Rip Tides by Toby Neal Read Free Book Online Page B

head, frowning at Shayla.
    “Shayla, you have to help the cops with the sketch. Maybe they can find him from that. You have to focus.” Pippa gripped her friend’s shoulders.
    “You’re right.” Shayla gulped down her tears, pulling herself together with an effort. “Let me get dressed. I’ll be right back and will do whatever I can.” She strode down the hall. Lei felt like she was watching a case study in the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining…Lei hoped that someday acceptance would come.
    Things went faster after that. Pono and Lei donned gloves and did a swift once-over search through the cottage, with Shayla and Pippa’s permission, since the girls shared the cottage. They found nothing of the surf star’s belongings but a few toiletries and clothes. Shayla, now dressed in a white T-shirt and cutoff shorts, worked with Kevin, and they both concentrated hard on the sketch while Pippa washed dishes and made refreshments, offering them all glasses of chilled lilikoi iced tea.
    When they packed up to leave, the few things that might be of interest in evidence bags, Lei turned to the girls.
    “Please don’t discuss this with anyone,” Lei said. “We need to have total confidentiality to move quickly and catch this guy.”
    Both girls nodded, and Kevin took a moment to hug each of them and leave his number “in case you need anything.”
    Lei narrowed her eyes at him as they got into the cruiser. “We’ll drop you in Kahului. Then we need to go to the van rental places with this sketch. Not a word to anyone or we’ll know who leaked this.”
    “Of course,” Kevin said, and Lei noted the respectful change in his demeanor.
    “Slick move, giving the girls your number,” Pono said. “But I think they like tan, cut surfer dudes.”
    “There’s always room for us creative types. We’re good with our hands,” Kevin said with a leer.
    Lei rolled her eyes as Pono put the siren on to save time.
    They dropped Kevin off at the station and hurried to the van rental place, only a few blocks away in downtown Kahului near the airport. The rental company was a dusty, windswept lot filled with parked vans surrounded by chain-link fence, a few scrubby kiawe trees providing patchy shade. The office building was a converted Matson container with an air conditioner chugging away and dripping condensation next to the steps. Inside, the customer service attendant hunkered over a sudoku game on an iPad.
    Lei and Pono held up their IDs. “Have you seen this man?” Pono slid the sketch across to the attendant, who set aside his game to look at it.
    “Could be the guy who returned a van today.”
    Lei’s pulse picked up. “What was his name?”
    “Just a sec.” He typed onto the iPad. “He gave his name as Clark. Stephen Clark.”
    Lei noted it. “How did he pay? Do you have a credit card?”
    “No. Cash.”
    “Can we see the van? We need to see if he left any prints. This man is wanted for questioning in a serious matter,” Pono said.
    The attendant’s eyes widened behind his magnifying readers. “Okay.” He tossed the glasses down. “I’ll take you to it. He only rented it for two days.”
    “Did you check the address on the license?” Lei asked as they followed him back down into the lot.
    “No. I just check that they have one. It’s over here.” He led them to a van with racks on top. It was in a row of identical vans. “He only left an hour ago.”
    “How did he leave?” Lei asked sharply. Pono had gone back to their vehicle to fetch the crime kits.
    “Called a taxi.”
    “Did you hear his destination?”
    “No.” The man frowned. “But I got the feeling he was in a hurry. My best guess is the airport.”
    “What kind of taxi?” A plan was forming in Lei’s mind. If it was only an hour, they might still catch the suspect on the island.
    “A-1 Taxi Company.”
    “Thanks.” Lei made a shooing gesture. “We’ll let you know when we’re done.”
    Reluctantly, the man headed back