asked, gesturing with the pen.
“We think Blackman has the strongest motive,” Ken said. “He’s got a record, he has an attitude, and he was fired for threats against Smiley. Haven’t found him yet, though—he doesn’t appear to have an address. Kimo Matthews already has an arrest warrant out, and we bumped that to a priority BOLO.”
Marcella jotted the information. Her white shirt rode up and exposed a patch of golden skin at her tiny waist. Maybe Marcella’s butt wasn’t really that big—it just seemed that way contrasted with her small waist and those full breasts. This was not a problem Lei would ever have, with her slim hips and B-cup bra size.
Lei bit the inside of her cheek. She’d never worried about her attractiveness, hardly noticing herself in the context of other women before—she’d been too busy surviving. Since when did she care that other women were prettier?
Maybe since her ex married a gorgeous Thai girl.
Lei’s mind provided a mental picture of Anchara’s tiny, round butt with that long black hair swishing over it, so long it touched the backs of her thighs. Lei pinched herself viciously through her pants to stop the mental torture, and her hand crept into her pocket to rub the white-gold disc—but that only reminded her of her loss.
She yanked her hand out of her pocket. Focus on the case, Texeira! “Tyson Rezents is only seventeen years old. Until this morning, when he didn’t show up for work, he was an employee of Paradise Air.” Lei filled them in on the connections they’d made on Rezents so far.
Ken gestured to Lei. “Tell the group why you think he’s good for this.” He was giving her an opportunity in front of the group to expand on the ideas she’d been working.
“Rezents has had a rough deal. Mom’s a druggie and a prostitute. He’s been in and out of foster care, and he’s got a chip on his shoulder about the wealthy. I saw a Facebook page with a lot of rants about the ‘one percent,’ and I notice that’s in the blog caption.”
“Here it is.” Ang had been busy. Her screen popped up next to Waxman’s. Rezents’s Facebook page looked like it had been edited. She didn’t see the political cartoons she’d spotted before, and the rhetoric had been purged.
“That’s not what it looked like when I first saw it,” Lei said.
“Agent Ang, spend some time on each of these suspects, work up some in-depth background. Also, see if you can put some kind of trace on that website, see where it came from and when our unsub uploads to it. Scott and Rogers, you’re on Tom Blackman. Texeira and Yamada, you’re on Rezents, since you already have some traction there. And, Texeira, you have some law enforcement connections on Maui—alert them. Let’s do an all-islands priority BOLO in case he makes a run for it.” Waxman retracted the overhead screen, signaling the meeting was over.
Lei gathered her coffee mug and notes. Her heart began a slow thud. She had a reason to call over to Maui, whether she wanted to or not. And she might end up speaking to Stevens when she did.
Chapter 8
Lei punched the numbers on the phone decisively.
“Haiku Station.”
“Lieutenant Omura, please.”
“Just a moment.” A slack-key guitar rendition of Muzak filled her ear while the call was transferred to her former commanding officer at Haiku Station on Maui. Lieutenant Omura was a formidable woman—one Lei was still intimidated by—but in the course of an investigation last year, she had come to respect her.
“Omura here.”
“This is Special Agent Lei Texeira calling from Oahu.”
“Lei! Excellent, I heard you graduated. How are you?”
“Fine. Thanks, Lieutenant.”
“Captain, thank you very much. I’m in the middle of moving my office to Kahului Station. Captain Corpuz took early retirement, and I’m taking his place.”
“Congratulations! Even better that I got ahold of you today. This is an official call.” Lei filled Omura in on the investigation
“We think Blackman has the strongest motive,” Ken said. “He’s got a record, he has an attitude, and he was fired for threats against Smiley. Haven’t found him yet, though—he doesn’t appear to have an address. Kimo Matthews already has an arrest warrant out, and we bumped that to a priority BOLO.”
Marcella jotted the information. Her white shirt rode up and exposed a patch of golden skin at her tiny waist. Maybe Marcella’s butt wasn’t really that big—it just seemed that way contrasted with her small waist and those full breasts. This was not a problem Lei would ever have, with her slim hips and B-cup bra size.
Lei bit the inside of her cheek. She’d never worried about her attractiveness, hardly noticing herself in the context of other women before—she’d been too busy surviving. Since when did she care that other women were prettier?
Maybe since her ex married a gorgeous Thai girl.
Lei’s mind provided a mental picture of Anchara’s tiny, round butt with that long black hair swishing over it, so long it touched the backs of her thighs. Lei pinched herself viciously through her pants to stop the mental torture, and her hand crept into her pocket to rub the white-gold disc—but that only reminded her of her loss.
She yanked her hand out of her pocket. Focus on the case, Texeira! “Tyson Rezents is only seventeen years old. Until this morning, when he didn’t show up for work, he was an employee of Paradise Air.” Lei filled them in on the connections they’d made on Rezents so far.
Ken gestured to Lei. “Tell the group why you think he’s good for this.” He was giving her an opportunity in front of the group to expand on the ideas she’d been working.
“Rezents has had a rough deal. Mom’s a druggie and a prostitute. He’s been in and out of foster care, and he’s got a chip on his shoulder about the wealthy. I saw a Facebook page with a lot of rants about the ‘one percent,’ and I notice that’s in the blog caption.”
“Here it is.” Ang had been busy. Her screen popped up next to Waxman’s. Rezents’s Facebook page looked like it had been edited. She didn’t see the political cartoons she’d spotted before, and the rhetoric had been purged.
“That’s not what it looked like when I first saw it,” Lei said.
“Agent Ang, spend some time on each of these suspects, work up some in-depth background. Also, see if you can put some kind of trace on that website, see where it came from and when our unsub uploads to it. Scott and Rogers, you’re on Tom Blackman. Texeira and Yamada, you’re on Rezents, since you already have some traction there. And, Texeira, you have some law enforcement connections on Maui—alert them. Let’s do an all-islands priority BOLO in case he makes a run for it.” Waxman retracted the overhead screen, signaling the meeting was over.
Lei gathered her coffee mug and notes. Her heart began a slow thud. She had a reason to call over to Maui, whether she wanted to or not. And she might end up speaking to Stevens when she did.
Chapter 8
Lei punched the numbers on the phone decisively.
“Haiku Station.”
“Lieutenant Omura, please.”
“Just a moment.” A slack-key guitar rendition of Muzak filled her ear while the call was transferred to her former commanding officer at Haiku Station on Maui. Lieutenant Omura was a formidable woman—one Lei was still intimidated by—but in the course of an investigation last year, she had come to respect her.
“Omura here.”
“This is Special Agent Lei Texeira calling from Oahu.”
“Lei! Excellent, I heard you graduated. How are you?”
“Fine. Thanks, Lieutenant.”
“Captain, thank you very much. I’m in the middle of moving my office to Kahului Station. Captain Corpuz took early retirement, and I’m taking his place.”
“Congratulations! Even better that I got ahold of you today. This is an official call.” Lei filled Omura in on the investigation
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