Chapter 14

"Do you know where your girlfriend is?" Thomas asked Carlos.

"No," Carlos admitted. "I haven't seen her today."

"C'mon," Magnum said. "We're going to the police."

But before they could leave, the buzzer sounded from the front gate. Higgins answered it.

"It's Lt. Tanaka," he informed the group. "He'll be here in a moment."

"Good evening," he said, nodding towards the occupants of the den as entered with two of his men. "I have something I think all of you will be very interested in. Especially you, Mr. Pineda."

"What is it?" Thomas asked anxiously, as Jack hovered nearby wanting to know, too.

"Does this look familiar to anyone, maybe you, Mr. Pineda?"

He held up a sketch that had been done by the police department.

"What does it mean?" Carlos asked, a sickening feeling taking over the pit of his stomach.

"A witness came forward earlier tonight," Tanaka informed them. "Said he saw some unusual activity in a warehouse near the piers. Identified this woman. Would you care to confirm her identity, Mr. Pineda?"

Carlos knew he had no choice but to come forward. "That looks like my girlfriend Melinda," he admitted.

"What are we waiting for?" Jack said. "Let's get to the piers."

"Excuse me," Tanaka said, turning his attention to Jack. "But none of you," he continued, his focus now strictly on Thomas, "is going to the piers. Do you understand that? This is a police matter, and the police will handle it. Got that, Magnum?"

Thomas nodded and handed over the bracelet to one of Tanaka's men.

"I just found this by the tidal pool. Carlos pretty much admitted it belongs to his girlfriend."

"Wonderful," Tanaka said, and told his man to seal it as evidence. "Never hurts to have as much evidence as you can. Mr. Pineda, you're coming with me for questioning. I'll be in touch."

After the lieutenant left, Magnum excused himself.

"I'm glad the police are handling this now," Jack said. "They'll find Janet, right?"

"They seem to be on the right track," Higgins admitted. "I guess we'll wait to hear further word."

"Is this really like Thomas, though?" Terri had to ask. "I mean, I know the lieutenant told him to stay out of it, but is that what usually happens? Wouldn't he still want to be involved? Insist on going to the police station or something?"

"You're quite right, Ms. Alden. It's not like Magnum at all to give in so easily. Perhaps I should go check on him."

"If you wouldn't mind," Terri said, looking cautiously at Jack, "I'd like to go find him. Is that okay?"

"Just be careful, Terri," Jack said. "Be extremely careful."

"I will, Jack. I won't risk any harm. I promise."

She gave Jack a peck on his cheek, smiled at Jonathan, and then went in search of Thomas.

Janet willed herself not to go to sleep, but despite her anxiety, she felt her eyelids growing heavy. It was so dark in the warehouse and quiet. Almost too quiet. The next thing she knew she was dreaming of Jack. It was a wonderful dream. They were enjoying a fun-filled day on Waikiki Beach. They were talking and laughing and about to share an intimate moment when the sound of gunfire erupted right in the middle of her lovely dream.

She awoke with a start and tried not to scream. The dream had seemed so real. She stood up and listened for sounds, any sounds, but none was heard. She looked over at Frank who had finally given in to sleep, too, and then she settled herself closer to him. Knowing someone had to be watching them, she tried to focus on the first part of the dream when everything was still all right in her life so she wouldn't freak out about what was happening now.

Thinking about being with Jack on the beach brought back the memory of the conversation she'd had with Terri that morning. Had it really only been a few hours ago? She felt as though a lifetime had passed, and yet, she knew, in reality, not that many hours had gone by and that there was an excellent chance they would be rescued soon. Janet clung to that hope as she replayed the morning conversation in her mind.

She remembered she had wanted to make one thing perfectly clear to Terri. She had not been jealous of Vicky and Jack. When she and Jack had talked after Phillip had proposed, she realized that life as she had known it was about to change, drastically, so maybe she felt a little melancholy for the things that would no longer be, but she was also excited as she planned for her new life with Phillip. That is, until he began acting stranger and stranger, and she couldn't figure out why until he accused her of having feelings for Jack.

His cruel words had stung and hurt her. She felt as though the man she had planned to spend the rest of her life with didn't even know her. And that she didn't know him. When she suggested they spend some time apart to reexamine their future, he took that as a sign that he had been right and that she didn't want to commit herself to him.

Turning to Jack during that time had been the last thing she'd wanted to do, but he knew her so well that it was only a matter of time before he learned the truth from her. Yes, she leaned on him, but there was never anything more between them. She respected his relationship with Vicky.

Until she saw how much his break-up with Vicky had hurt him. They had been there for each other, both nursing their wounds, and that was when she realized that maybe something could develop between them, but she didn't want that. It would be a rebound relationship, and she felt she would never know for sure if what they had felt for each other was true love or if one or both of them would just be buying time until someone better came along. She couldn't risk that. She wouldn't risk that. Jack meant too much to her. She never wanted to lose his friendship.

And that's why, when Terri had invited her to join her in Hawaii, Janet jumped at the chance. She saw it as a chance to start over with a clean slate. Leaving Jack behind in LA had been one of the most difficult things she'd ever had to do, but she knew they would both be better off in the long run.

She believed that, too, until he showed up in Hawaii this week. As much as she tried to deny it, something stirred inside her when she saw him at the airport and when she spent time with him. She wanted to believe he was feeling it, too, but she couldn't be sure. Until he offered to take her back to LA with him. Oh, how she'd wanted to explore his motives for that idea in more detail, but she was too afraid to find out why he had mentioned it. The fact they were in the middle of a crisis didn't help matters either. But now, she knew if he offered again, she would go back to LA with him. She only hoped she got the chance to tell him that.

Terri found Thomas holding a flashlight and hunting through the shrubbery and the sand near the tidal pool.

"Looking for more clues?" she asked.

He jumped at the sound of her voice and then straightened to his full 6'4" height.

"Yes."

"Any luck?"

"No."

"Why do I think you're using this as a way to keep your mind off of what is going on at police headquarters?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you want to be there, Thomas? Don't you want to know what Carlos may be telling the police?"

"Tanaka will tell me," he said, sitting down on the concrete ledge that surrounded the water.

Terri sat next to him.

"And what about the piers?" she pressed.

Thomas looked at her. "What about them?"

"Don't you want to go stake out the place? Find out for yourself what may be going on there?"

"Why are you so anxious to have me go against police orders?"

"Because I can't believe you're now going to sit back and do nothing."

"What would you like me to do?" he asked.

"Aren't there still missing pieces? Things the police don't know about. Things you could and should be following up on?"

Thomas shrugged. "Depends on what they find out from Carlos."

"That's another thing," Terri said. "Now that the police are questioning him, how does he get the ransom money you need?"

"With the police closing in on whoever did this, I don't think the ransom money will be needed."

"So, you think Janet and Frank are going to be rescued."

Thomas nodded and looked out towards the sloshing dark water. "Yes, I do."

"So you've washed your hands of this case?"

"I wouldn't say that. I'll be of whatever help I can be, but you have to admit, Terri, this hasn't been my best case."

"That's what I'm talking about. I realize I don't know you very well, but I can't imagine that you just give up like this every time the police get involved. They probably get involved in most of your cases, don't they? Or vice versa?"

"Sometimes," he admitted. "It depends on what's going on."

"Why are you so willingly throwing this one away, especially when it involves someone you know, and I thought, you liked."

"I do like Janet," Thomas said, rising from the ledge. "I like her a lot. I think she's a wonderful lady."

"Then help her, Thomas. This case isn't over yet."

She rose from the concrete to face him.

Thomas shrugged his shoulders. "What do you want me to do? I have no other leads."

"Are you sure about that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Based on what the police said, you know there is at least one witness who saw something at the piers. I can't believe you don't want to talk to this person. I can't believe you're not combing the warehouses in that area instead of looking for something you know you're not going to find here."

Terri's words hit too close to home for Magnum. He had been willing to let the police handle everything. He was almost relieved when Tanaka ordered him to stay away from the warehouses in front of everyone. Was he losing his nerve? If he was no longer willing to take a risk, then he knew he had to get out of the PI business. Janet was still being held captive, and he wasn't doing anything to try to help her.

"Talk to me, Thomas," Terri said, placing her hand on his left shoulder. "What is really going on?"

Thomas turned and looked at her. "I can't believe you know me this well. Maybe it has something to do with that nurse's uniform you wear. Nurses are supposed to be able to read the human condition and respond to their needs, right?"

"In some ways, that's very true," she admitted.

He sat back down on the concrete slab and looked down at his hands. "Michelle, my late wife, was a nurse."

Terri sat down next to him and kept her hand on his shoulder.

"Late wife?"

He nodded. "I do believe she is dead, but I don't believe they killed my daughter, too. Everything in me tells me she got away. But where she is, I have no idea. I've really been trying to concentrate on Janet, but my focus is split. Every time my phone rings, I think it's going to be someone with news about Lily. I haven't been able to give 100, and I know that's wrong. Jack is right. I should have left this case alone and let someone else handle it."

"Jack is out of his mind with worry about Janet. He cares about her so much, but that doesn't mean he's right about you."

Nervously, Thomas stood again. Terri followed.

"Normally, I can put the pieces together, but my mind is so frazzled that I'm sure there's a hint of what the answer is right in front of me, only I can't see it because I'm not focusing."

"It's okay, Thomas," Terri said, trying to be supportive, "you don't have to do this all by yourself. We can all help, but not unless you're in the game."

"There has been something that keeps coming back to me. Maybe I will go check it out."

Terri smiled. "Can I come, too?"

He placed his hands on her upper arms and gave hera tender but serious look. "I'd prefer it if you stayed here."

"I know," she said. "But I had to try."

"You're very good for me," he told her sincerely. "Let's get you back to the house safely, and then I'm on my way to check something out."

They walked in companionable silence back to the main house. Once Terri had entered the den, Thomas thanked her for the pep talk and told her he would be back soon.

"Thomas," Terri said, before he had left her side.

"Yes?"

"I said I wanted you back in the game, but I want one thing understood."

"What's that?" he said, the corners of his mouth starting to turn upward into a smile.

"I don't want you playing hurt. Got that?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said, giving her a mock salute. "Don't worry. I never go against a nurse's wishes. I know how much you nurses can hurt a guy."

Terri tried to laugh off his comment, but she wondered just how much Thomas had been hurt and if, at some point, he might allow her to help take that hurt away.