by Toby Neal
“Hey, how long have you been down here?” Pono said, surveying the dimly lit room. The other officers had left long ago.
Sophie pushed back her chair and leaned back to stretch. “Not sure.”
“Well, it’s quitting time.” He pointed at the small, square write blocker device. “Why don’t you get that thing going, and come home with me for a home-cooked meal while it clones Taggart’s hard drive? You can always come back here after, if you’re feeling the urge to be a workaholic.”
Sophie’s stomach rumbled in agreement with that plan. “That sounds perfect,” she said gratefully. “I’d be happy to accept.”
Pono rattled off his address and she captured it with the notes feature on her phone.
It wasn’t long before she was sitting down to a meal that the frighteningly capable Tiare Kaihale had “just thrown together.”
Sophie picked up her spoon and dug into a savory beef stew laden with chunks of pineapple and Molokai sweet potato ladled over a mountain of dense, sticky white rice. Around the table, Ikaika and Maile, Pono and Tiare’s children, partook with equal gusto.
“So…how are you kids doing?” Sophie asked. She hadn’t spent much time around school-age children, and wasn’t sure how to engage with them. “What are your interests?”
Young Ikaika, Pono’s boy child, piped up. “I got moved to forward position on my soccer team,” he said proudly, cheeks bulging with a bite of stew. Maile, not to be outdone, added that her hula halau was competing in the children’s division finals at the Merrie Monarch hula festival on the Big Island next year.
Sophie smiled, listening to and watching the lively by-play of the family around the table. Tiare’s work as a nurse at the hospital kept her busy, but not so busy that she hadn’t started another business as a wedding planner, in addition to helping teach hula and being active in the couple’s church. As the meal concluded, Sophie touched Pono on the arm. “You are a lucky man,” she said. “Never forget it.”
Pono smiled, that big white grin she was becoming fond of. “Not just lucky. Blessed. And grateful, every day.”
Sophie unbuckled her seatbelt as the short Hawaiian Airlines flight from Maui parked at the gate in Honolulu Airport.
She had barely had time to boot up her laptop and begin to take a look at the cloned hard drive of Brett Taggart’s computer. It had not been worth the effort to boot the thing up when the flight was a mere thirty minutes, but she had not been able to resist the lure of at least having a quick look at his hard drive, searching for anything to do with the Kakela site.
And of course, it was not enough time to do anything but determine that Taggart was not a very organized record-keeper on his PC.
A twinge of apprehension tightened her abs as Sophie made her way down the jetway to the exit. She did not have a checked bag, only the backpack she carried for the quick overnight trip back to Oahu to fulfill her laser scar removal treatment. Security Solutions’ VP Bix was picking her up, and she wasn’t particularly looking forward to it.
Bix was driving one of the white Honda SUVs that were part of Security Solutions’ fleet of vehicles, each equipped with a removable magnetic logo on the doors. Jake had told her that the company had used market research to decide what kind of vehicle to buy in bulk in Hawaii, and white Honda CRVs were the answer. They looked like they were owned by people who resided on the island, but were anonymous enough not to attract attention.
“Welcome home,” Bix said, as she slid into the passenger seat and pushed her backpack into the rear.
“Thank you for picking me up.”
“An in-person situation report was overdue.” Bix was all business, as usual. Her supervisor was dressed down in chinos and a polo shirt, but he would have fit in easily at the FBI with his clean-cut style and no nonsense, protocol-driven mindset.
“I agree. I want to sort through some of the things that have been happening, and get your advice as far as my evolving role in the murder investigation,” Sophie said.
“Good. Let me take you to lunch.”
Sophie hadn’t eaten that morning, still full from Tiare’s delicious stew, but her early morning run, along beautiful Sugar Beach outside of the cash-only condo she had taken under the Mary Watson identity, had helped burn calories, and now she was hungry again.
It was remarkable and annoying to her how the body kept requiring fuel, no matter how much turmoil the emotions were in.
They went to Zippy’s, a local chain restaurant, and Sophie unburdened herself about the case, telling Bix from start to current situation how things were going.
“I worry that you are becoming indispensable to this investigation, and your priorities as a hired security agent, are becoming blurred. It is MPD’s investigation now. The Hui’s contract with us ends in a few days. They have no purpose in continuing the contract, since, as you pointed out, the site has already been looted.”
“Literally, on my watch,” Sophie said ruefully as she poked at the Caesar salad with ahi strips she had ordered. “I was shocked that Magnuson didn’t fire me after that happened. I think Lei talked them into keeping me on.”
“Well, you always have to keep in mind now that you are a private contractor, and your priority is what the client pays you for,” Bix said. His jaw was a tight line. “You’re done with that case the minute your contract expires.”
“Absolutely.” The word tasted like sawdust in Sophie’s mouth.
Sophie swished down another pain pill outside of Connor Remarkian’s swanky Pendragon Arches apartment—the laser treatment to minimize the edges of her skin graft had left her face swollen and achy. Not the best time to see him, but one or the other of them had been recovering from wounds for the duration of their relationship.
She rang the bell, glancing at the overhead surveillance cam in the hall, remembering the first time she’d stood outside this door. She was never sure if he would answer the door, or his assistant, or even if it would be a maid—but today it was Connor himself, and his face lit up at the sight of her. She had always wondered about that American phrase, wondered what it meant, what it would look like to see. The widening of his eyes and the broad smile that transformed Connor’s face was a clear answer.
“I wondered if I would see you again, after our talk on Maui,” Connor said. “Come in.”
Sophie stepped across the threshold, and he hugged her. She sighed as she relaxed into him, the physical touch a balm to her jangled nerves and the pain that haunted her from unhealed wounds.
Finally, she stepped back. “I hunted you for too long for you to get rid of me that easily,” she said. “I need your help. I’m here on island for a personal medical reason, but I need a secure place to use DAVID for the investigation.”
If Connor was disappointed, he hid it well. He closed the door behind her and locked it as Anubis, his dignified Doberman, sniffed at Sophie and thrust his head under her hand for a pet. She stroked Anubis’s silky head, touching the tips of his cropped, pointed ears with a delicate hand. She missed Ginger. She was definitely going to spend the night at her place, and pick up her dog from the kennel where she’d been boarding the Lab.
“We will need to use my secure work room, in that case.”
“How often do you check for listening devices in here?” Sophie said.
“Daily. And the other side, twice a day.” Connor smiled, and she wanted to kiss him. She wanted to more than kiss him. But nothing had changed. He was still the Ghost, she was still conflicted about that, and the closer they got, the more difficult it all became.
He led her through the immaculately appointed apartment into his bedroom—which might have been suggestive if she hadn’t known that it was an entrance to his other world.
Soon they were sitting down in Connor’s secret computer lab. Sophie opened her laptop and plugged it into his cable network. “I have never asked you what software you use for…those activities.”
Connor was sitting next to her in a second ergonomic office chai
r. “I have a software program that has unique hacking abilities. And that’s all I’m going to say on that subject.”
“Does it have a name?”
Connor smiled. “Where do you think the name Ghost comes from?”
Sophie shook her head, smiling too. “I guess it’s better not to know.”
“Well, if something ever happens to me, I have the program stored in a safe deposit box. I will put you on as a cosigner.”
Sophie turned to face him fully, seriousness pulling down her mouth. “Don’t say that. I can’t bear to hear you say that.”
“It almost seems like you care.” Connor’s blue-green eyes were bleak.
“You know I care. That’s why this hurts.”
He swiveled his chair abruptly away, facing the bank of computers. “What I do with what’s mine is my choice. You’re the only one who knows about the Ghost, and I have to tell someone. I have to let someone in on all of this in case it all goes to shit…in case I’m caught.”
“Stop it.” Tears filled Sophie’s eyes. “Please don’t say that. Don’t tell me this.”
He shrugged, not looking at her. “It is what it is. Now, tell me what you’ve got here to work on.”
Clearly he didn’t want to talk about this minefield of a topic any longer. Sophie blew out a breath and refocused on the cloned hard drive she’d imported onto her laptop. She filled him in on getting it from Taggart. “I want to run a deep background on Taggart with DAVID while I’m searching this clone of his computer.”
“Well, this is the most secure Internet location you could find, short of the Pentagon, and maybe more secure than that,” Connor said. “I have some things to do, myself. Let’s get to work.”
Sophie nodded. She removed her Bose headphones from her bag and plugged them in, booting up the laptop, and set two powerful programs to work as her fingers flew over the keyboard.
It was remarkably companionable to sit beside Connor and work, both lost in their own digital worlds—together. Equal.
The hours rolled by quietly, and the longer Sophie spent in Connor’s inner sanctum, the more it felt like home.
Sophie left the computer mining for information on Taggart’s cloned hard drive while she and Connor went to dinner. Over a steak and a glass of a good Merlot at a restaurant within walking distance of the apartment building, Connor lifted his glass.
“To great partnerships.”
Sophie touched her glass to his, and enjoyed the chime of the crystal. “I like your office,” she said. “I like working with you. And I don’t say that to too many people. You know when to keep quiet.”
Connor smiled. “I was going to say the same of you. A year ago, I would not have imagined letting anyone into my office, and now, I just know how much I’m going to miss you when you aren’t there.”
“I hate it when you say things like that. I feel like I don’t know what to say back to you, like no matter what I say, it’s the wrong thing. A disappointment.” Sophie sipped her wine to hide the tremble of her lips.
“You’re overthinking it. You can always just tell me what your first thoughts are, and I am always glad to know what they are.”
Sophie ducked her head and tugged at the curls that were still too short to cover the angry-looking skin graft that marred her temple.
Connor switched to lighter topics, and they discussed the politics of the Internet and ended up on the case that Sophie was investigating. “It was a breakthrough to get Mano’s record of blackmail payments,” Sophie said. “But I think it is a coded file. The initials don’t match anyone we know that had contact with Mano.”
Connor’s smile was deadly. “Ghost can crack that code. Give me the file when we get back to the apartment.”
Back at the apartment, Sophie transferred the file to a stick drive and gave it to Connor. “I’m sure I’m not supposed to be doing this, even though you are my boss. I signed confidentiality agreements with the MPD. But I think this is the fastest way for us to get answers that will break this thing open.”
Connor nodded. “Agreed.”
While Connor got his software working on the blackmail file, Sophie reviewed Taggart’s hard drive. An hour or so later, she had identified the ground penetrating radar report. A residual signature showed the file had been copied. She surfed through Taggart’s email and found the file sent to an anonymous numbered account. She set DAVID to apply a tracker program to uncover that destination, and it pinged back within minutes.
“I have a location for the computer that received a copy of the GPR report from Taggart’s computer,” Sophie said, breaking the deep and comfortable silence between them. “And it’s here on Oahu.”
Chapter Fourteen
Sophie woke and rose from the pretty little rattan bed in her apartment, greeted rapturously by Ginger. The big yellow Lab could wag her tail with her whole body, and that was exactly what the big dog did, hopping and slobbering all over Sophie.
Sophie petted the Lab and padded into her little kitchen, plugging in the electric kettle for tea. In spite of the breakthrough last night, Sophie was dogged with a feeling of frustrated futility. Connor was still working on breaking the code of the blackmail file, and she’d kissed him good night and left, contacting Lei on Maui and sending her the IP location of the computer that had received Taggart’s email of the GPR report.
Giving over that information but not being able to go on the raid to see what they unearthed reminded Sophie again of the limitations of being a private contractor.
She drank her tea and took Ginger out for a run. Soon she was jogging on the beach at Ala Moana Park with the dog. The chattering of mynah birds and doves waking up in the park, the morning sun glittering off of the tall, mirrored high-rises of Waikiki, and a little wind picking up across the turquoise water all soothed her spirits.
At least she and Connor were getting along, and he was confident he’d have the blackmail list code broken soon. Working together, the lovely dinner, and Connor’s goodnight kiss—tempting enough to want to make her stay the night—all warmed her, but second thoughts about leaving the FBI still nagged at her.
Her phone rang in her pocket, and Sophie trotted over to stand under a palm tree and pick up for Lei. “Sophie, I’m on my way to Honolulu, but I’ve been hung up by some personal business. I need you to go on the raid of that address you found with the Honolulu Police Department staff—a Sergeant Chimes will be in charge. Confiscate any computer equipment you find and get started searching it. And I’ll be there by noon.”
“Thanks,” Sophie said. “I really needed this.” Her heart rate was already up, the cobwebs of incipient depression dismissed by the excitement of the hunt.
“I’m not doing it for you,” Lei said with a dry chuckle. “I’m doing what’s best for the case. Even if that means I don’t get to be there for the takedown.”
Sophie picked up another call without checking the caller ID as she ran hard for her apartment.
“Sophie, where are you?” Jake’s voice was short. “I went by your condo on my way to the airport. I’m on Oahu now.”
“I’m on Oahu too, and I’m in a hurry, Jake. What do you want?” Sophie panted, clattering up the exterior stairs of her apartment. “I’m getting ready for a raid.”
“You could have told me you were leaving the island.” Jake sounded irritated.
“We aren’t even on the same job. I don’t owe you an explanation for anything,” Sophie said, her temper flaring to match his. “I had personal medical business on Oahu, and some things are breaking on the case.”
“Partners keep each other informed,” Jake said, each word measured and controlled. “And I’m calling with some news from your case as well.”
Sophie unlocked her apartment hastily and pushed in, hauling Ginger behind her. “Go ahead.”
“I went by the Kakela site to check in with you, and met Magnuson. She informed me that the board has rejected the offer from Blackthorne Industries.”
“That’
s interesting, but likely irrelevant,” Sophie said, stripping off her clothes and heading for the shower as Ginger lapped thirstily from her water bowl.
“Well, I thought I would pass it on, in case it was of value or interest.” Jake’s tone was frosty. “What’s breaking on your end?”
“Sorry, Jake, I have to shower and get down to HPD for a raid. I’ll update you later.” Sophie ended the call and set the phone on the edge of the sink, jumping into the shower.
Under the flow of water, soaping briskly, she thought about the Blackthorne offer. It seemed unrelated to the case, but there was no way to tell with the current information they had.
It took her fifteen minutes to change and get to the HPD headquarters downtown and to connect with the sergeant in charge of the raid. Soon Sophie, wearing standard black Kevlar and a helmet, was careening through the streets of downtown Honolulu in the SWAT SUV, headed for the building whose address contained the computer she had found.
Breath constricted by the vest, vision narrowed by the dark helmet, ears filled with the buzzing static of the comm, Sophie jogged after the SWAT team up the interior stairs of the apartment building. The address had been identified as a corner unit on the fourth floor—but when the squad leader knocked on the door, there was no answer.
“Open up! Honolulu Police Department!”
No reply.
Two of the officers wielded the door cannon, and the apartment was breached with two blows. Sophie hung back, per protocol, her weapon drawn as she kept an eye on the hallway and the officers went into the unit.
“Clear!”
“Clear!”
Sophie listened to them checking in as they scanned the interior rooms, and she entered at their signal.