Читать книгу It's Hotter In Hawaii - HelenKay Dimon - Страница 14

About a half hour later, after a round of badge flashing by Cassie to prove they belonged in this area of Lihue Airport, they stood about fifty feet from the hangar where Dan ran his charter business. Cal conducted a visual tour of the area. Even though it was early in the day, the establishment served a steady stream of vacation travelers who wanted to explore the wonders of the garden isle by air.

According to Cassie’s nonstop explanation in the car ride over, Dan had subsidized the tourist side of his operation with private rides between the islands for locals. Businessmen depended on him for basic transportation, and a few of them wandered around now.

“Tell me why you have a security badge for this area again,” he said.

“It worked, didn’t it?”

“You’re saying I should just be happy you have it?”

“That and that you should walk faster.” She picked up her pace as if to prove her point.

Cal compromised and took longer strides. He’d gawk at the planes later.

Helicopter blades thrummed in the distance as small groups of travelers bustled back and forth across the tarmac in their wild print shirts. Cal felt at home in the heated atmosphere, with planes lined up ready for flight.

He stole a quick glance at Cassie as they walked in silence toward the hangar. She was classy, tough, and beautiful. Dan rarely spoke about her. The eight-year age difference and not sharing the same father put their lives on different paths. Still, Cal couldn’t help but wonder if Cassie was as close to Dan as she professed or if this was a case of hero worship mixed with guilt.

The guilt part he understood. He had a heaping share of that where Dan was concerned. Cal knew he could not fix what he had done, but he could do something. He could solve the mystery surrounding Dan’s death. Later, in private, he would mourn the man lost. Right now, he had other priorities.

“What are you hoping to learn here?” she asked.

The sadness that clouded her stunning amber eyes had begun to clear. Cal was grateful for that. Weepy women were not his strong suit. They cried. He ran for the bar…where he stayed until the waterworks stopped.

Seeing Cassie upset, knowing Dan’s loss was the cause, made walking away impossible. Cal tried to block out the reality of Dan’s death so he could focus on figuring out what really happened. Still, seeing Cassie’s anguish tore through him.

“I need to talk with the people at the airport who knew him,” he said.

“Dan was more or less a one-man operation, but he depended on mechanics, bookkeepers, and so forth to handle the non-flying duties.” Cassie yelled the last part to be heard over an incoming helicopter.

“We’ll start with them.”

They slowed down to watch the flight land. Saw a tourist family pour out of their sightseeing venture with cameras around their necks and matching faux Hawaiian shirts. The kids talked and ran around, and the parents were just as animated.

Cassie stopped and reached out for Cal’s arm, forcing him to join her. “What exactly did my brother tell you when he contacted you?”

“Not much.”

She dropped her hand. “Try again.”

“Are you tapping your foot?” he asked as he watched her sneaker bounce up and down.

“I can stand here all day and wait for an answer.”

“That makes one of us.” He inhaled the jet fuel. “I came to Hawaii for fresh air, not this.”

“You came here to help my brother.” She scraped the toe of her shoe against the tarmac. “Or was that a lie?”

“You can be a pretty unpleasant chick.”

“Chick?” She sounded appalled at the term.

He didn’t blame her. He’d used the term on purpose to take her off task. And it worked. “Do you prefer ‘lady’?”

“Whatever nickname will get you talking is fine with me.”

She deserved that much. She might be mouthy, but mouthy for the right reason. Whatever the reason for the loyalty, it existed. In his experience, finding allegiance in the civilian community was tough. It thrived in the military but very little elsewhere.

Cal knew most people searched a lifetime for that type of devotion on a romantic scale. Not him. His pull-up-stakes-every-few-years lifestyle did not lend itself to long-term commitment. Knowing his job did not suit a forever world, and knowing that forever usually only meant for now, he never longed for it.

“Dan said he’d seen a lot of truck movement in and out of an abandoned government site on the main road leading up to tourist look-out sites around the rim of Waimea Canyon,” Cal said.

“So?”

“He thought it looked suspicious.” And since Dan was dead, Cal figured Dan was right to be skeptical.

“Let me guess. Your brilliant plan includes storming up the mountain and into the building.”

Uh, yeah. “I thought we could drive, but if you tell me what’s involved in ‘storming’ we’ll give that a shot.”

She started walking again. Didn’t even look back to see if he was following.

“You need to spend a little more time coming up with these ideas of yours,” she said over her shoulder.

He caught up in two steps. “You have no faith in my sense of subtlety?”

“Absolutely none.”

He chose to ignore that. “How’s this for a plan? We’ll figure out as much as we can about Dan’s operation and his last days.”

“Unexpectedly rational.”

“We’ll get to the building eventually, but we need background first.”

“And here I thought you didn’t know how to make a plan.” Cassie stepped up to the building’s entrance.

“How much do you know about your brother’s business?”

Her hand hesitated over the doorknob. “Almost nothing.”

“Then we’ll need to talk with someone who does.”

She turned and stared at Cal. “You think complete strangers will just open up to you, flyboy?”

“Why not?”

He had never met anyone with less faith in him. He was accustomed to having people trust him, follow him, and listen to him. This exact opposite reaction sort of pissed him off.

Actually, not sort of. Totally pissed him off.

“You’re not Hawaii homegrown,” she explained. “Folks around here don’t take strongly to outsiders poking around.”

“They’ll talk to me.” He reached around her and pushed open the door to the business office and marched inside.

“This should be good,” she mumbled under her breath.

Cal was prepared to drag out the information he wanted. What Cassie didn’t know was that he had an edge. The pilot community was a small one where people tended to respect the flying credentials of others even before deciding on the quality of the person.

The deeply tanned man lounging behind the desk did not disappoint. He was in his late fifties, his dark hair streaked with gray and his flower print shirt loose and open, revealing a white, ribbed tank top.

“Ed.”

Cal could hear the smile in Cassie’s voice as she walked around the desk to the grizzled older man.

“Cassie darling. What brings you back here?” Beefy arms wrapped her in a firm bear hug.

When she squealed with delight, raw fury shot through Cal. The other man was old enough to be her father, but the sight of his hands on Cassie’s slim body filled him with a fighting rage. He refused to analyze why or examine his motives except to say her brother was gone. Someone had to look out for her. That job fell to him.

Yeah, that was all this was. A case of unwanted brotherly-like protectiveness.

“Are you going to introduce us?” Cal asked over their whispering and laughing.

“What’s this?” The man’s head popped up from Cassie’s shoulder. “Who’s the young man, Cassie darling?”

Young? He was thirty-eight. Not old but hardly young.

Cassie snuggled into the other man’s arms as if she had no inkling of the tension pumping through the room. “Ed Golden, this is Caleb Wilson, an old friend of Dan’s.”

“Cal?” The man’s smile wiped out the confusion playing around his eyes. “Why, of course.”

“Do we know each other?” Cal asked, knowing he absolutely did not know this guy.

“Sure. You and Dan served together. He told me all about your stunts.” Ed managed to keep his protective hold on Cassie and step forward to shake hands at the same time.

Cal hoped to hell that wasn’t true. He stayed quiet but gripped the older man’s hand in a strong handshake.

“Yep.” Ed squeezed Cassie even tighter. “Dan told me about you.”

The idea that he couldn’t reciprocate with some personal information on this guy made Cal edgy. There were certain things he wanted to keep private. There were things about him, about Dan, that even Cassie did not know. Somehow he sensed that Ed might have an idea.

“Then tell me,” she said. “He’s barely shared any information so far.”

“Cassie darling, Cal and I understand each other.”

“How?”

“We both sailed the skies for our country with a chunk of metal strapped to our backs. Those of us who fly for a living know.”

Cassie twisted her lips in an appalled frown. “What?”

Cal had to smile. He could tell she was not impressed with their show of silent male bonding. He took pity on her. “We know what it’s like to be up there when everyone else is down here.”

“What the hell does that have to do with anything?” Cassie stepped out of Ed’s embrace and propped her thigh on the edge of Ed’s desk.

Ed barked out a laugh. “Everything, darling.”

If the pounding headache behind his eyes was any indication, Cal figured his brain might explode if Ed called Cassie “darling” one more time. The other man’s age didn’t matter. For some dumbass reason, he didn’t want any man touching Cassie unless that man was him.

So much for the idea of brotherly protection.

Ed fell back into his big chair and looped his arms behind his neck. “So, what brings you two out here?”

“I just found out about the accident,” Cal explained.

Cassie started shaking her head before he even finished his thought. “It wasn’t an accident.”

Saying Dan was dead over and over was not an option Cal wanted to consider. “It’s just a word, Cassie.”

“The wrong one.”

His headache was not getting better. The loud thumping drowned out most other sounds around him. “Can I just answer the man’s question?”

Cassie glanced at Ed. “He broke into Dan’s house.”

Ed raised an eyebrow. “Interesting.”

Cal exhaled, letting his exasperation show. “For the last time, I did not break in.”

“Because I stopped you.”

This small woman could not actually believe she had the physical strength to best him. “You’ve got to be shitting me.”

“You’re lucky I didn’t shoot you.”

Ed lowered his arms an inch at a time. “What are you doing with a gun?”

Cal pointed to the older man. “He asks a good question.”

“He wasn’t there. He didn’t see you come through that window. I should have hit you over the head with a chair right then.” Her foot bounced around even faster.

“Give me a break,” Cal said.

“I seem to remember you hitting the floor when the bullets started flying.” Cassie smiled in smug satisfaction at the reminder.

“I was trying to keep you from getting shot. Some women would call that chivalrous.” His shouting was less so, but Cal thought he needed to make the point.

“Whoa.” Ed held up his hands again. “You shot at him?”

Cassie’s face fell. “Of course not.”

“Then what bullets?” Ed practically yelled his question. The grandfatherly bear was gone. In its place was a ticked-off man who wasn’t getting his questions answered.

Cal sympathized.

Cassie had a more basic reaction. Her cheeks flushed as if she had just been scolded. “Someone shot at us.”

“Again?” Ed’s voice shot up an octave.

The woman was making him crazy. Cal started to wonder if he would survive this little island vacation. “You really need to explain why people keep shooting at you.”

“If I knew that…” Her voice faded away.

Ed’s scowl hit with the force of a hammer. “Last time she was outside Dan’s house right after the funeral. A shot whizzed by her head. She heard the crack and fell to the ground.”

Cassie touched her hand against Ed’s arm. “Don’t—”

“Cassie, the man is with you now.” Ed pounded his finger against the desk while he made his point. “He has a right to know.”

Cal wasn’t sure he liked the way that sounded, but he let it go. He needed to hear what the man had to say. God knew Cassie didn’t plan on sharing the bad parts about the story.

“The police never found the bullet, so they didn’t believe her. Thought she was too busy crying over Dan to think straight.”

“Ed, stop.”

“Let the man talk.” Cal realized he finally found a person who could tell him something worth knowing.

Ed’s eyebrow crept up a notch. “Nothing more to tell. Not from me anyway. I do find this interesting, though.”

Cassie’s eyes narrowed. “What?”

“You.” Ed cleared his throat. “With him.”

Oh, no. Time to stop that line of thinking. “Wait a second.”

Ed’s attention stayed on Cassie. “I’ve only seen two things get you this riled up—the investigation and…”

Cal noticed everyone started looking at him. “What?”

Ed smiled. “You.”

Cal had no idea what to say to that. He didn’t get a chance to come up with a zinging response because Cassie jumped in.

“Spend a few minutes with Cal and you’ll be screaming, too,” she muttered.

Cal ignored the slight. “You’re trying to tell me she’s not usually like this?”

Ed patted the corner of the desk near Cassie. “She’s quite calm and lovely.”

“Really?”

“You’re no prize, either,” she said.

Cal’s headache kicked up to Big Band levels. It didn’t help that the older man’s face broke into a wide grin. Cal swore he heard Ed whistle a strange melody.

Cassie tapped her fingers against the desk. “We’re getting off track here.”

“I’d say,” Cal mumbled in agreement.

“We’ll deal with all that later.” Ed leveled a knowing look in Cal’s direction.

For the first time since he was thirteen, Cal thought about running for cover. “I don’t think so.”

“What are you talking about?” Cassie asked.

“Never you mind, Cassie darling. Cal, here, has some questions about Dan’s work. Let’s get them answered.”

“I need to see Dan’s flight logs and take a look at his books. It would be helpful if you had a map around that sets out the crash area.”

Ed nodded. “Have plenty of maps, and you’re welcome to whatever the police left behind.”

“Can you tell me anything about Deputy Chief Greene and that DEA agent he’s hanging out with?”

Ed’s mouth screwed up in a frown as he thought about the question. “Ted? He’s solid. From Kauai. Straightforward.”

The assessment mirrored Cal’s impression as well. “And Windsor?”

“Well, now, he’s a different story. He’s been in the papers a lot lately. Usually does joint drug cases with Travers. Seems inoffensive enough but his discipline is a question.”

“The timing is interesting,” Cassie pointed out.

“Meaning?” Cal asked.

“The chief goes away, Dan dies, and the police part of the investigation is rushed through before the chief can get back and look into anything.”

Finding the truth would take forever if Cassie kept finding conspiracies in every corner. “Could be a coincidence.”

“You know what?” She tapped that foot again. “I’m sick of everyone using chance as an excuse for everything.”

“Are you pouting?” The opportunity to provoke her was too appealing for Cal to pass up.

A rosy hue burned in her cheeks almost immediately. “When I find that gun, you’re a dead man.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Cal turned the conversation back to Ed. “Anyone around here know about Dan’s business?”

“Normally I’d say no but there’s been some talk about a silent partner and some business dealings other than flying.”

Cassie jumped off the desk and glared at the older man in a way that would make most men hide. “You never told me that.”

“Because I can’t imagine Dan getting hooked up with that character.”

“Who?” Cal asked.

Ed hesitated as if wondering how much to tell. “Man named Bobby Polk. The kind of guy who has his fingers in everything, pretending he’s the boss when he’s really the problem.”

“Dan didn’t need a partner,” Cassie insisted.

Cal admired Cassie’s defense of Dan, but from the way Ed’s eyes narrowed Cal guessed the older man believed the rumors. Cal had his own concerns. He knew the real reason Dan left the Air Force. Nothing voluntary about that choice.

Cassie didn’t know, and Cal didn’t want to be the one to disillusion her. He also didn’t want her to know the part he played in Dan’s removal from the service.

Ed slipped his hand into Cassie’s. “All I know is that Polk started showing up around the office and dragging his pretty young girlfriend with him. Louisa something.”

“How young?” Cal tried to assimilate the information.

“Early twenties, maybe. Polk’s more than twice her age and not in her league, if you know what I mean.”

Cal did.

“Anyway,” Ed continued, “Dan was pretty secretive about the deal. I figured he was transporting something for Polk.”

“Something illegal?” Cal asked since someone had to.

Cassie’s eyes grew wide. “That makes sense. If Dan knew someone was using his business to carry out illegal operations, he would do something about it. That might be the motive for killing him.”

Cal put the brakes on that line of thinking before Cassie tried to make a citizen’s arrest. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“Why not?” she asked.

Cal ignored the question and went back to Ed’s story. “Is this Polk character still around?”

“He does business here on Kauai. No idea what kind. That’s one of the mysteries surrounding the guy. There’s a storefront but not much activity there.”

Cassie nibbled on her bottom lip. “You don’t believe Dan was—”

Ed tightened his hand around Cassie’s. “It’s all rumors, Cassie darling. Don’t concern yourself.”

Cal filed the information away for later. “I want to take a look at the crash site and maybe scout out a few other areas.”

Ed’s solid form seemed to shrink. He shot a sheepish glance in Cassie’s direction. “Maybe you and I could go down into the canyon.”

Cal appreciated Ed’s protective streak. “Sounds good.”

But Cassie was having none of it. She stepped between the men, making them focus on her. “I’m going.”

The older man’s dark eyes grew soft. “This isn’t necessary.”

Cal decided that coddling her was the exact wrong approach. It made her weepy. He needed her strong. “You still think you’re so tough?”

She turned on him in an instant. Just as he wanted her to do.

“I’m the one who’s been down there.”

Ed frowned. “You hiked eight miles through rough terrain to the site by yourself?”

Cal wondered if he would survive this brotherly protectiveness thing. “You weigh almost nothing and walk around like you’re invincible.”

She stepped right up until she stood less than a foot away from him. “I can take you any day, flyboy.”

“That sounds like a challenge.”

Her chin lifted a notch. “I guess it is.”

He flicked a finger under that pretty round chin. “You’re on.”