Chapter 28: Kent investigates Koa

Kent stepped into the warm cascade of his shower at home that afternoon. So comfortable after washing up in Koa’s cold waterfall—how had she gone so long without modern conveniences?

The exertions of a day spent hiking out of the Valley with Koa, taking her into Honoka`a, then dropping her off at the women’s shelter were all rinsed away.

The visit to Honoka`a had been an eye-opener. The familiar town, and things he took for granted like driving, were fresh through her perspective. Kent had enjoyed the way Koa’s face lit up with wonder at the taste of the shave ice.

He’d considered dropping off the dogs at home before he took Koa to the shelter; he’d had an impulse to show her his place, share a bit of his life. She’d be delighted over his tidy home; and it would’ve been nice to fix them lunch there.

But he couldn’t.

Too soon, and they weren’t clear of the Abalo situation yet.

Instead, they’d grabbed burgers at a drive-through. She’d been wide-eyed about that, too. Especially the fries.

The memory made him grin.

Kent slipped into a clean set of clothing and headed out to his backyard to check on the dogs; he’d let them roam upon getting home. He moved them into the kennel run, and, after ensuring Pipi and Inu had food and water and were resting comfortably, he locked up and drove to work.

The station was quiet on a Sunday. Kent wasn’t scheduled for weekends, but clocked in anyway; the lieutenant wanted them to be checked in anytime they were on the premises.

Sitting down in his modular cubicle at a desk piled with case files, Kent fired up his computer. While it booted, he cleared his workspace, re-organizing the stacks and pulling out the case jacket on the Abalo case.

He flipped the double-sided manila folder open, frowning at the printout of a photo of Abalo’s injured chest, and another of the wound on the man’s temple.

Could Abalo be suffering from a serious head injury? He’d definitely be checking on the man when he took Koa home.

But his immediate priority was to dig deeper into Koa's background. Several hours slipped by as he scoured databases and made calls.

No birth certificate for a Koa Anderson surfaced, though he found the record of a Baby Anderson, Female, who lived one day in 2005.

Koa had to have been conceived after that. Who was her father? The same man who’d sired her sister, or someone else? Could she actually be Ella’s sister?

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to PASSAGES: Travel the USA and more! to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.