Jake pulled the Jeep out of the breakfast restaurant’s parking lot and out onto the busy thoroughfare leading through Hilo. Sophie had eaten a good breakfast. Her color and energy were better.

Jake felt victorious. His chest gave an almost painful twinge every time he thought of why they were late getting on the road. Happiness this extreme was hard to take.

He had made her feel better. He had brought her out of that coldness. She had turned to him, initiated making love. He couldn’t think about it much or his skin would burst with exhilaration.

Was this what being in love was like? He’d thought he’d experienced love before, but he’d never felt anything like this.

Jake stole a glance at Sophie, and she met his eyes. A little smile played around her mouth. “What?”

Anything he said would only reveal what a sap he was, and it might even scare her off. “Nothing.”

“What is going on between you and Antigua?”

Jake frowned. “I told you. We broke it off.”

“Why?”

“She wanted more. I didn’t. The usual.”

“The usual. Aha.” Sophie rubbed her cheekbone where the scar was. “Then you’re okay with our arrangement being more of that ‘usual’?”

Just like that, she crushed him.

Jake opened and closed his hands on the steering wheel and lightened his voice with an effort. “Sure. Partners with benefits. Thought we were clear on that already.”

“Good. Just making sure there are no misunderstandings.” Sophie’s hand dropped to his thigh. She massaged the thick muscle there. “Because I have every intention of making use of those benefits. Often, in fact.”

His body was not averse to this idea even if his emotions were out of control. Jake forced a laugh, removed her hand. “You’re distracting me. I don’t even know where we’re going. I have to pull over and program the GPS.”

Jake navigated to the side of the road and fumbled with his phone.

There was a buzzing in his ears. The exhilaration of a moment ago felt like a heart attack as pain shortened his breath and stabbed his chest. Was this how Antigua had felt when she broke up with him? If so, holy shit, ow!

Tank thrust his head forward from the back seat and nudged Jake’s elbow, as if sensing his distress.

Regroup, retrench, re-strategize. Never give up. You can win her, Jake, but not head on. You have to accept where she put you; she doesn’t feel safe having feelings for anyone right now. You understand that. It has to be okay. You’re strong enough to do this. Don’t lose sight of the goal.

Sophie was his mission. He knew how to do missions.

“Tell me about this witness.” Her voice was cool and businesslike, and that helped.

Jake cleared his throat. “Don’t know much. Bix gave me the name, address, and phone of a female contact, Shirley Mandig, who claims to have seen our victim after she disappeared from the park.”

“So you told Bix that this was likely before they abandoned Julie in the forest area?”

“I did. Bix seems to think it was after, by the timing the witness described—it was dark, the night of the day they took her. The witness was unclear on when that was, exactly.”

“I wonder how she recognized Julie Weathersby.”

“Bix confirmed that the Weathersbys have hired a firm that specializes in PR campaigns for missing people. They’ve plastered the area with posters of Julie. They’ve got a lot of social media going.” Jake shook his head. “What a thing to find a market niche for.”

Sophie shrugged. “As long as it helps. All of these kinds of things take time, resources, and manpower. I’m glad they don’t expect us to do all that, too.”

They wended through downtown Hilo towards the suburbs at the back. The houses became small ranch style dwellings, many of them with fenced yards and opulent displays of orchids, ferns, and other tropical growth. The warm humidity of Hilo lent itself to supersized plants and shades of green everywhere.

Shirley Mandig’s home was typical of the area. Set off of a small, residential side road, the dwelling was a plantation style cube with a lanai in the front, thick with potted orchids. They parked in the driveway, settled the dogs with cracked windows and water, and walked up three wooden stairs to the front porch. A small yappy dog announced their arrival from inside the house.

Jake knocked, and both he and Sophie held up their Security Solutions IDs for the woman to see when she arrived to look at them through a screen door. “We’re here to talk to you about your sighting of Julie Weathersby.”

The middle-aged Filipina woman wore a purple velour sweat suit, a ton of gold jewelry, and house slippers. Her quizzical look cleared up, and she opened the door. “Please, come in.”

The dog, a fuzzy, indeterminate breed, sniffed around their legs as Jake followed the woman’s square-hipped figure into the house. She gestured to a dining room table, and they took vinyl-covered chairs and sat. A sharp tang of vinegar flavored the air. Sophie pointed to a cutting board, covered with green mangoes in various stages of disembowelment. “Are you making pickled mango?”

Mandig nodded. “I am. Every year the tree in back drops more mango than I can give away, so I harvest early. I always leave some of them to mature, but pickled mango makes a good Christmas gift. Let me get you some tea.”

The two women chatted about the making of strange foods as Jake assessed the modest kitchen, not upgraded since it was built in the 1970s, if the avocado-colored appliances and fake brick linoleum were anything to go by. Mandig brought Jake a cup of hot tea. He smiled and sipped it, to be polite.

Surprisingly fragrant and sweet, the tea was delicious. Jake slurped and finished it, and finally, during a lull in the conversation, he addressed Mandig where she stood at the cutting board, peeling green mangoes.

“Tell us about seeing Julie Weathersby.”

“Oh, so unexpected. I never know what to think.” The woman’s voice had a lilt of pidgin. “I work at Volcanoes Park gift shop. I was heading home from work, and I saw this woman staggering down the road. She waving her arms. She was wearing only bra and panty. I thought she was drunk. I admit, I was small-kine judgmental.” The knife she was using to cut the mangoes whacked into the cutting board. “I wish I had stopped, tried to help her. Seeing her like that, I just thought she . . . I don’t know what I thought.”

“Was there anyone chasing her, or with her?” Sophie asked sharply.

“No. She was alone. She maybe was trying to get help. I don’t know.” Mandig’s voice had gone low.

“We know Julie was robbed and abandoned on the side of a road. We found her possessions and clothes and they are at the Hilo Police Station. This is the first confirmation we’ve had that she’s alive,” Jake said, keeping his tone warm and complimentary. “Very important news. Thank you for coming forward. Can you identify the area where you saw her?”

“I did notice it because it was so funny-kine to see someone out in that area, no clothes, li’dat. She was walking toward Hilo on the side of the road. I remember thinking that if I had to call anyone for her I should know where she was. So I noticed the mile marker, but I never had no bars, so I never called the cops.” She named the same road the Weathersby girl had been abandoned on.

Jake and Sophie exchanged a quick look and Jake took down the mile marker number and the street name. He thanked Mandig, and they stood up and headed for the door. Mandig held up a jar of mango. “You like?”

“Thanks.” Jake took the jar. “You’ve been very helpful.”

Sophie was right behind him. She touched Mandig’s arm. “I hope you will stop and do the right thing in the future if you see an almost naked woman waving for help. She was probably trying to escape her attackers and running for her life.”

Mandig ducked her head and crossed herself in a very Catholic gesture. “I pray that girl is safe and that God forgives me for driving past her.”

“Well, at least you called to report it. That’s something.” Sophie pushed out ahead of Jake, and let the screen door bang behind her. The woman’s soft face crumpled and her chin wobbled.

That was his girl Sophie. Never one to varnish the truth or coddle anyone’s feelings. Jake smiled at Mandig. “Thanks for the mango. I’m sure it’s delicious.” He restrained himself from saying anything further. Nothing would help. “And thank you for contacting us.” He turned and followed Sophie out to the Jeep.