by Toby Neal
They scanned the reports again for a while.
“No mention of it. He could have taken anything because they were all dumped naked, missing their jewelry.”
“Let’s assume he takes pictures of them,” Stevens said. “When Jesika Vierra saw him, he wore a black ski mask. She reported him as five-ten or five-eleven, lean build, athletic. That does not match Reynolds. He’s six-three and on the big side, as I said.”
“We could have a couple of predators operating,” Jeremy said.
“Not likely. Sex crimes like this are rare here in Hawaii. No, I think there’s one Campsite Rapist. He wears a ski mask to make sure the women don’t identify him. And then there’s Reynolds, who did the Mohuli`i girls.”
“Okay. We need more on him then.” Lei set her coffee down.
“And therein lies the rub.”
Lei reached over and picked up Cassie’s picture. “I’d like to interview her, see what she can remember about being photographed. She’s the only one who had anything to say about the photography angle, and that could be something linking her to Reynolds.”
“Good idea. Let’s interview all our Big Island victims, see if anything new pops. I’ll set it up.”
Jeremy put the materials back in the folder and handed it to Stevens, who tucked it under his arm as they stood.
“Good job,” he said. He seemed to be waiting for something, or reluctant to leave.
“How are the new guys working out?”
“Good. They’re getting up to speed pretty quick. In fact, Jeremy, I’d like you to work with them tomorrow while Texeira and I do the rape victim interviews.” Jeremy nodded, expressionless, as Stevens hooked up his jacket off the back of the chair. “I wish we had even more people working the case, but I’m glad Captain Brown sent them over. I’ll see you later.” He turned abruptly.
Lei watched their retreating backs, sighed, and went to find Pono out on patrol.
Much later, class was finally over. Lei packed up her books, sliding them into her bag. Ray Solomon handed her the last one. He’d come in late, sliding into the seat beside her with an unrepentant wink.
“Mary’s still not here,” he said, frowning.
“Yeah,” Lei said. What the hell. Maybe he knows something. “Mary’s officially missing. She disappeared Tuesday afternoon and no one’s seen her since. Got any ideas?”
Ray’s hazel eyes went wide.
“Holy shit. Not a frickin’ clue. I can’t believe a police officer can just disappear like that.”
“Anyone can,” Lei said, biting off her words. “Mary’s a good cop but there are ways to disable even the best. We don’t know that there has been foul play, but her boyfriend insists something bad has happened to her and I believe him.”
“Wow,” Ray said, shaking his head. “She was so sassy, so full of life.”
“She’s not dead,” Lei said, hefting her book bag. “Don’t even think it.” She set off for her truck, striding fast. When she glanced back, Ray was staring after her.
She beeped open the truck and hopped in, throwing the book bag behind the seat and turning the key. The growl of the engine sounded like a welcome. She locked the doors, and then rested her head on the steering wheel for a moment.
She pulled her cell phone out and speed-dialed Mary’s number, only to hear it go to voicemail yet again. It must be turned off, or destroyed. The thought made her stomach clench. Maybe she’d just run away from Roland, taken a quick trip to the Mainland...but Lono would have found her by now. Lei put the truck in gear, pulling out of the lot onto the main road and deliberately turning her mind to the events of the day.
Snapping her out of the reverie, a black Toyota truck swerved into her lane, cutting her off as it accelerated. She was sure it was the same truck she had chased before. Adrenaline surged as she hit the gas, following its speeding trajectory.
The black truck careened down the two-lane highway. He’s not getting away from me this time, she thought, feeling a reckless grin bare her teeth. She shifted gears with a satisfying roar as she followed the truck out of town, tires holding around the turn that had nearly sent her old Honda off the road.
She veered around another car, its horn blaring in protest. The road opened up after that, a glimmering ribbon in the moonlight. The jungle flowed by, a trackless wilderness of dense black on either side of the highway.
Lei floored it. Her new vehicle answered with a surge of power that flung her back against the contoured seat. She was gaining and began pulling alongside, laying on the horn.
In answer the other truck pulled ahead, weaving to keep her behind. It cranked a left turn, gravel flying, onto a dirt side road, headlights bouncing crazily. Lei followed, frowning as they both had to slow down, bucking through potholes.
The black truck rained gravel and dirt on her shiny new hood as her high beams danced over the landscape.What the hell was she doing? Was this chase another bad move like letting Keiki off her leash? Self-doubt assailed her as Lei hit a particularly deep rut and banged her head on the roof as she levitated off the seat.
Still, it was the only lead she had…
The dirt road wound down into a steep canyon bisected by a stream. Water flowed across a low, rutted cement causeway. The black truck hit the stream, water arching up and raining down on Lei’s windshield, blinding her. As they hit the water her Toyota hydroplaned, fishtailing and spinning sideways. It stalled, facing upstream, one of the front tires dropping off the edge of the cement into deeper water.
“Dammit!” Lei screamed. She turned the key—her truck roared back to life and she put it in four-wheel drive, easing backward on the slippery causeway until all four tires were back on the surface. Then with a careful turn, she headed out of the stream and onto the dirt track. By the time she got to the top of the canyon, the black Toyota had disappeared without even a dust cloud to mark its trail.
Chapter Twenty-Five
She pulled into her garage, snapping shut her phone from calling Stevens to let him know about the chase. Her vehicle dripped from the car wash, fortunately no worse for its first off road adventure. She returned Keiki’s happy cries of welcome with an ear rub through the fence and was unlocking the house when Stevens’ unmarked Bronco pulled up at the curb.
“Good thing I was already on my way over.” He strode to the porch. Lei switched on all the exterior lights. She really needed to replace that sensor light on the side of the house, she thought as Stevens followed her inside.
Reaction was setting in, and trembling in her hands had progressed to waves of shivering. She suddenly wondered what she’d have done if the black Toyota had pulled over and let her approach. She had her Glock, but no creds or handcuffs with her, not to mention any grounds for an arrest.
Maybe it was a good thing the chase had ended the way it had.
“I’m cold.” She went into her room, pulling the fluffy comforter off her bed and wrapping herself in it, collapsing on the couch. Stevens went to the fridge and pulled out two of the Heinekens, uncapped them and handed her one.
Lei took a long drink, burped, sighed. Stevens sat on the battered coffee table facing her, elbows on his knees, blue eyes intent.
“So you chased him,” he said. “Let’s start there.”
“I don’t know it was him, not really. I just had a feeling.” She took another sip of beer, scrunching the comforter tighter. “Anyway on my way home from class he came out of nowhere, that same black Toyota truck. I followed him out of town, tried to get him to pull over. He turned off on a cane road. My truck spun out on the causeway and I lost him. End of story.”
Stevens got up, went to where the futon was folded next to the couch, pushed the coffee table out of the way, laid it on the floor. The sheets were folded inside, and without a word he spread them, straightened them, banged his pillow into shape and lay down, his arms folded behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling.
“Someone’s driving a black Toyota truck that you’ve chased twice. And
you have no idea if this is the guy, really.”
“Basically.”
It did sound ridiculous when put that way. “My gut tells me it’s him, though.” She yawned, going to the fridge. “If I weren’t so hungry I’d fall asleep.”
They ended up eating bowls of Cheerios at the kitchen table, and Lei said, “I gotta tell you something I keep forgetting to let you know. I’m going out with Tom on Saturday.”
“What? Are you kidding me?”
“He ran into me in the park, asked me out. I thought I might be able to get some information out of him.”
“There’s a lot we don’t know about this situation. I don’t think it’s safe to assume anything. This guy has the means and opportunity to be the stalker. He could have another pickup somewhere.”
“I thought I’d take a chance on it. You know, keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”
“Stupid idea—lotta people have died trying that one.”
“Maybe I just want to go out with him. He’s kinda hot.” She peeked up at him from under her lashes.
“I’ll show you hot.”
He reached over and hooked an arm around her neck, pulling her over. She squeaked in surprise as he kissed her, a thorough exploration that made yesterday’s kiss seem like kindergarten. Lei blinked when they finally came up for air, touching swollen lips with her fingers.
“Thought we weren’t supposed to do that.”
“You were trying to make me jealous, and it worked. Damn your womanly wiles.” He spanked her on the butt and gave her a gentle shove toward the doorway. “Off to bed with you before I get into even more trouble.”
Dawn was bleeding up into the sky as he hefted Mary up out of the bed of the pickup truck. He carried her over his shoulder across the damp grass of the deserted park, shadowed by tall ironwood trees and steep cliffs. The occasional car whizzed by on the bridge far overhead. Her cuffed hands, dangling limply, banged into the back of his thighs.
He walked to the edge of the rushing stream, where the exposed black bones of the earth jutted up, a jumble of lava rocks. He dropped Mary there, her head bouncing off the stones, her body a white-wrapped mummy. He leaned down, hearing a faint whistle of breath slip past her lips. She was still alive, but barely. That asthma was a bitch.
He’d had to Taser her last night, and then drug her for their activities. Couldn’t afford to keep her any longer.
The roiling brown water was only feet away. He unwrapped her and threw the sheet far out into the stream. He arranged her long black hair over her body, scraped under her battered fingernails one more time with a toothpick to remove any remaining evidence, and took a last picture, taking care with the composition. He pinched her nipple with a gloved finger.
“Bye, Mary.”
He nudged her with his foot, and she slid off the rocks and rolled facedown into the stream with only a small splash. He put his camera on multi-frame and clicked off half a dozen shots as the current caught her and carried her out to sea, her hair a dark flag behind her.
She never once lifted her head for a breath.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Lei pushed through the doors into the station. Her hair was still damp from her run and a few handfuls of CurlTamer, and there was a spring to her walk. Stevens had been gone when she got up, but she still felt a little bubble of happy when she thought of the coffee he’d started and the neatly folded bedding and futon.
Sam looked up from his crossword.
“Hey girl. You looking sassy.”
“Feeling sassy, thank you,” she said, as she gave his collar a tug. “How’s the crossword?”
“It’s a tough one this week. I’m thinking of switching to Sudoku.”
“I won’t be able to help you with that. Bad with numbers.” She pushed through the second set of doors to the bull pen, got her cup of inky coffee, and booted up her aging IBM. Pono eventually rolled in.
“Hey,” she said, looking up from the endless departmental E-mail. “You look tired.”
“Baby’s got something again,” he said, sneezing.
“Sounds like you do too,” she said. “I think I might have chased the stalker last night, and since you wanted me to keep you informed…”
“Fill me in,” he said, flopping into his rump-sprung office chair. She did.
“Man. You starting a whole new crime-fighting day when you get off work,” he said. “I getting tired just hearing about it.”
“Me too. It seems like it’s escalating.”
“No kidding. He went from a note, to a note with evidence, to sending you a package ...I think he’s going to try to make face-to-face contact soon. We gotta be prepared.”
Lei’s cell rang. She dug it out of her backpack.
“Hello?”
“Lono Smith from Pahoa PD. A woman matching Mary’s description has been found washed up in Uli`i Park. I’m heading down to the morgue to see about making an ID.”
“Oh my God. No!” Lei said, as her heart hammered and stomach dropped. “What’s happened to her?”
“Drowned.”
“I can identify her. I’m coming down,” she stated, and shut her phone. Detachment dropped over her like a cloak.
“We need to go to the morgue,” she said to Pono. “Mary might’ve been found.” Her lips felt numb as her mouth formed the words.
“Oh shit.”
They hurried out the front door, Pono telling Dispatch where they were headed. Lei fired up the Crown Vic and they roared onto the main road. Her hands felt greasy on the wheel and there was a tunnel quality to her vision.
“Maybe it’s not her. I have to go see.” Lei reached down to pinch her leg, hard, through her regulation slacks. The pain helped, and her vision expanded again.
“I should be driving,” Pono grabbed for the dash as Lei whipped around another vehicle, hitting the siren and lights. It was no time before they pulled into the emergency area of Hilo Hospital. Lei double-parked the Crown Victoria and they jogged into the lobby, where Lono Smith had already arrived with his partner, a lean haole guy he introduced them to as Brett Samuels.
They walked down the echoing linoleum hall to the elevator and Lono pressed G for the basement. In the long empty moment of watching the elevator lights and listening to the bing of them changing, Lei focused on her breathing, not allowing herself to think. Her heart roared and her stomach heaved, but by holding the pressure point in the web of her hand and taking one small slow breath after another, she was able to get off the elevator and walk down the hall to the morgue.
They pushed through the swinging doors into the pistachio green tile-lined room with its steel tables, deep sinks, and shiny row of refrigerator boxes. Morgues have a unique smell, and this one smelt of powerful, nose-tickling lemon cleaner with a decomp chaser that clung to the back of Lei’s throat.
“We thought we’d have you guys identify her first,” the morgue assistant said. “We’d like to spare the family looking at the wrong body if possible.”
“What happened to her?” Lei asked as the assistant unlatched one of the refrigerator box doors with a vacuum-seal pop. Her nerves felt exposed, as if her skin was peeled off. She curled her hand into a fist, the nails cutting into her palm.
“Looks like drowning though we haven’t done the autopsy yet.”
He pulled the sliding rack out and the detectives clustered around as he lifted the drape off the shape he’d revealed.
Mary’s dark skin was grayish and her lips were deep purple. Her eyes were a little open, her eyelashes cartoonishly long. There was a little brown mole beside her mouth Lei had never noticed before.
“It’s her,” Lono said. “I’m the detective on the case, so you can uncover the body.”
Please don’t, Lei thought desperately, but of course he did.
Mary’s body told the story of her struggle, from bruises braceleting her wrists to the shadowy marks of hands on her hips and vivid welts from the Taser. Lei felt the blood leave her head and sh
e swayed, grabbing the edge of the steel table and accidentally, unforgettably touching the marble-cold flesh of Mary’s arm.
Pono’s voice came from a long way away. “Her friend,” she thought he said, before his warm bulk hoisted her against his side and he supported her down the hall, choked and blinded by grief and horror.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Saturday dawned overcast and drizzly, as it often was in Hilo. Lei misted her orchids on their plastic shelving under the mango tree, Keiki panting contentedly beside her. It was almost time to bring one of the phalaenopsis inside. Two butterfly-like blooms had opened on its graceful stem, with a row of buds promising more. Delicate purple tracery marked the ‘veins’ of the blood orchid, a rare variety.
There were apparently still beautiful things in the world.
She’d gone home and cried her eyes dry, then gone to bed. She was barely aware of Stevens coming over, and he’d wisely left her alone. This morning’s emotional hangover was the worst she ever remembered.
Lei wondered again what it was about her that brought such bad luck. She remembered telling Mary that, and the way her friend had dismissed it. Now all those possibilities, including their friendship, would never happen for a beautiful, brave, fun-loving woman named Mary who should’ve had her whole life ahead. At the thought Lei’s eyes filled again and she blinked rapidly.
“Good morning.”
She turned, mister in hand, every movement feeling heavy and slow. Stevens was leaning in the back doorway, a cup of coffee in his hand, holding another out to her. His hair was rumpled, his blue eyes dark and sleepy, and he hadn’t put on a shirt. His jeans rode low on his lean hips and looked like they were going to fall off. This would have interested her on a different day, she thought with the muffled objectivity that cloaked her.
“Thanks,” she said, walking over and taking the mug.
