Page 47 of Deadly Sacrifice

“I thought the wife was on alert because Steinbrenner had disappeared,” Katie said, scanning the grounds as Lei drove into a turnaround in front of the large house.

“I don’t know. Maybe they always leave the gate open,” Lei said. “Let’s warn her to keep it closed.”

They pulled into a parking area planted in squares of mossy grass beside the main turnaround. Mature trees cast a soft, filtered light on the yard, and a rainbow of extravagantly tinted tropical flowers led the eye toward the house’s gracious entrance.

Lei exhaled a deep breath as she exited the truck, but Katie seemed to vibrate with nervous energy beside her. “Let me take the lead,” Lei said. “Just shadow me on this one.”

“You got it, boss. I have no idea how to deal,” Katie said, smoothing down the cap-sleeved purple shirt she’d worn under the Hello Kitty hoodie. “I’m a fly on the wall. A very reluctant fly.”

They walked up a series of stone-flagged steps before knocking on the door of a house built in faux Polynesian style, with a peaked roof and long, dark wood beams.

The woman who answered the door appeared to be in her mid-thirties. Medium height with blonde hair, Steinbrenner’s wife Helen wore a bikini top and a sarong tied at one hip. She looked like she racked up hours in the gym to maintain a stunning figure. “Can I help you?”

“I’m Detective Sergeant Lei Texeira, with the Maui Police Department. This is Investigator Katie McHenry.” They held up their IDs. “I spoke to you on the phone the other day.”

“Yes. I’m Helen Steinbrenner. David is my husband. ” A worried wrinkle appeared between the woman’s perfectly groomed brows. “Have you found him? The police have been looking for him since he disappeared yesterday.”

“May we come in?” Lei asked. “We have some information for you.”

“Certainly, please. Follow me.”

Lei and Katie trailed Mrs. Steinbrenner into a vast sunken living room. A wall of windows looked out over the landscaped grounds facing Mauna Kahalawai, the West Maui Mountains.

Lei took a seat on the leather couch across from Mrs. Steinbrenner, with Katie silent and stiff beside her. She leaned forward and made eye contact. “Mrs. Steinbrenner?—”

“Call me Helen, please.”

“Helen, I’m afraid that I have some very bad news. Your husband’s body was found this morning.”

“No!” Helen gasped. She covered her face and folded over in a howl of pain. “Oh, no!”

Lei got up and went to sit beside her, resting a hand gently on the woman’s shoulder. The new widow had been primed to hear the worst since her husband’s disappearance the day before. She glanced over at Katie, who sat rigid and white-faced, her eyes glazed. The kid was clearly dealing with her own trauma. Likely the memory of hearing the news of her firefighter dad’s death was being recreated for her in this situation.

“I’m so sorry,” Lei told them both.

Katie got up. “I’ll get her a glass of water and some tissues.”

“Good idea.” Lei smiled encouragingly at her protégée. It was something to do; but really, there was nothing that could be accomplished until Mrs. Steinbrenner had worked through the initial shock.

The woman wailed and sobbed; Katie set the box of tissues in front of her. Helen pulled wads of them out, covering her eyes. Finally, blinking at Lei through swollen lids, she hiccupped a question. “Why . . . what . . . what happened to him? Was it like—the others?”

“I’ll tell you what I can, Mrs. Steinbrenner,” Lei said, “I’m so sorry. His death was a homicide.”

“Helen, here’s some water.” Katie handed the woman a tall glass tinkling with ice.

“Thanks.” Helen gulped thirstily and then set her glass down. “What happened? Where was he found?” Helen twisted her hands together around the wad of tissues.

“His body was discovered in Hana this morning,” Lei said, withholding the lurid details. “It appears he was killed there sometime in the last twenty-four hours.”

“Do you know who did it? Have any leads?”

“It’s an ongoing investigation,” Lei said carefully. “We’re turning over every stone.”

“Did David . . . did he suffer?” Helen’s face crumpled.

“No. He died quickly,” Lei said. It was the truth; Steinbrenner had to have known what was coming, but the end itself had been swift. “Can you think of any reason he would have been out in Hana?”

Helen shook her head slowly at Lei’s question. “No. He didn’t say anything about going out to that side of the island yesterday.” She dabbed her eyes with another tissue and tossed it onto a growing pile on the coffee table.

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