Hostile Desires Read online

  Vicker was twenty-four in the picture, but he looked older. He was missing teeth, his face was pock marked, and there was a sallow cast to his skin.

  He was ready to give up when he spotted the kid. He was sitting on a bench. Graeme tried to be quiet, but it was hard to hide who he was, especially in this area. The moment Vicker noticed the attention, he took off.

  “Aw, damn, I hate when they run,” Floyd said.

  Both of them took off after him, with Floyd turning down an alley to make sure the little bastard didn’t double back. Thank God, Vicker was shorter and so unhealthy from his habit that he couldn’t keep up the pace he had started. Graeme caught up to him after three blocks.

  “Bloody hell, Vicker, I just wanted to talk to you.”

  When he looked up, Graeme could see that Vicker’s eyes were definitely dilated. It was bad enough they had to rely on a drug addict and a thief, but if he was strung out, questioning him was probably going to be fruitless.

  The alley they stood in smelled of rotten food, produce, and feces. With the humidity, the stink hung in the air around him. It took everything for Graeme to keep from losing his breakfast.

  Floyd caught up to them then. He glanced around their surroundings and made a face.

  “Nice morning jog.”

  Graeme chuckled. “I just want to talk to you about Sam.”

  “What about him?” Vicker asked. He looked like he’d lost a few more teeth and dropped a few pounds. His clothes were filthy, and he stunk of ICE and body odor.

  “I want to know where he might have gotten that gun.”

  Vicker shrugged and looked down the street. The mutinous expression on his face told Graeme that Vicker was trying his best to find an escape route.

  “Listen, kid, I’m not too pissed about that little run, but if you make me do it again, I’ll shoot you,” Marcus said, deepening his voice. Graeme knew he was only joking, but it apparently drove home the point.

  “No idea where he got it. Hadn’t talked to him in weeks.”

  “I asked around,” Graeme said. “You two were tight. What happened?”

  Again, the kid shrugged. “He said he found a family member who was going to help him. I didn’t know what the fuck he was talking about. Sam was always a little weird, you know?”

  No, Graeme didn’t know, but he nodded.

  “Then, he just went off. I didn’t know what the hell he was talking about half the time. He kept going on and on about how he was owed stuff. I gave up trying to talk to him. It’d been at least a month since we talked.”

  “A family member? Here?” Floyd asked.

  He nodded. “I never thought he had anyone. That’s what he always said. But lately, he’d been rambling on about some person who had left him a legacy.”

  “A legacy? Like money?” Graeme asked.

  Vicker nodded again.

  Graeme shared a look with Floyd. This could be the break they had been looking for. It was the first he had heard of a legacy, or that Katsu had any kind of family.

  “Let’s talk some more about it,” Floyd said.

  “I knew you were going to bust me, dammit.” He turned to run, but Floyd caught him by the collar.

  Graeme shook his head. “We aren’t going to bust you. I was being honest with you. We’re going to get you something to eat, and maybe that will help you think.”

  Twenty minutes later, they watched the kid walk away, a soda in his hand, and a burger in his stomach. They’d given him a number for a treatment center, but Graeme really didn’t think he would call.

  “So, the way Vicker talked, it was like this family member would give Katsu something.”

  “A legacy. It couldn’t have been much because he was robbing a store when he shot Alana,” Floyd said, as they turned to walk to the truck.

  “True, but what if the legacy turned out to be the gun? Or some other crap and the gun? He wouldn’t want to give it away.”

  “Would you call a gun a legacy?”

  “No, but then, I have a good solid family. He didn’t. Anything that would link to the family member might have been something for him to hold onto.”

  Floyd nodded. “No father in the picture?”

  “For a boy raised mainly on the streets and by the system, the idea his father had left him something, that might be too much to ignore. That would be special.”

  “In his world, a gun would probably be a legacy. He wouldn’t sell it. Well, some ICE heads might, but this was a kid who had no one in the world. This was the one link to his father possibly.”

  “Yes, he wouldn’t be able to part with it.”

  “So, he uses it to get money, but it doesn’t go as planned.”

  “Yeah, and Joe Alana paid for it with his life.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  After a long morning with a very irritated DA Monday morning, Adam walked into the office near lunchtime. Carino was in the office again. He definitely made himself at home. He was sitting at the conference table with Cat and Drew.

  “See you’re slumming again, Carino,” Adam said with a smile. “You’re here so often, I might have to give you an office and some work to do.”

  “Hey, you steal a case from me, I get to hang out. That’s the rule.”

  Before Adam could ask him how his wife and baby were doing, McGregor and Floyd walked into the office.

  “Get any information?” Cat asked.

  Floyd shook his head, but it was McGregor who responded. “Not much, but it might lead to something.”

  Something caught McGregor’s eye and he smiled. Adam followed his line of sight and saw Elle. She was smiling right back at McGregor. Damn, another office romance. He didn’t really mind when Del and Emma had gotten together. Emma didn’t truly work for TFH. She was contracted and actually answered to the governor. This one-eighty with Elle and Graeme might just be trouble.

  “Ready?” Elle asked.

  McGregor nodded. “We’ll be at lunch.”

  He took the ME by the hand and walked her out of the door.

  The moment Elle and Graeme left the office, the betting began.

  “Who’s the keeper of this bet?” Cat asked.

  “I would rather not,” Drew said. “Still, I want to put ten bucks on Saturday night.”

  “The wedding?” Cat asked, as her lips curved.

  Damn, everyone at work was going to be a pain the ass over the next few weeks. All these interactions between staff members were never a good idea. It led to entanglements, which could lead to disaster for the team.

  “Let me get this right,” Carino said. “You’re betting on when they are going to bed?”

  “Yeah,” Floyd said. “Someone better call Charity. She always thinks she gets left out of things.”

  “Oh, yeah. I’ll take care of that,” Drew said, pulling out his cell.

  “Aren’t you worried that Delano is going to get pissed about betting, or maybe Elle and Graeme?” he asked.

  “Elle won the bet on the Boss and Emma, so she really can’t complain,” Adam said, then almost kicked himself in the ass. He should be taking better control of the betting, as Del had wanted it to stop, but he’d been too busy with work and Jin.

  “Charity wants ten on Friday night,” Drew said, walking back in.

  “And the fact that an officer of the law is standing here doesn’t bother you? You know gambling is illegal in the state of Hawaii.”

  Everyone stopped what they were going and looked at the detective. A few silent seconds ticked by.

  “Yeah, but do you want in?” Cat asked.

  He chuckled. “Give me today, ten bucks.”

  * * *

  It was another fine afternoon in Honolulu, so they decided to eat at one of the restaurants in the Aloha Tower Marketplace. They’d wanted something close to work, and Elle said she wanted to be outside. Graeme couldn’t really complain. The sun was sparkling off the water, and his companion was a gorgeous English rose.

  “You seem distracted,” h
e said.

  She glanced at him, then back out at the water. “It’s hard to concentrate with this kind of view.”

  Normally, he would agree. But, at the moment, he knew there was something else. Something was bothering her.

  The waitress arrived with their food, and Elle finally turned back to the table.

  “So, this young man had no information for you?” Elle asked after the waitress had left them alone.

  “Just one thing. Katsu had gotten something very valuable to him.”

  She shuddered. “Who would think a gun to be valuable?”

  “Let me guess, there wasn’t a lot of hunting done in the Middleton household?”

  “Fishing, yes, but no hunting. I know my father did some as a teenager, but he didn’t enjoy it as much as fishing. He said fishing gave him time to work things through in his mind.”

  “He’s a physics professor?”

  She looked up at him quickly. Since they had decided to sit outside, she was still wearing her sunglasses. Still, he sensed he’d surprised her.

  “Yes. And my mother is a literature professor.”

  He nodded, but said nothing. He dug into his food, and took a couple bites of his pork sandwich before he noticed that she wasn’t eating, which he knew wasn’t normal for her, now that he had gotten to know her. Graeme watched as Elle played with her food. Before getting to know her, he would think this was normal. She was a slim woman, and many people would just assume she ate very little. Now, though, he’d seen her eat, and knew that she had a healthy appetite.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Nothing really. Just, there is something about this case that is really bothering me. I can’t seem to put my finger on it, but something is off.”

  “Other than the case file and coroner’s report were missing?” he asked, not even trying to hide his sarcasm.

  “Yes.”

  Then nothing. He knew there was something she was brooding about. More than likely, it was the case. She had been suspiciously pensive since they’d left the building. The fact that she wasn’t openly sharing her thoughts was more than a little bothersome.

  “Eleanora, maybe you could just tell me.”

  “What?”

  Bloody hell, the woman had her emotions locked down tight. He knew he didn’t have a right to be this ticked off about it, but dammit, he wanted her to trust him.

  “Tell me what you are thinking about the case.”

  She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. It irritated him on some level he didn’t understand at the moment.

  “Take off your glasses, look me in the eye, and tell me.”

  His words came out harsher than he intended, and he regretted it. Graeme didn’t realize until that moment how accustomed he had grown to their newfound friendship. She had retreated behind a mask of indifference, but he knew better. Every time he got her to take one step toward him, she took two steps back away from him. Like right now when she wasn’t being honest with him.

  Slowly, she removed her glasses. She held onto her emotions, but he could always see them in her eyes. Irritation was easy to read in the depths of the green gaze, but there was also a hint of defensiveness. Dammit, she should know he wouldn’t attack her, but then, he realized how stupid that thought was. She was a woman who had not only lost her husband, but been singled out by a department as well. Trust wasn’t one thing she would give easily.

  “I know we both think someone was covering, and I know the prevailing opinion is that it was to cover up some shoddy detective work.”

  He nodded. “Even just one case that should have been worked better probably could have ruined someone’s chances at promotion. Before TFH, HPD was the only game in town. In those days, security jobs were slim, and you had to be squeaky clean to get them. The job market isn’t that huge if you have a mark on your record, according to Adam.”

  “On the surface, it could be that.”

  She didn’t continue. Instead, she took a sip of her water, and then began toying with her food again. Silence settled around them as a cloak of armor. She was readying for a battle of some sort.

  “If you don’t stop doing that, I might just have to get mean.”

  She blinked and looked up at him. “Sorry. I tend to get lost sometimes when I start thinking about a case.”

  He hated the tone in her voice, as if she had to apologize for what she was doing. When they normally discussed things, she would stand up to him. Now, though, she was being very timid. He did not like it one bit.

  “Don’t act like that.”

  She frowned. “Like what?”

  “Like I’m your ex. I’m not. If you have an opinion, let me know. I would rather argue something out than have you think you can’t be honest with me.”

  A long moment passed and she stared at him. For the first time in a while, he couldn’t read her expression. Then, she drew in a deep breath and released it. Her gaze softened as she shook her head.

  “I didn’t realize I was doing that.”

  “Well, don’t, because it makes me mad.”

  “Stop yelling at me.”

  “Quit being a coward.” He almost apologized, but something kept him from it. Then, a rush of heat came to her cheeks, and she narrowed her eyes. She said nothing.

  “I don’t want you holding back. If you have an idea, let me know,” he grumbled. Knowing that he sounded like an ogre, he softened his voice when he said, “It might help.”

  She held his gaze for a long moment, anger simmering, but it soon dissolved.

  “I was thinking that maybe it wasn’t bad police work that they were covering up.”

  “How do you mean?”

  She shrugged. “I have a lot of respect for the men and women who serve in HPD, but they aren’t always angels, and back then, they did have a few scandals. They had more than one person get in trouble. What if Jenny ended up being a victim because she saw something?”

  He blinked. “So, she witnessed a crime involving a cop?”

  “Or, involving someone working for the cops. I know Gerald had an issue where one of his team covered for an informant. The CI had actually killed another drug dealer.”

  He started thinking about what she had said. It made some sense. It definitely could be a cop as they said, but what if the cop thought the CI had information on another case—one that would help the cop’s career more?

  “Oh, never mind. It was probably a silly idea.”

  He shook his head. “No. Not silly at all. Either scenario would work. The most irritating thing is trying to figure out which one it could be. Without knowing who the cop was, it’s damned impossible.”

  She nodded and shifted in her seat again.

  “Oh, bloody hell, woman, just spit it out.”

  She glanced at the table next to theirs, but he didn’t break his concentration. He had it solely on her. One way or another, Elle was going to learn they were a team.

  “I think the connection has something to do with whoever gave the gun to Sam. That link could lead us back to the cop who possibly covered this up for whatever reason. Someone in HPD had a connection, so we need to find out that connection to whoever had the gun.”

  He thought about it. Since he was new to this kind of work, and seen as a haole, Graeme didn’t have a lot of informants. Trust was important in that kind of relationship, so Graeme understood it. Adam was the one with the most, and that was because of his time in HPD. But, he had seen it from a distance at HPD, and he had used some type of informants in Iraq. If an amoral person needed to keep an informant safe, he or she could rationalize anything. He knew that some people would do anything to keep an informant safe.

  “See. That is absolutely brilliant.”

  She shook her head. “You don’t have to feign amazement, Graeme.”

  Irritation turned into anger. When she was dealing with dead bodies and evidence, she was so damned unshakeable. In this, she seemed to have no confidence. It made him want to beat the sh
it out of her ex. Graeme had no doubt the man had torn down every one of her ideas because he worried about being overshadowed. Elle was as brilliant as she was beautiful, and to a man with his own issues, she would be intimidating. Still, he didn’t like having her ex’s transgressions heaped on his head.

  “I’m no’ doing it. This is why Del put you on the case. We both have different ways of looking at issues and it works.”

  She said nothing else, but he didn’t miss the little smile that curved her lips as she sipped her water, then she began to eat her food. One small step forward. Maybe handling her with kid gloves wasn’t the answer all of the time.

  Feeling better, he applied himself to his own meal again, and decided to enjoy a meal in the sunshine with a beautiful woman.

  * * *

  When they got back to the office, Elle turned toward the lift, but he grabbed her by the hand and reeled her back in.

  “What?” she asked.

  Graeme smiled. She was frowning at him as if he was insane, but he didn’t care. She might want to do things slowly, but he definitely didn’t want to give her room to step back. He could hold steady for a long time, but he wanted her there with him until she was ready for the next step.

  “I just wanted to thank you for having lunch with me.”

  Before she could respond, he bent down and brushed his mouth over hers. When he pulled back, he watched her open her eyes.

  “You’re welcome,” she said, her voice warm with affection. He released her and watched as she walked down the hall.

  “Got it bad, McGregor,” Floyd said as he stepped up beside him.

  Graeme smiled. “It might be fatal.”

  “Another one takes the fall,” he said with a sigh.

  “Lunch did give us another idea.”

  “Us?” Floyd asked.

  “Yes, Elle. She mentioned that maybe we should start looking into CIs at that time.”

  Marcus studied him. “She thinks an informant might have some kind of connection to the case? Like he could have killed Jenny?”

  “Possibly. It makes sense. Someone in the HPD helped make things disappear. At the time, there was one big case. What if someone was feeding cops info about the Strangler?”