Cassie did not seem the least bit impressed with his suggestion. She plopped down in one of the chairs and crossed those long, lean legs. “Did you see her being friendly to me?”
Well, Cassie wasn’t exactly wrong about that assessment. “I take it you’ve caused the police trouble.”
“Let’s just say I’ve spent some time here. More time than they wanted me to spend here.” She moved the magazines around on the table.
“Talk about your non-denial denial.”
Her tough demeanor faltered. “I was doing what I had to do to get some answers about Dan’s death.”
The same answers they still didn’t have. “Why do I think you being with me is going to make our job harder?”
“I’d get used to it if I were you.”
A man in his thirties stepped out of the back. No uniform. No badge. Just a navy blue polo shirt and khakis. The guy was part Asian. So far he was smiling, which Cal took to mean the guy hadn’t noticed Cassie yet.
Cal rushed to introduce himself before Cassie spoke up and did more damage. “I’m Cal Wilson.”
“What can I help you with, Mr. Wilson?”
Cassie picked that moment to stand next to him. She wasn’t quiet about it, either. She came over and grabbed the car keys, jingling them and banging them against the counter.
Cal closed his hand over hers and talked to the officer. “I wondered if I could have a moment of your time.”
Cassie snorted. “He means ‘we.’”
A wary look washed over the officer’s face. “Ms. Montgomery. I thought you had headed back to Oahu.”
“That’s a popular sentiment around here.” The way Cal figured it, the officer would have paid for Cassie’s plane ticket if that got her out of his way.
“Yeah, well, he’s not that lucky.”
Cal raised an eyebrow at Cassie’s curt response. “Maybe I should do the talking.”
The officer held out his hand. “Ted Greene, the deputy chief.”
“Deputy?” Cal asked.
“The chief’s away on a family matter,” Ted said.
“Yeah, about that.” Cal slipped his keys into his pocket before Cassie could grab them again. “Where does a guy go for his honeymoon when he already lives in a place like Hawaii?”
“Seattle.”
Cal decided to try to get on the investigator’s good side since Cassie seemed to be spending most of her time on the opposite. “Really? I would have bet on something like Tahiti.”
Ted shrugged. “Go figure.”
Cassie knocked on the counter until both men stared at her. “Uh, hello?”
Cal fought the urge to shake her. If she noticed Ted taking in and analyzing every word and action, she sure hid it well. The woman was determined to be as difficult as possible and make sure no one on the island wanted to help them.
“What’s up with you?” Cal asked in a low voice he hoped would have some impact on Cassie.
“You’re wasting time,” Cassie shot back.
Not one ounce of impact. Cal decided right then that tact was not one of Cassie’s strong points.
Ted smiled. “If it helps, I don’t have anywhere else to be.”
Cal ignored Ted’s amusement and concentrated on telegraphing a silent message to Cassie. “Deputy Greene and I are talking.”
“We’re here for a reason. You guys can bond over football another time.”
“Did someone mention football?” Ted asked in a voice that suggested he was not taking the conversation very seriously.
“Let me cut through all of this.” Cassie exhaled loud enough to wake most of the neighborhood and then pointed at Ted. “He’s the one who decided Dan caused the crash.”
With a scowl plastered on her face, she looked more un-approachable now than when she was holding the gun. Cal knew from the flat line of her lips she wanted to unload on Ted. A whole lot of cursing and shouting was trapped in there.
And that was just about the last thing he wanted to hear at the moment. “Cassie—”
“Actually, Ms. Montgomery, the coroner’s report and the evidence pointed to an accident,” Ted said right over Cal.
“But it was your call.”
“It’s the NTSB’s call. They’ll do the formal crash investigation and let us know.” Ted glanced in Cal’s direction. “Are you here about the accident?”
“It wasn’t an accident,” Cassie mumbled.
Cal talked right over her. “I’m an old friend.”
“You’re not from here.” It was a statement, not a question.
Cal wondered if all of the locals could spot a non-local. Certainly seemed that way. “I came to see Dan and found out about the crash when I got here.”
Sympathy flashed across Ted’s face. “Sorry for your loss.”
“He’s good at saying that,” Cassie said.
“The accident took all of us by surprise.” Ted balanced his hands against the counter. “Despite what Ms. Montgomery thinks, I liked Dan. He was a good man who cared about Kauai and was invested in its future. His death was a tragedy.”
Cal nodded. “Agreed.”
Cassie’s eyes closed for a second, but when they opened again that painful look was gone. “But it wasn’t an accident.”
“Cassie, we’re just here to ask some questions and tell the deputy chief about what just happened.”
“What are you talking about?” Ted asked.
Cassie rolled her eyes. “Here we go.”
“Give the man a second.” Cal clenched his teeth hard enough to make the blood in his temples pound.
“I’m not the enemy, Ms. Montgomery.”
Cassie ignored Ted and spoke only to Cal. “He’s not going to care about this.”
Ted shifted his weight to get into her line of sight. “Why don’t you let me decide that?”
“Someone shot at us in Dan’s house last night,” Cal said, and then waited for a reaction.
“A real gunshot?” Ted asked after an extra second of silence.
Cassie threw her hands up. “Told you. This is where he starts telling you how crazy I am.”
Cal felt his control slipping. Next time, he’d leave her in the car. “Yeah, I wonder why the good officer would jump to that conclusion.”
“He doesn’t care if I get shot at, or stabbed, or anything else so long as I leave him alone.”
Ted rubbed his forehead. “Wait a minute. Someone actually shot at you this time?”
“Someone shot at me last time, too.” Cassie glared at the officer. “It was not a car backfire, or whatever other ridiculous excuse you gave.”
Cal decided it was time to jump in and steer the conversation back on track. “I can’t comment on whatever previous incident you’re talking about, but I’ve been shot at before so I recognized the experience. Someone definitely took a crack at us.”
Ted nodded in Cal’s direction. “You police?”
“Retired Air Force.”
“Figured it was something like that. Retired Navy.”
“For heaven’s sake.” Cassie engaged in her now familiar huffing and puffing. “Do you guys have some kind of secret signal or something? Maybe you’d like me to leave the room while you thump your chests.”
Ted ignored the outburst. “What happened?”
Cal skipped over the more interesting parts like the legal technicality of breaking and entering. Ted already thought Cassie was a bit off balance. One of them had to look stable or they’d never get any help.
“Sounds like a pretty bad evening.”
Cassie jumped at the rumbling sound of a new male voice coming from the office entrance behind them. On instinct, Cal stepped forward, shielding her from potential danger by placing his body in front of hers. She showed her appreciation for his efforts by shoving him in the side.
Ted did not even flinch. “This is Josh Windsor. He’s with the Drug Enforcement Agency.”
Josh lounged in the doorway. Blond-haired, blue-eyed, this guy stood out. And the way
his gaze traveled over Cassie, smiling with approval at every inch of his visual journey, spread fire through Cal’s insides.
“Good morning, folks.” Josh flipped a pen between his fingers.
“DEA in Hawaii?” Cal asked.
“We have drugs here.” Josh focused on Cassie. “Ma’am, I’m sorry about your brother.”
“Josh helped out at the initial crash site,” Ted said.
The way Cal figured it, Ted was leaving out the most interesting part of the explanation. “And what does the DEA have to do with a helicopter accident?”
Josh shrugged. “Just happened to be in the area and rushed to the scene.”
“Then maybe you could answer some questions about the crash,” Cal said.
Josh shook his head. “Happy to try, but there’s not much to tell. Looked like Dan lost control in the canyon. His helicopter whacked into the side of the mountain and then dropped like a stone.”
Cassie crossed her arms over her stomach. “Thanks for that image.”
Cal winced at the harsh words but asked the questions he needed answered. “Fuel line, everything else was in working order?”
“Yes,” Ted said. “Tox screen was clean. No health issues. No drugs or alcohol.”
Cassie spun around and stared at the officer. “Of course not. And Dan flew up and down that canyon for years. He was not a novice to be taken in by sudden wind.”
Josh stepped farther into the room and joined Ted behind the counter. “Actually, accidents like this happen more frequently than you know.”
“I live in Hawaii,” Cassie said.
“Then you know that the islands are famous for freak occurrences of this type. We lose several helicopters each year. We tend not to advertise them because it would kill the tourist trade.”
Too little action and far too much talking. Cal had just about had it with the empty words. “Seems to me, unless these tourists who crash into the side of the canyon also get shot at, we have a different situation here.”
Ted and Josh exchanged glances before Ted spoke again. “Any chance you brought an enemy with you on your trip to our fine state?”
Cal felt the power base shift in the room. He finally had their attention. “Doubtful.”
“Could just be someone trying to take advantage of Dan’s death to rob the place,” Josh suggested.
“We’ll look into it and let you know.” Cassie delivered her implied threat with a smile.
“Whoa.” Ted held up his hands. “Let the police handle the detective work.”
“We tried that,” Cassie said.
Ted braced his arms on the counter, looking far more serious and deadly than he had a second earlier. “If I find myself tripping over you two while we investigate, we’re going to have a problem. You think the locals are going to open up to you? All you can do is cause trouble.”
A chill moved through the air. The warm and sunny island welcome was over. They had moved to the posturing portion of the program. Cal also noticed no one had bothered to explain why the police were talking about an investigation when they insisted Dan’s case was closed.
But he had their attention, and that’s what he wanted. “Fair enough.”
“I mean it.” Ted’s dark eyes gazed at Cassie. “Both of you.”
Cal decided to agree for both of them. “We’ll go ahead and get out of your way.”
He grabbed Cassie’s elbow and dragged her toward the door. She frowned at him but took the hint and kept her mouth shut…until they were out of earshot.
“I told you that would be a waste of time,” she grumbled under her breath.
“On the contrary. The conversation was pretty revealing.” He matched her volume by keeping his voice low and even. “Those two are hiding something. Something big.”
Life sparked behind Cassie’s eyes. The hurt lingering there gave way to budding excitement. “I told you so.”
Cal could not help but smile. “I thought you might say that.”
Chapter Seven
Josh watched Cal hustle Cassie out of the building. “Now there goes a bunch of trouble.”
“Like we needed more.” Ted sighed. “She was tough to deal with on her own. Adding on this guy is bad news.”
Josh leaned down on his elbows. “She can’t let it go.”
“Would you?”
“Hell, no.” Josh broke eye contact with Cassie’s butt for a second and glanced up. “It’s the never-ending questions and amateur sleuthing that’s the problem.”
“She’s desperate for answers. Can’t say that I blame her.”
The phone started ringing, but Ted didn’t move. After three rings, someone in the back office picked it up.
“You’re in charge now, so you don’t answer phones?” Josh asked.
“Not unless I have to.”
Josh appreciated Ted’s comfort with his new title. The guy was solid. Dependable.
“Either way, she’s not the same teary-eyed woman who first came to your office right after the crash. She’s gotten harder.” And the part Josh could see of her looked just fine.
Ignoring the lady’s impressive backside, it was her potential for problems that worried him. Cassie Montgomery had a killer bod and a deep loyalty to her dead brother. The second she heard the news about the crash, she dropped everything and flew between the islands to be there for Dan. She had not gone back to her life since.
Her mouth was the problem. It never stayed closed. She had spent a good portion of the past three weeks or so bad-mouthing the police and raising questions about Dan’s accident in the press. She morphed from shocked and crying to an angry vigilante in a matter of days.
But Josh could handle all of that. The threat to his informal investigation was the problem.
Ted stepped into Josh’s line of sight. “Hello?”
“What are you doing?”
“Focus.”
Josh watched Cassie disappear from sight. “I was. Trust me.”
“Seriously. What are we going to do?”
We. Josh liked the sound of that. Kane was both the police chief and his best friend, but with him out of town Ted was a good temporary substitute. Kane could travel around with his new wife Annie. Josh and Ted had to concentrate on the mess swirling around them.
“Josh?”
“I’m thinking.” The sound of a ringing phone wasn’t helping with that. “I’m balancing a lot here.”
Bucking his boss’s orders, conducting an undercover drug operation, and spearheading an informal and totally un-sanctioned investigation into Dan’s death. Yeah, a guy could get a bit pissed off with an agenda like that to worry about.
“What about the shots,” Ted asked over the ringing phone.
“A last-minute thing. Cassie walked right into the middle of my setup. Bobby Polk was within seconds of getting to the house.”
Ted opened the door to the back office. “And Cal?”
“Didn’t even know he was there. I was trying to get Cassie out of there before she ran into Polk. What was I supposed to do?”
“Ever think of handling the situation without bullets?”
“Uh, no.” Hadn’t even crossed his mind, actually.
“Just a sec.” Ted shouted into the opened doorway. “Anyone going to get off their ass and answer the phone, or do we not care if someone needs our help?”
The door fell shut on a few mumbled apologies, but Ted kept muttering under his breath.
Josh could not help but be impressed. “That should win over your staff.”
“Let’s focus on your problem. This Cal character brings the game to a whole new level. He’s smart enough to know something’s wrong. If nothing else, the shoot-out clued him in.”
Josh tapped his pen against his lip. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“Can’t imagine that being the case.” Ted laughed. “I’m starting to think you wouldn’t know a good idea if it bit you in the ass.”
“The goal was to protect Cassie.�
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“You gonna stick with that when this whole thing goes down and she decides to sue you?”
That wasn’t Josh’s biggest concern. His boss told him to stay quiet about Dan and let the NTSB handle the investigation without providing any information. Josh balked and nearly got fired. Now he had to handle the situation on his own, without DEA resources or help.
“Cassie will get the truth eventually. That’s all that will matter to her,” Josh said.
“I’ll remember that when I lose my badge for helping you.” Ted shook his head. “I can’t believe I went along with this.”
“Didn’t exactly give you a choice.”
“No wonder Kane took a six-week vacation.”
Ted was a decent man and damn good at his job, but Josh wanted Kane back at his desk. “I think that has more to do with Annie.”
“She still hate you?”
“She never hated me.” Josh smiled at the memory of his past sparring with Annie. “I saved her husband’s ass once or twice. She owes me.”
“In the meantime, we have a mess on our hands. Drug-running. A dead pilot. And now an amateur detective team determined to blow the whole thing to hell.”
“Yeah, this one isn’t exactly going according to plan.” Josh dragged his notepad out of his pocket and jotted down Cal’s name for a background check.
“Any closer to figuring out your boss’s reluctance to talk with the NTSB?”
Josh had shared the barest of details of that problem with Ted. Better he not know the entire story. As far as Ted was concerned, the folks at DEA didn’t want Josh talking to anyone about what he’d seen at the crash site that day. No one was even to know Josh had been there.
But there was more. A lot more. Josh knew his boss, Brad Nohea, was covering up a much bigger disaster. One that he did not want reported back to the home office, the Los Angeles division of the DEA. And one that could cost Nohea his job and take out Josh as collateral damage.
Josh kept those problems to himself. No need to implicate Ted or condemn Kane’s office and the decent officers who worked there. This was a DEA mistake, not a Kauai police mistake. Unfortunately, Dan was the one who paid.
It’s Hotter in Hawaii Page 4