Tangled Passions (Task Force Hawaii Book 4)

by Melissa Schroeder

  “Yes. And you escaped.”

  “Correct, right before the FBI showed up. That’s when they arrested my father.”

  He blinked. “Your father?”

  “Joseph. He was my father. And, not like the other kids, he was my real father. He and my mother founded the cult, although, she got kind of tired of it.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. He was the typical guy in charge of a cult. Lots of rumors about him sleeping with other women. Mom just disappeared one day. Since she never came forward afterward, I have always wondered if she actually left or if he killed her. We’ll never know.”

  He nodded and thought about the pictures he had seen of her. Her file had been full of them. She had been found by a local boy. Skin and bones and dehydrated and near death. But she had made it out. Due to her tenacity, she had survived and, thanks to her, the federal government had conducted a raid that ended the cult. It was something her bosses at the DEA said about her. The woman just did not give up. On anything.

  “Afterwards you lived with your aunt?”

  “No. I lived with a woman I called auntie, but she was my foster mother. I didn’t have any other family. At least any they could find. But that was probably for the best, considering my parents. Bad blood, if you get my drift?”

  “But doesn’t that make you tainted?”

  She studied him for a long minute, then she laughed. “Yeah, and I am a little crazy. I’m sure Donaldson told you that.”

  Yeah, her last supervisor did mention she had a few screws loose. She often would take some chances that left her in jeopardy, but she always did it to save someone else.

  “Can you tell me about the job?” she asked.

  “You would work for me, but you would be the liaison for the other law enforcement entities here in Hawaii. You will oversee any of our drug cases; plus, I’ll expect you to work cases dealing with other crimes as well.”

  “Oh, cool. Like the serial killer you’re working right now?”

  He paused. “Where did you hear about that?”

  “I saw your screen when I walked in. Four dead men, all connected in some way.” She shrugged. “Serial.”

  “Your last supervisor said you were too smart for your own good.”

  “Probably. But, then, if I hadn’t been smarter than my father, I’d probably be dead.”

  He didn’t say anything. It was hard to hear someone talk so casually about their father killing them, or saying their mother might be dead.

  “Oh, I see you have reservations about my feelings on death. I would never wish anyone dead. Still don’t. And I’m sure you read my file like you said. I know I take risks, but I do it to save other people. You will never understand my childhood, or how it warped my view on my parents. They weren’t parents. Ever. I would have probably had a better childhood if they had left me out in a field to fend for myself as a newborn. “

  “Okay, answer me this: why is it so important to save people?”

  “I spent my childhood being a victim. I had no choice. I know what it feels like to be lost to the world. That feeling of waking up every day without hope of a better life. It drains your soul. I will do anything to save anyone from the same fate.”

  He studied her for a long moment. There was no doubting the conviction in her voice. She might be a little different, but they seemed to specialize in that at TFH.

  He smiled. “I have a feeling you’re going to fit in just fine.”

  “I got the job?”

  He nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Fantastic.”

  “I’m sure you’ll want to meet the team, but they’ve probably headed out already.”

  “No problem.”

  “But, if you can make it here before eight tomorrow, you can sit in on the morning meeting, and then we can go over and have you fill out all the paperwork. Make sure to bring a copy of your driver’s license with you so we can make a copy.”

  “You got it.”

  “Let’s see if anyone is still around.”

  He waited for her to stand, then opened the door. Emma was the only one sitting in the conference room.

  “Hey,” she said smiling at him. “I was just waiting around until you got done. Then I’m gonna help Charity.”

  “No hacking.”

  She frowned, and he knew she would try her best to resist. Having a wife who was considered one of the best hackers in the Pacific wasn’t the easiest thing for him.

  “Emma, I would like you to meet Autumn Bradford. Autumn, my wife, Emma, and one of our contractors.”

  Emma stood. “Nice to meet you. I take it you’re hiring her?”

  “Emma.”

  “Emma Thompson?”

  She smiled. “Yes.” She looked at Del. “See, people know me.”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, I know.”

  “You worked with the DEA on that cartel job three years ago. You hacked right into their computers without a problem. We’d been working on that for six months.”

  “Yeah, kind of sad in my opinion. You’d think the government would have a better group of people working for them.”

  “I guess I’ll get on my way. I just moved in last week, so I am still unpacking. Nice to meet you. And thank you, Del.”

  “No problem. See you tomorrow.”

  He stood next to Emma and watched Autumn leave. Once they were alone, he asked, “So, you worked with the DEA?”

  She shrugged. “One job. I hate people who sell drugs.”

  He shook his head. “Why don’t I walk you down to see Charity?”

  “Sounds like a plan. I think I’m going to like Autumn.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I just know.”

  A year ago, his wife couldn’t stand meeting new people. The fact that she even talked to Autumn was a big step for her.

  “Okay. Either way, it’s good to have someone with her knowledge on the team.”

  His phone buzzed. He pulled it out and almost groaned. The mayor.

  “Take it,” Emma said as she rose to her tiptoes, and kissed his mouth. “Come get me when you’re ready to go home.”

  “Okay.”

  He watched as she walked down the hall. Once she was gone, he clicked on the phone.

  “Yes, Mr. Mayor.”

  As the major rambled on about getting updates on the Anderson case, he walked back to his office, his mind already on going home.

  “Delano, we have an issue.”

  “What issue would that be, sir?”

  “The FBI is making noises. Apparently, they want to take over the case.”

  Dammit. Figured.

  “Because it’s a serial?”

  “And the people involved. Lots of money there.”

  “Great.”

  “We need to brainstorm. You all know how to catch a serial, so we don’t need them for that. We need some reason to keep it in our hands.”

  Del sat down behind his desk, realizing that getting out of there early wasn’t going to happen today.

  “All right, tell me what you’re thinking.”

  4

  Cat opened the door to Premiere Connections, and held it open for Graeme. The over-chilled air hit her first, causing her to shiver. You can always tell someone was a haole, by how cold they kept it inside their homes or office. The next thing that hit was a wave of overpowering floral scents. It was so strong, she almost gagged on it.

  “Bloody hell,” Graeme muttered.

  “Yeah, I feel ya. God, it almost makes me want to throw up.”

  “Hello, may I help you?”

  Cat turned in the direction of the voice. A tall redhead was smiling at them. Lord. She felt puny compared to the woman.

  “Hello. I’m Cat Kalakau from Task Force Hawaii. This is Graeme McGregor. We’re here to talk to you about Branson Anderson.”

  She blinked. “I’m not sure I can help you.”

  “We need to talk to Alice Collins. I hear she’s the one in charge,” Cat said.
>
  “Uh, yes, but she’s in with a client right now. If you could make an appointment, that would probably work better.”

  Cat glanced around the waiting room. A handful of clients sat there wearing clothes that probably cost more than a month’s pay for her. Then she turned back to the receptionist.

  “We need to talk to her right now.”

  “I am very sorry, but our clients book weeks in advance. There is just no way to fit you in.”

  Seriously? Why do rich people, and the people who worked for them, think they could schedule time with the police? It’s as if being a suspect in any crime was like making a lunch date to them. She shared a look with Graeme, who smiled and nodded.

  “Sure. We’ll just wait. Not like one of your clients was found murdered this morning after having a date with someone in your agency or anything. No rush.”

  “Is that true?” a youngish Asian man asked her.

  “No,” the receptionist blurted out.

  “Yes,” Cat said almost at the same time.

  She gave the woman a large smile.

  “Fine. Come on,” she muttered.

  She heard Graeme chuckle behind her as they followed the woman through the door, then down a long hallway. She could hear faint voices on the other sides of the closed doors. It sounded like there were a lot of clients being interviewed.

  “Wait in here please. I will get Ms. Collins to speak with you.”

  They stepped into the room. Cat was a little bit taken aback by the luxury. It was all plush and shiny, something that probably appealed to one percenters. The walls were a soft blue. Against the back wall of the room was an overstuffed, rather large couch. In front of it was a table that had some glasses and a pitcher filled with cucumber water.

  “Bloody hell.”

  “Again, you said a mouthful,” Cat said walking forward.

  “Why does a person need something like this?”

  “It’s not that easy meeting people.”

  She poured herself some water. She loved cucumber water. It was one of the very few things her mother and she agreed upon.

  “What’s hard about it? See someone, go up and ask them out.”

  She had just taken a sip of water, and she started to choke on it. Graeme smacked her on her back a few times hard enough to bruise.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes,” she said, coughing. “It’s just you giving dating advice.”

  “What? I know how to date. Didn’t I catch the prettiest woman on the island?”

  She smiled at him. The courtship of Graeme and Elle had not been easy for either one of them, but it was so wonderful to see them happy.

  “Yes. Yes, you did.”

  There was a quick knock, then the door opened. “Oh, hello. Sorry it took me so long to get down here,” the woman said. She was another tall one with blond hair and bright blue green eyes. She looked just like her picture, but even better. Only someone evil looked better than their photo shopped pic.

  “I’m Cat Kalakau and this is Graeme McGregor with TFH. We’re here about Branson Anderson.”

  “Yes, Tiffany told me. Please sit down.”

  Collins waited until they sat on the couch, and she took a chair facing them.

  “It is just horrible. Branson was a really great guy.”

  “Can you tell us how long he has been a member of your client list?”

  She hesitated. “We have strict confidentiality clauses about that.”

  “Anderson is dead. He doesn’t care,” Graeme said.

  Cat had to suppress a laugh. Graeme was blunt, but sometimes it worked. “And we can get a warrant. We are already working on that, and we will file if needed. If you would rather keep it out of court—meaning public record— I would suggest that you give us the information.”

  “Well…”

  “If it becomes public, your client list might just dwindle.”

  She should feel guilty about pressing the woman, but this was murder. Four in fact. And while Del had told her to be subtle, there was subtle for regular people—and there was subtle for the TFH.

  Collins sighed. “Okay. Yes, Branson was one of our clients.”

  “Older than your normal client?”

  “Not really. We have all age groups, but we have begun working with divorced men, those looking to start out on the second phase of their lives.”

  Meaning, when they divorced their first wife, they were looking for a trophy wife.

  “And Branson was that?”

  “Yes. He had lost his wife about five years ago. Cancer. He hadn’t really dated anyone seriously since then. He wanted to date women who were looking for more than a good time.”

  “And how many different women did he date?” Cat asked.

  “Three, I believe.”

  “Their names?”

  Alice hesitated.

  Cat sighed. “Really? You’re going to hold back again?”

  She straightened her shoulders and her eyes sparked with more than a little irritation. This was the businesswoman who had developed a successful company. Not only that, she did it with a limited pool of customers. Cat knew that she would be smart to remind herself this wasn’t a stupid woman.

  “I promise my clients complete confidentiality.”

  “Do you also promise they’ll survive their dates?”

  She glanced back and forth between her and Graeme. “What are you saying?”

  “I have a feeling that if it got out you had a killer targeting your clients, it would deter people from using your services.”

  There was a beat of silence as Alice continued to stare at Cat. Apparently, she was used to intimidating women, but Cat worked with men. She had no problem doing a stare down.

  “Are you threatening me?”

  “I’m just saying that we already have the press sniffing around for information about the case. If we can’t get those names from you, we’ll have to get a warrant. That will become public information.”

  She sat back in her chair, an air of irritation surrounding her. She didn’t like what was happening.

  “I will have to talk to my lawyer. I would rather keep this out of the public, but I also have to protect myself.”

  “You make sure you call me by tomorrow morning,” Cat said, standing and pulling out her card. She handed it to Alice. “If you don’t, I’ll talk to a judge.”

  “Understood.”

  “We’ll see ourselves out,” Cat said.

  She didn’t think to look behind her to make sure that Graeme was following. She knew he was there. Once they were outside, Graeme whistled.

  “That was one cool customer. She’s not liking you at the moment.”

  Cat shrugged. “Those types rarely do.”

  “What’s that mean?”

  “She was probably a former cheerleader, expects everyone to fall all over themselves to make her happy. You notice she kept smiling until I pressed her on stuff. And when she realized I was in charge.”

  “And she just met a woman who doesn’t give a damn.”

  She laughed. “You got that right. Let’s head back. I have some calls to make, and I know you want to check on Elle.”

  “She thinks I worry too much.”

  They reached the SUV and she looked at him. “She does, but I know it’s comforting. Take it from me, it’s a lot better to have someone be a little bit over the top with their worrying. As I said, it’s comforting to her.”

  “Hey, do you mind stopping off at Ala Moana? Elle likes the edamame shakes there.”

  “Good, because I can pick something up. I’m starving.”

  Adam pulled off Kalanianaole Highway to hit up the friend of the first victim. He had just finished going over everything with Marcus, who seemed to have his mind on something else. Of course, since he had to deal with the military and terrorism, it was probably work.

  “So, this new woman…we’re expanding?” Marcus asked.

  “Yeah. Which means they are going to be th
rowing more work our way.”

  Marcus grunted.

  “It also means you’ll have more time for all those terrorism task forces they keep putting you on. Del made noises about sending you to some conferences.”

  “Oh, good God, why? I hate those damned things”

  Adam chuckled. “Del thinks we need to have more contacts. He doesn’t always trust the military to be forthcoming with information because they see us as civilians.”

  “He was special forces.”

  “Yeah, so that means he knows.”

  Adam pulled up to the driveway and hit the speaker box.

  “Yes?” a male voice said.

  “Hello, my name is Adam Lee from Task Force Hawaii. I’m here to see Michael Cheng.”

  “Yes, of course. I’ll buzz you in.”

  The gate slowly opened, and Adam drove his SUV up to the house.

  “These rich folks live in Hawaii, but do everything they can not to experience Hawaii,” Marcus said, shaking his head.

  “Bruddah, you said a mouthful.”

  Once Adam parked his vehicle, they walked up to the front door. It opened before they reached it. A small Asian man smiled at them. Dressed in khaki shorts and a blue Hawaiian shirt, he looked to be in his early forties.

  “Hello, I’m Adam Lee and this is Marcus Floyd,” Adam said, showing the man his badge. The other man gave it a cursory look, then waved them in. “Come in.”

  They followed him into the house. Both he and Marcus removed their shoes, then walked down the hall behind the man. The house was nice enough, but it was filled with so many golden figurines and embellishments, that it almost overwhelmed the small hallway.

  Mr. Cheng led them out onto a lanai that overlooked a pool and further on, the beach.

  “Damn,” Marcus muttered just loud enough for Adam to hear.

  “Please, come sit. It’s a nice morning out.”

  Once they were seated, Adam retrieved his notepad. “Now, you were a good friend of Sam Waters?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, I was his godfather actually. After his parents passed, I helped him start up his business.”

  “And he was a DJ?”

  “Yeah, one of the hottest on the islands. He had even gotten a few gigs over on the mainland. He was also talking about moving over there.”