Page 61 of Deadly Sacrifice

Lei parked further down the block; they didn’t want to alert Mank of their approach until the last minute. This was the kind of quiet residential neighborhood where everyone kept an eye on each other; a police visit was a noteworthy event.

Lei and Pono got out of the vehicle and backtracked, walking rapidly along the sidewalk, alert for any movement. Pono hurried around to the rear of the house to check the back door as Lei went to the front entry.

No sign of movement inside, no lights, no sound. She’d been in this job long enough to know that this could mean a lot of things. Lei rang the bell. Inside the house, she heard the faint peal of bells.

Nothing.

She rang again.

Still nothing.

Lei pounded on the door. “Open up. Police!”

No response.

She called the house’s landline. Faintly, she heard the sound of a ringing phone inside. A recording came on, asking her to leave a message.

Lei pounded and called again. Next door, on either side, lights came on as the neighbors woke.

Lei blew out a breath of frustration. The faint scent of cut grass in the morning air did nothing to ease the tension in her gut as Pono came back around to join her. “Back door was locked. No lights on inside anywhere that I could see.”

“His car’s here. He hasn’t shown up anywhere else. And after what Katie dug up last night? I’m sure he’s involved—somehow.”

Pono grunted in agreement, his gaze flicking toward the front door. “You think he’s gonna answer?”

Lei shook her head. “Doubt it.”

“So—exigent circumstances?” Pono’s brown eyes gleamed and he cracked his big knuckles. “He could’ve been taken by the ?Kapu Killer.’” If police believed a person was in imminent danger, breaking into a house to check on them was justified. “I’m in the mood for a window breaking or door-bashing.”

Lei put her hands on her hips. “Let’s think this through. If Mank’s gone and the car is in the garage, it could be like Goodwin. Maybe he’s been taken already. He could also have fled, especially after we took Beck Noble into custody.” She made eye contact with her partner. “If we break in without justification and find evidence he’s involved with the killings, we may have tainted the chain of evidence collection. Since he’s not here, I’d rather get a court order and a locksmith and do it the right way.”

Pono threw his head back and groaned. “I wanted to kick this front door in so bad.”

“You need coffee and a Danish, that’s what you need,” Lei said.

“I’m off sugar and carbs, dammit,” Pono said. They turned, heading back down the driveway.

“Then we’ll get you coffee and a hard-boiled egg at Minit Stop. Then we’ll go to Judge Medeiros’s house and see if we can get him to sign one of those fill-in-the-blank search warrants you’ve been bragging about having. We need to get inside, and I’m hoping we’ll find something important when we do and be able to use it to build the case, not just break it.”

* * *

Several hours later,caffeinated and fed, search warrant in hand, the pair returned to Mank’s house with the locksmith who worked on retainer for the police department.

Lei knocked and called, identifying herself as police as she had done before.

No answer.

She stepped aside and the locksmith moved forward with his tool kit. A few minutes later, he unlocked the front and garage doors and left.

Gloved up and ready to search, Lei and Pono entered, weapons drawn. Though fairly certain Mank was either gone or dead, entering a suspect’s house was always cause for caution.

The inside of the place was dark, the air thick with the smell of stale coffee and something faintly metallic. Lei’s senses were on high alert as she flicked on the lights. Pono moved beside her, his larger frame tense but steady. They split up and verified the house was clear, then reconvened in the entranceway. “Let’s both do a quick check and then split this up for a more in-depth search,” Lei said.

“Agreed.”

The living room was sparsely furnished with a set of matched furniture that had a “rented as a set” vibe. But it was the hallway to the back of the house that caught Lei’s eye.

Mounted on the wall was a collection of Hawaiian war weapons—intricately crafted spears, clubs, and knives. Lei’s breath caught as she recognized the unmistakable shape of aleiomano, the shark-tooth-edged club that had been used in two of the murders.

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