Page 4 of Hidden Falls

Harry got up from the chair where she’d sat beside Lei and filled their commanding officer in on the events of the morning. “I’m not sure I want to go straight to the FBI.”

Captain C.J. Omura leaned back in her ergonomic office chair, her gaze on Harry. She tapped glossy red nails together, making a sound like castanets that sawed on Lei’s nerves. “I hoped you would understand that contacting the FBI indicates how seriously I take your daughter’s disappearance.”

“We don’t know what . . .” Harry groped for words. She was clearly struggling. “We don’t know if it’s a kidnapping or something else. We haven’t had a ransom demand.”

“All the more reason to call them,” Omura said. “Your family doesn’t fit the profile of a typical kidnapping scenario, and well you know it.” She switched her penetrating gaze to Lei, the immaculate bell of her hair swinging forward. “Texeira, as our FBI liaison, you know that I’m not hasty to call in the Feds.”

“That I can vouch for.” Lei glanced at Harry. “We should contact the Special Agent in Charge on Oahu, Ben Waxman. My worry, like the captain’s, is that pros took Malia, which is what it sounds like. If so, they won’t be on the island long. They might be out of our reach already.”

Harry swallowed, her complexion pale and greenish. “I have to let Peter know.”

“You still haven’t told your husband?” Omura’s eyes went wide.

“I wanted to move as fast as I could. Once I tell him, there’s another person in the mix that I constantly have to deal with.” Harry pinched the bridge of her nose and tightened her jaw. “I’ve texted him that we have an emergency and to meet me at home in twenty minutes. Meanwhile, I still need to pick up a COVID test for Kylie.”

“Got you covered there.” Omura pulled open a drawer in her desk and took out a small orange and white box. “I applied for a number of these government tests for the office. Hope Kylie’s okay.”

“Yeah, me too. Last thing I need is for her to get the virus at a time like this.” Harry turned to Lei, gusting out a breath. “What would you do if this was your daughter?”

“I’d call the FBI,” Lei said without hesitation. “Not that we can’t do good work here. But if there’s a chance Malia’s been taken off of Maui, they have reach through the airports and all over the country that we don’t.”

“Okay, then.” Harry gave Captain Omura a brisk nod. “Do it. Call the Bureau. I’ll be at home with my phone on, hoping for updates and dealing with a sick twelve-year-old.”

“That’s the best place for you right now,” Omura said. “We’ve got your back, Detective.”

Harry gave another nod and a wan smile, got up, and left. She eased the door closed behind her, leaving Lei and Omura alone in the office.

Captain Omura turned to her computer. Her shiny nails rattled on the keyboard like delicate gunfire. “I’m pulling up a video call to SAC Waxman.”

Lei smoothed springing curls back reflexively, relieved she wasn’t as disheveled as she’d been before she and Harry had taken the time to put themselves in order in the bathroom. Special Agent in Charge Waxman, like Omura, was a stickler for tidiness, and a double standard for females in law enforcement still prevailed. Lei straddled the line between being put together and attractive, and too messy to be taken seriously. She hadn’t always been able to come down on the most effective side of that balance beam, but this morning, in a dark blue polo shirt and black jeans, her weapon hidden under a cotton blazer, and no makeup but a bit of lipstick and mascara, she hoped she’d found that balance point.

Annoyance that she had to think about the issue at all was a given.

Omura swiveled her monitor showing the video call to include Lei in the frame, and soon Ben Waxman’s buttoned-down image filled the screen. The forty-something Special Agent in Charge had prematurely white hair, steel blue eyes, and a look of the journalist Anderson Cooper. “Nice to see you, Captain Omura, Sergeant Texeira. Something must be hopping on Maui for a call from you this early in the morning.”

“Yes, as a matter of fact. The sixteen-year-old daughter of one of our homicide detectives has been kidnapped. We’d like to get out in front of it right away.”

Omura gave an almost word-for-word synopsis of Harry’s story as she recounted it to Waxman; meanwhile her fingers flew on the keyboard. Lei had no doubt her boss was filling in the opening pages of the case file even as she brought their FBI contact up to speed. “Can you assign someone to help us? ASAP. As in, get on a plane and come over, right now.”

“We don’t usually move this fast, but since it’s one of your detectives . . .” Waxman turned away. His keyboard rattled too. “I can spare Special Agent Marcella Scott. She’d be a good fit since you all know each other.”

Lei’s spirits lifted immediately; Marcella was one of her closest friends, but they hadn’t had time to see each other in ages with the conflicting obligations of work and family. “Agent Scott is one of the best. Thanks, Ben.”

“No problem, Lei.” Waxman’s pale eyes twinkled. “Wish I could watch you two work together again. You were quite the dynamic duo in your agency days.”

Lei had spent a couple of years at the FBI on Oahu; that’s when she’d become close to Marcella and their mutual friend, Sophie Smithson, now an independent investigator.

“Those were good times.”

“I’ll have Special Agent Scott text you her arrival time. Hope you can find some low-cost accommodations for her; we’re belt-tightening over here with budget cuts.”

“No problem. She can stay with me. We’ll use my car, so she doesn’t need a rental,” Lei said.

“Now that that’s settled, brief me on why this might not be a simple kidnapping,” Waxman said.

Lei’s heart gave a sudden heavy squeeze at the reminder of how serious the case was.

“Malia Clark is a confidential informant for the MPD. We have some high-school age CIs; this girl is bright, curious, and has an anonymous online blog going where she airs student gossip. After a friend of hers was taken by traffickers, Malia was instrumental in helping us bring down the ring.” Lei reminded Waxman of the headlines from six months ago. “After all the press died down, Malia wanted to keep investigating, using her blog for good instead of cyberbullying. I saw a good thing and signed her on.” Lei sighed, reaching into her pocket to rub the bone hook. “I’ll never forgive myself if her activities for us have resulted in this attack.”

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