Page 60 of Deadly Sacrifice

Katie’s fingers danced across the keyboard, pulling up more records, cross-referencing payments, internal memos, emails, and financial documents. There were transfers—encrypted, funneled through offshore accounts—that led from Beck Noble to Ronald Mank, aka “Kahuna.”

Yep, Noble had been paying Mank to keep quiet about the overbilling, the kickbacks, and the shoddy materials being used on Kuleana’s buildings. Noble wasn’t just an innocent bystander. He was a man with everything to lose if Mank’s blackmail ever came to light.

Katie’s eyes flicked to the timeline of events she’d created. The murders had started after the Kuleana team had been finalizing the plans for one of their largest projects—the Iao Valley build.

The first victim, Goodwin, a high-ranking team member, could have been getting too close to discovering the truth. Same with the second, Jonas Kleftes. And then David Steinbrenner, the third victim and also the company head—maybe he had uncovered something about the fraud. Maybe he’d been about to expose Beck or Mank.

But there was still a gap in Katie’s speculation.What was the trigger for the murders? And why the whole Hawaiiana thing?

Katie tapped on the desk. “Hmm.” Maybe Beck Noble hadn’t orchestrated the murders—maybe he was just a pawn in Mank’s larger game. But someone had killed three people, and Noble was the last person standing from the original Kuleana team.

Katie pulled up the list of Kuleana’s projects again, focusing on the largest and most contentious one—the development in Iao Valley.

This project had caused the most friction with the local community. It was the one that had required Steinbrenner at Noble’s request to bring in Mank as a “cultural and environmental expert” to advise on the development’s handling of the land and any artifacts; even so, the project had been plagued with issues from the start.

Katie dug deeper. Mank had been blackmailing Beck Noble, but who else had he been targeting? Mank was a master manipulator, so there had to be others—other team members who had secrets, who had been compromised.

With a renewed sense of determination, Katie opened a secure channel to the case files and began compiling everything she’d found so far. She attached her notes on Roger Nettle’s real identity as Ronald Mank along with the charges pending against him in other states. She pulled together the documentation showing the blackmail between Beck Noble and the fake cultural expert. And then she flagged Captain Omura, just as Lei had asked.

But before she hit Send, she hesitated. Beck was in custody, but Mank was still out there. Though his previous crimes hadn’t included murder, he might have escalated. The murders might be about silencing the truth of what Beck and Mank had been up to. She had to make sure he was brought into custody, ASAP.

Katie’s eyes flicked to the tracker program running in the background. Dark Wizard still hadn’t logged in, but it was only a matter of time. Mank wasn’t the type to disappear for long because he thrived on easy pickings—and Katie had set the perfect trap for him.

She saved her files, locking them down with her highest level of encryption, and sent the email to the Captain. She then picked up her phone and rang Lei’s number. Her boss answered, voice sleepy. “This better be good, McHenry.”

“I’ve got a solid lead regarding Beck Noble and Roger Nettle,” Katie said. “I mean, Noble’s not involved in the murders—not directly, I don’t think. That would be killing the goose with the golden eggs. But he’s been overbilling Kuleana, using kickbacks and substandard materials. And Ronald Mank’s been blackmailing him. I mean, Roger Nettle, who is actually Ronald Mank. Wanted in three states.”

“Ronald who? Blackmail what?” Lei was trying to wake up.

“I’ve got the data and financials to back it up.”

Lei exhaled sharply. “So Nettle’s behind all of this?”

“Ronald Mank. Roger Nettle is an alias. And I think so,” Katie said. “I don’t have the full picture yet. But I think Mank might have been blackmailing other people, too—maybe even Helen Steinbrenner.”

Lei was quiet for a moment. “Pull together the data and send it to me, even if we can’t use it in court, because I’m not going to even ask how you got all this. But be careful. Pono and I will scoop Mank up tomorrow and bring him in for questioning. You did good, McHenry.” She ended the call.

Katie grinned and fist-pumped the air. “Better than winning a level at Worlds of Magic. Now for some shut-eye while I wait for the Dark Wizard.”

36

LEI

Early the next morning,so early that dawn was still a promise of the coming day on the other side of the vast mount of Haleakala, Lei drove her truck slowly past the driveway of Roger Nettle/Ronald Mank’s address, with Pono in the passenger seat. Katie had sent them the information about Roger Nettle/Ronald Mank overnight and they had reviewed on the way to their destination. By getting there early, they hoped to catch the suspect at home.

The place was a modest ranch in Wailuku in a planned neighborhood. Neat lawn, modest Areca palms, beige paint—the blackmailer was keeping a low profile.

Pono scanned the property as Lei was doing the same. Lei’s eyes narrowed as, through a glass panel window in the garage, she spotted the gleam of Mank’s white SUV parked inside.

“He’s in,” she told her partner. “Car’s in the garage.”

“Looks like.”

She and Pono were prepared for resistance. Lei’s ballistic vest rubbed against the tender skin on the insides of her upper arms. The Velcro was a little too tight and constricted her breathing like an old-fashioned corset.

Now that they were past the house, Lei drew in a deep breath and gusted it out, consciously relaxing, visualizing a calm and tidy arrest.

Ronald Mank was wanted in other states. He wouldn’t be getting out of jail once they had him in custody. They could take their time interviewing and uncover his role in the ‘Kapu Killer’ murders, as the media had dubbed them.

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