Moon over Maalaea Bay Read Free

match her.” The taller officer pursed his lips as he turned towards Lee. “Let me give you some advice. It’s not a good idea to run up to officers here like you’re going to attack them. There’s Maile Amber Alert; we’re in the process of locking down this entire area.” He paused. “Now, can you tell us anything else about her disappearance?”
    What had been circulating on the periphery of Lee’s conscious mind suddenly became an intuitive conclusion. Whatever the consequences, he decided to go with it. “Officer, this isn’t a random abduction. And she’s an adult. She’s twenty-six.”
    The shorter officer flashed him a glance. There was sympathy in it. The first encouraging thing he had noticed in the last half hour.
    “I’m Officer Yagi, Mr. Brandt.” He stuck out a thumb at the taller guy beside him. “This is Officer Kaai. What makes you think this was a targeted attack?”
    Lee took a calming breath. How should he tell them this story? He just needed to state the bare facts. “Jennifer and I recently amputated one arm of an international sex-trafficking ring—a fifty-million-dollar-a-year arm. Somebody’s unhappy about what—”
    “Yagi, it’s that babe, uh, lady from Seattle. This story broke a few weeks ago.”
    “I remember her. Who could forget?” Yagi looked at Lee and pointed to his patrol car. “We’ll need you to come to the station with us. This case is going to get elevated in a hurry. I’ll call in what you’ve told us and send the picture ahead while we’re on the way. We will need to get the FBI invol—”
    “Call the Seattle Field Office.” Lee interrupted. “Agent Peterson there has been on the trafficking case from the beginning.”
    “I’ll pass that on. But there are official channels we need to use for notifying other agencies.” Yagi opened the back door of the patrol car and gestured towards it.
    “Fine.” I’ll use my own channel. Lee pulled out his cell and climbed into the back seat, a cage that felt like a prison. Being locked into the confined space was getting to him. He needed air and used his call to keep his mind off the rising panic.
    With Kaai driving, Yagi’s words flowed in a long, steady stream as he passed information to the local police.
    Lee hit Peterson’s FBI cell number on his speed dial, placing a call the agent would answer if at all possible. There was a long delay while the call went through to the mainland. The delay was followed by several rings.
    Come on, Peterson, answer.
    “Agent Peterson here.”
    Lee looked out the window and up into the night sky. Thanks.
    “Peterson, Lee Brandt. Someone abducted Jennifer here on Maui and—”
    “What!” Peterson boomed out, followed by a rare expletive. “You two are on your honeymoon. Who would…”
    “It’s got to be an international component of the trafficking ring. I think they’re trying to make Jennifer an example. But someone here thought she was a teenager, so there’s an Amber Alert out for her.”
    “That’s a good thing. Using the alert, I can lock down the whole island. All of the islands if I have to. Where are you now, Lee.”
    “In a patrol car on the way to the police station in Wailuku.”
    “Good. Tell them everything you know and even what you only suspect. We need to get every law-enforcement wheel turning. I have to go now, so I can notify the appropriate people. If this plays out like I believe it will, you might see me very soon. Whatever it takes, we’ll get Jennifer back.”
    “Thanks, Peterson.” Lee closed his cell. Peterson might come. Lee prayed he would.
    Officer Kaai’s eyes were staring at him in the rearview mirror. “Who were you talking to, Brandt?”
    He stared back at the shadowy face in the mirror. “Agent Peterson, FBI in Seattle. The guy I told you about.”
    Kaai dipped his head. “Guess it can’t hurt. I’m just not used to seeing people make cell calls from the back of my patrol car. Makes me a little nervous.”
    Lee