Paradise Crime Thrillers Box Set

by Toby Neal

  The corner of the side road that turned off toward the crime scene and the main highway was the closest place Jake could pick up a good enough signal. He called Bix first to update him on the situation, which took a while. “Sophie and I will be going to a team meeting at the Hilo PD Station. The detectives working the case want me to get the parents over here without alerting them so they can be told the news formally and be interviewed. What’s your take?”

  “Damn shame. Poor girl. That said, let’s do a conference call. I want to be sure we cover all our bases. In my experience, parents of murdered children are angry and looking for a scapegoat. I don’t want it to be us.”

  “Don’t much see how that could apply when Julie was killed a week ago, and we did the family and Hilo PD a service by finding her body,” Jake said. “But all right. I’ll reach out and add them to this call.”

  He punched in the Weathersbys and added them to the call. He was relieved when Julie’s father picked up; he’d dreaded speaking to Mrs. Weathersby, with her soft wet blue eyes that reminded him so much of his mom.

  “Aloha, Mr. Weathersby. This is Jake Dunn from Security Solutions. There have been some new developments in your daughter’s case. I’m on the line with Kendall Bix, and we’ve been asked by the Hilo detectives to see if you and your wife can come to the Big Island and meet with them.”

  “Not a problem, Dunn, because we are already in Hilo,” Weathersby said. Jake could picture the man’s ruddy face to match his hearty tone. “We are working with the FindUsNow PR folks to get the word out about Julie, and they recommended we come to the Big Island to share with the local news and such here.”

  “Perhaps you might have let us know that, Mr. Weathersby,” Bix said testily.

  “And regardless, please wait to hear from Detectives Wong and Freitan,” Jake interjected. “Don’t speak to any news reporters, please.”

  “Why not? We are trying to alert the public so that if anyone has seen her they’d let us know . . .”

  “Please, Mr. Weathersby. There are elements in play that you may not be aware of. We need your cooperation on this,” Bix said forcefully. “You are paying us for our advice as it pertains to your daughter’s case. Please take it.”

  “Mallory from FindUsNow says differently,” Mr. Weathersby said. “He says the more of a stink we raise in the media, the more attention our daughter will get.”

  “Can I get a number for Mallory at FindUsNow?” Bix asked. “I think we should all get on the same page.”

  Weathersby provided the number and reluctantly agreed to cease his efforts to get the media involved.

  Jake shook his head as Weathersby disconnected, leaving him on the line with Bix. “I hope you can get that PR firm to rein it in. This case is about to go nuts when all those bodies hit the news, and if the media gets its hands on it and a leak is traced to us in any way . . .”

  “You don’t have to tell me,” Bix said. “Two steps ahead of you. Now get to that meeting with Hilo PD.”

  “Roger that, boss.” Jake ended the call. He put the Jeep in gear, following Wong and Freitan’s taillights as they headed back to the station for the meeting.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Sophie entered the conference room at the Hilo Police Department, carrying a tray of sushi from Foodland. She had learned from her time in Hawaii never to arrive at a social situation without bringing food. After she got the call from Jake to meet at the station, she’d speculated that the detectives would be hungry and tired from their labors of the afternoon.

  She was right. The law enforcement team descended upon her offering like a flock of sparrows on a rice field. The group consisted of Freitan, Wong, Captain Bruce Ohale, and several other unknown staffers. Coffee was passed around in a metal carafe, and Sophie filled a Styrofoam cup with some of the inky brew, needing to get her energy up a bit after the session with Dr. Wilson.

  Jake arrived, vibrating with his usual energy as he greeted the room. “Our supervisor and I spoke with the Weathersbys. Turns out they are already on the island, staying at a hotel in Hilo on the recommendation of a PR firm, FindUsNow.com. Have any of you heard of it?”

  “Nasty bunch of vultures, preying on families’ hopes,” Freitan said. “I am not a fan.”

  “Bix has a meeting scheduled for tomorrow with Mallory of FindUsNow. Hopefully, we can all get on the same page. It would not be good for the news to find out about all these bodies,” Jake said.

  “Perhaps you want to control the message the public gets.” Sophie made eye contact with the station chief, a burly middle-aged Hawaiian man with a bristly buzz cut and very tiny wire-rimmed readers balanced on his wide brown nose. “Hold a press conference and make an announcement.”

  “Not until we have some leads,” Captain Ohale growled. “Everybody keep your lips zipped.”

  Sophie cleared her throat. “Have you considered calling in the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit? They might be a good resource if we are dealing with a serial.”

  “Hell no.” Freitan snorted. “We’ve got it right now, thanks very much.”

  “About a bigger item.” Ohale leaned forward, resting the tips of meaty fingers together. “Someone tipped off the governor about our missing persons list, and the situation has been dubbed a statewide emergency. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you, Ms. Ang?”

  Sophie’s eyes widened in surprise. “Of course not, sir. The only people who know I was working some bigger numbers on the missing persons situation are Freitan, Wong, and my partner, Jake Dunn.”

  All eyes turned to Jake, who lifted his hands in a surrender gesture. “Don’t look at me! Sophie and I have been running our asses off. Hardly had time to breathe, let alone stir the shit to tip off anybody. Our supervisor Bix is on us because we haven’t kept him updated, and now our client’s body has been found. So we aren’t even on the job for much longer.” He looked around the table. “I hope you found our contributions helpful. Such as finding a serial robbing tweaker couple that might be murderers, uncovering an extortionist, and discovering multiple bodies.”

  A beat passed by, and Ohale gave an abrupt head nod. “Your help is noted. Let’s start over again with full introductions, then I would like Detective Freitan to facilitate a review of the situation that has led to our current discovery.”

  Sophie took out her laptop, and looked to the station chief. “All right if I take some notes, sir?”

  “No Internet. And shoot us a copy before you do anything with the notes,” Ohale said.

  Sophie nodded. The level of concern about the apparent leak was merited. She was relieved to have keys under her fingers again and something to do with her hands as Freitan got up and went to one of the whiteboards on the wall.

  Sophie noted the names of those present as they were introduced: Freitan, Wong, Jake, Ohale, a round, genial Filipino man introduced as Hilo’s District Attorney Sam Queiros, and Detectives Latimer and Lono from nearby Puna District.

  The meeting got underway with a brief mention of the body dump Sophie had initially found. “I’ll just summarize the progress with that so far. We don’t think that the murdered family is part of this current investigation,” Freitan said. “The ‘Jones’ family was in Witness Protection. The Marshals Service has taken over that investigation, and is working on a leak that’s been leading to exposure of some of their witnesses here on the Big Island. We are no longer involved, except as pertains to processing crime scene evidence and whatever they ask us to do. And now, to our current case.”

  Freitan turned to a large portable corkboard, which she propped against the whiteboard. Photos of people involved with the case were tacked to it. “Ms. Ang and her handy cadaver dog Ginger, along with Dunn here, are working the disappearance of Julie Weathersby because the parents went ahead and hired Security Solutions. Since these two paired up, the action on the case has been nonstop. They tracked a couple who had targeted and robbed Weathersby out at that encampment at Oceanview, Travelers’ Rest.�
� Freitan tapped mugshots of Holly Rayme and Jim Webb. “We still have Webb and Rayme in custody, and these two tweakers appear to have been robbing and rolling on a regular basis. They could be killers too, though our search at their squat didn’t yield anything tying to a particular case.” Freitan paused to slurp from her mug of coffee and went on. “Dunn and Ang also found a young man named Paul Chernobiac who has, at least, been a part of shaking down families of the missing. Chernobiac seems to have ties to unknown partners; Jake and Sophie reported being pursued by a black SUV when they went to check his address.” Freitan pointed to Chernobiac’s innocuous-looking photo.

  “Hilo PD neither authorized nor sanctioned any illegal search of Chernobiac’s property,” Wong chimed in. “But when our team went to search the premises with a warrant, the bag of cash Ang and Dunn had reported seeing was missing. We didn’t have a confirmed connection between Chernobiac and any of these crimes, so he was released after twenty-four hours.”

  “So you searched Chernobiac’s premises illegally?” Chief Ohale asked Jake.

  Jake gazed back at him levelly. “We neither confirm nor deny such an action might have happened.”

  The detectives snorted with laughter and Freitan picked up the thread. “Today’s discovery of four bodies, one of them tentatively identified as Julie Weathersby, has led to an expansion of the investigating team. Wong and I have no problem asking for help from the FBI at this point. It seems like we have a serial here, maybe even a serial with an organized underbelly of secondary crime feeding off of the victim’s families.”

  “I have a question.” Detective Lono was a rugged-looking mixed Caucasian Hawaiian in a long-sleeved hoodie with a tattoo showing on his neck. “I usually work vice, and I’m wondering why we’ve been drafted to be a part of this. We have our own cases that will be neglected for this business here in Hilo.”

  “Short answer? Because I asked your Lieutenant for more manpower. We need to take these missing persons cases more seriously, and we wanted some investigators with connections to the drug and vice trade in the area,” Ohale said. “We need to respond as aggressively as we can with the governor’s eye on the situation. I think we might find that there are a combination of different scenarios leading to what apparently seems like one trend.”

  That seemed to sober the two from Puna District. Wong stood up and handed out packets of photocopied paper. Sophie took hers, scanning it and finding details from the bodies as Freitan said, “We are trying to identify the three sets of remains that we found in the stream. Dunn and Ang took a look at the female body and superficially, it matches the description of Julie Weathersby.”

  “Too bloated to be totally sure,” Jake said, “but the coloring and height are right. Our witness Shirley Mandig identified Julie Weathersby, recognized after the fact through social media, as the girl in a black bra and underwear that she saw on the side of the road. Ultimately that led to our discovery. Julie Weathersby’s parents are already on the island and will be asked to confirm the identity.”

  Sophie gave a little inward shudder at the thought of being asked to identify a child’s body after it was submerged for a week. Hopefully, the Weathersbys had strong stomachs.

  “We still may need to use dental records and DNA to confirm if the parents can’t identify the body, since the fingerprints are too degraded. The others are older and are going to be more difficult. One of the first tasks we need to do is obtain dental records of all of the possible missing within the time frame that the medical examiner gives us for these bodies,” Freitan said.

  The meeting devolved into the minutiae of who was doing what, none of which involved Jake or Sophie. Sophie continued to take notes, but sneaked a look at her partner.

  Jake sat across from her, leaning back in his chair, his big body relaxed, his eyes half-closed, his fingers laced on his flat belly. He’d looked sexy and sleepy like that in her bed.

  His eyes shifted over and met hers. He was remembering, too. Heat flushed the back of Sophie’s neck and she looked down at her laptop.

  Jake coiled forward deliberately and set his elbows on the table. “If I may interrupt for a moment. Ms. Ang and I would like to continue to support the investigation, but with our client most likely deceased, it seems we might be out of a job.”

  Ohale inclined his head. “You two can go. We will let you know when we have an interview set up with the parents.”

  “I anticipate that tomorrow,” Freitan said. That patronizing edge she got to her tone was back, and Sophie frowned as she went on. “I’ll text you when. You can attend and watch, and afterward, provide emotional support to your clients when we are done with them.”

  “So nice of you to include us.” Jake’s tone was heavy with sarcasm. He stood up, and Sophie closed her laptop and did the same.

  Ohale looked up at them over his wire-rimmed glasses. His gaze and tone were sincere. “You’ve been a big help. Our whole team appreciates it, right, Freitan?”

  “Yes, sir. These two earned their cheddar,” Freitan said reluctantly.

  Cheddar? Some colloquialism for money, no doubt. There were so many.

  Wong inclined his head. “Thanks, guys. A pleasure working with you.”

  “We intend to see this through as far as the family will let us,” Jake said. “Talk to you all tomorrow.”

  Sophie lifted a hand and walked through the door Jake held open for her. He touched her back as they exited the conference room and leaned close to whisper in her ear. “How about a bite to eat, and bed? We’ve had a long day.”

  Goosebumps rippled across Sophie’s skin where he touched her. “How about showers and takeout, instead?” she countered. “I’m too tired for anything but food and bed.”

  “Perfect.” Jake’s smile was wolfish.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Jake took a shower on his side of the motel room, while Sophie did the same on hers. He paid for a Chinese food delivery, and carried the bag to the connecting door between their rooms, wearing only a towel as he knocked. She seemed to have liked that before. Who was he to mess with something that worked?

  Sophie opened the door. Jake struck a pose, tightening his abs. “Your beefcake delivery.” He held up the bag.

  “Beefcake? Not sure what that is, but I wouldn’t mind a bite of what’s in front of me.”

  Jake laughed. “Is my Sophie flirting?”

  “I am able to learn new skills. Many new skills. But first I need food.” She plucked the bag from his fingers. Jake followed her over to the coffee table, tightening the towel to prevent a mishap.

  “Did you feed the dogs?” he asked. As if hearing themselves mentioned, the two rascals stuck their heads around the bed inquisitively.

  “These two aren’t about to let me forget anything to do with them,” Sophie said. The dogs advanced, looking hopefully at the Chinese food containers Sophie extracted from the bag and set on the coffee table. “We shouldn’t give them anything. Particularly Tank. He needs his digestive system built back up.”

  They ate on the narrow couch side-by-side, occasionally feeding each other choice bits with the chopsticks. Jake savored the companionship as much as the food. Just knowing how well they had worked together today satisfied him on some deep level.

  Sophie’s phone buzzed, dancing a little circle on the coffee table. She picked it up. Her brows drew together in a frown. “It’s . . . someone important. I have to take this.”

  Sophie pressed the phone to her ear. She got up and walked into his room, and shut the connecting door firmly between them.

  The good feelings Jake had been reveling in evaporated. “Son of a bitch.” He threw down his chopsticks and picked up the Kirin beer he’d ordered with the meal, taking a long swig to cool his temper.

  Who was she talking to that she wouldn’t tell him about? Alika? That helicopter-flying businessman was going to snake his woman right out from under him if Jake wasn’t careful.

  He didn’t know what to do.

 
Sophie had told him they were partners with benefits, nothing more.

  She had told him being jealous was a turn-off . . . but the thought of her and Alika together made Jake want to rip something apart. He’d managed to keep his attitude in check when she was dating that Todd guy, but barely.

  Maybe he wasn’t okay with this situation, after all. Maybe he couldn’t do “partners with benefits” casual sex, at least with Sophie. He’d certainly had no problem with that in the past.

  But the secrets she was keeping, just like the many times she’d abandoned him, didn’t feel good. Jake wasn’t keeping anything from her.

  Getting Sophie into bed had been a place to start. If he could make her feel good, he could build a connection, and maybe she’d come to feel the same way about him . . . but it didn’t seem to be working.

  She was the one who made him feel good, even when he was just trying to get her out of her depression, make her lose herself in pleasure. And every time she shut him out, put distance between them, told him he didn’t matter, it hurt worse.

  But what was the alternative? Breaking things off?

  They’d barely gotten started. He couldn’t wait to touch her again, couldn’t stop thinking about how she felt, tasted, sounded, sighed. All day, little memory bits from their night together had come back to distract him. She had come to mean way too much for him to just turn off feelings that had been building, on his side at least, since the day they met.

  If only he had someone to talk to.

  His sister Patty came to mind. Jake was the oldest, and he and his younger sister, Monica, had fought all their lives like wet cats, but his youngest sister, Patty, had always been a friend. She looked up to him, and had been a real cling-on after their father left the family when Jake was a teen. It had taken Mom years of taking Dad to court to squeeze the bottom line out of that selfish prick.