Death of a Messenger

by Robert McCaw

  Soo Lin was still on Mauna Kea. She could easily become Masters’ next target. He tried calling her without success.

  Koa weighed his options. Could he arrest Masters? On what charge? He didn’t have nearly enough for murder. There might be fraud in Masters’ great discovery, but Koa had no evidence. And with the findings of the verification team, it would take one hell of a lot of evidence.

  But even fraud in the discovery wouldn’t prove Masters guilty of murder, especially since the tapes showed that Masters hadn’t left the observatory on the critical night. Even an identification by Kessler wouldn’t be enough to overcome the security tape evidence. Damn, he had forgotten Kessler. Was he still sitting in the interrogation room? He grabbed Masters’ picture and started toward the room, signaling Detective Piki and Sergeant Basa to join him.

  He couldn’t arrest Masters, but he could at least put him under observation. He turned to Detective Piki. “I’ve got three assignments for you. First, I need this Leilani Lupe woman’s address. Second, get ahold of the telephone company and find out what cell tower carried that five o’clock call from Masters. And I want you to arrange a tail on Masters … loose and discreet, just enough so we know where to find him.”

  “Okay, I’ll take care of it.”

  When he entered the interrogation room, Koa wasn’t surprised to find it empty. He had Sergeant Basa send one of his patrolmen out to the airport with Masters’ picture. As soon as he had Leilani Lupe’s address, Koa headed for her garden apartment in the south part of Hilo. On the way, he repeatedly called Soo Lin without success.

  Why did people make his job so hard?

  Leilani answered his knock, Koa identified himself, and she led him into the living room of her apartment. Although he had seen Miss Lupe at the astronomers’ party, she still surprised Koa. Her long, flowing black hair, unblemished light brown skin, even white teeth, and big sparkling black eyes made her an extraordinarily beautiful young woman. Even in this casual setting with an unexpected visitor, she wore a designer sundress that showed off the curves of her voluptuous form. Taking his eyes off her, Koa noted more elegant and expensive furnishings and artwork than typical for a Hilo apartment. Nor did he miss the decanter with two wine glasses set out in expectation of a visitor.

  “What is this all about, Detective?” She spoke with a soft, almost girlish voice, adding an aura of innocence to her loveliness.

  “We’re investigating a homicide, and we believe that you may have some information that could help us.”

  She looked at him with soft black eyes. “Go on, Detective.”

  “Telephone records reflect that Dr. Thurston Masters called your number at 5:05 a.m. on the morning of Wednesday, January 21. Do you remember that call?”

  He saw her jaw tighten at the mention of the astronomer’s name. A young girl came out of the back of the apartment and cuddled next to Lupe, who put her arm around the child. “I have an autistic daughter, Detective. I don’t want to have any trouble with the police.”

  Koa had to reassure this woman and get her to talk. He considered his words carefully. “Miss Lupe, we are aware that you have some sort of relationship with Masters. We are not investigating that relationship and have no interest in pursuing you on account of that relationship, whatever it may be. We just need your help to understand what happened during and after that telephone call.”

  Her face betrayed neither emotion nor any hint of her thinking. “All right,” she said, nodding as she spoke, “ask your questions.”

  “You do have a relationship with Masters, am I correct?”

  “Yes,” she answered forthrightly. “We see each other regularly. He’s very good to my daughter … pays her medical bills and school tuition. And he buys me nice things, like this.” She fingered her circular gold necklace, embossed with diamonds. “Is that what you wanted to know?”

  With that bit of background, Koa went for the jugular. “Did you talk to Masters about five o’clock in the morning on Wednesday, January 21?”

  “I’m not positive about the date, but there was one night … it must have been that week … when he called and asked me to pick him up. His car had broken down and he needed a lift back to Mauna Kea.”

  “His car broke down?”

  “Yes, out by the airport.”

  Now that link was tied up. “Hilo airport?”

  “Yes. I picked him up at the commercial terminal.”

  “What time?”

  “As soon as I could get dressed and drive over to the airport. Maybe fifteen minutes after his call.”

  “And you drove him back to Mauna Kea?”

  “Yes, to that dormitory place. I didn’t want to wake up my neighbor, Virginia Thorpe, who usually cares for my daughter, so I took Hannah with me.” She hugged the girl next to her.

  Koa wanted to be absolutely sure. “Can you pin the date down?”

  “It must have been Tuesday night, or rather, Wednesday morning. Yes, it was early Wednesday morning. After I dropped him off on Mauna Kea, Hannah and I had breakfast and then went to the farmers’ market, so it had to be Wednesday. That’s the day of the Hilo market.” Koa handed her a calendar. After looking at it for a few moments, she said, “Yes, Wednesday morning, January 21.”

  “Thank you, Miss Lupe,” Koa said, as he left to race back to police headquarters. He was angry with himself for having been fooled by Masters, and was now desperately concerned for Soo Lin’s safety. Masters had killed Keneke to preserve his Nobel prize-winning discovery.

  Koa wasn’t sure how Keneke had stumbled upon the fraud. The answer was undoubtedly in the data he’d sent to Soo Lin. And she was now on the mountain in harm’s way. Masters wouldn’t think twice about doing the same to Soo Lin.

  Koa nearly collided with Sergeant Basa as he tore into his office. “We found Kessler. It’s—”

  “Masters,” they both said in unison.

  Seconds later Piki came running down the hall. “Koa … Koa!” Piki was so excited that he could hardly talk. “The five o’clock call from Masters originated in Hilo. He must have done a Star Wars number on the observatory security tape—because he didn’t call from the observatory.”

  “We’ve got to find Masters and get Soo Lin off that mountain.” Koa was emphatic. “If she’s successful in following in Keneke’s footsteps and uncovers proof of Masters’ fraud, he’ll kill her. She’s our first priority … we’ve got to get her off that mountain.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  HEAVY RAIN DRENCHED Koa and Basa as they sprinted out to Koa’s Explorer. Basa flipped on the emergency lights and activated the siren before they were out of the parking lot. They raced out of Hilo toward the Saddle Road. Using the SUV’s mobile phone, Koa called for backup vehicles and additional police officers. He then asked to be patched through to Soo Lin at the Alice Observatories.

  After repeated tries, the desk officer reported dead communication lines to the Alice Observatories and severe weather on Mauna Kea, deteriorating fast. All the observatories had ordered their personnel off the summit, but no one from Alice had acknowledged the directive or come back to the dormitory facility.

  “Goddamnit!” Koa swore.

  They turned onto the access road and roared up the mountain. Seconds later the desk sergeant called back. “We’ve received an emergency beeper signal from Soo Lin.”

  Koa’s worst nightmare was becoming real. “Patch the voice signal through to this telephone,” Koa ordered. They listened with growing apprehension to scratchy sounds, relayed from Soo Lin’s tiny transmitter through a series of microwave towers to police headquarters and then back over the airwaves to the speeding police vehicle. Koa could feel prickles dancing on the back of his neck as she spoke the name he now knew so well.

  “Director Masters, I didn’t know that you were in Alice I tonight. I was looking for Gaylord.”

  “Gaylord won’t be bothering us anymore.” They barely heard Masters’ voice.

  “Where is he?” Koa heard pa
nic in Soo Lin’s voice.

  “Why did you come to Alice? What did Keneke Nakano tell you?” The voice was louder. Masters must be moving closer to the transmitter.

  “N-nothing.”

  “Don’t lie to me.” Masters’ voice cut like a whip. “Nakano figured out that the adaptive optics distorted observations at great distances. He was using an Alice computer to check the effect of the error on my discovery. He told you the discrepancy invalidated my calculations, undercutting my discovery.” It was a statement, not a question.

  “What are you talking about, Dr. Masters?” Koa guessed she was deliberately repeating his name for the transmitter. He realized she must have hidden the transmitter someplace on her person. Smart girl. Seconds passed. “Don’t touch me. Don’t touch me, you bastard.”

  Soo Lin’s scream made Koa cringe. If only he’d figured it out earlier … or had persuaded her to get off the mountain.

  Crack! It sounded like a vicious slap. Koa wanted to jump through the speaker to her rescue. It was his fault—if only he had been smarter.

  The voices stopped, replaced by sounds of a struggle. Sobs? “Damn you …”

  Silence. Sergeant Basa drove as fast as he dared up the steep Mauna Kea access road through heavy rain and thick, swirling white mist. As they neared the astronomers’ dormitory the rain changed to snow and graupel, a form of alpine precipitation resembling soft hail. The police vehicle began to slide on the steep slopes.

  Koa was desperate to reach the summit, but he doubted they could get all the way up in the icy weather. He racked his brain for alternatives. For the first time in his life he thought about chains and snow tires, but nobody used snow tires in Hawai‘i. Maybe the Mauna Kea support facility, it occurred to him, used chains. He grabbed his cell, leaving the vehicle speakerphone hooked to Soo Lin’s transmitter, and started to punch in the number for the support facility. Then a thought struck him.

  He dialed Lieutenant Zeigler. Moments later he heard the Army officer’s sleepy voice. “Christ, Koa, don’t you ever sleep? It’s close to midnight, for Christ’s sake.”

  “How fast can you get an armored personnel carrier up the Mauna Kea access road?”

  “What?” Zeigler’s astonishment registered in a single word.

  “We have a police emergency on the summit of Mauna Kea. Lives are in danger. We’ve got blizzard conditions, gale-force winds, and blowing ice. How fast can you get a tracked vehicle up here?”

  There was a long pause at the other end of the line. “Well, if you tell me it’s a life-or-death emergency, I’ll do it.”

  “Do it. Soo Lin’s life is hanging in the balance.”

  More noises from Soo Lin’s transmitter: an overhead door grinding open, the howl of the wind, ice pellets bouncing off the dome. The sounds grew louder. They heard a rumble, like the building shaking with the intensity of the wind. A rending sound signaled something breaking loose—metal clanging against metal—and something clattering to the concrete floor.

  “Damn,” Koa swore, “the building is starting to disintegrate.”

  New sounds filtered through the speaker, maybe a motor, like a diesel engine. The sound grew louder. More engine noises, then whirring and clanking. A loud crack startled them.

  “What was that?” Sergeant Basa asked.

  “What are you doing?” They heard Soo Lin’s voice again. “You’ll damage the telescope.”

  “Exactly.” Masters’ voice slashed across the radio like a laser.

  Something heavy thudded against the concrete floor.

  “You bastard. You’re going to destroy the observatory to cover up your fraud.”

  “Fraud, Miss Hun?”

  “Your calculations were false. You just told me you failed to realize that the adaptive optics introduced errors that invalidated your research. Or did you introduce the error to get the results you wanted?”

  “Very good, Miss Hun, but you confuse the proof with discovery.”

  “Oh, I see,” she said. Her voice turned sarcastic. “Having conceived your great discovery, it was okay to falsify the proof.”

  God, Koa thought, she’s gutsy. She’s making him confess.

  “The discovery is real. It ranks with the greatest achievements of astronomers throughout the ages—Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Einstein, Hubble, Hawking.”

  “But when other astronomers can’t replicate your observations, they’ll know you falsified the data.”

  “Not without these observatories. Without the power of the Alice twins linked together, astronomers won’t have the capability to replicate my observations. The verification team has validated my discovery, and no man will challenge it for decades.”

  “The verification team will tear you apart when they learn you tricked them.”

  “Really? The best and the brightest, wined and dined, given a special preview … honored to verify the greatest discovery of their time. Thoroughly co-opted.”

  “You killed Keneke and …” The shrieking wind tore away her words.

  “Yes, Miss Hun, and cleverly too. I hoped his body would rot in that desolate lava cave, but I couldn’t take chances, so I replicated the Valentine’s Day murder.”

  The pride in Masters’ voice turned Koa’s stomach. Masters’ mention of the Valentine’s Day murder reminded Koa of the extensive media coverage the crime had attracted, reflected in the file he’d studied.

  “Valentine’s Day murder?”

  “It happened years ago while I was hospitalized on Maui with a broken jaw. It fascinated me and I read all the stories. Some wacko mutilated a kid. I copied his style. It gave me the excuse to destroy Keneke’s face and fingerprints.”

  “The security tapes show that you spent the whole night at Alice II.”

  Koa heard Masters laugh. “Technology, Miss Hun. I rewired the motion and infrared sensors. Touch a remote control and nothing triggers the camera. Flip it back on and everything returns to normal.”

  “You killed him on his break.”

  “I was waiting when he came out of the observatory. The fool was just gazing up at the stars. I got him in a choke hold. Just like in air force survival training. And then I stabbed him in the eye. It was painless. He didn’t suffer like you’re going to. I trained at Pōhakuloa and knew about the lava tube. An ideal place to stuff a body, don’t you think?”

  “The telephone calls. You faked the telephone calls.”

  “Something important has come up.” A different voice came over the transmitter, one Koa knew only from the words. “It’s my girlfriend. I’ve got to go back to the mainland to California for a few days.”

  “Miss Hun, you’ve met Cepheid.” Masters’ voice resumed its cultured tone. “Cepheid, say hello to Miss Hun.”

  “Good evening, Miss Hun.”

  “You used that thing to call the airline to make a reservation in Keneke’s name.”

  “A nice touch, don’t you think? The security cameras gave me an alibi for the night of January 20, but I went to California on January 21.”

  “You fooled the security cameras.”

  “Child’s play. Fooling the Russians about our capability to shoot down their missiles, that was hard. That took talent. Fiddling with the cameras was mere child’s play.”

  “Tell me why. You had everything—a prestigious position, money. People respected you for your genius in adaptive optics. Why fraud? And murder?”

  “I’ll go down in history as the greatest astronomer of all time … a modern-day Hubble, Einstein, and Hawking all rolled into one towering giant of astronomy—the man who proved the universe will end! The name of Thurston Masters will be celebrated for centuries.”

  “You will never get off the island.”

  A burst of static obscured Masters’ answer.

  More static … the transmitter seemed to be failing.

  “There’s no record of my being here today, Miss Hun, and I’ll be gone before this building explodes in flames. Cepheid will see you to the end.”

>   Suddenly the static cleared. “You’re mad.”

  “Mad, Miss Hun? No. Just clever.”

  More static … more static … and no more voices.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  AT THE DORMITORY complex, Koa and his men fought their way through blinding snow and flying ice to get to the entrance. “Who’s in charge here?” he bellowed, throwing open the front door. Koa hadn’t expected the polar bear of a man who stepped forward—Gunter Nelson, still out on bail. The two men glared at each other until Gunter broke the silence. “I’m afraid you’re stuck with me, Detective Kāne. I’ll help you any way I can.”

  Koa had no alternatives. He was running out of time and options. It might already be too late. “Let’s go, we’ve got to get to the summit.” Koa turned toward the Explorer.

  “You’ll never make it in this weather,” Gunter responded. “At least put strap chains on your vehicle.”

  “Get them,” Koa directed. While two policemen fastened spiked straps to the rear wheels of the Explorer, Koa again called Zeigler.

  “I’ve got a Bradley Fighting Vehicle on the way at top speed,” Zeigler said. “I had ’em load night-vision goggles and arctic gear. You’ll need it on that fucking mountain. I hear they got whiteout conditions. The vehicle commander, Sergeant Pete Lomi, will report to you, but he retains command of the vehicle. It’s on the access road, no more than ten minutes south of the dormitory complex.”

  “Thanks. Sergeant Basa, Gunter Nelson, and I are going on ahead. Tell your vehicle commander to pick up the rest of my men at the dormitory complex and make for the summit, but keep an eye out for my Explorer. I’ll transfer to the Bradley when it catches up.”

  Koa struggled out to the Explorer. Even at the 9,000-foot altitude with some shelter from the surrounding cinder cones, the wind howled, driving pellets of soft ice through the air like big BBs. God only knew what it would be like at 14,000 feet. The Explorer lurched up the mountain road, frequently spinning its wheels. They ran the defroster and the wipers at full blast, but still strained to make out the edges of the road ten feet in front of the bumper.