LITMIR.BIZ

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rather—”

      She peeked up. “You’re not going there without me, so don’t even ask.”

      The edge of Cal’s mouth kicked up. “Yes, ma’am.”

      “As far as I’m concerned your loyalty track record isn’t great.”

      That half smile of his disappeared again. “I came to Hawaii, didn’t I?”

      “And I’m still not sure why.”

      Cal opened his mouth, but then closed it again. After a few seconds of silence he started talking. “Let’s get back to the subject.”

      He was hiding something. Something that went very wrong in his friendship with Dan. Whatever it was, she would find out. No way would she let that subject go away.

      But for now she moved on to another subject.

      “I was there. After the police told me, I hiked into the canyon and saw the wreckage.” She swallowed hard to get the words out over whatever had lodged in her throat. “The forensic crew was working, so I couldn’t get too close, but I could see the rock slide where the plane hit.”

      “You’re not so tough, you know.” He gave her upper arm a gentle squeeze.

      “I’m tough enough to be your leader.”

      His mouth broke into a wide grin. “True enough. Lead on.”

      Now he had her. “To where?”

      “The hangar.”

      She dreaded the idea. Since learning about the plane crash, she could not ride in or even think about one. To get to Kauai from Oahu she took a boat, preferring to keep her feet as close to the ground as possible. If the worst happened, she could swim. She’d have a chance. If something awful happened in the air, she’d die just like Dan.

      “Cassie? You up for this?”

      It looked as if the time had come to conquer that fear. “I don’t have a choice.”

      Chapter Nine

      About a half hour later, after a round of badge flashing by Cassie to prove they belonged in this area of Lihue Airport, they stood about fifty feet from the hangar where Dan ran his charter business. Cal conducted a visual tour of the area. Even though it was early in the day, the establishment served a steady stream of vacation travelers who wanted to explore the wonders of the garden isle by air.

      According to Cassie’s nonstop explanation in the car ride over, Dan had subsidized the tourist side of his operation with private rides between the islands for locals. Businessmen depended on him for basic transportation, and a few of them wandered around now.

      “Tell me why you have a security badge for this area again,” he said.

      “It worked, didn’t it?”

      “You’re saying I should just be happy you have it?”

      “That and that you should walk faster.” She picked up her pace as if to prove her point.

      Cal compromised and took longer strides. He’d gawk at the planes later.

      Helicopter blades thrummed in the distance as small groups of travelers bustled back and forth across the tarmac in their wild print shirts. Cal felt at home in the heated atmosphere, with planes lined up ready for flight.

      He stole a quick glance at Cassie as they walked in silence toward the hangar. She was classy, tough, and beautiful. Dan rarely spoke about her. The eight-year age difference and not sharing the same father put their lives on different paths. Still, Cal couldn’t help but wonder if Cassie was as close to Dan as she professed or if this was a case of hero worship mixed with guilt.

      The guilt part he understood. He had a heaping share of that where Dan was concerned. Cal knew he could not fix what he had done, but he could do something. He could solve the mystery surrounding Dan’s death. Later, in private, he would mourn the man lost. Right now, he had other priorities.

      “What are you hoping to learn here?” she asked.

      The sadness that clouded her stunning amber eyes had begun to clear. Cal was grateful for that. Weepy women were not his strong suit. They cried. He ran for the bar…where he stayed until the waterworks stopped.

      Seeing Cassie upset, knowing Dan’s loss was the cause, made walking away impossible. Cal tried to block out the reality of Dan’s death so he could focus on figuring out what really happened. Still, seeing Cassie’s anguish tore through him.

      “I need to talk with the people at the airport who knew him,” he said.

      “Dan was more or less a one-man operation, but he depended on mechanics, bookkeepers, and so forth to handle the non-flying duties.” Cassie yelled the last part to be heard over an incoming helicopter.

      “We’ll start with them.”

      They slowed down to watch the flight land. Saw a tourist family pour out of their sightseeing venture with cameras around their necks and matching faux Hawaiian shirts. The kids talked and ran around, and the parents were just as animated.

      Cassie stopped and reached out for Cal’s arm, forcing him to join her. “What exactly did my brother tell you when he contacted you?”

      “Not much.”

      She dropped her hand. “Try again.”

      “Are you tapping your foot?” he asked as he watched her sneaker bounce up and down.

      “I can stand here all day and wait for an answer.”

      “That makes one of us.” He inhaled the jet fuel. “I came to Hawaii for fresh air, not this.”

      “You came here to help my brother.” She scraped the toe of her shoe against the tarmac. “Or was that a lie?”

      “You can be a pretty unpleasant chick.”

      “Chick?” She sounded appalled at the term.

      He didn’t blame her. He’d used the term on purpose to take her off task. And it worked. “Do you prefer ‘lady’?”

      “Whatever nickname will get you talking is fine with me.”

      She deserved that much. She might be mouthy, but mouthy for the right reason. Whatever the reason for the loyalty, it existed. In his experience, finding allegiance in the civilian community was tough. It thrived in the military but very little elsewhere.

      Cal knew most people searched a lifetime for that type of devotion on a romantic scale. Not him. His pull-up-stakes-every-few-years lifestyle did not lend itself to long-term commitment. Knowing his job did not suit a forever world, and knowing that forever usually only meant for now, he never longed for it.

      “Dan said he’d seen a lot of truck movement in and out of an abandoned government site on the main road leading up to tourist look-out sites around the rim of Waimea Canyon,” Cal said.

      “So?”

      “He thought it looked suspicious.” And since Dan was dead, Cal figured Dan was right to be skeptical.

      “Let me guess. Your brilliant plan includes storming up the mountain and into the building.”

      Uh, yeah. “I thought we could drive, but if you tell me what’s involved in ‘storming’ we’ll give that a shot.”

      She started walking again. Didn’t even look back to see if he was following.

      “You need to spend a little more time coming up with these ideas of yours,” she said over her shoulder.

      He caught up in two steps. “You have no faith in my sense of subtlety?”

      “Absolutely none.”

      He chose to ignore that. “How’s this for a plan? We’ll figure out as much as we can about

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