Page 4 of Wired Courage

Connor narrowed his eyes at Jake. “When Sophie wakes, tell her I’m here. That I’m very concerned about how hermotherwill react to this news.” Jake’s shock-dulled eyes opened wider—he got the message. “Also, I want you and Thom to do a foot-by-foot grid sweep of the grounds outside the house. Look for any marks of footprints or a vehicle. The ground is soft from rain—there might be something outside that you missed.”

“Excuse me, Mr. Hamilton. We are in charge of this investigation,” Detective Jenkins said. “Who do you think you are, coming in here and telling everyone what to do?”

“I’m the CEO of a multi-million-dollar security company that specializes in private kidnap rescue, and two of my best operatives were just hit with a crime we deal with every day.” His eyes felt hot as his gaze clashed with the detective’s. “What I can’t understand is a roomful of cops sitting around on their butts, drinking coffee and eating donuts, when a newborn infant has been snatched—and close to both a road and a cliff for easy getaway by car or air. No wonder Ms. Smithson is so upset.”

“The Kaua`i Police Department is in charge of this case. Are you going to cooperate, sir, or do I need to cuff you and take you in officially?” Jenkins wasn’t backing down.

They stared at each other another long minute.

“I’ll cooperate,” Connor said. He turned to glare at Jake, again. “Do what I said, or you’re fired.”

The detective thrust Connor inside the downstairs office leading off the great room, and slammed the door. Connor walked across the graciously appointed space and sat in a chair beside Alika Wolcott’s desk, a drafting table covered in architectural plans. “Get your cops outside, searching. Time is of the essence in a case like this.”

“Let’s just put the brakes on for a minute, here, Mr. Hamilton.” Jenkins pulled a rolling office chair away from the drafting table and sat facing Connor. He took out a tablet and a stylus. “Give me some background on yourself.”

“Not until you authorize a grid search of the grounds,” Connor said. “Every minute we sit here wagging our jaws, the perps get farther away with a tiny infant who needs her mother. Yes, I have information germane to this investigation, but I’m not giving it to you without some hope of finding evidence to back it up.”

Jenkins had intelligent blue eyes, currently narrowed in frustration. “See this from our point of view. We get a call that a newborn baby’s missing. There’s no ransom note or phone call since the disappearance. No one has seen or heard anything. The last person to interact with the infant is the child’s mother, a woman with a mental health history who killed her ex-husband and has just given birth to an illegitimate child she may or may not want.”

The description was chilling, and infuriating in its surface accuracy.

“Rather than looking for clues as to who snatched the baby, you must have just been talking to a few people.” Connor folded his arms over his chest. “And you haven’t done much homework if that’s who you think Sophie is. But I’ll cut you some slack if you authorize that search. Your men are just sitting there. What can it hurt?” Someone had thrown Sophie under the bus, exposing her history. Who could it have been?

Jenkins took a long moment to lock eyes with Connor in a stare down before taking his walkie off his belt and barking orders into it. “And have the boyfriend and baby’s father help search, too. We can use the manpower with the amount of ground we have to cover.” Jenkins hung the walkie back on his belt. “Satisfied?”

“For the time being. Who did you interview so far?” He wanted the name of whomever had sold Sophie out, and he didn’t think it was Jake, Alika, or Alika’s formidable but loving grandma.

“I made a few calls before I got here, checking out her background,” Jenkins said evasively. “I know a few cops in Honolulu.”

Connor’s neck flushed. “Well, then, you can also take a little time to look up the Security Solutions website. Search my operative Sophie Smithson’s credentials. Check out her background in the FBI and her skills in computers and security. Look up Jake Dunn as well and check out his decorated past as a Special Forces commando. And read over my bio while you’re at it. That should bring you up to speed on who we really are.” Connor took out his tablet. “After that, I think we can have a more intelligent discussion.”

Jenkins tightened his mouth and waited a long beat, but when it was clear Connor wasn’t going to engage any further, he got out his smartphone and worked it with his thumbs.

Connor scrolled through his feeds. He highlighted several websites and articles as Jenkins perused the Security Solutions website. “Do you have an email address? I have some background information for you and your team to take a look at.”

Jenkins was impressed by what he had been reading so far because the man’s tone had changed as he rattled off the email address.

Connor shunted background he had gathered on Pim Wat to Jenkins. He had been studying Sophie’s elusive mother for a while now, and he’d prepared a file on her in case he should ever need to share it with some government agency or law enforcement. The international spy and assassin kept a low profile, posing as an intellectual socialite who supported obscure art and charity causes around the world.If ever the time had come to out Pim Wat to the cops, it was now.

“Okay, Mr. Hamilton.” The detective looked up from his phone at Connor. “I get it that you’re the billionaire genius CEO of a corporation that specializes in artificial intelligence home security systems, kidnap rescue, and private mercenaries.” He blew out an annoyed breath. “That doesn’t mean you get to take over this investigation and give orders to the Kaua`i Police Department. Let’s work together on this.”

“That’s exactly what I was hoping you’d say.” Connor exercised practiced charm as he smiled. “We are a close-knit group. The stress of this situation has gotten us off on the wrong foot. I just want to make sure that you have all the background you need to develop a fully informed investigation. Because the minute I heard the baby had disappeared, I guessed who might have taken her—Pim Wat, Sophie’s mother.” Connor swiveled the tablet to show a photo of the woman, dressed in a stunning evening gown and shaking the hand of Thailand’s prime minister. “There’s an open CIA investigation into this woman. Pim Wat is a member of the royal family in Thailand, and she married Sophie’s father, ambassador Frank Smithson, in order to gather intel on the United States. She’s an operative of a group called the Yam Khûmk?n.” Connor leaned forward, giving Jenkins good eye contact. “My theory is that Pim Wat took the baby as a way to gain leverage over Sophie. She has been trying to get Sophie to come to Thailand and get involved with her spy organization. It’s kidnapping, but there will be a different kind of demand than usual.”

“Wow, that’s some deep shit. Do you have any evidence at all of this theory?” Jenkins’s brows had risen.

“Trust me. This isn’t most cases. This one is way over your pay grade.” Connor rolled his shoulders in irritation. “I suggest you focus on how you can support me and my team, rather than muddying the waters by accusing one of my best operatives of doing away with her infant.”

Connor might have gone too far in asserting dominance, because Jenkins scowled and reached over to snatch the tablet out of his hands. “I think I will be taking this tablet into evidence. I need some corroboration of these wild-ass things you’re saying.”

“You’ll need a warrant, not to mention a ten-point encryption code to get into it. Good luck with that.” Connor stood up, heat and agitation bringing him to his feet. “What happened to ‘let’s work together on this’?”

Jenkins’s phone rang. He took a look at the number, frowned, and then stood up to answer it, walking to the other side of the room and turning his back as if that kept Connor from hearing every word. “Lei, this isn’t a good time. Yeah, I’ve got a kidnapping case here in Princeville . . . You know these people?” Jenkins swiveled to glare at Connor, and Connor returned his gaze coolly as the detective went on. “Okay. Okay, thanks for the heads-up. I’ll keep you posted.”

Jenkins ended the call. He walked over to Connor, handing back the tablet. “I just heard from my former partner, Sergeant Lei Texeira on Maui. She called to vouch for her good friend Sophie Smithson, and to ask me to let you guys take the lead on the investigation.” The man shook his blond head. “I’m not just handing this off to you with this wild story of international spies. You wait in here. If we find anything on the grounds to indicate that the child was taken by a third party, I will let you know. But for now, make yourself comfortable.”

The detective walked out. A moment later, Connor went to work with his tablet.

Chapter Four

---