Moon over Maalaea Bay (7 page)

“Lee, it’s Katie. I prayed for Jenn all the way here. I made a real nuisance of myself with God.”

“Me too, Katie. I pestered Him all night. I love you, girl. See you in a few minutes, and we’ll talk about what we need to do next.” Hearing her voice and realizing she was now on Maui drove another spike of fear into his stomach. Come what may, he must protect Katie.

Lee closed his cell, left a generous tip for the waitress who had kept his coffee cup filled much of the night, and headed for his rental car.

In the predawn light, he drove north to the coffee shop while he sorted through the fragments of information he would soon share with Granddad and Katie. From the information, Lee tried to develop a plan of action. But when he turned in at the Kukui Mall and parked, his plan was mostly a wish list. To turn his wishes into something solid—

What I need is a lamp, one with a genie. Or the real thing, an angel from God.

12

After Snake pulled her onto her feet, Jennifer surveyed the view from the nearest window in the catamaran, trying to determine what lay ahead, but fear threatened to paralyze her mind and suck the strength from her body.

“Keep moving, keep quiet, and don’t try anything stupid.” Snake prodded her from behind. “Rumor has it you’re a million-dollar baby. Personally, I don’t think you’re worth it.”

Jennifer turned her head and glared at him. She couldn’t care less what he thought.

“I see you disagree with my assessment.” He gave her a thin-lipped smile.

Too many Ss. Snake’s incessant hissing was grating on her nerves.

“Beauty is in the eye of beholder, so all that matters is what our client thinks you’re worth.” He pushed her towards the cabin door.

Jennifer glanced out another window. High above, the sky was already a bright blue. Another beautiful day in paradise. It was the antithesis for her, bound with nylon restraints.

She scanned the dark outline of Haleakala through the window. The volcanic mountain filled half of the sky, blocking the sun, protracting the dawn, betraying her by giving her captors enough time to move her.

Molikini lay to the southwest, so the yacht must be anchored off the northern part of Makena or the southern part of Wailea. If she swam, the nearest point to land would be either somewhere near the Grand Wailea Resort or more to the south, where a point jutted out into the water near the Makena Beach Resort. But knowing her location did her no good unless she could free her hands.

She studied Snake again as he pulled her towards a ramp, temporarily connecting the catamaran to the yacht. Vicious at first, the man had become cocky. If her hands were free, her kick would smash his face and the evil smirk it wore, knocking the vile man into the water. Then she would dive in on the opposite side of the ramp.

She visualized her stance and the ferocious kick. Then saw herself drown without hands free to swim. Somehow the restraining bands had to come off.

Snake pushed her up the ramp with his knife. “Whatever you’re thinking, I wouldn’t try it. Move. Faster.”

Clearly they wanted to transfer her quickly, while the yacht blocked the view of anyone on the shore and before the sun popped over the mountain.

Jennifer slowed, testing them, trying to make something happen, and immediately felt pressure from the knife against her spine. Feeling she had little to lose this point, she slowed further and gauged Snake’s response.

The knife moved.

Pain radiated through her neck as the knife punctured her skin. Blood trickled down her neck, staining her tank top.

“Move.”

“You fool!” The exclamation came from a booming voice on the yacht. “Do not scar her. I do not deliver damaged goods.” Those were Trader’s words.
The company slogan?

“Sorry, Mr. James. But she has become extremely uncooperative.”

“Use your imagination, Snake. Not your knife. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.” Snake leaned forward and hissed into her ear. “If I’ve scarred you too much, Cookie will still take you. He’s got a hundred grand that he’d be delighted to spend…all for you.”

She tried to ignore him while she moved slowly up the ramp towards the yacht. Snake was trying to play head games with her. She hoped he continued that approach. If he did, eventually he would lose. That and the fact that Mr. James had just robbed Snake of his preferred method of motivation, cruelty, gave her a small measure of hope.

At the end of the ramp, Jennifer stepped onto the yacht. The large, luxurious vessel had three or four rooms along the side where she had boarded. The owner, probably Mr. James, was obviously a man of wealth. Probably a man of power. He didn’t appear to be the type who was enslaved to uncontrolled desires, like Cookie. But the desire for power and wealth could also enslave a person.

She glanced into Mr. James’s eyes as she passed him. He had eyes the eyes of a hawk, seeing everything and seeing it as his prey. The man looked cold and calculating. No. James was not the consumer in this ugly economy.

Jennifer was certain she would be sold to someone else. That meant she still had some time. How much time? Would it be enough to escape? What if they drugged her again? If they did, she would be sold and could do nothing about it.

Drug me? I can’t let that happen. Not at any cost.

14

Lee glanced up from his coffee cup when the door to the shop flew open. A tall, slender, blonde teenager wearing blue shorts and a white tank top zigzagged between chairs and tables and then threw her arms around him.

Tears fell onto his bare arms as Katie buried her face into the top of his shoulder. “Please tell me they found her, Lee, and that Jenn’s OK.”

Granddad’s trim, fit seventy-two-year-old body quickly caught up with Katie. He met Lee’s gaze with a face etched with lines of worry. “Is there any news?”

Lee stroked Katie’s head and wiped her cheeks. “Yeah. There’s some news, but let’s get you two some caffeine, and then I’ll catch you up on what’s happening.”

“I can’t think about coffee until you tell us about the—”

Lee put his fingers over Katie’s lips. “There are too many unfriendly eyes and ears on this island. The trouble is I can’t tell our friends from our enemies. Let’s get you some coffee and move to the tables outside. It’s more…private.”

Katie’s eyes widened. “Do you mean that—”

“Yes. We need to talk privately. But first, let’s order something to keep you two awake.”

Katie rubbed her bare arms. It’s wet here, like it’s been raining. It’s hot, too.”

“It’s called humidity, Katie. I’ll order you something cold to drink. Black coffee for you, Granddad?”

“Yes, please.” Granddad took Katie’s arm and pulled her towards the door leading to the patio. “Katie and I will wait for you outside.”

Lee turned to the barista.

The young man had clearly spotted Katie. His gaze followed her closely as he prepared their drinks.

Katie’s beauty, grace, and elegance far exceeded her fifteen years. The man’s scrutiny reminded Lee of the potential danger to her should they encounter the slimy form of humanity that sought to make merchandise of God’s finest handiwork. He would keep her as far from danger as possible.

Juggling three drinks, Lee nudged the door open with his shoulder and stepped to the table where Katie and Granddad sat.

Katie rose to her feet. Her drawn face seemed to add years to her normally youthful appearance. The fear in her eyes ripped at Lee’s heart. Like Jennifer, Katie was fearless, except when those she loved were in danger and she couldn’t help them. But maybe the “couldn’t help them” part was about to change.

Lee handed them their coffee and all three huddled close around the small table. He met Katie’s gaze. “Last night I saw two of the perps who took Jenn.”

“You saw what?” Katie jumped to her feet. “Where did you—”

“Keep it down, Katie. We don’t want to advertise what we’re up to.”

Katie sat down and their three heads leaned together in a tight circle.

Lee recounted events at the restaurant and ended with Bertha Renner’s positive ID of two of the perpetrators.

“Did you say the girl was about sixteen and blonde?” Katie asked with a squinting frown.

“Yeah. Here, I’ll show you.” Lee pulled out his cell, zoomed in on the girl in the picture, and turned the display towards Katie.

“Anya!” The name blasted from Katie’s mouth in a fierce whisper that sounded like it had come from a wild animal.

Lee ran her single-word outburst through his mind a second time before the full implication registered. There
was
a close tie to the traffickers in the Northwest.

He met Katie’s gaze and smiled. “I think you’re my genie.”

“Jeannie? I hate that name. But that’s Anya, and she helped them take me. And now Jenn.”

“You’re the genie who came out of a lamp and granted my wish. Actually you’re my angel, the answer to my prayers.”

She gave him a puzzled frown.

“Forget the metaphors, Katie.” He draped an arm around her shoulders. “I need you to do something for me. Relax and concentrate on Anya. Tell me everything you know about her. You said she attended your school for three or four weeks. What did you learn about her?”

Katie let out a long sigh. “I didn’t learn much. Now that I think about it, she didn’t share much with me. But she did love coffee, mostly Starbucks’ lattes. I wasn’t into coffee then, but she sure was.”

“Anything else, Katie? Anything at all?”

“No. That’s it. She was friendly, but a little mysterious.”

“So we have a girl who’s staying in Kihei, who loves Starbucks coffee, and there are only two stores in town. Someone at one of the stores could recognize her. Maybe they can help us.” Lee stood. “Come on. We’re going inside.”

His encounter with the two suspects at the restaurant was not coincidental. Maybe Katie’s revelation while they sat outside the coffee shop wasn’t either.

Granddad and Katie followed him to the patio door and into the shop. Business looked slow at the moment, so Lee walked up to the person tending the register, pulling Katie alongside. “Ma’am, we’re looking for someone Katie here knows from the mainland. The young lady we’re looking for loves her coffee.” He turned the display on his cell towards the young woman at the register. “Do you recognize her?”

“Yes. She’s been a regular here for at least a couple of weeks. In fact, Kevin”—she pointed towards the barista—”has asked her out on a date several times.”

Lee glanced at Katie and saw excitement growing in her intense, blue eyes. “May we have a moment with Kevin?”

“I can trade positions with Kevin for a while. It’ll be slow here for another hour.” She turned towards the young man who was snapping a lid on a cup. “Hey, Kevin. Some people here would like to speak with you about a certain cute little blonde. You got a minute?”

Kevin slid the drink across the pick-up counter towards the only other customer in the shop. “Sure.” He stepped towards them. “Are we talking about Anya?” His eyes darted between Lee and Katie.

“Yeah, Anya,” Lee said.

“You know, she’s older than she looks. She’s nineteen,” he said. “I asked her out, but no luck yet.”

“Katie knows her from the mainland. But we don’t have her address or phone number. Does she live up the hill from the twenty-four hour restaurant?” Lee pointed southward.

“Funny you should ask.” Kevin frowned. “She gave me a phone number. I did a reverse lookup on the Internet and traced the phone number to a house. Yeah, it’s up the hill from there.” He paused. “I convinced her to let me walk her home from the shop once, and she went to a house in North Kihei. I never could figure out where she really lives.” He shook his head. “She’s a mysterious girl.”

“Sometimes Anya is like that,” Katie said. “You think you know her, then…” Katie shrugged.

“I guess we need to check out both places, if you want to visit with Anya, Katie.” Lee looked up at the barista. “Can you show us where the two houses are?”

Kevin walked around the counter into the shop where a rack of tourist brochures stood against the wall. He pulled out one and unfolded it on a table, revealing a detailed map of Kihei. “Anybody got a pen?”

Lee pulled out his space pen and handed it to Kevin.

“I think the house I walked her to is right…here. It’s tan colored and has a lot of vegetation around it…palm trees, bushes.” He pulled out his wallet, slipped out a piece of paper, and copied an address onto the map. “Here’s the other house in South Kihei.”

Katie frowned at Kevin. “You aren’t stalking her are you?”

“No. That’s not my style. There just aren’t many girls like her, even on Maui. However, with…uh, Katie, is it? There aren’t any like you
anywhere
on the island.”

Lee flinched at Kevin’s overture. He leaned towards Kevin, but stopped when Katie shoved her palm at him.

She smiled and stared at the young man with cold steel in her blue eyes. “Yes, it’s Katie. Anya might be older than she looks, but I’m a bit younger.” She paused, her gaze locked on Kevin’s. “By the way, the last man who threatened me, Lee split his head wide open and blood flew everywhere.”

Kevin took a step back and his eyes widened.

“Granddad,” she patted Granddad’s shoulder, “has a
sixth-degree black belt in karate. He can kick your head into orbit. I’m only fifteen, Kevin. But, when it’s time for me to start courting, anyone who wants to see me has to go through both of them first.” Katie’s cold stare pushed the young barista further back until he banged into the counter, sending a cup of drink stoppers clattering across the shop floor.

“I only meant to, uh, pay you a compliment, Katie. I didn’t mean—”

“And I only meant to spare you some serious grief. In four or five years, if you’re still interested, you know who you need to talk to.”

The first genuine smile in twelve hours spread across Lee’s face.

The door popped open and two customers walked in.

“Thanks for your help, Kevin.” Lee picked up the map of Kihei and took Katie’s arm, leading the three back to the patio.