by Toby Neal
The Lab seemed to be heading for a stand of burned trees, emerging like an island in a sea of black lava. Sophie had heard that these protrusions of unburned land were called kipukas. She scowled with fear and concern, noticing steam wafting up from cracks. They were running around on an active hot zone!
Ginger disappeared into a stand of hardy ohia trees marking the edge of the kipuka. Sophie, a few minutes behind, entered the sheltering trees, her heart pounding with anxiety and frustration. “Ginger! Bad dog! You are not getting off the leash anymore!”
The dog’s answer was a sharp yap, followed by a frantic whine.
Something was wrong.
Sophie crashed through brittle underbrush, swatting aside branches.
The sweet, rotting smell of decomposition hit Sophie’s nose: of course! Ginger was so excited about some awful dead animal. Nothing made the dog happier then rolling in a nicely aged piece of roadkill. She had to catch the damn dog before she rolled in whatever had drawn her all this way.
Sophie parted the branches of a hardy guava tree, and stopped short with a gasp.
Ginger stood, tail waving, amid a pile of dead bodies.
Jake Dunn prided himself on his focus. Yeah, people said he was impulsive, but they just didn’t understand how he worked. He followed his gut. When he got an idea, “just do it” was his motto. He’d seldom been wrong in these “impulses.”
And now, his gut told him that something smelled fishy on the Big Island.
Security Solutions’ newest clients, a couple in their early sixties wearing the golf shirts and chinos of the well-to-do, sat in chairs across from Jake and his boss, Acting President of Operations Kendall Bix.
Bix was taking their information. “So how long has your daughter been missing?”
“Two weeks.” Kent Weathersby spoke, petting his wife’s hand over and over. Jake’s skin crawled, imagining how that must feel, but the woman seemed to find it comforting. She snuggled into her husband, her immaculately coiffed head nestled on his shoulder. “We reported Julie missing after she didn’t check in with us for our scheduled talk. She had been on a backpacking trip through the islands, and we’d agreed she would check in with us weekly. She’s been on the Big Island a week when we stopped hearing from her. It’s been two since she disappeared. The Hilo police department closest to the area where she was last seen has not been able to find her.”
Weathersby spoke mechanically, as if he had rehearsed the speech so it would flow smoothly, even as his wife, Betty, winced visibly with each mention of their daughter’s disappearance. Tears oozed out from under her lids.
Jake cleared his throat. “I hope we can be of help, but you understand we will need to work closely with local law enforcement, and not step on anyone’s toes or duplicate efforts on the investigation.”
Sergeant Lei Texeira, a Maui Police Department detective, was a friend who had begun her career on the Big Island. It might be worth getting in touch to make some connections to smooth the way, and ask for backstory on the case.
“Julie usually found a group of other campers to hang out with both for safety and fun. She was camping outside Volcanoes National Park when she disappeared. We don’t know if she found anyone to hang out with yet.” Betty’s wet blue eyes in her softly wrinkled face found Jake’s, and brought on a twinge of guilt. She reminded him of his mom.
His mom had flown all the way from Texas to be at his bedside when he was recovering from a recent gunshot wound. His sisters had also come over. Totally unnecessary, but at least they’d all been able to get a Hawaii vacation out of it. Jake’s gaze strayed to the windows, where he could see a sliver of ocean in the distance between the buildings.
The ocean was his favorite thing about living in Honolulu. It made him feel free. But it was just an illusion. He’d never been free—never would be. Wherever he went, there he was, carrying his chains of obligation.
“I think we should be able to get some more answers for you,” Bix said. “Two weeks isn’t long to be missing for a young woman of your daughter’s age. She probably met a guy and…you know.” Bix smiled. The expression sat uneasily on his stern mouth as if perched there.
“We’ve been getting that same feeling from the police department that you’re giving us now: they don’t take us seriously. They think our daughter is shacked up with some man, living off the grid. That’s the message we’ve been getting over and over. But our Julie is not like that,” Weathersby said starkly. “Something’s happened. Something’s wrong.”
Jake slapped his thighs and stood up. “I believe you. I’ll go to the Big Island and find her.” He turned to look at Bix. “And I know just the woman to help. Our rogue agent, Sophie Ang.”
…Continue the story by preordering Wired Justice HERE!
About the Author
Kirkus Reviews calls Neal's writing, "persistently riveting. Masterly."
Award-winning, USA Today bestselling social worker turned author Toby Neal grew up on the island of Kaua`i in Hawaii. Neal is a mental health therapist, a career that has informed the depth and complexity of the characters in her stories. Neal's police procedurals, starring multicultural detective Lei Texeira, explore the crimes and issues of Hawaii from the bottom of the ocean to the top of volcanoes, and are so popular that they've spawned a licensed fan fiction world on Amazon. Fans call her stories, "Immersive, addicting, and the next best thing to being there."
More Titles from Toby Neal!
Lei Crime Series
Paradise Crime Series
Romances
Romance Thrillers
Young Adult
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