Page 51 of Emi's Hero

She collapsed into him, her face white, her gaze glued to the photo.

“That’s him.”

CHAPTER 12

Emi’s heartthudded against her chest as she stared at the face of the man who’d held her hostage for eight long years—the man who’d brutalized her and then tossed her overboard to die.

He stood in the background, appearing as if he was talking to other guests at whatever event they were attending.

“What event was this?” George asked.

“The Annual Charity Luau on Oahu last year,” Kyla said.

“Is this a photo from a news story?” Hawk asked.

“It is,” Kyla said. “But it only names Hollingsworth and John Ka?aihue, a local leader representing the people of Hawaii at the luau.”

“I just looked up this year’s luau speakers and prominent attendees,” Swede said. “John Ka?aihue and Edgar Hollingsworth are scheduled to attend, as well as many of the same big-ticket contributors as last year.”

“We could try to run that man’s image through a facial recognition database to see if we can get a hit,” Kyla said. “He’s a bit blurred in the photo. It might not be clear enough.”

“Most of the same people will be at the luau tomorrow night,” Kalea said. “Hawk and I can be on the lookout for him.”

Emi faced Kalea and Hawk. “I need to be there. I know his face better than any of you. If he’s there, I’ll recognize him.”

“I’ll arrange tickets for you and George,” Mr. Parkman said. “And I know Edgar Hollingsworth personally. I could take a copy of the photo with me and ask him if he knows the man.”

“We could have the Honolulu Police on standby when you do point him out,” Kalea said.

“No.” Emi shook her head violently. “We can’t. Assuming Sara is still at the compound, he could have left word to get rid of her if anything happened to him. He can’t know we’re on to him until we find Sara and free her.” Her jaw hardened, and her hands clenched into fists. “Then you can call in the police, the FBI, the National Guard and anyone else we need to take that bastard down.”

“I’m putting the team on alert,” Hawk said. “When we locate Fallon, we’ll need time for Swede and Kyla to dig into the records to find all his properties on the islands.”

“What if he leaves the luau and goes directly to the compound?” Emi said. “He’d planned to be away for several days before returning. If he’s a regular attendee at the luau, he might have planned to attend all along and go back to the compound when it was over.”

“Then we follow him,” George said.

“We do that with a little added assurance.” Hawk stood and walked over to a wall full of cabinets and drawers. He pulled open a drawer and fished selected several items from inside. When he came back to the others, he laid the items on the table.

Swede grinned on the big screen. “You’re going to tag him with a tracking device.”

Hawk nodded. “One of us will have to get close enough to him to slip it into his pocket. Every one of us that attends will carry one of these. Whoever has the best opportunity to slip iton the target will make the drop.” He turned to Emi. “For this to work without endangering Sara, you’ll have to go in disguise.”

Emi nodded, her heart pounding in her chest, hope growing inside. If all went according to plan, she might have her daughter back in her arms soon.

“The plan depends on Fallon, or whatever his name is, going back to the compound. If he goes back to his home, he’ll change out of his clothes and lose the tag.”

George met Hawk’s gaze. “All the more reason to follow him until he makes the move to go to the compound,” George said.

“Right,” Hawk said. “If he gets on the yacht, we need to be right on his tail to tag that watercraft. We can’t lose it. Tailing him in another boat would be too obvious and alert him to the fact he’s being followed.”

“While your Hawaii team plans for tomorrow’s activities,” Swede said, “Kyla and I will dig into the guest list and try to find the real name of our target.”

“Thanks, Swede, Kyla,” Hawk said.

“Yes,” Emi said. “Thank you.” Their digging had come up with a kernel of knowledge, giving Emi the hope she needed to carry her through and give her the strength to find and free her daughter.

“Out here,” Swede and Kyla said at once. Their faces disappeared, leaving a blue screen.

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