by H. L. Wegley
“I can’t think about coffee until you tell us about the—”
Lee put his fingers over Katie’s lips. “There are too many unfriendly eyes and ears on this island. The trouble is I can’t tell our friends from our enemies. Let’s get you some coffee and move to the tables outside. It’s more…private.”
Katie’s eyes widened. “Do you mean that—”
“Yes. We need to talk privately. But first, let’s order something to keep you two awake.”
Katie rubbed her bare arms. It’s wet here, like it’s been raining. It’s hot, too.”
“It’s called humidity, Katie. I’ll order you something cold to drink. Black coffee for you, Granddad?”
“Yes, please.” Granddad took Katie’s arm and pulled her towards the door leading to the patio. “Katie and I will wait for you outside.”
Lee turned to the barista.
The young man had clearly spotted Katie. His gaze followed her closely as he prepared their drinks.
Katie’s beauty, grace, and elegance far exceeded her fifteen years. The man’s scrutiny reminded Lee of the potential danger to her should they encounter the slimy form of humanity that sought to make merchandise of God’s finest handiwork. He would keep her as far from danger as possible.
Juggling three drinks, Lee nudged the door open with his shoulder and stepped to the table where Katie and Granddad sat.
Katie rose to her feet. Her drawn face seemed to add years to her normally youthful appearance. The fear in her eyes ripped at Lee’s heart. Like Jennifer, Katie was fearless, except when those she loved were in danger and she couldn’t help them. But maybe the “couldn’t help them” part was about to change.
Lee handed them their coffee and all three huddled close around the small table. He met Katie’s gaze. “Last night I saw two of the perps who took Jenn.”
“You saw what?” Katie jumped to her feet. “Where did you—”
“Keep it down, Katie. We don’t want to advertise what we’re up to.”
Katie sat down and their three heads leaned together in a tight circle.
Lee recounted events at the restaurant and ended with Bertha Renner’s positive ID of two of the perpetrators.
“Did you say the girl was about sixteen and blonde?” Katie asked with a squinting frown.
“Yeah. Here, I’ll show you.” Lee pulled out his cell, zoomed in on the girl in the picture, and turned the display towards Katie.
“Anya!” The name blasted from Katie’s mouth in a fierce whisper that sounded like it had come from a wild animal.
Lee ran her single-word outburst through his mind a second time before the full implication registered. There was a close tie to the traffickers in the Northwest.
He met Katie’s gaze and smiled. “I think you’re my genie.”
“Jeannie? I hate that name. But that’s Anya, and she helped them take me. And now Jenn.”
“You’re the genie who came out of a lamp and granted my wish. Actually you’re my angel, the answer to my prayers.”
She gave him a puzzled frown.
“Forget the metaphors, Katie.” He draped an arm around her shoulders. “I need you to do something for me. Relax and concentrate on Anya. Tell me everything you know about her. You said she attended your school for three or four weeks. What did you learn about her?”
Katie let out a long sigh. “I didn’t learn much. Now that I think about it, she didn’t share much with me. But she did love coffee, mostly Starbucks’ lattes. I wasn’t into coffee then, but she sure was.”
“Anything else, Katie? Anything at all?”
“No. That’s it. She was friendly, but a little mysterious.”
“So we have a girl who’s staying in Kihei, who loves Starbucks coffee, and there are only two stores in town. Someone at one of the stores could recognize her. Maybe they can help us.” Lee stood. “Come on. We’re going inside.”
His encounter with the two suspects at the restaurant was not coincidental. Maybe Katie’s revelation while they sat outside the coffee shop wasn’t either.
Granddad and Katie followed him to the patio door and into the shop. Business looked slow at the moment, so Lee walked up to the person tending the register, pulling Katie alongside. “Ma’am, we’re looking for someone Katie here knows from the mainland. The young lady we’re looking for loves her coffee.” He turned the display on his cell towards the young woman at the register. “Do you recognize her?”
“Yes. She’s been a regular here for at least a couple of weeks. In fact, Kevin”—she pointed towards the barista—”has asked her out on a date several times.”
Lee glanced at Katie and saw excitement growing in her intense, blue eyes. “May we have a moment with Kevin?”
“I can trade positions with Kevin for a while. It’ll be slow here for another hour.” She turned towards the young man who was snapping a lid on a cup. “Hey, Kevin. Some people here would like to speak with you about a certain cute little blonde. You got a minute?”
Kevin slid the drink across the pick-up counter towards the only other customer in the shop. “Sure.” He stepped towards them. “Are we talking about Anya?” His eyes darted between Lee and Katie.
“Yeah, Anya,” Lee said.
“You know, she’s older than she looks. She’s nineteen,” he said. “I asked her out, but no luck yet.”
“Katie knows her from the mainland. But we don’t have her address or phone number. Does she live up the hill from the twenty-four hour restaurant?” Lee pointed southward.
“Funny you should ask.” Kevin frowned. “She gave me a phone number. I did a reverse lookup on the Internet and traced the phone number to a house. Yeah, it’s up the hill from there.” He paused. “I convinced her to let me walk her home from the shop once, and she went to a house in North Kihei. I never could figure out where she really lives.” He shook his head. “She’s a mysterious girl.”
“Sometimes Anya is like that,” Katie said. “You think you know her, then…” Katie shrugged.
“I guess we need to check out both places, if you want to visit with Anya, Katie.” Lee looked up at the barista. “Can you show us where the two houses are?”
Kevin walked around the counter into the shop where a rack of tourist brochures stood against the wall. He pulled out one and unfolded it on a table, revealing a detailed map of Kihei. “Anybody got a pen?”
Lee pulled out his space pen and handed it to Kevin.
“I think the house I walked her to is right…here. It’s tan colored and has a lot of vegetation around it…palm trees, bushes.” He pulled out his wallet, slipped out a piece of paper, and copied an address onto the map. “Here’s the other house in South Kihei.”
Katie frowned at Kevin. “You aren’t stalking her are you?”
“No. That’s not my style. There just aren’t many girls like her, even on Maui. However, with…uh, Katie, is it? There aren’t any like you anywhere on the island.”
Lee flinched at Kevin’s overture. He leaned towards Kevin, but stopped when Katie shoved her palm at him.
She smiled and stared at the young man with cold steel in her blue eyes. “Yes, it’s Katie. Anya might be older than she looks, but I’m a bit younger.” She paused, her gaze locked on Kevin’s. “By the way, the last man who threatened me, Lee split his head wide open and blood flew everywhere.”
Kevin took a step back and his eyes widened.
“Granddad,” she patted Granddad’s shoulder, “has a sixth-degree black belt in karate. He can kick your head into orbit. I’m only fifteen, Kevin. But, when it’s time for me to start courting, anyone who wants to see me has to go through both of them first.” Katie’s cold stare pushed the young barista further back until he banged into the counter, sending a cup of drink stoppers clattering across the shop floor.
“I only meant to, uh, pay you a compliment, Katie. I didn’t mean—”
“And I only meant to spare you some serious grief. In four or five years, if you’re sti
ll interested, you know who you need to talk to.”
The first genuine smile in twelve hours spread across Lee’s face.
The door popped open and two customers walked in.
“Thanks for your help, Kevin.” Lee picked up the map of Kihei and took Katie’s arm, leading the three back to the patio.
The hissing sound behind them wasn’t steam from the espresso machine, and it wasn’t a truck’s air brakes. It was Kevin’s relief escaping, clearly audible above the din of the coffee shop.
On the patio, Lee stopped Katie, took her by the shoulders, and mouthed the words he said to her the first time she saved his life, “I’m so proud of you.”
Katie’s strong arms returned his hug with a fierceness few girls could match. Once again, tears fell on his bare arm.
When the three sat down at the table outside, Lee spread out the map and quickly located the approximate spot of the house in south Kihei. “I’ll check the house at the south end of town and—”
“Then I’m going with you, Lee.”
He studied Katie’s face and the fiery look in her eyes. “You will go with Granddad.”
“You’re going there because that’s where Anya went when she left the restaurant. That’s where you think they’re holding Jenn.”
Lee turned his attention to Granddad. “Remember my conditions. I determine the line of fire.”
Mr. Akihara placed a hand on Katie’s shoulder. “Lee and I agreed on something, and I gave him my word, Katie. You wouldn’t want to make me out to be a liar, would you?”
Her gaze dropped to the patio. Her shoulders drooped.
Lee sighed in relief. Katie was smart, passionate, and fearless. He believed she was also safe…for the time being.
It was only 7:30 AM. Too early to go knocking on doors.
Lee stepped inside the coffee shop and bought three breakfasts.
By the time they finished eating and planning, the warm sun had reached their table. It was 8:30.
“Time to go.” Lee stood and drew Granddad’s gaze. “Remember, Katie stays in the car and you go to the door.”
“How can I forget? It’s only the fifth time you’ve told me.” Granddad smiled. “Don’t worry, Lee. I will keep her safe.”
When Lee turned left out of Kukui Center and headed towards the south end of town, he prayed he could keep Jennifer safe. Granddad looked like an Islander. He could walk up to the door without drawing much suspicion. But Lee’s fading summer tan betrayed him. He was a mainlander, and he was known by the traffickers. He would be recognized. How could he approach the house without endangering Jennifer if she was inside?
15
On the deck of his yacht, Franklin James pored over the Honolulu Star, and the local daily paper, looking for news about the abducted girl, the girl now bound and gagged in a cabin on the yacht.
It was clever of the police to suppress information about her to keep the Amber Alert in effect and maintain the lockdown of the island. There had been only a few leaks to tip people that the alert was not warranted.
His cell phone lit up and played the theme from The Munsters. Nguyen. A repulsive song for a repulsive man.
“I was contacted by someone who wants to purchase your…merchandise. They appear knowledgeable about it. Too knowledgeable. We may have a problem.” Nguyen sounded agitated, nervous.
First the Amber Alert and now this. James did not like surprises. “Meet me on my yacht as soon as possible and we will discuss this matter.”
The unwelcome surprise took place on the island. He would ensure none took place aboard the yacht. James closed his cell and turned towards a crew member. “Snake.”
“Yes, sir.”
“As a precaution, watch any boats that approach us or that behave suspiciously. I want to know if anyone is watching us, even from a distance. Spread the word among the crew. Also, Nguyen is coming. Make sure he’s alone. Don’t let him on board if he’s not.”
“Sure thing, Mr. James.” Snake replied in his peculiar, breathy voice.
Who were these people? He could find out. He was certain of that. But what worried him most was that they knew he had the girl.
James sat drumming out the rhythm of a galloping horse with his fingers on the deck table, trying to enumerate his options when Snake’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Mr. James,” Snake hissed. “Nguyen is approaching and he’s alone.”
Nguyen pulled alongside the yacht. After Snake extended the ramp down to Nguyen’s deck, the short, bowlegged man waddled up the ramp. When he stepped onto the deck, his bald brow wrinkled in a frown that reminded James of a shar-pei’s head.
“Have a seat, Nguyen. Tell me everything you know about the people who contacted you, starting with their description.”
“There were only two that I know of. One did all of the talking, and he had a dark complexion. Middle Eastern I think.”
James sensed alarms sounding in his mind at the words Middle Eastern. Did they know about the prince? They could be his neighbors and competition among neighbors in the Middle East often went badly. James could be caught in the middle. He paused to clear his head. “How did they contact you?”
“I was eating breakfast at a restaurant in Wailea, and they just walked up to my table.”
“Did they give you any clue how they knew to approach you or how they knew about our…merchandise?”
“I tried to coax that information from them, but they avoided my questions. They implied they knew a lot about us and sounded as if they were wealthy. They gave me a phone number to reach them.”
“Calling them could be dangerous, could even be a trap.” James paused to rethink the situation. “On the other hand, they already knew enough to trap us. They could have turned us in to the authorities. Since they haven’t done that, I think perhaps they really do want to buy our merchandise, unless they are robbers who only want to steal it. Regardless, we know we have something they want…Jennifer Akihara-Brandt.”
Nguyen sighed. “Should we do business with them? That is the first question.”
“No, Nguyen. That is the second question. The first question is, how did they link us to the girl? If they can link us to the missing girl, so can others. I must talk to them. Middle Eastern…we may be dealing with some of the prince’s neighbors, perhaps feuding neighbors. We must tread lightly.”
Nguyen’s bald pate wrinkled above widened eyes. “So you are going to call them?”
“No, Nguyen.” He smiled. “You are going to call them…on your phone, and then hand the phone to me. Do it now, please.”
Nguyen squirmed. Beads of perspiration appeared on his forehead. “Of course, Mr. James.”
Any man who thought he was clever when he was not was a liability. One James could ill afford. Perhaps in a few months he would liquidate Nguyen’s assets to pay for the liability.
Nguyen pulled a card from his pocket and reached for his cell.
“When you get them on the line,” he paused, “let them know who you are, the man they met at the restaurant, then tell them you’re passing them to your boss. Do you understand?”
Nguyen nodded and placed the call. Their customer answered promptly. After the introductions, Nguyen handed the phone to him.
“So, Mr. James, at last we talk.”
He couldn’t place the accent, but the fact that the man knew his name was of more concern. “You know who I am. It appears you have me at a disadvantage. Would you like to—”
“No, I wouldn’t. I like having my partners at a disadvantage. But I will tell you this, I am someone who could be a very, very good customer. Someone willing to purchase certain merchandise which you have.”
James sighed for effect. “I already have very good customers.”
“But do you have anyone who will pay you four million dollars for Jennifer Akihara?”
Nguyen was right. They knew far too much, and they were a problem, a big problem. “So we finally get to the point. First, I should warn you.” James paused
. “She’s not a teenage, exotic beauty, she’s twenty-six and—”
“We understand. We want her for what she knows, not what she looks like, though her looks are, shall we say, extremely interesting.”
“I’m afraid that’s not the kind of business I’m in.” And not the kind I want to be in.
“Maybe we want it to look like this is business as usual for you. Would five million help you make an exception to your business practices?”
“I only do business with people I trust. Only those who will bring me no trouble in return. You want her for what she knows. That could bring big trouble, the entire US government.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, Mr. James, part of the US government is already here. If you wait, more will come…NSA, the CIA, DHS to mention a few. Who knows, in a few hours Navy Seals could take your yacht before you even realize they’re there. You don’t have the luxury of time. We can only help you if you act now.”
James refused to be backed into a corner. “Call me back in twelve hours and I’ll let you know my decision.”
“That might be too late.”
“I’m willing to take my chances. Good-bye, Mr.…shall I say…VEVAK?”
He heard the man draw a sharp breath before James hung up on him.
James drummed his fingers on the table. “Nguyen…we need to talk.”
Nguyen cocked his bald head. “How did you know his name was Vevak?”
“If you’re going to continue doing business with me, you need to do more reading. There are a lot of organizations with agents lurking in the shadows, agents who could cause us trouble, cause our imprisonment, cause our death.” James paused and stared at Nguyen with a deep frown. “VEVAK was a guess on my part. Evidently, a correct guess from the man’s reaction. VEVAK, VAJA, MOIS, they’re all the same bunch, the intelligence arm of the Iranian government. There are enough rogues among them that I would classify them as a bunch of terrorists.”
Nguyen cocked his frowning head. “What made you suspect VEVAK?”
Nguyen was testing his patience. “I’m going to help you understand what’s going down here. But keep in mind that I expect you to deduce these things on your own and, in the future, report them to me. No more surprises. Do I make myself clear?”
