Hostile Desires (19 page)

“First, it isn’t your fault.”

“
Bullshit
. I knew she was going too far with her investigations. She was putting herself in danger.”

“And she was a grown woman who was very independent. She had a job to do, and she was very ambitious.”

“It was
not
her fault,” he almost growled from behind clenched teeth.

What a wonderful man. She was so happy Jin had someone like this on her side. Elle had often worried about the woman who had no family and no visible emotional support. But with Adam, she had someone who cared so deeply he hurt.

“If she had been walking down Ala Moana naked, it still wouldn’t be her fault.”

He sighed. “I’m sorry. I know you understand. I just hate hearing that shit.”

“And, because of that, I’m going to give you a bit of advice, two bits, in fact.”

He looked at her and waited. His hopeful expression made her smile.

“First, let her be Jin, or at least the Jin she is meant to be. She is completely different, and she needs to find her way back to a place she can be comfortable with herself. There is no time limit.”

“And the second bit?”

“Keep checking on her. Normalcy is very important. She might not say it, but she mentioned your visits to me. She cares, but right now, she can’t deal with it. You’re going to have to accept she is not the woman you knew.”

“I just want her happy again.”

“That’s up to her. No one can make her happy until she deals with what she went through. But knowing she has you to call, that will mean more than you can even imagine.”

He nodded.

“And I guess things are good for you now?”

She leaned back and sipped on her coffee before answering. “Yeah. They weren’t for a very long time. Add in that it was sensationalized in the press and it was horrific. My marriage fell apart and I lost my job. Thanks to my family, though, I had time to recover physically and emotionally. Now, everything is smashing—most of the time. It took me a long time to actually go on a date, and I have my moments…like yesterday.”

“Tell McGregor I didn’t make you cry.”

She blinked. “What?”

“Yesterday, he told me I wasn’t allowed to make you cry. Actually, he shouted it.”

“And the whole office heard it?”

He nodded, a smile curving his lips. “Eleanora.”

She closed her eyes, as her face warmed. “That goat. Then, what do you expect from a McGregor? Goats, every one of them.”

“He’s hooked.”

She opened her eyes and watched the man in question park his truck. He slipped out of it, then strode over in their direction.

“Really, tell him I didn’t make you cry.”

She glanced at him. “I will, because it was more about me working through something than anything else. Make sure you think before you say things from now on.”

“I will,” he promised. “You’re going to save a dance for me at the wedding, right?”

“Of course I will.”

“Everything okay?” Graeme asked.

“Yes. I was just chatting with Adam. I have work to do, boys.”

With that, she stood, kissed Graeme on the cheek. “Have fun hunting for your confidential informant.”

Then, she walked into the building, feeling even lighter than she had the night before, and more centered. Today was going to be a good day.

G
raeme watched
Elle as she walked into the building, feeling completely enchanted. The fact that she had barely brushed her mouth on his cheek wasn’t important. It was that she did it without prompting.

“And another one bites the dust,” Adam said, shaking his head.

He glanced over at Adam with a smile. “Happily.”

“What do you think she’s going to say about that?”

Graeme knew that Adam was talking about Elle.

“Told her, she said she wasn’t a good bet.” He shrugged. “She’ll come around.”

“For your sake, I hope so. She is definitely a catch. What do you have on your agenda today?”

“I have a list of people to question about the missing CI.”

Adam nodded. “Want company?”

“It might help. Elle said when I get irritated, most people can’t understand me.”

“I understood you just fine yesterday.”

Graeme chuckled. “See. Woman doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Let me check in and then I’ll be ready to go.”

T
hree hours later
, Graeme was ready to shoot the next person who said they couldn’t remember the eighties. Sadly, he was pretty sure they couldn’t. The eighties had been bad for all of them, and none of them seemed to have done better in the interim. Most of them had long rap sheets littered with drug busts. When they said they didn’t remember the time period, it was because they had been too stoned.

He pulled to a stop in a nice neighborhood in Aiea. He glanced around and realized that it was a middle class area, with neat yards and houses. That was a big improvement over the others they had already visited. Most of them had lived in apartments...some on the street. None of them had probably had a shower in weeks.

“What’s this one’s name?” he asked Adam.

“George Thompson.” Adam looked at the house. “Looks like George did better for himself.”

They got out of the truck and walked up to the door. There was a ramp for a wheelchair.

“Maybe he doesn’t live here anymore?” Graeme said.

Adam shrugged and knocked on the door.

“Just a sec,” a man called out. When the door opened, a Hawaiian man of about sixty sat in a wheelchair. He was a little pudgy, and he’d lost all but two strands of his hair on top of his head. But his eyes were clear, and his smile genuine.

“Can I help you?”

Adam glanced at Graeme. “I’m Officer McGregor from Task Force Hawaii. We’d like to ask you a few questions about your work as a CI in the eighties.”

George’s eyebrows shot up. “Well, not sure if I can help you, but I’ll try. Come in.”

He backed up and allowed them to enter. They stepped over the threshold, and Adam closed the door behind them.

“That was a bad time in my life. I was strung out. I would do anything for a fix.”

They followed him into the living room. The inside of the house matched the outside. Neat, except for a few magazine and books lying around, and definitely not the house of an addict.

“What changed you?”

“Love of a good woman,” he said, motioning to the picture of a woman. “My wife. She’s at work right now. Please have a seat. Would you like something to drink?”

“No, thanks,” Adam said, as they both sat down.

“What we want to ask you about is the Jenny Kalani killing,” Graeme said.

“Yes. I saw that on the TV a couple days ago. I vaguely remember it.”

“Do you remember anyone getting a gun around then? Anyone who said anything that might lead you to believe they had something to do with it?”

He sighed. “Let me think. There was Frankie, but I think he ended up overdosing in the early nineties, or maybe he died of AIDS. A lot of my old friends did.”

“Anyone else?”

“There was another fellow. He was really tight with one of the cops in homicide, which was odd.”

“Why?”

“Yeah, the homicide cops used us, but most of us were tight with Vice cops, you know.

“God, what was that idiot’s name? He was always bragging that he had some kind of cop in his pocket. Chester, that was it, but I don’t know if that was a first or last name.”

“Are you sure?” Graeme asked.

“Yes. He was a weasely little fellow. Such a bragger too. Thought he was smart, strutting around bragging about his link to a cop.”

Adam had been busily reading over the names. “Chester Fung?” he asked.

“If that was his name, then it was probably him. I just knew him by Chester. Had a big grin and an even bigger mouth. Heard he died in prison a few years later.”

“But not before having a son, apparently,” McGregor mumbled. He shared a look with Adam. They both knew they needed more to go on, but Graeme had a feeling they had found the man they had been searching for.

A
dam and Graeme
had grabbed a bite to eat and headed back to the office to eat it. They both had a lot of work to clear up before the weekend. All of them knew they would be busy with the wedding, so both he and Adam had agreed it would better to eat at work. Graeme really wanted to talk over some of the stuff with Elle, but he knew she was busy today. She had a meeting with the DA that morning about the upcoming testimony she had to give. Just as he stepped into the conference area, his mobile rang her melody.

“Hey, there,” he said.

“Hey there, yourself. How’d it go this morning? Any joy?”

“Looks like we have a lead.”

“Brilliant. I’m going to be back in about an hour. I have another meeting here with the ADA about another upcoming case. His first murder trial, so I’m going to miss the afternoon meeting.”

“Bollocks, I forgot about that.”

She chuckled. “Don’t tell me you hate meetings?”

“Any sane person hates them.”

“True. I was calling to see if you wanted to share my room with me at the hotel.”

“Your room?”

Adam’s eyebrows rose up, but he didn’t say anything. Everything had gotten quiet in the conference room. Graeme turned around and realized everyone had gathered for the meeting, including Carino.

“Bloody hell,” he muttered, as he walked into his office and closed the door.

“What’s wrong? You don’t have to stay with me if you don’t want to.”

“No, I wasn’t talking about that. Just office rubbish.”

“Ah, okay.”

“So, this room?” he said, setting his food container on his desk. Then, he closed the blinds to his office.

“Yes,” she said. “I rented a suite at the hotel for Del’s wedding, and I thought you would like to stay with me. They don’t take dogs though.”

“No worries,” he said with a smile. “I had arranged for Dumfries to stay at Mrs. Williams’ that night. I knew I would be gone too long for him to be alone.”

“Oh, well, then, I guess that works. So, do you want to?”

She sounded so unsure of herself. It hurt to hear the self-doubt. “Yes, Eleanora, I would love to stay with you.”

“Great,” she said, relief easy to hear in her voice. “Oh, there’s the ADA. I’ll call you later. Cheers.”

He clicked off his mobile, as Elle had already hung up. Graeme thought it was a good sign that Elle had invited him to stay with her. He was pretty sure he could have talked himself into her room, but it meant more that she had invited him to share her room. He grabbed his food and stepped into the conference area.

“Adam was filling us in. Sounds like a good lead,” Del said.

“Yeah, it does. Adam is calling up his uncle.”

Del chuckled, and there were a few smiles.

“What?” he asked.

Adam explained. “There are uncles and aunties, and none of them are related by blood, but yeah, I’m calling a friend of my father’s. He came up in the academy with Dad.”

“Good. Hopefully, he can help us find out who was using this Chester Fung as a CI.”

“I’ll ask around, but not sure if I will get anywhere,” Carino said. “A lot of the old guard has moved on to retirement, but I’ll talk to Captain Pham.”

“Great. Someone call the mayor and let him know that HPD and TFH can work together,” Del said with a smile. He pushed away from the table and stood. “And that’s it. I’m shutting down my computer and going to head out. Adam’s in charge for the next week, but I’ll have my phone if need be.”

Adam smiled at Graeme. “We timed that right.”

“I heard you,” Del called out from his office, as he turned his computer off, then turned out the lights. “I am too freaking happy to care. See everyone tomorrow. You’ll be there, right, Rome?”

The detective nodded. “Our first real date since the baby, so I am not missing it.”

Del gave them a salute and headed out the door.

“So, if the guy is dead, does that mean you have Jenny’s killer?” Drew asked.

Adam nodded. “Maybe. He had the gun, but did he own it? Did he use it, or did he use it against someone else?”

Graeme caught on to what Adam was saying. “So, we have two scenarios. He either did the killing himself, then the cop helped him cover it up, or the cop was the killer. Somehow, he got hold of that gun.”

“And either way, there might be a cop involved,” Carino said. Graeme realized he did forget something important. “Even if it is an accessory after the fact situation, it’s still murder. There is no statute of limitations.”

“Which means we need to match up this Chester Fung with Sam Katsu, or more importantly, his mother...what was her name?” Adam asked.

“Iris. Iris Katsu,” Graeme said. “If we go back to arrest warrants, maybe we can put them at the same residence. Sam was born in nineteen ninety, so if Fung was living with Iris then, there is a good chance he’s the father.”

“I’ll try to catch Pham before the end of the day. I’ll let you know if I hear anything. See everyone tomorrow.”

The moment it registered that the wedding was tomorrow, it hit Graeme he hadn’t bought a present for the couple.

“Damn, I need to head out too. Got my mobile on, and I should be back in an hour.” He looked at Adam. “You hear anything, call me.”

Adam nodded. “Just remember, it’s Aloha Friday, bruddah. Ain’t no one around today.”

He shook his head as he left. The truth was, he liked the idea of Aloha Friday, even though they rarely got to take advantage of it themselves. This was a good time to take the time though. They might have a case on their hands still, but they had good things to celebrate.

T
he next afternoon
, Elle stared at herself in the bathroom mirror and tried to calm her nerves. She seemed to be repeating the pattern of standing in front of a mirror while she tried to shore up her courage.

Why had she suggested this? Because she had to be out of her bloody mind, that’s why. And why was she so bloody nervous? They had slept together. But this was something different. It was somehow more intimate. While she had mostly stayed at his house, now their things were intermingled, their names linked. It was also signaling to the team that they were definitely involved.

“Are you going to spend all day in there, lass? We’re going to be late.”

She sighed. Grabbing her gloss and compact, she took one last glance in the mirror. She couldn’t hold off any longer. Drawing in a deep breath, she opened the door. She had expected Graeme to be right there, but he wasn’t. He was standing by the sliding glass door that led out to the lanai.

The sun was still shining brightly outside. It danced over his flesh and his hair, adding an otherworldly quality to him. Then, she noticed what he was wearing. He had donned a Hawaiian shirt and matched it with a kilt that she was sure were the McGregor colors. She couldn’t stop the bubble of laughter that escaped.

He turned around with an amused smile. “Why are you laughing?”

“You.” And dammit, as odd as it was, he’d pulled it off. Of course, he did. He was a giant Highlander dressed in a kilt. All that was missing was a claymore in his hands.

“What?” he looked down at what he was wearing, then looked up at her. “It doesn’t match?”

She shook her head, unable to stop laughing.

“I brought my white shirt, so I can change. I wore this because Adam said he had to wear a Hawaiian shirt to the wedding.”

Her laughter faded as she watched him. Worry moved over his expression. He cared. It was one thing she had learned about him these last few weeks. It wasn’t about fitting in. It was about showing his respect for traditions. It was one of the things she loved the most about him.

Oh.
Dammit
. She loved him.

No. She didn’t. She didn’t want to be in love again. It hurt too much, and she definitely didn’t want to fall for a cop. It was all wrong. She knew better than to make that mistake again.

“Are you okay, love?”

She blinked and looked up at him. His gray eyes were filled with concern, and he was frowning.
Dammit
, she did love him. They had only been involved for barely two weeks, but he had touched her soul profoundly. From the way he adopted a dog from a war zone, to the love she heard in his voice when he talked about his family, to the way he worked at his job. He would always take care of those he loved.

“Elle?”

She drew in a deep breath and smiled. She couldn’t worry about it right now. She shook her head and blinked back the tears burning the backs of her eyes.

“You definitely pull it off.”

“Yeah?” he asked, his mouth curving up.

She nodded.

Then, slowly, his smile faded as his gaze moved down her body then back up. By the time their gazes connected, his eyes had darkened. Heat flared low in her belly. God, the man always made her melt, even before he touched her.

“I don’t think anyone will be looking at me. All eyes will be on you.”

His brogue had deepened, drawing out the words. Her throat tightened. She loved the simple sea green dresses Emma had picked for her bridesmaids. Each of them had a style that fit her figure, and they were casual enough that they could wear them again.

“Ah...”

His mouth curved. “I have left you speechless for the second time in less than a week. I call that a win,” he said approaching her.

“Don’t,” she said taking a step back. She knew he would touch her, and she would lose the ability to say no to him.

“But I want to.”

“You’ll mess up my makeup and hair. I have to look perfect for the wedding.”

“Do you have anything on your neck?”

She shook her head.

He took her hand and pulled her closer. Then he bent his head and nuzzled her neck. She shivered as his tongue moved over her pulse point. God, he was killing her. The scent of his aftershave, mixed with his own personal masculine scent, filled her senses. At that moment, he could have talked her out of her dress and into bed. It should scare her. No man, not even her ex, had ever had that kind of power over her. She couldn’t seem to get enough of him, or the way he made her feel when he made love to her.

He pulled back before she was ready. Leaning down, he kissed the tip of her nose. The simple gesture brought a lump to her throat.

“See, didn’t mess your hair or makeup.”

Then he went about gathering up his mobile and wallet, and she stood there. She couldn’t move. He might have left her unmussed, but he’d captured her heart.