“Maybe we can talk our way past him.” Jesse took her hand as they went across the road to the parking lot. He pressed the buzzer at the front door.
The guard, a sleepy-eyed Hawaiian of about forty-five, came to the door and opened it. “Hey, brah, you got any kine idea of the time?”
He looked familiar to Kaia, then she placed him. She’d gone to school with his son, Simon. In fact, she’d dated Simon a few times.
“Hi, Mr. Kalakaua. I don’t know if you remember me.”
His face changed. “Kaia Oana. Howzit?”
He’d always sprinkled his speech with Hawaiian pidgin. “I’m fine. How’s Simon? I haven’t seen him in a while.”
“Getting married in August.” He frowned. “Whatcha doing out here at this hour?”
“It’s a matter of national security,” Jesse said, stepping forward. “I really need to get into the building.” He dug out his military ID.
“No can.” Kalakaua handed him back the ID. “Latchet be giving me stink eye when he gets wind of it. Waddascoops?”
He’d just asked them what was at stake, so at least he was willing to listen. “Please, Mr. Kalakaua. A little girl’s life is at stake. And me—my mother’s as well.” To her shock, Kaia felt tears well in her eyes as she said the word mother. She blinked rapidly to dispel them.
His face softened. “I dated her once, da kine?” He frowned again. “But no can.” Then he smiled. “Lesgo, it’s about time for my break. Mo’bettah, I’ll take a little shut-eye for fifteen minutes.” He winked and stepped away from the door without locking it behind him.
Kaia and Jesse looked at one another, and Kaia felt a grin stretching her lips. “You’re amazing,” he whispered. He held the door open for her, and they walked past Mr. Kalakaua with his feet propped on his desk and his eyes closed.
Kaia’s smile felt as wide as the Kilauea caldera. Did he really think that? He touched her hand and squeezed her fingers. Her hand closed around his, and they went to the elevator.
Stopping on the third floor, they stepped out into a dark lobby. Jesse flipped on the flashlight, and its beam illuminated the cavernous lobby. “Duncan’s office is the first door on the right.”
Kaia followed him down the hall and into the first office. She glanced around at the office furniture. “I’ll check the filing cabinet.”
“I’ll check the computer.” Jesse went to the desk and pushed aside a can of Red Bull.
Fifteen minutes later, they were still empty-handed. “Maybe I’m wrong,” Kaia admitted. She didn’t feel wrong though.
“Or we’re missing it,” Jesse said.
“Let me look at the computer,” Kaia said. “I’m a bit of a computer nerd.” Jesse moved aside, and she sat in the chair and began to poke around. “Aha,” she said a few minutes later. “There’s a hidden file.” She tried to open it. “Rats, it has a password.”
Jesse sat on the edge of the desk. “I know Duncan pretty well. Let’s try a few things.” He suggested word after word, but the file refused to open.
Kaia sat back in the chair. “Any other ideas?”
“I’m fresh out,” he said. His gaze wandered around the room. “Hey, he’s got a picture here of Christy.”
“Your wife?” Kaia wasn’t sure she wanted to see it. At least she’d know whose shoes she had to fill. She nearly gulped at the thought. Where had that come from? She didn’t want to be Jesse’s wife—did she?
Jesse leaned forward and plucked a picture frame from the desk. “Yeah, see here. She’s standing with Jillian. Duncan used to date Jillian when we were in high school. He still asks about her.”
Kaia took the picture and studied the lovely blond woman. In the picture, her head was tipped to one side, and she was laughing. Her green eyes were mischievous. “She’s lovely.”
“Yes, she was.” Jesse took the photo back and stared at it. “Duncan was hung up on her once too, before she and I started dating. In fact, I always thought of her as the girl next door until Duncan took her out.”
Kaia wondered what he was thinking. Was he comparing his wife’s fair locks with her own dark ones? She would certainly be found wanting when compared with Christy.
“I kind of broke them up,” Jesse said.
“Duncan and Christy?”
“Well, yeah, but that was no big deal. They’d only gone out a few times. But I meant Jillian and Duncan. In college he stole the answers to a test and told me about it. It ticked me off, and I told Jillian what he did. She broke it off with him.”
Kaia took the photo back and looked at it again. “Do you think Duncan is still angry over that?”
Jesse frowned. “That sounds pretty extreme, though he was pretty broken up over it. He didn’t speak to me for a few weeks. When he lightened up, he threw himself into his schoolwork and said he was going to beat me out for valedictorian. I beat him anyway, and he was majorly ticked for about a month. But he got over it.”