Living Lies (13 page)

By the third week, with still no success or hint of a break in the case, Melanie could feel Jack’s restlessness.

“How about we take today off?”

“Really? Ward, that’d be great.”

Melanie and Jack prepared their apartment to go out, alarming the room and securing the equipment and transferring the satellite feed to go directly to headquarters for monitoring.

“What do you want to do?” Melanie asked as they left the building.

“I want out of this room and away from this equipment. I
have
been spying that sandy beach, with the umbrellas and the tourists.”

“And the bikinis?” Melanie laughed. She had thought they might go inner-island hiking but Jack was happy strolling along the narrow stretch of Waikiki beach.

What the beach, in front of the multitude of hotels, lacked in width it made up for in length. Everything beneath the cheerful tropical sun brightened except for the deeply tanned skin of the sunbathers who marked their territory with vivid towels. They trudged through calf-deep water to avoid the masses lounging on the grainy golden sand.

“You look like you want to learn to surf,” said a man with deep creases in his face and leathered brown skin.

Standing in front of two sandwich-board price lists, he waved her closer. Twenty colorful surf boards, varying in height and width, leaned against a wood frame and two catamarans were tied up behind him.

“Hey, want to?”

“No, thanks,” Jack said, taking a step back.

“I guarantee you will stand on the board and ride a wave,” the man added certainly.

“Go. I’ll stay here and watch,” Jack said, unrolling his red-and-white striped beach towel and stretching it across the sand.

“Let’s do it,” Melanie said to the man.

She paid “Big Bob” his fee and the sun-weathered man whistled to a young kid.

“This is Hardy. He’ll be your instructor.”

After choosing the right board for Melanie, Hardy demonstrated ‘the pop’ as he called it – she practiced on the sand. The warm water was shallow for a great distance as they paddled out to the waves. It was more difficult than it looked and even the small waves knocked her to the sandy bottom floor.

But in one beautifully, perfectly balanced ride she was hooked. Electrified, she’d forgotten the scrapes and bruises that would undoubtedly arrive. She wanted more, ditching Hardy to paddle further out to surf with the big boys.

“Hey, you did pretty well,” Jack commented.

“It was amazing.” Melanie sank into her towel. “The water is clear and so warm. You really should try, or at least take a swim.” Melanie let the beads of seawater evaporate off her body she closed her eyes and soaked in the hot, tropical sunshine.

“I already take enough risks,” Jack closed his eyes. “You
are
aware there are sharks out there, and they don’t know the difference between you and their next meal.”

Melanie ignored him.

“You know what we need?” she asked after a half-hour of basking.

“I’m almost afraid to ask.” Jack didn’t even turn to look at her. He, too, was enjoying the balmy weather.

“Souvenirs.”

“Souvenirs?”

Melanie stood and wiped the sand off her. “I know the perfect place. Things that are Hawaiian and things that are not so Hawaiian can be found at the International Market Place,” Melanie said, sounding like a commercial. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

“They’ve got food?”

“Yup.” Melanie waved to Hardy as she left. He was taking out another hopeful surfer.

She and Jack strolled the short distance to the market place.

“Oh, look, we can pick pearls.” She said, stopping at a cart displaying jewelry and a bucket filled with oysters.

Melanie had done this once before and for some reason felt compelled to do it again.

“Why?”

She didn’t let him dampen her spirits, choosing an oyster with two small pearls and setting them in gold earrings. Crowded aisles of overstuffed carts were filled with everything from jewelry to T-shirts and hibiscus-print luggage. She loved shopping and bartering with the cart keepers.

“What do you think of this swimsuit?” She asked, holding up a bikini in a blue and white print.

He was shaking his head again. “How about that one with the tropical pink and yellow flowers?” He pointed.

It was the first time he’d shown any interest in her shopping so she bought the suit.

They got lunch at a Vietnamese take-out counter and sat outdoors under the giant banyan trees listening to the ukelele music piped into the food court.

Carrying three bags of purchases, they headed back to their hotel feeling relaxed and ready to get back to work.

“Yoo-hoo, Lisa, Todd?” They both turned to see who was calling them. It was the Texans.

Lisa sounded happy to see them. “Hi!”

“Looks like you’ve had a good day,” said the wife.

Lisa smiled. “We did. How about you? Did you go diving?”

“Just got back. Hey, we were wondering if you wanted to join us for dinner tonight.” the woman asked. “We have four tickets to a Hawaiian show and there’s just the two of us.”

“We’d love to.”

That night they met the Texans in front of their building at 8 o’clock. Hula girls and fire dancers reenacted ancient ceremonies for clapping tourists. Live music played before and after dinner when the dance floor was opened to everyone. The four danced, changing partners and sipping on mai tais. Melanie tried to get information from both Texans, she in the restroom and he out on the parquet floor.

It was after midnight when Melanie and Jack opened the door to the empty hotel room. The balcony glowed in the moonlight and Melanie stepped out of the air-conditioned room to clear her head.

There was definitely something about the Texans, though she wasn’t convinced they were involved with Yakimoto. Something nagging, a secret she couldn’t quite put her finger on, something she thought should be obvious.

By 7 the next morning Melanie returned from her daily run on the beach with breakfast. He had already showered and was reading the paper on the balcony.

“Are we diving today?” he asked.

“Look at the beautiful weather. I don’t know how we could pass up a day like this.” She smiled, handing Jack a croissant.

They arrived at Yakimoto’s boat at 9:30, as usual.

Mr. Yakimoto barked the instant he saw them, “No, I’m not taking divers today,” and waved them off.

“What? Why not?” Melanie questioned, irritated.

“I’ve got other business today. You can find someone else to take you diving.” Agitated, he untied the tethers and shoved off from the dock.

Melanie and Jack jumped back on the deck when the motor revved up and the smell of gasoline filled the air.

“Okay, now what?” Jack asked.

“We’ll take his advice and find another boat,” Melanie said with a smile. She was glad to finally get this thing going.

Melanie drove the rented speedboat while Jack pulled up the satellite tracking and gave her coordinates. Yakimoto’s fishing vessel was no match for the modern speedster. They quickly closed in and stayed just out of visual range.

“I’m getting another boat on the radar,” Jack said.

“Let’s get a little closer and see if we recognize anyone.”

“Wow, that’s a nice yacht.”

Melanie got as close as she dared and wished she had something as simple as a pair of binoculars. Instead she typed in their location and tried to get satellite footage. As she waited Melanie called Mike at the control center. She wanted him to receive the satellite feed so he could get started on identifying who was on the yacht.

For 20 minutes she and Jack rocked on the gentle waves and watched the yacht. There was no audio reception and no movement on the decks.

“Melanie, he’s one of ours,” Mike said as he uploaded the photo from the satellite and transferred it to her computer. “Bill Fallon, the agent who’s been leaking the information.”

Melanie studied the picture on her screen: a middle-aged man with graying hair and tired eyes. Melanie slid the photo to Jack.

“Okay, thanks Mike.” Melanie hung up the phone. “I say we get closer.” She reached for their diving gear.

Three people had been detected by satellite infrared on board: Fallon, Yakimoto and the yacht’s captain at the helm. Silently they climbed the rail access ladder onto the deck just as two rapid shots rang out, echoing across the calm seas.

Melanie instinctively ducked, her weapon drawn. She looked at Jack as they advanced cautiously. Suddenly, Yakimoto turned the corner in a full-scale run, charging toward Jack with wide-eyed determination. Rushing them at full speed, Jack threw his shoulder into the small man, attempting to stop him. The two men stumbled, struggling. Jack was smacked down by the weight of the tanks Yakimoto had strapped to his back. Melanie aimed her weapon at Yakimoto as Jack’s head hit the deck.

“Stop!”

Yakimoto gave Melanie a confused grimace and plunged into the deep blue water.

Melanie checked on Jack who was regaining consciousness, “You OK?”

“Did we get him?” Jack asked, rubbing the back of his head, sitting up.

“No, I’m going to find Fallon.” Melanie said, seeing that Jack was basically unhurt.

“You go after Yakimoto. I’ll take care of Fallon.”

“Sure?”

“Go.”

Melanie jumped onto Yakimoto’s boat.

“Yes!”

He’d used tanks she’d fitted with a tracking device, allowing her to follow him to a small, desolate island off the North Shore of Oahu. She made contact with Jack.

“Fallon is hurt pretty bad. A helicopter should be here in a few minutes but it doesn’t look good.”

“Okay, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you when I can.”

She got as close to shore as possible before swimming the remaining distance then running half a mile down the beach to an abandoned shack on the side of a lush, overgrown hill.

She ducked beneath the stilted shanty, tucked in the earpiece, and listened to Yakimoto pacing the floorboards above her head and speaking on the phone.

She quickly called Mike to put a trace on the call.

Yakimoto was speaking rapidly in Japanese. “Yeah, yeah he’s dead. I shot him twice but I’ve got to get out of here.”

A pause.

“No, there were no complications but I’m catching a flight out of Honolulu today.”

The tension in his voice was thick.

“I’ll meet you by the fountain the day after tomorrow.”

His movements above her head were becoming more frantic.

“Hyde Park. Yes, I know where that is.”

The call ended.

“Mike did we get the trace?”

The call was too short and the encryption too advanced.

“Can you send a helicopter for me and Yakimoto?” Melanie was ready to go inside.

She climbed the steps and gingerly pushed open the old crooked door that turned out to be steel enforced.

It was a one-room building. Yakimoto had his back to her, filling a suitcase.

She was surprised to see the magnitude of technology that lined the walls. She wouldn’t have guessed the small hut was watertight or secure enough for such a setup. The thatched roof and palm siding was a sham. A table with sophisticated gear, including weather tracking, laptops and satellite technology was piled high with discs in a disorganized mess.

“Going someplace?” Melanie asked, as she thumped Yakimoto on the head with the butt of her pistol.

She easily dragged his light body across the hut and, using computer cords, tied his hands and legs then went to the computer to rummage through the documents while she waited for the chopper. Working quickly, she tried to get a grasp on what Yakimoto was doing and who was in charge of the operation. She searched the hard drive, and the third file she opened brought up a 3-D image of the globe, a satellite image of the rotating Earth, turning day to night in Paris, then London. Melanie watched until she’d viewed the entire rotation. Light clusters set the big cities apart and yellow flags dotted the planet in what appeared to be a specific pattern.

“I’ve seen this before,” Melanie said out loud, remembering the first time she’d seen the sparkling lights of the big cities around the globe. The image was captivating.

She sent the file to Mike.

“Mike, does this look familiar to you?”

“I can’t say I’ve seen this before.”

Melanie strained. “Ask Judith. I know this image was up in the control center just before I left for Hawaii.”

Melanie continued searching through Yakimoto’s files, trying to understand the connection with the Agency.

Minutes later Mike called back.

“The flags represent the locations of our agents. She’s notifying Agent Jackson.”

Almost simultaneously Melanie heard Yakimoto moving about and the helicopter landing on the beach. The little man still secure, she went to meet the flight team, directing two agents to load up Yakimoto. Melanie grabbed a laptop and dumped all the discs she could find into a bag. On her way out she ordered a two-man unit to immediately scour the tiny hut inch by inch.