Death in Paradise Page 12

  Jasmine was the most positive of the three Murphy daughters, but she found it hard to be positive about anything other than–she would die of thirst.

  I can’t control this right now, she thought. I might as well meditate. She cleared her mind and lay on the dock, and became one with it until she could feel the direction of the ocean swells.

  Pili Kalea had been the waterman at Aloha Village for many years before he passed, and he had taken all the Murphy sisters out on the water and shared his knowledge of the sea with them. Pili had taught Jasmine well about the sea. He had shown her you could navigate by the stars, and if the weather was cloudy, you could feel the direction you were going in by the ocean’s swells.

  Jasmine was nowhere near proficient with ancient Hawaiian navigation skills, but she knew enough to tell she was headed toward Molokai, which was a lot better than going to Japan. Still, she didn’t let herself get excited. She knew she was much closer to death than she was to living through this nightmare she found herself in.

  She sat up straight as soon as she heard the Coast Guard chopper off in the distance. She prayed it was looking for her, but it was too far away, and there was no way to signal it.

  The chopper had been on the scene the maximum amount of time and was low on fuel, as it made the turn for Oahu. As Jasmine watched it disappear over the horizon, she felt sad to her core. She began to cry as she thought it was over–and they would never find her.

  She was so focused, as she watched it fly off, that she didn’t hear the Coast Guard HC-130 come up behind her from the south. They had flown over the southern search grid and worked their way north, when a crew member had spotted something in the water. It was the hundreds of dolphins, not Jasmine, that caught his eye. And then he noticed something in the middle of the pod, a small rectangular object. At first he thought it was only debris in the water. But when he saw Jasmine, as she jumped up and down and waved her arms, he notified the pilot and marked the GPS coordinates.

  The HC-130 crew circled until the chopper could refuel and come back. It was almost dusk when the Eurocopter HH-65 Dolphin returned to the scene.

  Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Petty Officer Third Class Ryan Stinnett, was lowered out of the chopper down to the dock with a basket. As Jasmine stood up, she collapsed, but Petty Officer Stinnett caught her with one hand, as he held the basket steady with the other. He cradled her in one arm and gently laid her in the basket, then gave the thumbs-up for the crew chief to raise her up to the chopper, as it hovered overhead.

  Aboard the helicopter, and on the way to Honolulu, Jasmine realized two things as she looked into the eyes of the man who saved her. One, she would live. And two, she would marry Petty Officer Stinnett someday.

  When the HH-65 Dolphin landed at Barbers Point, Oahu, an ambulance standing by, took Jasmine to Queen’s Medical Center.

  38

  Arrested

  Sam and Jessica were in custody at the federal detention center on Oahu. When they were each allowed to make a phone call, Sam called his lawyer, and Jessica called Uncle Jack.

  “Did the Coast Guard find the cigarette boat and Jasmine?” Jessica asked. “No. But I found the boat in Puako. Woo Ching had abandoned it at the dock. I asked everyone at the boat ramp if anyone had seen who had gotten off the boat, a couple of people saw the boat dock. I showed them Woo Ching’s photo and they said it was him; he was the only one on the boat. I called the Coast Guard and told them they needed to look for Jasmine north of VV buoy and south of Lapakahi State Park.”

  The DEA’s Drug Task Force sent Agents Stringer and Jones, from the LA office, to Oahu to interview Sam and Jessica. Both agents were in their mid-forties and were seasoned investigators. Their task force had been trying to stop the flow of fentanyl to the US mainland from China via Hawaii. Since Sam and Jessica had been in possession of ten kilos of fentanyl when the Coast Guard had boarded their boat, the agents thought it reasonable to assume Sam and Jessica knew who the distributor was. The DEA didn’t believe a well-connected billionaire and a former LAPD detective were the drug kingpins of Hawaii. But just the same, the feds wanted to know how it came to be that Sam and Jessica were on a boat that had ten kilos of fentanyl on it.

  Lau had done a perfect job of setting up Sam and Jessica. They knew they rolled the dice when they decided to go it alone without calling the FBI or Kona PD.

  Agent Jones sat across from Jessica in the interview room.

  She had slept little the last couple of days; the black circles around her eyes made her look like she was a drug user and didn’t help her credibility.

  “Ms. Kealoha, can you tell me why the boat you and Mr. Stewart were on had ten kilos of fentanyl on board?”

  Jessica told Agent Jones the story of Jasmine’s kidnapping and the ransom call that had asked for the drugs.

  Agent Jones then asked, “Why didn’t you call the FBI or the Kona PD?”

  “The FBI headquarters is a half a dozen islands north of Kona, and I figured by the time they got here, my sister would be dead. And the Kona PD, I have trust issues with.”

  Agent Jones questioned Jessica for the next couple of hours and then compared notes with Agent Stringer who had interviewed Sam. It was apparent they weren’t the distributors that the DEA was looking for, and their stories matched. But there was still the issue of the drugs they had been in possession of.

  After the agents received a call from their supervisor, they told Sam and Jessica they were free to go. But the feds had seized Jin Tanaka’s yacht, which was just fine with Jessica. She didn’t know who Sam’s lawyer had called, at the DEA headquarters in Springfield, Virginia, but it was someone near the top who had said to let them go. Just like in Hawaii, it helped to know the right people.

  After being released from custody, the first thing Jessica did was check her voicemail. There was a message from a nurse at the Queen’s Medical Center that said they had treated Jasmine and she would be okay. Overcome with emotion, Jessica couldn’t hold in all her feelings anymore. To know that Jasmine was alive washed away the negative thoughts, that she had sunk into, over the past twenty-four hours. It renewed her faith that sometimes good things happened despite the overwhelming odds, and that it was time to be grateful and savor the moment.

  After she caught a taxi over to the hospital, Jessica stopped in the ladies’ room so she could fix her face. She didn’t mind Sam seeing her look like death warmed over, but she had this thing about always being strong for her younger sister. She wanted to wash her face and put on some makeup to hide the black circles around her eyes. Besides, she didn’t want to scare her little sister by looking like a ghoul.

  When Sam and Jessica entered Jasmine’s room, it surprised them to find six-foot-two Petty Officer Ryan Stinnett there, as he stood next to Jasmine’s bed and held her hand. Jessica went to the other side of the bed and gave Jasmine a long hug and a kiss on the forehead.

  “Are you okay, honey?” she asked. Jasmine nodded, tears formed in her eyes, and they hugged again.

  Ryan and Sam stood back and let the sisters have their moment together. Then Jasmine introduced Ryan. “This is Petty Officer Ryan Stinnett. He saved my life.”

  Sam and Jessica shook hands with Jasmine’s handsome hero as he remarked with a Southern drawl, “It was a team effort. I was just one of many who helped.”

  Jessica liked this young man, she had a good feeling about him. He was big as a tree and humble as a monk.

  As she rubbed Jasmine’s hand that wasn’t bandaged, she asked her, “How long are you going to be here?”

  “The doctor says two days, and then I can go home.”

  Jessica nodded and pulled a photo of Woo Ching out of her pocket and showed it to Jasmine. “Was this the guy who kidnapped you?”

  Jasmine didn’t recognize him from the photo because Woo Ching had disguised himself as an old man. She shook her head.

  “Okay, honey. We have to go back to Kona and find the man who did this to you. We’ll be back to pick you
up when you get discharged.” Jessica hugged Jasmine again, before she and Sam left the hospital.

  Sam’s jet waited on the ramp at the Honolulu airport to take them back to Kona. As the Gulfstream taxied toward the runway, Sam noticed Jessica deep in thought and asked, “What’s bugging you?”

  “I would have bet my last dollar it was Woo Ching who kidnapped Jasmine. But she says the guy looked a lot older than him. It doesn’t add up.”

  “What if he was wearing a disguise?” Sam asked.

  “Hmm, you might be right. I need to find someone to take this photo of Woo Ching to, who has digital enhancement skills, and knows how to make him look much older. Then show it to Jasmine again.”

  Sam frowned. “We. We need to find someone.”

  Jessica put her hand on Sam’s thigh. “I’m sorry. I’m so used to being alone. I’ll practice that we word.”

  Sam placed his hand over Jessica’s. “That’s better.”

  A few minutes later, as the jet climbed over Diamond Head, Jessica looked out the window and remarked, “I will find him. And if he resists, which I hope he does–I will kill him.”

  39

  Woo Ching vs. Jessica

  Jasmine had just awakened when she heard a gentle knock on the hospital room door.

  “Come in,” she said as she attempted to sit up, forgetting her injured hand. The pain caused her to yelp just as Petty Officer Stinnett walked in.

  “What’s wrong?” Stinnett asked, as he rushed to her bed.

  “Oh, hi–I’m okay, just forgot about this,” Jasmine said holding up a seriously bandaged hand. Her cheeks flushed then as she thought suddenly more about her hair than her hand.

  “Here, let me help you. Do you want to sit up?”

  “Uh, yes–please,” Jasmine said, and wondered if her gown was closed where it should be.

  The handsome sailor flashed a broad smile, adjusted her pillows and gently took her arm as she scooted herself more upright. He then elevated the head of the bed slightly so she could rest against it.

  “So, tell me, Petty Officer Stinnett–did you take special classes in rescuing women?” Jasmine inquired, as she brushed her hair back, straightened her gown and smiled up at him.

  “As a matter of fact–I did!” he said, as he laughed.

  Jasmine laughed and immediately felt comfortable, in spite of how she may have looked. His laughter was sincere and set her at ease. I think I like this guy, she thought.

  “I just came by to check on you to give you this,” he said, as he handed her a phone. “I thought you might want to call your family. And if you need some company, you can call me too, I took the liberty of programming my number in it.” He grinned and continued before she could reply, “I heard you will be staying in Honolulu for a while and your sister asked me if I could keep an eye on you. If that’s okay with you, of course.”

  She liked how considerate he was and the effort he had gone to make sure she had his phone number. Jasmine smiled, “Yes, I think that would be great. And, thank you for the phone–and my life.” She could feel her cheeks warming as they flushed. Hopefully, it wasn’t noticeable, she thought.

  Stinnett couldn’t contain his grin.

  “Okay then, I gotta get back to the base. But if you need anything–anything–don’t hesitate to call me, please.” He reached over and touched her hand for a brief second as he smiled.

  “I will–I promise. Thank you,” she said.

  * * *

  As soon as their plane landed in Kona Jessica called Pua.

  “Hey, sis, so how was prison life?” Pua teased when she answered the call.

  “Well, not my favorite,” Jessica said. She expected to get chewed out, but to her surprise, Pua didn’t seem mad anymore.

  “Uncle Jack told me the Coast Guard rescued Jasmine, and she’s safely tucked away in Honolulu. He also said they hauled you and Sam off to jail,” Pua said, with a slight giggle. The thought of Jessica locked up temporarily seemed to give Pua a bit of satisfaction.

  “Yeah, I thought you’d find that part amusing,” Jessica said, as she smiled.

  “Okay, I just wanted to check in with you and give you an update, but you’re all caught up already. I have some things to do now in Kona,” Jessica said.

  “Hey, Jess–watch your back and Sam’s, too. Okay?”

  “I promise, Pua. And you keep a sharp eye on your surroundings.” With that, she turned her attention to Sam. With a determined look in her eyes she said, “Let’s go catch a bad guy.”

  The next thing on Jessica’s list was to identify Jasmine’s kidnapper. She needed to find someone to use age progression software on Woo Ching’s photo. After several calls, and no luck, she called a longtime photographer friend.

  “Hi Jimmy, this is Jessie from way back when.”

  “Hey, Jess, long time no hear. Howzit?” said the very happy voice.

  “You haven’t changed a bit have you, Mr. Sunshine?”

  They both laughed.

  “Wow, I haven’t been called that since high school!”

  “Yeah, a lot of surf has passed since then, huh? I’m in need of some skills you might have. I have a photo that needs to age the guy over a couple of decades. Can you do that right away? And sorry to rush, but I’m working a case here in Kona,” Jessica said.

  “Wow, you’re back in the 808. And being all Hawaii Five 0 here again?”

  “Well–not exactly,” Jessica hesitated.

  “Shoots, okay, okay, none of my business,” he said.

  “I’m on a photo assignment up north at Pololu Valley, so I can’t help right now and it sounds like you need this yesterday. I’ll text you a couple websites to check that might do what you want, okay?”

  “Mahalo, Jimmie and I promise we’ll catch a sunset at Old A’s,” Jessica said.

  “No problem, and that’d be great. We can catch up. Okay, I gotta go, too. I’ll text the web addresses now. And don’t forget to call Mr. Sunshine,” Jimmie said, and they both laughed.

  “Okay–aloha.”

  After she found a site to match her skill level, Jessica was able to produce a series of photos that showed Woo Ching aging from his current age, about thirty-five, up to eighty years old.

  She then texted them to Jasmine and got an immediate response. Jasmine texted back one of the pictures and said, “Oh my God, that’s the guy. Please get him, Jess!”

  “This is exactly what I needed. You get better. Love you.” Jessica texted back.

  She stared at the photo that Jasmine had sent back. “We got him!” She said out loud.

  “Now it’s my turn to put him in the crosshairs.”

  * * *

  Woo Ching had stalked Sam and Jessica since they’d returned to Kona. He had a simple plan: slip into Jessica’s bungalow and kill them both. He would wait until just the right moment, when they least expected it–to strike.

  As he watched, Sam sent his security team back to The Ohana in Kailua Bay.

  “It will feel especially satisfying watching your last breaths, Ms. Kealoha,” Woo Ching muttered to himself.

  Jessica had decided to keep Jasmine on Oahu, stashed away in a vacation rental, until Woo Ching was either in jail or dead. And Jessica didn't care which way it ended.

  After they had returned to Aloha Village, she had sensed she was being watched, no doubt it was Woo Ching. It was a feeling she had that wouldn’t go away. Sam argued that his security team should hang around until they had dealt with Woo Ching. But Jessica knew if Sam’s guys left Aloha Village, Woo Ching would eventually show up and try to kill her. Especially given the intel she had gotten from Uncle Jack. He’d said Woo Ching was a notorious hit man in Hong Kong and had never failed to kill a target. Until now. His reputation was on the line. He had to eliminate Jessica, or he would never work again as a contract killer. And he knew too much to be allowed to live.

  * * *

  Jessica had made sure word got around that she and Sam were back at the Village, she had known tha
t the mole would pass that along to Lau. It was about nine p.m. when Sam left the bungalow and walked down to the Marlin House restaurant as if going to get a late dinner. Jessica, wore an innocent-looking sundress, walked with him out to the lanai, gave him a hug and a kiss, and watched him walk down the long driveway toward the restaurant. She went back inside, turned off the lights before she sat on the couch–and waited. She had a Glock, in a leg holster under her dress, to keep her company. Sam stayed away for two hours, and watched Jessica via a security camera feed on his phone. Nothing happened.

  They repeated the same routine for another two nights. And again, nothing happened. No sign of Woo Ching.

  The next morning, when Sam walked out the front door to get the newspaper, a bullet ripped through his right leg as he reached over to pick it up. Woo Ching ran from behind a hedge of naupaka, a hundred yards away, and forced Sam to hobble back inside the bungalow with a gun in his ribs.

  Woo Ching had a silencer on the barrel of his rifle, and Jessica was in the shower, oblivious to what just happened, but Comet growled and barked his head off. Jessica came out of the shower to see what the commotion was about. Comet never barked unless there was a stranger at the house. She didn’t want to leave the bathroom with only a towel, so she grabbed her board shorts and a t-shirt that hung on a hook. She slowly opened the bathroom door and looked down the hall toward the living room.

  She could see Sam sitting on the couch, his face wrinkled in agony while he held his bloody hand over the bullet hole in his leg, and tried to stop the bleeding. Woo Ching stood in the kitchen across from him, with his rifle leaned against the wall and his pistol pointed at Sam.

  Jessica could see the blood as it seeped between his fingers. Comet sat at Sam’s feet, and growled toward the kitchen. She knew Woo Ching was in the house and she knew he was waiting for her to walk into the living room. She also knew that as soon as she did, he would kill her and Sam.