“All true, Cassie darling, but I’m as in the dark as you are about what’s going on at the old NASA building. The government moved its operations out a few years back, something about needing more space. As far as I knew until I heard from you, the place was deserted.”
“Dan never said anything about the building?” Cal flipped through the calendar on the wall, then let the pages fall back.
“No. And why don’t you sit down?”
“Too restless,” Cal said.
“So, another dead end.” Cassie felt the disappointment like a kick to the stomach.
“Maybe not.” Ed clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “I did find something interesting.”
Cal leaned on Ed’s desk with a thigh perched on the edge. “You gonna make us beg?”
“Nothing too exciting, mind you, but something.” Ed eased his chair back to stable ground and stood up.
He walked over to the four-shelf bookcase and slid some stacks of paper to the side. He reached to the back, pulling out a small box. After moving it around in his hands, Ed handed Cal the object.
“What is it?” Cassie moved in and hovered over Cal’s shoulder.
Cal traced his fingertips over the box’s lid with a reverent gentleness she found touching. Not so touching that she felt like waiting while he caressed the thing.
“Open it,” she said.
“Patience is a virtue.”
“So is speed.”
He opened the small box and unfolded the paper inside with such slow and careful movements she thought her heart would explode. Leave it to Cal to pick this moment to be careful.
“Any closer and you’ll be sitting on my lap,” Cal said.
Amazing how it only took two seconds for the man to extinguish her good mood. “You wish.”
Never mind the fact she had crowded so close to him that she was almost tucked up under his arm. There were two choices, shyly back away or come out fighting. False bravado won. “What I’d like is a little more action and a lot less talking.”
Ed laughed full and loud, his body shaking from the force of it.
“She’s not funny,” Cal grumbled.
“No, but the two of you are interesting,” Ed shot back, not missing a beat.
“We aim to please.”
Being the butt of their joke did not appeal to Cassie. “Speak for yourself.”
Cal kept turning the page over, rereading. Finally he dropped his hands. “Ed’s right. The writing on this is nonsense.”
Cassie leaned in closer until Cal’s earthy, woodsy scent filled her head. Strong and dependable, sexy and charming. So many good things, except for his ability to turn his emotions on and off with a speed that knocked her breathless.
Cal exhaled as he read the information on the faded lined papers a second time. “There are ten lines of letters and numbers. No idea what any of it means.”
“That’s Dan’s handwriting.” She made the admission not knowing if the words helped or hurt Dan’s case.
Cal glanced at Ed. “Why do you think this means something?”
“After the break-in we had here—”
Cal held up his hand. “Whoa. Wait a minute. Start at the beginning.”
The information finally clicked in Cassie’s brain. “What break-in?”
Ed plunked back down in his chair and folded his arms behind his head. “A few weeks before Dan’s death we came in and someone had tossed the place. Dumped the drawers and rifled through the papers.”
“No one ever told me any of this. Why am I only hearing about this now?” She had asked every question she could think of over the past four weeks and no one bothered to spill that information.
“Don’t be upset, Cassie darling. This kind of stuff happens from time to time. Kids usually.”
The logic didn’t make sense. “Dan died right after. Don’t you think the two could be related?”
“Back up a second.” Cal took over the questioning. “Was anything missing?”
Ed shook his head. “Absolutely nothing. Ted chalked it up to a high school prank.”
Her fury rose again. “Figures. Ted has a habit of viewing crimes against my family as delusions and exaggerations.”
Cal frowned. “This probably isn’t the best time to argue about the island’s police department.”
“Fine. If later is good for you, let me know.” She looked at her watch to emphasize her sarcasm.
Cal stared at her for an extra beat, then turned back to Ed. “You were saying?”
“Dan had the paper in his wallet. After we cleaned everything up, he put it in that box. I didn’t think anything of it until you started asking about Dan’s business. Dan must have thought it was important enough to hide.”
The secrecy hit her like a body blow. She thought she knew her brother so well. He fought off down times. Everyone did. Cassie chalked them up to island fever. Now she wondered.
He hid so much from her. Dealt with everything alone. The idea that he had grappled with depression and alcohol issues and never bothered to let her in sent a flash of sadness coursing through her. It didn’t have to be that way. She didn’t understand why he had made the choices he did when she was right there to help.
Cassie threw up her hands. “I guess we don’t know where the box came from, either.”
“I do.” Cal’s clipped words grabbed everyone’s attention.
Well, of course he did. Cassie wondered how many more secrets she could tolerate on one day.
“Well?” Ed probed.
A sad smile played on Cal’s lips as he turned the small box over in his hands. “A big-wig corporate recruiter once tried to lure a few of us away from the military, to get us to fly overpaid businessmen around the country. The guy handed out the boxes. As a joke, Dan and I put our own inscription on the bottom.”
Cassie plucked the box out of the safety of his large hands and turned it over. “This is it?”
“What’s it say?” Ed asked.
A rush of air caught in her throat, temporarily choking her. She struggled to force the words out. “So Others May Live.”
“The PJ motto.” Cal’s voice shook slightly as he faced her, his gaze unflinching.
A sudden warmth flowed through her. “You were friends.”
Cal stared at her with an intensity that made her gasp. “I loved him like a brother. Whatever else you think or hear, remember that.”
Cassie had been running from her attraction to Cal from the minute she spied him climbing through her brother’s window. Seeing the desperation in Cal’s eyes now, watching him cradle the evidence of his loyalty to Dan in his hands, she tripped and fell right in love with him.
No fanfare. No fireworks. No long-term dating and getting-to-know-you phase. More like wrapping in a warm blanket on a cool winter evening.
She tucked away the knowledge of these newly realized feelings. Right now, loving him only clouded the issue.
Cal sobered and started issuing orders in true Cal fashion. “We need to work on the paper and figure out what the series of numbers and letters mean. Dan thought they were important enough to hide, so they must be.”
Ed gave the box one more look. “Think it’s code of some kind?”
Cal grabbed on to Ed’s question with a ferocity that surprised her. “Absolutely. Dan wasn’t the type to doodle. If he wrote something down and went to the trouble of keeping it safe, it’s important.”
“Unfortunately that doesn’t help us solve this thing,” Cassie said.
Cal nodded in Ed’s direction. “Do any code cracking in your time?”
“I have some skills in that area.”
This was too much. “Okay, enough with the spy stuff. You’re an aircraft mechanic.”
“True, Cassie darling, but I have other interests.” Ed had the nerve to wink at her.
The machismo filling the room made her crazy. “I don’t want to know about your interests.”
“I second that,” Cal said.
“Easy. Ed’s going to make a copy of the paper for me and keep the original. We’re both going to work on the code and, in the meantime, you and I are going to pay a visit to Ted.”
“For God’s sake, why?” Cassie asked.
Cal handed the box back to Ed and watched him scurry into the other room as fast as possible for a two-hundred-thirty-pound male. Cassie figured he was following Cal’s orders about making the copy.
“In the first place, Ted told us to come in.” Cal stepped in front of her. Before she could balk, his hands found her arms and the distance between them closed.
“Like I care about that.”
“Second, it’s time to see what the police know about Dan’s death, the break-in, and all the other crap happening on this island.”
“No freaking way.”
“You love that word.”
“Which one?” She thumped on his chest. “Never mind that. Ted can’t be trusted.”
“Funny thing about trust. Sometimes the line gets blurry.”
No question that loving Cal and liking him were two very different things. “It shouldn’t.”
“You’re being naïve.”
“You’re being obtuse.”
A grin lit up his face. “That sounds dirty.”
And if she let this conversation go much further…well, they would be visiting a hotel room instead of Ted. “Time to go, flyboy.”
Chapter Twenty-seven
An hour later, they walked into police headquarters as Ted glanced up from the file in front of him. “Nice shirt.”
Cal had forgotten about his damn outfit. “Yeah, thanks for letting me borrow it from your closet.”
“I bought it for him.” Cassie stepped out from behind him in a mood bordering on playful.
Ted’s eyebrow lifted. “So, you hate him now?”
Cal had thought the same thing when she took it out of the bag. “Seems that way, doesn’t it?”
“A woman never tells,” Cassie said.
Cal assumed the light conversation meant Cassie was ready to give Ted a chance. Either that or she planned to scream at the poor guy at the first chance. The scenario could go either way.
“I’m not one to question a woman’s taste.” Ted motioned for the officer standing nearby to take over at the front desk. “You two, come back to my office.”
Ted started walking without seeing whether they followed. Cal had no intention of getting stuck out front a second time. He wanted to see what was happening in the police back office. Also planned to check the area for Josh. The guy supposedly worked for the DEA, but Cal had his doubts.
They walked through an open area with several desks. A few officers looked up as they passed. None looked familiar or all that interested in their presence.
Ted showed them into his glassed-in corner office and shut the door behind them. “Have a seat.”
Since there were exactly two chairs in the room other than the one behind the desk, Cal took one.
“I was about to send out a car to haul you in.” Ted sat down in his imposing leather chair and propped his feet up on his desk.
“That would have been a bit drastic, don’t you think?” Cal asked.
“I think I need to do something to catch your attention and remind you the police run the investigations on Kauai.”
“Oh, you have our interest. Don’t worry about that.” Cassie plopped down in the chair directly in front of Ted.
Tension vibrated through the room. The light talk hid something much deeper. Ted gave off an in-charge vibe, but something else bubbled there. A level of uncertainty that Cal couldn’t pinpoint. But then, nothing had made sense since he landed in Hawaii.
What started as a desperate attempt to mend fences with Dan and pay off past debts turned into a confusing mess. He counted Cassie as the only positive thing to happen in days. Months, even.
“You two ready to tell me what’s going on?” Ted continued to sprawl. His outward appearance stayed calm.
Cal sensed the man was poised to pounce. “We were hoping you’d tell us that.”
Ted dropped his feet on the ground with a thud. “Me?”
“Without all the bullshit this time, if possible,” she said.
Leave it to Cassie to cut through the chatter. She wanted action and made it clear she did not plan to leave without it.
Ted leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk. “I’m not in the mood for riddles.”
That made two of them. “I’m not telling any.”
Ted nodded in Cassie’s direction. “You have anything to add?”
“Cal’s doing fine.”
Cal had to swallow a laugh. When the chips were down, he could count on Cassie to follow his lead. She’d scream at him later if she wasn’t satisfied with his performance, but public loyalty ranked high with her.
Ted’s dark eyes narrowed. “Say what’s on your mind, Cal.”
“I found this.”
Ted reached across the desk and took the copy of Dan’s paper. Cal watched for signs of recognition. There weren’t any. The reading took about two seconds.
“What is it?” Ted looked up with the same confused gaze Cal had seen on Cassie’s face after she looked over the paper.
“We don’t know,” she said.
Ted looked back and forth between them. “What am I missing?”
Time to push the deputy around a bit. “Dan hid this note in his office after the break-in. You know, the one that occurred right before his death.”
“Suspicious timing, don’t you think?” Cassie asked, doing a little shoving of her own.
Ted’s eyebrows lifted in confusion. “You think it’s code for something? That it’s related to Dan’s death?”
Cal always admired an analytical mind. Ted had secrets, but he wasn’t stupid. “Yeah. The break-in, the shootings, the crash. Something is going on here other than an accidental helicopter crash.”
Ted rapped his knuckles against the desk. “Maybe.”
No maybes about it. “We both know this is a small island for that many coincidences.”
Ted stared at the desk for a few seconds before lifting his head again. “You know this could point to Dan doing something illegal.”
Cassie jumped up and wagged a finger at him. “Did you ever think maybe Dan found something?”
Cal tried to stop the Cassie train of doom. “Uh, Cassie—”
“That maybe Dan wasn’t guilty of anything other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time?”
To his credit, Ted stayed calm under her assault. Cal wondered if the other man would give him lessons on how to handle her.
Then Ted surprised them both. “Yes.”
Cassie shook her head as a downturned frown of confusion filled her face. “Yes, what?”
“Dan very well may have been in the wrong place. I agree with you. The possibility makes sense.”
Cassie stood with her hands fisted at her side. From her stiff stance, it was clear she had expected more of a fight and could not quite turn off her rage.
Cal took pity on her. “Cassie, honey, sit down. If you threaten Ted, he’ll have to throw you in jail.”
“No way. Then she’d be here with me all day,” Ted said.
Cal felt a tug of admiration for the other man. Didn’t trust the guy, but did appreciate his humor.
“You’re both hysterical.” Cassie landed back on her chair with a thump.
For a second, Cal thought he saw Ted smile. If so it disappeared as quickly as it came.
“Any idea what these hieroglyphics mean?” Ted asked.
Cal took the plunge. “We think Dan saw something he wasn’t supposed to see over at the old NASA building on the road up to Waimea Canyon.”
Cassie scowled. “Aren’t you chatty all of a sudden?”
He ignored her wrath. It wasn’t as if this was the first time he’d experienced i
t. Nor would it be the last. “The list may have something to do with the building and its use to store items that shouldn’t be there. We’re working on it.”
“Uh-huh.” Ted tapped on the desk again. This time much louder than before. “And who is we?”
Cal silently berated himself for the slip.
“Us.” Cassie wiggled her thumb between them.
Any amusement or pretend peace evaporated. Ted’s tan face flushed red. “I warned you before that you need to leave the police work to the police professionals. Amateur sleuthing is only going to get you hurt.”
Ted could not be more clear.
Cal chose to ignore him. “With all due respect, your office fucked up.”
“Right.” Ted leaned back. “How could I possibly be offended by that statement?”
“Cal’s right. You brought this on yourself.” Cassie waved her hand and knocked over a stack of files on the edge of Ted’s desk. She caught them, but the move ruined her big speech.
Cal decided to take back over before she broke something. “Cassie could have been killed. Dan was. Do you see where I’m going with this?”
Ted’s shoulders snapped straight. “I see that you’re looking for an escort off Kauai.”
“Even when you’re confronted with the truth, you don’t listen.” Cassie practically screamed her outrage.
Cal expected reinforcements to burst through the door.
From the way Ted sat there, it was clear her tone did not impress him. “I hear you. I would guess that most of the population of Kauai heard you. Now, it’s time for you two to listen to me. Hiding evidence or running around after false leads is not helping Dan.”
“Maybe.” Cal knew the word would tweak the guy, which was why he said it.
Ted’s face grew even redder. “Turn over what you have to the professionals.”
“We tried that already.” Cassie settled back in her chair. The angrier Ted got, the calmer she became.
“Do you have more information for me?” Ted asked.
“You have what we have,” Cal said.
Ted’s black-eyed gaze pinned them both. “Now, why don’t I believe you?”
“We came in with the paper as soon as we found it. Call it a good-faith gesture,” Cal said.
It’s Hotter in Hawaii Page 17