Page 21 of Hidden Falls

“Is this the first time she’s been in touch with you since Malia was adopted?” Lei asked. “Is there anything you can share with us?”

“We lost touch years ago.” Cruz shrugged. “Harry just called me today, and I haven’t had time to look into anything yet.”

“One of our theories is that Malia’s biological parents were looking for her, and that, at the time Harry rescued her as a baby, Malia was possibly a kidnap victim not a human trafficking one. It’s possible her parents have stolen her back,” Marcella said.

Cruz’s eyes narrowed. “Any evidence pointing to that?”

“Nothing, except that it’s clear professionals took Malia. There’s been no ransom demand. We’re having trouble finding a motive for her kidnapping.”

“Do you know for sure that she was brought to Mexico?”

“No. But we did have a private charter fly direct from Maui to Mexico City today. She could have been on it.”

“Give me that info, please. I might be able to find out who was on that flight.”

Marcella worked her phone and sent the flight information to Cruz.

“You’re the boots on the ground in Mexico. How do you suggest we proceed with this aspect of the investigation?” Marcella asked.

“The FBI’s got no jurisdiction here; neither does MPD. I’m not sure how you can help at all.”

Lei’s unsettling reaction to seeing Cruz waned. Whatever she might have felt for him once was long gone, and his laissez-faire attitude was annoying. Did he care about Harry and her child at all? It didn’t seem that way. “What else did Harry ask you?” Lei asked.

“She asked me to find out what you asked me to find out. I told her what I’m telling you: Mexico is no place for any kind of official mission.” Cruz glanced down a moment, then looked up, giving them some good eye contact. “Here’s the thing. Anyone poking around over here is going to stand out like a sore thumb and hit nothing but walls. I have contacts I can reach out to. Shake a few trees. But that’s all. I suggest you focus on verifying if Malia is even here in Mexico before you do anything else. Rule out all other possibilities, because this one—it’s a dead end if she’s here. Not a thing anyone can do about it.”

“Harry’s never going to accept that,” Lei said.

“Then let me be the bad guy and tell her.” A sound outside the frame caught his attention. “Gotta go.” He ended the call, and the screen went black.

Lei slipped the bone hook, warmed from her touch, back into her pocket as Marcella put away her phone.

“Do you believe him? About what he told Harry?” Marcella asked.

“I do. I can tell he doesn’t want us poking around in Mexico and I don’t blame him.” Lei frowned. “But Harry will never take no for an answer where her daughter’s well-being is at stake. I bet she’s out looking for Malia now. If she gets word that Malia’s in Mexico, she’ll be on the next flight out.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that,” Marcella said. “This is a job for Sophie and her private firm Security Solutions, not the MPD and the FBI. Security Solutions doesn’t have to worry about jurisdiction or parental disputes. And from what I can tell, Sophie’s firm earns a good portion of its international income doing kidnap rescues.”

“I don’t know if I can talk her into using them. Harry’s going to endanger her career if she goes off track like this,” Lei said. “I’m worried.”

“Well, I have to start sifting through the airport information. Why don’t you go back to the house and check in with Harry and Peter? Let them know we talked to Cruz, and what he said. It’s not what we wanted to hear, but it probably won’t be a surprise, either, because Harry’s already heard it from Cruz.”

Lei glanced at the clock. “Okay. I’ve just got time for that before I have to come back and grab you to take you home for dinner.”

Marcella smiled. “Something to look forward to. Go get ‘em, Lei.”

* * *

Lei was feeling hot, sweaty, and ready to be done with the day even before she drove up the road toward Harry and Peter’s house for the second time.

The place on the street where Malia had been taken was marked by glittering cubes of glass and a yellow piece of caution tape tied to a guava tree edging the road, a jarring statement of what had happened there.

Maybe on Lei’s way back to the station she’d take down the marker and sweep the glass away; no reason the family had to see that ugly reminder over and over.

She got out of her truck in front of the house, and Peter came to the door before she could ring the bell. “Harry’s gone, Lei.”

Lei’s heart jumped. “Where?”

“I don’t know. She left a note.”

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