Page 33 of Maliea's Hero
Nani’s eyes blinked open and widened when she saw the police officer standing beside them. She lifted her head. “Why is there a policeman here?”
Maliea smiled at her daughter reassuringly. “They came to tell us how sorry they were that Papa was in a plane crash.”
She met Reid’s gaze. He nodded.
Maliea stepped away from the doorway and out of view of the disaster.
After Maliea and Nani were out of earshot, Reid spoke softly with the officers, explaining the situation, careful that Nani couldn’t hear his words. All the while, he half-listened to what Maliea was saying to her daughter.
“So,” Maliea forced another smile for her daughter, “how do you feel about spending the night camping out in Mr. Reid’s cabin?”
“Yes, please!” Nani’s face brightened.
“Then that’s just what we’ll do,” Maliea said cheerfully, although she felt far from happy.
Ms. Jennings stood at her father’s doorway, staring inside.
“Aren’t we going into Papa’s apartment?” Nani asked, pointing at the doorway she recognized.
Maliea shook her head. “No, sweetie, Mr. Reid is just going to go inside with the police officers and make sure everything’s all right. Then we can go to Mr. Reid’s cabin. They’ll only be a minute.”
Reid’s glance swept both ends of the hallway before he led the police officers into her father’s apartment.
Because he didn’t like leaving Maliea and Nani out in the hallway for long, he made quick work of showing the officers around, giving them the few details he knew and the fact that the owner of the apartment had died in a plane crash. The officers made notes and promised to follow up with fingerprints.
“You might want to speak with the neighbor, Ms. Jennings. She saw the men who came. She said that they removed several boxes before she had to leave. By the looks of it, they emptied the bookshelf in the entryway, the one on the other side of the living room, and everything in and on his desk.”
The lead officer made notes as Reid spoke.
Impatient to return to Maliea and her daughter, Reid hurried through what he knew and ended his discussion with, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to make sure Professor Hasegawa’s daughter and granddaughter are okay. Please lock up when you leave and let us know if you find anything.” He handed a card to one of the officers. “You can reach me at the number on the card.”
Reid emerged into the hallway to find Maliea halfway to the other end. She’d set Nani on her feet and held her hand. When Nani saw Reid emerge from her Papa’s apartment, she pulled her hand free of her mother’s and ran toward him.
Reid met her halfway to keep her from getting close enough to the door to see inside her grandfather’s apartment. He didn’t want her to be upset by the mess inside. Reid swung her up into his arms and kept walking toward Maliea. “Ready?” he asked.
Maliea pressed her lips tightly together. She turned, led the way back to the parking lot, and waited while Reid tucked Nani into the backseat and buckled her belt. After he closed the door, he met her gaze.
“If the offer is still open,” she said softly, “we’d like to stay at your cabin tonight.”
He nodded. “The offer is open. You’re more than welcome.” He opened her car door for her and waited for her to slide into the passenger seat. Once she settled, he closed her door, rounded the front of the SUV and slid into the driver’s seat.
“Are we camping in your cabin?” Nani asked from the backseat, clapping her hands excitedly. “I’ve never been camping.”
“You’ve never been camping?” Reid asked. “Sleeping in a cabin is not exactly camping, but one of these days, I’ll take you on a real camping trip. With a tent and a campfire.”
“Yay!” Nani called out. “We’re going camping.”
Maliea shook her head. “For tonight, we could pretend we’re camping by putting up a sheet like a tent. We can eat popcorn and tell stories.”
Nani’s eyes widened. “That’ll be so much fun!” she exclaimed. Then she asked, “Can Mr. Reid sleep in our tent?”
Maliea’s cheeks turned a soft shade of pink. “If he wants to.”
“Do you want to?” Nani asked, her gaze meeting his in the mirror.
“Sounds great,” Reid said. Again, he thought about everything he’d wanted to do with his daughter Abby and might never get to. He had her for such short bursts of time. Nani would love Abby, and Abby would love Nani. Maybe someday the two could meet and play together.
Who was he kidding? Once Reid neutralized the danger, Maliea wouldn’t need him anymore. He’d move on to his next client, and she’d forget all about him, as would Nani. It’s not like they’d set up play dates for the girls. Although, the idea had merit. Now that he’d settled in Hawaii, he could have his daughter for at least two weeks during the summertime. It would be nice if she had a friend to play with.