Wired fear, p.17
Wired Fear, page 17
part #8 of Paradise Crime Series
But she’d made choices too!
“Damn fool thing to do, going in there alone,” he muttered, pulling up and parking at the South Hilo police station’s strip mall parking lot. “Damn it, Sophie, you have another life to watch out for, now!”
The baby had begun to feel real to him, someone to be protected and cared for. He worried about the baby—because even if it wasn’t his…it was hers.
Jake waited in his car outside the police station, knowing there was nowhere but the tiny doorway reception area to sit inside. He went through his isometric seat workout, discharging tension through exercise as he always had. Then he paced back and forth in the deserted parking lot on his crutch, watching dawn bleed up and listening to the waking mynahs and doves, and the last of the coqui frog chorus.
He whirled around as the door of the police station opened.
Hamilton had his arm around Sophie as the pair exited. Sophie looked gray with exhaustion, and Hamilton’s sharp dark eyes, behind those hipster glasses, flicked over Jake with contempt.
“Sophie.” Jake ignored Hamilton and hobbled forward, tossing his crutch aside, pulling her into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
She stood stiffly in his arms, her hands at her sides. She smelled of the tear gas bomb, and the sweat of fear and exertion. With his cheek close to her hair, he spotted an oozing patch of bare scalp that had to hurt. Little bits of glass were still caught in her hair, sparkling like snowflakes. “It’s over now. He’s dead,” she whispered.
“You have to tell me what happened.” Jake moved back, holding Sophie’s arms, trying to get eye contact. She stared down at the boot on his leg.
“I’m really tired. I just want to get a shower and go to bed.”
“I need to know…” He couldn’t seem to let go of her.
“What you need doesn’t matter, Dunn. We’ll have a meeting tomorrow to go over everything. Chang’s killing looks enough like self-defense for the cops to let her go for now. I’m having a medical team meet us at the jet to check Sophie out and make sure she’s okay. Bix will contact you with the time and location for our meeting, since the office is a crime scene.” Hamilton rewrapped his arm around Sophie’s shoulder and tugged her against his side possessively. Was Hamilton making a move on Sophie? Had something developed between them while they spent all that time together on Kaua`i?
Jake’s brows drew together as Sophie went unresisting with their boss toward a Security Solutions SUV driven by Thom Tang. Sophie looked back over her shoulder. “Please don’t forget to take care of the dogs,” she said.
Jake’s fists clenched but he made himself smile reassuringly. “Don’t worry about a thing. They’ll be waiting for you. And so will I.”
Jake had to watch as their boss helped her tenderly into the back of the SUV and got in beside her, and Thom drove them away.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Day Nineteen
Sophie rubbed the scar on her cheek. The ridged line of the skin graft that ran up over her artificial cheekbone felt numb, yet tingly under her fingers, as it always did. She looked around Dr. Wilson’s office, her gaze tracking over the familiar surroundings. The leather couch she sat on. The psychologist in her comfortable-looking lounger. The plain wood coffee table with its round ceramic sand tray, little rake, and bowl of clay figures. Amateurish paintings on the walls, seascapes mostly. Probably done by a client.
“My son did those paintings.” Dr. Wilson must have been tracking Sophie’s gaze—and reading her mind, too, as she often seemed able to.
Dr. Wilson wore a turquoise-colored wrap dress and a small, sparkly gem on a chain at her throat. Her blonde hair was tousled perfection brushing her shoulders, and her blue eyes were filled with worried compassion. “It’s been too long, Sophie. I understand from Connor, who called to get this emergency appointment, that you shot Akane Chang yesterday.”
“Pim Wat shot him.” Sophie hadn’t meant to say it so immediately and baldly, but relief followed the confession. Dr. Wilson knew everything already; Dr. Wilson and Connor were the only people she had no secrets from. “Mother broke into the office during the attack and shot him. I’m not sure what would have happened if she hadn’t.”
Dr. Wilson blinked. “Why did you lie and say that you did it? To the cops, to Hamilton?”
“Pim Wat dropped the gun into my lap. Said she’d see me later, and that she had never been there.” Sophie blew out a breath. “It never occurred to me to tell them she’d done it.”
“We need to talk about why you automatically covered for Pim Wat, and if that’s the best thing for you,” Dr. Wilson said. “But first, let’s go back in time a bit. I’m glad we were able to have a phone session while you were on Kaua`i, but I feel way behind the eight ball, as usual. Catch me up to what prompted you to go into the office late at night, alone.” The psychologist’s brows drew together in a frown. “That doesn’t seem to have been the best idea.”
“I know. But I was upset. Jake was with Felicia instead of with me.” Sophie described the series of events. “I believe her, that they didn’t…do anything. But clearly, while I was gone on Kaua`i and Jake was injured, they developed some kind of relationship. She is infatuated with him.”
“Oh dear. And he chose to let you sleep instead of joining you, and then hung out with his gal pal or whatever she’s become.” Dr. Wilson pointed her pen at Sophie. “Kind of like what Connor is to you.”
“Connor is no gal pal with movies and pizza. He is…” Sophie twisted her fingers together, unable to come up with words to describe Connor’s unwavering commitment. “Connor is the only one who is unequivocally supporting me. He’s been there for me, no matter who I’ve slept with. Last night—or I should say, yesterday morning—when the police let me out of the station, I was totally dead on my feet. Jake tried to talk to me after the attack, but I just didn’t have the strength to get through the discussions I know we need to have. Connor knew that, too. He fended Jake off and took me to the jet. Had a doctor come and assess me there.” Sophie smiled. “The doctor even brought a portable sonogram machine. I saw my baby for the first time.”
“Oh, my dear. How was that?”
“Just…magic.” Sophie shut her eyes a moment, remembering her first sight of the tiny, curled, shrimplike shape of the child in her womb as the cool, gel-covered sonogram wand slid over her abdomen. She’d been gripping Connor’s hand, and he’d squeezed hers back, so hard it hurt. “The baby is healthy. The heartbeat was normal. We even saw it move.”
“Could you tell what sex it was?”
“Perhaps the doctor could, but I told him I didn’t want to know.” Sophie sighed. “Connor kissed me as we were watching the baby on the monitor. I let him; it felt right. We were sharing such an important moment.”
“Connor’s participating with you when neither of the possible fathers have stepped up to get involved,” Dr. Wilson said. “He seems to genuinely care about the baby, from what you’ve described, both on Kaua`i and in this situation. Be careful, though, that you don’t mistake his motivations. He’s in love with you and is using this vulnerable time in your life to get closer to you. Become indispensable.”
“I know.” Sophie looked down at her hands. “And I’m not going to lie and say it hasn’t been working.” She shook her head. “I mean, I still don’t have any sexual feelings for him. But I trust him again, after all he’s done to make up for that other thing.”
“Can you forgive and forget what he did in faking his death?” Dr. Wilson’s brows shot up. “Don’t you think he showed his priorities through that situation?”
“I think priorities can change. Perhaps the Ghost isn’t as important to him as it once was.” Sophie sighed again. “I don’t know. But I do know Alika was definitely different toward me on Kaua`i, and I can’t blame him. The adjustments he’s going through with the loss of his arm are huge. Whatever we had before seems gone. On both sides. I only feel a kind of…brotherly friendship for him. The possibility of the baby being his just seemed like a complication to him, I could tell. He had me over for a family dinner, but showed no interest in spending time with me otherwise while I was on Kaua`i. I loved meeting all of his Hawaiian relatives, though.”
“And Jake? Jake is the most likely candidate as the baby’s father, condoms or no condoms.” Dr. Wilson smiled. “Just in terms of sheer frequency of opportunity, as it were.”
A blush heated Sophie’s neck. “That much is true. I missed Jake terribly. I wanted to see him the minute I got back. Experiencing what I did with Felicia’s involvement with Jake, whatever is going on with them, has made me understand jealousy so much more. I wanted to rip her hair out by the roots when she answered his door.” Sophie shook her head. “Jake is obviously conflicted. He has always been jealous. Being a father to Alika’s child, if it goes that way, might well be too much for him.” She described the issues Jake had told her about with his own father’s lying, cheating, and ultimate abandonment. “He has a sensitivity beyond the norm about secrets. Betrayal. It’s always been an issue for us, because there’s so much I can’t tell him.”
“And there always will be.”
“And there always will be,” Sophie agreed.
“What an interesting conundrum. I wonder how all of this will resolve.” Dr. Wilson’s gaze was calm and compassionate.
“Interesting? Ha. Easy for you to describe it that way.” Sophie smiled. “But I know this: my baby and I will be okay no matter what happens. I’m going to be a mother. And I’m very happy about that.”
“Good.” Dr. Wilson smiled back. “Let’s circle back around to Pim Wat. Why did you lie about who shot Akane? Why didn’t you tell the police that a woman broke into the office and killed him?”
“How could I possibly explain that? Pim Wat had used lock picks or her own key on the door; there were no signs of forced entry. Why would some unknown woman show up just in time and kill my attacker? It would just seem like I was lying, because of course, she was also wearing gloves.” Sophie rubbed her cheek again, closing her eyes. “Believe me. I considered my options as I was sitting there, looking at Akane’s body, with that hot pistol in my lap. I came up with an explanation for her weapon: it was a backup I’d hidden, taped under Felicia’s desk after he disarmed me in the computer lab.”
Dr. Wilson digested this. “I worry that, now that you’ve lied for Pim Wat, she has leverage on you.” Dr. Wilson’s blue eyes were intent. “How did Pim Wat know Akane was going to attack you? Why did she do what she did? There are so many unanswered questions about your mother’s role.”
“She has killed to protect me before. She shot the assassin who was hired to kill me by the Changs.” Sophie reiterated Pim Wat’s story about shooting the assassin she called the Lizard. “She is a strange sort of guardian angel, watching over me.”
“Perhaps her way of showing love is eliminating those who threaten you.”
“She does not love me in any normal sense,” Sophie stated definitely. “She is territorial. I belong to her, and no one gets to mess with what belongs to her. She complained of the challenge of the Lizard, of taking a bullet in the vest for me when he tried to kill her—so I know what she does is not always easy. Perhaps that’s why I covered for her. To honor that.”
Dr. Wilson snorted. “She may not love you in any normal sense, but you are her daughter. You do love her, and a part of you was both loyal and grateful for what she’d done in saving your life and shooting Akane.”
Sophie said nothing.
“Well, let’s hope your story of having a backup gun stashed under Felicia’s desk holds up, and covering for her doesn’t bite you on the butt.”
“That’s not the only worry I have about my mother.” Sophie told Dr. Wilson about the strange and wonderful visit from her childhood nanny. “Armita was just the same—and seeing her, I felt just the same about her. She was my mother for the first seven years of my life, in everything but name. I asked her to join me, to help me care for my baby—but even though she seemed thrilled with the idea, she also seemed afraid of my mother. Too afraid to try to leave, or even for me to let Pim Wat know that I’d seen her.”
“Armita obviously came to you at great personal risk, if Pim Wat has prevented her from seeing you all of these years.” Dr. Wilson shook her head. “And she took that risk solely to warn you.”
“Yes. I hope I did the right thing, telling her I was pregnant. I hope she won’t tell Pim Wat. I do not trust my mother.” Sophie wrapped her arms over her abdomen. “She has plans for me. And a child may not be part of them.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t think you’ve seen the last of your mother, nor do we know what her real agenda is.” Dr. Wilson made a note on her tablet. “Now, what are you going to do about Jake?”
Sophie shook her head. “I don’t know. I just don’t know.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Aunty Grace poured Terence a cup of fragrant green tea with only a little tremor in her hands. “Mahalo, Aunty.” Once his great-aunt’s tea was poured and she’d sipped, Terence lifted the simple clay cup to his lips as well. “Appreciate you meeting with me.”
Grace Kapuniokalani Chang Manuka Rivera was the oldest surviving Chang, and Terence’s deceased namesake grandfather’s aunt. Aunty Grace had outlived two husbands and a couple of wars, and she was still a power player, owning a majority of shares in Chang Enterprises, Inc., the family’s umbrella company. Grace had just successfully blocked his renaming of that company with her share vote.
“What a surprise you turned out to be, Terence Chang.” Morning sunlight came through the window of her living room to light Grace’s white hair like a halo. “What am I to do about you?”
Terence hadn’t visited Grace until after Akane’s death because he wasn’t sure whose side she was on. Though he’d heard through the “coconut wireless” that Grace was in favor of the kind of progressive change toward legitimate business that Terence wanted to foster, Akane was one of her grandsons, and Terence had just eliminated an entire branch of her family tree.
Terence set his cup down on the table. “I hope you will support me in taking the company in a different direction. There’s a board meeting in an hour.”
“And how glad I am that I wasn’t at that last meeting,” Grace said.
Terence closed his mouth on the impulse to apologize.
He’d killed one of her sons, his wife, one of her grandsons and a niece—and this morning they’d had the news of Akane’s death, too. She had no more living family from that son. How could he ever apologize?
“It didn’t have to go down that way,” Terence said instead.
“I agree with you about that.” Grace set down her cup, but her age-spotted hands still held it tightly as if seeking warmth. “You surprised all of us that day, Terence, by showing that you have what it takes to lead. However, I want you to know…you won’t be leading this family alone.” She reached in the capacious pocket of her hibiscus-patterned muumuu and withdrew a cell phone. She tapped the screen and held the phone up for Terence to see.
An oddly angled video began to play, and Terence jerked in shock as he recognized himself, seated at the head of the plastic-covered conference table. Someone had videoed the whole massacre! Emma was supposed to have collected all the cell phones, but clearly one had been missed.
Aunty Grace turned the video off when it reached the point where Terence drew his pistol. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t play the section where you murder my family. I’ve already seen it too many times.”
Terence blew out a shaky breath. “I’m truly sorry, Aunty Grace.” If it made him weak to apologize, if it made her angrier to hear his feeble words—there was nothing more to lose, at this point. She had a video of him committing murder!
“I’ve had long enough to think about this situation from all angles. To consider your track record, and to think about how you set up that meeting and what you did there. I concluded that you did what you did because you could not see Akane take the lead in the family. Sad as it is for me to admit, you are not the only one who knew that Akane’s leadership would ultimately be the end of us, and my son would always have backed him. If you hadn’t taken steps, I would have.” Grace set the phone down. “I accept that you didn’t want to kill my son and his family. That you took no pleasure in it. That you may not want to lead Chang Enterprises, even now—but that you are the best person to do so. I accept all of that.” She raised her eyes to meet his, and they were so dark he couldn’t see a pupil in their obsidian depths. “But hear this, nephew. I accept, but I will never forget. This video is stored in the Cloud and will be sent to the police if you ever cross me. I will be your silent partner in every major Chang Enterprises decision going forward.” She took a sip of tea, and her hands were perfectly steady. “Do we understand each other?”
“We do.” Terence picked up his teacup and lifted it in toast, hoping that his hand didn’t shake either. “I will benefit greatly from your wisdom, Aunty.”
Terence looked around the long koa table in the conference room at the downtown warehouse of Chang Enterprises, Inc. All of the remaining family members had gathered for the first board meeting since his hostile takeover.
“I don’t see any plastic on the floor,” his cousin Leo Chang said. “That’s the only reason I came all the way into the room.” A nervous titter from the rest of the group met this sally.
“Those ugly days are behind us,” Terence said. “I hope everyone is with me, going forward, now that we’ve cleared out the negative elements.”
“And you’re not the negative element?” Penny Chang, his PR manager cousin, was a known Akane sympathizer. “You seem like one to me, what with the mass murder of family members and all.”
