“What’s sick is that he’s getting away with this and there’s not a thing anybody can do about it,” Lei burst out. She began tidying the pizza debris, blinking rapidly. “I’m a police officer, for godsake.”
“Sometimes that’s what makes you a target. I’ve seen contracts put out on officers in L.A.”
“This isn’t L.A. and I shouldn’t have to put up with this shit, including you guys camping on my couch.”
“Eh then, I going see you tomorrow,” her partner said, giving her shoulder an awkward pat as he let himself out.
“Hey.” Stevens sat on the couch. “It’s okay to be mad. Come sit.”
Lei hunkered down in the corner of the couch and honked her nose on a paper towel.
“Stalkers prey on your fear. Try not to let it get to you.” He picked up the last piece of pizza and took a bite.
“It’s a kind of torture,” Lei said. “I try to make my home safe, and he slips things right in to it…” her voice trailed off and she hugged the couch cushion. He gazed at her, then reached out a finger and brushed a dangling curl off her forehead.
“We’ll get him. I think this is about more than you, somehow.”
“What? Going with your gut now?” Lei said. Immediately she felt bad, but clamped her lips shut on any apology.
Stevens got up and went into the kitchen, getting one of the beers and opening it. He took a long drink, and Lei couldn’t help noticing the wide tanned muscles of his throat working as he swallowed. She made herself look away.
“I guess I am going with my gut,” he said. “I deserved that.” He sat back down beside her, rolling the beer bottle between his palms. “I should have brought my sax over. I could have distracted you with some tunes.”
“I didn’t know you played.”
“Yeah. Not well but with enthusiasm, as they say.” He chuckled a little, rubbed his eyes which looked red-rimmed and tired. “Coming and keeping an eye on you is a helluva lot more fun than picking my mom up from the drunk tank and bringing her home. I used to have to put her to bed, sleep over to make sure she didn’t drown in her vomit or something.”
“Shit. That why you came to Hawaii?”
“In a nutshell. I love the job, the life, the adrenaline hit when you get the call.” He sat back, put his long legs up on the battered trunk. “But when a couple of times a week the call was to pick Mom up for drunk and disorderly, I got sick of it. She’s gonna kill herself and I’m not going to watch her do it.” He finished the beer and set it on the coffee table with a thunk. “Good thing I picked something up on the way over here. Pono didn’t leave much.”
“Yeah.” She laughed, a little watery. She wasn’t the only one who’d had a fucked up mother, but she wasn’t ready to tell him anything yet. “We were both starved. Listen, I’ll make the couch up for you if that’s okay.”
“’Course. No hurry.”
They sat quietly. The TV, muted, flashed luminescence over the comfortable silence. Finally, Lei sighed.
“It’s been a long day.” She unwound her arms from the pillow, starting to get up.
“Stay,” he said, reaching a long arm out. “You look like you need a hug.” He pulled her in beside him with one powerful scoop, and she laughed a little, falling into the sagging cushion beside him.
“Yeah,” she said, relaxing against his side, his arm around her. Her cheek found the hollow between his shoulder and collarbone, and she felt her eyes drift shut as warmth and safety flowed over her.
Chapter 15
Tuesday morning Lei perched on the molded plastic chair in front of the Lieutenant’s desk. Sweat prickled her palms-she rubbed them on her dark blue slacks. She heard the faint buzzing in her ears that signaled she might ‘disappear’ so she dug her thumb and forefinger into the fleshy web of her other hand, anchoring herself with the pain and making it look like her hands were folded neatly in her lap.
Her eyes wandered around the cluttered little office decorated with stacks of papers, a wall of criminology texts, some plaques erupting in rust from the humid Hilo air. She did some relaxation breathing as she looked anywhere but at the bulk of the Lieutenant, his buzz-cut head lowered to read the Incident Report in front of him.
Lei glanced out the window at a pair of mynah birds gossiping in loud chattering voices on the chain-link fence that surrounded the station. The sight calmed her and she glanced back at the top of Lieutenant Ohale’s head as he leafed through her file: the stalker letters, photocopied; the police report for the incident; copies of her Performance Appraisals for the last couple of years.
He looked up at her and sat back, his chair creaking. He took off the tiny reading glasses.
“Relax. I’ve decided on the charges: disturbing the peace and letting a dog off leash in the city limits. Couple fines, a performance review, and mandatory counseling for consequences. Think you should be able to deal with that.”
Lei let her breath out, not even aware she’d been holding it. “Thanks, Lieutenant.”
“Might not hurt to bake your neighbors a few cookies if you do that kind of thing. In any case, that’s the plan. You have a solid record up until now, and while I don’t think you used good judgment, you learned your lesson and no one was hurt. Now, what’s the situation with this stalker? Any suspects?”
“Nothing.” Lei sat back, threw her hands up. “No clues. I can’t think of anybody who this could be except maybe one of my neighbors. He kinda creeps me out but nothing solid to go on. He’s a water inspector-Tom Watanabe.”
The Lieutenant gave her a sharp look, put the glasses back on, and typed Tom’s name into the database. They waited a few minutes for the aged system to process, then he swiveled the monitor so she could see.
“No priors. He’s clean.”
“I don’t know what could have brought this on.” Lei rubbed Stevens’ card which she’d put in her pocket that morning. “I haven’t even dated anybody since I moved here two years ago.”
“I tell you what’s weird, that a pretty girl like you hasn’t been out in two years. Something wrong with that, fo’ sure. Anyway, how’s helping with the Mohuli`i case going?”
“Okay.” Lei sat forward. “We got nowhere with the girl who ID’d the sugar daddy in the truck, but Stevens is running down some leads on the girls’ cell phone records that might help us.”
The Lieutenant pressed down the old-fashioned intercom button on his desk.
“Irene? Find Stevens and get him in here.”
Her tinny voice echoed: “Yes, sir. He may be out in the field. I’ll let you know.”
The Lieutenant sat back, interlocking his fingers over his belly. He seemed to feel no need for small talk, and Lei slumped a bit in her hard chair. Relief was making her a little dizzy, and she remembered she had been too nervous to eat breakfast.
“Hey, Lieutenant.” Pono stuck his head in, a worried crease between his brows. “Everything okay?”
“We got some consequences for the perp here,” Lieutenant Ohale said, gesturing to Lei. Pono eased his muscular frame into the room.
“Like what?”
The Lieutenant gestured to Lei.
“Fines, a performance review, and mandatory counseling,” Lei recited.
“Whatever it takes to get this girl some counseling,” Pono said, his relief evident in the broad grin he gave them. “She one crazy-ass bitch and I’m not just talking about her dog.”
Lei glared at Pono’s retreating back. She’d get him later. Stevens came in and lowered himself into the other plastic chair in front of the Lieutenant’s desk. She opened her mouth and Lieutenant Ohale cut her off.
“Stevens, report.”
“Yes, sir.” Stevens faced the Lieutenant. “Came up dry on the witness at the high school. May have to broaden the search parameters on that: other brands of trucks, other dark colors. I think she’s a little too eager to rat out her dead friend. Ran down some of the cell phone numbers. Looks like there are some calls to one of our small-time dealers in town who may know something. I’m bringing him in tomorrow.