Wired Justice

by Toby Neal

  Jake rubbed his stinging eyes with a thumb and forefinger after he said goodbye. Tank thrust his big square head under Jake’s arm and took a deep sniff of his armpit, the stump of his cropped tail wagging.

  “You guys want a little after-dinner run? Because I sure do.” Jake leashed the dogs and left the little motel room, already knowing what he needed to do.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Sophie winced as the connecting door between the hotel rooms slammed and Jake left. “I have to go, Mother. My partner is becoming suspicious.”

  “I can’t wait much longer to have an answer from you, Sophie.” Pim Wat’s familiar voice still paralyzed Sophie, grabbing her by the throat with a conditioned desire to please and appease.

  “I don’t understand that, when you waited nine years to contact me.” Sophie cleared her throat and strengthened her tone. “And so far, you haven’t said anything compelling that makes me want to get involved. I have not had time to research your organization’s background due to my current case. But I have a life, Mother, and neither you nor your government have been a part of it.” So far, the strange conversation that had begun with her mother’s phone call had been a rehash of the strange appeal the woman had made to her in the park. “I fail to see how I benefit from such an arrangement.”

  “You will be well paid, of course. And you will have a future that is reconciled with your past. You can be a part of our family again. You can come to Thailand and reconnect with your aunts, uncles and cousins.”

  “None of that is of interest to me, Mother.” Sophie wondered why she kept repeating the word “mother.” It was as if she needed to remind herself that the husky voice on the other end of the phone was even related to her. “I can visit my family in Thailand anytime I want to. I simply have no interest. I am my father’s daughter.” Sophie hadn’t realized the truth of that statement so clearly until she spoke it. “Dad has been there for me. He didn’t abandon me.”

  “Oh, really? Who hired your nannies? Who sent you to boarding school? All of those things were your father’s decision. I wanted you kept at home, with me. And the family.”

  Sophie vividly remembered the large wooden family compound built on raised pilings near the river. She remembered shared meals, and chasing and playing with her cousins as they ran through the different apartments, or the subunits the family occupied. And she remembered how often there was no one home in her family’s apartment, and how she’d been absorbed into her aunt’s.

  A knife of old pain twisted in Sophie’s gut. Her father had always been married to his job, and of course, she had needed care, care that her mother hadn’t provided. Frank had wanted her to have an American influence and future; that meant that he had taken steps to ensure that she was acculturated to the Western world.

  “He was making sure I was ready to come to the United States when I wanted to. And thank God he did those things, because I couldn’t have escaped Assan by fleeing to Thailand.”

  “You didn’t really escape Assan, did you? If you had, you would be a normal woman, perhaps married with some children. But instead you are a stunted and scarred person who cannot settle anything. A mercenary for hire with no honor.”

  Sophie gasped at the cruel words. “And you are the one who gave me to Assan. I have heard quite enough of your version of persuasion, Mother.”

  Sophie ended the call, hunching over and curling in on herself. She heard a low keening sound, and was surprised to realize she was the one making it.

  That phone call had been as poisonous as a black mamba that had sunk its fangs into her throat.

  She got herself under control and glanced at the connecting door. It was oddly silent in the other room. Jake must have gone out.

  “And I hardly blame him,” Sophie said aloud, remembering the riveting sight of his naked body as he changed in front of her while talking to some other woman. Hurt and rejection had radiated off of him in waves as he made a fuss of changing and leaving.

  She was never in doubt about how Jake was feeling at any given time.

  Sophie slid the phone into her pocket. She wished she hadn’t taken the call. She wouldn’t take a call from her mother again. She got up and opened the connecting door.

  Jake and the dogs were gone. The trash from dinner was neatly tidied away, but he’d left a couple of containers of food out for her.

  Jake could sleep with the dogs tonight, instead of with her. A twinge of regret lanced her. It would have been so nice to end the day in his arms, as she had planned. But that was not to be, because explaining any of this to Jake was impossible, and he was already clearly upset because she’d taken a phone call that she didn’t want to explain.

  She carried many secrets. That would continue. He had to be okay with it, and clearly, he wasn’t.

  Sophie drew the drapes, turned the bolt on the door, and locked the connecting door. She switched off the light, stripped off her clothing, and got into bed.

  Darkness was a familiar friend that folded her close in its arms, and dragged her down into oblivion.

  Sophie and Jake walked side-by-side into the hotel lobby at the downtown Hilo Bay Hilton.

  Jake had unlocked the door between their rooms in order to wake Sophie in the morning, and had roused her with difficulty. He’d been kind, but withdrawn, and she was barely functioning.

  Sophie felt fragile, as if anything might push her back into the black depression. Her skin felt thin and sensitive, as if to touch it would burst it, and all that would come out would be a river of tears. She fisted her hands, suppressing the voice of the depression murmuring how hopeless and cursed she was.

  “I wonder why the Weathersbys wanted to see us before the meeting at the station.” She spoke for something to say as the elevator rose to the top floor of the hotel. “I am not particularly eager to speak to them about finding Julie’s body.”

  “Part of the job. I’d think you’d have a tougher hide about that by now.” Jake hadn’t looked at her all morning and he’d barely spoken. She missed the sight of his eyes.

  “You forget I worked in the computer lab—I was never a field agent. Our cases have been the most activity outside an office that I’ve ever had,” Sophie said.

  Jake gave a brusque nod.

  Sophie opened her mouth to ask him why he was so upset, but the elevator dinged. Jake touched her back so that Sophie could precede him out of the elevator, and she felt the tiny, polite brush of his fingertips echo through her body. Moments later, they stood in front of the Weathersbys’ room, and Sophie rang the bell.

  A young woman wrapped in a white robe opened the door.

  Sophie recognized her instantly: five foot six inches, one hundred and thirty pounds, long brunette hair, blue eyes, freckles on her nose.

  Julie Weathersby.

  Chapter Forty

  Jake’s mouth fell open in surprise at the sight of the Weathersby girl. He closed it with an effort and visually scanned the young woman wearing a hotel bathrobe. She looked healthy and freshly scrubbed, with no visible bruises or other signs of trauma.

  “Oh, I am so happy to see you two! My parents have been telling me all about how hard Security Solutions has been working to find me, and I feel so bad about that,” Julie gushed, clutching the toweling at her neck modestly. “But it was Mallory at FindUsNow that got the word to me through social media that I was being considered endangered and missing.”

  Sophie swayed. She looked ready to keel over in a faint. Jake put an arm around her waist and steadied her.

  Sophie had gone to the dark place of her depression since he left last night—he had read the signs by her closed shades and locked doors. He and the dogs had gone to bed alone in his room. Going in to comfort her had been out of the question at that point. Whoever had been on that phone call had jacked her up and his help was not welcome. She’d made that abundantly clear.

  “We are a little taken aback to see you,” Jake said, because someone had to say something. He extended his ha
nd. “Jake Dunn. Security specialist. I am very glad to see you, young lady.” He injected his voice with heartiness as Julie shook his hand with a slender cool one.

  Sophie extended her hand next. “We thought that you were dead,” she said flatly.

  “Oh no! That’s terrible. I’m so sorry for the mix-up. Please, come in. We want to tell you all about it before we go to the police station. Dad wants us all to be on the same page.”

  “Oh, hello there, Jake and Sophie!” Mrs. Weathersby’s soft face, filled with joy, still reminded Jake of his mom. After that talk with Patty, he was overdue to give her a call. “Please come in and have some coffee with us!”

  Jake and Sophie walked into the suite. Mr. Weathersby rose from a chair out on the deck overlooking a stunning view of Hilo Bay and swaying palm trees. “What’s this about thinking my daughter was dead? We want to make sure we all have our stories straight before we go into the police station.”

  Jake clenched his teeth, bracing for spin doctoring. Rich people always thought they could rewrite history, and half the time they got away with it. “We’re eager to hear what happened to your daughter, Mr. Weathersby,” Jake said. “And I hope you’ll be considerate of all the work that’s gone into finding her, both by our staff and by the Hilo Police Department.”

  “Oh, we’ll tip you,” Mr. Weathersby said dismissively. “Now sit down and Julie will tell you what happened.”

  Freitan and Wong didn’t look like they had gotten much sleep in the hours since Jake had seen them last. The detectives were downright grouchy as they sat Julie Weathersby, extracted from her parents’ arms, on a chair in the interview room. The parents were calling a lawyer, but Julie hadn’t asked for one, and as far as Jake knew, Julie wasn’t in trouble—they just wanted any information she had about Rayme, Webb, and whoever had attacked her. The young woman began to cry immediately when Freitan told her they’d be recording the interview. Freitan rolled her eyes even as Wong pushed a box of tissues over to the weepy woman.

  On the other side of the reflective glass coating, the observation booth was dim and smelled faintly of the ever-present Hilo mold. The voices coming through the ancient sound system were thin and tinny. Jake’s plastic chair was hard, and he resisted an urge to reach out to Sophie as she sat beside him, eyes on the drama occurring in the other room. Her hand was just lying there in her lap.

  Maybe touching her was a good strategy.

  But only if he could do it without it affecting him more than it did her . . .

  Jake was determined to take Patty’s counsel. No neediness. No begging. No jealousy. Just being so damn good Sophie couldn’t forget him. Good advice, Patty. He had a plan now.

  Jake reached out and took Sophie’s hand. As before when she was in her depression, it was cold and limp. He rubbed slow circles on her wrist with his thumb. He felt silky tissue, bones, and fragile veins. Her pulse picked up as the pad of his thumb moved gently over her skin.

  Good. She was feeling this.

  And he was still nicely detached. He needed to stay that way.

  “Rather than having us ask you questions, why don’t you just tell us, in your own words, where you’ve been.” Freitan leaned back and crossed her arms on her chest in classic “bad cop” mode. “Your parents are calling a lawyer like you need to be protected from some wrongdoing. So, what you been up to, chica?”

  “We appreciate that you are cooperating with us,” Wong’s body language was opposite: leaning toward the girl, arms open, smiling and friendly.

  “It’s all a big misunderstanding. I mean, part of it is.” Julie gestured to her clothing, a pair of jeans and a tee that still had creases from packaging on it. “I guess you heard from the Security Solutions people that I was robbed and left on the side of the road?”

  “Yes. We even have your friends Webb and Rayme in custody.”

  “That’s great! Those two are total assholes! They pretended to be friends with me, and then took all my money and jewelry. They did leave me with my backpack, though.”

  “Yes. Then the Security Solutions people found your backpack, boots and clothing, and feared the worst. And yet, here you are,” Freitan said.

  “Well.” Julie chewed her bottom lip. The kid was adorable. Even hearing the story for the second time, Jake was impressed with how she oozed sincerity. “I was so upset after Holly and Jim threw me out of their car. I tramped into the jungle to get away, worried they were going to take the rest of my stuff. They had propositioned me for a threesome and when I said no, that’s when they decided to rob me, I think. Anyway, I was out there and just starting to turn around and head back to the road, when this guy came out of nowhere.” Julie’s gaze cut up and to the left as she recalled the events. “He was way scarier than Jimmy and Holly.”

  “Tell us about him. What did he look like?”

  “Close to six feet. He was a local—you know, dark skin, maybe Hawaiian and something Asian. Black hair. He was fast and strong.” Her eyes filled. She blinked and sniffled, and Wong handed her a tissue. “He had a knife and threatened me with it. Made me take off all my clothes and told me he was going to . . . enjoy what he was going to do to me before he killed me.” Julie’s voice shook and she covered her face with her hands, plastering the tissue to her eyes.

  “More details please,” Freitan rapped out. “We are going to want you to work with a sketch artist. As much detail as you can recall is really important.”

  “Anything I can do.” Julie wrung the tissue with her hands, shredding it. “Dark eyes. He looked like a local guy, like I said. Someone from here. I had an impression he was good looking, but I was too scared to really notice his features.”

  Freitan leaned forward, her gaze intent. “Young? Old?”

  “In his thirties, I’d say. He had rough hands, like he did outdoor work or something. I remember that.” Julie dropped her eyes, wiping her hands on her stiff looking jeans. “He had a pidgin accent. Anyway, I didn’t want to take my clothes off, and we struggled until he put that knife against my neck.” Julie tipped her head to the side, and showed the detectives a healed scratch beneath her jaw. “Once he had the knife there, I cooperated. I took off my clothes and boots.”

  “And then what happened?” Freitan was relentless.

  “He started to take off his pants, but he couldn’t get them down one handed, so he put the knife aside. I scrambled up and ran for it. I figured he was going to kill me; I had nothing to lose. His pants caught on his ankles and I was able to jump over the ditch and get to the road. I ran along the road as fast as I could in my underwear and bare feet. A car came. I waved my arms, and the driver pulled over. I told the guy I needed help; I was running away from someone who had attacked me. The driver let me into the car and we took off.”

  “Who was this?”

  “His name was Terence Chang.”

  Jake felt Sophie stiffen beside him. The name meant something to her. She had reacted to it back in the hotel room, too. She had gone out into the hall to make one of her secret phone calls, and had returned with that blank mask in place. She knew something about this Terence Chang, and so far, she wasn’t telling what it was.

  Freitan and Wong glanced at each other and took note of the name. It meant something to them, too. “And then what happened?” Wong asked.

  “I had nothing. No clothes, no money, no phone. Terence said I could rest up at his place. Get cleaned up. He was really nice. Seemed sorry about what happened to me. Said that there was someone in the area preying on travelers, and that everyone needed to be careful.”

  “So why didn’t you get in touch with your parents? Why didn’t you call the police about this man who attacked you?” Wong sounded genuinely concerned and confused.

  Julie looked down. Jake could tell she was blushing, even though the privacy film bleached the color out of the scene they were watching. “I was ashamed. I felt like a fool. My parents had warned me many times that it wasn’t a good idea to go on my hiking adventure; and all th
eir warnings had turned out to be right. I definitely planned to report it and do all the right things, but I just wanted to recover a little bit first before I had to deal with all of that. So, I didn’t call anyone, and then Terence and I . . .”

  Who was this Terence Chang? Jake Googled him on his phone, but the name didn’t come up in the Hilo area. Bizarre. Guy must go to a lot of trouble to keep such a low profile.

  “So, you got involved with Terence Chang? Rewarded your rescuer the old-fashioned way?” Freitan’s voice was frosty. “And meanwhile, you let your parents think the worst had happened?”

  “When you put it that way, it sounds so bad. But at the time, I didn’t think anyone knew anything about what had happened to me, or even missed me. I’d only skipped one weekly call to my parents. And I was really just . . . disoriented, I guess. I wanted to stay in the little bubble of safety I found with Terence for as long as I could.”

  “It didn’t strike you as odd that this Chang character didn’t encourage you to go to the cops? Didn’t tell you to do the right thing about your attacker?”

  “All I can say is that I wasn’t thinking straight. I finally got on one of Terence’s computers and went online. I left and found my parents as soon as I saw the social media posts from FindUsNow that said I was a missing person.” Julie covered her eyes with a hand. “I feel so bad. I’m sorry for all the hassle.”

  Jake had heard all of this before, and it seemed just as lame the second time.

  “So this Terence Chang. He didn’t coerce, imprison, or in any other way delay your reporting what happened?” Wong asked.

  “Of course not. Terence was just amazing. I mean he is just amazing.” Julie’s eyes glowed with infatuation as she looked up at the detectives. “I think we fell for each other so hard that we were both distracted. I lost all sense of time. I admit it. But as soon as I wanted to leave, he took me to my parents’ hotel. He has been nothing but a perfect gentleman.”