search parameters?”
“I looked for kidnap rapes with use of drugs. There were a lot on Oahu that could have been him experimenting, getting his method down. Some girls drugged at parties, waking up in the bushes with no idea what happened. But I excluded date rapes and party situations. Just kept the ones where they were kidnapped, drugged, and held captive.”
Stevens spread the photos on the table. “So it starts on Oahu four years ago. Melanie Costa, age 22. Brunette, brown eyes, mixed race. Kidnapped off University of Hawaii campus, drugged and raped at a campsite, dumped back on campus after a day. Lisa Holtzman, blonde and blue-eyed, age 19. Hit on the head at Longs Drugs late at night, drugged and raped at a remote area out in the woods, dumped at the beach after two days. Keani Taong, black hair, brown eyes, age 20. Drugged at a party. Wakes up ‘somewhere in the jungle,’ is drugged and raped.” He looked up. “Doesn’t appear to be one physical type he’s into, except that these are all older than the Mohuli`i girls.”
“There’s a lot about the Mohuli`i case that’s a little different. Like, they were bound with T-shirt strips and he used handcuffs on these others, if it is the same perpetrator,” Jeremy ventured. Lei chewed the swizzle stick, realized what she was doing, and set it down.
“So then there are two here on the Big Island in the last few months,” Stevens went on. “Jesika Vierra, age 21, waitress in Kona. Tased on the way to her car. Wakes up at a remote campsite, drugged, raped. She reports he wore a black ski mask the one time she saw him. Found on the side of the road in Ocean View. He just tossed her there like a piece of trash.”
Lei’s coffee burned her throat as she sipped it. Jeremy stared at the photos, his face colorless.
“Cassie Kealoha, age 18, going to her job at the family’s restaurant. Tased, drugged, and raped somewhere in the fern forest, she thinks ‘outside of Hilo.’ She reports hazy memories of ‘being posed and photographed by a guy in a ski mask.’” He arranged the victim photos in chronological order. They stared at them, looking for patterns.
“I’ll tell you one thing,” Stevens said, “this guy is a serious deviant who may kill in the future. What I’m not sold on is that he did the Mohuli`i girls.”
“Maybe he has girlfriends as well,” Lei said. “Maybe he also likes young girls. Sees them as weak, easily influenced and used. He may drug them when he’s with them, I don’t know. Anyway, he groomed Haunani, never intended to rape her-that’s a side interest. One day she brings her friend Kelly to the campsite they’ve been using, and he gets carried away. Goes into his other mode, and he knows they can identify him and kills them to get rid of the problem.”
“Let me work another angle.” Stevens rolled his pen between his palms, his eyes on the ceiling. “I’m still liking Reynolds for it, and while he could be the rapist also, I’m betting he’s not.” He tipped his chair back reflectively. “So, he is already molesting Kelly. He becomes Haunani’s ‘sugar daddy’ and one day goes too far, getting both the girls together. He thinks they’ll finally blow the whistle and he drowns them.”
“I think it was Reynolds,” Jeremy said. “He’s fitting the profile for both the rapes and the girls.”
“The problem is, we’re not making it stick to Reynolds,” Lei said. “I think it’s got enough in common with the Campsite Rapist’s M.O. to be him.”
“I can’t see Reynolds as the Campsite Rapist because of his size,” Stevens said, tipping his pen to her in acknowledgement of the moniker. “But, don’t forget the photography angle.”
They looked at Cassie’s photo. Big dark eyes stared back at them from an oval face with creamy brown skin and full lips with a curl to them as if she were always smiling-a classically lovely Hawaiian girl.
“They’re all beautiful,” Lei whispered. “Maybe that’s the link.”
“Only Cassie reported the photography thing. That does link her to Reynolds, with his pictures of Kelly and that one of the girls together. Can you tell if they were missing any personal items? Often these sickos take trophies.”
They scanned the reports again for a while.
“No mention of it. He could have taken anything because they were all dumped naked, missing their jewelry.”
“Let’s assume he takes pictures of them,” Stevens said. “When Jesika Vierra saw him, he wore a black ski mask. She reported him as five-ten or five-eleven, lean build, athletic. That does not match Reynolds. He’s six-three and on the big side, as I said.”
“We could have a couple of predators operating,” Jeremy said.
“Not likely. Sex crimes like this are rare here in Hawaii. No, I think there’s one Campsite Rapist. He wears a ski mask to make sure the women don’t identify him. And then there’s Reynolds, who did the Mohuli`i girls.”
“Okay. We need more on him then.” Lei set her coffee down.
“And therein lies the rub.”
Lei reached over and picked up Cassie’s picture. “I’d like to interview her, see what she can remember about being photographed. She’s the only one who had anything to say about the photography angle, and that could be something linking her to Reynolds.”
“Good idea. Let’s interview all our Big Island victims, see if anything new pops. I’ll set it up.”
Jeremy put the materials back in the folder and handed it to Stevens, who tucked it under his arm as they stood.
“Good job,” he said. He seemed to be waiting for something, or reluctant to leave.
“How are the new guys working out?”
“Good. They’re getting up to speed pretty quick. In fact, Jeremy, I’d like you to work with them tomorrow while Texeira and I do the rape victim interviews.” Jeremy nodded, expressionless, as Stevens hooked up his jacket off the back of the chair. “I wish we had even more people working the case, but I’m glad Captain Brown sent them over. I’ll see you later.” He turned abruptly.
Lei watched their retreating backs, sighed, and went to find Pono out on patrol.
Much later, class was finally over. Lei packed up her books, sliding them into her bag. Ray Solomon handed her the last one. He’d come in late, sliding into the seat beside her with an unrepentant wink.
“Mary’s still not here,” he said, frowning.
“Yeah,” Lei said. What the hell. Maybe he knows something. “Mary’s officially missing. She disappeared Tuesday afternoon and no one’s seen her since. Got any ideas?”
Ray’s hazel eyes went wide.
“Holy shit. Not a frickin’ clue. I can’t believe a police officer can just disappear like that.”
“Anyone can,” Lei said, biting off her words. “Mary’s a good cop but there are ways to disable even the best. We don’t know that there has been foul play, but her boyfriend insists something bad has happened to her and I believe him.”
“Wow,” Ray said, shaking his head. “She was so sassy, so full of life.”
“She’s not dead,” Lei said, hefting her book bag. “Don’t even think it.” She set off for her truck, striding fast. When she glanced back, Ray was staring after her.
She beeped open the truck and hopped in, throwing the book bag behind the seat and turning the key. The growl of the engine sounded like a welcome. She locked the doors, and then rested her head on the steering wheel for a moment.
She pulled her cell phone out and speed-dialed Mary’s number, only to hear it go to voicemail yet again. It must be turned off, or destroyed. The thought made her stomach clench. Maybe she’d just run away from Roland, taken a quick trip to the Mainland… but Lono would have found her by now. Lei put the truck in gear, pulling out of the lot onto the main road and deliberately turning her mind to the events of the day.
Snapping her out of the reverie, a black Toyota truck swerved into her lane, cutting her off as it accelerated. She was sure it was the same truck she had chased before. Adrenaline surged as she hit the gas, following its speeding trajectory.
The black truck careened down the two-lane highway. He’s not getting away from me this time, she thought, feeling a reckless grin bare her teeth. She shifted gears with a satisfying roar as she followed the truck out of town, tires holding around the turn that had nearly sent her old Honda off the road.
She veered around another car, its horn blaring in protest. The road opened up after that, a glimmering ribbon in the moonlight. The jungle flowed by, a trackless wilderness of dense black on either side of the highway.
