her mind returning to the confrontation with Stevens in spite of the dreamy vista of green fields and majestic cumulous clouds. Even the grim errand she was on couldn’t keep her thoughts from returning to the painful words they’d exchanged yesterday evening.
She hoped Dr. Wilson called her back soon.
Lei slowed the silver Tacoma and pulled alongside the kiosk at the entrance of Haleakala National Park. She held her ID up to the ranger in olive drab at the window.
“ Official business. We have a report of a death in the Waikamoi area.” The K-9 unit was also en route, since they had no idea where to look for the body.
The ranger waved her through , Pono following in his vehicle. They turned in to the Hosmer’s Grove trailhead area. Lei’s heart rate picked up as she pushed thoughts of Stevens and the wedding out of her mind to focus on the job.
The job. It was always there, life and death, when all else failed.
Chapter 12
Lei and Pono bent over the Asian man in camouflage gear lying just off the boardwalk, close to where they’d found the other body. The dog hadn’t had a scent to follow, but when they reached the reserve area, Blue had let out a howl and towed his handler straight to the downed man.
The victim wasn’t dead after all. Lei called for a helicopter ambulance as Pono tried to assess the man’s injuries. He appeared to be conscious, his eyelids fluttering, but did not respond to their questions. Protruding from his back was another arrow, this one striped with yellow banding.
“ Same MO, though the arrows are different.” Lei squatted beside the man, patting down his pockets. She took a sleek Smith and Wesson 9 mm pistol out of a molded holster on the man’s belt. Like the other poacher, he was wearing cargo pants with loaded pockets. She whipped an evidence bag out of her back pocket and dropped the weapon into it.
“ I’d like to elevate his feet,” Pono said. “He’s not bleeding too badly, but there’s no telling what that arrow has punctured.”
The arrow had pierced the victim’s backpack too, penetrating through tough nylon layers before lodging itself in the man’s upper back. The backpack might well have saved his life. Remembering the birds on the other poacher’s belt, Lei carefully unzipped the netted top of the backpack—and sure enough, inside in a delicate mesh bag, were several brightly colored birds.
The birds were still alive, Lei saw with relief, as she removed the bag from the backpack. She photographed them both in the bag and with Pono holding them before they released all three—two red ones with curved bills and a green one. “ I`iwi is the red one and `amakihi is green,” Pono said, as the birds fluttered weakly into the trees.
“ Think they’ll be all right?” Lei asked, frowning. She could hear the percussive thrum of the helicopter arriving in the open landing area.
“ Can’t have been in the bag too long. As long as they get water soon, they should be okay.” Even as they watched, the birds began to hop around on the branches, then sip nectar from the red lehua blossoms of the tree they’d fluttered onto. Pono crunched off into the ferns to try to determine where the arrow had been fired from, the dog and his handler assisting by looking for scents.
Lei helped stabilize the victim after emptying his pockets into evidence bags—she couldn’t wait to sort through the items she’d recovered, spotting a Chinese passport.
The man moaned and writhed in agony , still not responding to questions, as the medical technicians lifted him facedown onto a pallet for transport. The arrow still protruded from his back, blood welling sluggishly around the entry site to soak his clothing and the backpack. The victim’s sturdy build required all five of them to assist in carrying him back up the trail to the helicopter. Lei handed the med techs a pair of handcuffs.
“ When he’s been treated, cuff him to the bed until we can get there. He’s
She hoped Dr. Wilson called her back soon.
Lei slowed the silver Tacoma and pulled alongside the kiosk at the entrance of Haleakala National Park. She held her ID up to the ranger in olive drab at the window.
“ Official business. We have a report of a death in the Waikamoi area.” The K-9 unit was also en route, since they had no idea where to look for the body.
The ranger waved her through , Pono following in his vehicle. They turned in to the Hosmer’s Grove trailhead area. Lei’s heart rate picked up as she pushed thoughts of Stevens and the wedding out of her mind to focus on the job.
The job. It was always there, life and death, when all else failed.
Chapter 12
Lei and Pono bent over the Asian man in camouflage gear lying just off the boardwalk, close to where they’d found the other body. The dog hadn’t had a scent to follow, but when they reached the reserve area, Blue had let out a howl and towed his handler straight to the downed man.
The victim wasn’t dead after all. Lei called for a helicopter ambulance as Pono tried to assess the man’s injuries. He appeared to be conscious, his eyelids fluttering, but did not respond to their questions. Protruding from his back was another arrow, this one striped with yellow banding.
“ Same MO, though the arrows are different.” Lei squatted beside the man, patting down his pockets. She took a sleek Smith and Wesson 9 mm pistol out of a molded holster on the man’s belt. Like the other poacher, he was wearing cargo pants with loaded pockets. She whipped an evidence bag out of her back pocket and dropped the weapon into it.
“ I’d like to elevate his feet,” Pono said. “He’s not bleeding too badly, but there’s no telling what that arrow has punctured.”
The arrow had pierced the victim’s backpack too, penetrating through tough nylon layers before lodging itself in the man’s upper back. The backpack might well have saved his life. Remembering the birds on the other poacher’s belt, Lei carefully unzipped the netted top of the backpack—and sure enough, inside in a delicate mesh bag, were several brightly colored birds.
The birds were still alive, Lei saw with relief, as she removed the bag from the backpack. She photographed them both in the bag and with Pono holding them before they released all three—two red ones with curved bills and a green one. “ I`iwi is the red one and `amakihi is green,” Pono said, as the birds fluttered weakly into the trees.
“ Think they’ll be all right?” Lei asked, frowning. She could hear the percussive thrum of the helicopter arriving in the open landing area.
“ Can’t have been in the bag too long. As long as they get water soon, they should be okay.” Even as they watched, the birds began to hop around on the branches, then sip nectar from the red lehua blossoms of the tree they’d fluttered onto. Pono crunched off into the ferns to try to determine where the arrow had been fired from, the dog and his handler assisting by looking for scents.
Lei helped stabilize the victim after emptying his pockets into evidence bags—she couldn’t wait to sort through the items she’d recovered, spotting a Chinese passport.
The man moaned and writhed in agony , still not responding to questions, as the medical technicians lifted him facedown onto a pallet for transport. The arrow still protruded from his back, blood welling sluggishly around the entry site to soak his clothing and the backpack. The victim’s sturdy build required all five of them to assist in carrying him back up the trail to the helicopter. Lei handed the med techs a pair of handcuffs.
“ When he’s been treated, cuff him to the bed until we can get there. He’s
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