by Toby Neal
Lei shut her eyes. She couldn’t imagine being ready to take such a risk, but at the same time, the loss felt overwhelming. Never to have a baby, ever…Her brain shut down, unable to deal with the dilemma.
Stevens rubbed her hands. “How soon can we go home?”
“Tomorrow. I want you to stay one more day, just to rule out any complications or blood clots, that sort of thing.”
“Thanks, Doctor. I’m sure you did the best you could to help us,” Lei said, making herself look at him.
“Thought we’d saved your baby, but it just wasn’t meant to be this time,” the doctor said, standing up. “Feel better.” He left.
Stevens pulled her into his arms. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“I’ll never believe that,” Lei said, pressing her face into his shirt, her voice choked. “I should never have gone to the Big Island.”
“If we’re going to play the blame game, I should have caught you when that asshole pilot cracked you on the head and you fell down the stairs,” Stevens said. “I just couldn’t get there in time.”
“He said that didn’t cause it either.”
“Well, it couldn’t have helped. At least the shroud killer thing’s wrapped up. When you feel up to it, Furukawa’s waiting to get your statement.”
“Oh God.” Lei rubbed her tearstained face on his shoulder. “Can I talk to him tomorrow?”
“I think we can fend him off until then.”
“Thanks for having Dad come with Kiet. He’s just what I need right now.”
“I can tell.” Stevens rocked her in his arms. “We’re going to be okay. We have to be okay.”
Lei heard the tears in his voice. They clung together until Wayne came back, and Kiet brought sunshine.
Chapter 23
Lei sat gingerly on the hard plastic seat in the interview room at Kaua`i Police Department. She and Stevens had checked out of the hospital, and Jenkins had given them a ride over to the station so they could leave Wayne with the baby and the rental car at his motel.
Lei looked around at the familiar setting of steel table, chairs, and mirrored observation window. She’d got through the gauntlet of greetings by former teammates at the KPD by sheer force of will, and now the energy it had taken to get here seemed to have leaked out, leaving her drained with the interview with Furukawa still ahead. Their union rep was seated next to her, but Stevens wasn’t allowed in the interview. She knew he was in the observation room, and just knowing he was watching strengthened her a little.
Captain Fernandez, dapper in an immaculate uniform, came in, followed by Detective Furukawa.
“Lei! So glad to see you again!” Fernandez extended a hand and shook hers warmly. She’d enjoyed working under him in spite of all the politics of the Kaua`i station, and the smile she gave him was genuine.
“Nice to see you, too, Captain.”
“Hope you don’t mind. I’m going to be sitting in on this interview.”
“Not at all,” Lei said, secretly relieved. She’d watched “Fury” Furukawa and his partner tag team interviewees before and hadn’t been looking forward to it.
“Welcome back to Kaua`i,” Furukawa said. “Wish it were in better circumstances.”
“Me too,” Lei said, wondering if he was sincere. It was impossible to tell with his blank stare. Those ready tears started to well, and Lei remembered a trick Dr. Wilson had taught her—doing some simple mental math. She ran through a multiplication table and the tears backed off. “Can we get started? I’m still not feeling well.”
“Certainly.” Furukawa turned on the recording equipment and took a seat beside the captain. He stated the date, time, and persons present for the interview, then started in. “We’ve collected physical evidence and interviewed all the witnesses at the scene. You’re our last witness statement.”
“I expected that,” Lei said.
“Why don’t you tell us what happened, beginning with getting on the plane.”
Lei did. It took a while, as Furukawa stopped her for questions or clarification. So far the interview was progressing well, and Lei was relieved. The aggression Stevens had hinted at seemed to have been curbed by the captain’s presence.
They came to the part where Lei was taken away by the medevac helicopter. “We heard you lost a baby,” Furukawa said. For the first time Lei saw some expression in his eyes, and it was compassion. “So sorry to hear that.”
Mental math, mental math. Lei managed to keep the tears in. She nodded. “It’s sad, yes.”
“Perhaps you’d like to tell us why you were on the Big Island in the first place,” Furukawa said.
“I was investigating a gambling operation out of Kahului. Turns out it was a small part of the Chang family crime operation,” Lei said. She described the case, emphasizing that she’d been authorized by Omura to go and work with Hilo PD.
“And how did you come to tie that case in with the Chang operation that turned out to have a meth lab in it?”
“I interviewed Terence Chang. He gave me the information. Even showed me where the meth lab was. He’s a major witness in that case.”
“So you were aware the FBI had specifically directed that you not be involved with any investigation involving the Changs?” Furukawa’s face gleamed as he pressed in on her.
“I was aware, yes. But I thought the situation demanded that I follow where the evidence was leading.” Lei pinched her leg through the soft fleece pants Stevens had bought her that morning. The pain kept her grounded and alert.
“So the situation of a minor gambling case dictated that you approach Terence Chang for help with your case? Funny, because he says in his statement, ‘Lei Texeira approached me at my home to ask who was attacking her family.’”
Lei frowned and stayed silent as the union rep leaned forward and addressed Furukawa. “This line of questioning doesn’t have anything to do with KPD and your case on Ni`ihau.”
“I disagree,” Furukawa said. “I think what happened on Ni`ihau had roots in a homicide twenty-five years ago, involving Lei’s father and the head of the Chang crime family. The body count on this feud is getting deep, from what I’ve discovered. I’ve contacted Internal Affairs and turned this whole thing over to them.”
“Very dramatic,” Lei said, even as her gut twisted. She hunched over, breathing shallowly through the pain. They’d told her she might have residual cramping for a while, and the stress wasn’t doing anything good for her system.
“Detective Furukawa!” Captain Fernandez exclaimed. He stood, walked to the wall, and turned off the recording equipment. “You’re supposed to run all such referrals through me!”
“Begging your pardon, Captain, but if referrals had to go through commanding officers, IA would never have anything to investigate.” Furukawa crossed his arms, unrepentant. Lei knew he’d been waiting years for this opportunity to bring her down.
Captain Fernandez turned to Lei. “I’m sorry. I didn’t sanction this.”
“It’s okay,” Lei said, standing. “It will be whatever it will be, and frankly, right now I just don’t care. I’m not feeling well. You have my statement. I’m going home now.” She walked carefully to the door, where Stevens met her. He wrapped a long arm around her and pulled her in against his side.
“Let’s go home.”
Lei remembered at the same moment Stevens did, by his ironic glance, that they no longer had a home.
Chapter 24
Hellish was the word for their first night back on the property, Stevens thought. He and Lei were squished into Wayne’s double bed in the one-bedroom cottage, with Kiet in a portable crib beside them. Wayne slept on the couch in the front room.
Kiet slept fine, but Stevens had continued to have nightmares since the fire, and he woke Lei with his flailing. Lei was also having a rough ti
me. She’d cried intermittently all day after they left the police station on Kaua`i, tears rolling quietly down her face, and she moved like a sleepwalker when she moved at all.
Even after Aunty’s death, she hadn’t been like this. It alarmed him to the point that he could hardly grieve the loss of Baby himself in his worry over his wife’s emotional state. The only thing that seemed to perk her up a little was Kiet, so after their bad night, he handed her the baby and decided to get started cleaning up the mess of their burned house, a stark and ugly reminder of all they’d lost.
With the rubble gone, maybe moving forward would be easier. He’d called Pono and Jared yesterday when they got home from Kaua`i, and they both said they had the day off and would try to round up some friends to help.
They had a budget from the insurance company, but it wasn’t much in the scope of having to clean up and replace the house. Still, it was enough to get started, and Stevens needed to work, to throw himself into a project. He got on the phone and ordered a big demolition container and a small Caterpillar bulldozer and driver to come that day.
Stevens pulled on a pair of Wayne’s old work pants, surprised to find that, if a little tight in the legs, they fit him. He must have lost weight. He followed those with sturdy rubber boots and gloves and a particle mask.
With his father-in-law at his side and a shovel and ax in his hand, Stevens waded into the pile of dangerous burned material that was all that remained of their house.
They worked for a couple of hours. The sweat of effort felt good, stinging Stevens’s eyes and loosening his muscles. He hauled burned wood into a pile, chopping down larger pieces, Wayne right alongside him with a wheelbarrow. He straightened up, ax in hand, as several trucks pulled up their driveway.
Pono’s purple truck was in the lead, the bed filled with buff young men in work clothes. Jared’s truck followed, and Stevens recognized firefighter friends he’d been introduced to following in their vehicles. Bringing up the rear of the vehicles lumbered a tractor-trailer with the Cat and a giant dumpster.
Stevens felt his chest swell with suppressed emotion as the vehicles unloaded. Men carrying tools and wearing protection gear climbed out, laughing and talking. Jared had made sure they were dressed properly for dealing with fire debris.
His brother approached, blue eyes alight with energy and determination. “Brought a bunch of off-duty friends.”
Stevens embraced Jared, clapping him on the back hard with a blackened glove. “Got the first charcoal of the day on you, bro. I can’t thank you enough.”
Pono approached, wearing a pair of rubber waders. He thumbed back at the cluster of men climbing out of his truck. “Rounded up these lame-asses to help. Point ’em at it and they’ll go all day.”
“Thanks, man,” Stevens said. “What’s up with the waders?”
“Tiare suggested these.” Pono shrugged. “She had some idea I’d be able to rescue my clothes.”
“Good luck with that.” Stevens pulled off his gloves and did introductions and shook hands with the men, moved by the enthusiasm on their faces to wade into the giant pile of debris. He coordinated with the Cat driver and they positioned the dumpster, and soon the property was humming with the efforts of a mobilized community of police officers and firemen.
Stevens felt good, even though the sweat dug runnels through the black on his face. He set the pace with his shovel.
Lei sat on the tiny porch of the cottage, bouncing Kiet on her knees as she watched the beehive of activity in her yard. Tears rolled down her cheeks, but she made no sound.
They had friends who cared about them, pitching in to help in their time of need. She could hardly believe the number of men and the pileup of vehicles cluttering the yard. It was good to see Stevens right in the midst of it, swinging tools and directing the cleanup.
But even with all this activity, she just didn’t feel anything but flat. Even in her grief for Aunty Rosario, she’d known what she was feeling. This numbness was different.
She put her nose into Kiet’s neck and breathed. He kicked his legs at the touch of her mouth on his neck, and she smiled.
“Lei.” Pono had come up on her steps, wearing a ridiculous pair of rubber waders and his ever-present Oakleys. “I heard. So sorry, Sweets.”
“Yeah.” Lei rubbed her cheek on Kiet’s head. “Thank God I have this little guy to keep me busy.”
“Heard about that IA bullshit, too. Can’t wait to give my statement about the shroud killer and what you’ve been putting up with this last year.”
Lei shrugged. “It will be what it will be.”
Pono frowned. “That doesn’t sound like you. You gotta come out fighting.”
“I’m sick of fighting.”
Pono shook his head. “You’re grieving. I get it. We lost one in the middle, between our two kids. Never thought we’d get over it, but life goes on. You’ll be okay.” He turned away, clapping on a hard hat someone had handed him, and stomped back into the black debris.
Lei stared after Pono, her oldest friend and most trusted partner. His rough wisdom, even couched in his own experience, did nothing for her. Maybe the IA investigation would find her guilty of murdering Anela Chang, of orchestrating some elaborate setup, or at the least, of participating in a feud worthy of the Hatfields and McCoys. She just couldn’t bring herself to care right now, and there was nothing to be done about it anyway.
It will be what it will be.
Kiet wriggled and fussed, and she carried him into the cottage and fixed a bottle. She was just sitting down with him on the little couch when the front door opened.
Her best friend, Marcella, stood there, big chocolate-brown eyes shiny with tears, hands on curvy hips and lush brunette hair windblown. “Lei!” she exclaimed. “Why didn’t you call me?”
Lei’s ever-present tears spilled. “I couldn’t. I just couldn’t.”
Marcella rushed over and sat beside Lei, hugging her. Kiet watched, bottle in his mouth, secure in Lei’s arms.
Sophie Ang, more reserved, arrived in the doorway.
“Stevens called us,” Sophie said. She was arresting in a black tank and yoga pants, cropped head high and skin like burnished bronze over toned muscles. “I was so worried about you after that weird call from the Big Island. Marcella flew back from California, and we came over together.”
Lei hadn’t thought she could cry harder, but at the thought of her husband calling her friends, bringing them here to support her, she buried her face in Marcella’s shoulder and sobbed.
Sophie swooped in and plucked Kiet from Lei’s arms, rocking him as she held the bottle and cooed at him. Lei would have been surprised at Sophie’s ease with him if she hadn’t been crying so hard.
Stevens appeared in the doorway, as filthy as Lei had ever seen him, face black with soot and smeared with sweat. He grinned, and his teeth were startlingly white. “Thanks for coming,” he said. “So glad you both could make it.”
“Yeah, I’m nothing but a constant waterworks,” Lei said, reaching for a tissue. “Sick of it already, but I don’t know how to turn it off.”
“It’s okay. You guys have been through a lot,” Marcella said, her arms still around her friend. “Take the time to rest and recover.”
“Someone has to take care of Kiet, so it’s working out okay,” Lei said. “There’s just so much to do.”
“I’m going to help,” Sophie said. “Soon as I decide what outfit to ruin. Might as well be what I’ve got on.”
“You gotta have boots and gloves, at a minimum,” Stevens replied. “Lots of rusty nails and such in there.”
“I’ve got plenty of extra gear.” Jared had come up on the porch behind Stevens. “Good to see you lovely ladies again. I remember meeting you at the wedding.”
“Yes, I remember meeting you.” Sophie sl
anted him a glance and inclined her head, preoccupied with the baby.
“Lei’s told us a lot about you. All of it complimentary, by the way,” Marcella said. “Thank God you were there to help.”
“He’s the reason we got out of the house alive,” Stevens said.
“It’s what I do.” Jared smiled, a bright flash in his soot-streaked face. “Great to see you two again. Either of you single? Or both, perhaps? That would be my lucky day.”
“All right, bro, rein it in,” Stevens said, mock punching his brother’s shoulder. “The girls just got here. Maybe we can all go out tonight if Lei is feeling up to it.”
Lei forced a smile. “Let’s wait and see.”
“Well, I’m ready to get dirty if you’ve got some gear for me,” Sophie said, and handed Kiet to Marcella. “Show me where to suit up.”
“It would be a shame to cover any of you up, but I guess we have to at least protect the extremities,” Jared said. “Follow me.”
Stevens waved goodbye and followed Jared and Sophie down the steps and back into the rapidly shrinking debris.
Marcella looked down at Kiet. “Too bad I’m taken. Your uncle is a firefighter fantasy come true.”
“Yeah, and he’s a good guy, too,” Lei said. “Bit of a player. I think Sophie could take him, though.”
“Sophie can take anyone she wants; she’s just picky as hell,” Marcella said. “Speaking of, I’m not just taken. I’m officially taken.” She extracted her left hand from under the baby and extended it for Lei to see a sparkling engagement ring.