Page 60 of Shark Cove

Lei pointed to the huge combination lock, thick chain, and shiny metal of the gate. “This is all-new, top-of-the-line stuff. Why the expense for all this if it’s just an empty lot?”

“Let’s find out.”

They helped each other clamber over the slatted metal gate, then walked up a muddy dirt road. The thick guava grove gave little visibility on either side. Lei studied the track made by two wheel-shaped gouges in the turf, but tread marks at the edges looked fresh. She pointed. “Someone came this way not long ago.”

Pono nodded. They drew their weapons, holding them in the low-ready position as they moved forward alertly.

The tracks curved sharply to the left, causing Lei to suck in a breath at what she saw as they came around the last of the sheltering grove of trees into an open, grassy area.

A long metal Matson shipping container, often used for storage in the islands, nestled at the edge of the fenced lot, close to the guava grove. The rest of the property was an open pasture.

Lei and Pono scanned carefully but saw no sign of humans—though a camera node was mounted to the top of the container, overlooking the door.

They’d probably already been spotted.

“No one around to hear you call for help,” Lei said grimly.

They approached the container carefully, staying out of direct line of sight from the door, which appeared to be padlocked shut, but there was no telling if someone was guarding the merchandise by hiding inside the container.

Once they got within range. Pono lifted his weapon. “Should I shoot the camera out?”

“No. We want to find where that surveillance is being monitored from. That will end up being part of the case,” Lei said. As time went on in her career, she was more and more aware that it wasn’t enough to simply catch a criminal in the act or stop a crime from happening; she had to try to set up the rest of the case for the prosecution, or things could fall apart even at the booking stage.

Lei and Pono split up and approached the container from the sides. Once they reached the huge metal box, Lei reached over to knock on the fitted, padlocked metal door at one end of the container. “Maui Police Department! Is anyone inside?”

A hollow, metallic, but distinct thumping came from within. “Help me!” a faint voice called.

Lei’s eyes grew wide as she met Pono’s gaze. “Shit!”

She holstered her weapon and advanced to the padlocked door. She pounded on the door again, calling out, “We’re here to help! We’ll get you out of there!”

Three loud thumps came back.

Lei tugged at the big padlock, looking over at Pono. “In the movies, they shoot these things off.”

“Asking for a dangerous ricochet, and usually doesn’t work, anyway,” Pono said. “I’ll call for backup and have the guys bring bolt cutters. They have to open the gate with those, anyway.”

He tugged his radio off his belt as Lei moved around the side. She walked around the length of the twenty-foot container. A window air conditioning unit had been mounted high on the wall on one side. The device was attached to a large solar panel, set on the ground and angled to catch the maximum sun.

When Pono joined her, Lei pointed at it. “Looks like they found a way to give the girls some fresh air out here off the grid. This place is the perfect setup for what they’ve been doing; we’re just lucky we found a connection to it through Harold Chang’s ownership of the property. Maybe we’ll finally be able to really bring down a part of their operation by connecting him to the trafficking.”

“We can hope.” Pono rubbed his mustache in a troubled fashion. “The Changs always seem to wriggle out from under whatever we try.”

Lei stoodready as the backup police officers broke through the padlock on the Matson container with a pair of long-handled bolt cutters. An officer swung the heavy metal door open; the scent of unwashed body and the smell of human waste hit Lei’s nose. Her eyes almost watered as she stepped into the gloomy interior, her heart squeezing with compassion as she glimpsed a pathetic figure in the far corner.

Stacey Emmitt, aged fifteen, still dressed in the clothes she had been kidnapped in on her way home from school, huddled on a mattress. The lidded toilet bucket in the corner was overflowing. A gallon jug of water was tipped over, empty, and her hands were tied behind her back. The only mobility she appeared to have had was that her feet were free.

The moment Stacey’s eyes met Lei’s, tears welled and rolled down the grime on her face.

Lei hurried over to her, squatting down to work at the knots on her bindings. “It’s okay, Stacey. We’re here to help. You’re going to be all right.”

The girl trembled as Pono lost patience and cut the fabric ties that held her arms back. He had already called for an ambulance, and Lei could hear the distant wail of its arriving siren. “Thirsty . . .” Stacey’s voice was a ragged whisper.

One of the backup officers nodded. “I’ll get you something from my car.” He trotted off.

“Can you stand up?” Lei asked.

Stacey shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

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