Sophie spent another hour with Taggart and then returned to her condo to rest before the night’s surveillance shift. Security Solutions had rented her a place at Sugar Beach Condos, a complex on the ocean in Ma`alea near Kahului. She was exhausted, but the thought of lying down in the shabby, impersonal room and trying to sleep didn’t appeal. Standing in the unit’s kitchen, decorated in the mint-green decor of the late eighties, she pulled her phone out and called Lei.
“Hey girl. You on the island yet?” Lei’s familiar voice made Sophie smile. She’d texted that she had a job on the Valley Isle, and to expect a call.
“At my condo now, too wound up to sleep, though I’ve got a graveyard surveillance shift again tonight. Did you have lunch yet?” Sophie paced in front of the sliders, which gave a view of wind-whipped Ma`alea Bay, Kahoolawe a purple smudge in the light-struck distance. Cutout plastic whales adhered to the windows, interfering with the view.
“Was just going to eat at my desk at the station, but meet me at Ichiban in the Kahului Shopping Center.”
Half an hour later, Sophie embraced her friend outside the little hole-in-the-wall Japanese restaurant in Kahului. Lei’s curly hair tickled her nose, and her friend felt wiry and petite in Sophie’s arms though she was only three inches shorter than Sophie’s five foot nine.
“So good to see you. How’s Kiet?” Lei and her husband, Michael Stevens, had recently adopted Stevens’s son by his first wife, a sweet-natured baby boy that Sophie adored. “Has he begun asking to see Auntie Sophie yet?”
“Ha. He’s only six months old! We’re happy he’s begun to say Da-da.” Lei pushed open the glass door with its jingling bell and led the way into the dimly lit restaurant. Dusty rice paper lanterns hung over utilitarian Formica tables decorated with bottles of Aloha Shoyu and metal napkin holders.
“Shows what I know about babies,” Sophie said. “He seems so smart. I have to see him while I’m here.”
“We’ll have you over for family dinner. We do that every Friday. You can flirt with Jared.” Lei quirked a brow, showing her dimple. Her husband’s younger brother was a single firefighter who enjoyed a variety of ocean sports that kept him in top shape, which Sophie had already noticed. She ducked her head in embarrassment. Jared was very attractive, but she’d already decided a long-distance relationship was too difficult with her crazy schedule—and now, there was Connor.
The women sat at a table that looked out through a plate glass window covered in a peeling light-proofing film. The view into the parking lot consisted of a battered monkeypod tree, parked cars, and a busy thoroughfare. A window air conditioner wheezed over their table.
Lei caught Sophie’s look as she broke apart a pair of wooden chopsticks, and laughed. “The food is good—and cheap.” Lei smoothed the light cotton jacket she wore over her shoulder-holstered Glock and pushed errant brown curls behind her ears. Her tilted brown eyes were bright with interest. “Tell me about your case. I’ve been curious about the Kakela site for a while.”
Sophie picked up the laminated menu. “Let’s order first.” They placed their orders with the waitress and sipped plastic glasses of water. “So. You aren’t even going to ask about my face?” Sophie couldn’t keep a plaintive note out of her voice as she touched her cheek in a gesture that was becoming habitual. The bone of that cheek was a prosthetic, and the skin graft that had been sewn over it, covering the devastation caused by a gunshot wound, still felt numb and tingly.
“Sophie.” Lei grabbed Sophie’s hand and pulled it down from her face. Neither of them was a ‘toucher,’ so Sophie’s eyes widened in surprise as her friend gazed at her intently. “I’ll be honest. This is one of those situations where I don’t quite know what to do or say. You got shot in the face less than two months ago. I was just sick that I couldn’t come visit you while you were recovering, but between the baby and work I couldn’t get over to Oahu…”
“I know. I wasn’t trying to get your sympathy or make you feel bad. I just…”
“No, let me finish. I didn’t want to not mention it, because it was such a big thing in your life. It would be in anyone’s! But honestly, you look the same to me. I mean, technically you don’t—when I look closely, I can see that your eyes are a little off: one’s wider than the other, and the skin graft area is a little lighter in color. There’s a scar around it…but it just doesn’t stand out to me. If anything, your face is more beautiful and interesting now. It hints at stories you have to tell.”
Sophie gave a wet chuckle. “Oh, I have stories. But not ones I like to tell.” She blinked moisture from her eyes, and Lei let go of her hand. They both tugged napkins out of the dispenser and Sophie dabbed her eyes while Lei blew her nose, and they both laughed self-consciously as the waitress set plastic bowls of miso soup down in front of them.
“I’m still so self-conscious about it—especially with people who knew me before. I met all these new people here for the Maui job and it didn’t bother me.” Sophie spooned up a mouthful of broth. “I have my last scar removal laser treatment next week and have to fly back to Oahu for it.”
“Your doctor did a beautiful job, and I’m not just saying that. I think in a year or so, you’ll hardly be able to tell but for that part up in your hairline.”
“Well, that’s why I’m growing my hair out.” Sophie tugged at a handful of thick, dark brown curls. She’d always kept her hair buzzed short for easy care and her MMA fighting hobby, but now it was already three inches long, surrounding her head in a halo of ringlets. The skin graft had extended up into her scalp on the left side, and she arranged her hair to cover it. “So, my case. I had to talk to you about it anyway, so I’m glad you had time for lunch.” Sophie filled Lei in on the overview of the thefts at the site, and on her meeting with the three Hui leaders and Taggart. “Taggart gave me some more information after the meeting about where more artifacts may be buried on the island.”
“How about I come out and check out the site?” Lei addressed her teriyaki beef with enthusiasm. “I can see the setup, and talk to the boys and make sure Lahaina PD is taking the burglaries seriously.”
“Anything you can do would be great.” Sophie ate several bites of her tofu stir-fry, then picked up her cup of miso and sipped. “I’d love to be able to tell that arrogant board president Mano that MPD was doing all they could, and that I was part of facilitating that.” She described the dynamic within the Hui leadership. “There seems to be internal strife between the head of the board and the director. Thank God Taggart got me out of there today.” She took another sip and set the soup down. “It does seem like the thieves are targeting something that they’re looking for at the site. Taggart thinks it could be one of Kamehameha’s wives’ burial site.” Sophie scrolled to a note on her phone. “Kanipela was her name. The legend is that she drowned in the lagoon around the sacred island, dragged into the water by a mo`o, a Hawaiian water dragon spirit. Taggart thinks there’s a good chance she was buried on the royal island, which is where Kamehameha had his royal compound until it was moved to Oahu.”
“Even I know that would be quite a coup to discover,” Lei said. “You mention this Taggart character a lot. Tell me about him. I’m surprised I haven’t met him around the island.”
Sophie shrugged. “Different circles, I guess. He’s an interesting man. Very knowledgeable.” Taggart’s dark eyes, flashing with enthusiasm under the brim of his hat, were vivid in her mind from earlier. His hands moved as he acted out the story, describing the legend of the mo`o dragging the queen out of her canoe down to her death in the lagoon.
“He attractive?” Lei’s sharp eyes never missed a thing.
“Yes. In a rugged sort of way.” Sophie shrugged. “He smokes.” But smoking wasn’t the deal breaker for her that it was for some; she’d grown up around a lot of it overseas, and her father had smoked when she was little. “But I’m dating someone.”
“So tell me more about this mystery man you’re going out with.”
Sophie’s cheeks heated. She picked up a piece of tempura with her fingers and busied herself eating for a few moments, calming her heart rate. There was no way Lei knew Connor’s secret—her friend was only referring to the fact that she didn’t know Sophie’s current flame.
“His name is Todd Remarkian. He’s the CEO of Security Solutions.” Sophie kept her eyes on her plate, dipping a piece of tempura into sauce casually. “He’s Australian. A very nice man. Fun. We like to take run-hikes with our dogs.”
Lei leaned forward, smiling. The tiny, cinnamon-colored freckles across her nose and cheeks caught the light of the overhead paper lantern. The dimple in her cheek winked. “Dating the boss? Marcella tells me you two are thick as thieves.”
“I guess technically Todd is my boss, but it’s a big company, and I have a different supervisor.” Sophie fiddled with her chopsticks. It was hard to talk about a relationship so new and so full of secrets. So tentative, and yet, already tested by life and death situations. So chaste, yet full of unexpressed passion. Sophie couldn’t even bring herself to tell Lei his real name—holding it close felt like a warm ember on a cold night.
Lei sat back, grinning. “I guess I’ll just have to wait and see how things develop. I was sorry about you and Alika. That could have been something good. But it was time to get back on the horse, and I’m glad to see you’re doing that.”
“What is it with Americans and getting on horses?” Sophie picked up a piece of tofu with her chopsticks. “I fail to see the connection between a relationship and horseback riding.”
“And if you can’t make that mental leap, you’ve obviously been celibate too long.”
This time they both laughed.