Page 23 of Hidden Falls

“Yes, Captain.”

As she left the office, Lei’s mind wandered over the dry arroyos and sandy desert of the area around the copper mine where her friend Kelly had been held captive with baby Malia so long ago—a harsh setting manned by dangerous people.

Harry was bound to need help, but how could Lei do more than she was, already?

Sitting in the cab of the truck, Lei considered what else she could do.

Maybe Harry and Peter could hire Sophie’s firm, Security Solutions, to send a team of extraction specialists in after Malia . . . It couldn’t hurt to give Sophie a call and see what she had on tap as far as staff in case she was able to check in with Harry.

“Lei! So nice to hear from you.” Sophie’s British accent was always refreshing to hear.

“Back atcha, girl. What are you up to?”

“The usual—running a security firm and being run by my children. You?”

They chatted for a bit and then Lei steered the conversation back to work. “Do you have extraction teams that work in foreign countries on behalf of kidnap victims?”

“We do. Why? Do you have a referral?”

“Maybe.” Lei described the situation in general terms. “I want to be able to suggest a direction to my colleague if she contacts me.”

“Any friend of yours is a friend of mine, Lei. I’ll send my best team to help if your colleague needs them. Just let me know.”

“Will do.” They said their goodbyes, and Lei got on the road.

Back at the station, Lei noticed that most of the “bull pen” area had cleared out for the day as she headed to the cubicle where Marcella was working.

Marcella had the phone jammed between her ear and shoulder as she talked while typing when Lei let herself into the cubicle. She held up a finger for Lei to wait.

Lei sat, swiveling back and forth a bit as she gazed around the barren cubicle. Finally, Marcella wrapped up her call.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of these empty,” Lei said.

“Sure would be hard to feng shui one of these little boxes,” Marcella said. “My office isn’t much, but at least it has a ceiling.”

“I remember.” And Lei did. She’d spent two years working as an FBI agent in Honolulu; Marcella had been the one to recruit her. But the Bureau, with all its byzantine politics, hadn’t been a place where Lei could thrive, and she’d left to return to Maui where she’d found a home at the Kahului station—and with Michael Stevens. “Let’s get back to my place. Michael is cooking tonight. We can talk on the way.”

12

Marcella settled in beside Lei in her truck as they got on the road into Maui’s end of the workday traffic. This surprisingly busy commute consisted of two lanes of jostling pickup trucks, motorcycles, tourist rental cars, and the occasional agricultural truck filled with pineapples, produce, or potted coconut palms. As they made their way through the stop-and-go traffic into the town of Paia, Marcella gestured to a fish market and restaurant on the corner. “Want me to stop and grab something for dinner?”

“No thanks. Michael is home already and texted me that he picked up some swordfish for the grill on his way home.”

“Keep feeding me so well and you’ll never get rid of me.”

“Promises, promises. It’s been forever since I’ve seen you.” Lei smiled.

Marcella steeled herself; she needed to make sure her friend knew Harry’s secret was out in the open, at least on her end. “I hope the fact that I told Waxman and Omura the circumstances of Malia’s adoption don’t get anyone in trouble. I felt it was more dangerous for all involved if the leadership didn’t know the facts.”

Lei gusted out a deep sigh. “The only thing I’ve held back from Omura is the way the traffickers died. But that’s small potatoes beside the current event that Harry has already taken off, likely for Mexico. Once Omura finds that out, her job might already be on the line.” Lei’s knuckles showed white on the steering wheel. “I can’t worry about that now. I told Harry and Peter that I would run down everything I could find on the drug and confidential informant angle of the case, and that I still have to do. Did your tech department come up with anything from those links found through Malia’s blog?”

“As soon as I’m in some decent signal I will forward you what Bateman gathered together.”

“Thanks.” Lei glanced at Marcella. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Waxman pulls you off the job sooner rather than later.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised either.” Marcella stared through the windshield a little glumly, frustrated that her support seemed to be coming to an end. On the other hand, she would soon be home with her husband and Jonas.

Remembering how it felt to hold her son in her arms, tousling his curly brown hair, feeling his wiry arms around her neck, lifted her mood; but it also reminded her what it would feel like if Jonas was ever taken from her. That wasn’t a thought she could dwell on for long. “One of my favorite writers, Michael Connelly, said in one of his books that being a parent is like always having a gun pointed at your head. Your life is over if anything ever happens to your child.”

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