by Toby Neal
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 fi
nd 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 anger 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.
“I have had a contact inside his prison who has kept me informed. I knew Ang was being extradited to Hong Kong to stand trial. Someone helped him escape en route.”
Sophie’s knees buckled, and Connor caught her close in a hug that held her up. He was just the right height for her to lean on his shoulder, to feel his arms surround her, creating an illusion of safety.
He was also just the right height for her to feel his heart beating under her cheek, for her to feel his arms closing out the darkness.
“I couldn’t tell you that on the phone.” Connor’s voice was muffled by the thick curling halo of her hair. She felt his lips near her ear, warm and tingling. “I’ll keep you safe. I’ll find him. And I’ll deal with him.”
Sophie lifted her head from his shoulder and turned to look at him. Their faces were inches apart as brown eyes clashed with blue. “He’s not yours to deal with. He’s mine. And if you take this from me, we really are finished.”
“God, you’re sexy,” he breathed, and his mouth descended to meet hers.
That conversation they’d been having, the nonverbal conversation about how they would fit together, about how they could be together, about how much they wanted each other and how it would feel—that conversation resumed as if there had been no pause.
No pause to go to another island on a job.
No pause to be disappointed by each other’s choices.
No pause to almost sleep with someone else.
Sophie finally broke the kiss, her hands on his chest pushing him gently away. “This doesn’t change anything.”
“No, it doesn’t.” Connor slid his hands down her arms, clasped her hands, and squeezed them. “But it might make us both feel a whole lot better about life.” He grinned.
Sophie smiled. “I wish I could say yes, invite you in for
the night and forget all this. I wish you’d been here yesterday, when that was all I was thinking about doing. But I’m afraid…”
“I know you’re afraid, and not just of Ang.” Connor squeezed her hands again. “And it’s the same reason I am. This is about more than sex. Because if that’s all it was…”
“We’d have been doing it like bunnies,” Sophie said. “As Marcella would say.”
Connor smiled, touched her nose. “Exactly.” He walked over to the sliding glass doors. Ocean-scented breeze blew in over them. The soft clatter of that night wind in the coconut trees four floors below made music with the distant rush of waves. The moon, just rising, left silver tracks on the water. “Not a bad view for such a dumpy condo.”
Sophie joined him. Looking out across the inky sea, she was better able to put her thoughts into words. “Thank you for monitoring my ex. I can’t do it. I get too obsessed, and it triggers my memories and makes him bigger in my life than I want him to be. But I did put an alert on DAVID, should anything hit the news regarding him.”
“His escape has been hushed up. There’s nothing in the news. It’s embarrassing for the FBI and the United States to have lost him.”
Ang had been busted for importing drugs into Honolulu and his U.S. holdings confiscated. His obsession with hunting Sophie down had ultimately led to his capture; but, as she’d feared, he’d been extradited to Hong Kong to stand trial—and hadn’t even made it there.
“I would appreciate your help in finding him. But for any further action…”
“Fine. I hear you. But I won’t promise to stay out of it entirely. Your safety matters to me.”
“Fair enough,” Sophie said.
Connor raised his hand and stroked the discolored, overly tight skin graft on the side of her face—and she let him touch her there, the callouses on his fingertips slightly rough and his fingers warm.
His hand fell to his side.
She didn’t know how to end things with him in this moment so they stood awkwardly, looking at each other, until Connor gave a small chuckle. “I like that about you, Sophie. You never try to fill the silence with unnecessary chatter.”