firm, and offered an olive branch. “Every dog and cat owner I’ve ever met feels an almost magical connection with their pets. I do, with Shadow.” He wagged and nosed her. “But that comes from knowing each other so well. It’s not mind reading.”
September changed the subject. “Can I ask you a question?” She hesitated. “I just found out we’re related. Did you know my mom and your grandmother are sisters?”
“Sisters? Are you kidding me?” Lia stared at September. “But Grammy never said a word.”
“Mom says they haven’t spoken in years. She won’t give me a straight answer, and I thought you might know why.” September shrugged. “So you didn’t know, either?”
Lia rubbed her eyes. “There’s too many secrets in my family—our family.” Her anger cooled a bit when she added shyly, “So we’re cousins? That’s kind of cool.” She turned to stare out the window. “There’s one more reason to have it out with my grandparents.”
“I thought you wanted to go see Doc Eugene?” September smiled when Shadow woofed again. “Shadow loves the vet clinic staff, don’t you boy? He’s been there enough.”
Lia shook her head. “They know to call me. Karma is in excellent hands. I’ve got something to do first.” Her mouth tasted sour and tongue turned dry as they took the turn into the drive to the Corazon estate. It felt like a lifetime since she’d been here, and a strange sense of deja vu shivered the back of her neck.