“Of course.I’ll get it to your office as soon as possible.”
The sunset was fading into indigo as they headed for the chopper.Sophie wished she had longer to spend on Maui—maybe even time to see her friend Lei—but they were on to their next crime scene.
This one, the site of a murder as well as the theft of a pricelesslei hulu.
13
SOPHIE
The helicopter descendedthrough darkness toward the Kohala Coast off the Big Island of Hawaii, fighting crosswinds that made Sophie’s stomach lurch.
Below, the island’s northwestern shore curved like a broken backbone, its scattered lights fragile definition against a vast black Pacific.The aircraft bucked suddenly—here, trade winds funneled between the towering volcanoes of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa with vicious force, creating air pockets that dropped them ten feet without warning.
“Five minutes,” the pilot announced, his voice tight with concentration.
Meanwhile, Marcella was in a heated exchange with local law enforcement; Sophie read her lips as she spoke through her headphones on a private channel.“Yes, I understand Detective Multon wants jurisdiction ...No, this case is part of an ongoing federal investigation ...”Her knuckles were white where she gripped her phone.“I’ll explain it to him when we land.”
Sophie caught Feirn’s eye.He’d been silent since calling Connor, but his stillness had the quality of a cobra coiled before striking.In the cabin’s dim lighting, his eyes gleamed with intelligence.The young ninja’s hand rested casually on his thigh, inches from where a knife was concealed—and that was only one of the many weapons he carried.
A landing pad materialized below them; it was a parking lot, ringed by police vehicles whose flashing lights turned the world into a disorienting disco.
They touched down hard with the pilot fighting the wind until the last second.Sophie glimpsed the estate beyond: a sprawling single-story plantation house hugging a bluff above the sea, its silvery metal roof reflecting the red and blue lights.
They exited the aircraft into air so different from Maui’s humidity it made Sophie’s sinuses tighten.The Kohala Coast sat in Mauna Kea’s rain shadow, creating a microclimate that smelled of dust and drought-tolerantkiawetrees.Warm wind carried traces of the incongruous sweetness of a nearby bank of plumeria trees.
A thick-necked plainclothes officer stalked toward them, his tight polo shirt sporting sweat rings under the arms despite the evening hour.“Special Agent Scott?I’m Detective Fred Multon, Kona PD.”His pidgin-accented English carried anger.“I need fo’ know why the FBI thinks this murder on my island is federal jurisdiction.”
Marcella squared her shoulders, her FBI windbreaker snapping in the breeze.She pitched her voice to carry over the gusts.“Detective, this murder is connected to a series of thefts across multiple islands that may have international connections with a terrorist organization.That makes it federal.I’m not here to steal your case, but to support you.Work with me, or I call your chief and take it over.Your choice.”
A muscle jumped in Multon’s jaw.Behind him, three other Kona uniformed officers formed a loose semicircle, their crossed arms and spread legs telegraphing ‘backup.’
Finally, Multon ducked his head in a gesture that indicated he had made up his mind.“The victim is Samuel Akamu,” Multon finally said.“Aged sixty-three.Retired from Silicon Valley.Dude moved here ten years ago to ‘reconnect with his roots.’”. Sarcasm dripped from his tone.“Started buying up Hawaiian artifacts like he was shopping for groceries.”
“Sign in and I’ll take you up to the house.”Marcella signed the crime scene log and fell in beside him; the backup boys remained at the crime-scene-taped perimeter as Sophie and Feirn signed as well, and then trotted to catch up.
“The Medical Examiner has been and gone.The body’s already at the morgue,” Multon said as they approached the front of the house.
“Now you tell me,” Marcella said, scowling.“I wanted to see the victimin situ.”
“The crime happened last night.Akamu’s wife found him.We’d been working the scene all day before we heard the Feds were interfering,” Multon snapped.
“You mean helping,” Marcella said.“How was he killed?”
“Throat slashed.Looks like he surprised the thieves as they were looting the collection in his study.”Multon glanced back to Sophie and Feirn.“These your people?”
“Consultants,” Marcella said.“Specialists in the field.”She didn’t introduce them.Sophie was relieved.Explaining their roles to a cop like this wasn’t going to go well.
Crime scene tape that had come loose and whipped in the wind seemed to usher them through massive koa doors.Inside, the house was all soaring ceilings and polished concrete.Every surface gleamed with the kind of perfection that required a big staff.Contemporary Hawaiian art hung on whitewashed walls; each piece lit by hidden LED probably cost more than most people’s cars.
Sophie noticed a child’s tricycle parked in an alcove.Showplace this might be, it was also a family’s home.
“This way.”Multon led them down a hallway that smelled faintly of lemon polish.The coppery tang of blood soon overshadowed that as they approached an interior door that gaped open like a mouth.
Sophie paused in the doorway as Marcella and the detective went inside, approaching a dark red pool that took up the center of the room.The smeared shape of a body marred it, showing Akamu’s death position.A plumeria flower was smeared and stuck in the coagulated fluid.
“The victim must have completely bled out,” Marcella said.“That’s a lot of volume.”
“Yup,” Multon said.“M.E.said the cut went to the bone.Knife must have been hella sharp; there are a lot of ligaments and tendons to get through in a slash like that.”
