Free Seductive Reasoning (TASK FORCE HAWAII Book 1) by Melissa Schroeder

already clamoring for information. Worst part of it was, if it wasn’t for Grace Singh, some of them would not have paid a bit of attention.
    Arriving in the squad room, they found his team seated at the table. Everyone turned at once as they walked in. There was a long beat of silence, and he realized they all knew he had been over at Emma’s.
    “So, we have a missing woman?” he asked.
    “Yes, a Susan Tanaka” Adam said. There was no teasing or joking around. A missing woman, no matter if she was connected to their case or not, was important.
    “When did she go missing?” Emma asked.
    “They aren’t sure.” Adam punched a few buttons. The picture of a vivacious young Hawaiian woman, dressed in the costume of a dancer from one of the luau outfits, came into focus.
    “Why aren’t they sure? Her friends and family didn’t know she was missing?” Del asked.
    “She lives just off UH campus with a couple of girls, but they all have different schedules. Her family had no idea that she was missing, but they live in Washington State at the moment. So, they just thought she was fine.”
    “And no one noticed she’d gone missing?” Cat asked. “Not even her friends?”
    “That’s what they are saying,” Adam said. “She took off this weekend from work, and skipped a couple of classes.”
    “She missed class and no one noticed?” Emma asked.
    “Didn’t you ever skip a class, Emma?” McGregor asked.
    She shrugged. “I’ve never really been in school. It just seems odd to miss classes she’s paying for.”
    Adam continued. “Her attendance is spotty at best. But, when she didn’t show up for work today, her boss called one of her friends.”
    “Why is this on the news? Why didn’t we get a report?”
    “When one of the girls reported her missing to the campus police, and filed a report with HPD, she didn’t get much notice. So she called Jin Phillips, thinking she might be able to help. With her reports on Grace Singh, her roommates hoped to at least get some leads. I think they were hoping that she was just off on her own, and the report would bring her forward.”
    “Fuck,” Del said.
    “Exactly. Instead of contacting us, she went on the air with it.”
    Del settled his hands on his hips, as he contemplated the coming shit storm. “It is going to be a madhouse.”
    A phone started ringing again. Adam shook his head. “Already is, Boss.”
    “Okay, Cat and I will go talk to the friends. You call the parents to see if they heard anything. McGregor, Floyd, I need you to go talk to the employees out at Luau Paradise. Maybe one of them knew something about her. Adam, you hunt down the original officer who took the report. Maybe he or she can help give us a little background, especially on the state of her roommates’ minds.”
    “What are you thinking?” Adam asked.
    “Listen, this could very well be our worst nightmare. Or, she could have made herself disappear for any number of reasons. There is also a chance that all three of the girls cooked this up. They could be out to gain publicity. I don’t think it likely, but let’s cover every base we have here.”
    Everyone stood and started to prepare to leave, but Emma asked, “Hey, what about me?”
    “Cat and I can drop you off at your condo.” He looked at Adam. “Send her all the info you have on Susan right now. And, everyone tag her when you send me stuff.”
    “I can help with the girls,” she insisted, following him into his office. “There might be something I can get from the interview that you would miss.”
    “No. You need to go do what you do best. Look at Susan and Grace. See if there is a connection someway.”
    “But—”
    He knew one way to shut her up would be to kiss her, but she would probably belt him if he did that in front of everyone. Instead, he grabbed her by the forearms and forced her to look at him.
    “I need you to do this. I need your expertise. If this is the same guy, you might be our best chance to