Operation: Beach Angel

by Margaret Kay

  X-Ray

  Lambchop closed out of the video call window. The call from Ops was terminated. Ops had easily dug up information on Shawna Hilton. The woman had a heavy burden, a sick mom, a dead-beat ex-husband who was nine months behind on child support, and she was close to filing bankruptcy despite the fact that she had a decent job. It looked like her ex bled her dry and racked up a mountain of debt that she was now on the hook to pay.

  Lambchop approached the concierge desk and the red-haired woman he saw Nevaeh talking with the day before. “Hi,” he greeted, his eyes scanning her name tag. “Shawna.”

  She smiled at him. “Yes, how can I help you?”

  He’d decided how he would play this on the way down to the lobby. “Someone told me you and Nevaeh were close. I’m a guest, but I’m investigating her death.” He displayed his badge and credentials. He watched the expression on the young woman’s face morph into fear.

  “I can’t help you. I wasn’t here the night she was murdered.”

  Lambchop put his wallet away. “Relax, I don’t think you had anything to do with it. Someone told me that if anyone had any insights into what was going on in her life, it would be you. I got to know Nevaeh a bit. We spent some time together and I really liked her.”

  She glanced around the lobby.

  Lambchop could read that she was nervous. She was afraid someone would see them talking. “What can you tell me about her personal life? Was there anyone giving her a hard time, an ex-boyfriend or anything? Was she acting any differently the last few times you saw her?” He kept his voice in a whisper. “I know you are a good person. You were her friend. Help me get the bastard that killed her.”

  “Sure, the resort does offer scuba diving excursions,” she said, rising and opening a pamphlet. “There was no ex, there was a current and he’s bad news,” she whispered. “Nevaeh had plans to get away from him, you know, to disappear. She was afraid of him.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “You don’t want to mess with him. Trust me. He’s powerful.”

  “So am I,” Lambchop said. He stared with determination into her eyes.

  “He has ties to the owner of this resort.”

  “We can protect you.”

  “No, you can’t,” Shawna argued. “I need this job.”

  “Give me something, for Nevaeh. Your name will never come up. I promise.”

  “Look, he’d probably kill me if he knew I was saying anything to you. I can’t risk you will tell anyone, and I don’t want to be responsible for anything happening to you. Nevaeh is gone. No one else needs to get hurt.”

  “Yes, five of us are certified. There are two others who will join us who will need basic instruction and basic certification. You do offer that, don’t you?” He dropped his voice low. “Please. I promise I won’t implicate you. If this guy had anything to do with her death, I’ll find it and bring him to justice.”

  Shawna considered that for a second. “We do, every morning at the west pool. I can sign them up for it if you’d like.” She reached into a drawer and pulled out three forms. In the name section on one of them she wrote Martin Akana. “Just have the two who need basic certification complete these forms and return them to me and we’ll get you all set up.”

  “That would be great, thank you.” He took the forms from her, glanced at the name before he folded the forms and crammed them into his back pocket.

  He went right to the elevator and placed a call to Mother on his cell phone, while waiting for the elevator car to arrive. “You’re still in your room, aren’t you?”

  “Yes,” Mother confirmed.

  “I’m on my way up. Establish a connection to HQ.”

  He stepped off the elevator and reached Mother’s room door just as Annaka and Michaela were leaving. “We’re heading down to the beach,” Michaela said. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yes, I’ll catch up with you later.”

  “I understand,” she said. She wrapped her free arm around him and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

  He entered to find Mother at the table, his computer tablet open. “Madison is in Ops.”

  Lambchop pulled the paper from his back pocket and took a seat in the chair beside Mother. He shifted the screen, so he was equally in the camera view. “Hi Madison, how’s it going?”

  “Good. I’m afraid we don’t have much more than when we spoke this morning.”

  “I do. I have a name for you to check out, Martin Akana. My source tells me he is bad news. Nevaeh was afraid of him.”

  “Who was he to her?” Mother asked.

  “Evidently her boyfriend but she was planning on pulling a disappearing act.” He couldn’t help but wonder if she would have asked him for help. “He has some kind of ties to the owner of the resort. I don’t know what though.”

  “The ownership of the resort is held by several corporations. Garcia suspects they are shell companies. This Martin Akana might be linked through those. We’ll run him to ground,” Madison said.

  “The employee I talked to was scared shitless telling me about him. Let’s approach checking him out with caution. I promised her that our inquiries will not be traced back to any info she gave us.”

  “Roger, that,” Madison agreed.

  After they’d disconnected the call, Mother was thoughtful.

  “What?” Lambchop prompted.

  “In eighty percent of all murders, the victim knew their assailant. This could very well have nothing to do with you. And it very likely would still have happened if we were not here, if it was the boyfriend who killed her. I know I’m probably wasting my breath, but I have to wonder if this is really anything you should be spending your time on, while we are here on vacation.”

  “You mean spending my time on it instead of spending it with Michaela?”

  Mother chuckled. “Well, yes. The girls are at the beach.”

  “Which is exactly where I’m planning to go right now. I get what you’re saying though.”

  “Nevaeh is dead, but Michaela is alive and waiting for you. I know you and I know you will want to see this investigation through to the end. You could probably find a few things out but is it worth it to squander this precious time with Michaela.”

  “Thanks, Mother,” Lambchop said, his hand on Mother’s shoulder. “I’m going to go change into my swim trunks and join them on the beach.”

  “I’ll see you down there.”

  Lambchop returned to Michaela’s room. He placed a call to Detective Hamana. He gave him an update. He withheld Shawna’s name from his report, referring to her simply as a source.

  “Come on, Agent Johnson, you have to give me this person’s name.”

  “The only name I’m giving you is the suspect, Martin Akana, but I’m also asking you to keep your investigation into him on the down low.”

  “I know who Martin Akana is,” Hamana said, much to Lambchop’s surprise. “I’d love to pin this murder or anything on him but unfortunately nothing seems to stick to him.”

  “Enlighten me. Who is he?” Lambchop asked.

  “He is believed to be at the top of one of the biggest crime syndicates on the island.”

  “Believed to be?” Lambchop repeated. “You mean you don’t have anything concrete on this guy?”

  “No, just lots of rumors. He keeps a very low profile.”

  “Do you think there is any truth to this report that our dead girl was his girlfriend?” Lambchop asked.

  “The organized crime unit that keeps an eye on him has a lot of photos of him with women. I’ll run her photo by them, and I’ll check to see if anyone was actively surveilling him around the time of her death.”

  “What about ties to this resort? Is he known to own property?”

  “Yes, he owns a lot of property. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is a silent owner in the resort. He spends a lot of time there, mostly running illegal high-stake card games, we suspect.”

  “Card games?” Lambchop questioned. “Nevaeh asked m
e several times if I played cards, or if I was looking for a game. That isn’t a coincidence.”

  “I’ll pass this information along to the OCU. I’ll be in touch if there are any questions.”

  “Thanks. I’m headed out to the beach now. I’ll have my phone and will check it when I get out of the water, so leave me a message.”

  “Will do, Agent Johnson. Enjoy the rest of your vacation. We’ll handle it from here out.”

  After Lambchop disconnected, he shook his head. He’d just been dismissed from the case. He changed into his swim trunks and headed to the beach. Mother was right. He didn’t want to squander any of this precious time with Michaela. A relationship with her was what he’d wanted for a long time and now he had it. What was he doing?

  He arrived at the group’s beach chairs. Michaela lounged on hers, reading. She put her Kindle down when he sat on his chair. Mother and Annaka were in the water. Sherman and Brielle laid on their chairs, sunning.

  “You were faster than I thought you’d be,” Michaela said.

  He leaned over and gave her a kiss. “I hope I am done for the day and can just enjoy this vacation with you.” He watched a beautiful smile spread over her face. He lifted the bottle of sunblock from the sand. It was nearly empty. “Did anyone make our dinner reservations at the Italian Restaurant yet?”

  “I don’t think so,” Sherman answered.

  “We’re almost out of sunblock. I’ll run to the lobby and get another bottle and I’ll check into those dinner reservations.”

  He strode into the lobby and his attention was immediately drawn to the obnoxious ass that was giving Shawna a hard time. “Check your computer again. I was promised an upgrade at check-in. I was supposed to arrive on the fifteenth, but my travel got delayed.” He tapped out a text message on his phone as he spat his demanding words at Shawna.

  “I’m sorry Mr. Johnson,” Shawna said very nicely. “I have no record of it. I of course can offer you an upgrade.”

  “It’s supposed to be a suite and make it one with a view. I don’t want the overpriced garden-facing villa that I have to walk a mile to get to like I got last time I was here. I’m in Hawaii damnit. I want to see the ocean and I want to be in the center of things.”

  “Yes, sir, of course,” Shawna said, trying to calm the man down.

  Lambchop approached. “Excuse me. Is there a problem here?” He asked the man. He was a black guy, mid-fifties, a bit overweight, casting off an air of entitlement and contempt.

  “Who the fuck are you?” He demanded. “You work here?”

  “No, just a guest who doesn’t like to see nice people like Shawna here, treated as shitty as you are treating her.” He dropped his voice down to a whisper. “You here for a game? Akana was supposed to take care of that room for you, wasn’t he?” He flashed a knowing grin at this other Mr. Johnson.

  The other Johnson nodded ever so slightly, confirming Lambchop’s suspicion. What were the odds? Two Mr. Johnson’s booked to arrive the same date. Nevaeh made a mistake. That was clear to Lambchop. This was the Mr. Johnson that she was to upgrade and contact, not him. He felt a heaviness settle in his heart.

  “Have a drink and hang loose, bro.” He shook his hand, pinky and thumb extended. “I’m sure Akana will be in contact tomorrow. Go to the beach and enjoy your stay.”

  He went to the store and bought that sunblock. Then he called Detective Hamana on the way back to the beach and filled him in. He had done all he could. He was officially done with investigating Nevaeh’s murder. Now, he’d just focus on enjoying and solidifying this relationship with Michaela.

  Yankee

  The next day, Annaka set up a private whale watching expedition for the group with a local research and public education organization. The eight of them piled into the two SUVs they rented and drove the short distance to the pier where the research vessel was berthed. It was in a marina with commercial boats as well as small pleasure craft and expensive yachts.

  The day was beautiful, brilliant blue sky, warm breeze off the ocean, and intense sunshine. Lambchop scanned the marina, admiring the beautiful boats. After he retired, maybe he’d buy a boat and live on the water. Yeah, that sounded peaceful. It was their last full day on Maui. They’d have tonight, which he planned to thoroughly enjoy with Michaela.

  The girls were all excited. Even Annaka who’d spent more time in boats watching whales than anyone he knew, was happy and animated as she spoke about the sea creatures she loved. Mother watched her with love coming from him in waves as real as the four-foot swells in the ocean. Sloan and Sherman each held their wives as they listened to Annaka tell them what each of the whale’s distinctive behaviors that they hoped to see, meant.

  Lambchop held Michaela’s soft hand in his. This boat ride would be different from the last when they went out snorkeling. He was ecstatic that would be the case. The distance between them when they went on the snorkeling expedition had broken his heart.

  His eyes were drawn to movement near one of the large yachts, the Royal Flush. It was berthed a few piers over. The engines started. Several men who didn’t fit with the marina atmosphere came out on the open back deck. There was something very much off with them both. The first man, dressed in jeans and a tight, black shirt pulled the lines in, in preparation for departure. He looked like a bouncer at a club. A man wearing a button-down shirt tucked into dress pants stood and watched. Upon closer scrutiny, Lambchop was sure that man was Martin Akana.

  “Tango, four o’clock,” Lambchop alerted his teammates. He drew his gun from its holster at the small of his back and hopped from the boat, back onto the pier. He took off running towards the yacht his eyes were glued to. He heard several sets of heavy, fast footfalls behind him. He didn’t need to look back. He knew his team followed.

  Martin Akana saw the four men barreling down the pier towards him. “Take her out! Now!” He yelled to the captain who could be seen on the deck outside of the flybridge two decks up. He looked back and saw the four men getting closer. The captain ducked into the wheelhouse. The yacht pulled away from the dock and immediately increased speed. A large wake was created. It crashed many of the other boats into the dock.

  Lambchop watched the Royal Flush speed out of the marina, towards the open ocean. A bit farther down the long pier, near its end, was a large cigarette boat. Lambchop heard the throaty growl of its engine. It was decorated in red, white, and blue with both an American flag and the familiar Navy flag flying beside it. A white-haired man shook his fist and cursed in the direction of the Royal Flush.

  Lambchop drew his badge and set off running towards the forty-foot vessel. “Federal agents! We need your boat!” Without an invitation, he jumped onboard.

  “You going after that sonofabitch?” The old-timer pointed to the Royal Flush.

  “Yes sir,” Lambchop replied.

  “She’s all yours.” The man stepped back, motioning any of the four men to the controls. Sloan crowded in. He gave the controls a quick glance as Sherman and Mother cast off the lines.

  “We’ve got to ask you to wait on the pier,” Lambchop said to the boat’s owner.

  He promptly took a seat and shook his head. “I go with my boat.”

  Lambchop didn’t want to debate it. Akana was getting away. “Go!” He motioned to Sloan. As the engine’s roar increased with the intense power under the waterline, the boat took off like a bullet from a gun. “If any shooting starts, you hug the deck,” Lambchop yelled to the old man.

  “Son, I’ve had more men shoot at me than you ever will. You hug the deck. I’ll nail the bastards between the eyes.” He pulled a Glock 30 Short Frame from a holster at the back of his shorts.

  Lambchop wasn’t sure who this man was, but he liked him.

  “This ain’t no RIB, son,” the old-timer said, now standing beside Lambchop. “I assume you’ll do a highspeed boarding of that boat. Let me drive so we don’t bust my hull up too badly. I know what the Equalizer can do and what she can’t.”

&nbs
p; “The Equalizer?” Lambchop asked.

  “The name of my boat.” He crowded in on Sloan. “I’ve done this more times than any of you have, I’m sure. Now relinquish the controls.”

  “You were in the Teams,” Lambchop questioned.

  “Aye, Team Two.”

  “I was with Five,” Lambchop said. He pointed to Sloan and Sherman. “They were with Four.”

  Sloan gave up the controls and backed away. He pulled his own weapon.

  The old man eyed Mother. “And him?” He opened the boat up, increasing her speed dramatically.

  “Marine Raider, sir,” Mother replied.

  “What’s this sir shit? I worked for a living, retired a Master Chief!”

  The cigarette boat sliced through the water like a projectile. It quickly caught up to the Royal Flush. Akana was still on the back deck with his henchman. They both held weapons, Akana a pistol and the black shirted man an AR-15. They both stared at the approaching boat with disbelief.