She had been cheated on, humiliated, put down, and then dumped. Dating Han Rodman, pilot extraordinaire, had been the worst three months of her life. Escaping him with a piece of her self-esteem intact qualified as her best day ever.
Instead of taking the hint, Cal droned on, annoying her with every word. “Not every woman can handle a military man. Don’t be hard on yourself.”
Now he was being cocky. Part of the breed. An annoying part.
“So, why did we drive all over the island before I’m even awake?” she asked.
“Technically, you haven’t slept yet.”
“Believe me, I know.” A few more minutes and she’d be eating the steering wheel then curling up on top of it for a nap. “Are you ever going to tell me what we’re doing?”
“Just trying to follow your directions, boss.”
Funny how she forgot the part where she ordered him to drive in circles until she threw up. “My plan would have included coffee and probably a doughnut or two.”
“We need to report last night’s incident to the police.”
“You mean your break-in?” She chuckled, proud of her joke.
But nothing in his frown suggested he found the situation funny. “I’m serious, Cassie. Getting shot at is nothing to play with. The police need to know what happened at Dan’s house.”
That killed her brief good mood. “This is a waste of time. The acting police chief—”
“Acting?”
“The real one is Kane Travers. Good reputation, well-liked, and all that. He’s also on some sort of extended honeymoon and hasn’t been around for weeks.”
“That’s helpful.”
“Either way. The police moved on. They think I’m…”
Cal’s eyebrow lifted over the frame of his glasses. “Yeah?”
If only she could back out of this conversation. “Hysterical.”
“I assume you don’t mean really funny.”
“More like crazy. Insane. Whatever word you want to use. The police think I’m too stricken with grief to be rational and accept Dan’s accident for what it was.”
Cal took off his glasses. “I can think of a lot of ways to describe you. Hysterical isn’t one of them.”
“That sounded suspiciously like a compliment.”
“You sure seemed in control of your emotions when you aimed that gun at my head.”
“Ah, yes. That. Where is my gun, by the way?”
His sunglasses slipped right back into place. “I’ll hold it for you.”
“I thought I was the boss.”
“One incident of assault with a deadly weapon is enough for today. Thanks.”
Chapter Six
Cal pushed open the glass door to the police station with Cassie close at his heels. He took the minute of quiet to glance around and get a feel for the place.
The small building consisted of two distinct areas. The first was an informal common room with a few fake leather chairs and racks of pamphlets about various issues and government services. A long wooden counter separated the welcome area from the closed portion of the office. Except for a small window, there was no way to see into the back.
Cal pressed the buzzer on the counter to get someone’s attention. When a woman in her late fifties and a brightly colored Hawaiian dress popped up from out of nowhere, he nearly shit.
“Damn,” he said under his breath, along with a few more curses. “Didn’t see you there.”
The woman treated him to a broad smile. “What can I do for you?”
“We need to talk with Ted Greene.”
The woman glanced at Cassie and her smile faded. “You’re back.”
Cassie reacted to the woman’s flat tone with one of her own. “Yes.”
Cal tried to remember when he’d ever heard two women less happy about running into each other. Couldn’t think of one. “I take it you two know each other.”
“We thought you went back to Oahu,” the woman said.
Whatever welcoming aloha spirit the older woman felt earlier had disappeared. Cal was beginning to think Cassie had that effect on most people.
Cassie drummed her fingers on the countertop loud enough to give him a headache. “I brought a friend this time.”
Is that what he was?
The woman’s gaze traveled between Cal and Cassie before landing on Cal. “Do you have an appointment?”
“No.” Cassie jumped in before he could answer.
Cal ignored her. Even angled his body so that he half stood in front of her. “Could you check, please?”
The woman shook her head. “Then I don’t think—”
He tried again. “It’s important.”
“Fine,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll see if he’s here.”
And she sure did take her time about it. She straightened up the paperwork in the metal bin in front of her. Moved the phone from one side of the desk to the other. Even plumped up her hair in the back. It took another two minutes before she slipped out of sight.
Once they were alone, Cal leaned against the counter. “You could use some work on your how-to-win-friends-and-influence-people skills.”
Cassie did not seem the least bit impressed with his suggestion. She plopped down in one of the chairs and crossed those long, lean legs. “Did you see her being friendly to me?”
Well, Cassie wasn’t exactly wrong about that assessment. “I take it you’ve caused the police trouble.”
“Let’s just say I’ve spent some time here. More time than they wanted me to spend here.” She moved the magazines around on the table.
“Talk about your non-denial denial.”
Her tough demeanor faltered. “I was doing what I had to do to get some answers about Dan’s death.”
The same answers they still didn’t have. “Why do I think you being with me is going to make our job harder?”
“I’d get used to it if I were you.”
A man in his thirties stepped out of the back. No uniform. No badge. Just a navy blue polo
