Maui Widow Waltz (Islands of Aloha Mystery Series) (13 page)

CHAPTER 17

I
spent the half-hour ride back to Pa’ia hashing over a long list of ‘what-ifs.’ I’d
pulled into the alley and turned off the engine before I remembered that once
again I’d failed to pick up Lisa Marie’s thousand crane picture. As I sat in my
car mulling over whether I should call the frame shop and apologize or just go
get the darn thing, I was startled by a knock on the window.

“Hey,” said Farrah. “You comin’ or
goin’?”

I rolled down the window. “Good
question.”

“You hear about them finding that
body down at Little Beach?”

“Yeah. I went down to Lisa Marie’s
but I couldn’t bring myself to tell her.”

“C’mon inside. I’ll buy you a pog.”

We went in the back door and I saw
Beatrice, the ancient lady who sometimes filled in for Farrah, at the counter.

“Everything okay Bea?” Farrah sang
out loudly. Beatrice had a hearing problem so conducting business with her was
usually done at about ninety decibels.

“Fine, dear,” Beatrice yelled back.

Farrah traipsed back to the dairy
case and picked up two pint-size cartons of passion-orange-guava juice—pog.

“I’ll be upstairs with Pali,”
boomed Farrah.

“You’re upset with Pali? About
what, dear?”

“No, we’ll be
upstairs
.”

“Fine, love. You two work it out. I
can stay as long as you need me.”

We both waved at her and headed
back outside to the stairs. 

“Okay, so tell me what’s shakin’ at
Olu’olu,” Farrah said as we took seats in our usual spots—she on the
well-broken-in velveteen sofa and me in an orange director’s chair with a
permanent butt sag in the seat. “I suppose they’ve called off the wedding.”

“Not yet. Marv’s waiting for them
to ID the body, and Lisa Marie’s pretty much gone totally
pupule
.”

“She’s gone nuts? I thought you
didn’t tell her. Did someone else?”

“Not that I know of.”

“She doesn’t know? So, why’s she
crazy? She was in anger phase yesterday; I’d have figured she’d be moving into
bargaining phase now, not depression. She’s not doing the grief cycle like
she’s ‘sposed to.” Farrah chewed on a thumbnail. 

 I didn’t know the grief cycle
from a giraffe. And, as far as I could tell, Lisa Marie lived her entire life
in anger phase. “I don’t know whether she’s angry or bargaining or any of that,
but she’s definitely gone around the bend. She chopped off her hair.”

“What?” she said. “Nobody gets a
hair cut the day before their wedding.”

“It’s way beyond a haircut. She’s
completely bald.”

“Wow, did she do it herself?”

Now that she mentioned it, Lisa
Marie’s head was perfectly clean shaven. “It’s cueball smooth. I don’t think
she could have gotten it so flawless on her own. But that’s not the point.
She’s mutilating herself and she’s delusional. She’s even more convinced than
ever that Brad’s going to show up tomorrow.” 

“How could you listen to her talk
like that and not tell her they found his body?”

“She needs professional help.”

“And you’re scared of her.”

“Damn straight I’m scared of her. I
was all alone with her in a dark room. Who knows how she might have taken the
news. She’s already gunning for Kevin. Oh, and on that happy note, she’s
demanding an apology from you.”

“An apology? For what?”

“For getting involved with Kevin.”

“Why should I apologize? He’s
signing the wedding certificate; he’s not her prom date!” By this point she was
yelling so loud probably even Beatrice could hear it.

I got up and sat next to her on the
sofa. “Of course you’re right. But I’d appreciate it if you’d offer an apology
anyway. Just to leave things on a high note.”

“You mean, because if I don’t
you’re worried her dad won’t pay the wedding bills.”

“Guilty as charged. I need you to
do it for me.” I took her hand.

 There was a beat of silence.

“Okay, I’ll do it. But it won’t be
sincere.”

“Sincerity is strictly optional.”

 She squeezed my hand and then
let it go. “Enough about that,” she said. “What’s going on with you and Hatch?”

“Nothing. Maybe I’m not his type.
He’s been kind of distant lately.”

“Maybe his man parts got mashed up
in the accident,” she said.

If she was angling for the last
word on
that
subject, she got it.

 “Well, speaking of lost man
parts,” she went on, “how are Lipton and the babies doing?”

“They’re fine. Lipton seems to be
missing you. Would you like to come up and visit?”

“Sounds good. I take it you’re not
having the rehearsal?”

 “No rehearsal,” I said, “but
the wedding’s still on until there’s a positive ID. Under my contract only Lisa
Marie or Brad can cancel the wedding. You know, for the past week I was really
hoping Brad would stay missing just long enough to do this wedding. But now
that he’s shown up, I’m sort of relieved. I think deep down I was worried this
proxy thing might be against the law.” 

“Well, even with everything that
happened, I’m glad you took the job,” Farrah said. “Because if you hadn’t, I
wouldn’t have met Kevin. And without Kevin we’d be handing over everything to
Tank the day after tomorrow.”

“I hope I don’t have to sell out to
Tank. I’ve still got a ton of bills, and Marv’s playing hard ass about paying
me. Do you think it’s out of line for me to ask Kevin to spot my rent next
month? I’d pay him back as soon as I could.”

“Don’t worry about it. And don’t
bother paying me for Lisa Marie’s flowers. I’ll sell them tomorrow. After all,
it’s Valentine’s Day.”

“
Mahalo
. By the way, how’s
Kevin doing with them finding Brad’s body?”

“Haven’t heard from him yet today.
But I’ll bet he’s got mixed feelings. He loved Brad like a brother, but he said
Brad was giving him fits about the business. I just hope that now that Brad’s
officially gone they won’t expect Kevin to take over the company. He’s really
ready to move on.”

 “I better run,” I said. “Do
you know what time it is?”

We both glanced at the old-fashioned
Big Ben alarm clock on Farrah’s coffee table. It said eight-twenty. It had said
eight-twenty since she’d first put it there.

“Hey, it’s right twice a day,” she
said. “I think it’s around half-past noon. You going home?”

“No, I’ll wait at the shop until
they ID Brad, then I’ll start making calls. I sure dread telling people I’m
cancelling and I won’t be able to pay them until next week. After the news
comes out, give me a half-hour and then I’ll take you up to the house.”

“
Da kine
. See you then.”

My message light was blinking when
I went into to my shop. I didn’t need any more messages from creditors or
vendors wanting to get paid. I ignored the phone and started flipping through
my mail.
Urgent!
or
Immediate action required!
was splashed across
the face of the envelopes, as if I needed any reminders of why I’d gotten
involved with Lisa Marie in the first place. Before I’d thumbed through the
entire stack, the phone rang. Without thinking, I reached across the desk and
picked up the receiver.

“Hey,” said Steve. “Didn’t you get
my message?”

“I just walked in. Everything
okay?”

“You talk to Hatch yet?”

“No, should I?”

“He left you a message. Actually,
he left a bunch of messages.”

I felt a little flutter in my
stomach, but realized he probably just wanted me to pick up some air fresheners
on my way home. The doggie odor was becoming a fourth roommate.

“Do you know what he wanted?”

“Yeah. What do you want first—the
good news or the bad?”

“I don’t care—surprise me.”

“Okay, well, the good news is the body
isn’t Brad Sanders.”

There was a pause. I heard him suck
in a breath as if he was about to jump into cold water. “The bad news it’s
Kevin McGillvary.”

The receiver slipped from my hand
and landed with a clunk on the desk. I grabbed it back up. “Sorry. Did I hear
you right?”

“Yep. Looks like Kevin picked a
really bad time to stand in for his buddy Brad.”

“I’m stunned. Just stunned. I…” I
stopped. I couldn’t think of anything coherent to say, and I felt my throat
closing up.

“Don’t move,” he said. “I’ll be
right there; I’m only three minutes away.”

He banged through my door in two. I
was still at my desk, phone in hand.
If you’d like to make a call, please
hang up and try again…

 “Hey,” he said. He took the
receiver from my hand and hung it up.

 “I can’t believe this,” I
said. I stood and he gave me a hug.

“I know, it’s beyond weird. Hatch
got the news a couple of hours ago when he checked in with his fire dispatch.
The Honolulu ME released the information to Maui Fire first since they found
the body. Professional courtesy, I guess.”

“Kevin was a nice guy,” I said. “Do
they know what happened?”

“No. Cause of death takes more time
than a simple ID. And, get this, he was only wearing underwear. No shirt, no
pants. I’m no detective, but to me ‘drop trou’ means either he was having a
very
good
time or a very
bad
time when he died.”

“How’d they ID him so fast? No
pants also means no wallet or driver’s license.”

“Fingerprints. According to Hatch, DigiSystems
does a lot of high-level government work so the people who work there have
security clearances. His prints popped right up on the federal database.” He
nodded toward my shabby sofa. “That thing got fleas?”

“No.”

“Then let’s sit down. You look like
you’re gonna faint.”

We took opposite ends. I leaned
back and tucked my legs under me. The weather had warmed up considerably but I
was shivering.

“I woke up in a good mood, but so
far this day’s been a bitch,” I said. “First Marv won’t pay up, then Lisa Marie
goes nut-job on me, and now Kevin’s dead.”

“What’s with Lisa Marie?”

I told him about her shaving her
head and her rant about me ruining her wedding.

“Whatever you did to piss her off
will pale next to this. Can you imagine—she taps two guys to be her groom and
now they’re both dead. What’re the chances?”

I gazed out my front window and
recalled Kevin’s enormous black Hummer parked out there. Then I bolted upright.

“Steve,” I said. “I’ve got to tell
Farrah.”

 “No need. It’s all over the
news by now.”

“Oh, no.” I launched from the sofa
and was out the door in five strides.

“Want me to come?”

Steve answered his own question by
following me outside. There was a ‘Closed’ sign on the Gadda-da-Vida. I peeked
inside. The lights were off and the door knob wouldn’t turn.

I raced to the back stairs. Steve
followed close behind. Without bothering to knock, I pushed Farrah’s apartment
door open. Muffled sobs were coming from somewhere in back. We crossed the
cluttered living room and found her in her bedroom, face down on her sagging
futon.

 “Leave me alone,” she
sniffed.

“Sorry, sister,” I said. “We’re
staying.”

Farrah twisted around, probably to
check out why I’d said
we
. When she saw Steve, she leapt off the futon
and threw her arms around him, nearly knocking him over. Her stricken face cast
the enormity of Kevin’s shocking death in a whole new light. My stomach
clenched.

Steve began patting Farrah’s back
as if he were burping a baby. He turned to me, shrugging his shoulders in
bewilderment.

“Did you hear?” Farrah sobbed.
“They found him on Little Beach.” Her body twitched with a series of shuddering
hiccups.

“I know,” Steve said. “It really
sucks.”

Farrah gulped a deep breath and
reached over and grabbed my hand. “Could I come stay at your place for a few
days? I hate to ask, ‘cuz I know how you like your privacy, but—”

 “Stop. You’re
ohana.
Family
doesn’t get any privacy.” That didn’t come out right, but she got the point.

Truthfully, I had no idea where I’d
put her. If three was a crowd, then four people and five dogs amounted to
something approximating a mob—but turning her away was unthinkable.

“I hate being away from Sir Lipton.
He makes me feel safe.”

“I’m sure he does.” I’d given up on
the he/she thing. 

“What about the store?” Steve said.
“Someone needs to keep the Vida open.”

“The store’s closed,” Farrah said.
 

 “For the rest of the day?”

“For as long as I’m in mourning.”

Steve’s face slackened in
disbelief. The Gadda-da-Vida Grocery was a lifeline for the Pa’ia community. It
stayed resolutely open every day of the year, even on Farrah’s high holy
days—Farrah Fawcett’s birth and death days, her parents’ anniversary, and
Halloween.

She snuffled her nose and stared
him down, eyes defiant. “If I feel like it later, I’ll ask Bea if she wants to
come in.”

“Okay, okay,” he said. “It’s your
store.”

“Do you want to go to Hali’imaile
now?” I said to Farrah. “I’ve got to run down to Olu’olu, but I could drop you
off on the way.”

“No, I need to pack some clothes
and pull together some groceries. Can you give me an hour?”

“Take all the time you need.” I
hugged her tight and agreed to pick her up later.

Steve and I walked to my shop
without saying a word.

 “Okay, you want to clue me in
on what’s going on?” he said once we were inside. “Farrah probably met
McGillvary a time or two since she was working the wedding. But I’m having a
heck of a time figuring out why she’s so totally freaked out about him
drowning.”

“You’ve got to keep this to
yourself.” I said. I waited for a nod of agreement since Steve’s kind of a
go-to guy for gossip. “Farrah and Kevin were a couple.”