Page 18 of Shark Cove

Harry headed for Regina’s suite with Lei in her wake.

Inside the sumptuous bathroom off the bedroom, Lei took pictures of the many kinds of medications revealed inside the cabinet and drawers.

Harry opened a cupboard beneath the sink, pointing to an empty space right in front. “Malia said there was a box of rat poison here. Some time ago, Camille was hospitalized after a poisoning incident that Regina claimed was self-inflicted. She sent Camille to all sorts of experts for treatment and evaluation, but both Camille and Malia maintain that Camille would never have made a suicidal gesture. Malia thinks that Regina, for some reason, is doing harm to her daughter, maybe to gouge her ex-husband, maybe for some other reason.”

The hair rose on the back of Lei’s neck as she looked around the luxurious, well-appointed bathroom with its many beautification devices, unguents, potions and concoctions. “That closet of Camille’s gave me chicken skin.”

“Something stinks around here,” Harry agreed. Her amber-brown eyes narrowed. “I don’t like Regina William. I think she knows more than she’s telling us. Let’s bring her in.”

“Excellent idea,” Lei said. “I can’t wait to be bad cop.” She smiled, and it wasn’t a nice smile. “Let’s find that rat poison.”

They searched the house, garage, and grounds. The yellow box of rat poison Malia had described was gone.

Regina William stalledthe interview down at the station until she was able to appear with her lawyer, Keoni Chapman.

Lei heaved an internal sigh at the sight of the man, someone she had dealt with before on other cases. Chapman wore a lightweight linen suit and had sprayed down his blond combover; he was a perfect match for Regina, who wore a cream-colored sheath dress with a necklace of large, shiny gold links. She looked as out of place in the grubby, utilitarian Kahului police station as an exotic white cockatoo.

Harry gestured for Regina and her lawyer to follow them. “I’ve got us booked into Interview Room Number Two,” she said to Lei.

Lei nodded and brought up the rear, following the pair inside the bare room with its bolted-down steel table and chairs. Regina dusted her seat before tentatively perching on the edge of it, as if the heavy steel was a branch that would break beneath her weight. She took a sanitary tissue out of a plastic envelope in her bag and wiped down the table. “I just want to register, for the record, that I am highly offended by all of these proceedings.”

Harry’s smile was a mere twitch of her full lips. “Well then, we better get you on the record so we can get you out of this dump.” She cast her eyes to Lei. “Would you like to do the honors? Or should I?”

“Why don’t you, since you and Ms. William are already acquainted?”

Harry turned back to Regina and recited the Miranda warning. “Is there anything you don’t understand about what I’ve told you?”

Chapman placed a beefy hand on Regina’s arm. “I have advised Ms. William to cooperate with these proceedings, however distasteful, since she has brought you the concern about her daughter. She understands she is not a suspect in any of this, and these things are just procedure.”

“Absolutely,” Harry said with a plastic smile.

Lei turned on the recording gear. Often interviewees were lulled into forgetting that the equipment even existed, hidden as it was in a small unobtrusive dome above the table.

“Why don’t you tell us about the time that your daughter ingested rat poison,” Lei said, baring her teeth in a smile.

Regina William’s mouth fell open slightly; she stuttered. “Th-that was months ago. I don’t remember . . .”

“How is this relevant to Camille William’s disappearance?” The lawyer asked. “Please keep the questions relevant to the investigation at hand.”

“The question is relevant in that it speaks to motivation for Camille running away,” Harry said.

Regina fiddled with a gold bangle on her wrist. “My daughter has been emotionally unstable since my divorce from her father over a year ago. She has often been withdrawn. She has difficulty with friendships, choosing unsavory companionship.”

Harry’s brows drew together. “I hope you’re not inferring anything about my daughter?”

“Oh, I would never!” Regina William’s laughter was as brittle as broken glass. “But you have to admit that the girls are often secretive. I believe your daughter is responsible for the clothing choices hidden in the back of Camille’s closet.”

“You have not answered my question,” Lei said, cutting off Harry’s indignant rebuttal.

“Tell us more about this relationship with your daughter, Detective Clark,” Chapman demanded.

“I’ll ask the questions, counselor,” Lei said. She turned to Regina. “Tell us about the rat poison.”

Regina scowled. “Camille’s developed an eating disorder. She dosed herself with the poison, probably as a cry for help or an attempt to lose weight, according to one of the psychologists who evaluated her. Camille denies that she did it at all.”

Lei let that go for the moment. “Why don’t you tell us more about this emotional instability.”

“Well, Camille has been secretive, as I’ve said. She is overeating outside the home. I have had to restrict her caloric intake when she’s at home. I hired a personal trainer to work with us; of course, I wouldn’t expect my daughter to do anything that I wasn’t willing to do as well.” Regina preened a little, tossing her hair back. “I try to give Camille every advantage. That’s why it’s been so worrisome that she’s put on weight.”

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