by Aubree Lane
It was going to be a few minutes before he’d be able to sit down comfortably. David took off his flip flop and lobbed it in her direction.
It hit the back of the door harmlessly, and Marissa’s evil laugh echoed all the way down the hall.
• • •
The dark-haired pre-teen stood next to Mr. Kaplinger on his favorite lookout cliff. “Do you think Marissa believed you?” he inquired.
The girl giggled. “I know she did.”
With a contented smile, he raised his hands and closed his eyes in concentration. The spinners heard his call and began to dance in the inky black water below. Kap’s entire being filled with satisfaction. “Our work here is done.”
The Milky Way snaked its way across the night sky, and Kap took a few moments to enjoy the view.
“You didn’t give me much to do. I spent all my time hanging out at Grady’s pickup beach,” the girl complained.
“Young one,” Kap assured her, “you discovered the key. You should be proud of yourself.”
She tugged on her brightly-colored board shorts and adjusted her red tank top. “It’s time to go, old man. The dolphins are waiting.”
Kap’s head bobbed with amusement. “Always in a hurry. They’ll wait for us. Take a moment and smell the roses. Soon it won’t be anything but salt water and seafood.”
Picking a flower from a nearby hibiscus plant, she retorted hotly, “We’re in Hawaii. I have a better chance of smelling one of these.”
“That’s the state flower. You’re not allowed to pick them.”
His rebuff slid off the young one’s back as if she was made of Teflon. “Whatever.” When Kap’s gaze shifted up towards the heavens once more, she huffed, “Suit yourself. Linger if you want, but I’m out of here. I happen to like salt water and seafood.”
She took three hopping steps towards the cliff’s edge and dove gracefully into the ocean far below.
“Show-off,” Kap muttered. He dug his toes into the vegetation below his feet. It felt good to have solid ground under him. It was one of the many things he was going to miss. Next December seemed a long way off. He hoped he had the opportunity to visit the Javier family again, but where he wound up was never up to him.
The spinners beckoned. He had to leave.
Kap propelled his body into the air. The entity pulled his ancient knees to his chest, and yelled, “Geronimo!”
His cannonball hit the water with a gigantic splash.
18
Terence wasn’t happy. The computer screen in front of him indicated Erika wasn’t at her friend’s house, but across the island at the bird sanctuary. For being fairly tech savvy, his daughter was blissfully unaware he could track her cell phone.
Annie walked in carrying a load of laundry. “Why are you frowning?”
He rocked back in his chair and tapped the eraser end of a pencil on his desk. “I’m trying to decide how angry I should be.”
“There is only one person capable of putting that expression on your face,” Annie chuckled. “What’s Erika done now?”
“She’s at the bird sanctuary.”
“Did you really expect her to wait for our okay?” She sat the basket on the floor and began sorting a large array of socks. Motioning for him to join her, Annie implored, “Come help me. I hate this job.”
Terence could relate. Their household was growing exponentially and the washer and dryer were working overtime to keep up. “I don’t understand how we can go through so many socks when we run around barefoot most of the time.”
Annie looked at the mound of clothing and decided it could wait. “Did I tell you Marissa and David are back on the island?”
“Good! That means David is looking into the mess across the street. When did Marissa call you?”
Guilt radiated behind his wife’s beautiful blue eyes. “She didn’t call,” Annie explained. “I installed that same app on her phone.”
Keeping track of a wayward teen was one thing, but bugging your best friend was not acceptable. “Why did you do that?”
“I find comfort knowing where she is. We grew up together. Until I moved here, Marissa was never more than a few miles away. I probably shouldn’t have done it―”
“Probably?” he interjected.
“Fine.” Annie raised her hands in surrender. “I shouldn’t have installed it without her knowledge, but you understand why, don’t you?”
He did. “Sure. It’s your security blanket.”
“Exactly!”
“That doesn’t mean Marissa won’t be angry when she finds out,” Terence said, raining on her parade. “Annie, love, I wouldn’t mind if you tracked me. We’re married. We’re a team...” he stopped his rebuff when Annie’s lips pressed smugly together. She barely maintained control of the small grin which threatened to burst out into a teeth-showing smile.
“You bugged me, too,” he stated firmly.
“Don’t get all judgmental with me.” Annie pulled out her phone and scrolled down her app list. She turned it around and tapped proof of his deception on the screen. “You bugged my phone first. That’s where I got the idea.”
He held out his hand. “Do you want me to take it off?”
“Of course not. After what happened to Grady’s parents, I like knowing you can find me.”
He understood the feeling all too well. “Getting back to Marissa,” he said, changing the subject. “I don’t think she will be as forgiving.”
“What are we going to do about Erika?” His wife asked, changing the subject a second time.
Terence heaved a great sigh. “I’m undecided. David gave us the all clear where Ben is concerned. He comes from a respectable family. Part of me is glad her feelings aren’t constantly being hurt by Grady.” The more he rambled on, the clearer it became. “I think I want to let this one go. She lied. We should ground the hell out of her, but I don’t see the point in engaging in this battle. If we forbid her from seeing Ben because she did something we were going to let her do anyway, she’ll just keep defying us.”
Annie spied the mate to one of Max’s black socks and paired them together. “Should we let Erika know we’re on to her?”
Terence didn’t want to. “My mom knew most of the stuff I thought I was sneaking past her. I think this is one situation where we should take a page from her parenting manual. I hate to say this, but all these little deceptions have given her a new confidence. She seems more self-assured. We’ll keep an eye out and shut down anything dangerous, but I don’t see how going to a bird sanctuary could be classified as life threatening.”
Annie shot him an uneasy look. “How is she getting home and how did she get there in the first place?”
That’s why they made such a good team. Annie almost always caught his oversights. “How about I text our darling daughter and ask if she’s ready for me to pick her up. I won’t make a big deal out of it, but she’ll sweat bullets waiting for the hammer to drop.”
Annie let out a vicious laugh. “I can live with that.”
“And while I’m gone, you need to clue David and Marissa in that they aren’t fooling anyone either.”
“I’m way ahead of you.” Annie giggled. “I have an appointment with the manager of the hotel they are staying at. I doubt seriously if he’ll want a coffee cart in their lobby, but you never know. I thought I’d hang around until I accidentally ran into one of them.”
Terence pulled his devious wife off the floor and pressed her body against his. “Shall I call Lena and tell her to expect them? They’ll be more comfortable at the B&B.”
“Yes!” her eyes sparkled with delight. “David always thinks he’s so sneaky. I can’t wait to see the expression on his face.”
• • •
Erika angrily slammed the front door. “You haven’t said a word all the way home,” she raged at her father. “You’re driving me nuts. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone without your permission. I know the drill, so I’ll save you the trouble of passing sentence upo
n me. I won’t see Ben for a week. We’ll only communicate with each other online so our paper won’t be late. I won’t go anywhere except to my job at the B&B and down to sell my ornaments at the Coffee Cart.” Her blue eyes blazed with fury. “Is that punishment satisfactory?”
Terence scratched his brow. He was right about making Erika sweat. Now he had the pleasure of showing her what a kind and understanding father he could be. “I didn’t say you couldn’t see Ben.”
Erika’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Stop playing with me. I know you’re mad.”
“I’m not. The only reason I went to get you was because I needed to make sure you had a safe way home.”
Leary of the words coming from her father’s mouth, she asked, “Then why aren’t you giving me the third degree?”
Terence flopped down onto the sofa. He had the guilt card ready and waiting to be played. “Because I don’t want to know what kind of risky behavior my only daughter engaged in so she could see her new boyfriend.”
“You are such a liar,” Erika countered. “You’re dying to know.”
“I am,” he agreed, “but I don’t want confirmation that you accepted a ride from a stranger who could have done a million horrible things to you. I want to live with the illusion that you’re smart, that you’re mindful of your personal safety, and that you’ll come home to me every single time you walk out the door.”
Tears glistened in Erika’s red-rimmed eyes and her defensive demeanor cracked. “I didn’t hitchhike.”
Every fiber of Terence’s body wanted to pull his wayward daughter into his arms and comfort her. Knowing that would void any lesson she learned today, he held tough and waited for her to make the next move.
She sat down beside him. Her voice cracked through her sobs. “I suppose you found out because David called and tattled on me.”
Terence’s eyebrows lifted in surprise, but he fought to keep the rest of his face from showing any emotion. David would have made sure she was safe before leaving her to fend for herself. With this new information, he saw a way for his tracking app to remain unnoticed for a bit longer. Terence made the decision not to correct her assumption and allowed Erika to believe her brother-in-law was a dirty ratfink.
“Can I go, or do I have to listen to a lecture?”
Terence was proud of himself. He successfully curbed his need to orate for the sake of hearing himself talk. Erika might not be able to see it, but she discovered the error of her ways all on her own. He wondered if it would always be this easy. Terence patted her knee. “Yes, you can go.”
• • •
“Marissa,” Annie called out. “Is that you?”
Not knowing what else to do, Marissa dropped her head and walked further down the hallway. The pineapple motif on the carpet blurred under her hurried gate. What was Annie doing here?
“Marissa!”
Everyone in the entire hotel could have heard Annie’s last frantic cry. She couldn’t ignore her friend any longer. Marissa turned and acknowledged Annie with an innocent, “Hey.”
Annie walked over and held up a key. “Lena is expecting you.”
• • •
“What do you mean we’re packing?” David asked.
Marissa calmly withdrew their luggage from the closet. “Our whereabouts have been discovered. Everyone knows we’re here and Lena has a room ready for us.”
David glanced at his watch. “It only took Erika three hours to spill the beans. Maybe she’s not as slippery as I thought.”
His wife tilted her head and touched her ear. “What was that? Is there something you forgot to mention?”
He was not used to keeping secrets from the mother of his two children. Marissa was his best friend. They talked about everything. David glanced at his watch. It only took him two and a half hours before he let it slip that her baby sister had caught him at the sanctuary. “Shut up.”
Marissa laughed.
• • •
One of the added benefits of having their presence discovered was that David was no longer forced to work in the shadows. Grady was growing tired of the questions being fired at him. He was probably grilling him worse than Agent Tam, but at least he was on Grady’s side. Agent Tam was still a giant question mark.
“I’m not sure what you want from me,” Grady groaned from across the kitchen table at the B&B.
David hesitated, trying to find a nice way to describe the pickup beach Grady frequented. Brittany sat beside the boy, so he strived to find a way to phrase it so it wouldn’t upset her. “Marissa spoke to a young girl from...”
Britt rolled her eyes and saved him the trouble. “From booty beach.”
David nodded his thanks and refocused on Grady. “She mentioned a girl named Callie. Does that ring any bells? She’s not in your...” David once again found himself stumbling.
“Tapped That list,” Brittany filled in for him. “I appreciate the effort, but stop worrying about my feelings. I know the score.”
Grady exhaled sharply. “I completely forgot about her.”
“Tell me.” David repositioned his notepad and readied himself to jot down any pertinent information.
“I don’t know her that well,” Grady began. “After we...” His eyes darted guiltily in Brittany’s direction.
Britt shook her head in frustration. “Hooked up,” she finished for him. “Since neither of you are able to bruise my delicate sensibilities, I’ll be in the other room...eavesdropping.” She pushed her chair away from the table and left in an angry huff.
When the door closed behind her, David urged Grady to continue.
The boy placed his hands on the table and drew in a deep breath. “Callie and I saw each other for several weeks. When Brittany arrived, I stopped taking her phone calls. Most girls take the hint, but not Callie. She turned into a stalker. One day, I saw her down the street, just watching. It freaked me out, so I went over and asked if I could borrow her phone. When she handed it to me, I deleted my number.” Grady paused, trying to remember if he left anything out. “She screamed at me that she was only there because she couldn’t get a hold of me. I remember thinking it was odd because Callie never raised her voice before. She was the kind of girl who would wait on me hand and foot. I don’t think I was sober the entire time we were together. It was rough having to get up to work the Coffee Cart. Callie kept the beers flowing. I don’t think I even pitched in any cash.” As the words he spoke sunk in, Grady groaned. “I never told Agent Tam any of this. I’m shallow and stupid. I saw my trash cans overflowing with the empties, and Callie never crossed my mind.”
Brittany called out from the other room, “I’m in love with an idiot!”
Grady grinned from ear to ear. “She loves me.”
“Yeah, but she thinks you’re an idiot,” David reminded him.
“Well,” the kid snickered, pulling out his phone, “I can’t argue with that.”
“Who are you calling?”
“I think Agent Tam needs to hear about Callie Johnson.”
Brittany burst back into the kitchen. “HOLY SHITBALLS! Did you say Callie Johnson?”
David and Grady just stared.
She rushed out into the living room and returned a moment later with a laptop. She placed it in front of David. “Do your detective thing and find out if Callie is related to Warden.”
David opened the monitor. “Sure, but first you have to tell me who Warden is.”
“He’s the guy Larry Wright supposedly hired to help with the yard work at Lena’s. He quit when Larry died because he wasn’t getting paid.” Brittany’s eyes flew wide with panic. “What if he had something to do with Larry’s death?” Brittany gasped, remembering another piece of information. “And Grady saw Warden walking by his house when he was scanning the feed from the security cameras. I thought he was looking for me to pick up the letter of recommendation Lena wrote for him, but I don’t recall ever telling him where I lived.”
Marijuana to murder? David thought that was q
uite a leap, but he didn’t dismiss it as coincidental either. He and his father-in-law had their issues over the years, but if there was something hinky about his death, David would find it. He tapped Grady’s hand. “You might want to mention all that to Agent Tam, too.”
19
Ayako Tam rubbed her chin thoughtfully. The phone call she received from Grady Barlow opened up several new leads, but she wasn’t thrilled to hear someone else was imposing themselves on her case. First an out-of-state lawyer jumps to the boy’s defense, now a private detective from the mainland was nudging in on her territory.
To his credit, David Crandall knew how to work an angle. After his honeyed words dripped off his tongue, she hardly felt the imposition at all. In fact, she found herself inviting him to collaborate. Tam had been played, but her boss wanted this case wrapped up in a hurry, and the unpaid help Mr. Crandall provided would ease their tight budget.
It was decided she would track down the tag team of Callie and Warden Johnson while David looked for a possible link connecting them to the death of Larry Wright. Ayako didn’t think that lead would pan out. The coroner’s report was clear. Mr. Wright died of a brain aneurysm. If David somehow proved otherwise, it would be a feather in her cap, but she wasn’t going to waste any of her precious time running down that aspect of the case.
Her phone pinged and a photo of Callie Johnson smiled up at her. Grady enjoyed taking selfies of him and his girls. His narcissism paid off where the case was concerned. A few more clicks on her keyboard and Callie was being scanned by the system. If the young woman had a record, Ayako would hear about it shortly. In the meantime, she would find out whatever else she could about the twosome.
• • •
The number of corpses waiting their turn for the autopsy table floored David. Hawaiians were dropping like flies today. He’d been sitting in the corridor of the morgue, waiting to talk to the man in charge for far too long. Being idle didn’t sit well with him. He needed information and he needed it yesterday.
The slow pace of the island had no place in this building. Everyone was working at a frantic rate.
