Page 63 of Deadly Sacrifice

Lei bit her lip. Was Mank the mastermind behind everything? Or had he been someone who knew too much and had vanished before he could meet the same bloody fate as the others?

Pono shifted, breaking her out of her thoughts. “The weapons are a start. But we’re still missing the why.”

“And we don’t have anything actually tying Mank to the bodies.” Lei drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. “We need to figure out how he fits into all of this. Beck Noble’s our next piece of the puzzle.”

Pono raised an eyebrow. “You think Noble’s gonna talk?”

“He’s been on ice long enough to soften up.” Lei turned the key in the ignition, the truck rumbling to life. Lei lowered the windows so heat from the tropical sun warming the cab of the truck could escape. “Now that we know Mank’s been blackmailing him, he’s going to be looking to save his own skin. Let’s head to county lockup after we drop off the evidence we collected. We can try to shake something loose from the guy.”

Pono grunted agreement as they pulled away. The drive was quiet; both of them were running through the case in their heads. Lei kept circling back to the weapons on the wall. The whole display had a look of being staged, especially the missing spaces. Something about it seemed too neat.

When they pulled into the station, Lei parked the truck and killed the engine, glancing at Pono. “Let’s get the evidence to forensics and then head over to lockup. Time to see what Beck Noble has to say.”

They carried the evidence bags inside, handing them off to TG in the forensics lab and signing everything onto the log. Lei didn’t envy the crime techs; they had tedious but important work. TG and their forensics team would go over the weapons with a fine-tooth comb, comparing the ones they’d found at Mank’s with the ones from the scenes. Looking for prints, DNA, anything that might tie Mank—or anyone else—to the murders.

TG, who’d arrived before them, gave them a quick nod. “We’ll get on this right away. You’ll be the first to know if we find anything tying to the bodies.”

“Mahalo,” Lei said. She and Pono made their way out of the lab.

The county lockup was a short drive away, and they picked up a quick burrito at the Taco Bell drive through, Lei promising not to let Tiare know that Pono had gone off his diet. Eating gave them a chance to decompress.

By the time they reached the jail, Lei felt more centered, her mind focused on the task at hand:Get Beck Noble to talk.

* * *

Inside,they were led to a small, sterile interview room. Noble was fetched, and soon sat in front of them. The project manager was looking worse for wear: hair disheveled, clothes wrinkled, and a sheen of sweat on his forehead. His eyes were wide with a mix of fear and desperation as he addressed them. “You’ve got to let me out of here.”

“Do we have to, though?” Lei folded her hands on the table. Pono stood to her right, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, his presence a solid, silent force in the room. Lei kept her voice calm but firm. “We know Roger Nettle was blackmailing you.”

“No. That’s not true.” A knee-jerk response from the witness.

Lei just stared at him.

Noble paled and swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “How’d you find out?”

“We’ve got the financials. The trail you two left. You’re going to need to help us find him if you want any chance of getting out of this. There’s plenty to charge you with related to what you were up to with Kuleana.”

“I—I don’t know where Roger is,” he stammered. “I swear, I haven’t seen him since . . . since everything started falling apart. I was trying to keep Kuleana moving, but Nettle—he had me by the throat. I couldn’t do anything without him threatening to go public. I had to keep paying him.”

“And the murders?” Lei pressed. “Was that you, too?”

Noble’s face gleamed with perspiration. “No! No, I swear, I didn’t know anything about the murders. Roger was blackmailing me, and then people on the team started dying. But I swear, I didn’t kill anyone.”

Lei studied him for a moment. “Where is Nettle now?” she asked, her voice hard. “You must have some idea.”

Beck shook his head frantically. “No, I don’t know!”

“And now he’s disappeared. Did you take him out?”

“No!” The word exploded out of Noble as he lurched in the metal bolted-down chair. “I’m no killer.”

Pono moved forward to lean a hip on the table, his deep voice a comforting rumble. “We get it. You did what you had to do.”

“Yes. No. I mean, I paid him off! Because I had to. Nothing more.” Noble was panting with stress. “I want my lawyer, and I want to get out of here.”

Lei stared at Noble stonily. “This doesn’t look good for you.”

“Are you arresting me? If not, I’ve been in custody for two days now and I’ve asked for my lawyer. You can’t keep holding me and ignoring my rights.”

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