Page 35 of Tiki Beach
A flicker crossed his face. “Text? No. But whoever sent it gave good advice.” His hand moved to his pocket. I tensed, unsure what he might be reaching for.
Before he could withdraw whatever it was, Tiki launched herself at his legs.
That one eared, kink-tailed, yowling, twenty-pound calico streak of fury hit his thighs with her claws extended. David let out a startled howl, stumbling backward, as Tiki’s claws connected with, and penetrated, his expensive pants.
“What the—hellcat!” he shouted, trying to kick or knock her loose without success. “Get off!”
I seized the opportunity to dart past him. A waft of sandalwood cologne, tainted with sweat, hit my nose. Tiki disengaged as quickly as she’d attacked, racing ahead of me down the hallway toward the entrance.
“Kat Smith!” David yelled after me, voice sharp with anger. “Stay out of our business! This isn’t over!”
“It is unless you want serious injury from my cat!” I hollered over my shoulder. I pushed through the front door into the bright afternoon sunlight.
To my surprise, Lei’s truck was pulling into the lot at that moment, her cop light flashing on the dash. She opened the door and stepped out, looking ready for action in slim black jeans and a tan cotton blazer. Sunlight winked off the detective shield on her belt. “Pua called and said you sounded excited about something at the community center.”
“David Santos, the planning commissioner, is inside,” I said. “He threatened me. And I found something—evidence Pearl hid in her origami cranes collection.”
“Where is Santos now?” Lei asked, her hand coming to rest on the service weapon at her hip.
As if on cue, Santos emerged from the center, composure restored except for the distinct, blood-spotted claw marks visible on the rumpled chino fabric of his thighs.
He stopped short at the sight of Lei and me talking.
“Detective,” he said. “I was just having a conversation with Ms. Smith about proper authorization for accessing park facilities.”
“Really?” Lei said. “Because it sounded more like you were threatening her about our investigation into Pearl Yamamoto’s attempted murder.”
Santos’s face remained neutral. “Ms. Smith misunderstood. I was just expressing concern about the dangers of spreading unfounded rumors about respected community members.”
“Like your grandfather the war criminal?” I rapped out.
Something dark flickered in his eyes before he masked it with a politician’s smile. “I should get back to the office. Permit applications to review.” He nodded curtly and moved toward his car, giving Tiki a wide berth. “You’re lucky I’m not lodging a complaint with animal control about that dangerous feline.”
I rolled my eyes and bit my lip on any further comment—I actually didn’t want to have to deal with something like that.
Lei watched the planning commissioner go, her expression thoughtful. “I’ll be following up with that man. Downtown in handcuffs, preferably.”
I pulled the tiny drive from my pocket. “I found this hidden in one of Pearl’s origami cranes. According to her note, it contains evidence of crimes committed by Felix Santos, David’s grandfather, during the war. Crimes the family has been covering up for generations. We should go back inside and collect the cranes as evidence, now that he’s out of the room.”
“But how did he know you were here?” Lei frowned.
“Good question,” I said. “Someone’s keeping tabs on my movements. First the threatening text—which might have been him—and now this.”
Lei held out her hand. “Let me see that drive. We need to find out exactly what Pearl discovered.”
I placed the tiny device in her palm, feeling both relief at sharing the burden and reluctance to give up our key evidence. “We’ve got more info I haven’t had time to update you on that speaks to motive.”
Just then, the smoke alarm went off inside the building. A rush of apprehension tightened my gut as Lei and I ran to investigate.
Sure enough, David Santos had burned all of Pearl’s carefully constructed cranes in the steel trash can inside the classroom. “Oh no!” I exclaimed. “I didn’t even have time to photograph them!”
“At least we still have the drive,” Lei said as I dumped a vase of water on the smoldering ash in the can. “Let’s go to the Hana police station and see what’s on it. And I’ll need a statement from you about David’s threats. Nice work, by the way,” she added, glancing down at Tiki, who was now sitting serenely beside my vehicle as if she hadn’t just assaulted a local official.
“Tiki has good instincts about people,” I said, bending to stroke her. Tiki turned on a purr that sounded like a motorboat with a bad gas mix and wound around my ankles.
“Better than some humans I know,” Lei said. “I’ll take this back to the Hana station and see what’s on the drive. If there’s solid evidence, we might have enough to bring Santos in for questioning.”
“I wish I could go with you, but the case has taken enough of my workday,” I said regretfully. “Since I’ve got you though, let me catch you up on what Keone and I uncovered yesterday.”
