ANs in part one

The Naked Truth - Part 2

As Steve and Danny made their way through the lush grounds of the Bare Bliss Sanctuary, surrounded by naked guests engaged in various leisure activities, Danny couldn't resist a comment. "Looks like we're the odd ones out here. And I guarantee that group of women…" he indicated several ladies sitting at a swim-up bar in one of the pools whose eyes were following Steve as the men walked towards the office, "would love to recruit you as the next club member."

Steve shook his head and chuckled under his breath, his own eyes scanning his surroundings for any obvious weak points where someone could get in and out quickly without being seen. Aside from the lack of clothing, the resort looked very much like any other high-end spa on the island. Beautiful views and immaculate landscaping combined to make every inch of the grounds look and feel like a tropical paradise. If the inside of the building was as well-kept as the outside it was worth every penny of the steep membership price.

If you enjoyed the clothing free lifestyle that is.

They showed their badges to the security guard at the front door and made their way into the foyer of the building. The interior definitely matched the exterior in terms of elegance. To their left was a large guest services desk made of what Steve recognized immediately as locally-sourced koa wood. Just past that was the manager's office. Inside they found Charles Osaki, a slightly frazzled man with genuine concern on his face.

"Commander, Detective, thank you for coming," he welcomed them with a handshake. In stark contrast to the nakedness outside his office, he was dressed in beige slacks and a white, open collared shirt that Danny was sure cost more than his first paycheck when he'd transferred to HPD. "I'm sure you can appreciate the delicate nature of the situation."

"Absolutely, Mr. Osaki," Steve responded.

"I do everything possible to protect the privacy of our members." Charles indicated the visitors' chairs then took a seat behind his desk. "Everything we do here is above board. I assure you of that. But for many of our members this is a refuge. A place where they can truly be themselves. Whether they choose to share their membership with their friends and business associates is strictly up to them." Charles began to wring his hands nervously. "My fear is that if someone was able to get into my office to break into my safe they may have also accessed the membership information. It could open some people up to embarrassment or possibly even blackmail."

"We understand," Steve assured him. "We'll do everything we can to keep that from happening."

Charles Osaki sighed with relief. "Thank you. I know the task force doesn't usually handle burglaries. I appreciate you helping with this."

"No problem," Steve replied. "Can you take us through what happened? How did you discover the robbery?"

Charles ran a hand through his hair. "It was the first thing this morning. I was at the front desk going over today's schedule with the activities director when one of our concierge staff members went into the security room to place some items from a new guest in the safe. The door was open, and all the contents were gone. Cash, jewelry, important documents - everything. The security officers on duty had done a routine check on the safe thirty minutes earlier and everything was fine."

"Do you have a list of everything that was in the safe?" Steve asked.

"A list as well of pictures of each item," Charles said. "My head concierge is printing it out for you right now."

A list AND pictures is very thorough," Danny observed.

"We take security very seriously here," Charles replied. "Which is why this theft is so hard to understand. I worked with our security company to create a comprehensive security strategy. I have no idea who could have gotten past it."

"We'll need the names of everybody at the security company who has had any access to your property since day one," Steve said.

"I'll get that for you," Charles said, making a note on the yellow legal pad in front of him.

Danny leaned forward. "So, in a place where all your guests are … without pockets … is it safe to focus on either a break in by an outsider or a staff member?"

Charles chuckled slightly. He was used to outsiders feeling uncomfortable with the mere idea of a nudist resort. There was a time in his life when he'd felt the same way so he understood completely. "The sanctity of our sanctuary has been violated. I can't imagine any of my staff is involved. We vet all hires very well for obvious reasons. All of our employees were hand-picked by myself and my assistant manager. With very few exceptions."

Steve raised an eyebrow. "Exceptions."

"There are a handful of employees who were holdovers from the previous ownership. Keeping them on was part of the sales contract. With the caveat that they all passed rigorous background checks, which they did."

"We'll need their names," Steve said. "The way I see it, this is one of two things. Straight up financial gain or someone who, as you suggested earlier, may want to leverage what they stole to blackmail some of your members. Off the top of your head do you have any idea who might have a grudge against you or feel like they have a score to settle?"

"When I bought the resort it had … I'm not exactly sure how to say it … a different vibe, I guess. The last owners were an older couple and they were getting taken advantage of by some of their members and staff. There were things going on that were … let's say unsavory. They'd been bullied into opening up their membership and some of the people who joined were more interested in exploiting the idea of a naturist retreat than actually enjoying the atmosphere."

Steve and Danny had made a call to Duke on the way over to see about any police interactions with the resort and there had been multiple calls from both the neighbors and the previous owners in the months leading up to Charles Osaki taking over.

"The first thing I did when I took over was institute new membership rules and weed out all the bad apples." Charles shook his head solemnly. "Our staff is like family. I know that's cliche, but in this case it's true. I can't imagine any of them betraying our trust. Same with the guests. But … I guess we can't rule anyone out. That's what worries me the most."

Danny looked around the office, then back at Mr. Osaki. "Any guests behaving suspiciously or acting out of the ordinary before the robbery? Asking a lot of questions about security procedures? Hanging around near the security room?"

He hesitated, his gaze shifting towards the window overlooking the sprawling grounds of the retreat. "There is one guest … Mr. Winston. He arrived a few days ago and kept to himself mostly. But yesterday, I saw him near the office, looking … furtive."

Steve exchanged a glance with Danny before turning back to Charles. "We'll need a list of all the guests present during the time of the robbery. As well as their arrival and departure dates. And if possible, security footage of the entire grounds for the last forty eight hours."

Charles nodded. "We don't use property-wide CCTV for obvious reasons, of course, but I'll have my assistant gather all the available information for you. Please, gentlemen, do whatever it takes to solve this. The reputation of Bare Bliss Sanctuary is at stake. And Commander? Thank Lieutenant Rollins for me. She was incredibly understanding this morning when Leah turned my call over to her. She's very kind."

"I will," he said with a barely noticeable smile, and rose from his seat. With a last look around, Danny gave a reassuring nod to Charles before following Steve out of the office.

- To be continued -