Moon over Maalaea Bay (11 page)

Lee returned Peterson’s stare. “Then you’ll have to trust that I know what I’m doing.”

Peterson pulled a hand from his hip and poked his index finger into Lee’s chest. “If you pull any more stunts like you and Jennifer did at Rialto Beach, I’ll have you arrested.”

Lee knocked the tall FBI agent’s hand away. Lee was on the verge of an explosion and he really didn’t care. “The little stunt you’re referring to saved three girls’ lives and wiped out most of the trafficking ring…without any help from you and your snail-paced response.”

Katie wedged her body between the two men. “I talked with Anya, Peterson. She’s a victim, too. And the men in the organization will kill her for what she’s already told us. Is there any way you can keep her safe?”

Katie had changed the subject. She had pried the two men apart, and she had probably saved him from doing something he would’ve regretted. What was he thinking? One didn’t assault an FBI agent, especially a good man like Peterson. Lee stepped back out of his reach.

Peterson reciprocated, pulling his hands back into his own personal space. He focused on Katie. “We still have a few missing pieces to our trafficking-ring puzzle. If Anya cooperates and supplies them, maybe I can help her. But I can’t promise her Witness Protection. That’s a DOJ call made by people higher up than me. “

A Maui police officer emerged from the house leading Anya.

Peterson turned towards the officer. “I’m Special Agent Peterson, and I’d like a word with Anya.”

As Peterson talked to Anya, Lee stood nearby listening and hoping something productive would come out of their conversation.

Peterson introduced himself and skillfully opened the door for Anya to cooperate with the FBI. “Did the police tell you that you don’t have to answer any questions?”

“They explained that, but I want to answer.”

“You’ve made a wise decision, Anya. If you help us break the syndicate, I’ll do everything I can to help you.”

Anya stared into the distance as if seeing everything, yet seeing nothing. “Nobody can help me once they come after me.”

“You shouldn’t think that way. They’ve instilled a deep-seated fear in you. But these men aren’t invincible. We’ll get them. Then you’ll see that you don’t need to live in fear of them.” He paused and reached into his pocket, pulling out his cell. “But I want to ask you about some other people.”

Peterson pulled a picture up on his cell and turned the display towards Anya.

Lee stepped closer to peer around his shoulder.

“Have you seen either of these men in the last twenty-four hours?”

Anya drew in a sharp breath. She didn’t reply. Fear lurked in her wide eyes.

Lee also saw the picture of two Middle Eastern looking men.
The Iranian connection?

Peterson moved the picture closer to Anya. “This is extremely important. These men may ask questions about Jennifer. If you have any information, anything at all, it will certainly help your cause if you tell me now.”

Anya stared at the picture. Her mouth twitched, then slowly opened. “These men…aren’t just evil. They’re crazy.”

Peterson’s body flinched at Anya’s words, like she had struck him. “Then you
have
seen them. When? Where?”

“They said
they
would kill me too if I mentioned them to anyone. But I guess they’ll have to get in line.” She looked up into Peterson’s face and gave him a smile that contained more pain than anything else. “When I left the house early this morning to walk to the coffee shop at Piilani Center, they stopped me a couple blocks from the house. Began asking questions about a woman. Asked for the name of the person who owned her. I knew they were asking about Jennifer.”

Peterson held Anya’s gaze. “But you said Jennifer was still at the house when you left.”

“She was.” Anya’s face for the first time displayed a softer, more compassionate look. “Like I said, these guys were completely insane. You wouldn’t believe some of the things they threatened to do. I told them Jennifer had been moved to a boat.”

Anya had lied to protect Jennifer. It was a small thing, given the fact she helped with Jennifer’s abduction, but it revealed a young, caring girl hidden somewhere inside this hardened young woman, the girl who existed before the traffickers stole her innocence and terrified her into submission. The good news Katie wanted to share with her was the only thing Lee believed could restore her innocence and provide the healing she needed from the abuses Anya had suffered.

Peterson pulled out his notepad and pen. “What about the name they asked for?”

“I heard a couple of names mentioned at the house, people I’d never met. Men I assumed were leaders in the trafficking ring. I gave the lunatics their names.”

Peterson’s voice softened. “I need to know the names you gave them, Anya.”

Anya shrugged. “I heard them mention a Nguyen and a Mr. James.”

Peterson’s expression changed at the last name, James. Obviously he knew more about the traffickers than he was telling Lee.

“Thanks, Anya. You’ve been a big help to me. I won’t forget it.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “But right now, you need to go with the Maui police. They’ll have a lot of questions for you, but consider them your friends because they will keep you safe.”

Two Maui police officers approached Anya, and she gave Peterson a weak smile. “That’s what Lee said too.”

Lee stepped close to her. “Please help the police any way you can. Your cooperation could save Jennifer’s life.”

“Remember what I said about the good news?” Katie called out as the police led Anya away. “I’ll see you soon, and we can talk about it.”

Anya turned towards Katie, opened her mouth, then closed it and turned to face the Maui policemen.

Lee’s gaze bored into Peterson. “The two men in the pictures you showed to Anya…they’re the Iranian connection.”

Peterson finished writing in his notepad and looked up at Lee. “That didn’t sound like a question.”

Lee stared back at him, his patience now gone. “It wasn’t. They’re part of the…what is it the Iranians call their intelligence organization?”

Peterson sighed. “Ministry of Intelligence and National Security. Sometimes called by acronyms like VEVAK or VAJA. Parts of the organization have secret operating budgets, and there are rogue elements among the agents. That makes it hard to know who’s doing what, for whom, and why.”

Lee shifted his weight from side to side as the antsiness of uncertainty moved his feet and cramped in his stomach. “You’re not very encouraging. That’s the group that committed the chain murders back in the ‘90s, isn’t it?”

“Yes. But—”

“And these are the guys who want Jennifer.” Lee sensed he was on the verge of losing his composure again.

“Lee,”—Peterson studied his face—”they don’t have Jennifer, and they’re not going to get her.”

Katie stepped beside Lee.

Lee glared at the tall FBI agent. “That’s the only reason you came, isn’t it? Because of the national security risks.” He had given Peterson a cruel stab from his poison tongue, and Lee wanted the words back as soon as he spat them out.

“No, it wasn’t the only reason. But it did provide justification for us to—”

“If you aren’t going to find her, we will.” Katie’s words were another stab, a low blow.

Peterson pursed his lips and dropped his gaze to the ground.

Lee pulled Katie close to his side and looked up at the tall man. “I’m…we’re sorry. We had no reason to accuse you. But we can’t sit idly by while Jennifer’s being held by a bunch of depraved demoniacs.”

“Like I said, don’t do what you did at Rialto Beach.” Peterson stared into Lee’s eyes with his frowning face of authority. “You nearly got yourselves killed. I’m going back to the police station at Wailuku to be there when they interrogate Anya. I’ll be in touch.”

The fluttering feelings of panic crawled through Lee’s stomach. Things were moving far too slowly. He had wasted far too much time at the house and no one, Peterson included, seemed to be in a hurry to act on the latest information.

He turned towards Granddad. “Obviously Peterson thinks his top-down approach is the best way to find Jennifer. What do you think?”

“Let the FBI search for the big kahuna. We need to search the west side of the island for an anchored yacht.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Lee said. “But the whales have already begun arriving, so now we have hundreds of boats in the water, including quite a few yachts.”

“We think it is anchored. But beyond that…” Granddad gave a palms-up shrug.

Katie’s gaze darted from Lee to Granddad and back again. “While I was talking to her, Anya said the goons never mentioned another female other than her. That means—”

“That we’re looking for a yacht with no women visible on board,” Lee said. “It’s anchored, not moving. And since the search for Jennifer is intensifying, these goons are going to be vigilant, looking for anyone who’s looking at them.” Lee’s mind seemed to be on a roll. “So if we’re not too obvious, we can let them see us looking at them. It may evoke a telltale response.” He paused. “We can pick up binoculars for all of us at the Pacific Whale Foundation store in Maalaea. Then…”

Katie frowned at him. “Don’t stop now, Lee. You were doing great.”

The fluttering in his stomach returned. “Let’s drive to Maalaea. Then we’ll need to split up to cover as much of the area as possible, but I’m not sure where we should concentrate our search.”

Granddad laid a hand on his shoulder. “There are only two areas where we are likely to see an anchored yacht on the west side of Maui.”

Granddad’s words yanked Lee’s gaze to the elderly man’s face.

“What two areas?”

“The first area is from Lahaina northward to the resort hotels, and the second is from Maalaea Bay south to Makena.” Granddad sighed. “Since I know the island better than you, let me take the area from Lahaina northward. I will take Katie with me because we have more territory to cover.”

He continued, “Lee, if you buy the most powerful binoculars they sell at the store, you can cover the entire area using only two observations points. I would suggest Waipuilani Park in Kihei, and then Wailea Point. The point is on the beach trail a little south of the Grand Wailea Resort. Katie, will you please get the map from our car. The one we used to navigate to this house.”

When Katie returned with the map, Granddad marked the two observation points for Lee. “Check Maalaea Bay from Waipuilani Park first. You might be able to eliminate it quickly because boats usually move through the bay rather than anchor there. Then move to Wailea Point. You can see most of your area from the point, so that’s where I would spend most of my time.”

“Thanks, Granddad. Let’s head for Maalaea. And for the rest of the day, forget about the island speed limits. Let’s keep in mind the two names Anya mentioned, James and Nguyen.” He paused. “I think we need to come up with a suspicious yacht within the next two hours. If not, I’m afraid we may be too late.”

21

“Snake.” James sighed as the slender man appeared. “Get the prince on the secure phone. I need to know where he is, when he’s arriving, and how he wants to transfer the merchandise.”

“Sure thing, Mr. James. Give me a couple of minutes to get him on the line.” Snake disappeared around the starboard corner of the yacht.

One way or another, James wanted the troublesome little beauty off his yacht in thirty minutes or less. Very soon she would become either the prince’s problem or shark bait, very expensive shark bait.

Snake returned in a couple minutes with the phone. “He’s on the line, he wouldn’t give me the info you requested. Said he’ll only talk to you.”

James reached for the phone and prepared for his performance, a balancing act where rationality and the prince’s appetites were brought into equilibrium. An act James hated to perform, but one he’d never yet failed at. Those who failed…most were no longer around.

He put the receiver to his ear. “This is James.”

“Mr. James, I would like to conclude our business matter as soon as possible.” The prince’s voice was more demanding than usual.

“How soon can you get here?” James would gladly hand his problem cargo over to the prince. The sooner the better.

“I will arrive in thirty minutes.”

“Thirty minutes will be fine.”

“Which side of your vessel is toward the shore?”

So the prince was worried. Worried, but not deterred from claiming his coveted prize, the woman he said was the most beautiful he had ever seen. “The port side.”

“See that you hold that position. I will come alongside, and the cargo will be discreetly loaded from your port side onto my vessel.”

“Rest assured the cargo will be accessible from the port side.”

“There shall be no visibility of the cargo from the shore anywhere from Maalaea to Makena.” The prince’s voice became more demanding.

“That’s quite a stretch of shoreline. But I will ensure that the transfer is not visible from the shore. You do have the payment we agreed upon?”

Silence.

“You felt the need to ask? You are breaking my heart, Mr. James. How long have we been doing business?”

“This is a…much larger and more delicate transaction than normal, and I have immediate travel plans, so—”

“Be ready in thirty minutes. If you do not appear to be ready—if anything does not appear ready—consider the transaction cancelled, because I will also have travel plans.”

“I will be ready. Thirty minutes.”

James terminated the call and looked up at his most trusted employee. “Only one small wrinkle, Snake. We need to move the cargo to a room on the port side.”

“I’m on it, boss.” Snake hissed. “About the move—”

“Just make sure no one sees her. Put her in the guest bedroom and check it to make sure there are no sharp objects lying around. Our previous guest smoked. We don’t want any matches or lighters in there either.”

****

Footsteps outside. The door to the cabin opened. From where Jennifer lay on the floor, she watched the long body of Snake step into the room and close the door behind him.