Page 35 of Wired Justice

“Then I’m sure you won’t mind coming down to the station in Hilo with us, and making a statement to that effect,” Sophie said, as Jake reached over and plucked the truck’s keys out of the ignition. “Being the good citizen that you are.” Sophie pointed her Glock at Cypher’s ribs. “We’re taking you in. Let’s go.”

“Sure you got him handled, babe?” Jake bounced his brows as Cypher groaned, closing his laptop.

“This young man will be driving straight to Hilo PD to make his statement. I’m sure he won’t give me a minute of trouble, babe.”

Jake’s teeth flashed in a grin as he got out of the truck, slamming the door. “I’m right behind you in the Jeep, Cypher, so don’t give my girlfriend any crap.”

Cypher banged his head on the steering wheel as Jake got into the Jeep, preparing to follow them. “I knew I shouldn’t have let you guys get in the truck.”

Sophie kept the gun on Cypher, dug into his ribs, for the forty-minute drive back to Hilo. Freitan and Wong were not back from wherever they’d gone, but the intake officer checked their permits to carry and their IDs, and they settled Cypher in the waiting area.

The minute Sophie’s gun was stowed, the young man made a run for the glass doors. Jake seemed to enjoy wrestling Cypher back inside and making him sit.

Freitan and Wong returned. “What did you chase out of the bushes?” Freitan asked.

“This young man knows all about shaking down the families of missing persons,” Jake said.

The two detectives took charge of the witness, after a brief conference with Jake and Sophie. “You should go to his residence. Search for evidence related to the victims,” Sophie urged.

“He’s lawyered up already, so it’s going to be a process.” Freitan had a vein in her neck that pulsed when she was annoyed. “His weird scam of warning people might not be enough to get a search warrant on his home.”

Sophie frowned. “Perhaps . . . his address fell somewhere and we saw it and took matters into our own hands.”

“Unscrupulous private investigators that we are,” Jake filled in.

“That would never happen around here,” Freitan swiveled her monitor so they could read Cypher’s address. She stood, and walked off toward the interview room where Wong already waited with the witness.

“Cypher” was named Paul Chernobiac, and he lived at 1140 Ocean View Terrace.

Sophie plugged the address into the GPS on her phone, grateful to have a signal. “Let’s go.” They hurried out of the building.

The day was waning. Sunset was upon them, a glorious molten red that reminded Sophie of the lava flows. She glanced at Jake as they got into the Jeep. “I hope we have time to make it out there before dark.”