may be out in the field. I’ll let you know.”
The Lieutenant sat back, interlocking his fingers over his belly. He seemed to feel no need for small talk, and Lei slumped a bit in her hard chair. Relief was making her a little dizzy, and she remembered she had been too nervous to eat breakfast.
“Hey, Lieutenant.” Pono stuck his head in, a worried crease between his brows. “Everything okay?”
“We got some consequences for the perp here,” Lieutenant Ohale said, gesturing to Lei. Pono eased his muscular frame into the room.
“Like what?”
The Lieutenant gestured to Lei.
“Fines, a performance review, and mandatory counseling,” Lei recited.
“Whatever it takes to get this girl some counseling,” Pono said, his relief evident in the broad grin he gave them. “She one crazy-ass bitch and I’m not just talking about her dog.”
Lei glared at Pono’s retreating back. She’d get him later. Stevens came in and lowered himself into the other plastic chair in front of the Lieutenant’s desk. She opened her mouth and Lieutenant Ohale cut her off.
“Stevens, report.”
“Yes, sir.” Stevens faced the Lieutenant. “Came up dry on the witness at the high school. May have to broaden the search parameters on that: other brands of trucks, other dark colors. I think she’s a little too eager to rat out her dead friend. Ran down some of the cell phone numbers. Looks like there are some calls to one of our small-time dealers in town who may know something. I’m bringing him in tomorrow.
“Jeremy’s running down the alibi on the stepdad and it still seems to be checking out, the B & B confirms they were there. I was thinking Lei and Jeremy could go interview some of Haunani’s contacts today while I try and get in with the DA to discuss the warrant for the Reynolds house. Nothing’s really popping right now but we’ve got plenty of leads.”
“Keep me posted,” Ohale said. “Dismissed.”
Lei stuck her head over the top of Jeremy and Stevens’s cubicle a little later.
“Hey, Jeremy,” she said. He looked up from his computer, serious, his eyes wary. She wondered why she put him so on edge. He didn’t seem to like her, and it was something to do with Stevens but she couldn’t figure out what.
“Hi. Come check out this list of addresses.”
Lei sat in Stevens’s cushy leather chair beside him.
“These are the people Stevens wants us to check out today,” he said. “All the people Haunani Pohakoa called or received calls from in the last month. We’re doing drop-bys for some of them and I called some. They’re expecting us.”
“Okay,” she said, looking at the printed list and the driver’s license photos printed next to the names and addresses. “Looks like kids, mostly.”
“Yeah,” he said. He seemed preoccupied. His short, square fingers flew over the keyboard.
“So, how come you got these nice chairs and we got those crappy old ones from the ’70s?” Lei teased.
“Detectives have a few perks,” he said, shutting down his computer.
“You’re pretty young. How’d you get the promotion?”
“My work on the Kolehole Park case,” he said. “I was able to track down the other homeless guy who beat the victim to death.”
“Nice. Any tips for me on making detective?”
He collected his jacket, gun, and badge.
“Nope,” he said. She followed him out, disappointed. He certainly wasn’t a talker.
She thought back to that morning, coming down the hall in her old kimono robe, looking for Stevens. The couch had been empty, the crocheted afghan neatly folded. Stevens had left a note under the coffee maker, which was already full of hot brew:
Had to get back early. Check in with me later.
He wrote with a bold hand, denting the little notebook. He’d drawn a smiley face underneath, and she found herself tearing off the slip of paper and folding it into a wedge she put in her pocket. The dog-eared card he’d given her had finally fallen apart.
She slipped her
The Lieutenant sat back, interlocking his fingers over his belly. He seemed to feel no need for small talk, and Lei slumped a bit in her hard chair. Relief was making her a little dizzy, and she remembered she had been too nervous to eat breakfast.
“Hey, Lieutenant.” Pono stuck his head in, a worried crease between his brows. “Everything okay?”
“We got some consequences for the perp here,” Lieutenant Ohale said, gesturing to Lei. Pono eased his muscular frame into the room.
“Like what?”
The Lieutenant gestured to Lei.
“Fines, a performance review, and mandatory counseling,” Lei recited.
“Whatever it takes to get this girl some counseling,” Pono said, his relief evident in the broad grin he gave them. “She one crazy-ass bitch and I’m not just talking about her dog.”
Lei glared at Pono’s retreating back. She’d get him later. Stevens came in and lowered himself into the other plastic chair in front of the Lieutenant’s desk. She opened her mouth and Lieutenant Ohale cut her off.
“Stevens, report.”
“Yes, sir.” Stevens faced the Lieutenant. “Came up dry on the witness at the high school. May have to broaden the search parameters on that: other brands of trucks, other dark colors. I think she’s a little too eager to rat out her dead friend. Ran down some of the cell phone numbers. Looks like there are some calls to one of our small-time dealers in town who may know something. I’m bringing him in tomorrow.
“Jeremy’s running down the alibi on the stepdad and it still seems to be checking out, the B & B confirms they were there. I was thinking Lei and Jeremy could go interview some of Haunani’s contacts today while I try and get in with the DA to discuss the warrant for the Reynolds house. Nothing’s really popping right now but we’ve got plenty of leads.”
“Keep me posted,” Ohale said. “Dismissed.”
Lei stuck her head over the top of Jeremy and Stevens’s cubicle a little later.
“Hey, Jeremy,” she said. He looked up from his computer, serious, his eyes wary. She wondered why she put him so on edge. He didn’t seem to like her, and it was something to do with Stevens but she couldn’t figure out what.
“Hi. Come check out this list of addresses.”
Lei sat in Stevens’s cushy leather chair beside him.
“These are the people Stevens wants us to check out today,” he said. “All the people Haunani Pohakoa called or received calls from in the last month. We’re doing drop-bys for some of them and I called some. They’re expecting us.”
“Okay,” she said, looking at the printed list and the driver’s license photos printed next to the names and addresses. “Looks like kids, mostly.”
“Yeah,” he said. He seemed preoccupied. His short, square fingers flew over the keyboard.
“So, how come you got these nice chairs and we got those crappy old ones from the ’70s?” Lei teased.
“Detectives have a few perks,” he said, shutting down his computer.
“You’re pretty young. How’d you get the promotion?”
“My work on the Kolehole Park case,” he said. “I was able to track down the other homeless guy who beat the victim to death.”
“Nice. Any tips for me on making detective?”
He collected his jacket, gun, and badge.
“Nope,” he said. She followed him out, disappointed. He certainly wasn’t a talker.
She thought back to that morning, coming down the hall in her old kimono robe, looking for Stevens. The couch had been empty, the crocheted afghan neatly folded. Stevens had left a note under the coffee maker, which was already full of hot brew:
Had to get back early. Check in with me later.
He wrote with a bold hand, denting the little notebook. He’d drawn a smiley face underneath, and she found herself tearing off the slip of paper and folding it into a wedge she put in her pocket. The dog-eared card he’d given her had finally fallen apart.
She slipped her
Similar Books
