Page 34 of Wired Target

“No joke.Anyway, after I tracked those two phones, I met with Ms.Dawnhorse and brought her up to speed.We’ve set up a meeting to interview the student tomorrow and try to get the names from him voluntarily.Can you come?”

“I have a personal situation and must stay home.I’d like to attend by video conference, though.”

“That should be enough.We’ll offer support as his mental health seems shaky.But he may not talk, so I wanted to give you the phone numbers and see if you could track down their owners.”

“Yes, tracking the phones’ owners is something I can do.”Sophie stacked another block with an encouraging smile to Momi.

What, if anything, should she tell Leong about what had happened on Maui?She decided that nothing was better, for now.“Did you speak to the headmaster about what you’ve found out so far?”

“No, I thought I’d talk with you first.”

“Good.I recommend you hold off apprising him until we have the three suspects clearly identified with proof of their involvement.I wouldn’t want Dr.Ka’ula to overreact and cause them to cover their tracks by ditching their phones or other evidence.Right now, they have no idea we’re tracking them, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

“I’m dying to nail the ringleader.You should see the horrible things he’s saying to this poor kid.”

“We will get him, no doubt about it, unless he detects us and disposes of the phone and goes silent.Then we’ll only have the one student’s word, and that’s not going to be enough for any kind of conviction.”

“Dawnhorse’s client’s name is Bernard Valas.They call him ‘Nard.’He’s chubby, a loser of sorts.Not the brightest bulb in the box.”Leong’s voice was sad.

“That doesn’t excuse what he did,” Sophie repeated.

“I know.But I can see how he got sucked in, trying to appease the main bully and his sidekick.”

Momi, losing patience with her mother’s distraction, toppled the tower of blocks.One of them hit Sean on the leg, and the baby let out a surprised yelp.“Things are unraveling here.I must go,” Sophie said.“Text me the numbers, and the date and time of the meeting tomorrow.”

“Will do.Thanks,chica.”Leong ended the call.

Sophie smiled as she tucked the phone into her pocket and dealt with her disgruntled children.

Char Leong had raised her spirits with this news.Once they had the perps who’d committed the Moli Massacre, those who’d stolen the albatross eggs on Maui couldn’t be far behind; the two crimes had to be linked.

Later in the evening, when the children were asleep and Armita had gone to get some well-earned rest, Sophie settled in front of her computer monitors in her cool, neutral-toned office.Sighing with relief to be alone in her lovely office, Sophie engaged her rigs with a key fob.Prior to becoming a mother, she’d enjoyed music to work to; now, pure, uninterrupted silence was perfect.

Sophie punted the phone numbers Leong had picked up from the two perps into a tracking app and soon had the names and addresses of the two students.With that information, she was able to set her rogue DAVID program and Connor’s Ghost program to work, pulling together everything recorded online about the three boys who appeared to have committed the massacre.

Bernard “Nard” Valas, the kid who’d been seeing Dharma Dawnhorse, had struggled with his weight for most of his life, if annual student photos were any guide.His grades were indifferent.He had flat feet that were unusually large.According to social media, gaming was his only real interest and outlet.An only child in a divorced family, he lived with a mother who traveled as a pharmaceutical salesperson and left him home alone for long stretches of time.

Sophie studied the boy’s full, acne-riddled face, sad eyes, and downturned mouth.“You’re the weak link of the gang,” she murmured.“And may be at a real risk for suicide.”

Sophie had done a deep dive into studying suicidality on one of her FBI cases.Nard’s profile fit that of a candidate likely to succeed at a suicide attempt.

Neville “Kermit” Ignacio was “the sidekick,” as Char Leong had characterized him.Short, wiry, and underdeveloped, Kermit appeared to be trying to prove himself by repeatedly trying out for athletics at which he didn’t excel.The boy had average grades and intelligence, but a mean streak—a report of cruelty to a neighbor’s dog had been filed a year ago by the pet’s owners.This remained attached to his record, though obscured by adolescent privacy law.

Remo Ozawa, “Oz,” was the ringleader of the three.Seventeen years old, he stood head and shoulders over the other two at six feet tall.His grades were exemplary.He was handsome and a track star; he too was a gamer.

That was likely how the three had become friends, though that term didn’t really describe the twisted relationships that Sophie sensed bound the three boys.

She dug deeper, looking for dirt.

“Oz” came from a large, well-connected Big Island family, but he, too, was an only child.His mother had died when Oz was six, from a fall down the stairs that was ruled accidental.His father had brought the boy to Oahu after her death, when he started his own brokerage firm using his wife’s death benefit as seed money.That business that was now well-established with a seven-figure bottom line.

Hospital records for young Oz revealed a plethora of bruises, sprains, burns and broken bones that had been attributed to outdoor sports and adventure injuries.

Sophie frowned, leaning back in her chair to tap her chin with a finger.Though Oz himself had no record of misbehavior or law enforcement involvement, the profile she was reading matched that of an isolated child with an abusive parent, who’d turned to the abuse of others.

Ozawa’s father could be the real bully of the scenario; and if she dug deep enough, she’d likely find medical records on the mother that matched those of her son.

Sophie got up, unsettled, and went to her pull-up bar to do some reps.

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