Chapter 4

It was almost one in the afternoon when Adam strode into TFH headquarters. Frustration and anger simmered in his blood. He had spent the morning and his lunchtime searching for Iona. That bastard was nowhere to be found. Adam knew he was still on the island, but the retired cop knew how to make himself scarce, that's for sure. He wondered if when Jin contacted Iona, the retired detective decided to hide out somewhere. He understood, to a point. He hadn't entirely settled behind his desk when there was a knock at the door.

He could see Autumn, so he motioned with his hand for her to come in.

"What do you need?"

She shut the door behind her, which was odd, but he waited until she sat in front of his desk. She was in her early thirties. He couldn't imagine what her childhood had been like in a cult.

Looking at Autumn, he could see why she was so good at undercover when she worked with the DEA. She looked like an innocent girl next door, but he had worked with her and knew she wasn't. People ignored the threat and looked at her wavy chin-length hair, green eyes, and freckles across the bridge of her nose. The woman could take down a man twice her size with no problem.

"I wondered if Jin was here because of the Alana Kim case."

They didn't keep things from each other, or at least not everything. The TFH thrived on the fact that they could work on a multitude of cases, and most people were kept apprised of what was happening. He nodded.

"I might have some information."

He frowned. "You were what…fifteen years old when the murder occurred?"

She nodded, then rolled her shoulders. She was one of the newest members, but he had gotten to know her well. Or at least as well as she let him. He knew that she was cagey about her past, mainly because her father had been a cult leader. He went out in a blaze of glory in a standoff with the feds. Add in that she had worked undercover, Autumn hid a lot of herself from people.

"How could you have any information?"

"First, you know that no matter what the age of the witness, we thoroughly investigate their story." Her tone told him she had expected him to question her memories.

"Listen, it isn't your age at the time. It's the time that has passed. And you lived on a different island."

She took a deep breath. "I saw Dylan and Alana at the commune."

Adam blinked. "When was that?"

"Not sure exactly when, but I know it was before the murders. Of course, it was because they were alive," she rolled her eyes.

"And you didn't say anything before because?"

She rolled her eyes. "First, I had no idea Dylan disappeared. We only saw things Joseph wanted us to see. There was no access to the internet other than for the leaders of the cult. We were kept in the dark. What I mean is that I just saw him, and he was dressed differently than other people who came to visit."

"How was he dressed?"

"Like Hawai'i threw up on him. I could tell he was a haole, and he spent a fortune on his clothes. Like he went to a shop on Kalakaua and asked them to outfit him like a Hawaiian, and they took him for all he had. I had no idea who he was. I just knew he was different."

"By the way he dressed?"

"And the way my father and the elders acted. It was as if the Messiah had arrived to save them." She shrugged. "I figured he had money. I had no idea he was a billionaire's son."

"Did you get many people like that at the commune?"

She shook her head. "All the elders showed up when they did come, so it was a big thing. They didn't creep out of their hidey holes for every new person who visited. It was odd, to say the least. I didn't realize anything had happened until I listened to Jin's podcast today."

"You listened today?"

"Yeah, during my lunch. We didn't have access to TVs there unless Joseph allowed it. I'm pretty sure he would have hidden it from us. I didn't escape until May of the next year."

And then the cult had ended up in a standoff with the feds. Both her parents had died in the siege, and she was virtually alone in the world at sixteen.

He could definitely give her a break on the issues.

"I might have you sit down with Jin, too. She's good with interviews."

Her mouth quirked.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just…when you talk about her, you get a tone in your voice."

"A tone?" He frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing. I'm going to go write up my memories for you. Also, I need a snack."

"Didn't you just get back from lunch?"

She rose from the chair and frowned at him. "Yeah. But that was about an hour or so ago."

He shook his head as she left him alone. Autumn was constantly eating. He was sure her food bill rivaled that of his entire family, but she didn't gain an ounce. She had to have some crazy metabolism.

He looked at the time and decided to make a few calls to see if he could find someone from his father's group of officers who might know where to catch up with Iona. He needed to get on the road soon. With Jin living on the North Shore these days, he knew it would take a while to get there.

He had been trying hard to ignore his response to the former reporter. She wanted nothing to do with him on a romantic level. He didn't take it personally since he was pretty sure she hadn't wanted anything like that in a long time.

It was just his cross to bear that no matter how long it had been, he still wanted her, craved her like she was a drug. No other woman sparked his interest, but one thing he learned as a kid was that life wasn't fair.

* * *

After a quick stop at her post office box, Jin headed home. She was lucky that she had spent yesterday cleaning her house. She didn't have people come over that often, so it was just luck this happened on a Monday and not a Friday. Setting the envelopes on the table, she called her PA Samantha.

"What did they want?"

She chuckled. No, hello, how are you. Just right to the point. That's why she made such a good PA. Sam had a habit of covering all the bases. It spoke to something else in her background beyond being a PA for people. She had given Jin references, including a couple of romance authors, so she knew Sam was legit. It just always felt like she was hiding something, though.

"They want to help investigate the Alana Kim murder."

She snorted. "If they had done their job to begin with, they wouldn't need your help."

"TFH wasn't around then."

"Oh?"

"No, they were formed in the last five years to help with investigations like this. Ones that get lots of press."

"But this one didn't."

"Actually, it did."

Sam could get a little overzealous when they were investigating a case. She was passionate about the victims, and that's another reason she was excellent at her job. She wouldn't have lasted this long if she had been like Brett, Jin's last PA.

"It did?"

"Yeah, I know you look at the mainland for newspaper articles, and they concentrated on Brewer, but Alana got all the attention here. A local girl who got caught up with a billionaire's son winds up dead, and he disappears. Yeah, it was huge news here. But there were no leads."

She huffed out a sigh, and Jin smiled. "If you say so."

"Did you get Friday's show prepped and loaded?"

"Just finished listening to it. Want to take a break and listen again tomorrow? Then I will load it tomorrow."

"Thanks."

"Did you see him?"

Her heart jumped at just the thought of Adam. Sam had become a good friend, and while she didn't know Adam's name, she knew that Jin had been involved with someone at TFH at one time.

"Yeah. In fact, he's been assigned to work with me."

There was a long beat of silence, then a suspicious snort.

"No!"

"Yes. It's going to be interesting."

"That's an understatement."

Jin smiled at the sarcasm dripping off each syllable. "He's old enough to remember the murders, and he has deep ties to HPD since his father was a cop. Add in that he's an excellent investigator, and he might be a great asset."

It had been one reason she sought him out so many years ago. She had heard the second in command of TFH was a former HPD cop from a family of cops. She remembered how her entire body lit up at his smile when she met him. All the time she was with him, she had to remind herself to be objective. She failed miserably. Then and now.

She saw him on a regular basis. It was hard not to when the TFH o'hana had adopted her. Granted, it wasn't until this year that she felt comfortable going out so much, but they had been there, especially the women. No matter how many times she saw Adam, she had the same reaction to him. Her nipples got hard, her palms started to sweat, and her entire body craved him.

She was just too broken to do anything about it.

"Jin?"

She blinked and brought herself back into the present.

"Sorry, I was wool-gathering. I'm meeting up with him today. We can discuss anything he gives me tomorrow since you will probably be in bed by then."

A snort. "Not likely, but okay."

Sam lived on the mainland, and while she kept odd hours thanks to having clients all over the world, Jin still didn't feel right contacting her in what would be the middle of the night for her.

After getting off the phone, Jin headed to her office to review the board. This house was the opposite of her former home in Aiea. About six months ago, she had been offered an obscene amount of money for the house, and she had taken the money and run. She'd found a smallish three-bedroom at the end of a cul-de-sac in Kapolei. It had been a steal because it needed some upgrades, but with the extra cash from her house, she had gotten it just the way she liked it. Plus, many of her neighbors were retired. It was much quieter than Aiea, and she had a sliver of an ocean view from the lanai off her bedroom.

After grabbing a half of a peanut butter sandwich, she headed off to work. She stepped into her office and turned on the light. She loved this room. It settled her soul to work on mysteries and cold cases. Her disappearances sometimes dealt with newer events, but the cold cases were usually at least two to three years old. Her desk sat in front of the window, and she walked over to turn on her computer. She didn't think she would need anything from it when Adam came over, but better to be prepared.

She had a massive corkboard on the opposite wall with the case set up. She knew she wasn't a detective, but even before she started reporting on cold cases, she did better with writing everything down old school. It allowed her to see the entire case unfiltered. She munched on her sandwich, looking over the case. The right side was filled with everyone involved with the case. The billionaire had made himself a regular fixture since his son disappeared.

She stepped closer and studied the two men. You could tell they were related. They had the same eyes, cold blue. Neither of their smiles appeared to come from a happy place. No, those smiles told you they were calculating how to use you.

Ice slid down her spine, and she shivered all over. Pulling her attention from the men, she looked at the rest of the case. She knew that she and Sam had done a good job with research. They had uncovered two of the witnesses. If they had been interviewed by the police like they said they had, the information was lost. Hopefully, it was lost and not buried by someone. She really didn't want to find bad cops. When there were bad cops, they always became the focus, not the actual victim.

Her doorbell rang, and her pulse scrambled. She pulled out her phone and saw Adam standing on her front lanai. It was five minutes past their meeting time, which was odd for Adam. He was always on time.

She made her way to the front door and opened it. He smiled at her. A whirlwind of butterflies filled her stomach like the first time she'd met him several years ago. This man had always gotten to her, even when she knew she should stay far, far away. He had been a source back in her reporter days. Never before or since had she had a problem staying objective and professional. She'd never had that urge to sleep with a man who was a source. He was like a drug, and to this day, she found it hard to resist him.

"Jin? Did you still want to go over the case?"

She blinked, her cheeks warming. Great, she was standing there staring at him. She pushed all those illicit thoughts aside and smiled.

"Sure. I was just up early today, and after getting called into TFH, I'm a little discombobulated."

She stepped back and waved him into her house. He slipped off his shoes and set them beside hers, and she was struck by how big his feet were compared to hers. She hadn't had a man over in the three months since she bought the house. Not that she dated, ever, but she definitely didn't have large gatherings at her home. Which, now that she thought about it, was a shame. This house was made for entertaining.

"Lead the way," he said.

"Right."

She hesitated for just a second, enough for him to cock his head to the side while studying her. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, just…I don't have a lot of people over."

Understanding filled his dark eyes, and she wanted to shrink away. There had been a time when he had looked at her differently. Jin had lived for the spark of need she saw the first time she'd met him a few years ago. She even preferred that irritation after he realized she had been using him for a story. When he gave her those looks now, she felt small and useless.

And damaged. She was sick to death of people looking at her like she was a broken doll who would never recover.

"This way. I have it set up in my office."

He waited for her to step in front of him, and he followed her. She entered her office; her nerves stretched, and a weird heat filled her. It was as if every nerve ending was on fire.

It hit her then why this felt so foreign to her. She was turned on. It had been so long since having a man near her made her feel this needy.

Of course, it made sense that Adam made her feel that way. Only, he saw her as someone who needed to be saved. She did not need that.

He stepped into the room and then came to an abrupt stop. "Jesus."

"What?"

He glanced over at her, his dark gaze sweeping over her, admiration filling his expression.

"This is freaking fantastic."

Her cheeks heated again. "I've been working on it for a few months."

He nodded as he settled his hands on his hips and stepped closer to her board. "These are your suspects?"

"Yes."

"I don't see Brewer at the top."

Internally, she sighed. She knew that most people—including HPD—thought the billionaire's son had something to do with Alana's murder, but Jin didn't. Or at least, it wasn't just him. That was why when she tried to talk to anyone in HPD, they didn't want to have anything to do with her. It was disappointing but nothing new for her. Since she'd started her podcast, she'd found that even the smallest police departments could have egos that would not allow them to admit they were wrong.

"He's a suspect, but he had no motive."

"How about he's a rich white man who always gets what he wants?"

She smiled at the venom in his voice. "Yes, but that isn't much of a motive, is it? I mean, not for him to have stayed hidden over a decade."

He looked over his shoulder at her, his gaze studying her. Then he turned back to the board. "You really don't think he did it?"

She shook her head, then realized he couldn't see her. "No, or at least, if he did, someone else took care of him."

When he faced her, he crossed his arms over his massive chest. Adam was huge, big muscles, big heart, and a big laugh. God, she loved his laugh, the way his dimples would pop out when he smiled. Before him, there had never been a man who made her laugh in bed. Adam had done that on a regular basis.

"Explain to me why the man last seen with her isn't the one who killed her."

This was a different man. This was the second in command of TFH. He was ruthlessly professional, and she knew he was a crack shot.

Still, she wasn't about to have him disrespect her research. Lifting her chin, she said, "Excuse me?"

"Prove to me your thesis of why you don't think Dylan killed her."

His tone grated on her nerves, and she didn't understand why. Anger whipped through her as she tried to keep her temper under control.

"TFH came to me."

His eyes widened as his eyebrows shot up. "Yeah, because you're a great researcher. Your podcast has proven that."

She made a face. "Thanks, I guess."

Another long moment with him staring at her. She felt as if she were under a microscope. Again, this was a different man, not the one she had known a few years ago who romanced her.

"When working on theories at TFH, we always ask these kinds of questions. I didn't mean anything by it." He said the words carefully as if he were afraid she would bolt.

She sighed, some of her tension dissolving. "Okay."

"So, tell me why you think he didn't do it."

She looked at her board and reviewed all the research she and Sam had accumulated. Then she looked at Adam.

"From the moment Alana's body was found, there has been no sign of him anywhere."

One eyebrow cocked. "His father is a billionaire."

"Yes. He can make his son disappear to a point, but we?—"

"We?"

"Sam, my assistant, and I."

He frowned. "Okay, what do you and this Sam think?"

There was an edge to his tone when he said Sam's name, but she didn't understand it. Of course, her ability to pick up on social cues was kind of screwed up these days. She spent so much time alone.

"Brewer was a man accustomed to attention, from the press, from women, from everyone. And let's be honest. Alana Kim was a local girl from a working-class family. He was messing around with her, but more than likely, he would have dumped her when he headed back to the mainland. He'd done it before. His father is a billionaire. He could have easily fought this in court. Or, with the right amount of money, made the whole thing disappear. This was before MeToo, so if you're rich, you can glide above anything. Hell, there was that guy who killed his girlfriend and hid out in Europe for decades. He wasn't even rich."

"The guy who put her body in a trunk?"

She nodded. "Dylan Brewer's father could have had him off this island in a heartbeat and sent him to Dubai. He spent a lot of time there."

"Maybe he did that."

"Brewer couldn't handle not having attention heaped on him. He loved the press, loved when he was involved in some scandal. He would have popped up a long time ago. Also, according to the reports I saw, he wasn't seen anywhere on camera. Not at the airport and, other than the night he disappeared, he was not seen on any traffic cams."

His gaze narrowed. "He was seen that night?"

She nodded and pointed to the report pinned to the board. Adam stepped closer, and his arm brushed against her. Heat sparked, then seared through her entire body. She drew in a breath, which was a mistake because she drew in the essence of Adam. Clean, with a bit of salt air.

Blinking, she ordered her body back under control. "See there, it says that both he and Alana were picked up on the Kam Highway and Haulalani Street camera. They were headed in the direction of Pounders Beach at two in the morning."

"So, they were headed toward the area where Alana was found. I can't remember. Does that fit the ME's report on the time of death?"

"Yes. The ME at the time put her death at between two and five am."

He sighed and looked at her board again. She could almost hear the gears shifting in his head. One of the things she had always liked about Adam was that he was as bright as he was hot. He might have had a full scholarship to UH because of his football skills, but he had other scholarships as well. He'd also graduated second in his high school class. If she was attracted only to his body, she might be able to handle that. But this man was the total package. Mind, body, and soul. That soul part. That got her the most. No one she knew had as beautiful of a soul as Adam Lee.

"So, they're seen going there, but neither of them is seen coming back? Even down H-2?"

She shook her head. "If you know where the traffic cams are, then you can avoid them to a point. But after…the way our world is with decent cameras on phones and the surveillance state of most countries, it would be hard to avoid being seen."

"Not one sighting of him?"

"Not even on the dark web."

"How did you get on there?"

"Sources will not be revealed."

His mouth twitched, and then it dissolved when he looked back at the board. "It does make sense. I'm not sold, but you definitely made your points. Where do you think he is then?"

"I think he was killed at the same time, and his body was stashed somewhere else. If they could make it seem that he disappeared, then he would be considered the killer."

"Like in that it was planned?"

She shrugged. "I haven't worked that out. If we knew who was involved, then it would be easy to ascertain. But without that, it makes it hard to track."

"I have to say, I'm not sure I agree with you, but your hypothesis is valid. You'll have to present it to the TFH."

"Wait, what?"

Was that panic in her voice? Yes, yes, it was. Standing in front of her closest friends and presenting a case would be nerve-racking.

"I think it would be best that you do it. You know the case better than I do." He glanced back at the board. "So, he was on Hawai'i?"

She blinked. "Yeah. He flew them over there for a couple of days."

"Interesting." He stepped closer. "Have you talked to Bradford about this?"

"Autumn? No, why?"

He pointed to a pic of Alana and Dylan. "This pic is interesting. I might be wrong, but that looks like Autumn's father."

Excitement unfurled within her. She hadn't been able to find out what the couple did or where they had stayed while on Hawai'i. She hadn't noticed the man in the background. How had she missed that?

"The cult leader?"

He nodded. "I could be wrong, but I think that looks like Joseph."

Autumn's father had a cult on Hawai'i called Joyous Wave that had a standoff with police not too long after Alana disappeared.

"Damn, it does look like him. How did I miss that?"

"Give yourself a break. That's why I like working with a team. You can bounce ideas off each other."

"I have been staring at these pictures for months."

"And sometimes you get in your head too much. I've done the same thing."

"You have?"

He nodded. "You need to come by and talk to the entire team about this, or as many as we can assemble."

She smiled. "You sound like a superhero team."

"Nah, but we will have your back no matter what. Always remember that."

She nodded because they always did. They were the ones who saved her from hell.

"Let me talk to the team and see if I can get everyone back together tomorrow. There're all kinds of crap happening right now, lots of different schedules."

"Sure."

After she saw him out, she headed back to the board. She needed to look at other pictures of the couple, together and separate. She might have missed something else.

But, before she did, she would get Sam to look into Dylan's involvement with the Joyous Wave cult. That name had not come up at all, but he fit the profile of a person the cult would go after. There were a lot of nepo babies that got pulled in. She'd heard more than one actor or actress had to have their child deprogrammed. Joseph Watters loved to prey on those types of kids. Dylan fit that mold. Deceased mother and father who gave Dylan anything he wanted because he felt guilty or was lazy. Or both.

Jin: Hey, did you find anything linking Dylan to the Joyous Wave?

Sam: The cult? No.

Jin: That Hawai'i pic has Joseph in the background.

Sam: Who the hell is Joseph?

Jin smiled. She forgot that her friend wasn't Hawaiian. Most Hawaiians remembered the standoff with the FBI and the lives that were lost. Many of them had been Hawaiian.

Jin: He was the leader.

Sam: On it.

Jin: Thanks.

She went back to looking at the board. If she was going to present her facts to TFH tomorrow, she wanted to make sure that she had everything in order.