cleared from Cal’s deep, hazel eyes. “Got any proof or just going by blood ties?”
“I know Dan better than anyone.” That was far from true, but she wanted to believe it so she said it. “The police version is wrong. The deputy chief handled the case. A guy named Ted Greene. He concluded this was Dan’s fault and called in the National Transportation Safety Board investigators to make a final determination.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Their report could take years. In the meantime, Dan is seen as a screw-up and the people who killed him go free.” The sting of that reality refused to fade from her memory.
“And you’re conducting a private investigation.” Cal wiped a hand over his face.
“Dan did not cause the wreck.”
“Uh-huh.” If Cal was listening, he managed to do it while scanning the floor.
She hated when people ignored her. With everything she’d been through, she did not need another boneheaded male doubting her brother’s skills or dedication. Nothing made her change faster from feeling useless to feeling furious.
“I guess you agree with Greene.”
Cal’s head shot up. “What?”
“You better understand that I won’t tolerate one more person speaking ill of my brother.”
“I said ‘uh-huh.’” Cal stood in the middle of the floor with papers he picked up from the floor wadded in each fist.
“So?”
“That means I agree with you. There’s nothing negative about an ‘uh-huh’ response.”
“It sounded more like a grunt than an actual word.” The way he stared at her, as if she were insane, put her on the defensive. “Guess I need a male-to-English dictionary to follow along on your side of the conversation.”
“You’re a tough woman to please.”
“I am—”
“Then we agree.”
“I didn’t finish my sentence.”
“I mean that we both agree there is something in this story about Dan worth looking into.”
Committing to the idea that they held a united front on anything seemed premature since she still did not understand half of what the guy said. “Why are you here?”
“Dan wrote me.”
Her heart jumped at his straightforward answer. “When? About what?”
“About a month ago.”
“Why after all this time?”
“He said he has a problem with—”
“What kind?”
The corner of Cal’s mouth kicked up. “If you let me finish a sentence, this will go faster.”
Cassie doubted that. Nothing about Cal had been easy so far, including that skid across the floor. Her shoulder still thumped from the acrobatic move.
“Sorry to interrupt your long-winded version of the story, Your Royal Highness. But, as you might imagine, I’m interested in figuring out what happened to my brother as soon as possible.”
She could tell the news of Dan’s death had not been easy on Cal. His skin tone still looked more off white than fleshy. A tug of sympathy pulled in the area near her heart for him but she knew she could not afford to let her guard down.
She had been chased, shot at, and lost her brother under mysterious circumstances. Trust was not something she had in great supply.
Cal shrugged off her concerns. “Dan’s message didn’t make a whole lot of sense. He referenced a problem, an operation that smelled funny. He asked for my help. It took awhile for the message to get to me—”
“Why?”
Cal’s eyebrows lifted. “As soon as I got it, I came.”
“You expect me to believe that you just jumped on a plane and flew here.”
He smoothed crumpled pieces of paper and piled them in a stack. “It’s a hell of a long walk to Hawaii from Florida. Those last two thousand miles underwater would be a bitch.”
“My point is that it’s a long trip to make based on a few messages.” Dan’s SOS to this guy made no sense. The fact her brother called a virtual stranger rather than her hurt in ways she refused to think about. “Tell me what really happened between you and Dan a few years back.”
“It’s an old story.” Cal stopped picking up the paper around her feet and leaned in until only a few inches separated their faces. “And none of your business.”
“I got time.”
“And I have no intention of filling it. Believe it or not, Cassie, I didn’t come here to be cross-examined by you.”
“I asked a simple question.”
“And I gave a simple answer. No.”
Chapter Three
The man made Cassie want to strangle something. Mostly him. “So, I’m just supposed to trust you? You could be anyone, for all I know.”
Cal sighed, then reached into his back pocket and took out his wallet. Flipping the worn leather open, he showed her his driver’s license. “Better?”
“Not really.”
“The bottom line is that Dan knew if he had trouble, I’d help.”
She had seen the haunted look in Dan’s eyes when he walked away from the service for good. He refused to talk about what had happened. Code of silence and all that. But that did not explain Cal’s cryptic remarks now.
“Is this rush-to-help thing some kind of military code?”
“That Others May Live. That’s the only code I’ve lived by for years.”
She recognized the PJs’ motto. “Seems to me whatever friendship you had with Dan was over.”
“So, do you live here?”
Interesting time for a topic change. “On a neighboring island. This one is Kauai. I live on Oahu.”
“I’m aware of Hawaii’s geography. I was stationed here at one point.”
He was? “When was—”
“Now that we know everyone’s address, what’s your story?” Cal asked as he continued to pay more attention to the room than to her.
She sensed the air of relaxation that stole over him was one
