“Do you have any idea who could have done this?” she asked.
“As you said, the list of people who hate me seems to be damn long and growing. But, some of the obvious suspects are out.”
“Dietz?”
“Yeah. Hard for him to set my truck on fire when he was sitting across a table looking at me. He drove us to the police station and never left. Had to be someone else.”
Someone who hated him. Wanted him to get a message. That meant Hank, or some unknown enemy. The latter worried him more than the former. Better the devil he knew than the one aching to sneak up and destroy him.
Hell, he’d fought the drug war for years at the DEA. Never had anyone torch his property before. Threats, yeah, those came with the job. Usually handed out by guys about to serve a good bit of time in one of the federal prisons in another state. He always thought the plan of shipping hardened criminals off Kauai and thousands of miles away to the South and other regions outside of Hawaii was a good one. Now he knew why. The island was too damn small to have this many enemies lurking around.
A population of approximately sixty-some thousand people should allow a guy to blend in. Enjoy a vacation, even a forced one. Nope.
Maybe if he were the only potential target in the mix. When his sister died, he took in Derek and gave him a home. Made sure the kid always felt welcome. Derek lived with him for so many years that the small house felt even smaller when Derek went away to school.
Now Annie. A woman who carried around her own danger like a two-ton weight. She didn’t need to borrow some of his.
Kane sensed on some fundamental level that the time would come to protect her, and he’d mess up. He’d lose one more person to tragedy. Like Leilani. Like with Sam. He’d be that one second too late.
“Did you have anything important in there, Chief?”
“Like what?” Annie asked.
“Some folks keep important papers in their cars.”
At least he didn’t have to worry about that problem, Kane thought. “Not smart people.”
“I need to stay here and secure the scene—”
“No offense, Roy, but it’s a little late for that, isn’t it?” Annie glanced around the parking lot. “I mean, there’s nothing here but rubble.”
“Don’t remind me,” Kane muttered.
“When I called it in, Ted told me to wait. He’s coming over with another officer to do a canvass. Check if a groundskeeper or anyone else saw anything unusual.”
Annie laughed. “Like, maybe, a truck on fire in the middle of the parking lot?”
Kane decided Roy didn’t get the joke. Since it was on Kane, he didn’t find it all that funny either.
“I wonder if we’ll get blamed for this crime, too,” Annie asked as she moved burnt pieces of something around with her shoe.
“My guess is that people will care less about the destruction of my truck—” He broke off to keep from chewing through his cheek.
“Than the murder of a wealthy businessman? Yeah, you’re right.” She clicked her tongue against her teeth. “It just seems…”
He hated to ask but did anyway. “What?”
“Never mind.”
He exhaled as loud as he could. The day had been hard enough without a guessing game. “What?”
“To borrow your phrase, it’s all too coincidental.”
Kane had no idea when he used that phrase before, but he took her word for it. “How so?”
“Manning’s murder. Dietz shows up at exactly the right time. At an unholy hour of the morning, Sam’s dad shows up—”
“You show up on my beach.”
“—and now your truck catches on fire.”
Not his favorite subject. “Let’s not talk about that last item. I haven’t recovered.”
“Seems to me that someone is trying to send you a pretty clear message.”
He thought so, too. A nasty message. “Wish I could read the language it’s written in.”
He really wished he could stop staring at her. Through the knocks of the last few hours, her smile and sharp wit kept him sane.
“You’re in the way. Maybe something you’re investigating is blowing up.”
“I’m on vacation.”
She smiled “So you keep saying. Did you bother to tell the bad guys that?”
Her theory made sense. The Watson case still had a lot of open holes. He knew an adult had planned the drug operation. No kid could pull that scheme off. He just didn’t know who. No one had stepped forward with any information, and all the leads dried up.
The only change he’d make to Annie’s observation was to add her life into the mix. Everything changed when she washed up on his beach. His life collapsed on top of him. So had his well-made plans for a solitary life.
She’d breezed in and turned everything upside down with her lies. Danger settled around her. Despite all that, he couldn’t let her go or hand her off.
The drizzle turned into a downpour again. Appropriate timing. The rainy season had picked that moment to live up to its name.
She stopped watching Roy scurry around looking for his keys after dropping them a second time and started staring at Kane. “For a guy who’s not working, you sure are spending a lot of time at the police station and at crime scenes.”
“It’s a small island.” Kane noticed how her hair darkened as it got wet, taking on a richer and deeper hue against her flawless skin.
“Everyone here has some sort of problem with you,” she pointed out.
“Except you.”
“Except me.” She pushed that damp hair behind her ears. “But, remember. I’m just an annoying tourist.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself.” Kane saw Ted’s car pull into the lot.
“Is that a compliment?”
“Sure. You’re really more of a guest than a tourist.”
Chapter 18
Annie decided to wait until they arrived back at Kane’s house before peppering him with questions. Between being handcuffed and threatened, she figured he’d had a hard enough morning without her joining in the bashing.
Heck, she could be sensitive when needed. And Kane said no one else would like her on Kauai. She’d remind him of her consideration and make him take back his words later.
The leave-Kane-alone-then-get-answers-later theory would have worked, too, if Derek hadn’t been sitting on the front porch with his feet up on the railing and a carton of orange juice resting at his side. While the rain pounded on the sand, Derek polished of a thick sandwich. Oh, to have the metabolism of an athletic twenty-something male.
“Where’s your truck?” Derek called out through the munching.
“Burnt to a crisp.” She stuttered a bit when Kane growled. Actually growled. “What? It is.”
“Crisp?”
“You’re going to have to deal with it sooner or later, Kane.”
“I choose later. Much later.”
Derek tried to follow the conversation. “Your truck?”
“Don’t ask.” Kane stepped up onto the porch.
In case Derek missed the hint, she gave him a slight shake of her head to signal a change of subject. Just about any subject would work. Woodworking. The flight of the bald eagle. A good bout of pancreatitis. Anything.
“What are you doing here?” Kane rapped his knuckles against Derek’s sneakers.
Derek lowered his legs and removed his earphones. “I live here.”
“You know what I mean. You’ve got classes. You don’t need to baby-sit me.”
Annie jogged the rest of the way up the steps and huddled next to Kane under the short roof. It was either that or stand out in the rain. She’d been soaked enough for a lifetime, thank you very much.
“Where are these classes exactly? Are we talking Portland or around here somewhere?” She rubbed her arms, trying to ward off a chill.
Derek wore that same satisfied half grin she’d seen so many times on Kane’s face. The one that telegraphed self-assurance and a
hint of healthy ego. “I’m a grad student at the University of Hawaii. Over in Manoa.”
“It’s on Oahu,” Kane mumbled.
“I’m familiar with the geography of the islands. Thanks.” She tried not to let Kane’s condescending attitude bug her.
Derek’s grin turned into a full-fledged smile. Only a kid could find this episode so amusing.
“Oahu is a twenty-minute island commute hop away, right? That doesn’t sound like such a big deal.” She looked to Kane for confirmation.
His eyes bugged out at her insight. “It is a big deal. He has priorities.”
“It’s not every day you get arrested.” She hesitated. “Or, is it?”
That seemed like another piece of information she should know. Kane’s criminal record ranked up there on the scale of importance. Right after she got the scoop on his marriage, his dead wife, his suspension and his fight with both Mike and Dietz, she’d get to the criminal history question.
Good thing she had a one-way airline ticket. Unraveling Kane’s secrets could take some time.
“I wanted to come to the station, but Josh insisted I stay here and wait.” Derek shrugged. “Something about making sure Ted wasn’t going to hold you overnight.”
“There’s no evidence to tie me to Manning’s death.”
“Since he didn’t do it,” she added for clarity.
“That’s comforting,” Derek said.
“You don’t need to stay. I’m fine.”
She watched the byplay, trying to get a sense of their relationship. “Sure, you count Kane being threatened as okay, then, yeah, he’s great.”
“Annie,” Kane warned. That growl of his was starting to become a habit.
“Threatened?” Derek straightened in his chair.
Kane waved it off as if undergoing a police interrogation happened every day. “Just Dietz.”
“Actually no. Don’t forget Hank Watson,” she added more to make Derek understand the danger than anything else.
Kane didn’t appreciate her efforts. He shot her a look hot enough to boil milk. “You’re not helping.”
“Hank was there?” Derek’s confused gaze traveled between them. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Dietz thinks this is his opportunity to take me down. Hank joined in. No big deal. Nothing new.”
“Never mind that some poor guy is dead. The important thing is that Dietz be allowed to do and say whatever he wants.” She didn’t realize she’d used such a mocking tone until both men stared at her. “What did I say?”
“You’re a bit punchy.” Kane grabbed on to her elbow in a familiar gesture that also was quickly becoming a habit for him.
“So?”
“You need to rest.”
She looked to her wrist out of habit, then remembered her watch was just one more item lost somewhere on Kauai. “It’s not even lunchtime.”
A corner of Kane’s mouth kicked up. “Of course, if you’re not tired, we could use the time to talk. Maybe get to the bottom of your connection to Sterling Howard. Read through that journal you have tucked under your arm.”
She lifted her arm. “This?”
“Yeah, that.”
Well, damn. She walked right into that trap. “On second thought, I could use a nap.”
“Thought so.”
Kane opened the front door and guided her inside, then called out to Derek. “This will take some time. You okay out here?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Smart boy.” Kane didn’t stop leading her around until they were in the dead center of his bedroom with the door closed behind them.
“I can nap by myself.” Not that she wanted to.
He sat down on the edge of the bed. “You look wide awake.”
“Adrenaline.” And she wasn’t lying. She feared her body would soon crash from the sustained and exhausting activity of the last few days.
“You can sleep later. Now it’s time for show-and-tell.”
“Is this your idea of foreplay?” The words tumbled out before she could stop them. Didn’t matter, though. Kane didn’t appear inclined to budge from his chosen topic.
“Tell me how you know Sterling Howard.”
There it was. The question—in this case, really more of an order—she dreaded. The thought of lying to Kane started a nervous churning in her chest. She couldn’t exactly admit she’d come to Hawaii with the plan of getting Howard to confess to his financial scams, then kill him. That was the kind of information a police chief, even one on vacation or on suspension, couldn’t let slide.
“I’m on a photo assignment. Howard was the subject.”
Kane leaned back, balancing his palms on the mattress behind him. “Funny, but he doesn’t look like a tree.”
Not exactly the response she expected. “Should I know what that remark means?”
“You’re a nature photographer. I’ve seen your portfolio. Not a human photo in it.”
The policeman had done his homework. “My portfolio is in Seattle.”
“With your agency. The same agency that will e-mail the contents to anyone who calls claiming to have a potential job.”
“No.”
“I’m afraid so.”
She knew he was telling the truth. Wait until she got hold of the agency receptionist. “They’re supposed to check those leads first.”
“I’m sure they did. Josh can be very persuasive.”
“But, how—”
“Police chief and DEA. We’re a hard combination to ignore.”
Air whooshed out of her lungs, followed by a swift flow of indignation. “How dare you?”
Kane held up a hand. “Save it.”
That indignation exploded. “I’m not one of your officers. I don’t have to stop talking just because you tell me to stop.”
“Outside this house is one thing. Inside operates by my rules.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“You could always leave.”
His comment, delivered in a raspy hard voice, knocked the wind right out of her. Leaving was the one thing she did not want to do. She needed him. His strength. His knowledge.
Standing there hovering over his bed, watching his shallow breathing and seeing the soft smile hidden behind his penetrating dark eyes, she wanted him. Not just for what he could do for her. For what he would do to her. Where he would take her if she let go long enough to enjoy.
“Thought I was a prisoner,” she said, softer this time.
“I hoped you were staying because you wanted to stay.”
If she’d wanted to run, she would have. If she’d wanted to get him in trouble, she would have used that card and called Dietz. Instead, she traveled with him. Slept with him. Let him touch and kiss her.
Without any warning he sat up and slipped the journal out from under her arm. “I’ll take this.”
“Hey!”
“Daydreaming?”
“More like a nightmare.” She reached for the leather binder, but he held it back and away from her. “Give me that.”
“I don’t think so.”
At this rate, she’d have to tackle him with one good knee. Maybe wrestle a pillow over his head. Find those handcuffs of his. That last possibility intrigued her more than she expected.
“What’s in here? What will I find if I read it?” he asked in a deceptually calm voice.
She dropped down onto his lap, straddling his thighs with her knees and reached for her book. Careful not to put any weight on her injury, she leaned against his chest. She strained and stretched with one hand out and the other wrapped around his neck for balance. When she grabbed onto his forearm and tried to pull the arm with her journal closer, she almost fell face first onto the mattress and on top of him.
“You’re going to hurt yourself.” He evaded all of her attempts without even a heavy breath.
Somewhere along the line, he also developed elastic arms and superhuman strength because no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t reach t
he journal.
“Kane!”
“Annie,” he repeated back to her in a high-pitched mocking voice.
“This is ridiculous.” She took one more swipe and lost her balance, landing hard against his broad chest with a thump.
“Couldn’t agree more.” He put a hand on her hips and eased her knees back onto the bed. Even in a fight, he watched out for her injury.
She slumped back down onto his lap. “You win.”
“Does that really surprise you? I outweigh you by about a hundred pounds.” He looped an arm around her back. The other hand, the one with the journal, stayed behind him.
“But I have superior brainpower.”
He chuckled “Then why do I still have the journal?”
With her hands on the waistband of his jeans, she relaxed against him. “Dealing with you is exhausting.”
“Hard might be the word you’re looking for.”
Parts of him were stiffening by the second. His erection pushed up against her inner thigh, distracting her from her task. Retrieval of the journal should be her only goal. Her lower body ignored that fact.
“Can we get up now?” she asked.
“I like you right where you are.” He shifted his thigh, bringing his erection in direct contact with her very center. “And, I’m still waiting for that explanation.”
She decided to say something while she could still talk. The English language could be beyond her in a very short period of time.
“Fine.” She exhaled, making the dark hair on his forehead shift. “Manning’s office contracted with me to take Howard’s photo for a magazine spread. Something about his infinity pool with a waterfall.”
She’d begged for the job. Pulled every string she could find to yank. Even then, she had to call in a favor and ask a colleague to step aside and recommend her instead. Her friend hadn’t understood her interest in the piddling shoot either.
Then again, like Kane, he hadn’t known about how the then Cliff Radnor had wined and dined her mother, earned her trust, then stole all her money. Her weak, limited mother who before Radnor arrived on the scene had survived only by taking a handful of daily drugs to ease her depression and pain. The same woman born into privilege, who’d never worried about money a day in her life.
Your Mouth Drives Me Crazy Page 14
