Chapter 21

Detective Lau headed into the breakroom for another cup of coffee, his second of the morning. He was stalling and he knew it. He wasn't ready to face the Thursday morning staff call. He knew full well what the number one topic would be, Gwen Airedale's murder. His murder case.

Chief Webber was hot to have this case solved. Lau was, too. It wasn't Lau's fault things weren't working out as quickly as heand Chief Webber would like. Evidence and suspects didn't always fall into place in one nice, neat, little package. This just happened to be one of those cases.

Lau poured his coffee and pictured Chief Webber standing in front of the chalkboard in the squad room, the bald spot on top of his head shining beneath the fluorescent lights, his white hair forming a horseshoe around his head. The light glinting off Webber's eyeglasses as he scanned faces, checking to see who was there and who wasn't. Webber was a stickler for punctuality. Lau was, too. This obsession the two men shared. Webber's other obsession was departmental money and how it was spent. On this, the two men didn't always see eye-to-eye.

Webber was miserly with departmental funds. He'd once claimed that under his leadership not one penny would be wasted. Quite a lofty claim to make even in the best of times which these were not. It had taken a great deal of persuasion on Lau's part to get Webber to agree to post an armed guard outside of Ms. Sanchez's hospital room. Even then, it was something Webber had agreed to with great reluctance and much grumbling.

With this in mind, Lau stirred cream into his coffee and mentally prepared for his report at the staff call. He knew Webber would call on him first wanting the latest update on the Airedale case. What did Lau have to report? He couldn't think of any good news. Another woman had been attacked two days after Mrs. Airedale. Thankfully, the second woman was alive, but the fact she was still in a coma hindered the investigation. She couldn't give the police any new leads or name suspects.

So what did Lau have? He finished stirring his coffee, tossed the plastic spoon in the trash, and pondered that question. He leaned against the Formica countertop, sipped his coffee, and wished he had something new to report.

Lau looked up when the slender, ultra-young, ultra-polite forensic tech, Ishikawa, entered the breakroom.

"Detective Lau!" An enthusiastic smile broke over the young man's face when he spotted Lau. He pushed up his black eyeglasses. "Detective, sir, I processed those items." Lau's confused stare stripped some of the enthusiasm from Ishikawa's face. "You know, the ones from Ms. Sanchez's apartment."

"What?" Lau barked. He hadn't authorized the processing of any items. That cost money. What items? His card and a fifty dollar bill? Damn. This was the last thing Lau needed to hear right now. Webber would certainly consider this a waste of departmental funds, make no mistake about that. Heads would roll, starting with his.

"Who authorized that?" Lau was steamed and he wasn't about to take the blame.

"D .. D .. , Detective Kim." The enthusiasm had drained completely from Ishikawa's face and his voice held a tinge of apprehension as his dark almond-shaped eyes clouded with fear. Seconds ago he'd been so elated, so convinced Detective Lau would be, too.

"Kim?" Lau placed his coffee on the counter and smacked the countertop with his palm. "He had no right to do that!"

Ishikawa jumped at the sudden display of anger. Flustered, he messed with his glasses, adjusting them needlessly. He'd best say what he had to say and get out of there. Actually, he wished he'd never entered the breakroom. On second thoughts, he had nothing to worry about. It was Detective Kim who was in the hot seat and who would take the blame for this mix-up. Ishikawa had merely followed orders.

"I . I . I found some fingerprints," he stuttered, sounding apologetic.

Lau's head snapped up. "Fingerprints?" What were the chances they were significant? "What are you talking about Ish? Where?" Time was running out. Lau still hadn't figured out what he was going to say at the staff call. Guessing games were the last thing he needed especially from a young, first-year forensic tech who looked like he should still be in high school.

"I, um, the ones, on the fifty dollar bill."

Lau's eyes narrowed and Ishikawa stammered on, "Yeah, you see, there were only a few prints on that, probably because it was so new. Um, well, so anyway, I ran them. All of them. Through IAFIS, the fingerprint database. I, well, I got a hit." Ish took a breath and swallowed hard. He stared at Lau wondering if he should go on.

"And," Lau prompted. This was getting interesting, but he didn't dare get his hopes too high.

Ish's face brightened. "Oh, one print came back registered to a Donald Kelliher."

Lau stared at the tech as if the young man had suddenly lost his mind. "That name means nothing to me, Ish." Irritation and frustration tainted Lau's voice.

"Oh, yeah, right." Ishikawa smiled, his enthusiasm returning. This was the good part. "He hasn't used that name in a while. I, um, I ran his name through the database and it came back with several aliases. He's used lots over the past .. um .. oh, twenty or more years." Seeing Lau's impatience, Ishikawa hurried on, "Yeah, well, um, I cross-checked the names on the list with the names Detective Kim gave me. He said it was a list of potential suspects. Well, I .. I found one that matches." Ishikawa gave the smallest bit of a smile. "I don't know if it's important, but I thought I should bring it to your attention."

"What's the name?" Lau might have something new to report at the staff call after all.

# # # #

"I tried to get a hold of Lau. He's in a meeting," Joe told Nancy. "I left a message. Said we've got a bead on a suspect. I'm sure he'll call me back."

Joe and Nancy stood in the hotel lobby near the fountain with colorful water jets. Considering the events of the past few days the jets had lost some of their charm.

"I'm sure he will," Nancy said. "Here's a list of flights from San Diego, California to Hawaii. I printed two copies for Butch."

"Thanks." Joe took the paper Nancy handed him. "Butch is next on my list of calls. I'll see if he has anything new to report on Rosita. I'll give him this flight info when I talk to him."

Nancy slung her handbag over her shoulder. "I'm off to see Barbara Westin. She sounded excited to show me the necklace."

"Did she mention her husband? Our suspect."

"She did. She said this was a good time for me to drop by because he was out and would be gone for a while. He has a meeting with someone."

"Meeting with someone? I wonder who that could be and why's he meeting with someone?"

"I'm wondering the same things. I'll try to get some answers."

Joe pulled out his cell phone. "As soon as I finish my call with Butch I'll start tracking down Westin. One way or another we'll find him."

"I'll call you as soon as I finish with Barbara Westin."

# # # #

Nancy knocked on the door of room ten-thirty. It was promptly opened by Barbara Westin. She was dressed in a silk Capri outfit.

"Nancy, please come in." Barb ushered Nancy toward a sitting area. "I must say that necklace has generated a lot of attention."

"Really?" Nancy sat in one of two comfortable chairs.

"Yes, last night at dinner." Barb dropped into the chair opposite Nancy. "Lance and Melinda came into the restaurant shortly after you and your friends left. Lance stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me. 'That necklace,' he said, 'where did you get it?' His tone shocked me. It was almost accusatory. I told him exactly what I'd told you. The necklace was the first gift my husband ever gave me."

Nancy leaned forward. Lance Airedale's reaction was interesting. Had he remembered seeing Diana Collins wear the necklace at the Christmas Fashion Show? "What did Mr. Airedale say to that?"

"Nothing." Barb appeared dumbfounded. "He just glared at my husband for a moment, which I found very odd and uncalled for, then said, 'I see' all pompous like and changed the subject."

"That is odd." Nancy was truly bewildered. "What did your husband say about Lance's reaction?"

"He laughed it off. Said the poor man was losing it. Probably wasn't sleeping or eating well by the looks of him. I have to agree. Lance did look frightfully pale and thin. Chase said that was to be expected of course, given everything Lance has been through. Is going through. I mean, he hasn't even buried Gwen yet and he's got this fashion show hanging over his head."

Nancy wondered about Lance's reaction. It was true, the man had a lot to deal with at the moment. "How did Melinda react?"

"I didn't really notice. I was so shocked by Lance's reaction. He and Melinda sat at a table not far from ours and I swear, he stared at me the whole time. It was quite unnerving. I think Melinda was trying to calm him down at one point, but I can't be certain, I was so upset by then. As soon as we finished our meal I told Chase I wanted to leave. I couldn't take one more second of Lance glaring at me like I'd killed his dog or something. Sorry, that's a bad comparison, but the way he looked at me was horrible."

"Did you and your husband talk about this after dinner?"

"Oh, of course. Chase is more logical than me. He insisted we shouldn't read too much into Lance's reaction. My husband's guess was that the necklace somehow reminded Lance of Gwen. It's the only reasonable answer either of us could come up with. Of course, it would be upsetting, being reminded of one's dead wife. Chase is well aware of how devastating the loss of a loved one is. He's lost both his parents.

Barbara settled back in her chair. "You see, when I first met Chase seven years ago, he'd just lost his mother to cancer. Poor Chase, he was such an emotional wreck. There were times when he couldn't even remember his own name. My heart broke for him. I think that's what drew me to him. He was so completely devastated he couldn't even work."

Or wouldn't work, Nancy thought as Barbara continued, "He'd lost his job, was low on funds, and had nowhere to go. His father had passed away two or three years before his mother and Chase told me, he suddenly found himself all alone in the world. I could relate to that, I'd lost both my parents in a car accident the year I graduated from college. I knew first-hand the loneliness one feels at the sudden loss of their parents."

Chase had played his wife quite well, Nancy thought. And he'd conveniently left out the part about having a half-sister. Nancy decided to pursue that question. "Chase doesn't have any siblings? A brother or sister perhaps?"

"No, he was an only child."

"That would certainly make the loss of one's parents all the more poignant. I was wondering, did his mother leave him anything? Perhaps, the necklace?" Nancy eyed a long slender box lying on the coffee table.

Barbara saw the direction of Nancy's gaze and picked up the box. "You are quite clever, Nancy. The necklace did in fact belong to Chase's mother. She gave it to him shortly before she died. It's very special to him of course, and me. He also inherited a nice sum of money, but that was almost two years after his mother's death. We married not long after he got the inheritance."

Barbara opened the box, lifted out the necklace, and handed it to Nancy.

Nancy handled the necklace with great care. She was mesmerized by the bright azure stones. "It's lovely."

"Thank you." Barbara rose. "Would you like some coffee? I'm due for my second cup."

"No, thank you. If you don't mind, I'd like to photograph the necklace and get the registration number if possible." Nancy had explained about wanting to contact the jeweler and see about commissioning him to create a similar necklace for herself.

"Not at all. The number is carved inside the box on the lid and on the silver tag at the clasp."

"Yes, I see it." Nancy smiled, this was just what she needed. While Barb fixed herself a second cup of coffee, Nancy took out her phone and photographed the necklace. She made sure the tag with the registration number was in several of the shots.

Next, she copied down the registration number in her trusty notepad and doubled checked it before returning the necklace to the velvet box. Nancy thanked Barbara for her time and left. Now, all she had to do was trace the number to the jeweler. Maybe the Hardy Detective Agency could help track down the jeweler or at least point her in the right direction.

Nancy walked down the hall, away from Barbara Westin's room, and phoned Joe.

"Joe here."

"Have you spoken to Detective Lau yet?"

No, he hadn't, but he had contacted Butch. According to Butch, there was no change in Rosita's condition. Joe had passed along the flight information for Rosita's mother. Nancy relayed her conversation with Barbara Westin. She was anxious to track down the jeweler and hoped Walter could help. Joe reminded her that Walter, who was assigned to help them on this case, was out of the office today and currently en route to meet Margie Collins' housekeeper. Before Nancy had a chance to express her disappointment, Joe said he would contact the Hardy Detective Agency and see if Maggie was available. If she was, he'd have her contact Nancy directly.

"Thanks a bunch," Nancy said. "You're a lifesaver and so is the Hardy Detective Agency. I don't know what we'd do without them."

"We wouldn't be solving this case as fast," Joe said. "By the way, I haven't spotted Chase Westin anywhere. Did his wife say who he was meeting? Or where he was going?"

"No," Nancy sighed, "but I didn't ask either. I didn't want to make her suspicious."

"Probably a wise move. Well, let me call the agency and have them contact you. Then I'm back to trying to find Chase Westin. He's got to be around here somewhere."

# # # #

Frank opened his eyes and looked at the clock. A few minutes to twelve. He'd gotten four hours of sleep and needed every minute of it. He yawned and rolled out of bed. He wondered what Nancy and Joe were up. Had they discovered anything new?

Frank went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. That brought him fully awake. He brushed his teeth and then called Nancy.

"You should still be sleeping," she curtly informed him.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I got enough sleep for now and I really hate being left out of the loop when there's an on-going case. So, what's happening?"

Nancy understood Frank's feelings. She hated being left out, too. "With a little help from the Hardy Detective Agency I tracked down the jeweler that made the necklace. It did belong to Margie Collins. Her second husband, Harvey, had it made for her when they got married in 1962."

"That's fantastic. We've got our first connection between Diana Collins and Chase Westin. You were right about the necklace, Nan."

"The jeweler is faxing me all his records and receipts pertaining to the necklace. He said he'd look for a photo, too. He felt confident he'd find one. He said he usually took photos of all his special commissions. I'm headed to the hotel's executive office right now to collect the faxes. Oh, and Detective Lau called. That fifty-dollar bill he and Joe found in Rosita's apartment, it has Westin's fingerprints all over it. That means he had contact with Rosita, too."

A huge smile broke over Frank's face. "This just gets better and better. That's good, solid evidence against Westin. We've connected him to two of the three women who were attacked. Now we need to find a connection to Gwen. What's Joe up to?"

"He and Lau are searching for the illusive Chase Westin. Lau showed up here at about ten-thirty this morning. He has an arrest warrant for Westin. Unfortunately, no one's seen him. Lau interviewed Barbara Westin. She claims she hasn't seen her husband since eight o'clock this morning. She says he left their room right after breakfast to meet someone. She has no idea who he was meeting or where."

Frank groaned in exasperation. "He might have flown the coop."

"He might have, but don't worry yet. Lau has issued an APB for him. Plain-clothes officers are stationed at the airport and Lau has put all the rental car companies on alert."

"Sounds like Lau had everything under control. I'm going to get dressed and join the search."

"I'm sure Lau and Joe will appreciate the help. I'm going to get the jeweler's records and receipts and then, per Lau's orders, I'm to join Detective Kim and stay with Barbara Westin. Lau wants us there in case Westin shows up or tries to contact his wife."

# # # #

Joe had searched high and low inside the hotel and out. He'd retraced his steps many times in an effort to locate Chase Westin. Joe was beginning to think Westin had skipped town.

Joe stepped outside into the bright sunshine and trudged through the sand. He shaded his eyes with a hand and squinted. Where in the world could Westin be?

Joe wandered around, checking behind bushes, scanning people on the beach. His wandering took him to the area where he and Frank had found the murder weapon. This area was secluded and quiet. Joe rounded the corner of the hotel and came upon the volcanic outcrop that led down to the ocean. Joe stopped and listened to the crashing waves. The ocean's turbulent nature mirrored Joe's mood. His patience was wearing thin. He was eager to find Westin. The morning had been spent running around in circles, checking and rechecking the same places over and over again.

Joe sucked in a lung full of salty air. This was a beautiful spot, peaceful. He took a few steps and glanced around. Then he froze and his face paled. A body lay on the sand. Slowly and cautiously, Joe made his way toward the person.

"Hey," Joe called as he neared the motionless figure, a man, he could tell that much. "You okay?"

Joe swallowed hard over the lump forming in his throat. A feeling of unease settled in the pit of his stomach. He was beside the body now. "Oh, God. No."

Bile rose in his stomach. There was no mistake. Given the unnatural angle of the neck, the sickly white skin, and the glassy eyes. The man was dead.

Joe stumbled away. Out of all the things he'd expected to encounter this morning this wasn't one of them. He bent over, put his hands on his knees, and panted. He tried to quell the urge to vomit. Think rationally, he told himself. He needed to call Lau. His cell phone chirped and he fumbled with the phone, his fingers refusing to cooperate.

Finally, he got the phone to his ear. He spoke between pants, "Joe .. here."

Frank immediately sensed his brother's distress. "Joe? Something wrong?"

"Umm, yeah. Kinda. Just found a dead guy. At the spot where we found the murder weapon."

"I'm on my way." The phone went dead.

Joe took a deep breath and started to relax. Frank would be there soon. Joe's cell phone chirped again. It startled him so bad he almost dropped the phone.

"Joe, this is Lau. Any luck tracking down our suspect?"

"Yeah, I'm looking at him right now."

"Really? That's great. Don't let him out of your sight."

"Oh, don't worry, he's not going anywhere." Some of Joe's innate playfulness had returned.

Lau picked up on the deeper meaning to the words. "Huh? What do you mean, not going anywhere?"

"It appears our murderer has been murdered."

Lau's jaw dropped in stunned confusion. "What? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Kinda hard to mistake a dead guy."

A/N: So, a little twist there at the end. ;)

Special thanks to those faithful reviewers. You know who you are. I'd also like to thank the Guest reviewer for pointing out my mistake with the obituary. I laughed at myself on that one. The things I miss when I edit are amazing.