Page 14

14

LEI

Reaching the team meeting to discuss the Goodwin murder seemed almost peaceful to Lei after a hectic morning getting the kids fed and ready for school, and herself and Stevens to work in Kahului on time. She settled into a seat at the Formica table in the familiar windowless conference room with its whiteboard-lined walls and stirred chunks of nondairy creamer into the inky coffee filling a chipped Maui Police Department mug.

What would the Captain think of Katie’s Cave and its sassy motto mugs? It would be fun to find out one of these days—and that gave her an idea for her young mentee as she waited for the rest of the team to arrive.

Soon Captain C.J. Omura arrived. With a brief nod to Lei, she took her seat at the head of the table, setting down a platter of beautifully arranged fruit and vegetable snacks. TG shuffled in behind her, carrying a large portfolio, followed by Pono and Katie.

“I brought the autopsy report,” Pono told the group. “Fresh off the fax machine.”

Usually Lei’s job, this time she asked Katie to take notes on the whiteboard for the team as they reviewed the first twenty-four hours of progress on the case. She wanted to see how Katie handled that spotlight.

Perky in a pleated plaid skirt, white button-down, knee socks and flats, today Katie was rocking an ‘Abby from NCIS’ look. She seemed unfazed under the microscope of Captain Omura’s critical gaze. “Rather than standing at the whiteboard, I propose taking notes on my tablet, then I’ll use a camera node to project the text onto the whiteboard. After we are done, I’ll email the notes to everyone. I never sully my hands with ink,” she’d declared. “Inefficient and old-school.”

Captain Omura met Lei’s gaze with a slight eye roll. “Is that so, Intern Investigator McHenry.”

“A hundred percent,” Katie declared, her back to them. “Wait till you get my notes in real time, before you judge.” She tapped the tablet and all of their phones beeped. “Ta-da!”

Lei made no comment, but privately had to admit that updating during the meeting was superior to taking a photo of the board after the meeting, and still having to transcribe or include the information manually in the case file. Even so, jazzy note-taking didn’t change the fact that, so far, they had little in the way of leads.

The autopsy report confirmed cause of death as exsanguination due to throat-cutting. The only new information was that Goodwin had been drugged with Rohypnol, likely the reason she lacked defensive wounds. Goodwin had likely been nabbed from her home—the way TG had put together her kidnapping in the foyer. “She opened the door voluntarily,” TG intoned in his deadpan way, stroking his pallid chin with a forefinger. “Maybe she knew her attacker.”

“That doesn’t mean she knew the intruder,” Lei said. “It’s a safe neighborhood. Lots of kids go around selling door-to-door and such. It would be unusual if she didn’t open the door to someone knocking, even in the evening.”

That led to the depressing fact that no witnesses had seen anything in the neighborhood, per the canvassing report.

There was no useful trace in the house, according to TG, who’d spent a long night poring over hair samples found in Goodwin’s drain as well as trace on the lava near and around the body. No additional trace was found, and no clear motives or suspects were emerging so far.

“But there was a lot of weird Hawaiiana messaging at the crime scene,” Katie said. “Precontact stuff, as Pono pointed out, with her clothing, the ti leaf offering, and the choice of murder weapon. I looked closely at the weapon; it’s a modern, carefully made replica. Several of them are in the Bishop Museum with plenty of photos to copy. Wood used was common pine, stained brown to look like the koa wood used in the originals. I confirmed the historical accuracy of the items, but I couldn’t find any precedents in other crimes.”

“I analyzed the brick that was included with the driver’s license,” TG said. “It’s a modern composite material being produced here in Hawaii: a mix of locally made concrete blended with dye and formed to look like antique Continental bricks.”

“We need to find out what construction project is using those,” Lei said. “Maybe there’s some connection.”

“On it,” Katie said, cradling the tablet as if it were an infant. Her fingertips tapped rapidly on the slick surface. “I should have something in a minute.”

“Well, let’s all let Intern McHenry do the heavy lifting and have a snack while we wait,” Omura said, pushing forward the black lacquered platter she’d brought in. Cut veggies and fruit were arranged artistically on it, including pineapple slices and melon balls paired with grapes pierced by toothpicks. “My mother sent a little something for the meeting.”

“Your mom’s the best,” Pono said, grabbing a paper plate and loading it with the fresh snacks. “Glad no get malasadas fo’ knock me off my diet.”

Lei shot him a glance; Tiare had confirmed he was supposed to be on light duty, but as far as she knew, Pono hadn’t apprised the Captain of his health status.

Her phone buzzed in its holster against her hip. Lei peeked down and saw it was a call from an acquaintance, Ranger Jacob Mahili, who worked at Haleakala National Park. She frowned; Mahili wasn’t one for social chats. Maybe something was up. “I’ve got to take this call,” Lei said, excusing herself from the conference room.

Outside the door, she picked up the call. “Hi, Ranger Mahili. You got something interesting going on up at the Park today?”

“Das right.” Ranger Mahili had a deep voice with a gravelly tone. “Got a homicide . Male. Late thirties. Off trail in the crater. Looks like a bad one.”

“How?” Lei’s heart rate spiked as she straightened up from the wall she’d leaned on. “I mean, where’d you find him?”

“Got a distress call from a couple of photographers who spotted the body. As you know, we handle the 911 calls inside the National Parks as first responders. These guys sent a drone out to check on a man they spotted that looked odd. They verified he appeared dead and said there was a lot of blood visible.” Lei heard a rattling sound, as if he were searching for a pen. “I sent out a couple of Rangers with a radio. It’s a long hike down but they found the body off the trail that circles the top of that first cinder cone, the one you can hike out to. My men confirmed it’s a homicide, so I’m asking your team to take it from here. We’re short-staffed, so we’ll support you on this one.”

Lei was relieved there wouldn’t be a wrangle over jurisdiction. “We’re happy to take it from here. Thanks for that. What makes your team think it’s a homicide?”

“Lot of things, beginning with the fact he was tied to a small koa tree with a handmade fiber rope, and his throat was cut. A real mess.”

“Sounds bad.” Lei’s mind flashed to Goodwin; this sounded like a similar modus operandi . She pushed through the door back into the team meeting and held up a hand for silence. The group fell quiet, all eyes on her. “Ranger Mahili, I’m putting you on speaker so my Captain and our team can listen in to what you’re reporting.”

Jacob Mahili’s deep voice sounded tinny but clear in the cell’s speakerphone. “Hey, MPD folks. We’ve got a serious homicide up here at a cinder cone in the crater. The victim was dressed in nothing but an old kine Hawaiian malo , a loincloth. There was a ti leaf offering with him, and a leiomano shark’s tooth club underneath him. Shark’s teeth were covered in blood, and his neck was slashed up. Cause of death looks clear, but we all use the same Medical Examiner, so Dr. Gregory can determine that for sure.”

Captain Omura gestured for Lei to approach, and then she took the phone from Lei’s hand. “Ranger Mahili, thanks for the call. We’d appreciate taking the lead on this investigation. Day before yesterday, we caught a homicide out at La Perouse. Female victim with her throat slashed by a leiomano . Sounds like a similar MO.”

“Yes, I’ve told Sergeant Texeira that we want you folks to take this one as we’re short-staffed—our investigator is off-island, and it sounds like you’re already working on a similar killing. On the plus side of helping out, we’ve got a helicopter on contract that we can use to bring your team in and also to remove the body. I’ll get them to transport the ME and any crime scene techs and investigators you can spare. Let’s get this going ASAP.”

“Thanks, Ranger Mahili. Please have your staff stay with the body and try not to contaminate any evidence in or around the area; mark it with scene tape if you have any. We’ll call Dr. Gregory and coordinate with you for the helicopter, ok?” The Captain’s tone was crisp, her demeanor all business.

“Ten-four. And what do you want me to do about those photographers who found the body? Want to speak to them?”

“Definitely,” Lei cut in. “Hold the photographers somewhere isolated; keep them from talking to anyone until we can get up there and take statements. We want to control the information that gets out about these murders. Now that there’s a second one, it’s going to get pretty crazy with rumors and the media.”

“Copy that,” said Ranger Mahili. “I can see the headlines now, and they’re not going to do our park’s PR any good. I’ll let you know when the chopper’s available to pick up Dr. Gregory and your team—shouldn’t be long. Talk soon.” He ended the call.

Lei turned wide eyes to the room. “Holy crap, that was a fast escalation. From La Perouse to the top of Haleakala in just a couple days.”

“I’m not sure it’s an escalation,” TG said, picking up a pineapple spear and taking a bite. “It sounds to me like a careful plan that’s being executed rapidly. No pun intended, as far as the execution part.” He chewed the pineapple with a wet chomping sound that made Lei wince internally, thinking of the shark-toothed murder weapon.

“You might be right, TG,” Captain Omura said. “I agree with that assessment. I want you, Lei, and Dr. Gregory to go up in the chopper and investigate the body and the crime scene. Pono can drive up to the park with Katie, and the two of them can meet up with the photographer witnesses. Interview them and make sure they keep this murder quiet. Meanwhile, I’ll arrange a press conference for tomorrow so we can get ahead of the narrative. Like Ranger Mahili said, the headlines are going to be sensational, and I’m sure that’s just what the killer wants.” She flicked her shiny red nails. “You have your orders. Get to it.”

Katie, eyes big and pigtails bouncing, held up the tablet she’d been taking notes on. “Thanks, Captain! I’m psyched to go with Pono and get out in the field, but what about that construction brick info you wanted?”

“Send it to the case file when you have it,” the Captain said, her gaze already on her laptop. “We’ll have another ti leaf offering to analyze very soon, and I’m curious to see what’s inside this one.”