Wrong Turn (Paradise Crime Mysteries Book 14)

by Toby Neal

  “Let’s sit on the bench,” Lei said.

  Kelly sat beside Keiki and petted her chest and ears. Keiki leaned on her legs the way she did when she liked someone.

  Lei frowned. “You don’t look like you’ve been sleeping well.”

  “I haven’t been.” Kelly shook her head. “It’s like everything that happened to us in Mexico has caught up with me. I thought I was fine when we were at the resort . . . but I’m having all sorts of bad dreams and flashbacks. I was even paranoid jogging down here to the park.” She patted her pocket. “I have a big pepper spray in there, and a shock device in my other pocket.”

  “I’m not saying it’s not a good idea to have a few weapons on you, especially after what we’ve been through. But I hope you’re getting some professional help, too.” Lei had considered it herself but running and channeling her memories into the little rock that she always carried in her pocket had seemed to be enough for now.

  “I contacted the college. They have a sexual abuse survivor group. I’m going to that. It’s been really helpful to hear other people’s stories. You should come, Lei.”

  Lei felt a prickling of alarm on the back of her neck. “I don’t know. I’m not a group kind of person. I’ll think about it.”

  She had so much more than the one incident in Mexico banging around in the back of her brain. She might remember more about what Charlie Kwon had done to her, and she didn’t want to. If she opened that door, it could all come tumbling out and take over her life, and she was not about to let that happen. He’d stolen enough from her.

  Kelly stood up. “They say it helps to tell your story, but I don’t want to tell our story in the group . . . because you know—murder and everything.”

  “You and I didn’t kill anyone,” Lei said softly. “Harry did. Harry also took the baby, which I’m pretty sure was illegal. I’m not saying that was a bad thing, and I don’t know what else she could have done that would have been better for the baby. I’ve heard the orphanages are bad down there. Harry obviously fell in love with the baby, and I’m sure she’ll give the kid a good home. But the whole thing . . . it’s just not something we should ever talk about.”

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Kelly said. “In the group I just talked about the actual attack on the two of us, and how they kidnapped me, and what they did to me. The first time I told what happened, it felt good, like I had this giant . . . I don’t know what, like a boil or something—it popped, and all this poison came out.”

  “Now that’s just gross,” Lei said, and they both laughed.

  It felt good to laugh.

  “I told my parents that I was stressed out, and I wanted to go to personal therapy, too. I researched a method for traumatic memories called EMDR,” Kelly said. “It’s new. It’s cutting-edge. Maybe it will help.”

  “That’s great. Let me know how it goes.” But once again, Lei felt that prickling. She wasn’t ready to deal with her past, with all that had happened to her eleven years ago, let alone with what had happened to her in Mexico just two weeks ago.

  The girls jogged all the way back to Kelly’s house with Keiki at their side. Kelly patted the dog’s head as they said goodbye. “I sure feel safe and secure with her,” Kelly said. “Did you see how people go way around us?”

  “It makes me a little sad,” Lei said. “Keiki is so well-trained. She would never attack someone unless I told her to.”

  “Well maybe you’re the one people need to be afraid of,” Kelly said, and they both laughed again.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Lei answered the door in the afternoon of the following day. An older couple stood on the porch, holding a clipboard. Both plump, gray-haired, and dressed in California casual, they had identical anxious expressions on their pale faces. “Hi. Is Rosario at home?” the woman asked.

  “I’m sorry, no. She’s at the restaurant. Can I help?”

  Behind her, Keiki crowded close, her chest rumbling with an incipient growl at the sight of possible intruders. Lei lowered a hand to her side and snapped her fingers. Keiki settled onto her haunches, waiting for a signal.

  “Oh, that’s too bad. She knew about our project, organizing a neighborhood patrol against those robbers that have come into our area,” the older woman said. “My name is Liza, and this is my husband, Gregory.”

  “I’m Lei, Rosario’s niece, and this is our dog, Keiki.” Lei gestured for Keiki to come forward to meet the couple. Both of them stepped backward nervously, and Lei held up a hand. “Keiki is a very well-trained guard dog. We got her after the burglaries began. She would never hurt you.”

  The two were eventually persuaded to step forward and let Keiki sniff them. Gregory tentatively patted Keiki’s shiny head, giving her a scratch behind her ears.

  “Well, since Rosario isn’t here, can we tell you what we’re organizing? Maybe you and Keiki can help us with our project,” Liza said.

  “Sure. Let’s all get comfortable.” Lei gestured them to a set of wicker furniture, a little dusty and covered with leaves, out on the porch. She brushed off the cushions, and the three sat, Keiki beside Lei in her armchair.

  Gregory leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and cleared his throat. “Perhaps Rosario told you about our home invasion. The robbers broke into our house while we were sleeping. When we woke up, they forced us out of bed, and tied us up. They put us in the closet. I wasn’t able to tell the police much about them, except that it was two male perpetrators—they were wearing ski masks. They were also armed.”

  “That is so scary and very serious,” Lei said. “I’m so glad you weren’t injured! Yes, Aunty did tell me about that. We’ve both slept better since we got Keiki to keep an eye on our house.”

  All of them looked at the beautiful Rottweiler, sitting upright beside Lei with a curious expression in her brown eyes, her head tilted as if she understood every word they were saying.

  “Anyway, the police know all about it, and it’s an open case—but we’re not convinced the burglars are done with our area,” Gregory said.

  “I’m not convinced of that either,” Lei said.

  “Our therapist suggested that we take some action steps so that we don’t just feel like we’ve been . . . victimized, for lack of a better word,” Liza said. “So that inspired us to take this on.”

  “Is that what this project is about?”

  “Yes.” Liza held up the clipboard. “We are organizing nighttime foot patrols of the neighborhood. We’re asking our friends and neighbors to go in pairs throughout the area of the burglaries. We have gotten approval and support from the police for this plan, and we have a direct line to the patrol cars assigned to our neighborhood. When someone who is walking this neighborhood sees something suspicious, they are to contact the patrol cars assigned to us right away.”

  Lei’s pulse picked up. Supporting the neighborhood patrol seemed perfect, now that she had Keiki to walk with. “Keiki and I can take a shift, for sure. How big is the area?”

  Gregory took a map out from underneath the forms on top of the clipboard and showed Lei the streets they would be patrolling. “The police strongly suggested that we work in pairs.”

  Lei reached down to pet Keiki’s broad chest. “Keiki and I make a pair.”

  “You two are the perfect pair.” The older man smiled for the first time. Lei could see what a pleasant face he had when the stress around his eyes had disappeared; his wrinkles were those earned by good living and humor. The robbers had stolen a lot more than belongings from this couple.

  Lei told them that Aunty Rosario would not be available for the neighborhood patrol because of her nighttime work at the restaurant, and her age. “My Aunty needs all the rest she can get when she’s home from work,” Lei explained.

  “We understand. We would be snug in our beds too if we weren’t so worried about what could happen. We won’t sleep well until those perps are behind bars,” Liza said. “Having you and Keiki is the best signup we’ve had yet.” />
  Lei filled out the forms, and signed a waiver agreeing to call the police immediately and not engage with any criminals herself. “That’s very important,” Greg cautioned. “No matter how tempted you are to confront the robbers, the police told us not to. They were armed when they took us prisoner, in our own home. We don’t want any of our neighborhood patrol people getting hurt in this endeavor.”

  “I understand,” Lei said. The couple said goodbye, smiling and waving, and left a map of the streets Lei and Keiki would begin patrolling from eight till midnight. Lei showed Keiki the map. “We better get a nap this afternoon, girl. We are going to need it for the graveyard shift.”

  Liza and Greg had told Lei that the patrollers should be easily visible by wearing reflective clothing and carrying a lit flashlight. Part of what the neighborhood patrol was doing was prevention through warding off intruders, discouraging them from coming into the area at all.

  But Lei had a different plan: she wanted to catch these guys in the act.

  At eight p.m., she dressed carefully all in black: a turtleneck, hiking pants, and athletic shoes so that she could run efficiently, as well as a billed black cap that hid her face. She and Keiki set off at a slow jog.

  Lei held a flashlight but kept it off; Greg and Liza had told her to keep the flashlight swinging back and forth but Lei did not obey these instructions. She carried pepper spray in her pocket and in a shoulder holster, her Glock, which she was licensed to carry concealed. The big Buck knife from Mexico was strapped around her ankle.

  If she was lucky enough to confront the robbers, Lei was armed and dangerous.

  Well. At least, Keiki was dangerous.

  Beside Lei, Keiki trotted quietly in work mode, her eyes forward, her ears pricked, her nose sniffing, her body alert.

  They moved steadily down quiet streets lined with the nineteen twenties bungalows built when San Rafael had been a sleepy suburb of San Francisco, not yet the bustling, busy town it had grown into. Old-growth oak and maple trees shielded the road, casting pools of darkness as the pair crunched across a few leaves. A night breeze lifted the brim of Lei’s hat and fluttered Keiki’s ears; an occasional car swished by.

  All was quiet.

  Their four hours of patrol passed relatively quickly. Lei waved to the brightly lit up, well-dressed couple in reflective clothing who replaced her on the patrol, and she and Keiki reentered Aunty’s house.

  Lei had trouble unwinding afterward. She got online and researched the robberies, reading old police blotter reports and studying the pattern that the burglars had been following. There was a geographical element to it; the break-ins had begun to the south, and the burglars had been working steadily towards this area. They took jewelry, small antiques, cash, and portable electronics. “They must be fencing this stuff somewhere,” Lei muttered. “I wonder what the police are doing?” She couldn’t wait to have her own cases and dig into her own leads and ideas someday. “Find the outlet for these stolen items, and that could lead to the source of them.”

  Maybe the police were investigating like Lei would have if it was her case; maybe all they needed to do was wait. Lei fell asleep at last, in front of her monitor, her head propped on her arms.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Classes had resumed for Lei’s college program, and she muddled through the next day without enough sleep. Now, she and Keiki were on patrol again, and this time, she didn’t have the energy for jogging.

  She and Keiki walked the quiet neighborhood, lit by pools of streetlight, and Lei sipped from a thermos mug of coffee. Her mind was occupied with the letter she had received that afternoon: the police academy on the Big Island had accepted her application.

  Lei was excited, which created a little churn in her stomach, helping to counteract tiredness. She was also worried; not only was the date for her departure only two weeks away, but she would have to leave in the middle of the semester, not yet completing her criminal justice degree and taking incompletes on her classes. Worst of all, she would be leaving Aunty Rosario to face this threat from the robbers by herself, without Keiki for protection if she shipped the dog over with her. They would have to navigate the quarantine program for moving dogs to Hawaii. Maybe what she should do was go over by herself and bring Keiki to the Big Island after the robbers had been caught. “If they get caught,” she muttered. Keiki looked up at her questioningly, and Lei patted her head. “Never mind, girl. I’m sure we’ll catch them soon.”

  Lei had been too stressed out by receiving the letter to talk to Aunty about the situation; it helped that Rosario was still at the restaurant when they’d left on patrol.

  Lei was distracted, so she almost missed seeing a dart of movement out of the corner of her eye—but Keiki stopped abruptly, a growl rumbling in her broad chest.

  Lei tweaked her leash and they fell back into a black pool of darkness cast by one of the sheltering oak trees that shaded the sidewalk during the day.

  There it was again . . . a tiny flash of light, as if from a penlight, at the side of one of the bungalows only three houses down from Aunty’s place.

  Lei was suddenly wide awake.

  She pressed against the rough bark of the tree, quieting Keiki as they focused on the activity near the house’s window.

  This was their chance to catch the robbers! Determined as Lei was to confront the robbers herself, they needed backup. She fumbled her phone out of her pocket, calling the direct line they had to the police patrols in their area.

  Lei whispered the location and address to the dispatcher, and told them that she saw an attempted break-in happening. She asked for the police to come quickly and keep their lights and sirens off. The dispatcher told Lei a unit would be there shortly; she should stay back and observe.

  “Of course,” Lei said—but she had no intention of doing that.

  Sliding her phone into her pocket, Lei and Keiki headed stealthily toward the disturbance. Lei slid her flashlight—the large, heavy metal type used by police officers as a weapon as well as a light source—out of its belt loop. She raised the light to shoulder level, readying to flash it on the burglars.

  She and Keiki moved closer, sliding quietly across the soft grass of the bungalow’s lawn. Lei rested a restraining hand on Keiki’s head as the dog persisted in a low growl; she didn’t want the perps to hear them as they sneaked to the side of the house near the activity.

  In the dim moonlight, two dark figures were setting a ladder against the side of the house. Lei waited until one of the figures was on the ladder before she moved in as closely as she dared, hitting the flashlight’s ON button.

  The blinding beam illuminated two men dressed all in black and wearing ski masks. The brightness that froze the two men also burned Lei’s retinas. “Stop right where you are! Police are on their way!” Lei yelled at full volume. Keiki lunged forward, snarling and barking, a ferocious and terrifying sound.

  The robber on the ladder lost his grip and fell to the ground with a cry. The one steadying the ladder spun around to face them—and he held a weapon in his hand.

  Keiki strained at the end of the leash, eager to sink her teeth into someone. But if Lei let her go, the robber would shoot her dog! Lei couldn’t let go of Keiki’s leash. Her only chance was to intimidate the men into surrender.

  “Drop your weapon!” Lei shouted. “Drop it now!”

  The robber fired the gun.

  The loudness of the pistol’s report stole Lei’s breath. She threw herself down over Keiki instinctively, bearing the startled dog to the ground. She ran her hands over the squirming Rottweiler, terrified that the dog had been shot—but Keiki struggled to get to her feet and pursue her quarry. “Down, girl!”

  Lei had her hands full, keeping control of Keiki and still terrified of her dog being shot. The robber who’d fallen scrambled to his feet with the help of the one holding the gun, and the two men ran for it, their legs illuminated for a moment in the fallen flashlight’s beam.

  House lights came on insid
e the bungalow, and a screech of tires at the sidewalk alerted Lei to the arrival of the police.

  Lei sat up, pulling Keiki in close, rubbing her dog’s chest and calming her. Keiki vibrated with rage and passion to catch the robbers, still growling. Her dog had never even flinched at the terrible sound of the gunshot, but Lei trembled with shock at how close they might’ve come to being killed.

  Two officers stormed up onto the lawn. “Identify yourself!”

  Lei stood up, still holding Keiki’s leash, but raising her empty free hand. “I’m with the neighborhood watch! I’m the one that called you. The robbers are running, and they went that way!” The officers took off in the direction Lei pointed.

  Lei ran her hands down Keiki’s sides, checking her all over for injury—her dog was sweating and trembling, her muscular body vibrating. “It’s okay, girl. You did good. Settle down, now.”

  That had been close—too close.

  The owners of the house ran out onto their porch in their pajamas: a couple and a teenage boy, all of them holding baseball bats.

  Lei hesitantly approached, Keiki tight against her side. “Your house was about to be invaded,” Lei said. “The robbers were getting in up that ladder to the window. I’m with the neighborhood watch. I was able to call the police in time.”

  “What was that gunshot?” the father of the house exclaimed.

  “They took a shot at us.” Lei’s whole body burst out in sweat and she began to tremble. “I shined my light on them, and they ran away.”

  “I’m on the neighborhood patrol, too,” the man said, coming down from the porch. “Are you injured? Did they hit you or your dog?”

  “Thanks, we’re okay.”

  The man took in her all-black outfit. “Aren’t you supposed to be wearing reflective clothing?”

  “I missed the memo on that,” Lei lied.

  Soon the police officers came trotting back. “They got away.”