Chapter 2

Jin Phillips stared out the window, thinking of the way the sun had felt on her skin when she'd been working in her garden earlier. It was a beautiful day. One in a long string of them, but then Jin lived in Hawai'i, where the sun shined over three hundred days a year. There was a gentle trade wind moving the trees back and forth. The banyan tree right outside the window barely registered it. The leaves rustled, and even though she was inside, Jin was sure she could hear it.

"And your new venture, how is that going?"

Jin pulled her gaze from the scene beyond the window and focused on her therapist. The older woman had been a godsend these last few years. Not many people would have been able to help Jin after what she had been through, but Dr. Nells had.

She was a diminutive woman with dark eyes that made her look wise beyond her years. It was one of the first things that Jin noticed about her. Dr. Nells seemed to know how to help Jin, which was a phenomenal feat. Before coming in for therapy, Jin had tried to deal with her demons on her own. It had been a disaster that had left her teetering on the edge of becoming permanently agoraphobic.

"The podcast?" Dr. Nells nodded. "Well. I didn't think I would ever be able to do something in the news again, but Beyond Murder has been gaining subscribers and lots of revenue."

"And you think it's best you remain anonymous on it?"

"Yes."

She didn't need people with a weird fetish hunting her down. Doing the unsolved crime podcast allowed her to use the reporter skills she once thought would shoot her to national fame. Now, she just wanted to use those skills for good. With her personal experience, she had been on the other side of the lens. It had taught her that there was a shining light on crime and another that fed into a sick need for some people. Jin had decided she wanted to still report, but in a way that did more good. It was why she still refused any interviews. She would refuse an interview with Keith Morrison, and he was the king of true crime.

As the silence lengthened, she realized Dr. Nells wanted an explanation.

"I want people to listen for the stories."

"Your case interests people."

This had been something they had discussed at length. As the only survivor of a couple of serial killers, Jin had a lot of requests for interviews. Most people had anonymity to an extent, but since she had been working on the story when she was abducted, it seemed to spur on her fellow reporters.

"Yes. But my case isn't unsolved. We know who abducted me. We know what happened."

She hated the way her voice hitched over the word happened. It made her feel weak, and she despised that. Of course, Dr. Nells picked up on it.

"You are not weak."

"I know. And I know how far I've come since those monsters took me. It still doesn't make it any easier that it's the first thing people think when they see me. Most other rape survivors don't have to deal with every person on the face of the earth knowing what happened to them."

Her case had been one of the biggest in the history of Hawai'i. Two serial killers had traveled the world, raping and killing women. Thanks to Task Force Hawaii, they were finally caught, saving her just in time. The men usually kept the women for about a week before they killed them. It had been her luck to have the entire team looking for her, and they had saved her with less than thirty-six hours left.

"Understandable. Is that why you're avoiding social settings?"

"No. I'm not. I'm going to a wedding shower luncheon."

"Oh? With the Task Force Hawaii folks?"

She nodded. With them, she felt normal, or at least somewhat normal. Their commander and his now-wife were the two who ended up saving her. And Elle, their medical examiner, was a rape survivor herself and had helped Jin through the darkest times. Then there was Adam.

"But no dating?"

It's like Dr. Nells could read her mind. Jin sighed and looked outside again. "I'm not ready. Not sure if I will ever be ready again."

"That is understandable. The one thing I worry about is that you seem to avoid men altogether. While that's also understandable, you need to make sure that you keep moving forward. What about Adam?"

Jin cut a look at the therapist. Well, Dr. Nells definitely didn't come to play today. Just pulling off that bandage, scab, and all. "What about him?"

"He seems to care about you. From what you have said, you had a relationship before you were abducted."

"Yes. But we were more on again, off again before everything."

"And since?"

Since…he always looked at her as if he needed to save her. That was worse than being angry with her. "He sees me as a victim. I don't want that from a man."

"Are you sure that's how he sees you? Or is that how you see you?"

She chuckled. "You know I hate riddles."

"That wasn't a riddle, and you're avoiding the question."

Another sigh slipped away. "I'm not sure if it's that or I don't trust my own judgment. I mean, I was a reporter who was stupid enough to meet with a man about a serial killer. A male serial killer."

She still couldn't get over how naive she had been. She thought she had been smart, telling people she was meeting with someone. But what good had it done since they didn't know who she was meeting? She'd walked right into the bastard's clutches.

"Jin, I've told you it wasn't stupid. The man was a master manipulator."

"I know that in my head," she said, motioning to her temple. "But in my heart, I still feel stupid."

Dr. Nells nodded. "And I have said that's normal. Just don't beat yourself up about it."

The alarm went off, heralding that their time was over.

"Well, I think today was a good day."

Jin smiled. Again, she really didn't know how she would have gotten through these last few years without her therapist. From those first few days, she had been unable to leave her house. Dr. Nells had come to her to help her deal with everything plaguing her. Even dealing with the trauma of her screwed-up childhood.

"Yes, I think it was."

Some days, she broke down. The tears and the anger were easier to deal with since they didn't seem to bother her as often. "I featured my first Hawaiian cold case today. You should listen."

Her therapist's eyes widened. "Don't tell me you covered the Alana Kim case?"

Since Dr. Nells had been the one to suggest it, Jin had been obsessed with the mystery. Dead Hawaiian woman, missing billionaire's son…all over a decade ago, and still no leads. Jin couldn't pass it up.

"Yes. Today we have the case itself, talking about Alana and Dylan. Their backgrounds, their relationship, then all the way up to her death. Next week, we'll cover the crime in more detail and where Dylan might be."

The fact that a billionaire's bad-boy son had gotten away with murder had angered Hawaiians. It was another sign that the system was working against them. Jin's theory was that while he was a total douche, Dylan was a harmless one. And while Dylan's father, Michael Brewer, had money that would help hide his son, Jin doubted Dylan was still alive. He was one of those people who always had to be in the spotlight. When he had a string of DUIs—one resulting in a death—he'd partied more than he ever did. In other words, he was an asshole.

"I'll listen. Have fun at the wedding shower."

* * *

Jin exhaled as she parked her car just behind a minivan. She knew it was Emma Delano's. Who would have thought the awkward genius and the growly commander would find love? But they had. In fact, they had done it while solving Jin's case. At least something good had come out of that horror.

She pushed back those thoughts. Now was a time for celebration. Grabbing the gift, she slipped out of the car. The house was massive, one of those mansions you see on TV or in the movies. She knew that Emma's brother and his lovers lived here. The signs suggested that she make her way to the back of the house.

She followed the stone path around the house and took in the view. The Kailua estate had a kick-ass view of the ocean and beach access. She would kill for a view like this, but not many could afford it, especially a former reporter who survived, thanks to a podcast.

Still, she could dream. There was something so calming about the sound of waves. It was one of the reasons she hadn't moved immediately after she recovered from her abduction. Hawai'i had snuck into her soul and grabbed hold of it. And while she had a lovely house in Kapolei, it didn't have the fantastic views this house had.

"There you are," Elle called out. Dr. Elle Middleton MacGregor had been a friend these past few years. They both had suffered at the hands of men and in a public way. When people said they could empathize with Jin about her abduction, they really couldn't. In Elle, Jin had found someone who understood all too well. It was Elle who gave her hope. If her friend could make things work for her, Jin was sure she could do it as well.

The English transplant looked the part of the stereotypical English Rose. Long blond hair pulled back into a loose braid, light blue eyes, and a fair complexion made her look fragile. Even in her third trimester, she walked with grace. But beneath that veneer was a tough woman who had survived horrible things and came out on the other side.

"Here I am. I got stuck on Kam Highway. Wreck."

"Yeah, I heard." She waited for Jin to make the first move. Physical contact was still difficult, especially on days like today. Still, she needed that friendly warmth that Elle always seemed to exude.

With a smile, she hugged her friend, drawing in the familiar rose scent of her perfume. When Jin pulled back, she realized that Elle was misty-eyed.

"Hey, is everything okay?"

She nodded and waved her hand. "Don't mind me. I've gotten a little emotional today. I was so emotional this morning that Graeme threatened me if I cried one more teardrop."

"And you did what?"

"Got mad at him."

And from the faint blush on the doctor's face, Jin had an idea of what transpired after that. Elle had said that their fights were like foreplay for the two of them.

"Wait, you were coming from Honolulu?"

Jin nodded. "Yeah. I had an appointment with Dr. Nells."

"Ah. Good." Jin knew that Dr. Nells was Elle's friend. She had been the first to suggest the doctor to Jin, and she was grateful. "And I caught your episode today."

"You did?"

She was always surprised when her friends told her they had listened to her podcast. Granted, as a reporter, her face was plastered everywhere. That was different. Only her close friends knew about her podcast. Jin kept her life very private now. Her only social media was attached to the podcast, not her name.

"Yes. I can't wait for the second part."

Jin nodded, not correcting her friend. There would be three parts of the story, but she hadn't wanted to tell people that. She would throw that at them in two weeks.

"There is nonalcoholic punch over there since I know you don't drink."

She nodded.

"There's also cake I might have had two pieces of already. I was starving."

Jin smiled. "Everyone deserves cake."

Elle linked her arm with Jin's and guided her to the food.

"Wait, let me give this to Cat, and then we can go eat."

She set her package down on the table. Cat smiled at her; her happiness brought up a yearning…a need she had ignored for several years. Jin missed men, missed dating…and she missed one in particular.

Adam Lee and she had dated long before her abduction, but he'd gotten under her skin. Now, he was just a friend. She wanted more, or at least she wanted to try, but he saw her as damaged. While she understood his feelings, it didn't make it any easier being his friend.

She went to the cake table where her friend Elle was already getting herself another piece of cake.

"This cake is just so good," Elle said as she took a bite.

Jin grabbed herself a piece of cake, and then they made their way over to the group of friends. TFH folks were peppered throughout, but there were also family members from Cat and Drew, the groom-to-be. They were both locals, so they had a lot of family.

Autumn Bradford rose and made her way over to Jin and Elle. She was tallish for a woman, with shoulder-length auburn hair and green eyes. She was dressed in slacks as usual, making her legs look longer. She plopped down in the chair next to Jin's.

"I've been thinking about your request."

Jin glanced around. The TFH people knew she was behind Beyond Murder, but she was always worried someone would find out.

Autumn shook her head. "Don't worry. I understand about the anonymity thing. Do you think I like everyone knowing I was that idiot's daughter?"

Autumn's father had been the leader of the cult Joyous Wave, who had a massive shootout with the FBI and ATF over fifteen years earlier.

"So you don't want to do it?"

"I didn't say that. I thought we could work on finding some way to keep me anonymous."

She blinked. "You think people don't know who you are?"

"TFH does. You do, but you're part of our o'hana. What I want to make sure of is that other people don't know my name now. There are still nutjobs out there who think he's the Messiah."

It struck Jin that Autumn always discussed her father in the present tense. It was something that had intrigued her from the first time they'd talked about it.

"And I need a little bit of time before we do it. I have some loose ends to tie up. I'll let you know."

"But you will do it?"

She nodded. "People need to know what a monster they all were. I need some more cake."

Then she popped off the chair and went to the table.

"What's up with her?" Elle asked.

"I want to cover cults, and I wanted to interview her."

Elle shook her head. "I can't imagine a life like she had."

Jin nodded but said nothing else. She needed to stay present in the moment, something that had helped her recover from her trauma. And well, today was about Cat Kalakau and her happiness.

* * *

Michael Brewer sat in front of the window that overlooked the Pacific Ocean. He'd moved here years ago looking for a son, the one everybody thought was a murderer, but he couldn't find it in his heart to believe that, too. Dylan had been a troubled kid, losing his mother when he was only four, and he never really recovered.

His phone buzzed on the coffee table in front of him. He noticed the number was unknown, so he ignored it. At that moment, it stopped, then started to back up again. He picked it up this time but didn't answer it. In the years since Dylan disappeared, he had often gotten crank calls. People were always looking to make a buck off false info. Then there were the people who thought his son was a murderer. The things they said were beyond disgusting.

Again, the buzzing stopped, then started right back up. This was because of that Beyond Murder podcast. It had stirred people up. He should have known that this would start up again. He'd already talked to the Governor. They would announce another hike in the reward money.

When the phone started buzzing a fourth time, he grabbed it up.

"What?"

Silence. Nothing was said, as usual. Well, it's not normal. He always seemed to have two types of callers. Either they screamed that his son was a monster, or they were silent.

"Listen, coward, if you have nothing to say, stop calling."

"You need to leave the island."

It was a male voice with a Hawaiian lilt. "Excuse me?"

"You need to leave. Everything is going to get much worse."

He opened his mouth to respond but knew in the next second that the caller had hung up.

His head buzzed, and the room around him spun. How had they gotten his number? And just who the hell were they? He had expected a call from Hank, but he hadn't been prepared for that kind of call.

He drew a deep breath and looked over the pool to the Pacific Ocean. Since Dylan had disappeared, his life had changed drastically. This was weird, though. He expected drop calls or even threats. But he didn't think that was what this was. Instead, it sounded like a warning.

What the hell was that about, and why should he leave the island?