Page 3 of Wired Justice

Chapter Three

Sophie breathed through her mouth,overwhelmed by the stench and the sight before her. “Ginger! Come!”

The dog finally obeyed, whining anxiously over the discovery. Sophie clicked the leash onto Ginger’s collar, her eyes scanning the scene. She dragged the dog back behind an ohia tree for cover, assessing the area and its horror.

The bodies were distorted with bloating, still dressed in their clothing. Gender and age were difficult to determine except by size, clothing, and length of hair. Five people, probably a family, had been piled into a shallow depression, but the killer hadn’t bothered to cover them.

Sophie identified a Caucasian male and female adult along with two boys and a girl. Their clothing was better quality; the kids wore name brand shoes, and the parents’ outfits were classic middle-class garb for Hawaii: aloha shirt and jeans on the man, capri pants and a tank top on the woman. Cause of death appeared to be gunshot; one of the bodies, the little girl dumped on top, faced Sophie. A bullet hole in what had been her forehead crawled with flies. Her eyes were missing, probably pecked out by mynah birds.

Sophie backed away, scanning the area. Most likely she wasn’t in danger; this site appeared to be a straightforward body dump. Still, she needed to get back to her pack where her gun and phone awaited, and call it in.

Jogging back through the lush foliage of the kipuka, alive with birdsong and the green of mature trees, Sophie shook her head to clear it of a sense of unreality. She hadn’t come to the Big Island to investigate yet another crime in a remote place! She was supposed to be having a vacation!

Who would shoot an entire family and just dump them out here?

Sophie’d been avoiding the news lately, but something like the disappearance of five well-off white people tended to get into the news. Why hadn’t she heard about this?

“Not my circus. Not my monkeys,” Sophie murmured one of Marcella’s sayings. But the little girl’s empty eye sockets had stared at her, making this her problem in a horrifying way.

Sophie reached her pack, secured Ginger to a clip, and dug out her phone. She had one bar of reception and her battery was low from her overnight on the lava without charging it. She called 911. “Hi. This is Sophie Ang. I’m a hiker in Kalapana, and my dog led me to a kipuka off the trail where we discovered the bodies of a Caucasian family.” It felt good to identify herself by her legal name, now that the events of her past had been resolved. Law enforcement would run her name, and discover her background as a former FBI Agent. “I will wait for your team to arrive.”

The sun was high overhead by then. Sophie took out her solar battery cell phone charger and hooked it up to the phone. She hiked back across the hot lava to the edge of the kipuka, where she and Ginger could wait in the shade under one of the towering ohia trees. She had given the team the best instructions she could, and it wasn’t long before she spotted a couple of ATVs roaring toward her.

The responding detectives, accompanied by a couple of uniformed officers, introduced themselves. “Detective Kamani Freitan and Detective Fred Wong. Point us to the area of the discovery,” the female detective said.

“Decomp has set in,” Sophie said. “You’re going to want proper crime scene wear.”

Freitan, a statuesque woman with thick, black hair in a braid and tilted brown eyes, looked at her quizzically. Sophie met the woman’s gaze squarely. “I’m former FBI. I’d say the victims were killed five or six days ago. Family of five. Execution style body dump.”

The detectives looked at each other. “Wait here while we check it out. Where is the location?” Wong said.

Sophie pointed. “Through the trees there. Follow your noses—the smell will be your guide.”

One of the uniformed officers stayed back with a clipboard. “I’d like to get your statement, Ms. Ang.”

All of this was standard operating procedure, but Sophie still felt the usual suspicion coming from the investigators elicited by anyone discovering a body. She breathed through her frustration and gave her statement of events leading to the discovery to the officer as the detectives left.

Detective Freitan reappeared, visibly pale under her tan. “I need to find a cell signal out from under these trees.” She walked a distance away and Sophie could hear her, working both the radio and her cell phone, calling for her commanding officer, the medical examiner, and crime scene investigators. Presumably her partner was still with the bodies.

Sophie’s phone buzzed, and she jumped. Only a few people had this number. She glanced at the little window, and answered. “Hello, Jake.”

“Hey, gorgeous. How’s the hiking?” Jake sounded upbeat and energetic.

“Not so terrific. Ginger’s nose led me to a body dump in the lava field. A whole Caucasian family, executed.”

“Do not discuss an active investigation!” Freitan snapped, walking toward Sophie. “Who are you talking to?”

“My partner at a private security firm,” Sophie said, as Jake fired questions in the background. “I will not discuss it with him further.”

Freitan folded her arms. “I’m going to want to speak to him. And your boss.”

“I’m on leave from Security Solutions,” Sophie said. “Personal leave. I won’t discuss what I found. Can I continue my conversation, as long as it stays away from that subject?”

“Give me the phone.” Sophie handed it over. “This is Detective Freitan with the Hilo Police Department. You are not to say anything to anyone about this discovery, do you hear?”

Sophie overheard squawks from the phone, presumably Jake agreeing.

“Good. If we have a leak, I will have your head. Here’s your partner.” Freitan handed Sophie the phone and turned her back, still fully listening in.

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