“Probably.”
Tap. Tap. Tap.
“You know what?” Pointing the pen at me. “I’m going to do it anyway.”
“Do what?”
“A DNA comparison.”
“Where will you get a family sample for comparison?”
“I’ll think of something.” One finger tapped a temple, just as it had outside the Lanikai house upon our arrival. “I’ve got an arrival ceremony this afternoon, but right after that, I’m on it like fat on bacon.”
I checked my BlackBerry.
Hadley Perry.
Not wanting to dampen Danny’s good mood, I opted to take the ME’s call in the lobby.
While worming through stacks of books and papers, I noticed a shadow cross the tile beyond the open office door.
In the corridor, I looked left and right. Empty.
Had someone been eavesdropping? Dimitriadus? If not, who? Why?
Perry’s news blew the issue right out of my head.
“LO JUST CALLED. HE FOUND A FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD MALE WHO broke his left tibia and fibula back in two thousand three. Francis Kealoha. The kid spent time as an in-patient at The Queen’s Medical Center.”
“In traction?”
“Yes, ma’am. The pins were removed the following year.”
“The guy’s quick.”
“The Queen’s is Hawaii’s only designated trauma center, so Lo started there, put the screws to some chick to do a database search using our suggested parameters. Kealoha’s record popped right out.”
“Did Lo contact the family?”
“The mother died in oh-seven, father’s been out of the picture for years. But he managed to track down a sister. Gloria. A real piece of work. Gloria said the last time she talked to or saw her brother was three years back. She thinks.”
“Did Lo learn of any associates, anyone who might have noticed that Kealoha had disappeared?”
“Gloria swears she knows none of her brother’s friends, has no idea where he’s been living for the past few years. Or what he’s been doing. Lo’s working on it. I’m heading to The Queen’s now, thought you might want to meet me.”
“Why can’t Lo pick up the medical file and drop it by your office?”
“The treating doc’s being a prick. Says he can’t release anything without permission from a parent or guardian. Or proof of death.”
“That’s ass backward.”
“Yes.”
“How old is Gloria?”
“Thirty-two.”
“So what’s the problem? Lo can get a release from her.”
“Gloria’s a prossie with no love of cops. Lo’s call must have spooked her, because she’s stopped answering the phone. He went by, got no response, heard no sounds of activity.”
“Is Hung having any luck with the tattoo parlors?”
“Apparently that shark motif is fairly common. The only unusual elements were those little loopy things along the top border. One tattoo artist thought they were probably added later. The tat angle may turn out to be a bust.”
“Who’s Kealoha’s doctor?”
“Sydney Utagawa, an orthopedic surgeon.”
“Where are you meeting him?”
“In his office at The Queen’s. We can examine the file, but he keeps possession.”
“Give me directions.”
She did.
“I’ll be there in twenty.”
