The next morning, Higgins, while she do her breakfast, began investigating the activities of Nicholas Jones, the clerk suddenly disappeared, .

His phone had been off for a week, since he disappeared. He lived alone in a small apartment in Waipahu. He did not appear to have any ties to the island apart from a few colleagues. They'd start from the apartment, at least she was sure Magnum have been want to start the search from there.

She'd be waiting for him in the study of the main house, wouldn't go in the guest house. She knew there was nothing wrong with that, but she felt like she was controlling him and the previous evening she had done enough to expose herself to ridicule. She headed to the studio from the kitchen.

Magnum was already sitting on one of the armchairs and was waiting for her, apparently intent on reading a brochure of some kind ...

"Morning Higgy"

"Good Morning Magnum, are you already up? Sam threw you out of bed at dawn ... "

He looked at her for a moment, as if to understand the intention in the comment, then calmly replied ... "She is a morning person ... she went running on the beach, and I in a canoe. Anyway, this morning she threw me out of bed telling me that I'm getting lazy , satisfed? It wasn't enough that you torment me, there needed she too "

She smiled then she started talking about the job and asked him:

"Magnum, what are you reading? Do you need a face cream? "

"I was looking at our client's business ... creams, lotions ... all fairly commonly used things ... I was wondering what was special about the formula that Mr. Jones stole"

"I don't think it concerns us, however, given our past it is better to check our customer too"

Meanwhile, I tell you that Jones has been missing for a week, no family members on the island and he has an apartment in Waipahu"

"We should go and see ..."

"But Sam? We can't leave her here, alone. I can go there, alone"

"Naw! Rick comes to pick her up for a tour this morning""

Higgins could not avoid to make an expression between amused and worried...

"What?"

"Nothing," she said back at him

"I don't believe it ... You and Sam have known each other for less than two days and she confided in you ... At the time it took me weeks to make her admit it, but she made me swear not to say him. After a while I realized that she was reciprocated, but things did not go well for her quickly, after a few weeks she had to leave due to cancer "

"I must have seemed more reliable than you and then Rick is one of your best friends, she must have been afraid that I would tell him ... Do you think that's a good idea?"

"Honestly I don't know ... but it's like there's an elephant in the room with them, so even just to close it I think they need space"

"She moved on ... and Rick too ..."

"Yes, so many things had happened, including our captivity ... it was then that Sam got married to Sasha ... she thought we were dead ... They need to talk about it ... the unspoken among people separates"

"Maybe even the things they say," said Higgins

"Temporarily perhaps, but if one truly loves a person, he wants the best for her, he puts aside her feelings and moves on. One of the two could not reciprocate the other or the timing could not coincide, but love always remains, if it is true "

He directed her usual gaze, direct, intense, which seemed to speak not only of Rick and Sam ... that softness in his gaze ... there were moments it is crushing , but she couldn't help but look back at him although she was forced to look away because she felt defenseless, transparent, almost as if he could touch her heart, her soul.

"Yes, you are right ... but let's not waste time ...What do we do?"

"I'd say drop by Waipahu and see what we can find at Jones's house. Meanwhile, you also investigate our client ... there is something that does not convince me "

They'd paid him the fee upfront, doubled it, with a bonus if they found Jones and the rehearsals. Thomas Magnum wasn't comfortable with that kind of approach.

At a first check everything seemed to be in order, but from what transpired the company was not healthy and for a couple of years at a heavy loss, but this did not seem to matter to the administrator. There was definitely something strange.

Once they arrived at Jones's apartment they had entered easily. They had found no obvious trace of what happened to the company documents. Everything that belonged to this man was still there and that ain't good. No sign of a computer or notebooks

Magnum noticed that a painting had recently been attached to the wall. He had turned it around and found a key behind it… probably a safe deposit box, but from which bank?

"Look what I found. Do you think you can see if he has taken a safe deposit box in some bank on the island? "

"I can check ... and then?"

"Don't worry, I have a plan"

Meanwhile, Rick and Sam were going around the island ... actually it was a kind of street food tour. They had been to Kamekona and Kim, the guys' korean friend ... and now they were going to Rick's favorite beach to enjoy the sea and surfing ... once they digested all that food ...

They made small talk, about Icepick, the tiki bar, the teaching even the captivity but they had kept away from what had tormented both of them for years ... until they reached the beach.

They sat down and Sam, after sighing, decided to talk:

"Rick I came here because I need some time to think about my condition, but honestly, since we met, one thing has been bothering me ..."

Rick got agitated … "Look Sam, you don't have to say anything… it's been a long time and we've moved on, you don't have to worry yourself fearing I'm still has a crush on you… You're having a bad time and I don't want you to feel uncomfortable with me "

Sam turned around looking at him surprised "You? Me?" She stammered

"Oh my God, that wasn't what you wanted to tell me and now I've ruined everything"

"No, actually it was I who wanted to tell you that when we were in Iraq I started to have feelings for you… I fell in love. Then there were moments that I thought I'd say it, to declare myself, but you seemed interested sometimes and sometimes not ... and opening that door could be dangerous ... then came the cancer, your captivity, Sasha ... and things they have changed, but I feel there is still a special place for you in my heart. When you came back from Afghanistan I had a moment where I wanted to leave everything and follow you here. But I abandoned you, I didn't believe it possible that you survived and Sasha, I really loved him, even if in a different way from how I love you… that will never change. I think it's right to tell you, even if it's painful ... I don't know what could happen in the future and I don't want to have something unresolved "

"Don't think about it at all, we've always been out of sync, I'll always be here for you, you know ... come here! You'll always be the bomb of my heart"

They hugged, between tears and smiles

"Rick your jokes are still bad"

Higgins had discovered the bank where was the safety box and they'd take another so they could get into the small vault. Once inside they were left alone. The cameras were not active either for privacy reasons. They quickly identified the box and opened it. It contained a notebook and a pendrive. The notes concerned chemical formulas, which they wouln't have been able to interpret, but they knew the right person to turn to ...

This time it was Magnum who stopped Higgins, who wanted to call Rick to find out where they had gone and if they could help with the case.

"I wish they had time to talk. We got paid, we found some documents that seem what we were looking for, we can wait a few hours, no one will die this time "

"You're right. We'll wait at the Nest for them to come back. " And they reached the estate.

"Are you busy Higgy? While we wait for them, we could play a tennis game ... "

"Have you already forgotten how you lost last time?"

"I didn't lose ... at most we were in a stalemate and we had to stop ..."

"Anyway, I wanted to finish my check on our client first, I don't like what is emerging"

While Higgins was busy, Magnum had apparently remained loitering around her as he usually did.

"Magnum, don't you have anything else to do?"

"No, I'll wait here… Higgy, you came back early last night… how come? Everything good?"

"Yes, I was tired, I didn't feel well ..."

"I'm curious ... why did you come to the guest house?" and perhaps someone could hear in the voice, something like hope...

"Didn't I say it? Rick and TC told me that Sam was not well and I wanted to make sure it was nothing serious, it is my duty as landlord "

"I see ..." he said with a sigh and fiddled with an object on the coffee table

"Magnum, make sure you don't break it ..."

"Yes Madam…"

"Then to be honest, I was no longer sure it was appropriate for her to sleep there, given the morning scene ..."

Magnum laughed… "About the shirt and the shower? Sam is always joking. "

But he said nothing more, he felt his feet in quicksand. He didn't want to ruin their friendship.