by Toby Neal
She slid the phone back into her pocket, snapped the button shut, and went to her truck, where she retrieved a package from her crime kit. She headed into the hospital, going down a floor to the basement where the morgue was located. Dr. Gregory was just shutting the refrigerator shelf on a body when Lei pushed the main door open.
“Lei! To what do I owe the pleasure?” He peeled off gloves and dropped them into a nearby biohazard bin. “Our conference at the station wasn’t too long ago.”
She held up Nunes’s DNA sample swab, still in its wrapper. “I have another contributor for you to rule out as the father of Danielle Phillips’s child.”
Lei called Wayne from the office to make sure Kiet was okay. Her father said brusquely, “You need to come home. Boy’s not doing well with both of you gone.”
Urgency immediately speeded Lei as she headed home after making sure the evidence collected at Costa’s house was being processed by Kevin and that everything had been logged in. Captain Omura had gone for the day, leaving a message on Lei’s voice mail: “Debriefing in my office first thing tomorrow morning.”
The light was going purple and orange across the ocean on the drive home, but Lei was too anxious to get to Kiet to enjoy the sight of a few surfers still pumping the small waves at Ho`okipa as she passed the well-known sport area.
She had time for one more case-related phone call. She fished the Phillipses’ financial planner’s number out of her backpack and dialed it, putting in her Bluetooth. Truman Ching had already left the office, but she set up a meeting with him for the following day through the receptionist. There was truly nothing more she could do on the case at the moment, and her son needed her.
Kiet ran down the steps the minute her truck came through the automatic gate, the dogs flanking him. Lei frowned at the sight of tear tracks on the little boy’s cheeks as he ran around to pull her door open.
“Mama! Where were you?”
“Oh my goodness, little man!” She pushed the door open wider and swung her legs out, reaching out her arms. He leaped into them, wrapping his arms and legs around her like a monkey and burying his face in her neck. “What’s got you so upset?”
“I thought you weren’t coming home. Like Daddy.” Kiet squeezed hard, his voice muffled.
“Daddy’s coming home,” Lei said stoutly. “And so will I. Every day. And you had Nana and Grandpa to take care of you.”
“The TV said a police officer got shot,” Kiet muttered. “I thought it might be you.”
Five years old and he already lived with the fear every law enforcement family dealt with. Her father must have been listening to the news while he was cooking, as he liked to do.
“Oh, honey.” Lei smoothed Kiet’s thick black hair. “I’ll always come home to you.”
She somehow had to keep that promise. No matter what. He’d already lost one parent, whom he’d never know. She stood up with Kiet in her arms and carried him into the house. Wayne, light from the kitchen falling on his silver-shot curly head, took a plate out of the microwave. “I reheated something for you.”
“Thanks, Dad.” She set Kiet on the couch. “Want to watch some cartoons with Mama while she eats?”
“Yeah.” The little boy plugged his mouth with his thumb. He hadn’t sucked his thumb since he was three.
She wanted to yell at Stevens all over again for what he’d done to them by leaving, what he was continuing to do by being gone. She took the plate from her father, sliding the phone out and checking it again.
This time there was a text.
I’m sorry. We were on communication blackout. I’m in place where I’ll be working and I’m okay. Not feeling well at the moment, but I haven’t touched a drop since I left. I love you. I’ll be back before you know it.
“Liar,” she muttered. But her spirits lifted to hear from him. “Dad, Kiet—Daddy says he’s where he’s going to be working, and he’s okay. He sends his love.”
“That’s good. Hey—can I have a word about today?” Wayne wiggled his brows significantly. Lei followed him into the hall, out of Kiet’s earshot.
“It would be great if you could keep him from hearing the news,” Lei said. “Please.”
“He turned it on himself while I was in the kitchen and saw the report. Is Pono okay? I called down to the station when we heard an officer had been shot.”
“Yeah. He’s home already. Just a flesh wound. Says he’s always wanted to be able to say that.” They exchanged a smile.
“I’m sure there’s a story there, but now’s not a good time with Elephant Ears listening. I’m heading out, then,” Wayne said.
“Thanks again, Dad.” Lei hugged her father goodbye. “I couldn’t do this without you and Ellen helping me with…” She tipped her head to indicate the boy, his gaze intent on the cartoons. “I’ll probably have another long day tomorrow. I hope you and Ellen are okay picking up Kiet and keeping him busy?”
“Sure. You know we love spending time with him,” Wayne said, as they walked into the living room. “I am getting him tomorrow and planning to take him to the restaurant with me.”
Kiet looked up and grinned at his grandfather. “I can help you chop stuff, Grandpa.”
“We’ll see.” Wayne reached over to ruffle the boy’s hair. “Don’t give your mama a hard time.” He lifted a hand and shut the door behind him.
Lei checked that he’d fed the dogs, who seemed a little needy, too, pressing against her legs. She stroked their broad heads, rubbed their chests, and played with their silky triangle ears, murmuring loving words. Keiki leaned her large, square forehead on Lei’s breast.
Lei felt a tightness in her throat at the sight of the many white hairs around the dog’s muzzle. She didn’t know how much longer she’d still have her old girl, already ancient by Rottweiler standards.
When Lei finally sat down beside Kiet, her plate was cold. She felt herself sink deep into the couch with exhaustion.
It had been a truly long day.
She ate, set the plate on the coffee table, and snuggled Kiet against her side.
Lei woke to the sound of Kiet screaming, the high, thin rabbit-like cry of one of his night terrors. She’d fallen asleep with him on the couch, she realized, and he was tangled in her arms, both of them overheated and uncomfortable. The TV murmured and flashed in the background.
He hadn’t had one of these episodes in at least a year.
“Wake up, little man,” she soothed, rubbing his arm, a technique the pediatrician had recommended.
“He’s asleep when these happen,” the doctor had told them. “You have to wake him up slowly, bring him out of it. Sometimes he won’t wake up, but you can gradually calm him by giving sensory input.” As unnerving as the night terrors were, it was better to soothe him out of them than to wake him abruptly, they’d found, since then he switched to hysterical crying that could go on for hours.
She rubbed Kiet’s arm, his back, holding his stiff, screaming body against her, whispering in his ear until gradually the wails trailed off and he relaxed at last. She stood up with him in her arms and carried him back to the big bed. They both needed the comfort of being in it together, for now.
Chapter Fifteen
Lei was on her way back into the station the next morning, her eyes gritty from broken sleep, when her cell rang. She couldn’t help the surge of hope that made her grab the phone up without looking.
Jared, her brother-in-law, greeted her. “Lei! Any news on Michael?”
His voice was deceptively like Stevens’s at first, and the twinge she felt at realizing that it wasn’t her husband was undeniable. She forced a cheerful note into her voice.
“Hey, bro. Yeah, I finally got a text from him last night. Says he’s in the place where he’s going to be working, and he’s okay. I was getting worried. I don’t even know where he’s stationed. Classified, you know.”
“Well, that’s good. I’ve been meaning to call you, but we’ve had more of those cane fires and I’ve been doin
g twelve-hour shifts.” A long pause. Lei put in her Bluetooth so she wasn’t violating the Maui cell phone ban.
“Yeah, let’s get together when my latest case lightens up.” Lei wanted to invite him to dinner, but wasn’t sure when she was going to be home for that. “In the meantime, Kiet’s having some adjustment problems with Daddy gone. I could really use some help. If you could have him on your day off, give him some of that favorite uncle time?”
“Sure, of course. I’m overdue for taking him out on the ocean.” That was Jared’s special contribution to Kiet’s upbringing—he was systematically teaching the boy ocean sports. They’d been out to fly trainer kites several times already, getting him ready to kiteboard, as well as surfing, fishing, and canoe paddling. “I just wanted to say that I told Mike I thought he was nuts going overseas. He’s got you, the kid, a great job.” Jared’s voice was tight with frustration. “I get it that we inherited alcoholism genes from Mom. But he could deal with his problem here. He didn’t need to leave you guys.”
Lei blew out a breath. “You don’t have to tell me. I’m so mad at him I can hardly see straight, but what am I gonna do? He had it in his head he needed to kick the booze and the PTSD by going somewhere that would ‘break him out of the rut,’ which doesn’t say much for family and married life.”
“Stop it right now, Lei. You guys have what everyone wants. What I want.” Her brother-in-law’s voice was thick with emotion. “I just had to tell you. I tried as hard as I could to talk him out of it. But he’s bullheaded like that.”
“Thanks.” Lei felt those easy tears prickling again. “I appreciate you telling me, and any help I can get with the little man. He’s really a mess. So am I, but the job keeps me going. Speaking of, you should know Pono’s off a few days. Perp at an ice house we busted winged him in the arm yesterday, so pop by and play some video games with him or something, if you find the time.”
“Man! That’s all you need, your partner getting shot. I’m sorry, Lei. This is a lot to deal with. Let Mom and Wayne know that day after tomorrow’s my day off. I’ll plan to pick Kiet up from school and take him surfing at one of the beginner spots.”
“Thanks so much.” Lei rang off, glad once again Stevens’s brother had moved to Maui five years ago. Now that she knew he wasn’t enjoying the single life anymore after years of uncommitted dating, she was going to have to give some thought to who she could set him up with.
Omura gathered the team in the conference room. This time she’d brought a plate of sliced tropical fruit. “My mom sent this for you all.” She indicated the spread of sliced pineapple, papaya, peeled lychee, and banana chunks with toothpicks. “I wanted to get everyone together for a quick meeting so we maximize our efforts today. I’ve asked Gerry to fill in for Pono while he’s out on medical leave, so he’s going to be helping Lei out until Pono’s back.”
Lei lifted a hand to the wiry little Filipino detective seated across the table from her. She’d worked with him and his regular partner, Abe Torufu, often in the past.
“How’s the evidence processing going, Kevin?” Omura dipped her black, shining bell of hair toward the weedy-looking intern. The young man looked up, blue eyes bloodshot.
“I was here all night, sir,” the young man said. “I got a good start on the trace from the UH Zodiac. Want me to start there?”
“No,” Lei cut in. “Start with the Mares speargun I dropped off. Could it be the murder weapon?”
“Yes, it could,” Kevin said. “Make and model match the spear the victim was shot with.”
Lei lifted both hands, making a victory sign. “Yes! Costa, you’re going down!”
“Not so fast.” Omura held up an admonishing finger. “I admit he looks good for it, but I can hear his defense attorney now—how many of those spearguns there are in Hawaii, let alone the world, blah, blah, blah. Any prints on the weapon?”
“No, sir. It was clean.”
“Too bad. What do you have scheduled for today, Texeira?”
Lei pretended to consult her spiral notebook, but she already knew. “First we have follow-up interviews scheduled with Phillips and his mistress. Then I have a quick stop-by planned with the Phillipses’ financial planner, Truman Ching.”
“I thought I told you to focus more on the stalker and on the poaching possibilities,” Omura said. “I hear a lot of effort still going toward the husband.”
“We set these interviews up the day we searched his house and found those two in bed together. It’s more for form’s sake at this point. They’re bringing lawyers. But I don’t want to miss the chance to record them explaining their relationship,” Lei explained.
“Okay, but don’t take too long if you don’t see it going anywhere,” Omura said. “Kevin, anything else popping that I can have Gerry and Lei follow up on today?”
“Yeah. One of the samples from the UH Zodiac tested positive for sperm.” Kevin’s fresh young face flushed. “Someone was getting busy out there in that boat, but I haven’t had time to run the DNA matches. Also, the fingerprints the fleeing perp who shot Pono left came back to Costa himself. So the shooter was definitely Costa, and he’s in the system for meth dealing.”
“Wish someone had picked him up last night on the BOLO.” Lei’s stomach rumbled loudly, and Omura looked at her, pointing wordlessly at the tray of fruit. Lei took a lychee, bit in. The sweet, translucent flesh of the fruit seemed to melt in her mouth, its unique, almost floral taste blooming across her tongue. She closed her eyes in bliss. “Oh my God, so ono.”
Everyone paused to fill paper plates with fruit from the tray.
“Very nice of your mother.” Parker lifted a slice of banana on a toothpick in toast.
Omura nodded. “We both want everyone to eat healthier around here.” She wiped her fingers on a paper napkin. “Okay, here’s the order of the day. Interviews. Pick up Miller and shake him down again, recheck his alibi. Do some canvassing down at Ma`alaea Harbor. See if anyone can identify Danielle leaving in the UH Zodiac and put anyone else in the craft with her.”
Everyone rose, and Bunuelos turned to Lei with his typical quick movement. “I’ll dig into Miller’s alibi.”
“Thanks, Gerry. Needs in-person verification. He says he was working in the tutoring lab.”
“Lei, hold on a minute,” Omura called.
The hairs on the back of Lei’s neck rose in alarm, but she turned to the captain with a tense smile. “Yes, sir.”
They both waited until the room had cleared.
“I’m sorry about Pono. Take me through how it happened, step-by-step.”
“Should I have my union rep present?” Lei tried to sound joking.
“Oh, come on, now. I just want to know what happened.” Omura leaned forward, steepling her fingers.
“I have to say, it was both of our faults.” Lei sagged in the chair, knowing she shouldn’t be confessing like this, but she trusted Omura after all their years together. “I still need to do my official debrief, but where I went wrong was in not calling out “Gun!” the minute I knew Costa was armed. As for Pono, he just charged without stopping to assess or take cover. We were both focused on keeping Costa from escaping, and because we didn’t know about the meth production, we didn’t think he was that dangerous.”
Omura tapped her nails. Today they were a rosy peach. “So you know you should have taken cover, waited for him to try to get away, and captured him with proper backup.”
Lei nodded. “I had a feeling about him, about that house the first time we visited it. I should have listened to my intuition.”
“Well, he’s our top suspect now. I released his name and mug shot to the media, set up a tip line, and added the info that he’s wanted in the shooting of a police officer. Hopefully that gets someone to roll on him.” Omura set her hands down on her desk and leaned back, cocking her head in that way she had. “That brings me to the personal. You look like hell, Sergeant.”
“Kiet’s having some sleep problems since Stevens left. Tru
th is, so am I.” Lei combed her tousled curls with her fingers and twisted them up, stabbing a pencil from Omura’s cupholder through the unruly mass. “I heard from Michael finally. He’s in the place where he’s going to be working and says he’s okay.”
“Well, that’s something, though your husband’s still on my shit list for the indefinite future. Keep me posted. I’ll set up your post-shoot debrief with Dr. Wilson. She’s here on the island for a psychology conference.”
“Thanks.” Lei really was looking forward to talking with her former therapist, now team colleague, about recent events. They’d known each other so long that Lei trusted the petite blond psychologist with her deepest secrets and most painful wounds. Not every officer doing a post-shoot debrief got that kind of luxury, and it might even be a chance to talk about her worries about Kathy Fraser and Kiet’s behavior issues.
“Dismissed,” Omura said. “And take that fruit out to the office with you. Mom will be insulted if I bring anything home.”
“Wouldn’t want you to get in trouble.” Lei grinned and picked up the tray. It did Lei good to see that Omura had to answer to someone, too.
Lei dropped the fruit tray, covered with a sheet of plastic wrap, in the patrol officers’ break room as she went to pick up Gerry Bunuelos at his cubicle.
“Stealing my partner again, I see.” Abe Torufu turned his squeaky, overwhelmed office chair to face her. She’d partnered with the burly Tongan giant for a brief, unforgettable stint on the bomb squad, and they’d been close ever since.
“She Who Must Be Obeyed has decreed it,” Lei said. “Hopefully we’re closing in on this thing and Pono will be back soon.”
Torufu smiled his tiki god grin, wiggling the toothpick in the corner of his mouth at her. “Good. I need the little dude to do all the running around.”
“You said it. We both know I do all the work.” Bunuelos picked up his cell phone and weapon harness off the back of the chair. “How do you want to play this interview?”