Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
Bowie did his best to ignore the daggers coming from Mano as he climbed into Mano’s souped-up Jeep. Bowie had a job to do, and he’d be damned if he was going to let whatever crawled up Mano’s ass get in the way. Bowie buckled his seat belt and flipped open his laptop. He wanted to go through the files one last time.
Or maybe he wanted to ignore Mano.
The Jeep lunged forward before taking the turn out of the driveway a little too tight—and fast.
“What the hell is your problem?” Bowie asked, snagging his computer before it hit the floor.
“You.” Mano hit the brakes as they came to a red light. “What the hell did you do to my Little One? She was in a bad mood the entire plane ride home. She had a sourpuss look on her face when she said goodbye, and she gave you the evil eye.”
“She did not,” Bowie said. However, things certainly took a turn for the strange the second they boarded that plane. “But she is mad that I didn’t want her coming with us on this little fishing expedition.”
“Yeah, she asked me five times why you didn’t want her around and I kept telling her I agreed, then she got indignant with me, wondering why I was taking your side.” Mano punched the gas. “Why am I doing that?”
“Because I’m right and because it was your idea to begin with, but you’re letting me take all the heat because I think you’re enjoying her being pissed off at me.” Bowie chuckled. “We both know this is mostly a wild goose chase. All we’re doing is checking on every place Kalena is known to buy drugs. Or sell herself. Why put Moana through that when she could spend time with her dad? Besides, something about this is way off. All the intel doesn’t fit. Whenever Kalena went off the rails, you found her within days. At all the same spots. She doesn’t leave the island. She can’t afford to, so where the fuck is she hiding out?”
“Your guess is as good as mine at this point.” Mano shifted his gaze and arched a brow. “Waylen said the same thing, only he backed it up with one tiny piece of information I can get behind.”
“The fact that the last time you saw Kalena, she was sober, which doesn’t mean anything.”
“That’s true, only Kalena had been talking a big game, something she never did in the past. She wanted to make things right with Moana and her parents, especially since her dad had a stroke. Kalena felt as though her dad’s days were numbered, and maybe hers as well, and all she wanted to do was fix things. There was a desperation in her eyes that I have never seen, and I’ve known her my entire life. Not like I’ve known Moana, but I’ve watched her come in and out of my Little One’s life. I’ve seen that path of destruction. I’ve watched firsthand how little Kalena cared about what she did to her sister—her biological daughter—but this was different. It was as if she cared about how her actions affected Moana.” Mano turned down a side street in one of the few bad sections of the town in which he’d grown up in. “Kalena has always been a selfish person. She’s never put on an act. Or tried to pretend to be something she’s not.”
“What about when she’s gotten clean in the past?” Bowie asked. “In all these reports you and Waylen gave me, it all states that she would lie to get Moana’s money. Is that true about when she went to rehab?”
“Yes and no. She wanted money. Moana made everything contingent on Kalena getting sober, so she’d go, believing if she stayed the course for a short period of time, she’d get more out of her sister. But she never said she wanted a relationship. Or wanted to be her mother and that’s the real rub.” Mano rolled to a stop in front of a group of tents. “Kalena has always maintained that she never wanted Moana. Never wanted to be a mom. That any connection they had was because they were raised as sisters, but even then, it was minimal.”
“That’s cruel.”
“It’s addiction,” Mano said. “But yeah, and a double whammy for my Little One. Her biological mother didn’t want her and the woman whom she thought was her sister didn’t really want that either. Add in a couple of parents—or grandparents—who lied to her, well, when Moana left here after she graduated high school, she was one angry young woman. Sometimes she still is.”
“How angry? I mean, how did that manifest? Because as angry as she seems to be at me, she’s pretty good at expressing it with words and controlling it without going off the rails.” Though Bowie did have to admit that the one thing he didn’t appreciate was the games. How Moana was using sex to try to control Bowie’s actions.
That never worked.
At least, not on him.
If anything, it had the opposite effect.
Mano chuckled. “Well, let’s just say she knows how to lose her shit and you don’t want to be on the wrong side of an argument with that one.” Mano cocked his head. “Like when she finds out you know all this stuff about her life and didn’t tell her.” He lowered his chin. “After you slept with her. And if you try to tell me you didn’t, I will punch you.”
Bowie took that as a cue to slip from the vehicle.
Mano just laughed.
Bowie didn’t find any of it funny.
He cared about Moana in ways he didn’t understand or wish to ponder at this juncture. His life was torn right down the middle. He didn’t know in which direction he would land and right now, he had three jobs. Protect Moana. Find her sister.
And run the fucking field tests until this week was up.
After that, who knew where his life would take him.
Either it was vacation time while he continued to wait it out. Or it was back in the saddle as a Navy SEAL.
The latter seemed to have lost its luster.
“What happened with you two?” Mano came up behind Bowie and slapped him on the back. “I talk a lot of smack when it comes to Moana because she’s family, but you’re not such a bad guy, so when the two of you got on that plane and the atmosphere was about as cold as a glacier and it hasn’t warmed up, it has me wondering why.”
“That’s none of your business,” Bowie said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“So, you fought. About what?”
He really didn’t want to get into it with Mano, but he got the impression he wasn’t the kind of man who let go of things easily. “Just about her coming with us,” he said with a heavy sigh.
“Let me guess. She told you not to bother to visit her tonight when we were done.” Mano laughed. “That child will never learn that using her power as a woman isn’t the right way to get a man to listen.”
Bowie jerked his head.
“Yup. I nailed that one,” Mano said. “And let me put more color on that. Is your team going to leave paradise?” Mano stepped off the path and toward a group of tents.
“We’re still enlisted men. The Navy owns our collective asses, but if that were to change, we’d consider a position with the Brotherhood Protectors.”
“Does Moana know that? Or are you keeping that juicy piece of information to yourself.”
“She knows what I’m allowed to say, but there is too much in the air. Not to mention, she’s made one thing perfectly clear. We’re not an item. We’re not even a thing.”
“She does that when she’s afraid of her real feelings. I’ve seen it before when she finds someone who’s a real man and not some putz like Kenny. Granted, he was a decent fella, but not the right person for my Little One.” Mano pointed to an older gentleman sitting on a milk crate. “Excuse me. Aren’t you Gleason?”
The man nodded.
“Have you seen Kalena around here lately?” Mano asked.
“No.” Gleason shook his head. “Last I saw her she was babbling on about making things right with her kid.” He ran a hand down his dirty beard. “I didn’t even know she had a child, but that pesky sister of hers was here a few weeks ago looking for her.”
“Did you tell her the same thing?”
“Nah,” Gleason said. “I shouldn’t have told you because Kalena told me it was a secret.” He shrugged. “I figured she needed time with her kid before introducing it to her family. Maybe that wasn’t the right thing to do. I don’t know.”
“Why did Kalena come here if she wasn’t either looking to score or looking to crash?” Mano asked.
“When she left, she promised she’d be back. She brought a little food and water. Not like you do, for the whole camp. Just a few sandwiches. A couple bags of chips. A case of water. It was a nice gesture. She looked good. Face and hair were clean. Almost didn’t recognize her. She stayed for an hour. Chatted with me and then left in some car she borrowed from her kid sister,” Gleason said.
“Anyone else come around looking for her?” Bowie asked.
“Just you guys, her sister, and that cop, Emery,” Gleason said. “I wish she wouldn’t come around. She makes us all nervous.”
“Emery’s good people and she can help you if you need it,” Mano said. “I’m sending a food truck out here in about twenty minutes with lunch, and some groceries will be delivered to everyone by dinnertime. Use it all wisely.” Mano nodded. “I’ll be around again in a few weeks. If you see or hear from Kalena, tell her the big guy needs to talk to her. It’s important. It’s about her sister and her parents. She’ll understand.”
“You got it and thanks for the food, man. We always appreciate what you do for us.”
“Take care of yourself.” Mano turned and strolled back toward the Jeep.
Bowie followed, letting out a long breath. “What do you make of that?”
“Kalena was about as tight-lipped on her being Moana’s mother as Moana was, so I’m struggling with that juicy piece of information. Not to mention that I was here a couple of weeks ago and Gleason didn’t tell me. Even though they are all drug addicts, they are a loyal group. That is, to each other. They tolerate me because I feed them. Regularly.”
“I noticed he didn’t ask you for money,” Bowie said.
“Because he knows I won’t give him any.” Mano leaned against the Jeep. “That doesn’t mean he won’t sell my food for it. Or the supplies I often bring them. But every once in a while, one of them comes back with me, gets clean, and stays that way. It’s worth it.”
“But never Kalena.”
Mano glanced toward the sky. “Generally, no. Kalena has always been angry at the world and that included me.”
“Why?” Bowie lifted his laptop from the floor, rested it on the seat, and pulled up the file regarding the possible fathers, which at this point was no one. Mano had exhausted all his leads there. Everyone that he thought was a possible dad had agreed to DNA testing, and they had all come up short.
“I can’t answer that. She’s older than me. But what I do remember of when she was younger, she always wore dark makeup. Dark clothes. Kind of radical in a weird way.”
“Like goth shit?”
“I wouldn’t go that far. More like rebel without a cause kind of crap.” Mano rubbed his temple. “But she wasn’t always like that. It started when she was in ninth grade. Both of her parents, Ano and Talei, paint a picture of Kalena gradually going from a sweet, kind girl to a crazy teenager who was hooked on drugs and defied them at every turn. But they will both tell you that by the time she was fifteen, she was staying out all night, ignoring the rules of the house, and had a mouth worse than a truck driver.”
“And before that?”
“She was pretty much a nice, soft-spoken girl, who got mostly straight A’s.” Mano waved his hand as if he were swatting a fly. “Yeah. Waylen and I interviewed all the players. Her friends, teachers, anyone who would talk to us, and they all said the same thing. They don’t know what happened, except that she went from a shy, quiet girl to an outspoken bitch. But there is one key thing that shocks both Waylen and me.”
“Yeah. What’s that?” Bowie closed his laptop and pinched the bridge of his nose. Lack of sleep and staring at Moana on the longest plane ride home had frazzled his nerves. At least a dozen times he’d wanted to go to her and wrap his arms around her, but she’d made it clear she was pissed and she was going to remain that way for at least a little while longer.
“We can’t find anyone who knew she was pregnant. Not a guidance counselor. A trusted friend. Or one of the few guys she was sleeping with. Don’t you find that odd considering she didn’t leave home to have Moana until she was close to seven months?”
“Strange question, but is that something you’re putting out there, considering Moana doesn’t want anyone to know and did her mom really fake a pregnancy?”
“The latter part to that question is so fucked up it’s insane because this town bought it hook, line, and sinker. First, that’s because Talei was an older mother, she didn’t know until well into her fifth or sixth month that she was with child. Something about believing she was going into menopause.” Mano rubbed the back of his neck. “Which, I suppose, is possible and plausible, according to my wife. And, of course, that Moana was a preemie, which she wasn’t. She was a healthy seven-pound baby girl. But her mom insisted she was four weeks early. As far as the latter, we’ve been asking as if we don’t know if she was or wasn’t. Only looking at the six weeks she disappeared in high school and wanting to know where she went.”
“But her parents put out in the universe that she went to rehab.” Bowie rolled his neck. “Which if we checked those records, we’d find out she never went.” He shook his head. “It’s going to come out that Kalena is Moana’s mother eventually. Have you told Moana this?”
“Of course I have. I’ve also pushed her parents into filing a missing person report, which Emery took.”
“I noticed that, but the cops don’t seem to be too interested in finding Kalena, except for Emery, but Moana told me she’s doing that on her own time.”
“It’s not that,” Mano said. “It’s just that she’s not high on their list of using island resources and honestly, I understand why. Unless we can find a clue that says foul play, there’s no reason for them to go looking for a junkie.”
“What do you think?”
Mano pushed from the Jeep and paced in front of the hood. “I’ve been dealing with this shit for as long as I’ve been a PI. I know Kalena. I know her patterns. Her hiding places. She doesn’t have the resources to leave Big Island. The one time she did, it was with a pimp, and I would have heard about it if she’d done it this time.”
“No offense, man, but are you sure?” Bowie let out a long breath.
“Not a hundred percent. Anything is possible. But if she left this island, she did so with a bag over her head in the cabin cuddy of some boat, in the dark of night, because my reach is far and wide. People on this island talk to me. And the only reason Kalena had to leave Big Island was if she was under the control of some asshole who was feeding her drugs and money. I know the players, including the new ones, and no one has her. If they do, it’s for a game I know nothing about.” Mano folded his massive arms across his chest and stared back toward the row of tents where Gleason took refuge. “Kalena is a lot of things. Drug addict. Sex worker. And she doesn’t care what people think of that. She has never shown Moana she cares. This is going to sound strange, but the guilt over never being good enough keeps her from being able to stay clean.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Because one night, when I was driving Kalena to rehab, she told me. She cried her eyes out on my shoulder. The next time I saw her, she didn’t remember doing it. But part of me believes that woman is still a sixteen-year-old kid reliving two very traumatic events. One is learning she was pregnant, and maybe the events surrounding how that happened. And the second one is giving her up, only to have to look at her every day for the next few years while her parents raised her as their own.”
“That is a pretty fucked-up scenario,” Bowie said. “Did Kalena want to give Moana to her parents, or was that their idea?”
“The adoption part was always their parents’ plan.” Mano ran a hand over his face and let out a long breath. “Kalena has never believed she’s good enough to be Moana’s mother. It’s one of the dumbass things that drives her back to using. It’s a cycle that she can’t seem to break and this time.” Mano’s eyes glazed over. “Waylen and I thought for sure she had seen the light. She even told us how she knew it had nothing to do with being like every other mom out there. That all she had to do was show up. Be drug free. Do that day after day, and things would eventually have to fall into place.” Mano sighed. “Moana didn’t need or want her to be a mother. She just wanted her in her life and things were changing. It was slow. Painfully fucking slow. But Moana was making an effort. It wasn’t much. But they were all present and then one day, poof. While I’d seen it before, it didn’t feel right, which is why I agree with everything you’re saying right now. I’ve always trusted my gut.”
“So do I.”
“My gut thanks you.”
Bowie chuckled. He wasn’t about to make the clarification about whose instincts he was following. “Okay. So, maybe we’re not asking the right questions.” Bowie scanned the row of tents. “We need to find out who’s been hanging around that doesn’t belong. Or who’s new. They didn’t even need to be asking for Kalena. But a person who showed up for a bit, then disappeared.”
“You honestly believe some random person would hang out as a homeless creature and then run off with Kalena?” Mano asked.
“Stranger things have happened, and it’s one angle,” Bowie said. “Another one would be some man—or woman—much like us, coming to help.”
“These people don’t take to strangers. That’s why I wouldn’t let you do this alone and Moana comes on too strong.”
Bowie nodded in agreement. He’d seen his share of the poor in every country he’d ever been in and their stories weren’t much different.
Trust didn’t come easy, and he couldn’t blame those afflicted. The system—and society—were not kind. “Unfortunately, sometimes trust can be bought and manipulated by the right kind of asshole, especially when people are desperate.”
“Wait a second.” Mano pointed down the dirt road. “Gleason mentioned Kalena promised she’d be back when she left, but he never mentioned how the hell she got out of this place the first time, only that she’d been back with Moana’s car.” He waved his hands. “It’s a ten-mile hike to anywhere. Four miles to the main road.”
“You’re thinking she had a ride the first time?”
Mano nodded. “Makes the most sense, especially if she promised she was coming back. Also sounds like she was thinking a little clearer when she made that statement, which makes me wonder if she’d already been in and out.”
“Why didn’t Gleason just… yeah, okay. Dumb question.” Bowie nodded as he followed Mano—who damn near ran—back to Gleason’s tent.
“Mano?” Gleason wobbled as he stood, wiping his nose and sniffling.
How these people got drugs was beyond Bowie. But as the saying went, if there was a will, there was a way.
“What are you doing back here?” Gleason’s eyes were wide, as if he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
“I forgot to ask,” Mano started. “Who was with Kalena when she left? And when she brought the food.”
“She was alone when she came back with the grub. Before that, she was with some guy. He didn’t say much, but he left medical supplies. Bandages and shit. And he attended to Sally who had cut her leg. He was real nice to her,” Gleason said.
“What did he look like?” Bowie asked.
“Tall. Dark-skinned. Hawaiian. A native. And he was big, like you.” Gleason stretched his arms out. “Not fat. But broad. Muscular. He had long dark hair.”
“Did she look scared? Or frightened of this man?” Bowie asked.
Gleason shook his head. “No. Quite the opposite.” He laughed. “When they left, he was holding her hand and she smiled at him. A lot. It was weird if you ask me, but like I said, she was babbling on about her new life. A fresh start. But she promised she’d be back every once in a while. Kind of like you.”
Well, that blew Bowie’s theory.
“Thanks, man.” Mano nodded. “Please, if you hear anything, let me know.”
“Sure thing.” Gleason eased back into his folding chair. “Food’s coming, right? How about beer or wine? Did you order any of that?”
“Water. Lots of water,” Mano said.
Bowie strolled down the dirt road toward Mano’s Jeep. “Any chance Kalena had a sugar daddy?”
“Anything’s possible, but if she did, he helped her get sober and that makes me wonder what stake he has in all this.” Mano cracked his neck. “Whoever came with her had some medical supplies. He could have been a nurse or a doctor. And Kalena had gone through detox before being released to her parents and Moana’s care. Kalena was all in. She was going to meetings and doing whatever she was told, but no one has ever mentioned this man. So, why the secrecy?” Mano lifted his watch. “It’s not that late. Feel like taking a drive to the local emergency room?”
“Let’s go.” Bowie climbed into the passenger seat and pulled out his cell. He stared at Moana’s contact information, but what would he text her? He had very little information to give her.
He lifted his phone and stared at the screen before dropping it to his lap.
“Hey, man. I get it’s none of my business, but text or call if you want to. I’m sure she’d like to hear from you.” Mano squeezed his shoulder before doing a three-point turn.
“This coming from the guy who just an hour ago practically wanted to punch me.”
“I don’t like seeing my Little One hurt, but the problem is you didn’t actually do that and I can puff out my chest and act as if you did, or I can call the kettle black.”
“Dude, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Yeah, you do.” Mano chuckled. “Moana runs on two speeds. Long-term relationships with men who are so boring they might as well be the paint drying on the walls. Or down and dirty flings with men who are exciting but can’t offer her shit. You, my friend, have the potential of changing both those things.”
Bowie dropped his head back and blinked. “I don’t know that I do. For the first time in my life, I have no idea where I’m going or what I’m doing. And that’s no bullshit, but I can’t get into it because it’s?—”
“Classified. Yeah. You mentioned all this before, but you do have control over your signature on that piece of paper.” Mano shifted his gaze, arching a brow. “I know her and I know she cares, but when she starts falling for a guy who’s worth anything, she sabotages the shit out it. If you want to walk away, that’s your business, but you’d be making a mistake. Perhaps the biggest one of your life.” Mano turned down the main drag.
Bowie’s phone felt like a blazing fire between his fingertips. What would he say? He had no new information to give her. At least none that would ease her fears or make her feel as though they were one step closer to finding her sister.
Sometimes all a partner needs is to know you’re out there, thinking of them.
His father’s words.
While deployed.
Which Bowie thought was odd, because he figured it would be his mother who came up with such kindness. And she did, but it was his dad who always reminded him that it was the smallest of things that held people together.
Bowie: Hey. I’m hoping you’re resting, because you need it, but wanted to reach out. Mano and I are tracking down something. Not even sure I can call it a lead, but it’s taking us in a direction even he hasn’t been on, so maybe it’s something. I’ll reach out no matter what we find. Even if it’s nothing. Just wanted you to know I was thinking about you.
Damn. That was about the most pathetic thing ever. Wordy and sappy.
Bubbles appeared.
His heart hit his throat like a rocket ship.
Moana: Thank you. Thinking of you too. Feel free to stop by when you’re done. Or in the morning. I’m surfing first thing with the girls before work. But I’ll be around.
He stuffed his cell in his back pocket. It meant nothing. She was exhausted. Running on fumes. She was probably half-asleep, believing she was texting someone else. He’d call her in the morning and give her a full report.
Better yet, he’d stop by with breakfast.
Tonight, he’d give her space. They both needed it.