by Neal, Toby
“So you admit it was a mistake.”
“No.”
“How was it not a mistake?”
“We found the items.” Lei set her jaw and stared Shimoda down as best she could.
“You have a history of reckless police work, do you not?” Shimoda flipped open a file Lei hadn’t noticed until now. “I’ve subpoenaed your personnel files, and there are numerous irregular instances documented here. Shall I go on?”
“I’d rather you didn’t,” Lei said, looking desperately at Kelly. He gave a slight shrug, indicating Shimoda was able to proceed.
“Let’s see. First note is way back when you were a patrol officer. Corrective action for letting your personal attack dog off leash to find an intruder endangering civilians—and we go on from there.”
“No one was hurt,” Lei said, through numb lips.
“That’s a matter of opinion. Insubordination, failing to inform your superior officer, improper evidence collection. Oh—and here’s an interesting one from your stint in the FBI: reckless endangerment in jumping out of a helicopter to capture an escaping perpetrator.”
“I was trying to save the suspect’s life,” Lei said, but Kelly made a cutting-off hand gesture. He addressed Shimoda.
“Make your point.”
“My point is that Lieutenant Texeira here has a long history of going off half-cocked. I even see a very fresh note in here, signed by Captain Omura last week, that she’s going to be docked three days’ pay and has a mandatory workshop to attend on rights and responsibilities of law enforcement toward those in their custody. It appears her superior officer also had some concerns about her actions in this situation.”
Lei looked down at her hands in her lap, squeezed the web of her hand as hard as she could. It didn’t seem to be helping.
“Let’s move along,” Kelly said. “If you have any actual questions for my client.”
“Why didn’t you remove the weapon from Ranger Takama?”
“He seemed trustworthy. He stated that he used the weapon for ungulates in the forest and that he always carried it. As a ranger, I assumed he had a degree of authority to do so. Later, when a boar came at us out of nowhere, he effectively dispatched it.”
“And one could say he’d just proved both mettle and marksmanship. Why didn’t you remove the bow from him at that point?”
“It was a very stressful situation. We had just escaped injury from the boar and were distracted. Then we discovered Kingston had escaped. There was no time.”
“What did you do at that point?”
Lei glanced at Kelly. He had no guidance for her, so she said, “I exclaimed and went after Kingston. I called out to him to stop. I drew my weapon. Kingston had already made it to the bottom of the gulch and was getting away by hopping rocks down the stream. I’d chased him before and knew how fast he was.”
“Was he still restrained?”
“He was still in cuffs, yes, but they were in front and didn’t slow him down a bit that I could see.”
“Tell us how he got out of the other restraint you had on him, and what it was.”
“We’d clipped a length of light chain from his cuffs to a bracelet on Officer Cantorna’s wrist.”
“Were you aware Kingston sustained bruising and injuries to both wrists and soft tissue damage to his neck from the restraints?”
“No, I was not aware.” Lei felt her voice rising. “I was too busy trying to save his life. If the defendant had not tried to run, none of this would have happened.”
“Were you aware Kingston has stated, under oath, that he fled because he was in fear for his life?”
“Bu—baloney,” Lei said, amending her language. “The fact that he found a way to take, conceal, and use the wire cutters shows premeditation.”
“He says he always felt in danger from Ranger Takama because of the ranger’s friendship with Jacobsen. He was afraid from the moment he saw the ranger and decided to get away.”
“Disagree,” Lei said. She took her hands out of her lap and spread them on the table, gave Shimoda her own evil grin. “Cantorna can verify that Kingston was thrilled to be back in the forest and never batted an eye over Takama’s inclusion in our hike. Never addressed him directly, true, but certainly didn’t exhibit any fear. Also, your statement supports an admission of guilt in Jacobsen’s shooting. Because not only did I record that confession, but I heard it with my own ears. I’m prepared to testify under oath: Kingston admitted to killing Jacobsen.”
“We’ll come back to that,” Shimoda barked. He clearly didn’t like her going on the offensive. “Explain how he escaped.”
“Kingston found a pair of wire cutters in the lab while we were searching it. I remember him standing up near a box of supplies set on the wooden shelf he used as a workbench. We attached his chain to a bracket on one of the trees while we were searching. He must have concealed the cutters on his body. Later, during the distraction with the boar, he cut the chain and ran off.”
“Is there some reason you didn’t search Kingston after you’d gone through the lab?”
“I didn’t have reason to.” Lei bit the inside of her cheek, suppressing her own second-guessing. “I moved the box very shortly after he was chained into place. I didn’t suspect his actions. Until then, the day had been very cordial.”
“So take us back to his escape, just after both you and Takama shot the wild boar.”
Lei paused a moment to recall the action-packed moments. “I verbalized a command to stop. I had my weapon out as a matter of habit, when I saw him fall. The arrow he’d been shot with was visible, protruding from his back. Cantorna disarmed Takama, and I restrained the ranger with handcuffs. I called for help on the sat phone. I climbed down the cliff into the gulch, moved Kingston out of the water to help deal with his shock. He asked for help, and I said it was on its way.”
“Then you coerced him to confess. You told him he looked bad off, and this was his last chance to talk.”
“No. I made a second call for help from the transport, and I said, ‘This man is bad off’ to Dispatch, which was true. I could see he had a pierced lung. I was concerned for his life.”
“And then you encouraged him to confess.”
“I asked him what really happened, yes.”
“And you were right there recording what he said. Then you prompted him further, after he’d admitted accidentally shooting Jacobsen, to tell you about the poachers.”
Lei stayed silent. Shimoda prompted, “Lieutenant?”
“Yes. I asked him if he shot the poachers too.”
“And what did he respond?”
“He did not respond. He’d lapsed into unconsciousness.”
“I will submit that your recorded confession is inadmissible. It was coerced from a man who thought he was dying, manipulated out of him by an officer who planted fear for my client’s life in his mind and played on his emotions. Texeira, you even tried to get him to admit to murders he had nothing to do with. The whole expedition was unconscionable.”
“Was there a question for my client in your diatribe, Counselor?” Kelly said. “If not, we’ll be on our way.” He took Lei’s elbow, and she stood with alacrity. Shimoda’s mouth was still ajar as Kelly hustled Lei out and down the hall.
“That was all foreplay. He just shot his load, and I don’t think we need to hang around for the pillow talk,” Kelly told her.
Lei snorted at his unexpected crudity. She couldn’t resist stretching her arms overhead and filling her lungs as full as they would go with fresh air the minute they stepped into the sunshine outside.
“Whew. Thank God that’s over. Thanks for your help.”
“I kind of think you’re lucky he hasn’t brought any charges against you,” Kelly said as they walked toward the parking lot. “Shimoda wants to obscure his client’s guilt by getting the focus on you and perceived mishandling of the case.”
“Believe me, I know,” Lei said. “And I hear Kingston’s family might still
be working on a civil suit against the county, naming me. I’m just worried because now we’re worse off than ever with this case. Rinker’s in the wind with his corroborating testimony, the confession might be excluded, and Pono says we don’t have any physical evidence connecting Kingston to any of the murders. We’re back at square one.”
Kelly gave her shoulder a reassuring whack. “Sometimes it’s darkest before the dawn.”
“Cliché, Counselor,” Lei said, grinning. She liked him. “How long have you been on Maui?”
“Just a couple of weeks. Relocated from Minnesota.”
They’d arrived at her truck, parked next to his red Mustang. “Former rental car,” Kelly said. “Got it for a song.”
“Looks fun.” Lei’s chest tightened for a moment, remembering another friend who’d loved a red Mustang. “Well, you’ve come to the right place to get away from the cold. Here’s a local cliché about solving this case: ‘If can, can. If no can, no can.’”
Kelly looked blank, and Lei laughed. “It’s pidgin English, our dialect here in the islands. It means ‘If you can, you can. If you can’t, you can’t.’”
Now Kelly laughed, a big, barrel-chested rumble. “How do you say that?”
“If can, can. If no can, no can.” Lei shook her head. “I guess that’s really where we are.”
“I hope that’s not where you are for long. But try coloring inside the lines from here on out, why don’t you?”
“I’ll do my best,” Lei said. “But then, believe it or not, I always try to.”
Chapter 31
“I want to take you up on the mountain,” Lei told Stevens. She’d arrived home before him, for once, and after updating the captain and Pono on her deposition, felt a great need to get back outside into nature. She packed a picnic she’d put together into a Foodland cooler bag. “We haven’t gone up the crater once together to watch the sunset. It’s past time.”
“Excellent. I like the domestic goddess moment,” Stevens said, kissing the back of her neck. “Can I take a shower first? Had a nasty traffic accident investigation and got sweaty.”
“Long as I can join you,” she said. “I got sweated too—under the hot lights with Shimoda.”
It wasn’t long before they were on the road to the top of the mountain, leaving a mournful-looking Keiki behind—dogs weren’t allowed in the national park. Stevens rolled his window down, taking in the views. “Can’t believe I haven’t been up here.”
“Yeah. That’s criminal.” Lei glanced away from the road to grin at him. “Maybe I ought to spank you.”
“Ohh, I’m trembling with—anticipation.”
“You should be.” She reached over to squeeze his leg, then had to swerve to avoid a tourist drifting across the centerline, trying to get a picture of the view. “Guess I better pay attention to the road.”
“So what brought this idea on?”
“I don’t know. I’m just so frustrated with the whole case, so worried about the birds. I want to show them to you.” Lei’s holster dug into her arm. She didn’t know why she’d put it back on after the shower—maybe because it felt good to have it back after the mandatory leave. “I’ve heard the sunset off the top of the crater is amazing. Why should the tourists have all the fun?”
“Yeah, it’s so weird how when you live somewhere, no matter how amazing a place it is, you do the same things. Go to work, run errands, come home. It’s a rut.”
“So how about one of our new ruts is that we have to take a picnic or eat out somewhere on our beautiful island once a week.”
“I like it.” He reached over to play with the curls tossing in the wind of her open window. “We did it, Lei. We got married.”
“Yeah. I’m pretty proud of us. Wasn’t without hurting someone, though.” Their eyes met for a moment, and reflected in them was the haunting memory of Stevens’s first wife. Lei would never forget the moment she spotted Anchara in the audience of their wedding—and the sweet smile the other woman had given her.
“She’s okay,” Stevens said. “She sent me an e-mail not long ago. Got into the culinary arts program at UH Maui. Really happy with it.”
“Good.” Lei preferred to forget his disastrous first marriage had ever happened, but she knew she was at least partly responsible for it—both that it had occurred and that it hadn’t worked out. “Speaking of old business—Consuelo graduates from her group home next month. She’s in college full-time and fielding offers for her memoir.” Consuelo, Lei’s young protégée, had a story well worth telling.
“Now, that’s good news.”
They reached the booth entrance to the park and, since it was after hours, no personnel were there. “Just a quick stop at Hosmer’s Grove before we go to the summit,” Lei said. “I want you to get to know the birds.”
“I like to see you this passionate about something.”
“I can’t help it. I seem to have fallen in love with them. I’ve got the bird bug.”
“Lotta bird lovers in the world. You’re in good company.”
They parked the truck, and Lei took Stevens’s hand. “We have to hurry. I just want to show you the canyon; then we have to get to the top before the sunset.”
They broke into a jog on the short, well-worn trail that wound through the grove of nonnative trees to the edge of the deep canyon where Lei had taken Marcella and Sophie.
“Here.” Lei took his big hand in both of hers, and they sat on the bench, looking out at the multilayered green tapestry of native forest. Beside her at the end of the bench, tiny purple-and-white blossoms of a rare live sandalwood tree tickled her nostrils with a subtle citrusy scent. Lei closed her eyes. She felt the pure, sweet notes of native birdsong through her body, vibrating to the sound like a plucked string.
She felt Stevens draw her into his arms, pulling her across his lap and tucking her under his chin, and when she peeked up she saw his eyes were closed too.
There was nothing but the whisper of wind in the trees, the liquid grace of the birds’ song. Near enough to touch, a cloud rolled down from the summit like an angel in full flight and covered the canyon with soft gray mist.
“This place is magical,” Stevens whispered. “I see a red bird. What is that?”
Lei pointed out the various species they could see, scanning the forest to pick them out and show him.
Deep in the gulch, she spotted movement.
Lei sat upright, leaping quick and quiet off Stevens’s lap and dropping down low behind the handmade stone parapet that bordered the view area. She turned back, held a finger to her lips, and made a “get down” gesture. He slid down off the bench and hurried over to her. Together they peeked down into the dim at the bottom of the canyon.
“I don’t see anything,” Stevens whispered. Lei didn’t respond. She’d learned to sit quiet and let her eyes roam, searching for the odd angle or glint that signaled something out of place in a totally natural environment.
There it was—Lei spotted a tiny glint, though in the wavery light of evening, with cloud cover, it was hard to tell. She spotted a dark shape, too—and it started moving.
“Someone’s down there,” Lei whispered. Her gut was telling her something again. “We’re looking for Rinker. It might be him.” Lei scrunched down low and moved to the edge of the viewing area, climbing through the low steel barrier. She could see a faint wear pattern in the brush leading down into the canyon, an extremely steep descent. She grabbed a handhold and lowered herself over the edge, feeling for a foothold, and did it again.
“Lei!” Stevens’s whisper was harsh from above her. “We’re off the clock. You don’t even know if this has anything to do with your case!”
“I have a feeling, and I brought my weapon,” Lei whispered, looking up at his distressed face, blue eyes almost black in the shadows. “It’s okay. Call for backup.”
And she kept climbing, down and down, into the murk at the bottom of the canyon.
Chapter 32
Lei crouched behind
a boulder in the dry creek bed, engulfed in the shadows of approaching evening and underbrush. She moved forward, heading as quick and quiet in her athletic shoes, keeping behind cover as she was able.
Up ahead, she saw movement again—this time spotting the outline of a man moving away down the creek bed.
Could it be the missing Rinker? Perhaps he’d come back up to stash something incriminating in the canyon, or finish something with the research—or perhaps he was just hiding, camping in the forest until he could get off the island.
He was probably armed.
Lei drew her weapon and realized in that moment that something in her had been waiting, hunting her prey even as she outwardly packed a picnic.
On the other hand, it was also quite possible she’d just ruined her evening with Stevens to chase a tourist who’d gone off the beaten path sightseeing. It reminded her of her early days, chasing black Toyota trucks for no good reason but her gut telling her to.
Didn’t matter.
She was committed. Instinct was telling her to follow this guy.
She scrambled as fast as she could, worrying she was going to be spotted, worrying she was going to lose the figure so far ahead she could barely glimpse him.
And then he disappeared.
Time to go faster. Lei stopped trying to hide and simply ran down the streambed as fast as she could. She remembered Kingston’s speed hopping from rock to rock, energy like a hurdler as he flew over the uneven terrain—but she wasn’t the wiry grad student with his months of practice. She hit a loose rock and tripped, going down hard on a knee. She stifled a cry of pain.
Lei decided to stay down for a minute. After checking her knee was only bruised, she hunched in the shadow of the rocks and lifted her head to look around.
Nothing was moving. The sky, encroached upon by trees, was streaked with gold and red high above, reminding her she was missing the sunset on this fool’s errand. Her breathing slowed, and she continued to lie and wait and watch.
Her patience was rewarded.
Movement behind a tree on the edge of the streambed. A male figure, height around five foot ten, coalesced from the shadows and moved toward her, light and careful, silent as the whisper of wind in the leaves above.