Page 22 of Hidden Falls

He’d brought it with him; he handed it over. Scrawled in Harry’s bold hand, the note read:“I’ve gone to find Malia. Put in my papers for official leave on top of Omura taking my badge and gun. I’ll be back when I’ve found her and will check in periodically. Don’t worry. Kiss Kylie for me. ~H.”

“Where do you think she went?”

“Mexico.”

Lei’s gaze flew to meet Peter’s blue eyes. “What makes you think so?”

His jaw tightened. “Her passport’s gone from the safe; I checked. Along with her backup weapon that’s usually stored there.”

Lei cursed.

“I know.” The lawyer ran a hand through his blond hair. “Kylie’s a mess. She’s always thought her mom preferred Malia, and now she’s sure of it. I can’t believe Harry just left us like this.”

Lei couldn’t find a response; the situation clearly needed therapy. “I’m sure Dr. Wilson, our police psychologist, could meet with you. Help you sort some of this out.”

Peter shook his head, his mouth tight. “There’s nothing to sort. It’s just Harry being Harry. Nothing can be done for us until there’s some resolution to Malia’s disappearance, anyway.”

Lei ducked her head, respecting his perspective. “Let us know if you change your mind and also—if you hear anything from Harry.”

“Will do.” He disappeared back into the house and shut the door.

Harry’s family was hurting. Her friend, on a mission to rescue one child, had paid little attention to her remaining daughter and her husband. Lei couldn’t help remembering a time she’d blazed off on her own on another case—and she’d paid a high price for it.

Lei frowned as she got back into her truck. “Why are you so sure Malia’s in Mexico, Harry? Is it just your guilty conscience for stealing her yourself?” She fired up the vehicle.

Harry might have taken off in the direction she thought was correct, but Lei was going to run down every clue there was here on Maui and see if it gave them more to go on. Maybe, in doing so, she could help mitigate the harm Harry was doing to her career, and her family, with this impulsive flight out of the country.

Lei came upon the spot in the road where Malia had been taken, sparkling with broken glass, the yellow tape dangling a painful reminder. She pulled off onto the shoulder and removed a small whisk broom and dustpan combo from the back seat. Outside, she untied the remains of the caution tape and, between the infrequent cars, brushed up the broken glass and tossed it into her truck’s rubbish can.

Lei was back at the station sooner than she’d planned, and still had half an hour before she was due to pick Marcella up from her work cubicle. She headed straight to Omura’s office and knocked on the open doorjamb.

The captain looked up; the sleek bell of her shiny black hair fell back, framing unfamiliar reading glasses perched on her nose. She whipped them off. “Texeira. You have news?”

Lei stepped inside and shut the door, approaching to sit in one of the two hard plastic chairs in front of Omura’s desk. “Not good news, Captain.”

“I’m listening.”

“Harry’s gone. Her husband thinks off-island. She left a note saying not to worry but that she was going after Malia. Her passport and spare weapon are missing.”

Omura’s eyes narrowed. “This reminds me of a certain someone.”

Lei sighed out a breath. “I know.”

Years ago, Lei had gone to another island against orders, in pursuit of the Shroud Killer, a stalker who’d targeted her family. She’d suffered a tragic loss as a result; one she and Stevens had had difficulty recovering from. “But in the end, I got answers. And if Malia’s been taken off-island, there’s nothing we can do for her here. Harry’s husband Peter seems to think she’s in Mexico. Leonardo Cruz, the CIA contact Marcella put us in touch with, said she’d reached out to him. She trained with him early in her career as a mercenary.”

Omura’s lips flattened. “I bet she’s going to try to get him to help her look for Malia off the books.”

“That’s my guess too. He didn’t know she’d left home. He told Marcella and I he’d put out some feelers but didn’t promise anything.”

Omura leaned back in her chair and steepled her fingertips. “Well, we really can’t do much for this investigation, anyway. I’ve half a mind to pull the plug on the whole thing.”

Lei leaned forward. “Captain, it’s too soon. I worry we’ve zeroed in on this parental kidnap idea prematurely. I would like permission to keep working the confidential informant idea. I think it’s possible Malia stirred something up through her role with us.” She described the website and all the responses that had come in. “Marcella is having the FBI’s tech guy sort through the leads that came in via the Wallflower Diaries site. I want to run them down—at least involve Vice. Maybe that will help shut down the drug peddling to teens that’s going on.”

Omura gave a brisk nod. “Sounds good. Meanwhile, I’ll call Waxman and see if he wants to continue with the FBI support.”

“Please don’t encourage him to pull Marcella. The resources she brings have already helped us.”

“I know that.” Omura flicked her nails in dismissal. “Rope in Jenkins from Vice and funnel your info to him. I’d like you to get back to your usual cases ASAP.”

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