Chapter 9
Rex sat stiffly behind the wheel, negotiating the speed and turns with one hand while he held the cell phone in the other.
Kimo couldn’t look away from him as he placed the phone call.
Who was he calling that made him so tense?
“James Johnson?” Rex asked, his voice tight. “It’s Rex Johnson. Your son.”
The air left Kimo’s lungs. He was calling his father. The man he hadn’t talked to since his mother’s death.
She strained to hear the other end of the call as Rex pushed on.
“I don’t want to bother you, but it’s a matter of life and death.” Rex paused to listen. “Yes. That’s what I said. Life or death. I remember you knew Marcus Holte of Holte Maritime Group, and I’m not talking about his life or death.” He paused and listened.
Rex was calling his father about Holte. Kimo struggled even harder to listen to the other end of the conversation.
She couldn’t make out more than a gruff tone barking across the line into Rex’s ear.
Rex let the man talk for a few more seconds. Then he cut in with, “I need to know if he’s on the up and up, or if he’s into shady shipping practices.”
The barking started all over again.
“No, it’s not a matter of life and death for me.” He listened, his lips pressed into a thin line. “Look, if you don’t know anything about him, I’ll let you get back to whatever you were doing.” Rex started to lower his cell phone.
“James Rex Johnson, Jr.!” the voice on the line shouted. “Don’t you hang up on me!”
He raised the phone to his ear. “I’m listening.”
Rex’s father stopped shouting, his voice now nothing but a murmur to Kimo.
She sat with her hands twisting the fabric of her cover-up, wishing Rex had put the call on speaker because she was dying to know what the other man was telling him.
“I got that from the internet. Clean record, philanthropist to his favorite charities. That’s not what I’m looking for. Do you know if he’s been involved in any illegal shipments or cargo?”
Kimo held her breath, wishing she could hear the other man’s answer.
“That’s all you’ve got? Untouchable?” Rex shook his head. “What exactly does that mean?”
What did that mean? Kimo frowned, her thoughts spinning. Who was untouchable? Holte or Rex’s father? Untouchable by whom?
“I see,” Rex said, his jaw so tight a muscle twitched in his cheek. “No, I won’t be calling again soon. If you remember anything more substantial, you can text or call me. I need that information soon. Again, life or death.”
Rex ended the call and threw his cell phone into the cupholder.
Kimo gave him a minute or two to calm down before she tentatively asked, already knowing the answer, “That was your father?”
Rex nodded. “Back when I was still at home, my father and mother mingled with owners and CEOs of major corporations on Oahu. Either they went to the same galas, state functions, or charity golf tournaments. My father spent time with Marcus Holte. I know this, not because he told me, but because he and Holte would show up on the news shaking hands over some deal or the opening of a new building. They played on the same team in a couple of the golf tournaments and had lunch with foreign dignitaries and politicians.”
“You think your father might have inside information on Holte and what’s happening with his shipments?”
Rex shrugged. “I figured it didn’t hurt to ask.”
“And what did your father say?”
“To be careful. Billionaires like Marcus Holte are untouchable.” A frown pulled Rex’s brow low on his forehead. “When I asked him what he meant by untouchable, he said, ‘Think about it.’”
Kimo shook her head. “Does he mean they can get away with murder, and no one will do anything about it?”
“He didn’t specify.” Rex picked up his cell phone, selected a name and placed another call. This time, he put the call on speaker.
After one ring, Swede answered, “Rex, I was about to call you.”
“Talk to me,” Rex said.
“I looked up a fishing boat big enough to handle the container that was in Lanai’s harbor at the same time as Holte’s ship.
It was in for maintenance and left within twenty-four hours.
A large yacht came into the harbor shortly after the Holte ship arrived.
It was flying a Panamanian flag. The type of yacht indicated it was also big enough to carry a twenty-foot container and could be rigged with a boom big enough to haul out of the water a large motorboat weighing about the same as your container.
I’m still digging through corporate ownership and foreign-based LLCs to find the real owner.
So, nothing specific, but a lead I’m chasing. What do you have?”
“I need you to dig into Marcus Holte. I had word from my father, James Johnson of JJ Enterprises, that I needed to beware of Holte. He said that he’s untouchable.”
“What did he mean by untouchable?” Swede asked.
“He didn’t say.” Rex met Kimo’s eyes. “Kimo and I are betting he’s not running a squeaky-clean operation. We think he might have enough money or influence to sway US and possibly international authorities to look the other way.”
“I’ve been looking at his company and can’t find anything that jumps out,” Swede said.
“Then look at who he hangs out with,” Rex said. “My father used to run in his circles. I’m thinking he still does and doesn’t want to say anything.”
“On it,” Swede said. “You’re on your way to your dive?”
“We are,” Rex said.
“Good luck. I hope you find Kimo’s camera. The authorities need that evidence to bring justice to the victims in that container. Out here.”
Rex ended the call, set the phone in the cupholder and stared straight ahead, his jaw tight, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white.
Kimo reached out and touched his arm. “Are you as frustrated as I am?”
He nodded and flexed his fingers, letting blood flow into them. “I feel like we’re on the edge of knowing something critical to solving this case.”
“Me, too,” she said. “It’s like having a word on the tip of your tongue, but you can’t spit it out.”
“If only that word was the answer to all our questions.” Rex continued driving, his focus on the road and, maybe, the situation. After a while, he turned to her. “I’m sorry.”
Kimo looked at him. “For what?”
“That my father wasn’t more forthcoming.
I feel like he knows something that would help us with this situation.
By holding back, it keeps you and Alana in danger.
” He banged his palm against the steering wheel.
“It’s just like him to protect his business associates and not come through for his family.
Not that I’m a part of his family anymore.
I’m actually shocked he spoke to me at all. ”
“Maybe he regrets having cut you off. Are you his only living relative?”
Rex nodded.
“He’s older now. He might want to reconcile and rebuild your relationship.”
“He can go to hell before I do that. He wasn’t there for my mother. The only time he was there for me was to force his legacy on me, grooming me to join him in his business. Not that he cared about his son working with him so much as molding me to his specifications to be like him.”
“How did you know?”
Rex snorted. “I heard him say he couldn’t get enough employees who could think like him. He said, verbatim, ‘I’ll make sure you know how to run this business exactly as I would. No bellyaching. No going against my orders. You’ll do precisely what I say. Won’t you, boy?’”
Kimo stared at him in shock. “He said that?”
“He did,” Rex said. “When my mother suggested I might want to choose a different career, he yelled at her that he wouldn’t let his son bail on him. Why else would he have let her have a kid in the first place?”
“Ouch.” Kimo winced. “That had to hurt her and you. How old were you when he said that?”
“Twelve.” His face was grim as he drove into Lahaina, checking the rearview mirror often.
Kimo’s heart ached for the twelve-year-old version of Rex. What a different childhood from hers, which had been filled with love and encouragement to explore her passions.
When they arrived at the marina, Rex parked in the parking lot, backing into the space. He jumped out, gathered his snorkel and mask and put on his sunglasses.
By the time he rounded the front of the truck, Kimo was pushing her door open.
He reached up, captured her waist in his hands and swung her to the ground. His hands remained on her waist as he stared down into her eyes. “Anyone tell you your eyes are like dark, mysterious pools a person could fall into?”
She laughed. “No.”
“Someone should.” He smiled and tugged her hat down over her eyes. “Ready to go for our private snorkeling adventure?”
Kimo shoved her hat up in time to catch Rex winking at her. Her heart warmed at his playfulness in the face of so much danger. He’d just told her the story of his tragic family life and was trying to lighten her mood.
He took her sunglasses off her hat, where she’d rested them and placed them on her face. Then he caught her hand in his and walked her toward the marina.
Kimo guided him to Leilani’s slips, where she kept her tour boats.
Leilani, wearing a polo shirt with her company logo embroidered across the top of her left breast, greeted them near the gangway.
“Welcome to Windsong Tours, Mr. and Mrs. Lovejoy. I’m Leilani Kealoha, your tour guide.
Please, come aboard. We’re waiting on two more customers, and we’ll be on our way for a fabulous evening of snorkeling. ”
Kimo grinned and joined the farce in case anyone in adjoining slips or on the dock was listening. “We’ve been looking forward to this since we arrived in Maui, haven’t we, Snookums?” She leaned back into Rex and cupped his cheek in her palm. “I can’t wait to see the little fishes, can you?”
He captured her hand in his and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “Been counting the seconds, Doodlebug. Maybe we’ll even see a turtle.” His lips twitched as he looked toward Leilani. “Think we’ll see a turtle, Ms. Kealoha?”