Page 52 of Deadly Sacrifice

“Rant over. I’m done.” Pono rubbed his mustache. “At least no one at that media conference had found the secret link to the videos. Still feeling sick from seeing those. Worst part is the killer was careful not to be identifiable.”

“I’m sending that secret link to Sophie for analysis,” Lei said, typing rapidly as she composed an email to her hacker friend on Oahu. “I don’t want Katie to have to spend any more time watching those videos, but after five years as an FBI agent and even more in online security, Sophie has a strong stomach. She can tear the recordings apart for any clues.”

“Good idea. Meanwhile, I’ll call Mrs. Steinbrenner and Mrs. Kleftes with follow-up questions based on the website. See if they know of any Warriors of Kamehameha threats or info.” Pono reached for his desk phone.

Lei finished emailing Sophie that she was sending a website for priority analysis in a murder case, then picked up her own phone. Her next call was to the FBI. A former agent herself, she was the local liaison on Maui with the agency. She had a couple of long conversations with colleagues on Oahu, digging for links to the murders.

She had to tread lightly when her compatriots started asking about domestic terrorism. Though the ‘Warriors of Kamehameha’ sounded like a political group, Lei, like Pono, didn’t believe the manifesto on the website was anything more than the ramblings of the killer and a possible accomplice or two. If the FBI determined this was domestic terrorism, a whole planeload of federal law enforcement would descend on Maui and take over their investigation.

After speaking with the widows, who had no additional information, Pono went on to call some of his friends and relatives on the island to see if there was any chatter on the ‘coconut wireless’ about the Warriors of Kamehameha. Lei smiled occasionally as Pono switched in and out of pidgin depending on whom he was speaking to. Pono seemed to be related to every third local resident of the island.

After a couple of hours of canvassing, Stevens reappeared to report in. “I never realized there were so many different groups,” he said, voice tinged with frustration as he ran a hand through his hair, leaving the brown locks tufty and disordered. “Every time I talk to someone, they ask if I’ve talked to so-and-so. It’s like a telephone game that doesn’t connect anywhere.”

“You’ve got to remember, the sovereignty movement has been building since the 1970s,” Pono said, tilting his chair back and interlacing his fingers. “There’s always resentment among native Hawaiians about the overthrow. That has been compounded by misguided U.S. policies since the late 1890s.”

“Not to mention the missionaries, the plantation masters, the military boot on the neck of the Islands . . . yeah, we understand the frustration of the people,” Lei said.

“And when did the Navy finally stop using Kaho‘olawe for bombing practice?” Pono asked. “1990?”

“That’s all true,” Stevens said, “but after a lot of reading and listening, I don’t hear consensus between the various groups in favor of sovereignty. If the people are ever allowed to form a recognized government, it could be a free-for-all.”

“Let’s get back to this case,” Lei said. “So far, the FBI has nothing similar in the ViCAP database, and I’m worried they’ll decide the Warriors are domestic terrorists and yank the case from us entirely.”

“Meanwhile, everyone I’ve talked to has no idea who the Warriors of Kamehameha are and denies knowing anyone who has anything to do with them,” Pono said. “And many of these folks know each other, so for them to say they haven’t heard of this group tells me something.”

“I’ve been getting that same thing from OHA folks in the know,” said Stevens. “This must be a completely new group. Maybe they just want to make a splash and intimidate everyone else.”

“Or maybe they want to get the other groups riled up and kick-start some action,” Lei suggested.

“I’m pretty sure this group is a splinter organization. The rep I spoke to at OHA was furious that they made those demands. She called the manifesto completely counterproductive.” Stevens glanced over at Lei and asked, “Have you checked on Katie lately?”

“Poor kid ran off after she showed us the video link. I’ll go find her. I need a leg stretch anyway.” Lei stood up and walked with her husband through the bullpen. She gave him a quick hug before he headed to his third-floor office. “Thanks for tackling OHA for us.”

“I learned a lot today, mostly from Pono. And I’m happy to get in on an active case these days,” Stevens said. “See you at home.” He trotted up the stairs.

“Now where would Katie be? Probably in her Cave, but I’ll grab some coffee first,” Lei muttered, hands on her hips. “I need a pickup to get through this day from hell.”

She found the young investigator in the break room, stretched out on the Naugahyde sofa. The shades were drawn, and a damp dish towel covered her forehead and eyes. Gentle snores issued from Katie’s mouth. “Hey kiddo. Wake up.” Lei pulled a chair over and sat beside her intern. “How are you feeling?”

“God, Lei, that was so horrible.” Katie pushed the dish towel aside and sat up. “I didn’t mean to lose my shit and run out of the room.”

“You just did what the rest of us were thinking about doing. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life and hope I never do again.”

“How could someone . . .” Katie asked in a near whisper. “Those poor people . . .”

“We had to see it,” Lei said, “or, at least, someone in MPD had to. How did you figure out the video was there? It’s not visible on the manifesto page.”

“It was hidden, embedded on the website,” Katie said.

“At least none of the media saw it, as far as we can tell. But how did you know where to look?”

“Something about the photos of the victims’ faces on their drivers’ licenses kept bugging me. I finally figured out that the eyes weren’t right. They didn’t look like a dead person’s eyes—well, on the first two anyway. I kept thinking, what is it about those eyes? And then it hit me: someone had layered in different eyes, like from when they were alive. And in the very center of the pupil, it wasn’t round, it was square.” Katie patted her pale cheeks with the dish towel. Her hair was a disordered mess; she still looked a little green. “Mu from the Warriors of Kamehameha wanted us to ‘see’ something. That was the hint. Maybe they wanted to find out if we were smart enough to figure it out. When I moved the cursor up to the eyes it went active, so I knew that if I clicked, something would happen. Maybe he did it that way so the media wouldn’t find it.” Katie took a couple of deep breaths in through the nose, blowing out through the mouth. “I’m feeling a little better. Whew.”

“The videos show what the crime scene team and autopsy confirmed about the cause of death and murder weapons. I forwarded the link to my friend Sophie on Oahu. She has mad computer skills, and maybe she can tease out enough detail to help us determine more about the killer—though he seems to have been very careful so far not to give us anything.” Lei stood up. “You ready to get up? Come to the bullpen with me so we can fill you in. Maybe it will trigger an idea in that brain of yours.”

“Sure.”

Back at the cubicle, Pono stood up to give Katie a hug. “Eh,sistah. You did good finding that site and the hidden videos. The Captain just called and asked if you can find a way to hide that site?”

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