Page 49 of Deadly Sacrifice

“This isn’t a good time for you to be alone,” Lei said. “Do you have anyone to call?”

“No. But it’s fine.” Helen shredded her tissues. “I’m okay.”

Lei didn’t know how to respond to that level of isolation. “We’re going to have to release a statement about your husband’s death. The media will get hold of the story and come looking for you. I’ll get a patrol car assigned out front to keep the gawkers away.”

“Yes, please,” Helen said.

“We’ll be on our way, then,” Lei said. “Please close and lock the gate after we leave.”

Helen stood up and Katie embraced her. The two seemed to have bonded. “Call or text anytime,” Katie said. “I’ll be there for you.”

“Thanks.”

“We’ll be in touch. Bye.” Katie waved, then led the way out through the enormous house.

Lei glanced over her shoulder as she went through the front door and prepared to close it behind her. Helen had her back to them and was staring at the darkened mountains. She was alone in an enormous living room far from family and friends—and now, bereft of her husband.

Helen Steinbrenner appeared to have it all: looks, youth, health, money—but without loving connections, what was any of it worth?

Katie was already in the truck and had taken the back seat of the extended cab. “Sorry, boss. That took it out of me,” her intern said in a small voice as Lei got in the driver’s seat. “Is it okay if I nap on the drive back?”

“Sure.” Lei glanced at the young woman, curled up beside Rosie’s car seat. “You did great with her, Katie.”

“I hope so. I tried.” Katie yawned. “Going to get some sleep now.”

Lei fired up the truck and sped out of the neighborhood, anxious to log in the evidence and get home; this case kept reminding her that loved ones—family and friends—were what was most important in life.

30

KATIE

Early the next morning,Katie settled herself into her ergonomic gaming chair with a cup of coffee in herHaters Gonna Hatemug. Per Lei’s request, she’d brought in a coffeemaker to go with the mugs on the wall.

Yawning, she hit the ‘On’ button on her computer rig and sat back, swiveling a bit as she waited for the machine to boot up. Today she’d dressed for comfort in a pair of spiderweb patterned leggings and a tunic top with a glow-in-the-dark skull on it. Her hair was back in a simple French braid.

After all the excitement of her first crime scene visit and death notification, being back in her familiar Cave felt good, but she hardly had time to type in her password when the computer ‘pinged.’ An old-school voice came through the speakers:“You’ve got mail!”

Katie glanced at the monitor. “Uh-oh.” She typed furiously, and in seconds, a web page opened. Katie gasped. “Oh, shit.”

She reached for the desk phone and called Lei’s cubicle. “Boss? We have a situation and I think Captain Omura needs to see it.”

“What kind of situation?” Lei yawned audibly. “I haven’t had my coffee yet.”

“Me neither, but this is critical. I have a little program set to search for websites or documents containing certain keywords. That alert tells me I got a hit, and it’s got to do with our recent murders.”

* * *

Ten minutes later,Captain Omura, Lei, Pono, and TG had gathered with Katie in the large conference room. The team spoke quietly as Katie fired up her laptop, which she’d connected to a video projector. When the projector clicked on, it shone on the whiteboard at the end of the room, followed by an image of the computer’s desktop. The room went silent while Katie opened her browser and navigated to the URL she’d bookmarked.

When the page opened, there were startled murmurs around the table. The website’s headline was in Hawaiian, with an English translation underneath.

The Warriors of Kamehameha

The life of the land has been destroyed by the occupiers of our sovereign nation. The overthrow of the country of Hawaii in 1893 was an act of war, perpetrated by haole landowners with the support of the United States military. The colonization of our lands was an illegal act, in violation of longstanding treaties and U.S. law. The Hawaiian people have been trampled into the beloved earth of our homeland by the forces of greed and political power.

We have been passive for too long, but we can remain silent no more. American Imperialism brought war to our lands 125 years ago. Today, we fight back.

We demand the immediate recognition of the lawful Hawaiian Kingdom, the return of all crown lands to the people, and the immediate action of the United States to repeal the illegal annexation and subsequent declaration of statehood.

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