Seductive Reasoning (TASK FORCE HAWAII Book 1) (7 page)

She blew up the screen. “Looked up the license plate and guess where it is now?”

He looked at her.

“It was impounded. It is being sent over, and I will get my grubby hands on it tonight.”

He kissed her cheek. “You
are
an ebony queen.”

She smiled. “And don’t you forget it, boss man.”

“Let me know what you find.”

“Of course,” she said, sipping on her coffee as she walked out of her office. She had a car to take apart and play with. She needed to change.

D
el walked
into the squad room just as his phone chimed. It was McGregor.

“Yeah, I have you on speaker.”

“Marcus and I talked to a few friends of hers here at work. Some of them had no idea she was missing, but there were one or two who claimed that Susan was involved with a man.”

He looked at Cat, who nodded. Damn, he hated when she was right, but maybe she was just off with the new man having fun.

“That’s news to us. Her roommates didn’t know about a man.”

“She just met him recently. Called him Sugar Daddy when she talked to him on the phone. She told a few of the girls here that she was going away with him for a few days.”

“Interesting. Did they say why she might not have told her roommates?”

“Not sure.” Marcus said. “Although one of them gave us the idea that the man was older, and something about one of her roommates might be jealous. Other than that, nothing.”

“Okay. Come back here and we can mobilize with HPD.”

“Oh, Cat, we met Danny Aiona today,” McGregor said.

Her eyes narrowed. “Yeah, so?”

“He had a lot of interesting things to share about you.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but Del pushed on. They didn’t have time for this shit.

“Quick question. Did either of you mention the tattoo to anyone?”

“Nope,” McGregor said.

“I thought we were keeping that under wraps,” Marcus said.

“We are, but somehow someone let it leak. Or something. The press is calling it the
Akua
Killer. The Goddess Killer, in other words.”

“Well,
fuck
us. Neither of us gave it away,” McGregor said.

“Okay. Get back here as soon as you can, and we’ll go over some things.”

He clicked off the phone just as Adam came breezing back into the squad room.

“Hey, Boss. Talked to the parents. Nothing. They had no idea she was missing. They usually talk to her about once a week, but her parents were out of town all of last week. They went on a cruise, so they didn’t have good contact with her.”

“And that would have been planned months in advance. Something Susan would have known about and might tell her boyfriend,” Cat said.

“Are there things you would tell your boyfriend and not your friends?” Del asked.

She snorted. “Yeah, and the other way around too. Young women at that age can really cause problems with relationships. Plus, if he is older, there’s a chance he’s married. He might have insisted on it for that reason.” She shrugged. “Maybe it’s a simple misunderstanding.”

He looked at her, and knew from her expression, she didn’t believe it. He glanced at Adam.

“Yeah, I am going to err on the side of caution,” Adam said. “The woman has been missing several days, and what did Emma say? She thought for sure he already had another woman?”

He nodded. It was one of those times he wished she had been wrong. He was betting that she wished that, too.

“Did you reveal anything about the tattoo to her parents or anyone?”

Adam shook his head. “I thought we were keeping it out of the press. All I asked them was about her feelings about the tattoo.”

“We were. And without her parents knowing, we have a problem.”

“Why?” Adam asked.

“Well, Jin is calling him the
Akua
Killer.”

“
Fuck
.”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t think Emma told anyone, do you?” Cat asked.

He shook his head. “Do you think she would willingly talk to a person?”

Cat chuckled. “No, I guess not.”

“I’ll double check with her, but I think we might have a really big issue here,” he said as comprehension lit Adam’s eyes.

“
Fuck
, we might have a leak somewhere.”

“Bingo,” he said. “And, if we lose the killer because of this, whoever leaked the info is going to wish he had never been born.”

Del would definitely make sure of it.

T
wo days
of hunting for the college student did not give them anything. The entire police force, the UH college campus, and the majority of Oahu had come together again to search for the young woman. They had covered the island and found nothing. The idea that this young woman had just disappeared off the island with no trace was absurd. Worse, after checking all the airlines and going through hours of security recordings, they knew she had not flown off the island. Other than by boat, that woman could not have left. Del’s irritation with the newswoman continued to grow as they watched the update she was giving on the news.

“
Still no leads in the investigation, even with TFH in control of it. The amount of money spent on the task force is exorbitant, and it has led many to question if they are worth the price
.”

“Turn it off,” Del said. “I can’t deal with that woman any more.”

Adam shook his head. “She isn’t far off, Boss.”

He looked at his friend. “What? You think we deserve that shit?”

“No. But I know a lot of people are questioning us.”

“Let me guess. A couple of the asses who didn’t get my job?”

He nodded. “I’m not saying it’s all true, but damn, it’s fucking frustrating.”

Del couldn’t disagree with that. Every lead had dried up. No one knew who she was dating. They had yet to find a traffic cam video of her leaving the Luau Paradise show that night. On top of that, they had hoped to find something in the abandoned car, but the only thing Charity found were strands of Grace Singh’s hair and carpet fibers. If they found the guy, then they might be able to connect him.

“Any word from Emma?” Adam asked.

He settled his hands on his hips. “I texted her an hour ago. She texted back BO.”

“BO?” Adam asked.

“Bugger off.”

“So, nothing in that realm and now this crap. I’m not sure how much more we can take, Boss. It seems every inch of this island has been searched.”

“That’s impossible, knowing some of the areas around here. The hiking trails alone lead to all kinds of places that have not been searched. Our problem is the lead time he has on us. Not knowing where and when she disappeared doesn’t help. He is a crafty bastard.”

Adam nodded. Del looked out his window. The sun was setting and another day had disappeared. Since they had the National Guard helping in the rescue, he had some of his time back, and they could pursue leads. Well, if they had any leads that is. Right now they had next to nothing. Even another visit with Susan’s friends yielded nothing. With Jin Phillips fueling the fires, it had caused even more scrutiny of his team.

“Why don’t you go home, Boss?”

He glanced at Adam. “Sick of me?”

“Well, there has been a discussion about your smell.”

He chuckled. “I’ve had showers here and changes of clothes, but getting out of the office might do me some good.”

“You have the bike here, right? Go for a drive, clear your head. I’ll call if there is anything.”

“Make sure you ping me as soon as you hear.”

Adam nodded, but they both knew there would be nothing. Not tonight. They both had a sense about these things, unfortunately.

“You’re doing everything you can. Take an hour or two, come back refreshed.”

So, less than ten minutes later, he was on his bike, but he didn’t head out to Hawaii Kai. Instead, he found himself parking his Harley by Emma’s condo. Like last time, he flashed his badge and went up. He knocked, expecting her to take her time coming to the door. Instead, it flung open.

He blinked at the vision before him. What the hell had happened? She was a mess. Her hair was sticking up on one side of her head. It was as if she had twisted it around her finger over and over, a habit when she was concentrating. It was easy to see she hadn’t had any sleep. The delicate flesh beneath her eyes was bruised. Del was pretty sure she probably hadn’t been eating either.

“Any word?” she demanded.

It hit him, and he realized that she had been waiting just as they had. He shook his head and she stepped back. “I thought you might call if something broke.

“Nothing has.”

She emitted a sound of disgust, then turned on her heel and marched into the living room. He followed, then stopped as soon as the room came into view. Good God, it looked like a bomb had gone off. When Emma started working, some things would go to hell. Her clothes, and there would be research crap all over the place. But…this was a whole other level of chaos. The usual papers and books littered the floor and tables. Candy wrappers, empty energy drink containers, plus takeout containers were stacked everywhere else.

“What is going on here?”

She glanced around and shrugged. “I’ve been working. I have yet to find anything between the two women. But, I have been finding some interesting things in Japan. They had a couple of killings last year. It took a bit of digging, and I still need to get more background, but a few reports talk about some women and tattoos.”

She was talking too fast—almost manic. He should have made Sean come over and check on her. With the press hounding his every step, he’d avoided leading them to Emma’s door. Her brother should have been stopping by though. Sean knew she was working on this case and knew she could lapse into an episode.

“They probably had more than just a few.”

“I meant like these. Both of the women were tattooed. I am still searching for more information, but I haven’t found what the tats were of or if it had the same MO.”

She stuck the pencil in her mouth and started typing on her computer. He knew that crazed look in her eyes, and the use of run on sentences. It was when she was about to go into the deep end. Too much info and too much to think about. All of it became a mass of unending thoughts that she could not seem to split apart. She could continue on like this until she had a meltdown. She was brilliant, but this was one of those times when she needed someone to push back. Del elected himself as that person for the night.

“Hey, are you hungry?”

It took her a second to turn to face him. When she did, it took more than just a moment for her gaze to focus on him. “What?”

“Eat, as in have food?”

She shook her head. “I’m fine. I had Skittles for breakfast.”

He shook his head. “You eat like a teenager.”

“What does that have to do with the investigation?”

He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from her laptop. “Come on. Let’s go eat.”

“I think I have things here. And I have work. Lots of work. I have to read over the reports as soon as I get them sent to me. I
must
be here.”

There was a tinge of desperation in her voice, and he knew it well. Their first case had affected her like this. She’d almost lost it then, but he knew how to reel her back from the edge.

“Most of your food is probably unhealthy.”

“How do you know that?”

“You just told me you had Skittles for breakfast, and there are enough empty energy drink containers to fuel a football team for weeks. You need real food.”

She dug in her heels. Panic was definitely setting in. It shimmered in her voice. “We could order in.”

“No. We need to go out.”

“Need?”

“Yeah. Fresh air will do you good, and because your bed is just a few feet away.”

She yanked her arm away from him. “So?”

The woman knew just how to push every last one of his buttons. One of these days, the two of them were going to have it out, but it wasn’t the right time.

“I am in the mood to finish that kiss I started the other day.”

She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut.

“Yeah, there’s that.”

She suddenly looked wary of him. “You haven’t said anything since then.”

“We’ve both been too busy, other things in the way.”

“But you don’t want to act on it?”

He could give her a line, but he didn’t. He couldn’t. Del was starting to realize just how important she was to him.

“Yeah. I would give anything to strip those clothes off you and kiss every inch of your sweet, soft skin.”

“What’s stopping you?”

“We aren’t ready.”

She frowned. “We aren’t?”

“No. Now, let’s go eat.”

She crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “Not really hungry.”

“Okay, let’s just go for a ride. Get some long pants on.”

“On your Harley?”

He nodded and held his breath. When she got set on a path, it was very hard to divert her, unless he physically carried her out of her condo. But he didn’t want to do that.

Then, inch-by-inch, her mouth curved.

“That sounds brilliant.”

She hurried away and Del started to realize that making her smile had given him a high he had never experienced before. Just the sight of her happiness had his hormones humming, and his mood suddenly seemed lighter.

Damn, he was in a lot of trouble but, at the moment, he didn’t really care.

E
mma hated to admit it
, but Del had been correct. The ride through the night had lifted her spirits and eased her mind. By the time they stopped to eat, it was already dark. Emma had enjoyed the fast trip up Pali Highway, then back down into Honolulu. She couldn’t remember ever just going for a ride for fun, and especially not on a Harley. Her Moped just did not measure up. They parked at the Fort DeRussy parking garage and walked over to Wailana Coffeehouse.

Once they were seated, Del looked over the menu.

“What are you going to have?”

“Roast turkey sandwich. It’s not as good as Randy’s, but it still tastes pretty good.”

He glanced up. “Randy cooks?”

“Well, some. He seems to be in charge of Thanksgiving, but he’s also made roast turkey sandwiches for Sunday dinner before. They are amazing. All three of them have their specialties. Sean is amazing with a grill, and Jaime is the baker.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but the waitress showed up.

“Hey, Emma. The usual?”

She nodded. “Sure thing, Peg. And some hot tea, please.”

Del looked at her, and then at the waitress. “I’ll take a burger, medium, a glass of water, and coffee, no cream.”

“I’ll get it right to you,” she said with a smile, and left them alone.

“Come here often?”

Emma chuckled. “While this is a cosmopolitan city, there aren’t a lot of places that cater to insomniacs, and it took me awhile to find a place that wasn’t loud and close to my condo.”

He nodded and waited to continue as Peg brought them their drinks.

“So, how do you handle your brother’s lifestyle?”

She shrugged. “It is a little different, but then, what do I know about family? My father and mother were…well odd. Add in the fact that my father never told me I had an older brother, so it doesn’t really give me a good basis. But, Sean is the only family I have left, and I really want him happy.”

“Yeah, I got that idea during the takedown of Letov.”

Those days, to her, were still a horrific memory. Having a deadly terrorist plotting to kill her brother had consumed her. Saving him had been her only goal for months. The idea that they had been brought together by Letov to punish Sean was just icing on the cake for her. He had wanted to break both of them, but what the bastard had done was bring them together.

“But, they are really happy, so I don’t have an issue with it. I mean, so what three people live together. Who cares? Well, there is one problem.”

“What’s that?”

“I have to text before I come over.”

“That’s Sean’s rule?”

“No, mine.” She sipped her tea. “If you ever eat over there, you will be glad to know that the kitchen counter has been cleaned with the strongest antibacterial cleanser there is. I insisted on it.”

He snorted. “So, walked in on something, did you?”

“There are just some things a sister does not
ever
want to see. I mean, how do I get
that
out of my memory?”

He said nothing, but smiled at her. Something tickled at the back of her throat, as she felt her body heat. His eyes had turned darker…warmer. It was harder to ignore these feelings after that kiss. Before, she was convinced that he wasn’t interested in her. Now though, she wondered what was going through his mind.

“What?”

He shrugged. “It’s been a long time since we talked like this.”

When she had first settled in Hawaii, she had stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. It suited her needs, and she liked that she could get to know where she lived before finding a place.

When Del first started to pop up to her room, she had thought he was doing it to be nice. Then, she realized she’d started counting on those early morning chats. She didn’t know a lot of people, and she hated to socialize, but with Del, she hadn’t minded.

Coffee in the mornings together had been one of her very few social outlets. That had all stopped when they had their blowup at work.

“Oh.”

“I missed this.”

She hadn’t realized how much she had come to depend on those chats until they had stopped. She had been too much of a coward to seek him out though. She didn’t really want to face her attraction to him. Not now. And not then.

She didn’t respond because she couldn’t. Emma just didn’t have it in her to talk about feelings, especially these. She was still raw from their blowup and while they had sort of made up, she wasn’t sure how long it would last.

“And then, I had some bad moments when I thought you might be dating Drew.”

She shook her head. “Dead Guy Drew?”

“I didn’t know you knew about his nickname.”

“Just like I know the team calls me Beautiful Mind.”

He made a face.

She smiled. “No, really, I don’t mind. It’s kind of cool.”

“You think it’s cool you have a nickname like that?”

“At first I was kind of upset, but when I talked to Sean, he explained it was their way of making me part of the group. He said in situations like the one we work in, nicknames are kind of their way of accepting me. Like how everyone calls Graeme Goldilocks.”

“I thought that maybe you would go out with him.”