Page 10 of Wired Target

“Lei!It’s been too long since we’ve talked.”

“Hey, Sophie.I wish I was calling to catch up, but I’m reaching out about a case.”Her friend’s voice held the lilt of a native of the Hawaiian islands.“I heard from Marcus that you’ve picked up a private gig related to the albatross case.”

Sophie’s attention sharpened, though she continued to navigate the busy Honolulu commute traffic with aplomb.“I have, as a matter of fact.Though technically I’m not supposed to say anything—unless you’re working with Marcus on it?”

“I am.I just got off the phone with him.”

“Oh.Well then—may I ask what your interest is?”

“Sure.”Lei’s tone went brisk.“We’ve had a crime here on Maui that resembles the atrocity on Oahu.Someone broke into the albatross’s fenced nesting sanctuary here on Maui and stole the eggs of several nesting albatross pairs.”

“Foul stench of a rotting corpse!”Sophie exclaimed.“I was planning to share some relevant new info with the whole team at this morning’s meeting.Is there any way you can call in and join the meeting then?”

“Sure, absolutely.Put me on speaker or video when the group is together,” Lei said.“Now that we’ve got that out of the way, how’re things with you?”

Sophie brushed breakfast crumbs off the breast of the red tunic top she’d put on that morning, hoping for a little of her former body confidence.“Sean had shots yesterday and a very bad night last night.Otherwise, fine.”

“Marcella tells me you’re back together with the mystery man from Thailand?”

“Yes.I never really stopped being in love with Connor.”Warmth bloomed in Sophie’s cheeks as she remembered last night’s call to Connor as Sean fussed on her shoulder; his loving and sexy encouragement had got her through several sleepless hours with an unhappy baby.“I’m not enjoying having a long-distance relationship, though.We’ve been apart for years now, but once we reconnected romantically, everything changed.”

“Are you sure ...”

“Please don’t question my choice, Lei.I’m getting very tired of other people’s opinions,” Sophie snapped.

Lei was silent for a moment.“That wasn’t what I was going to ask,” her friend eventually said.“I was going to ask if you were sure his legal problems would all be resolved when your mother was imprisoned.”

Sophie guided the car down a ramp into the underground parking garage at HPD.“I hope so.I believe so,” she said at last.“Connor has promised to give up—that other thing too, to be with me.”Sophie never put his vigilantism into words that could be overheard.“He’ll be working with intelligence here in the US once Pim Wat is taken into custody.”

“Well, great.”Her friend’s voice was infused with fake enthusiasm.“I’ll be waiting for your call in to the meeting.Talk soon!”Lei hung up.

“Sweet son of a goatherd.”Sophie pulled into a visitor parking stall, deflated.Couldn’t even one of her friends or family be happy that she and Connor were together again?

The HPD conference room was a utilitarian space whose walls were ringed with whiteboards.A large, elaborate brass medallion inscribed with the state motto was mounted on the wall overlooking a podium, currently moved aside.

Sophie took a seat at the battered Formica table, surprised to see that Lono Jones had arrived before her.“Hello, partner.”

“Hey.”The blond man combed his shoulder-length hair back with his fingers; water dampened the shoulders of a wrinkled aloha shirt he wore with jeans.He’d set a cup of McDonald’s coffee on the table beside the stack of files she’d given him to review.“Thought I’d beat you to it and have a few more minutes with the file.”

“I thought I’d get here early, too, but we just made it in time.Traffic.”She yawned unexpectedly.

“Babies wake up?”Jones might appear laid-back, but his hazel eyes were observant.

“Yes.Four times.”Another yawn startled Sophie.“Excuse me.I need more stimulant than one cup of tea.”

“Here.”Jones pushed his cup of coffee over.“Haven’t touched it yet.”

“Thank you.”Sophie never drank coffee, but this was an emergency.She took a tentative sip.The stuff was hot and tasted burnt—and that alone woke her up.“Did you get that login info for me?”

Jones dug in his pocket and handed a Post-it note over to her.“I got you a phone number.The client wants you to call his security staffer direct.”

“Okay.That’s best, anyway.”

Sophie was halfway through the cup of terrible coffee when District Attorney Alan Chang came in with Marcus Kamuela in his wake.Chang was a short, slender man dressed in a muted aloha shirt and chinos, otherwise known as Hawaii business casual.Friendly-looking crinkles bracketed intelligent, calculating eyes.

“Where’s Raveaux?”Kamuela asked.

“He had an urgent assignment that took him out of the country,” Sophie said.“This is Lono Jones, formerly a detective with Maui Police Department, and our new associate.Jones, this is HPD Detective Marcus Kamuela and District Attorney Alan Chang.”

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