Past Due

By S. Banks

(In the sequence of the shows, this story would follow my first story, French Connections and the final episode, Resolutions.)

A cloud of dust settled around the red Ferrari as Thomas Magnum stopped it in front of the main house at Robin’s Nest. The weather had been inordinately hot lately, and yet he insisted on driving with the sunroof open. His khaki uniform shirt, therefore, showed a dark perspiration stain down his spine when he unfolded his six-foot-four frame from the car. Removing his sunglasses and rubbing his eyes as they adjusted to the shade, he crossed the covered porch. As usual, he entered the house without knocking and strode across the foyer calling Lily’s name. Coming home to the little girl’s greeting was one of his favorite moments of the day.

            Lily did not, as was her custom, come bounding down the stairs and into Thomas’ arms, nor was she anywhere to be seen. Indeed, the house was unusually quiet. Lily was not an overly boisterous child, which, he supposed, was one of the reasons Higgins was agreeable to having her stay at the house during the day while Magnum was at work. But the sound of her giggles and chatter did tend to float on the general silence of the main house. He heard nothing this afternoon, however, and proceeded up the stairs to search for her. 

            It was not until he reached the top of the stairs that he heard her little girl voice chatting away in French --- to one of her dolls, he assumed. As he moved down the hall toward the sound of her voice, he realized that she was not in the playroom Higgins had set up for her, but in Kelly’s suite of rooms just across the hall. The rooms had been closed up for over two months, ever since Kelly Masters left Hawaii to spend some time with her father in Spain. Thomas was prepared to reprimand Lily for wandering into places she shouldn’t be when a second voice stopped him in his tracks. It was Kelly’s voice he heard. He stood just outside the door, listening to the two of them carry on light conversation in French, and mustering the courage to enter the room.

            He had not spoken with Kelly since she left for Spain, for he did not trust himself to be judicious in what he chose to say. By the same token, Kelly had never asked to speak to him, as far as he knew, when she called the estate. It was through Higgins that he procured her permission to continue to use the Ferrari and to stay on the estate until base housing became available, and through Higgins that her few messages for him came. He had never asked Higgins to tell her about Lily, and did not know whether Higgins had done so. In his heart, he knew he himself should have called Kelly and told her all about his daughter and how she had miraculously come back into his life, but it felt awkward. 

Now he stood outside Kelly’s sitting room door listening to them talk, and knowing he had made a mistake. Before Kelly went to Spain to do some work for her father, she and Magnum had begun an uneasy dance around each other that neither one seemed willing to resolve. Now, a daughter he had never mentioned was added to the already difficult mix. Facing her now is going to be much more awkward than any phone call would have been, he thought.

            Finally, he took a deep, fortifying breath and walked into the room. Across the room and through the open French doors, he could see that Lily and Kelly were on the balcony having tea. They remained unaware of his presence even as he crossed the room toward them, which suited Magnum, for he found it agreeable to watch them together. It pleased him that Lily plainly felt comfortable with Kelly. Since losing her mother and coming to live with him, Lily had tended toward introversion and was exceedingly shy around outsiders. This last point was not wholly without benefits, he decided, for he still worried about Lily’s safety, but her timid nature was not always easy for him to know how to handle.

            When Lily looked up and saw him approaching, a smile broke across her face and she rushed from the table to greet him with a hug. “Papa!” she cried, the word bouncing on her French accent.

            He picked her up and squeezed her in a tight hug. “Hello, my Lily,” he said, planting a kiss on her cheek. He then found the courage to look at Kelly. “Hello,” he said, his voice soft and weighty.

“Hello,” she responded.

There was an uncomfortable pause, which he alleviated by returning his attention to Lily. “And, what have you been doing today?” he asked.

            Lily responded in halting English that she was having tea with Mademoiselle Masters, and would he like to join them? They were, she pointed out as though it made a difference, having Red Rose tea and English shortbread biscuits.

She had switched to French for the question and explanation of the menu, but he responded in English. “I don’t know,” he said casting a questioning eye in Kelly’s direction. “Are you sure there’s enough?” Lily’s expression told him that she had not fully understood what he’d said, so he repeated it in French.

“Ouí, Papa,” she assured him as she took him by the hand and led him toward the table.

Thomas looked at Kelly for confirmation. She smiled and nodded toward the table, silently confirming Lily’s invitation. Kelly looked tired, he thought, as he settled into a chair across from her. Tired, but still unbelievably lovely. Lily busied herself with pouring him a cup of tea and selecting some cookies for his plate.

“When did you get in?” he asked Kelly. “Higgins didn’t tell me you were coming.”
            “Earlier this afternoon,” she responded. “I didn’t tell Jonathan my schedule until the last moment. He probably didn’t have time to relay the information.”

“You look tired.”

“I am. I was planning to sleep off my jet lag, but when I met Lily, I couldn’t resist staying up to spend time with her.” She gave him a pointed look.

 “I guess I should have told you about her before,” he admitted, his demeanor somewhat sheepish and apologetic.

Kelly nodded slightly and looked at him levelly.

He opened his mouth to make some excuse, then closed it again. He looked out over the ocean, then down at Lily, then at the cookies on his plate --- anywhere but into Kelly’s penetrating blue eyes.

“Higgins told me all about her,” Kelly said finally. “Several weeks ago.”

His eyes anxiously darted up to meet hers.

“Did you think I wouldn’t approve of your having her here?”

“No, of course not,” he said quickly. “It’s just that everything happened so fast, and I had never told you anything about her before you left. Somehow, it just didn’t seem right to tell you on the phone. I really don’t know why.” He shrugged. Looking at Kelly, he had the uncomfortable feeling that she could see right into the heart of all he wanted to deny and hide, while her cool countenance successfully hid whatever she was thinking and feeling.

“Well, I’m glad you’re staying here. Jonathan said you only wanted to stay until some base housing became available, but I don’t think a military base is the best place for a little girl to grow up,” she said smiling at Lily. She reached out and brushed her finger under the child’s chin. “Especially one who needs to practice speaking English before she starts school.”

“Kelly, I can’t ask you to . . .”

“Thomas,” she sighed impatiently, her voice edged with fatigue, “We can argue about it later. Right now, your daughter needs your attention.” Changing the subject, she urged Lily to tell her father about her day.

Lily told him in French about playing in the sand on the beach, and the lovely paintings Nola, the woman Thomas had hired to help look after Lily during the day, had helped her paint. Thomas urged her to bring them in for him to see. When Lily darted out of the room to fetch her paintings, he focused on Kelly. He felt as though a great deal of business had been left unfinished between them when they both went their separate ways after the near-successful attempt on her life, but was not exactly sure how to tackle what he saw as the mammoth project of resolving any of it.

“Did things go well in Spain?” he asked in lieu of all the things he really wanted to say. “Did you and your father finish the project you were working on?”

“Yes, things went well,” she replied. “And I finished my part of the project. You know my father never does research --- unless it involves a pretty woman or some activity like driving a racecar,” she laughed. “He still has quite a bit of writing to do. I don’t think he’ll break his record for never making a deadline on this book, either.”

Well aware of Robin’s disdain for schedules, he laughed. Kelly said nothing more; silently regarding him. He began to wriggle uncomfortably under the close scrutiny.

 “I’m sorry,” she smiled. “The uniform looks good on you, but the shorter hair is going to take some getting used to.”

“Oh,” he laughed and self-consciously ran his fingers through his closely cropped hair. “The Navy has lightened up on a lot of things. They let me keep the mustache, but I had to take a couple of inches off my hair.”

“It looks good,” she assured him. “Just different. More . . .,” she tilted her head and studied him for a moment, “sophisticated, I think.”

His brow gathered in displeased wrinkles.  He wasn’t sure he liked the idea that she had not considered him sophisticated before.

“Finding Lily; returning to active duty; Rick getting married --- you’ve had a lot of changes in your life in the past several months.”

He nodded. “Too bad you missed Rick’s wedding. He and Cleo really appreciated that you let them use the estate.”

“I was glad to do it. I would like to have been here. Jonathan said it was lovely.”

“Yeah, I guess it was,” he agreed with a shrug. “In a Rick-and-Cleo kind of way.”

Kelly laughed.  “And, Jonathan told me about your friend --- the television reporter who was in trouble. Lucy?”

“Linda, Linda Lee Ellison” he corrected.

“So you saved another damsel in distress. You seem to make a career of that, Mr. Magnum.”

There was a hidden question in her statement, and an edge to her voice that made him uncomfortable. “Well, you know,” he told her,  “when a friend’s in trouble . . ..”

“Especially when the friend is female?”

Now he knew she was fishing for his feelings toward Linda. “I don’t know,” he grinned.  “Ask Rick or T.C.  I’ve pulled their fat out of the fire a time or two.”

Lily came back to the table waving her two paintings. Magnum pulled her up on his knee and looked at the paintings, listening attentively as she explained each one to him. Then she was content to sit on his lap, idly toying with the service ribbons on his chest, while he talked with Kelly. They lingered for over an hour. Magnum realized later that, uncharacteristically, he had done most of the talking, filling her in on what had transpired in his life while she was away.

Kelly stifled a yawn in a vain attempt to hide the fact that that she was fighting the weariness of jet lag.  “Come on, Lily,” he said with a chuckle. “I think Mademoiselle Masters needs to get some sleep.” Kelly didn’t argue, and rose to follow them as they made their way toward the door. He turned around and looked down at her before stepping out into the hall. “We missed you,” he told Kelly. She didn’t respond, and he added with an awkward grin, “Especially the Lads. Higgins says they haven’t been eating well, and he’s sure it’s because they missed you.”

Kelly said nothing, but was shaking her head as she closed the door behind him.

As Magnum pulled into his parking space, it occurred to him that he was probably the only person on base driving a red Ferrari --- or a Ferrari of any color, for that matter.  He sometimes wondered if the gate guard didn’t wave him through a little quickly on that account. When he was younger, he would have considered that a benefit. Now, it concerned him. He found that he seemed to more easily add to his list of concerns these days, and wondered whether it was due to his new-found fatherhood, or the fact that he was getting older. He preferred to think of it as a symptom of fatherhood.

He pushed through the glass doors into the building that housed the NIA offices, and returned the salute of the young Marine guard, and the even younger midshipman posted at the desk by the elevator. There were days when he could not remember being so young and gung-ho. Usually, it was after a long afternoon of volleyball or trying to keep up with Lily. Today, however, he knew it was just a mind-set. It was one of those days when he’d rather be on the beach or paddling his surf-ski than sitting at a desk going over a tedious cryptographer’s report or looking at satellite photos.  Returning to active duty had been the right thing to do, he was certain, but it was not always the easy thing.

In his mood, Buck Green was the last person he wanted to see. It was Green, naturally then, that Magnum ran in to as soon as he stepped off the elevator.

“In my office, now , Commander,” Colonel Green barked.

Magnum hid his annoyance and dutifully followed Green down the hall and into the office. Rounding his desk, Green gestured for Magnum to close the door. “At ease, Commander,” he said, despite the fact that Magnum was already there.

It was a little game they had fallen into. Whenever they were alone and he felt he could get away with it, Magnum would flaunt some minor rule or convention, and Green, gritting his teeth, would pretend not to notice. By the same token, Green pushed Magnum harder than he did anyone else in his command. When Magnum requested that he be assigned duty in Hawaii, he knew it meant working under Green. Though it would be difficult, and sometimes awkward, he felt it was a worthwhile trade-off. He would have to put up with Buck Green, but, in return, he and Lily would get to stay in Hawaii. Besides, he suspected that his presence was something of a thorn in Green’s side, and he enjoyed that. Green knew Magnum would never be as cowed by him, or as impressed by his authority, as others in his command. It was an annoyance to him that, regardless of how many stripes either of them wore on their shoulder, Magnum would never quite consider Green his superior.

It helped, too, that Magnum respected Green’s professionalism, and he would always be grateful for Green’s role in returning Lily to him. Furthermore, he knew Green had looked the other way on repeated occasions when Magnum, as a civilian, had improperly used naval personnel or property. However, too many years of fundamental differences and discord had built an insurmountable wall between them. So, he stood before Green’s desk today clearly more at ease than protocol demanded.

“Is this your handiwork, Commander?” Green asked as he tossed some enlarged black-and-white satellite photos across his desk toward Magnum.

You know it is, Magnum thought to himself. “Yes, sir,” he said in a less-than-snappy tone.

“What made you tag that boat?”

Magnum picked up the photos and looked at the image of a fishing boat he had circled and coded on each one. The boat sat almost one hundred miles off the southernmost tip of Japan. “Because it always shows up in the same place,” Magnum said. “No matter what day or time, when it’s out, it’s always sitting in the same spot.”

“It’s a fishing boat, Magnum. That’s what they do. I’m not going to authorize funds to do an up-close check of what’s probably a boat-load of Japanese fishermen.”

Magnum fought to keep his voice level. “It may be a fishing boat, sir,” he said, but it’s not doing much fishing; not in those waters. It’s way outside the normal fishing lanes. But, it’s right on top of a deep-water trough our subs routinely use when they come down from Alaska.” He suspected that, had Green not been so determined to challenge Magnum’s judgement, he would have noticed these things himself.

Green looked annoyed, but took the photos from him and looked at the coordinates again.

“And,” Magnum added, “if you’ll look at the schedule that boat has been following, you’ll see that it goes out and sits in one spot for long periods --- essentially the same spot every time.”

Still skeptical, Green looked up from the photos. “So, maybe he’s a fisherman who doesn’t know what he’s doing.”

“Then, let’s at least have someone on the ground in Japan check to see what kind of catch he brings in,” Magnum suggested.

“Magnum . . ..”

“Colonel,” Magnum interrupted,  “I know it’s a long shot, but I really think we ought to check it out.  This little boat, in and of itself, is probably not significant. But, coupled with the rumors we’ve heard about a possible terrorist attack on one of our ships, I think it’s worth looking into.”

Green laughed. “Do you really think terrorists are going to telegraph their intentions by doing something like this? They’re not going to routinely sit over one of our sub passages when they know we’ve got satellites taking pictures of them every day. Besides, the terrorists are supposed to be Libyan, not Japanese.”

“So maybe they hired a Japanese fisherman to take them out. And, they’d be careful about their movements if they’re reasonably sophisticated,” Magnum said in a somewhat patronizing tone, “but, what if they’re not?  I mean, if they were sloppy enough to let word of their plans leak out, it’s possible they’re just some extreme fringe group that knows what they want to do, but are kind of fumbling along because they don’t exactly know how to go about it.”

Green gave Magnum a look that said he felt Magnum would understand such a mentality better than anyone he knew.  “And, what do you think they’re planning to do, Commander? Drop a depth charge on one of our subs when it passes under them?”

“It’s crude,” Magnum admitted with a shrug, “but they might think it would work.”

Green shook his head. “Wouldn’t be public enough,” he said. “Terrorists want front-page pictures of blown-up buildings or buses. It wouldn’t serve their purpose to blow up something that will sink, unseen, to the bottom of the ocean.”

“So, they don’t try to sink it. Maybe they just damage it so it has to limp into port on the surface and put a good scare into everyone. I don’t know! I just feel we ought to check it out!”

Green stood looking at him, uncertainly mulling over Magnum’s arguments. “I’ll consider it, Commander,” he said finally.

Magnum returned to his desk feeling frustrated and even glummer than when he had arrived at work. His little voice told him that this boat was important, but trying to sell that brand of intuition to Green would be foolhardy. He had to admit that, aside from his instinct, he had little evidence to support his suspicions. These things had been much easier when he was a civilian investigator. The only budget constraints he had to consider were his own, and that budget was always in the red, so he rarely concerned himself with such details. Furthermore, during his tours in Vietnam, there were seldom forms to be filled out or authorizations to be acquired. The bureaucracy only added to his sense of confinement. He wondered how long it would be before Green felt confident enough to send him out in the field more.

Green took a full day to think over Magnum’s concerns about the fishing boat. He called Magnum at the end of the day and, in a perfunctory voice, said, “I’ve decided to take a look at your fishing boat, Commander. I’ll authorize a low-level re-con. If you can find out what port she’s out of, you can have our people on the ground in Japan check it out.”

Lily loved Saturday mornings. She had taken to American cartoons with a predisposition that Higgins claimed must surely be the result of her father’s genes. Indeed, Magnum did not mind in the least sitting beside her on the sofa, eating cereal with bananas, and drinking orange juice while they laughed hysterically at the antics of Bugs Bunny or the Road Runner. Magnum’s only regret about their little routine was that she seemed to be learning more of her English from the cartoons than he would have liked. He was glad she was spending so much time with Higgins and Kelly during the day so they could balance what she was learning from Bugs. Nola, he suspected, was teaching her as much Hawaiian as English, but he did not really mind.

Saturday and Sunday afternoons were generally spent at the beach, or a park, or the zoo. Essentially, Magnum devoted the majority of his free time to doing things with Lily, seemingly determined to make up for the years together they had missed. Occasionally, he would take a little time out for a volleyball or basketball game, and Lily always seemed to enjoy watching him play. Dates were rare, and Lily stayed at the main house under the care of either Nola or Higgins on those occasions.  He noticed that Higgins volunteered rather frequently to sit with her. Where Lily was concerned, Higgins completely discarded his irascible disposition and became something of a doting Uncle.

It took only two weeks of Kelly’s presence on the estate for Magnum’s precious weekend routine to be upset.  Following their cartoon and breakfast ritual, Magnum helped Lily dress and did his best with her hair. When they started across the lawn, however, it was not toward the Ferrari as would normally have been the case. Instead, at Lily’s insistence, they headed for the main house in search of Kelly. 

She was at her desk sorting through some mail when they found her. Mozart played softly on the stereo and the morning ocean breeze drifted into the room through the open balcony doors.  “Good morning,” she said in surprise. “I thought you were off to a volleyball game this morning.”

“So did I,” Magnum responded petulantly. “But Lily says she’d rather spend the day with you than watch me play volleyball.”

Kelly laughed. “Aw, poor daddy,” she cooed sarcastically. “You’re in bad shape when a six-year-old can hurt your ego.”

He made a face at her.

“Can you really blame her?” she asked. “When you were her age, would you have chosen to sit for a few hours watching a bunch of grown men play volleyball, or would you have wanted to run and play yourself?”

“Alright,” Magnum conceded still pouting. “And, it’s not my ego. It’s just that . . ..” He shrugged, unable to name what it was that made hurtful the fact that Lily didn’t want to spend every possible moment with him. “I told her we’d see what you had planned for the day,” he said, changing the subject.

“Well, I wasn’t planning anything important. She can stay with me.” She held out her arms and Lily ran around the desk and hugged her.

“Can we go riding, Kelly?”

“Hmmm. Probably not today, honey,” Kelly said. “I’ll take you tomorrow afternoon, if you like.” She leaned close to Lily’s ear and added in a stage whisper, “You can invite your father, too, if you’d like.”

Magnum arched an eyebrow and affected the look of a man who knows he is being conspired against.

“What is this you have going on with your hair?” Kelly asked, frowning at Lily’s disheveled hair.

“Papa did it,” Lily said. Then, in a manner that implied to him that this was habit for them, she did an about-face and stood patiently as Kelly undid Magnum’s attempt at a ponytail and began expertly braiding her hair.

A grudging look on his face, he plopped into a chair facing the desk and watched Kelly work. “I thought Nola was the one who had been braiding her hair,” he said. “I figured it got messed up during the day and Nola fixed it for her.”

“I like my hair like Kelly’s,” Lily chimed.

Magnum’s expression grew cloudier. Idly, he picked up a stack of letters from the corner of the desk and began sorting through them. He noticed they were all on heavy stock and addressed in calligraphy. “Are all of these invitations?” he asked.

“I’m afraid so,” she responded with a glance in his direction. “And, feel free to look through anything on my desk you like.”

He ignored her sarcastic tone. “You’re going to be busy.” He counted no less than twenty envelopes in the stack.

“Not really. I’m declining most of them.”

Magnum began pulling each invitation out of its envelope and reading it aloud. “Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Alcott request the honor of your presence . . .. Mr. and Mrs. William Barett the third request the honor of your presence . . .. Oh, look, this one spells it h-o-n-o-u-r.” He rolled his eyes.

“Would you quit! Put those down,” she said firmly. “Just because they’re a little formal, you don’t have to poke fun.”

“Stuffy is more like it.” He tossed the stack of invitations back on the desk.  “What’s wrong with calling a few friends on the phone and asking them to come over for dinner. Why do these people have to make it sound like they’re inviting you to a State dinner or something.”

“Don’t be such a snob, Thomas,” she said as she finished Lily’s braid.

“A snob! I’m not the snob!”

She gave Lily’s behind a little pat that sent her back to her father. “You are a snob. Just because these people choose to cling to traditions and formality that they feel comfortable with, you look down on them. If they were having a few friends over for beer and pizza and to watch the game, they’d probably call them on the phone. Don’t be so hard on them just because they like to . . .,” she searched the air for the words she wanted.

“Because they like to have big parties that serve to remind them and everyone else that they’re on top?”

She scowled at him.

“If you don’t think they’re stuffy, why are you going to decline most of the invitations?” he asked pointedly.

“Just because I don’t care for big formal parties doesn’t mean I don’t understand why some people are comfortable with that lifestyle. You’re one of the most open-minded, tolerant people I know, Thomas. Why can’t you have any tolerance for these people?”

Her question brought a guilty look to his face, and he shrugged. Lily stood at the arm of his chair, chin resting on her hand, looking up at him. He reached down and stroked her hair. “So, what’re you two going to do today?”

“Well,” Kelly said with a thoughtful look in Lily’s direction, “I was planning to go to the bookstore, but I think some other shopping might be good, too.” Lily perked up. “And, maybe we’ll have to stop for some ice cream since it’s so hot out.”

“Oh, yes, Kelly,” Lily said brightly.

Though he was pleased that Lily had begun to use the English “yes” instead of the French “ouí,” Magnum nonetheless gave Kelly a sideways look. “What sort of shopping?” he asked.

Kelly rose from her chair and started around the desk toward Lily. “Lily,” she said, “needs some new play clothes, for one thing.”

Magnum groaned. “Kelly,” he insisted, “you and Higgins spend too much money on her.”

“Oh, hush,” Kelly retorted as she took Lily by the hand. “We enjoy it.” She started leading Lily out of the room. “By the time we’ve had our ice cream and finished our shopping, Thomas, you should be through with your game. How about if we meet you at the club for an early supper?”

“Okay,” he agreed, wanting to get back to the subject of shopping. He caught Kelly’s wrist as she brushed by and looked up at her. “Don’t go overboard.” he said firmly.

“I never go overboard,” she claimed with indignation. Then, ignoring his pointed look, she changed the subject. “Since we’re meeting up later, we could drop you at the club for your game. That way, we won’t have two cars to drive home after supper.”

“That’s okay, T.C. is picking me up.”

“I’ll just get my purse and keys, and we’ll be off, then,” she told Lily.

Magnum pulled her back. “Listen,” he began, then realized he did not know exactly how to say what was on his mind. “Be careful.”

“Thomas,” Kelly laughed, “I’m always careful.”

“No, I mean . . . keep an eye on what’s going on around you. “

She looked at him quizzically for a moment before understanding dawned. “She’ll be alright, Thomas,” she assured him. “I won’t let her out of my sight.”

He nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed. There was no reason for Quang Ki to come after Lily, even if he knew she was alive. He’d achieved his revenge when he killed Michelle. Furthermore, Colonel Green had gone to great lengths to make sure it appeared that Lily had died with Michelle in the explosion. Magnum couldn’t help worrying, though. Every time he and Lily were off the estate, he kept his guard up. Everyone was viewed as a potential threat. The sight of a Vietnamese man in a dark suit and glasses, as Ki’s men had usually dressed, sent his adrenaline rushing. It was rare anymore for Lily to have nightmares about the “bad men” who had often caused her and her mother to have to hide --- and who had, ultimately, taken her mother away from her. But the nightmare would never go away for Thomas.

Swallowing hard, he told them to have a nice time. “But, no toys!” he hollered after them as they left the room. He heard Lily giggle and knew his protestations would be in vain.

The volleyball game was over more quickly than Magnum had planned so, after showering and changing clothes, he joined Rick in the bar for a drink while he waited for Kelly and Lily. T.C. begged off, claiming at first that he was too mad at Magnum for costing them the match, but then admitting that he had plans with his kids. Though he still saw T.C. at least a couple of times a week, Magnum and Rick did not get to spend as much time together as they once had. Rick poured them both a drink, and they spent some time lamenting the cost of the changes they had made in their lives, although Magnum knew he would not for any amount of money go back to the way his life had been before he found Lily.

“Hey,” Magnum said, suddenly remembering something he had intended to share. “I got a letter from Maggie a couple of days ago.”

“Lieutenant Pool?”

“Yeah, well, it’s Lieutenant Commander Pool, now.”

“How does she like D.C.?”

“She seems to like it a lot. The bureaucracy at the Pentagon gets to her some, but she’s glad to be in D.C.”

“Probably glad she doesn’t have to put up with Buck Green anymore,” Rick said. “He never has quite got the hang of working with women in his command.”

Magnum nodded in agreement. “Green never has quite got the hang of working with anyone in his command,” he corrected. “But, I think the real reason Maggie is happier is because some guy she’d been seeing off and on down here got himself assigned as an instructor at Annapolis. I think she was pretty crazy about him, and she didn’t get to see him much before because he was at sea most of the time.”

“You’re kidding,” Rick laughed. “I never knew she had anything going on like that.”

“Well, she kind of liked to keep it quiet. She was afraid Colonel Green would interpret it as a sign of weakness on her part if he thought she had any romantic involvements.”

Rick laughed. “Well, whoever the guy is, I hope he knows what a terrific lady he’s getting.”

Magnum raised his glass in gesture of a toast. “Me, too,” he said. “She deserves the best.” He took a swallow of his drink. “And, speaking of terrific ladies, how’s Cleo?”

Rick’s mood seemed to change instantly. He appeared unwilling to look Magnum in the eye, and his conversation became vague and rambling. Furthermore, he had a drawn, haggard look about him that was especially unusual for someone with Rick’s disposition. Magnum felt certain something was bothering him.

“What’s going on?” Magnum finally asked. Sometimes, a direct question was the best course with Rick.

Rick picked at the label on his beer bottle and shrugged.

“Is everything alright between you and Cleo?”

Rick looked at him anxiously, then returned his attention to the label. “Yeah,” he said. “Everything’s okay between us. Sort of.”

“Rick?” Magnum had seen this look on Rick before, and it always meant he needed help but didn’t know how to ask. He rested his forearms on the table and leaned closer to Rick.

“Someone’s been threatening Cleo,” Rick burst out.

“What?” It was the last thing Magnum expected him to say, and the surprise was evident in his voice. “What kind of threats?”

“They’ve sent her notes and called her on the phone a couple of times,” Rick said unhappily. “They want her to leave Hawaii. They say if she doesn’t leave Hawaii, they’ll make sure she regrets it.”

“Leave Hawaii?” Magnum was nonplussed.  “Why? Do you have any idea who’s doing it?” 

The look on Rick’s face told him that this was the part that was difficult for him to discuss. “I’m pretty sure it’s one of her former . . . you know . . . customers.”

Magnum closed his eyes and dropped his head. Rick had always been concerned that Cleo’s working girl past would someday jump up and bite him. Magnum knew, though, that this wasn’t exactly the way he expected it might happen. “What makes you think it’s someone from her past?” Magnum asked, trying to choose his words carefully.

“I don’t know. It’s just a feeling. The notes, and the way the guy talks, I just get the feeling he has . . . been with her.”

“Have you called the police?”

“Yeah,” Rick laughed. “For all the good it did.  Thomas, I could tell the cop who took the report was looking at Cleo and thinking ‘once a hooker, always a hooker.’ They’re not going to do anything. I mean, even if they wanted to, they don’t have much to go on, and they don’t have a lot of time to chase down stuff like this. The detective we talked to even suggested that it was probably a hoax. It’s no hoax, Magnum. I just know it!”

“Okay, Rick. Calm down. How long has this been going on?”

“About three weeks.”

“Three weeks! Rick, why didn’t you tell me before now?”

“You’re a little busy these days, Thomas,” Rick said flatly.

“Yeah, but I’m never too busy to help my friends!”

“I know that. But I didn’t want to have to ask. At first, I thought the police would be able to help. Then I thought I could work it out on my own. I’ve talked to Icepick. But I haven’t come up with anything.”

“Does Cleo have any idea who might want her out of Hawaii, or why?”

“No,” Rick said irritably. “Or, at least, not that she’ll tell me about. I know she spent time with plenty of high-rollers who might not want her talking about it, though.”

“Yeah, but why make the threats now?”

Rick shrugged.

“Do you mind if I talk to Cleo about it?” Magnum asked carefully.

Rick looked uncomfortable. Thomas had met Cleo while working on a case some years earlier while she was still in the business.  She had helped him on the case, and an odd --- and strictly platonic --- friendship developed between them. It was before Rick met her, but despite assurances from both Thomas and Cleo to the contrary, concern that there might have been something physical between them gnawed at him. Furthermore, Cleo tended to fawn over Magnum a bit. It was just Cleo’s way, he knew, coupled with the effect Magnum generally had on women, but he still didn’t like it much. His concern for Cleo outweighed his jealousy, however. “Alright,” he said. “You want to come by tomorrow night?”

Magnum thought about Lily and the late nights he had been keeping. “I have a better idea,” he offered. “Why don’t you two come out to my place. We’ll have dinner and, after I put Lily to bed, we can talk.”

“Dinner?”

“Yeah,” Thomas laughed. “I’ll even spring for the beer and pizza.”

Rick wrinkled his nose. He had never quite shared Magnum’s fondness for pizza, and Cleo had further managed to turn his taste toward healthier cuisine. “Sounds good,” he said half-heartedly. “Cleo will be glad to get to see Lily.”

Magnum smiled and swallowed the last of his drink.

“Speaking of Lily,” Rick said, looking over Magnum’s shoulder. “Here she comes now.”

Thomas turned around to see Lily and Kelly coming toward them. Lily was carrying a large canvas tote bag, which seemed rather weighty in her little hands. “What have you got there?” he asked as she came close for a hug.

“Books,” she said simply.

He looked inside the bag, then up at Kelly reproachfully. “Did you leave any in the store?” he asked.

Kelly made a face at him over Lily’s head.

“Why didn’t you leave them in the car, Lily?” Magnum asked. “You can’t read while you eat.”

“You and Kelly always talk too long after we eat,” she said in a matter-of-fact voice. “I brought them to read while you talk.”

Magnum gaped at her, but Rick laughed out loud.

“Hello, Uncle Rick,” she said. He had reached out his arms to hug her, and she went easily to him.

“Hello, pumpkin.”

“Kelly and your daddy talk too long, huh?”

“Is our table ready?” Magnum asked a bit too loudly. Rick and T.C. had both been throwing a lot of innuendo his way lately about Kelly, and it made him more than a little uncomfortable. He certainly did not want Kelly hearing any of it. He suspected she had heard Rick’s remark, however, and knew that his inelegant attempt to cover it had probably only served to underscore Rick’s implication.

When Magnum arrived home from work the next afternoon, Lily was on the lawn playing with Nola’s young niece, Ayala, while Nola watched from the shade of a nearby tree. Magnum waved to Nola as he walked toward the girls, then braced himself for Lily’s greeting. She had developed the habit of racing full speed, then leaping into his arms.

“Hello, Ayala,” he called once he had safely caught Lily. Then he greeted Nola. “Your sister’s sitter couldn’t make it again today, huh?” he asked.

“Yes, Mr. Magnum,” she said. “If Ayala could not stay with me, my sister would not be able to go to work. Mr. Higgins said it would be alright for me to bring her here.”

Magnum smiled. “Of course,” he assured her. “I’m glad for Lily to have a playmate.”

Nola smiled. “They play together so well, and Ayala loves coming here.” She took Ayala by the hand and started toward the main house.

“Oh, Nola,” Magnum called after her. “Whose car is that?” He pointed toward an expensive sports car sitting in front of the main house. He had noticed it when he drove through the gate, and wondered if Kelly had tired of driving the stodgy Mercedes and bought herself a new car.

“It’s Captain Lawson’s,” Lily piped before Nola could respond.

Magnum looked at her in surprise. “Captain Lawson?”

“Yes. He’s a pilot and he’s Kelly’s friend.”

Magnum thought a moment, then put Lily down on the ground. “Let’s walk Ayala and Nola to the house,” he said, taking Lily by the hand.

Lily and Ayala ran ahead and he ambled alongside Nola. He listened to her chat about what the girls had done that day, but his real focus was on the sports car. “If you left your doll upstairs,” he called to Lily, “let’s get her now instead of waiting until bedtime to discover you’ve left her.”

“Oh, yes!” Lily cried. She followed Ayala into the house and bounded up the stairs in search of her doll.

Nola said goodbye, leaving Magnum alone in the foyer. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and began to roam idly in search of Kelly and her visitor. He heard voices coming from the downstairs formal living room, and made his way toward the door. The sound of Kelly’s laughter punctuated the drone of a masculine voice. Magnum entered the room and stopped short. For some reason, when Lily said that Captain Lawson was a pilot, he pictured a commercial airline pilot --- older, with graying hair. In fact, the man who was entertaining Kelly so well wore a Marine uniform and, though a few years older than Kelly, he was younger than Magnum.

Kelly had her back to Magnum when he walked into the room, so she was taken aback when Captain Lawson abruptly got to his feet and saluted. Unaccustomed to being saluted when at home, Magnum hesitated a moment before remembering that he had not changed out of his uniform. He returned the young Captain’s salute and put him at ease just as Kelly turned in her chair to see him cross the room.

“Oh,” she said with a laugh, “It’s Thomas.” She rose from her chair and moved to introduce the two men. “Edward,” she said to the Marine, “this is Thomas Magnum.”

The Marine stuck out his hand, “Commander,” he said.

“No,” Magnum laughed, “Thomas is fine.”

“Thomas lives here on the estate,” Kelly explained.

“Ah,” Lawson said. “You’re Lily’s father. She’s quite a charmer.”

Magnum nodded and looked at Kelly questioningly. She introduced Edward Lawson, explaining to Thomas that they were very old friends. He bristled at the way she and Edward smiled at each other, and wished he had not given the Marine permission to call him by his first name.

Kelly invited them to sit down, and offered Thomas some of the tea she and Edward had been sharing. “Edward’s parents and my grandparents have been friends for years,” Kelly explained. She put her hand on Edward’s arm and gave him the look of someone about to share a secret. “He’s sort of the black sheep of his family,” she said with a wink and a grin. “His older brothers all went to Ivy League schools, but Edward broke tradition and went to the Naval Academy.”

“Really, “ Magnum said with a tight smile. “Class of . . .?”

“1982.”

Magnum swallowed hard. He had already completed three tours in Vietnam and lived what seemed like a lifetime by then.

“You?” Lawson asked.

“’68,” Magnum responded.

“Hmmm.” Lawson had a look on his face that said 1968 was ancient history to him. He nodded toward Magnum’s SEAL trident. “When did you go through BUDS?”

“The following year.” Though Lawson seemed like an amiable guy, Magnum found himself liking him less and less, and he hadn’t liked him that much from the moment he walked through the door.

Lawson chuckled and looked at Kelly. “I couldn’t have gone that route,” he said. “Can’t stand cold water.”

Magnum laughed, but inwardly assured himself that dislike of cold water wasn’t the only thing that would have kept Lawson from completing SEAL training. Being a Marine pilot was no walk in the park, but the training couldn’t begin to compare with the mental and physical demands made on a SEAL.

“What brings you to Hawaii?” Magnum asked.

“Temporary duty of a sort. We’ve been deployed for several months with a carrier group in the Mediterranean.” His mouth crooked in a cagey smile. “I guess they decided that was too long to expect Marines to bunk with a bunch of squids, so they gave us a break and sent us here for awhile.”

Magnum ignored the “squid” remark. He doubted that a Marine squadrons would be assigned to duty in Hawaii just to make up for an extended deployment on a carrier, but assumed Lawson had his reasons for being vague.

“It’s good to be back on solid ground,” Lawson added. “And, landing on a runway that doesn’t keep moving is a definite change for the better.”

Kelly smiled up at him, clearly enthralled by the Marine pilot’s aura, and Magnum thought he was going to be sick. “The way you fly,” he told Kelly in an effort to appear good-humored, “I’ll bet you’d jump at the chance to make a carrier landing.”

Her eyes sparkled. “It would be exciting,” she agreed.

Magnum had set down on a rolling carrier deck more than a few times in helicopters, and “exciting” was not the word he would have applied to the experience. Lawson had to have a large measure of mettle, he knew, to brave landing an F/A-18 in such circumstances.

Lily came into the room, her doll tucked in the crook of her arm. “Papa,” she said, walking up and putting her hand on Magnum’s knee. “I have been looking all over for you.”

“Well, now you’ve found me,” he said. Taking her hand, he rose from his seat. “We’d better go Lily. Uncle Rick and Cleo are coming for dinner.” Lawson stood, and the two men shook hands. “Good to meet you, Lawson,” Magnum said.

“You too,” Lawson responded. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.”

Magnum sincerely hoped not.

Chapter 2

Cleo and Rick were clearly on edge during dinner, and Magnum had the strong feeling that Cleo wasn’t going to be comfortable talking with Rick in the room. Therefore, when Lily’s bedtime arrived, Magnum volunteered Rick to read her a story, and suggested one of her longer books. He had been making up a bed for Lily on the sofa every night, but this night, he sent her to sleep in his bed. With Rick safely out of earshot, he sat on the coffee table facing Cleo, and addressed her in a low voice.

“Do you have any idea who might be making these threats, Cleo?”

Cleo hugged one of the sofa cushions and shrugged. “It could be a lot of people, Thomas,” she said weakly. “You know. I knew a lot of guys.”

“Yeah,” Thomas said, “but if it’s one of those guys that has been threatening you, he has to have a reason. Especially since the threats have just now started. If it’s someone from your past,” he pointed out, “it’s likely to be someone with money, or influence, or someone who is now in line to get those things. It has to be someone who might feel threatened by your knowledge of his . . . extra-curricular activities.”

“Thomas, I can think of over a dozen men who fit that description,” she sighed.

“Okay, let’s think of a way to maybe narrow the list down a little.” He thought for a moment. “Did any of them have peculiar taste . . . you know, any unusual proclivities?”

Cleo laughed. “What’s peculiar or unusual when it comes to sex?” she asked.

Magnum scrunched his face. “How about things they weren’t likely to ask their wives or girlfriends for,” he clarified.

She tilted her head, thinking. “Maybe a few guys like that,” she said thoughtfully. Seven or eight, I guess.”

“Could you give me their names?”

“I’d have to think about it for awhile. Some of their names I don’t remember so well. Some names, I never knew. There’re some guys that I just knew as ‘Joe’ or ‘Rocky,’ or whatever they wanted me to call them.”

“Why don’t you think about it over the next day or two and see if you can put together a list for me. Whatever you can remember.”

“You won’t show it to Rick, will you?”

“No, I won’t show it to Rick. He gave me the notes you’ve received. Have you received anything else --- anything he doesn’t know about?”

“No,” she said. “But, I didn’t tell him everything about all of the phone calls. He would have really gone through the roof if he’d heard some of that stuff.” She rolled her eyes.

“What stuff?”

She pursed her lips and looked at him.

“Cleo,” he pressed. “I can’t help you if you won’t level with me. I’m not going to tell Rick anything you don’t want me to. Rick agreed to that. Although,” he added as an aside, “I think you should confide in him.”

“Oh, come on, Thomas,” she said. “You know how Rick is. I don’t lie to him when he asks me a straight question, but I never volunteer anything. And, I certainly don’t give any more details than I have to. He just gets too crazy!”

Magnum nodded in understanding. He did, indeed, know how Rick could get when it came to dealing with Cleo’s past profession. “Alright, I promise I won’t tell him anything. Now, what was in the phone calls that he doesn’t know about?”

Cleo described the phone calls she had received --- a male voice threatening violence if she did not leave Hawaii. The caller was always explicit in his references to her body and his depraved plans for it if she failed to do as he directed.

“Are you sure this isn’t just some guy who gets off by talking to you that way?” Magnum asked.

“I don’t think so,” she said with a shake of her head. “I’ve talked to guys like that before, and this was different. This was . . . scary.”

Magnum decided that, whether the caller was truly trying to scare Cleo away from Hawaii, or was simply looking for a little kinky pleasure, he needed to be found and stopped. “Alright,” he told her in a reassuring voice. “I’ll see what I can do. Make that list for me, okay?”

She nodded.

“And, one more thing. I want you to keep an eye on the newspapers. If anyone from your past shows up in the papers for any reason, I want you to let me know.”

She nodded again, then looked up at Rick as he came back into the room. Smiling, she patted the sofa, inviting him to sit beside her.

“What do you think, Magnum?” Rick asked as he sank down beside Cleo.

“I don’t know,” Magnum replied. He flashed Cleo a sympathetic look. “I’ll give it my best shot.”

The low-level reconnaissance of the fishing boat yielded a name, which helped NIA personnel in Japan find out where she docked. Magnum had them put the dock under surveillance, and the waiting game began. He would have preferred to go to Japan and check the boat out himself, but knew Colonel Green would never authorize it.

In the meantime, he went to work on Cleo’s problem. She had provided him with a list of possible suspects, and he was astonished at some of the names. Cleo had entertained a number of Hawaii’s most prominent citizens at one time or another. It was easy to cross several of the names off the list, however. Their careers were already in decline, making them beyond caring about the possibility of some hooker talking about their squalid trysts.

One name particularly jumped out at him, for he recalled reading about the man in the paper only a few weeks earlier --- about the time the threats had started. One of Hawaii’s largest investment firms had announced that Morton Watkins was taking over as their new CEO. Magnum doubted that Morton Watkins would want his new Board of Directors or shareholders to know that he enjoyed watching two women engage in sexual acts while he sat in a corner and, as Cleo put it, “took things into his own hands.” Furthermore, Cleo had known Watkins by an alias. She had only accidentally learned his real name when she saw his picture in the newspaper sometime after he stopped coming to see her. It was possible that Mr. Watkins might be eager to get Cleo out of Hawaii just in case she decided to make a name and a little extra money for herself by selling her story.

Magnum sacrificed a couple of hours of time with Lily the next afternoon to pay a visit to Mr. Watkins. He did not really expect Watkins to admit to anything, but thought he would shake the trees a little to see what might fall out. Besides time with Lily, he thought one of the best things about weekends was the chance to be out of his uniform and back into jeans, Hawaiian print shirt, and his Detroit Tigers cap. The weather was perfect for the convertible Ferrari, and he could not resist taking a roundabout route to the tennis court he knew Watkins patronized weekly.

Watkins was just coming off the court when Magnum arrived. Though in his mid-sixties, he was fit and tanned, and seemed unconcerned as Magnum approached him. Wiping sweat from his face, he listened while Magnum introduced himself.

“Mr. Watkins, my name’s Thomas Magnum.” He shook Watkins’ hand. “I wanted to talk to you a moment about a mutual acquaintance who is having a bit of trouble.”

“A mutual acquaintance?” Watkins looked at him uncertainly.

“Yes. Her name is Cleo. It’s Cleo Wright, now, but I think you just knew her as Cleo.”

Watkins’ face went stony. “What’s this about, Magnum?” he asked, suddenly on the defensive.  “That was a long time ago. I haven’t seen her in years.”

Magnum was surprised that Watkins so easily admitted to having known her. “Well, the thing is,” Magnum explained, “someone who used to know her is making a lot threats and trying to drive her out of Hawaii. I was wondering if you might have any idea who it would be.”

“How should I know?” Watkins said darkly. “It wasn’t like she and I had an exclusive relationship.”

“Yeah, but you had a pretty unique relationship,” Magnum said. He thought Watkins reddened a bit. “And it’s just possible that the nature of your relationship could prove embarrassing in your current situation.”

“You’re accusing me of making the threats,” Watkins stated.

“No, I’m just asking if you have any idea who might be doing it.”

“Look, Magnum,” Watkins fumed. “I don’t know what your game is, but if you’re hinting that I should pay you to keep quiet about the time I spent with that broad, you’re wasting your time and flirting with some jail time. I may prefer that that part of my private life remains private, but it doesn’t concern me enough to pay off a blackmailer. Practically my whole Board of Directors has similar skeletons in their closet --- many of them a lot more incriminating that mine.”

“No,” Magnum assured him. “I’m just trying to find out who’s threatening her, that’s all.”

“Well, I haven’t got any idea. “ He started past Magnum and headed toward the locker room. “If someone’s really threatening her, maybe she should do what most honest citizens do and call the police instead of sending a friend to make clumsy accusations.”

Watching Watkins walk away, Magnum felt fairly certain that he was shaking the wrong tree. He had known it wouldn’t be easy, but felt disappointed, nonetheless. I might have got lucky, he thought. It happens from time to time, why not now? The other names on Cleo’s list were not nearly so promising. Since his visit with Watkins had not taken as long as he expected, he decided to swing by the base on his way home and see if anything had turned up on the fishing boat. He hoped the luck he was having today as a private investigator would not carry over to his attempt to gather intelligence.

There was a note on his desk indicating something had come in on one of his cases, so he went down to the document room to sign for the sealed file. He opened it and began sorting through he contents even before he got back to his desk. Not to his surprise, the gist of what the NIA operatives in Japan had discovered was that the boat never brought back much in the way of fish. There were plenty of people on board, however --- most of who appeared to be, not Japanese, but Chinese. It was going to take more time to verify this point. Photos of a number of the men were included, and he decided to run these through a couple of sources to see what might turn up.

Initially, he had only glanced at the photos. As he put them in the envelope for routing, however, he took a closer look. In one of the photos, there were two men in the background who were clearly not of Oriental heritage. Magnum could not make them out too well, for they were not the main object of the photo. Flipping through the photos again, he was frustrated that he could find no other image of the men. He separated the photo from the others and marked it for cropping and enlargement. The image was not as clear as he needed in order to make his case to Colonel Green, but it was clear enough to convince him that his instinct had been right. One of the men, he felt certain, was of Middle Eastern descent. Whether or not he was Libyan remained to be seen, but if he could convince Green that the man represented a link to the region, it might be enough to convince him to take some serious interest in this case.

When Magnum returned to the estate early that evening, he was surprised to find Lily in Higgins’ care. “Higgins!” Magnum exclaimed when he walked through the study door to see Lily sitting on his lap while he read Saint George and the Dragon to her. “Where’s Kelly?”

“She’s out for the evening,” Higgins told him. Standing, he eased Lily off his lap, and she ran to Magnum.

“Out?”

“Yes.” It was clear Higgins intended to give no more information.

“She went to dinner with Captain Lawson,” Lily said, tugging at his arm to get him to pick her up. “She was beautiful.”

“Hmmm,” Magnum said. He was attempting to sound indifferent, but suspected he was not being very convincing. “Well,” he said brightly, “I think you’re beautiful, and I think we should go to dinner.”

Lily giggled and nodded.

“Thanks for keeping an eye on her, Higgins.”

“It was entirely my pleasure,” Higgins said in a tone that Magnum knew was sincere. “Oh, Magnum,” he called just as Magnum and Lily reached the front door. “I almost forgot I was to give this to you.”

“What is it?” Magnum asked as he put Lily down and accepted the envelope Higgins was holding out. “It looks like an invitation.” He ripped open the envelope and pulled out an elegantly embossed cream card.

“It is.” Higgins said flatly. “Miss Masters has decided to continue her father’s annual tradition of hosting a gala fundraiser benefiting the Society for the Preservation of Hawaiian Culture. She is determined that we be included as guests. Indeed,” he said somewhat sulkily, “she is so determined on this point that she has completely excluded me from the planning process.” He watched Magnum read his invitation. “She also mentioned that we should feel free to bring a guest,” he added.

Magnum looked up sharply. “A guest?”

“Yes,” Higgins intoned with a sigh. “What, in your parlance, would be called a ‘date,’ I believe.”

“Really,” Magnum murmured looking down at the invitation again.

“Yes. I understand she has asked Captain Lawson to be her escort for the evening.”

Magnum refused to look up and meet Higgins’ gaze. He could tell by his tone that Higgins offered this last bit of information specifically for his benefit. “Well,” he said, turning toward the door, “I’ll have to check my calendar. Come on, Lily.” He shooed her out the door, then turned back and grinned at Higgins. “Night, Higgins.”

Walking across the lawn toward the guesthouse, Magnum groused to himself about the appearance of Captain Lawson on the scene. He had done a little checking to find out why Lawson’s squadron had been moved to Hawaii. What he learned explained why Lawson had been so vague, for it turned out that the information was classified. Lawson had been telling the truth about the Mediterranean deployment. What he had omitted was the fact that they had been sent in reaction to an attack by a Libyan military unit on a convoy of U.S. Marines traveling along the Egyptian border. Lawson’s squadron had been deployed to the carrier, from which they made daily sweeps along the fringes of Libyan airspace.  The substitution of Marine F/A18s for Naval aircraft was a bit of symbolism that would doubtless not be lost on the Libyans.

Events had escalated beyond symbolism, however, when the Libyans inexplicably decided to use the moment to flex their muscles. One day, when Lawson and another pilot were making one of their routine runs just outside Libyan airspace, Libya scrambled four of their fighters with orders to engage the Americans. The Marine pilots were initially caught by surprise, but quickly recovered and moved to counter-attack. The Libyan pilots were so outmatched by the skill and sophistication of the Marines, that the incident was almost laughable. In short order, the Marines had sent two of the Libyan planes into the ocean. The other two did not wait for the same fate. Adopting a neutral posture, they made a quick escape back to Libya.

The U.S. adopted a hard line that bordered on threatening after the incident and, knowing it would be self-eradication to continue, the Libyans stood down. In a conciliatory gesture, the Marines were removed from the area, although the carrier group remained. The reason the squadron was sent to Hawaii, Magnum had not been able to learn. It appeared, however, that Captain Lawson would be around for awhile. 

Magnum looked at the invitation in his hand. I’ll just tell her I have other plans for that night, he thought. I don’t want to get dressed up and mingle with a lot of stuffy people, anyway. Then, he remembered Linda Lee. Had it been too long since he last called her? Even if she was feeling a bit cool toward him for neglecting her, he bet her reporter’s interest would be piqued by an invitation to a party attended by some of Hawaii’s notables and celebrities. You never knew when one of them would slip up and do or say something newsworthy, especially when the champagne was flowing. Yes, he thought with a smug grin, he’d call Linda Lee.

Lily insisted that Magnum invite Kelly to join them for lunch and their trip to the zoo on Sunday afternoon. He pretended reluctance, but was, in fact, eager to ask her, and happy when she accepted.  They shared a “Hawaiian pizza” at a place that was geared toward tourists, but that Lily loved because of its festive nature and the fact that all the ladies received leis. Lily always doubled hers and wore it on her head like a crown, insisting that she was princess of the flowers.

“You’re reading her too many fairy tales,” Kelly teased.

“Not me,” he claimed. “Higgins.”

Kelly laughed, and submitted to Lily’s effort to put a flower crown on her as well.

“There,” Lily said. “Now you are a princess, too.”

Watching them, Magnum had to laugh when he recalled his early impression of Kelly and how he had secretly referred to her as “The Ice Princess.” Now, she was rarely icy even toward him, and especially not when Lily was around. With Lily, Kelly was more like the Sun Princess --- warm and loving, and adept at bringing life to all in her orbit. Since Kelly had come back to the estate, a lively spirit and winsomeness had replaced Lily’s withdrawn nature. He knew Kelly’s presence had impacted his spirit and nature as well, but was not so willing to analyze exactly how.

At the zoo, Lily fell back on her French rather much, and Magnum was glad Kelly was along to force her to learn the English names of the animals. Though he was eager for Lily to improve her English, he could never manage to be as firm with her as Kelly could. Magnum felt warm and content as they strolled through the zoo. The weather was perfect and Lily’s enthusiasm for everything she saw was contagious, and the pleasure he took in Kelly’s company was icing on the cake. They had been strolling about the park for over an hour before Magnum became aware that someone was following them.

At first, it merely occurred to him that he seemed to see one particular man over and over again. Then the uncomfortable realization that he often caught the man watching them began to dawn. Though the man, a tall Anglo in a dark windbreaker, did not look like one of Ki’s men, with Lily along, he felt he could take no chances. The windbreaker especially caught his attention. The only reason he could think of for wearing such apparel on a warm day like this was, perhaps, to hide something. A gun or knife seemed the most likely possibilities, he decided. He began to cast about for a safe place to stow Lily and Kelly, and tried to formulate a plan for discouraging the man from following them further.

They were near the petting zoo, which he noted was nicely enclosed and well populated with other zoo visitors. “Kelly,” he said, looking uneasily past her to where the man had positioned himself to watch them. “Take Lily into the petting zoo and keep her there until I come back for you.”

Kelly was alarmed by his tone. “Thomas, what’s wrong?” she asked.

“Maybe nothing,” he assured her. “But I want to be sure. Do as I ask, please?”

She looked up at him, fear plain on her face.

“Everything will be alright.” He put his hands on her arms in gentle reassurance. “Just keep Lily inside the enclosure and don’t let her get separated from you.”

He watched as Kelly took Lily by the hand and drew her into the petting zoo enclosure, appreciating the fact that she did so without alerting Lily to the fact that there was any cause for concern. Once they were safely inside the gate, he started down the path toward a restroom. He glanced back to assure himself that the man in the windbreaker had followed him and not Lily, and then ducked behind some shrubbery while the man passed by and entered the men’s room. Magnum waited the few moments it took for the man to come back out, now searching anxiously for his lost quarry. Once the man had passed his hiding place, Magnum slipped out and fell in behind him.

They did not go far before the opportunity Magnum had been waiting for presented itself. Stepping over a chain and sign that read “Employees Only,” the man started down a narrow corridor that led to the back of one of the display areas. Magnum followed, intending to catch him off guard and confront him. Suddenly, he heard a shrill whistle behind him. Both he and the man in the windbreaker turned. The moment he saw the large Hawaiian man who stood blocking his escape, he knew he had made a serious mistake. Somehow, he had only spotted the man in the windbreaker and did not realize he had a partner. Now, he stood alone and trapped between the two of them.

The man in the windbreaker got to him first. He took a swing, which Magnum blocked before landing a punch of his own in the man’s stomach. He grabbed the man and, placing him in an effective chokehold, attempted to turn so that he was between Magnum and the second assailant. The big Hawaiian moved quickly, however, and reached them before Magnum could turn and use his partner as a shield. The Hawaiian struck Magnum hard on the back of his head with the butt of a gun. The shock sent Magnum reeling, and he released his hostage.

Now both men were on him, the Hawaiian holding him while the one in the windbreaker pummeled his body with hard fists. The thought of what might happen to Lily and Kelly if he could not escape flashed through his mind. Mustering his strength, he leaned his weight into the Hawaiian and sent a hard kick into the groin of the man who had been beating him. The man fell back in pain, and Magnum used the break to reach for the Hawaiian’s fingers. He managed a grip on one and, in a technique that was simple but effective, pulled back on the finger hard enough to break it. The Hawaiian released him but, as Magnum turned to take him on, he heard the click of a gun being cocked.

“Hold it,” he heard the man in the windbreaker say. He was still doubled over, and his voice was strained. “Just hold it right there if you want to live through this.”

Magnum turned and looked at him.

“We just came to deliver a message,” the man in the windbreaker gasped. “But, it won’t bother me to take you out you son-of-a-bitch.” He gestured with his silencer-equipped gun.

Magnum raised his hands to indicate he would not struggle further.

“Stay the hell out of this business with the hooker,” the man told him painfully straightening up.

Confused, Magnum had to think a moment. “You mean Cleo?”

“Yeah, Cleo,” the man said. “Her business is no longer your business if you want to stay in one piece.”

Magnum blinked as he tried to digest the surprising threat. The two men did not wait for a response, however. The big Hawaiian sent a hard punch into Magnum’s back and they were gone. Magnum leaned against a wall, fighting hard against the waves of nausea he felt overwhelming him. Angrily, he chastised himself for being sloppy enough to allow this to happen. Finally, he walked uneasily to the restroom to clean up and pull himself together as much as possible so he could return to Lily and Kelly.

“Thomas!” Kelly exclaimed when she saw him.

He grimaced, as upset that he had to face them as he was about the beating. Lily’s wide-eyed stare did not help his mood much. “I’m alright,” he assured Lily. “I just fell down, that’s all.”

Lily seemed to accept the explanation, but Kelly knew better. She said nothing, but he knew the minute they were alone, she was going to prod until she got the whole story out of him.

“Maybe we’d better get some ice,” Kelly suggested helpfully.

“I’m alright,” Magnum insisted.

She shot him a dark look. “Lily, sweetheart,” she said, “why don’t you take your father over to that bench and sit down. I’ll go see if I can find some ice.”

Sighing, Magnum allowed Lily to take his hand and lead him toward the bench. He sank down and put his head in his hands. Cleo, he thought. This had been about Cleo? He was too tired and sore to think beyond that. When Kelly brought the ice, he didn’t bother to argue --- just took the small plastic bag and held it gingerly against the back of his head.

Kelly looked surprised. “I got it for your face, Thomas,” she said. “What have you got back there?” Ignoring his attempt to recoil, she moved the ice pack and looked at the back of his head. A lump was already growing. She looked at him in amazement. “Why does this happen to you so often?” she asked only half joking.

“Because I keep getting mixed up with the wrong women,” he retorted sharply.

Magnum still had a few cuts and bruises on his face when he went to see Cleo the next day. She gasped when she saw him, and immediately began trying to take care of him. Ignoring his protestations, she shepherded him toward the sofa and said something about getting an icepack.

“Cleo!” he practically hollered. “I’m fine! Would you just . . . sit down!” Why did women always feel the need to play nursemaid, he wondered.

Her feelings somewhat hurt, Cleo perched obediently on the edge of the nearest chair. She had made few changes to her appearance since marrying Rick. Her frosted hair still formed an overly coifed frame around her heavily made-up face, and her wardrobe tended to be flashy. Rick loved to buy her jewelry, and she always wore fabulous rings on each of her perfectly manicured fingers, and a variety of gold bracelets and necklaces all at once. She had always been an attractive woman, Magnum thought. He wished she knew how much more attractive she would be if she let a little more of herself show through all the glamour.

“Cleo,” he said in a tone designed to smooth her feathers, “I need you to tell me everything you can about Morton Watkins.”

“Did he do this?” she asked pointing at his bruised face.

“I think he might be responsible for it, yes.”

“Well, I think I’ve told you everything that might be important.” She wrung her hands and looked at him, clearly eager to please him by being helpful.

“What about the stuff you think isn’t important? Tell me about that.”

She opened her mouth, then shook her head as though at a loss.

“Start at the beginning, Cleo,” he suggested, “and tell me every detail you can remember. Start with the first time he visited you, and just tell me everything you can think of.”

“Well,” she said, obviously thinking hard, “he was originally referred to me by another customer. A real nice guy who was moving to the mainland.” She laughed. “I think he was afraid I wouldn’t have any business after he left.”

“Okay. So, what happened when he came to see you that first time.”

“We just had sex the first time. Straight sex. The first few times he came to see me, that’s what we did.”

“Nothing out of the ordinary happened?”

She shook her head.

“Okay, then what?”

“Well, Arthur --- that’s what he told me his name was --- Arthur was always real polite about everything. I sort of got the feeling that there was something he wanted, but he didn’t know how to ask. Well, I got him to talking one time, and he finally loosened up and started telling me some things he’d like.”

“Like watching you with another woman . . ..”

“Yeah, like that.”

“What else did he want to do?”

“Oh, nothing so unusual. You know, he wanted a lot of different positions and stuff. Nothing he shouldn’t have been able to ask his wife for, I don’t think.”

Magnum looked like that seemed reasonable enough. When, he wondered, had he developed the ability to be so blasé about conversations like this. “Did he ever talk about anything to do with his work or his family? Anything outside of what was going on between the two of you?”

“He didn’t talk about it any. But, after awhile he asked if he could sometimes bring friends along.”

“Friends?”

“Yeah. He offered to pay extra, of course.”

“What sort of friends?” He tried to hide his annoyance that it had not occurred to her earlier that this might be significant.

“Well, most times, they were guys I was pretty sure he didn’t know well enough to call them friends. These guys were body-builder types. You know what I mean. They looked like they spent all their time at the beach lifting weights. Anyway, he liked to watch them have sex with me.”

Magnum was finding it more difficult to remain implacable. “What else,” he asked.

“A couple of times, the guys were more like Arthur. I got the feeling they were clients or business associates or something. Most of them seemed to be from out of town.”

“Do you remember any of their names?”

She shook her head. “He never gave me names, just referred to them as ‘friends’.”

“There were only a couple like that?”

“Yes. One, I never saw again. The other one came around on his own a few times.”

Magnum stared at her. “Is this guy on the list you gave me?”

“No. I sort of forgot about him, and I don’t have any idea what his name was. Besides, he didn’t exactly play in the same league as Arthur, if you know what I mean. He talked like he had money, but I never really felt like it was true. And, I haven’t seen his face in the news lately --- or ever, for that matter.”

“What happened when he came around?”

“Well, he was one of those real stony, serious types. I took to calling him ‘Stony’ since I didn’t know his name. Everything was always so dramatic. He liked to take pictures of me, which I didn’t mind so much, and he liked to video tape me having sex with another guy. He would be constantly telling us what to do like he was directing a movie. It was pretty annoying.”

“Why did he stop coming to see you?” Magnum asked. Something between the lines of what Cleo was telling him was making his spine prickle.

“Well, the last time he came to see me, he brought along this really big guy who was supposed to act like he was raping me.” She rolled her eyes. “Real original, huh. Anyway, things started getting rough. I don’t go for that, so I called in Wade.”

“Wade was the guy you worked for?”

She smiled at his effort to avoid using the word “pimp.” “Yeah. I’d told him that this guy made me nervous, so he sort of hung around out in the hall whenever I was with Stony. Wade came in, and had a couple of enforcers with him. The guy left without any trouble.”

“And you never saw Stony again?”

“Just one time. He caught up with me and was really laying on the apology. He even invited me to go away with him for a while. He said he had a big house somewhere and his wife was away and he wanted me to come stay with him for a week or so. Then, he was supposedly going to put me up in a cushy apartment. Said he wanted me to be his mistress. Even offered to buy me from Wade.”

“But, you didn’t take him up on it?”

“No way!” She drew herself up indignantly. “First of all, the guy made me nervous, like I told you. Second, I never went off with anyone. Girls who went off with customers sometimes didn’t come back, you know?”

He nodded. Yes, he thought, unfortunately I do know. “Why did this guy make you more nervous than, say, Wat-- . . ., uh, Arthur.”

“I’m not sure.” She wrinkled her face thoughtfully. “Partly there was just something different about him. At least, I think there was. Maybe it was just that we girls were all a little on edge about that time.”

“Why were the girls on edge?”

“Because several girls went missing around that time.”

“Went missing?”

“Yeah, you know --- disappeared. Everyone thought it was because some of our . . . agents were fighting over territory. We figured they were taking out each other’s girls.”

“Did anyone contact the police when any of the girls disappeared?”

“Yeah, but you can imagine how much good it did. You know how it is. The police have too much on their hands to worry about some hooker who has disappeared. I think their motto was ‘no body, no problem.’ And, there were never any bodies.”

“Is it possible the girls just took off? Moved to the mainland, or something?”

“Not likely,” Cleo said. “Besides, I knew the last one who disappeared. If she were planning to go anywhere, she would have told me. Her roommate and I really made a stink with the police trying to get them to look into it, but we didn’t get much response.”

“Do you think Wade would remember anything about that time?”

“Wade’s long gone, sugar. He lost an argument with a guy with a knife several years ago. All his girls split.”

“Well, can you think of anyone who might remember something?”

She searched her memory. “Maybe Sawhorse.”

“Sawhorse?”

“Yeah. He’s retired now, but he used to run some games in a back room at Hearts. I know he’ll still be around somewhere, because nobody messed with Sawhorse.”

“But, you don’t know where I’d find him?”

She shook her head and looked apologetic.

Nothing about Buck Green’s office had changed in the ten or so years he’d held the Pearl NIA command. While Green finished a phone conversation, Magnum stood before his desk scanning the Marine Colonel’s utilitarian surroundings and recalling the dozens of times he had been in that office, looking at those same surroundings. He could not recall a single time that the experience had been pleasant. A good part of it was his own fault, he knew. His tendency to constantly try to manipulate the system was wholly contrary to Green’s by-the-book way of doing things, and he had never made much of an effort to employ any diplomacy with Green. On the other hand, Green was no diplomat himself. Maggie Pool, and Mac before her, had lasted longer than anyone who served under Green, and that was only because they both had reasons to want to stay that transcended Green’s personality. Everyone else stayed only until they could get transferred somewhere else.  Sometimes, Magnum thought Green liked it that way. It kept him from getting too close to any of his subordinates.

Green slammed down the phone and looked up at Magnum. “That was our operative in Japan,” he said. “He managed to get on the boat two nights ago, and didn’t find a thing.”

“Langley identified two of the men in those photos as Chinese agents,” Magnum interrupted.

“Would you let me finish, Commander? Yes, you’re right. Two of the men are Chinese agents, but we have no idea what they’re doing in Japan. And, just to add to the mystery, the man I just spoke with tells me that when they left the boat, they took a lot of crates with them. It took them a couple of hours just to unload everything. When he got on the boat the other night, it was stripped clean as a whistle. No clue as to what they’re up to. Then, when they returned to the boat this morning, they brought all those crates back with them.”

Magnum frowned and began to pace. “So, whatever equipment they’re using, they took it with them when they got off the boat. If they’ve been hauling that much stuff off every time they dock, it’s got to be something they don’t want to take any chance of someone finding.”

“Looks that way.” Green sighed and got to his feet. It was paining him that Magnum had stumbled onto something. “We’re not the only people who are interested in that boat, now,” he said irritably. “I’ve got to put together a mission to find out what’s going on.”

“You’re not going to find anything while the boat is docked. You’re going to have to move on it while it’s at sea.”

“I realize that, Magnum. I’m going to send a SEAL team in to have a look. I figure they can board her and look around. If there’s nothing important on board, they can get off without anyone knowing they were there.”

“And if there is something important? Colonel, a team of SEALs would be a good idea if you knew what they were looking for, but you don’t. You need to send someone who has more pieces of the puzzle.”

“And I suppose you’re volunteering?”

“Yes,” Magnum said without thinking.

“Magnum,” Green laughed. “You’re job is to interpret and evaluate information. It’s someone else’s job to go in and get their feet wet. Do your job, and let them do theirs.”

“There’s still the question of what the unidentified man . . . the one that appears to be from the Middle East . . . we still don’t know what he’s doing there,” he said evenly. “We can’t expect a team of SEALs to go in and do an effective job if we’re not even sure what all we want them to do.”

Green narrowed his eyes at him. “It’s going to mean a night drop in open ocean far enough from the boat that they won’t detect the chopper doing the drop. And, depending on what happens while you’re on board, and assuming you make if off the boat, the extraction is going to be even more difficult.”

“I realize that, Colonel. I’ve been through worse.”

“When you were younger.”

Magnum wrinkled his face in annoyance. “I can handle it, Colonel.”

“I just don’t want you to get anyone on the team hurt or killed.”

“I’ll be fine,” Magnum insisted. It infuriated him that Green thought he might even consider doing anything that would jeopardize a teammate. In truth, he would have preferred to go in alone. The way he saw it, one man was a lot less likely to get caught than five men. He knew Green would never agree to that, though.

“Alright,” Green said. “I figured you’d want to go.” He pulled a large brown envelope out of his desk drawer. “Here’re your orders.” He handed Magnum the envelope.

Wordlessly, Magnum looked at the envelope. He wondered whether Green was sending him on the mission because he believed it was the best guarantee that they’d get good information, or because he hoped Magnum wouldn’t make it back.

 “It’ll take that boat a couple of days to get out to its destination,” Green told him. “There’s already a carrier group in that vicinity. You’ll hook up with your team day after tomorrow for the hop out to the Warren. You’ll deploy from there. I don’t have to remind you, Magnum --- you were part of enough SEAL teams to know that an outsider isn’t going to be very welcome.”

Magnum nodded. He knew all too well that the SEAL trident on his uniform was only going to buy him so much acceptance. Beyond that, he was going to be an unwelcome fifth wheel on an otherwise well-oiled machine.

Magnum was home early that day, so it didn’t surprise him that Lily was not around. He wandered into the kitchen knowing that Higgins was generally there at this time of day cutting up steak for the Lads. The cutting board and partially cubed steak were on the kitchen island, but Higgins was nowhere to be seen. Following the Lads’ intent gaze, he located Higgins in the pantry poking around in some cases of champagne that had just been delivered.

“What’s going on?” Magnum asked peering into the pantry.

“Magnum!” Higgins cried as he whirled around. “Do you have to sneak about so? You gave me a start!”

“I wasn’t sneaking, Higgins,” Magnum said. “But it looked like you were.” He moved past Higgins and slid the lid off the case of champagne he had been inspecting. “You checking to be sure Kelly ordered the right champagne for the gala?”

“Of course not,” Higgins snapped. He moved back to the island and picked up the meat cleaver. “There is no need for me to check on Miss Masters’ arrangements. She has flawless taste.” The cleaver came down with a bang on the cutting board, severing a slice of meat.

Magnum laughed his throaty, high-pitched laugh and pulled a bottle of champagne out of the case. Reading the label, he arched his eyebrows and nodded in agreement with Higgins. Kelly did have flawless taste. “Where’s Lily?” he asked. He moved back into the kitchen and leaned on a counter to watch Higgins relieve some of his frustration on the raw steaks.

“She’s out riding,” Higgins said. “Miss Masters took her.” The cleaver came down hard again, making the Lads flinch. “They left awhile ago, so I expect them back any moment." He made one last cut, then divided the meat between two plates and set it on the floor in front of Zeus and Apollo. “Enjoy, Lads,” he said flatly.

Shaking his head, Magnum watched the dogs devour the meat. The steaks were better than he could generally afford to purchase for himself, and Higgins fed the dogs this way every day.

Higgins was standing at the sink washing his hands. “The ladies appear to be returning just now,” he said with a nod toward the window over the sink.

Magnum decided not to wait for them to come inside. With a wave to Higgins, he was out the door and headed toward the stables.

“Look, Papa!” Lily cried as he got within sight. “I can ride by myself now!”

“I see,” Magnum called back. Kelly had chosen a small, extremely docile horse for Lily and allowed her to ride by herself when they were in the paddock or on easy trails. Lily was enormously proud and had been eager for him to seen her ride by herself. “You look great!” He could have yelled the same thing to Kelly, he decided as his eyes stole over to watch her elegant form ride into the stable behind Lily.

He followed them into the stable and began to help Lily unsaddle and wipe down her horse. “The champagne for the gala arrived,” he told Kelly for no other reason than to try to start a conversation.

“Good,” she said. “The supplier was afraid they wouldn’t be able to get what I wanted in time.” She looked over her horse’s back toward him. “Are you coming to the gala?”

“I think so,” he said, remembering that he had not yet called Linda. He helped Lily up onto a stool so she could brush the horse better. “By the way,” he said to Kelly. “I think Higgins is feeling a little . . . unneeded.”

“Unneeded?” She stopped wiping the horse’s damp coat and looked at him. “What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s just that he’s used to managing everything and since you’re doing all the planning for the gala, I think he feels a little unneeded, that’s all.” He shrugged.

“That’s absurd! I couldn’t possible manage around here without him. The only reason I am trying to plan the gala myself is that I wanted him to be able to enjoy it strictly as a guest this time. I didn’t want him to have to do any of the work.”

“I know that. But, you have to understand Higgins. He’d rather be overloaded with work and feel useful than take a moment’s break and feel that things can run without him.”

Kelly laughed. “I had noticed that he seemed a bit sulky lately. I had no idea it was because of that.” She started brushing down her horse. “Okay. I’ll take care of it. Thanks for telling me.”

Dodd, the man Kelly had hired to look after the horses and maintain the stable moved in to take over the job of grooming Lily’s horse. Her little hands and short legs threatened to make it a weeklong project otherwise. Reluctantly, she handed over the brushes, and let Magnum carry her piggyback around to the adjacent stall.

“If you’d like, I can finish yours up, too, Miss Masters,” Dodd called over to her.

Kelly pondered the amount of work still to be done, then looked at Thomas and Lily. “Yes, if you don’t mind,” she said.

The three of them started toward the house. “You won’t tell Higgins what I told you, will you?” Magnum asked. With an exaggerated groan, he put Lily down.

“Of course not,” she assured him. She watched Lily run along ahead of them. “That child has an absolutely bottomless reservoir of energy,” she sighed.

Magnum laughed. “I’ve noticed that, too,” he agreed. Then, he rethought what she had said. “Don’t let her get in your way or take up too much of your time, Kelly,” he insisted. “I never intended for you and Higgins to have to look after her so much. Let Nola take care of her.”

“Don’t be silly, Thomas. Higgins and I enjoy spending time with her. I can’t tell you how much we enjoy having her here. I hope you’re not still planning to move on base.”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “She’s pretty happy here.”

“Good,” Kelly said as though he had made some sort of final commitment. “That brings up something I’ve wanted to talk to you about.”

Magnum suspected he had just walked into a trap.

“What?” he asked cautiously.

Kelly laughed. “Don’t get your guard up, Thomas. It isn’t going to cost you anything but a few months living in the main house.”

Magnum stopped and looked at her. “Live in the main house for a few months?”

“Yes. You see, I want to have some remodeling done on the guesthouse, and you and Lily can’t possible live there while it’s under construction. But, I’ve figured out how . . .”

“Wait,” he raised his hands and cut her off. “Wait just a minute. What do you mean you want to remodel the guesthouse? It’s fine just like it is.”

“Thomas,” she said with a look that implied amazement that her line of thinking