Chapter 5
The Maui PD officer got started dusting a million surfaces in the cottage for prints.
Rex hooked Kimo’s arm and guided her out onto the front porch. He sat on the porch steps and motioned for Kimo to join him.
She sank beside him and stared out at the police vehicle while Rex pulled out his cell phone.
The first call was to his boss. He clicked on the number and put it on speaker so that Kimo could hear the conversation.
“Rex,” Hawk answered, “tell me what’s happening.”
“I have Ms. Kekoa with me. You’re on speaker.”
“Kimo,” Hawk said. “How are you feeling?”
“Alive. Not yet one-hundred percent, but getting there,” Kimo said. “Rex will fill you in.”
Rex took over and filled Hawk in on what had occurred since he’d texted his boss that he’d arrived at the hospital and found Kimo.
“I’m glad you’re with her,” Hawk said. “Kalea was worried about her and Alana.”
“Have you heard from the guys you sent out on the water?” Rex asked.
“I just got word from them,” Hawk said. “I’m sorry to say they didn’t find Alana or the missing boat. I touched base with my contact at the Coast Guard headquarters on Oahu. They’d sent out a helicopter, but they haven’t had any more luck either.”
“What about the shipping container?” Kimo asked. “Did the Coast Guard find it?”
“I talked to my Maui contact half an hour ago. They went to the coordinates you gave us.” Hawk paused. “They didn’t find a container or bodies.”
Kimo’s face paled.
“Are you sure of the coordinates you gave us?” Hawk asked.
“I used them to relocate the box on our second dive. They were accurate,” Kimo said. “They didn’t find the container?”
“No,” Hawk reconfirmed.
“How can that be possible?” Kimo shook her head, her brow creasing. “It was there. Alana and I saw it. We pried it open to look inside. The bodies...” Her voice trailed off. “It was surreal, like a scene from a horror film.”
“Is it possible for a twenty-foot shipping container to be dragged up from the ocean floor in the amount of time it took for Kimo to get to help?” Rex asked.
“Since it was almost four hours from the time of the attack to when she notified the police, there’s a chance someone could’ve located and removed the container. But it would have to be someone with specialized equipment and a boat or ship large enough to handle it.”
“I should’ve gotten help sooner,” Kimo said. “I took too long.”
“It’s not your fault you were attacked.” Rex slipped an arm around her and gently pulled her close. The woman had been through a lot. “And it’s not your fault they took your friend.”
“But I should’ve done more.” Her body trembled against Rex.
“You did the best thing by getting away from them and letting people know what happened,” Hawk assured her.
“Hawk, could we pull Swede in on this conversation?” Rex turned to Kimo. “Swede’s the tech guy I told you about.”
“On it,” Hawk said.
A moment later, another voice joined the call.
“Swede here. Hawk gave me the digest version of what’s going on. What can we do to help?”
“Is it possible to reclaim files that have been wiped clean from an online storage site?” Rex asked.
“It’s possible, but it depends. Does the online storage site have automated backups? If so, how often do they perform the backups? Did you save a copy on your desktop? If so, does your desktop or laptop have another data backup system protecting your data?”
Kimo pinched the bridge of her nose. “I don’t know the answers. All I know is that when I logged into my online storage service, my files were gone.”
“Text me the name of your service and your username and password,” Swede said. “I’ll see what I can find.”
“If you manage to get to that data,” Rex said, “look for the images she uploaded last night. There should be one of the shipping container, sitting on the ocean floor. Look for any identifying marks on it that might lead us to its origin.”
“Will do,” Swede said. “If there’s anything else you need, don’t hesitate to ask. We’re here to help.”
Kimo’s lips tipped upward a little. “Thanks.”
Rex gave her a quick, encouraging nod. “We’re going to the dive shop that rented the boat to Kimo to see if they had a GPS tracker on it.”
“Hopefully, they did,” Hawk said. “Makes sense to have them on rentals.”
“Let me know if I need to check into the rental company’s tracking database,” Swede said.
“We will,” Rex assured the man.
“In the meantime, I’ll see what I can find of Ms. Kekoa’s online files and the picture she took of the shipping container.”
“The break-in at Kimo’s house could’ve been by a thief looking for expensive equipment to pawn,” Hawk said.
“But given the fact her online storage was wiped, and her computer and photography equipment were taken so soon after she spotted a sunken shipping container with human remains, I’d lean toward this being more than a random theft. ”
“Agreed,” Rex said.
“Someone doesn’t want Kimo’s photos to get out,” Swede said. “Got it. I’ll start digging now and get back with you as soon as I can.”
“Thanks, Swede,” Rex said.
“Out here,” Swede said.
“Rex, you still on the line?” Hawk asked.
“Still here,” Rex responded
“Any chance you and Kimo can find the camera she dropped when she was evading the attackers?”
Rex cocked an eyebrow in Kimo’s direction.
Kimo drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“I don’t know. I have the coordinates for where the shipping container was.
After the attack, I was more concerned about dodging bullets than saving more sets of coordinates.
” She frowned. “They shot a hole into my tank, and I released the BCD to buy time for me to get away, hoping they would follow the bubbles from the air escaping through the bullet hole. I’m almost sure I dropped the camera when I released my BCD. ”
“But that’s a big bay,” Rex said.
“Yeah,” Kimo said. “But that camera and the images on it might be the only connection we have to that shipping container and the people responsible for the deaths of those chained inside.”
“That container might be our only lead as to who took Alana,” Rex said. “Whoever dropped it into the ocean obviously didn’t want anyone else to find it. The men who attacked you could’ve been the ones sent to locate and retrieve the container.”
Kimo shook her head. “Locate and guard, maybe. Their boat wasn’t big enough or equipped with the means to extract a container that size from the ocean floor—especially so quickly.”
“Like you said, they could’ve been the scouting and protection crew there to keep others from discovering their ugly secret,” Hawk said. “Which means, they’ll want everything to do with your find erased.”
Kimo shivered. “Including my laptop, home computer, online storage and the camera I lost when I fled.”
“And you,” Rex added softly.
“Exactly,” Hawk said. “Stay close to her.”
Rex glanced toward his pretty client. “That’s the plan.”
After Hank ended the call, Kimo looked up into Rex’s eyes. “We need a boat.”
“Do you think you can find the camera?”
Her jaw hardened. “I have to find the camera. Alana’s life might depend on it. When we meet with Jako, I’ll ask if he has another boat I can rent.”
Rex and Kimo went back into the house to find that the officer had finished gathering evidence in the living room and had moved on to the bedrooms.
Rex insisted that Kimo sit in one of the chairs he picked up off the floor. She looked like she was about to fall over. No sleep, a gunshot wound plus a strenuous swim to get from where they’d been diving to the shore had to have taken their toll on the woman.
She sat quietly observing the officer as he moved in and out of the bedrooms.
Rex was surprised she hadn’t gotten up to start cleaning. Perhaps she was conserving her energy for when they paid a visit to Jako’s Diving Adventures. If the man had a boat and dive gear for her to rent, they could be heading out on a dive in Maalaea Bay before noon.
Less than an hour after the Maui police officer arrived, he finished dusting for prints, photographing the damage and inking Rex’s and Kimo’s prints to rule them out when comparing them with the prints he’d found.
The man took their statements and wrapped up, leaving soon after.
Kimo walked through the house, the dark circles under her eyes more pronounced as she took in the destruction and the mess left behind from the powder the officer had used to lift latent prints.
“As much as it bothers me to see my home in this condition, I’m not going to start the cleanup process yet.” Kimo turned to Rex. “However, I’d like to take a quick shower before we go to Jako’s. I still have salt in my hair and on my skin, and it’s chafing.”
“What about your injury?”
Her lips twisted. “I’ll have to keep that leg out of the shower.”
“On the way over to Jako’s, we need to stop by your pharmacy and pick up the antibiotics the doctor prescribed,” Rex said.
Kimo grimaced. “I hate taking pills.”
“You’d hate getting an infection more. How do you plan to keep that injury dry if we go looking for your camera?”
Kimo shrugged. “Tape and plastic wrap? I can pick up something at the pharmacy.” Kimo gathered clothing from the floor of her bedroom and paused at the bathroom door. “Thanks for having my back. I’m not sure how I would’ve handled walking into my house the way it is by myself.”
“I’m here to protect,” he said. “It’s what I do.”
Her lips quirked. “And manage property and investments. What is it your father does for a living?”
Rex shifted his gaze away from Kimo, his body stiffening. “He owns his own corporation.”
“What kind of corporation?” she asked.
His gaze came back to hers. “Get your shower.”
Clutching her clothing to her chest, Kimo ducked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
Her bodyguard was a bit touchy when it came to his father. Asking questions about the man hadn’t earned her any points.