Shattered Palms (Lei Crime Series) (29 page)

“
Ohh, I’m trembling with—anticipation.”

“
You should be.” She reached over to squeeze his leg, then had to swerve to avoid a tourist drifting across the centerline, trying to get a picture of the view. “Guess I better pay attention to the road.”

“
So what brought this idea on?”

“
I don’t know. I’m just so frustrated with the whole case, so worried about the birds. I want to show them to you.” Lei’s holster dug into her arm. She didn’t know why she’d put it back on after the shower—maybe because it felt good to have it back after the mandatory leave. “I’ve heard the sunset off the top of the crater is amazing. Why should the tourists have all the fun?”

“
Yeah, it’s so weird how when you live somewhere, no matter how amazing a place it is, you do the same things. Go to work, run errands, come home. It’s a rut.”

“
So how about one of our new ruts is that we have to take a picnic or eat out somewhere on our beautiful island once a week.”

“
I like it.” He reached over to play with the curls tossing in the wind of her open window. “We did it, Lei. We got married.”

“
Yeah. I’m pretty proud of us. Wasn’t without hurting someone, though.” Their eyes met for a moment, and reflected in them was the haunting memory of Stevens’s first wife. Lei would never forget the moment she spotted Anchara in the audience of their wedding—and the sweet smile the other woman had given her.

“
She’s okay,” Stevens said. “She sent me an e-mail not long ago. Got into the culinary arts program at UH Maui. Really happy with it.”

“
Good.” Lei preferred to forget his disastrous first marriage had ever happened, but she knew she was at least partly responsible for it—both that it had occurred and that it hadn’t worked out. “Speaking of old business—Consuelo graduates from her group home next month. She’s in college full-time and fielding offers for her memoir.” Consuelo, Lei’s young protégée, had a story well worth telling.

“
Now, that’s good news.”

They reached the booth
entrance to the park and, since it was after hours, no personnel were there. “Just a quick stop at Hosmer’s Grove before we go to the summit,” Lei said. “I want you to get to know the birds.”

“
I like to see you this passionate about something.”

“
I can’t help it. I seem to have fallen in love with them. I’ve got the bird bug.”

“
Lotta bird lovers in the world. You’re in good company.”

They parked the truck
, and Lei took Stevens’s hand. “We have to hurry. I just want to show you the canyon; then we have to get to the top before the sunset.”

They broke into a j
og on the short, well-worn trail that wound through the grove of nonnative trees to the edge of the deep canyon where Lei had taken Marcella and Sophie.

“
Here.” Lei took his big hand in both of hers, and they sat on the bench, looking out at the multilayered green tapestry of native forest. Beside her at the end of the bench, tiny purple-and-white blossoms of a rare live sandalwood tree tickled her nostrils with a subtle citrusy scent. Lei closed her eyes. She felt the pure, sweet notes of native birdsong through her body, vibrating to the sound like a plucked string.

She felt Stevens draw her into his arms, pulling her across his lap and tucking her under his chin, and when she peeked up she saw his eyes were closed too.

There was nothing but the whisper of wind in the trees, the liquid grace of the birds’ song. Near enough to touch, a cloud rolled down from the summit like an angel in full flight and covered the canyon with soft gray mist.

“
This place is magical,” Stevens whispered. “I see a red bird. What is that?”

Lei
pointed out the various species they could see, scanning the forest to pick them out and show him.

Deep in the gulch
, she spotted movement.

Lei sat upright, leaping quick and quiet off Stevens
’s lap and dropping down low behind the handmade stone parapet that bordered the view area. She turned back, held a finger to her lips, and made a “get down” gesture. He slid down off the bench and hurried over to her. Together they peeked down into the dim at the bottom of the canyon.

“
I don’t see anything,” Stevens whispered. Lei didn’t respond. She’d learned to sit quiet and let her eyes roam, searching for the odd angle or glint that signaled something out of place in a totally natural environment.

There it was—Lei
spotted a tiny glint, though in the wavery light of evening, with cloud cover, it was hard to tell. She spotted a dark shape, too—and it started moving.

“
Someone’s down there,” Lei whispered. Her gut was telling her something again. “We’re looking for Rinker. It might be him.” Lei scrunched down low and moved to the edge of the viewing area, climbing through the low steel barrier. She could see a faint wear pattern in the brush leading down into the canyon, an extremely steep descent. She grabbed a handhold and lowered herself over the edge, feeling for a foothold, and did it again.

“
Lei!” Stevens’s whisper was harsh from above her. “We’re off the clock. You don’t even know if this has anything to do with your case!”

“
I have a feeling, and I brought my weapon,” Lei whispered, looking up at his distressed face, blue eyes almost black in the shadows. “It’s okay. Call for backup.”

And she kept climb
ing, down and down, into the murk at the bottom of the canyon.

Lei crouched behind a boulder in the dry creek bed, engulfed in the shadows of approaching evening and underbrush. She moved forward, heading as quick and quiet in her athletic shoes, keeping behind cover as she was able.

Up ahead, she saw
movement again—this time spotting the outline of a man moving away down the creek bed.

Could it be the missing Rinker? Perhaps he
’d come back up to stash something incriminating in the canyon, or finish something with the research—or perhaps he was just hiding, camping in the forest until he could get off the island.

He was probably armed.

Lei drew her weapon and realized in that moment that something in her had been waiting, hunting her prey even as she outwardly packed a picnic.

On the other hand, it was also quite possible she
’d just ruined her evening with Stevens to chase a tourist who’d gone off the beaten path sightseeing. It reminded her of her early days, chasing black Toyota trucks for no good reason but her gut telling her to.

Didn
’t matter.

She
was committed. Instinct was telling her to follow this guy.

She
scrambled as fast as she could, worrying she was going to be spotted, worrying she was going to lose the figure so far ahead she could barely glimpse him.

And then he disappeared.

Time to go faster. Lei stopped trying to hide and simply ran down the streambed as fast as she could. She remembered Kingston’s speed hopping from rock to rock, energy like a hurdler as he flew over the uneven terrain—but she wasn’t the wiry grad student with his months of practice. She hit a loose rock and tripped, going down hard on a knee. She stifled a cry of pain.

Lei
decided to stay down for a minute. After checking her knee was only bruised, she hunched in the shadow of the rocks and lifted her head to look around.

Nothing was moving. The sky, encroached upon by trees, was streaked with gold and red high above
, reminding her she was missing the sunset on this fool’s errand. Her breathing slowed, and she continued to lie and wait and watch.

H
er patience was rewarded.

Movement behin
d a tree on the edge of the streambed. A male figure, height around five foot ten, coalesced from the shadows and moved toward her, light and careful, silent as the whisper of wind in the leaves above.

She realize
d he was coming to investigate where she’d gone down. He’d watched her go by, and now her fall had caught his curiosity.

She scooted backward, further behind the shelter of a large rock, and gathered he
r body into a crouch, drawing her weapon. Pulled back, she could no longer watch his approach—so she listened and finally heard the faintest rustle of movement. She rose just high enough to set her weapon on top of the rock and yell with the volume and command of a cannon: “Police! Stop right there! Drop your weapon and put your hands on your head!”

A
n arrow buzzed by in answer, so close it nicked the top of the rock, sending slivers of rock dust flying into her eyes. Lei brought her weapon back up and fired without looking—and, rubbing her eyes, peeked up over the rock.

Ranger
Takama stood before her, hands raised. He was only about six feet away, wearing camo gear from head to toe. He dropped his bow with a clatter onto the rocks. “Don’t shoot.”

“
Did I hit you?” Lei was so surprised it was Takama that she knew her voice came out high and squeaky.

“
You missed.” Takama’s voice was calm as ever.

“
Well, I won’t miss a second time,” she said. “Get on your knees and put your hands on your head.”

He obeyed, and she got up out of her niche and came around. She didn
’t have her cuffs with her, so she patted down his pockets and slid his backpack off his arms. Keeping her gun on him, she rifled the pockets until she found a length of rope and then used it to bind his hands behind his back.

“What are you doing down here?” Lei asked. Takama stared straight ahead and stayed silent.
Only when he was secured did she sit down facing him, gun in hand, and call Stevens.

“
Got Takama down here. Any backup coming?”

“
They’re on their way. Goddamn it, Lei!”

She hung up on his expletives
and slid the phone back into her pocket. “Get up. Let’s move.”

Takama stood, turning. She hoiste
d his backpack herself and they moved back up the creek, much slower this time. The backpack was heavy, and her knee had begun to throb.

“
What are you doing out of jail? I thought they had you in lockup.”

“
They let me out on bail,” Takama said. “Yesterday.”

Lei mentally cursed the gap in communication that had led to this surprise
even as she recited the Miranda warning to him.

“
You shot the poachers, didn’t you?” Lei said.

Takama didn
’t answer.

“
Tell you what. It’s just you and me here. I think I know what happened. Just nod your head yes or shake it no. I won’t capture you on tape or anything. I just want to know for my own—closure.”

Takama nodded, his buzz-cut, salt
-and-pepper hair blending with the darkness forming around them. He stumbled in that darkness. Lei hid her jubilation. She might not be taping him, but she’d Mirandized him, and she could testify to any nonverbal admissions he made.

“
Okay. Here’s what I think you’re doing here. You got out, packed up, and decided to live out here for a while and keep any poachers away from the birds.”

Takama gave a single brusque nod.

“
You shot the two poachers. You pretended to find the first body after it had been there awhile and the stink would have brought attention.”

Takama gave a single nod, and she continued, encouraged.
“After you found out birds died on the first poacher, you called in the second one to get us up here quicker and save them, which we did. You didn’t want to approach the body yourself and leave any trace—you’ve been very good at avoiding any trace.”

Takama gave his tacit
urn nod.

“
You didn’t know your buddy Jacobsen would take it on himself to find the bow hunter, as we’ve been calling him, and get himself shot by Kingston,” Lei continued.

A single nod from Takama.

“You must also have been worried that Kingston saw something more, that he might trade that information when he was captured. It made you look for an opportunity to get rid of him and point the finger at him for all the murders.”

A head shake from Takama, and he glared over his shoulder. She pushed him
lightly so that he stumbled forward.

“
Keep moving. Okay, you don’t like that as your motivation. You shot Kingston because he shot your friend. For revenge.”

The brusque head nod again.

“Well, I’m sure it also would have been nice for Kingston to die and take the fall for all the murders.”

Nothing from Takama
. The dark was getting so thick, Lei took out her phone and thumbed on the flashlight app, shining it at their feet as they made their way along. She spotted another light, bouncing toward them—probably Stevens.