Page 45 of Maliea's Hero
Reid looked down at Maliea. “Does the name ring a bell?”
She shook her head. “No.”
Rex continued, “Swede ran a background check on the man. He worked as a bouncer at the Big Wave Dive Bar in Waikiki.”
Reid frowned. “Worked?”
“He applied for unemployment a week ago,” Rex said. “The reason he gave was that he was laid off. Swede called the bar. The manager said he fired the guy for being too rough with one of the customers. The customer threatened to sue the bar. The only way they got the customer to reconsider suing was to fire Laster.”
“Sounds like someone with anger issues,” Logan said.
“Someone who could easily trash two apartments,” Reid said.
Rex nodded. “Swede tapped into the Honolulu Police database and looked up the report on the two break-ins. They ran fingerprints against the national database. No match so far.”
“Does Laster have a criminal record?” Reid asked.
“No,” Rex said. “Swede’s going to keep an eye on when that car is turned in to the rental company. Hawk will send someone out to dust for prints. He wants to compare the prints in the car to the ones lifted at the apartments. Swede’s also tapping into Laster’s bank account.”
“Makes sense,” Reid said. “How does a guy who’s been fired afford a rental car?”
“And why would he employ listening devices to creep on a woman and her child?” Maliea asked.
“He was a bouncer,” Logan reasoned. “Would a jobless bouncer have the funding or the smarts to afford that kind of listening apparatus?”
“What reason would he have to follow the woman and child?” Jones asked.
Rex’s phone pinged again. “It’s Swede, again.” He answered, “Shoot.” He listened, nodded and said, “Interesting. I know you like to get all the goods, but feed anything you can find to us as soon as you find it. It might help us put the pieces together... Right... Out here.”
Maliea held her breath, waiting for Rex to give them anything they could actually sink their teeth into.
“Swede got into Laster’s bank account. The jobless bouncer received a sizable deposit three days ago from an offshore account based in the Cayman Islands.”
“Someone paid him to do their dirty work,” Reid said, his lips pressing into a tight line. “Was he able to locate the owner of the Cayman account?”
Rex shook his head. “Not yet. It’s some kind of a corporate account that’s buried in other accounts.”
“He couldn’t tell who authorized the payment?”
“No.” Rex pocketed his phone. “It might take time to wade through buried accounts to get down to the actual owner.”
“I’m glad Swede is on it. If anyone can wade through the bullshit, it’s him.” Reid’s hand dropped from where it had rested on Maliea’s back. “Right now, we need to get these ladies somewhere safe until we know a little more about who we’re up against. So far, they haven’t been physically attacked, but who knows how far Laster will go for the money he was paid?”
Maliea shivered. “Where can we go?”
“The Big Island,” Reid said. “Rex is right. You’ll be safest there. The Parkman Ranch has a state-of-the-art security system and plenty of people looking out for the owner and his daughter. It’s the safest place in the state.” He glanced at Maliea. “Are you good with that plan?”
Maliea wrapped her arms around herself, chilled despite the warmth in the room. “I want to keep Nani safe.” She nodded. “Yes, I’m good with that plan.”
Reid’s phone chirped. He received the call and lifted the phone to his ear.
Maliea watched Reid’s face, trying to guess what he was hearing based on his reactions.
“Hawk, did Swede give you a situation report?” Reid nodded. “Yes, sir. We can be at the airport in thirty minutes.” He ended the call and met Maliea’s gaze. “Hawk’s sending a plane. It’ll be at the Honolulu airport by the time we get there.”
Maliea looked toward her daughter, squared her shoulders and said, “Let’s go.”
The men helped carry her trash bag full of her belongings out to the SUV and stowed it in the back.