Page 30 of Ethan's Command

A feeling of unease settled on Ethan. The guys in the van must have been following Brooklyn before the grab attempt in order for them to know she and Liam would walk up to the stoplight. They could have easily parked in the other direction. There was no guarantee that they would walk to the light.

He didn’t look forward to broaching that subject with her. She was frustrated enough that the kids hadn’t noticed anything. Once he confronted her with the fact that she hadn’t noticed it either, she was going to hurt.

Ethan continued to watch the traffic. It just solidified his notion that this was not a good spot for a kidnapping. Too many people around. Too much traffic to guarantee a swift getaway. No way to even be sure the light would be in their favor which would mean they might have to run the red and try to avoid hitting anyone. More and more, he believed this was not a professional job. Whoever the guys were, they didn’t seem to know how to criminal.

But that didn’t jibe with the whole Yakuza thing. If the van was owned by the front company of the Yakuza, surely they would send experienced thugs who knew what the hell they were doing. Brooklyn said they were young. Maybe they were trying to impress the gang bosses. Still, he couldn’t connect Liam to the Yakuza.

Ethan got out of his pickup and went over to the t-shirt shop first. He went inside and pretended to shop as he scouted around. No cameras, or at least none that he could see, and if he couldn’t see them then, they wouldn’t have the kind of angle needed anyway. The t-shirt shop had been a long shot.

He headed across the street to the restaurant. It was right on the corner where the incident occurred. In an ideal world, they would have cameras that picked up something. Ethan walked inside, and immediately, his heart sank. It was a hole-in-the-wall kind of place that served exceptional food but was bare bones about everything else. Great if you want a good meal. Shitty if you wanted anything else.

“Aloha, you can sit anywhere,” the young woman said from behind a lunch counter.

“That’s okay.” Ethan offered her a smile. “I just had a couple of questions.” He approached the counter. “By any chance, do you have cameras in here?”

The young woman frowned as she tucked her long dark hair up in a bun. “No, no cameras. The cops asked the same thing the other day when those guys tried to grab that kid.”

“You were here for that?” Ethan’s hopes rose. “I’m working with the boy’s family to figure out what’s going on. Did you recognize anyone?”

She shook her head. “Nope, never saw any of them before…which is kind of odd when I think about it. The Big Island isn’t that big when it comes to locals, you know? They looked to be about my age so you’d think I would have run into them somewhere.” She shook her head.

Ethan’s hopes sank. He pulled out a card from his back pocket and handed it to her. “If you think of anything or see those guys again, give me a call.”

“Sure,” she said as she took the card and then picked up the coffee pot heading toward the end of the counter to refill a few cups.

Ethan stood on the sidewalk and debated going down to talk to the café owner, Dave, but he couldn’t see any point really. If Dave knew anything he would have reached out by the sound of things. Instead, Ethan headed across the street to the dry cleaners.

He held the door open for a customer on her way out and then walked in. A young man stood at the counter serving another patron. Ethan glanced around as he waited. No obvious cameras. He looked up on the shelf over on the far wall and a smile touched his lips as he spied a nanny cam hidden in theplant. He wondered if the kid behind the counter even knew it was there.

The other patron left, and the young man switched his focus to Ethan. “Can I help you?”

“Yes, is the owner here, or the manager?”

The young man frowned. “She’s in the back, but are you sure I can’t help you with something?”

“Were you here the other day during the attempted kidnapping of the boy across the street?”

“It was awful,” the clerk lamented.

“Did you recognize any of the men involved?” Ethan asked.

“No. Never seen them before.”

Ethan tried another tact. “Did the cops ask you about having any cameras?”

This time he got a nod. “Yes, they did, but, unfortunately, we don’t have any.”

Ethan had figured as much. The kid had no idea that a nanny camera was there. It was well hidden in the greenery. So much so that it made it obvious that the owner didn’t want anyone to know they were watching. “I would like to speak to the owner please.”

The young man shrugged. “Okay.” He disappeared behind a rack of clothing and then reappeared a moment later with a diminutive Asian woman in tow.

“How can I help you?” she asked in a surprisingly deep voice.

Ethan smiled. “Could we talk privately?”

She frowned and glanced at the clerk. “Ollie, please go in the back and check the latest deliveries. Make sure everything is ready to go out.”

Ollie said nothing but disappeared behind the rack of dry cleaning again.

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