Chapter 1
Exhausted from a night dancing for a crowd of tourists at a luau, Maliea Kaleiopu swung by her apartment to shower and change into comfortable clothes before going to her friend Tish’s place to pick up her daughter.
The night had been particularly hot, with high humidity and no breeze to cool them off between sets. Her skin was sticky with drying sweat. A quick glance in her visor mirror proved what she already knew. Between perspiration and humidity, her carefully applied makeup was sliding down her face.
She pulled up to the apartment she’d lived in for the past four years, wishing for the thousandth time she could afford a house with a yard.
Nani, her three-year-old daughter, had been asking for a dog. Apartments weren’t conducive to owning dogs. Granted, many of their neighbors had dogs, but they had to walk them numerous times during the day and evening.
Since her husband’s death, Maliea had had to work two jobs to make ends meet. Owning a house and caring for a pet didn’t fit into her budget.
Taylor’s income as a junior professor at the University of Hawaii hadn’t paid a great deal. Between his income and her dancing, they’d managed to survive the high cost of living in Hawaii. He’d been doing what he’d loved, teaching Hawaiian history alongside Maliea’s father, Professor John Hasegawa, the tenured history professor and head of the department. The two men had also spent time on archeological digs throughout the island chain, their true passion.
Maliea did what she loved, dancing in the traditional Hawaiian style for luaus, birthdays and other events.
They hadn’t seen much of each other over the past year, with Taylor working days and Maliea working nights. They’d agreed it had to be that way until he was promoted, thus increasing his salary.
Maliea had noticed that she and Taylor had drifted further and further apart over the past year. Sex had been practically non-existent, not that she’d missed it. After nightly performances, she hadn’t had the energy or desire.
She’d told herself they just had to weather their situation a little longer. Once they had more money coming in, Maliea could back off working so many nights. Then they’d have more time together. They’d work on their relationship later.
It was always later.
Later hadn’t come for Taylor.
He and Maliea’s father had chartered a seaplane to fly to one of the smaller islands to investigate a clue regarding a lost treasure.
On their return, the plane had crashed into the ocean, killing all aboard.
In that one devastating crash, Maliea had lost her husband and her father. Though she and Taylor had drifted apart, she missed him. After all, they’d started out as friends. But the loss of her father had hit even harder. He’d been the rock in her life since her mother’s death from cancer. She had always counted on him when she’d needed advice, a safety net or just a hug. She still found it hard to breathe.
Only a couple of weeks had passed since their deaths. Maliea needed to go to Taylor’s and her father’s offices at the university to collect their personal effects. She also needed to go to her father’s apartment and sort through his belongings.
She just hadn’t had the heart to do it. Not yet. The wounds on her heart were still raw.
Maybe tomorrow. She had a few days off between gigs. She wouldn’t need the expense of a babysitter because she could take Nani with her.
She parked in the lot adjacent to her apartment complex, got out and grabbed the gym bag she carried to and from performances. It contained makeup, hair products and other things she needed. For the larger performances, the dance troupe provided the costumes and managed their transportation and cleaning. Thank goodness.
With her key in hand, Maliea carried the gym bag up the steps and across the landing to her apartment. When she went to stick the key in the lock, the door pushed open. That’s when she noticed the splintered door jamb.
Her pulse leaped into hyper-drive. She backed away from the door and spun, running back the way she’d come. When she reached her car, she jumped in, locked the doors and rested her hands on the steering wheel while her heart raced so fast she could barely breathe.
She pulled her cell phone out of her purse and hit 911 as she stared up at the landing outside her door, fully expecting to see someone emerge from her apartment.
When a woman’s voice answered and asked, “What’s your emergency?” Maliea almost sobbed.
She swallowed hard and blurted, “Someone broke into my apartment.”
“Are you inside the apartment now?” the dispatcher asked.
“No.” Maliea’s hand shook as she held the phone to her ear.
“Are you in a safe place?”
“I’m in my car, outside the building,” Maliea said. “Doors are locked.”
“Is the intruder still in your apartment?”
Maliea said. “I-I don’t know. I’d just come home from work. When I started to unlock the door, I noticed it was already open. I-I ran.”
“Good,” the woman said, her tone steady, smooth and calming. “Don’t try to go into the apartment. I have a unit en route to your location, ETA five minutes. You can stay on the phone with me until they arrive.”
“Thank you,” Maliea said, clutching the phone like a lifeline. While Maliea waited, the woman on the other end of the line talked with her, asking her questions about her life, what she did for a living and expressed interest when Maliea said she was a Hawaiian dancer. Time passed quickly, and Maliea’s heartbeat slowed closer to normal.
In under five minutes, a Honolulu Police car arrived in the apartment's parking lot, its lights flashing.
“They’re here,” Maliea announced to the woman who’d stayed on the line with her. “Thank you for staying with me.”
“My pleasure,” the woman said and ended the call.
When Maliea started to get out of her car, the police officer held up a hand and shook his head. “Let us check it out first.” He and his partner climbed the stairs and paused outside her door, standing on either side, their weapons drawn. Then, one of the officers slipped inside, followed by the other.
Moments later, an officer appeared in the doorway and motioned for Maliea to come up.
Her pulse quickening again, she climbed the stairs, crossed the landing and met the officer at the door.
“Whoever broke in is gone,” he said. “But I’m sorry to say, he left a mess. You’ll need to go through everything and let us know what’s missing. Be careful not to touch or disturb anything. We’ll have someone dust for prints.”
Maliea entered, her breath catching.
The small apartment was never truly pristine with a three-year-old living there. But this...
She shook her head.
In the living room, the hand-me-down sofa her father had given them lay on its back, the cushions thrown or ripped as if someone had slashed them with a knife. Drawers had been pulled from the end tables and lay in pieces as if someone had smashed them.
Maliea stepped close to the tiny kitchen, where every drawer had been dumped on the floor and the pantry emptied, with cereal scattered across every surface. Shelves were empty, the contents of her canisters strewn across every surface. Flour, sugar and pasta lay on the floor in a thick layer.
The officer reached out to block her entry into the kitchen. He nodded toward the flour on the floor. “Don’t disturb the footprints.”
Maliea nodded and continued through the living room.
The basket of Nani’s toys lay upside down, toys flung in a broad circle. Her favorite stuffed bear was missing its head, the stuffing pulled from its body.
Acid roiled in the pit of Maliea’s belly. Who would do such a thing? Ripping a child’s toy to shreds seemed so...violent.
Leaving everything where it was, Maliea moved slowly down the hall. The photos she’d hung in inexpensive frames had been ripped from the wall, the frames destroyed, the photos left behind crumpled. The picture of her father holding Nani two months ago lay torn and wrinkled. Seeing it like that was like a sucker punch to her belly. Maliea automatically bent to pick it up. She caught herself before her fingers touched the paper.
Tears welled in her eyes. Her heart squeezed hard in her chest as she pushed past the damaged photos and frames to enter Nani’s bedroom with the twin-sized bed Maliea had decorated with a fluffy pink comforter and matching curtains.
The curtains had been ripped from the wall, and the bent rod hung askew from one side. The pink comforter, torn down the middle, lay in a wad beside the mattress on the floor. Again, as if someone had taken a knife to the bed, the fitted sheet and mattress had been ripped down the middle.
As she stared at the savaged mattress, all Maliea could think was that if they had been home when the intruder had made his entrance...
Her stomach tightened, and bile rose up her throat. With nothing of value to others in her daughter’s room, Maliea moved on to her own.
She didn’t own fancy jewelry except for the diamond necklace her father had given her mother on their tenth anniversary. Her mother had given it to Maliea in the last days of her fight against cancer.
As she entered her bedroom, Maliea immediately crossed the room to her dresser. The top right drawer had held her keepsakes and the jewel box containing the necklace. The drawer was gone, the contents spread across the floor.
Maliea looked past her ripped mattress and shredded comforter, searching for the box containing the necklace.
Despite the officer’s adamance about not disturbing anything, Maliea dug through the clothes and documents until she found the black velvet box. When she opened it and found the diamond necklace nestled against the velvet interior, tears filled her eyes and slipped down her cheeks.
She stood, clutching the box in her hands, shaking her head as she looked around the room.
Though the intruder had destroyed items of great emotional value to Maliea and Nani, he hadn’t taken the only thing of any value to anyone else.
“Is anything missing that you can tell?” the officer asked from the doorway.
She shook her head. “Would it be all right if I took some clothes for me and my daughter?”
The man nodded. “Take what you need. And you might want to find somewhere else to stay for the night.”
She snorted softly. Maliea would have to find somewhere else to stay for a while. She couldn’t bring Nani back to this disaster. She’d be traumatized.
After giving her information to the officer and gathering a trash bag full of clothes and toiletries for herself and Nani, Maliea left the apartment, climbed into her car and drove to Tish’s apartment, sick inside, the feeling of having had her home violated making her skin crawl. Their safe haven was no longer safe. Where else could they go?
Tish Jenkins already had a new roommate, Solange, since her old roommate, Meredith Smith, had moved in with her half-sister, Tina. Tish and Solange were models who worked in an escort agency between modeling assignments.
Solange didn’t mind when Tish watched Nani, but their apartment was too small to take on another woman, especially one with a small child.
Maliea would have to find temporary lodging for herself and Nani, at least until she could clean up the mess and find furniture to replace what had been destroyed.
Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel. She had no savings, and her father’s estate was in probate. Living paycheck to paycheck wasn’t conducive to affording a hotel for an extended period or even one night. Not at Honolulu prices.
The important thing for her to remember was that she and Nani were unharmed. Until the police found the person responsible, Maliea wouldn’t feel safe in her apartment. If he could get in so easily the first time, he could do it again. If the intruder came back, he might catch them at home.
She couldn’t risk it. Not when her daughter’s life was at stake.
Maliea parked outside Tish’s apartment building, gathered her trash bag of belongings and climbed the stairs to Tish’s apartment, looking over her shoulder the entire way.
When Tish opened the door, she stared at Maliea and the trash bag. “Mal? Are you okay?”
Maliea shook her head, holding it together by a thread. She glanced over Tish’s shoulder. “Where’s Nani?”
“Asleep on my bed.” Tish stepped aside and motioned for Maliea to enter the apartment. She reached for the trash bag and dragged it across the threshold.
Once Maliea was inside, Tish closed and locked the door. “What’s happened? Why do you look like you’re about to fall apart?”
Tears welled in Maliea’s eyes. “Someone broke into...” a sob rose in her throat, choking off her words, “...my apartment.”
“Oh my god, Mal, are you okay?” Tish pulled Maliea into her arms, her own body shaking. “Did he hurt you? Did you call the police? What the hell?”
Maliea let the tears she’d held back flow now that she was in the relative safety of her friend’s arms. After a minute, she sniffed and pulled back, wiping the moisture from her face. “I’m okay. Just shaken. I wasn’t there when it happened. Whoever did it came through while I was at work.” She shook her head. “Oh, Tish, you should see the mess he left. I don’t think he left anything untouched. It looks like a war zone.”
Tish hooked Maliea’s arm and led her into the living room to the sofa. “Sit. I’m going to get you a drink, then you can tell me everything.”
Maliea sank onto the sofa, snatched a tissue from a box on the end table and blew her nose.
Moments later, Tish appeared with two wine glasses and a bottle of cabernet sauvignon. “Sweetie, spill while I pour.” She sat beside Maliea and poured two glasses of wine.
Maliea told her how she’d arrived at her apartment and found the door opened and the door jamb busted.
Tish’s face blanched. “You didn’t go in, did you?”
Maliea shook her head. “I ran back to my car and called the police. It wasn’t until they cleared the apartment that I went in. The intruder was already gone.”
“Thank God,” Tish touched her arm. “I’m so glad he didn’t break in while you and Nani were there.”
Maliea hugged Tish. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be unloading on you. Not after what you went through.”
Tish hugged her with one arm, careful not to spill the wine in her other hand. “Honey, I’m fine. I survived. That’s what counts. You don’t have to tiptoe around me.”
“Tish, you were in a coma.” Maliea shook her head. “You nearly died.”
“But I didn’t.” Tish lifted her chin. “I took self-defense classes. I can kick ass now. And I’m stronger for having gone through the attack.” She sat back and stared into Maliea’s face. “The question here is why someone would target your apartment, or you, for that matter?”
Maliea shook her head. “I don’t know. The only thing I own of value is the diamond necklace my mother left me. The intruder didn’t take it. As far as I can tell, he didn’t take anything.”
Tish’s brow furrowed. “Then why destroy your apartment?”
Maliea pinched the bridge of her nose. “I don’t know. What I do know is that I can’t go back to my apartment with Nani. If she saw it the way it is, she’d be upset. And I don’t trust that whoever ransacked it won’t come back.” She grimaced. “I know it’s a lot to ask after you kept Nani entertained all evening, but would you mind if we stayed the night? Nani can sleep on the couch. I don’t mind sleeping on the floor.”
Tish frowned. “Mal, you know you’re welcome here. Solange and I love our little Nani to pieces.”
Maliea smiled, tears welling in her eyes. “I don’t know what I’d do without you and Solange. You’re my only family.”
Tish wrapped her arms around Maliea and held her tight. “Damn right. And don’t you forget that we’re family.”
Maliea leaned into her friend...the sister she’d always wished she had. “Thank you.”
Tish snorted. “For what? Doing the right thing?”
Maliea leaned back and brushed the moisture from her cheeks. “For being you.” Another thought had her frowning again. “If the intruder is after me, do you think he’ll look for me here?” Her frown deepened. “The last thing I want is to bring trouble to you and Solange. Maybe we should find a hotel for the night.”
“No way,” Tish said. “You’re staying here. We can push a dresser in front of the door if it makes you feel better. You’re not taking my Nani to a hotel where you have no one to protect both of you.”
“But—”
“No buts,” Tish said. “Now, since Nani is already asleep in my bed, she can stay there. You can sleep with her. I’ll sleep on the couch. I’d offer Solange’s room, but she’ll be back around midnight. She’s on an escort gig.”
Maliea lifted her chin. “I can be just as stubborn as you. I won’t take your bed or Solange’s. Nani’s comfortable with you and has slept with you before. You two take the bed; I’ll sleep on the couch. Tomorrow, we’ll figure out something else.”
“Okay, you don’t have to twist my arm,” Tish said with a grin. “Nani and I will be on the bed. I’ll get a blanket and pillow for you.” She disappeared into the bedroom.
Maliea followed.
While Tish pulled a blanket out of the closet, Maliea bent over her sleeping daughter and brushed a kiss across her forehead. Her heart swelled in her chest. Her marriage might not have been great, but she wouldn’t have traded it for anything. Nani was the result of their union. She was everything to Maliea.
Her gut clenched at the thought of an intruder breaking into her apartment while they were there. Maliea hadn’t taken the self-defense classes like Tish, and she didn’t have a weapon she could use to defend them.
Maliea prayed the police would find the intruder and put him in jail. The odds of them catching a random intruder were probably low. In the meantime, she couldn’t impose on Tish and Solange for long.
Maliea tucked the blanket around her daughter and straightened.
Tish tipped her head toward the living room, her arms full of a blanket and a pillow.
Maliea followed her out of the bedroom and pulled the door almost all the way closed behind them.
Tish spread the blanket on the couch and laid the pillow on one end. “Is there anything else you need for the night?”
Maliea’s lips twisted. “Peace of mind?”
Tish hugged her. “That will take time. I’d stay up with you a little longer, but I have an early morning shoot. I need my beauty sleep.”
“Of course,” Maliea said, a stab of guilt hitting her square in the chest. As a model, Tish had to be fresh and ready to go. “Don’t let me keep you up.”
Tish tilted her head, her brow creased. “What are your plans for tomorrow?”
“I’m off for the next two days. I’d planned to go by Taylor’s office at the university to gather his personal belongings. If I’m up to it, I’ll stop by my father’s office next. I’ve put it off long enough.”
Tish sighed. “I can only imagine how hard it’s been. To lose your father and your husband at the same time is horrible.”
Maliea sighed. “It’s not like Taylor and I had the best relationship. We never saw each other.”
“Yeah. I know you two were struggling with opposing shifts.” Tish folded her arms over her chest. “I remember there were nights you had off, but he worked late. He could’ve tried harder.”
“I’m sad we didn’t have time to work things out.” Maliea sniffed. “But losing my dad...” She bit down on her lip to keep it from trembling. “I’m heartbroken. He was my rock. I could handle anything, knowing he was always there for me and Nani.”
“I’m so sorry.” Tish started toward her, arms outstretched.
Maliea held up a hand. “I’ll be okay. You need your sleep.”
Tish stopped. “Are you sure?”
Maliea squared her shoulders. “I have to be. For Nani’s sake, if not for mine.” She dropped onto the couch. “Goodnight, Tish. Thanks for everything.”
Tish remained where she was standing. “The shoot shouldn’t take longer than a few hours. If you wait until then, I can go with you to the university.”
“I can do it on my own,” Maliea said.
“But you don’t have to,” Tish said. “Wait. Let me come with you—especially when you go to your father’s office.”
Maliea hesitated, not wanting to burden her friend any more than she had.
“You know you want me there,” Tish said with a smile. “You’re waiting, and I’m going with you. What about Nani? Is she coming, too?”
Maliea shook her head. “She was looking forward to attending the Mother’s Day Out program tomorrow. She has little friends she likes playing with there. Do you think she’ll be safe?”
Tish’s eyes narrowed. “We don’t know what the intruder was after at your apartment. Since he trashed it, I’d think he was looking for some thing , not some one . For all you know, it was a random act.”
“The Mother’s Day Out program is next door to a branch of the Honolulu Police Department. They have strict rules for drop-off and pick-up. I can also tell them to be extra wary.” Maliea sighed. “Or I could take her with me to the university. She’ll be disappointed, but I’ll feel better having her in sight.”
“Then it’s settled,” Tish said. “You’re waiting for me, and Nani’s coming with us.” She turned and walked toward the bedroom. “Now, I’m going for some beauty sleep, or they’ll fire me before we start tomorrow morning. Don’t forget...Solange should be in around midnight.”
“I won’t forget,” Maliea said.
Tish entered the bedroom, leaving the door wide open.
For a long time, Maliea lay on the couch, staring up at the low ceiling of the apartment, wondering what to do next. She couldn’t take Nani back to the apartment after an intruder had compromised their supposedly safe haven.
Where else could they go until the burglar was caught? She didn’t have spare cash or a relative to visit. Just Tish and Solange.
Close to midnight, Maliea’s thoughts finally calmed enough to let her close her eyes.
She’d just drifted off to sleep when a sound jerked her awake. A quick glance at the clock on her cell phone confirmed it was a few minutes shy of midnight.
Maliea rose from the couch and walked barefoot to the door to peer through the peephole.
The hallway in front of the door was empty. The sound she’d heard happened again.
Maliea turned to the window overlooking the parking lot below. She lifted a slat and stared down at the parking lot where she’d left her car, expecting to see Solange any moment.
Nothing moved in the parking lot full of cars. Solange had yet to arrive.
As Maliea dropped the slat, a movement caught her attention. She lifted the blind slat again and stared down at a shadowy figure wearing what looked like a black ski mask. He held something in his hand, sliding it along the passenger side window of a car.
Maliea’s pulse leaped. “That’s my car,” she whispered.
The person who was standing beside her vehicle opened the door.
Maliea gasped. “Holy shit, he unlocked the door.”
At that moment, another vehicle turned into the parking lot, headlights glancing off the side of Maliea’s car. The man who’d opened her car door closed it and ducked down beside her car.
The vehicle with the headlights pulled into the parking space beside Maliea’s car. At that moment, she recognized the red Jeep Solange had found on a used car lot.
With her pulse banging through her veins, Maliea ran for Tish’s bedroom, shook her friend awake and whispered, “Call 911. Someone is breaking into my car, and Solange just drove up.”
Tish sat up, blinking sleep from her eyes. “Wait...what?”
Maliea didn’t have time to explain. “Call 911.” She spun and ran for the apartment door, unsure what she should do, but she couldn’t let the man breaking into her car hurt Solange.
As Maliea passed through Tish’s apartment, she searched for something to use as a weapon, settling on an umbrella leaning against the wall by the door. She snagged the curved handle, unlocked the door and ran out into the hallway, down the stairs and out into the parking lot, fired by rage burning inside. Deep down, she knew. This was the same person who’d ravaged her apartment.
“You might have destroyed my home,” she muttered, “but by damned, you’re not going to hurt my friend!”