O'ahu Lonesome Tonight? (Islands of Aloha Mystery Series #5) (9 page)

“Great. It’s
huge, though. I’ll probably need a doggie bag.”

We sat in
silence for a minute or two.

“You want to
talk about it?” I said.

“Not
especially.”

“Well, let’s
talk about
something
. How about we discuss what we’re going to do
tomorrow?”

“If this rain
keeps up, it narrows our options.”

“Yeah,” I said.
“I hate to think we’ll be reduced to going to the movies or shopping, but that
may be the best we can do.”

We both looked
outside. The rain was still coming down hard.

“I thought you
said the Channel Five weatherman predicted perfect weather,” said Jeff.

“He did. They
all did. I don’t know where this came from.”

“I guess your friend,
Ono, was right in not heading out today,” he said. “You thought he was wrong
but he wasn’t.”

“Are you still
mad about having to come get me at the
Moana
?”

“No, I’m just
pointing out the obvious,” he said. “You think you’re always right, but you’re
not. And whether you’ll admit it or not, you’re not always a hundred percent in
control.”

I shot him a
little
stink
eye
but didn’t argue. After
a few beats of both of us staring at our plates, I said, “You should probably
ask the waitress for a box.”

“I’m
gonna
pass on that,” he said. “My girlfriend’s a nurse. She
told me I should only eat red meat once a week.”

“Your girlfriend?
We’ve been together three days and you’re
just now getting around to mentioning her?”

“It’s nothing
serious.”

I grabbed his
arm.

“No, really,”
he said. “It’s more of a ‘friends with benefits’ thing.”

“I don’t
believe you.”

“Well, let me
put it this way. If Melissa and I ever need a wedding planner I’ll give you a
call. But don’t sit by the phone. We’re talking decades, if ever.”

We paid our
check and made our way back to the penthouse. When we got inside, Steve was
stretched out on the sofa.

“How’d you get
in here?” I said.

“Oh, ye of
little faith,” said Jeff. “I left a key for him at the front desk when I went
to rescue you from your ‘tea date’.”

“How’d your
interview go?”

“It went great.
In fact, they made me a job offer right on the spot.”

“A good one?”
said Jeff.

“A
fabulous
one.”
Steve looked at me and winked.

“Just how ‘fabulous’ is ‘fabulous’?”
I said.

“Fabulous
enough to live quite comfortably in a downtown high rise with an ocean view.”

“Huh,” said
Jeff. “That must be a pretty good offer.”

I stared at
Steve. “Are you telling me I need to look for a new roommate?”

“I’m not
committing to anything. But I’ve got to give it some thought. In fact, if it’s
okay with you two I think I’ll stick around until Wednesday. I’d like to check
out some apartments. Maybe look up some people the
Go Hawaii
people
suggested I talk to.”

“It’s okay with
me if you stay here if it’s okay with
Pali
,” said
Jeff.

I nodded. I
felt as if I’d been dumped by a boyfriend who wanted to ‘still be friends.’ But
that was irrational.
Right?

***

The next
morning was September 11th. Every American knows the date and what happened on that
day. But in Hawaii it was already an infamous day nine years before 2001. On
September 11, 1992, Hurricane
Iniki
slammed into
Kaua'i’s
south shore wreaking havoc of biblical
proportions. Trees were completely stripped of leaves and the storm surge sucked
tons of sand from the beaches, making old maps of the area obsolete. The 145
mile-an-hour winds caused almost two billion dollars in damage. For days,
people on Kaua'i were left glassy-eyed and speechless with shock.  

Originally the
storm was headed for
O’ahu
but at the last minute it
veered north.
Kaua'i’s
loss was
O’ahu’s
gain as the amount of damage a big storm like that would’ve caused in a city
the size of Honolulu is beyond comprehension.

So it seemed
almost fitting that on this September 11 it was still raining. The sky was
thick with clouds and raindrops trailed down the window panes like tears.

We sat at the
table hunched over our Hilo Hattie coffee cups like old men at a country store.
Finally Jeff spoke. “You decide yet if you’re going to take the job?”

“Still not
sure,” said Steve. “I’m weighing the pros and cons.” I felt him look over at me
but I didn’t look up. “I mean, professionally, this is where I should be. But
personally, I love my life on Maui. It would be hard to leave it for what’s
over here.”

“You mean
horrendous traffic and astronomical rents and a crime rate that’s pretty much
the main topic of every newscast?” I said. I thought I was simply pointing out
the obvious but both guys glared at me so I figured maybe it’d come out more
snarky than I intended.

“Yeah.”
Steve didn’t sound like he wanted to discuss it.
Which was a good thing, since I was about a breath away from
throwing a full-blown guilt trip at him.

I got up and
made a pile of toast. As we chomped on sweet bread toast with guava jelly,
Steve perked up. “Say, are you guys planning to use your car today?”

“I don’t know,”
I said. “Why?”

“I was hoping
to drive up to the North Shore. Maybe check out the surf. The news is saying
this storm’s brought in some killer waves.”

“Operative word
there is ‘killer’,” said Jeff. “You’re not planning on surfing, are you?”

“Not sure. I’ll
have to decide when I get there. But I’d love to see ‘
em
.
Word is all the surfing greats will be out there.”

“Well, be
careful,” I said in my ‘mom’ voice. “You know the story of Eddie
Aikau
?”

“Is he the guy
on the ‘Eddie Would Go’ signs?”

“Yeah, that’s
him. He was a terrific surfer and a strong swimmer. In fact, he was one of the
first lifeguards up on the North Shore where the waves can get real hairy. He
got picked for the second
Hokule’a
expedition—the
Tahiti to Hawaii trip in a raft like the ancient Polynesians used to get to
Hawaii. Anyhow, the raft capsized south of Moloka’i and they were stranded.
Eddie offered to swim to Lana’i to get help. It was twelve miles away. The
channel between Moloka’i and Lana’i is one of the most treacherous straits in
the islands. He never made it. And they never found his body.”

“Did you tell
me that to scare me out of surfing today?” Steve said.

“No, I told you
so you’d realize even the toughest guy out there can get in over his head.”

“Got it.”

Steve left soon
after and Jeff and I headed out to catch a bus to ‘
Iolani
Palace. Neither of us had been there since we’d toured it as school kids. In
the past decade the palace had been given a major facelift and we wanted to see
the changes. We got off at King Street and bought tickets for the tour.

“You know,
coming here is as much an act of remembering as going to Pearl Harbor,” I said.
“The overthrow of the legitimate government of the Kingdom of Hawaii is also a
part of our Hawaiian heritage we should never forget.”

“Yeah, but in
this case, our ancestors were on the wrong side of things,” said Jeff.

“Still, it’s
our duty to pay our respects.”

We went on the
tour and were amazed at the spectacular rebirth of the palace. The work
included restoring the original colors as well as replacing much of the antique
furniture and accessories from the time of King
Kalakaua
.
The authentic furniture had been painstakingly tracked down.  Many palace
furnishings were sold following the overthrow and after a hundred years pieces
had been scattered far and wide. In some cases, when the ‘
Iolani
Palace restoration team contacted the owners and explained where the item had
originated, the owners graciously donated a valuable family heirloom to the
restoration. In other cases, the owners balked and only relented after
receiving payment of the current value—which in most cases was a lot of money
due to the historical significance of the piece.

When we got
back on the bus we were in much the same somber frame of mind as when we’d
returned from Pearl Harbor.

“Let me see if
I’ve got this straight,” said Jeff. “The Queen abdicated to avoid a possible
bloody battle which she knew her loyal subjects would lose.”

“That’s right.
She only gave in to save lives.”

“But the
plantation owners and sons of the missionaries lied to the U.S. Government
about what was going on over here.”

“Yeah, and
those lies were the only reason Washington sided with the overthrow. By the
time the truth came out it was too late,” I said.

“Or they didn’t
care.”

“Hard to know.”

When we got
back to the penthouse it was nearly two o’clock but Steve still wasn’t back. I
called his cell and got bounced to voice mail.

“That’s odd,” I
said. “It’s still raining hard. How much fun can it be to surf in this lousy
weather?”

“I guess wet is
wet,” said Jeff.

“Yeah, but he
never stays out on the water this long at home. I’m getting worried.”

We went
downstairs and grabbed a quick plate lunch but I didn’t eat much. The rain, the
sad history of ‘
Iolani
Palace,
and worrying about Steve had put a dent in my appetite.

“I think I’ll
just hang out and read my book,” I said when we got back upstairs. “Feel free
to go out if you want.”

“No, I’m just
gonna
check my email,” Jeff said. “I told myself I wouldn’t
check it while I’m on vacation, but I’m finding it’s more stressful worrying
about it.” 

“And you can
sneak a peek at Jack’s ‘doggie cam’ while you’re at it.”

Jeff laughed.
“With him I’d rather not know.”

We went to our
respective bedrooms. When I looked up a few minutes later, the only sound in
the penthouse was the low whoosh of the A/C fan. But you know that old saying,
the
calm before the storm
?  

That afternoon,
things felt just too darn calm.

CHAPTER 12

My phone rang
and I snatched it up. Was it Steve at last? No, my caller ID showed Farrah.

“Hey
Pali
,” she said. “Guess what? We’re still here.” She
giggled and for a moment I was at a loss as to what to say.

I finally said,
“You mean you’re still in Honolulu?”

“Yeah.
Ono says we can’t go anywhere until this storm
clears, but the water’s getting bad here in
Ala
Wai
Harbor. We’re
gonna
have to
leave the boat and stay at his friend’s place.”

“
Tomika’s
?”

“Yeah, her place.”

I’d stayed at
Tomika
Fujioka’s lavish high rise condo when I first met
Ono. It’s at least ten floors higher than the Waikiki penthouse I was in and
the exterior walls of the condo are floor-to-ceiling glass. The twinkling
lights at night offer a postcard view of the Honolulu skyline.

“Don’t freak
out when you get there,” I said. “It’s kind of high up.”

“I won’t.” She
giggled again. “Ono’s promised to stay by my side the whole time.”

“You haven’t heard
from Steve, have you?”

“No. But I hope
he checked out of the Royal Hawaiian yesterday. He promised me he’d handle it.”

“He did. He’s
staying here with us. But he went surfing this morning and he isn’t back yet.”

“He went
surfing?
Total bummer.
With this storm there’s
gonna
be some bad ass waves out there.”

“Yeah,” I said.
“That’s why I’m worried.”

“Oh,
gotta
run. Ono sends his
aloha
. I just wanted to
call and let you know we’re okay.”

I hung up
feeling even more anxious.
Where are you, Steve?

A half-hour
later my phone rang again.

“
Pali
?
It’s Stu. Say, have you got
plans for dinner?”

“Uh, I don’t
think so.”

“Natalie would
like to have you out to the house. Jeff can come too, if he wants.”

I already knew
Jeff’s answer, but decided I wouldn’t say anything right away. I’d take the
time to come up with a plausible excuse.

“That sounds
nice. What time?”

“Say, cocktails
at six, dinner at seven? I have to be at work early tomorrow so we won’t make
it a late evening.”

“Okay. Can you
give me directions?”

“You got a GPS?
I’ll give you the address.”

“No, we didn’t
get one.” I thought about explaining my irrational need to not be mistaken for
a tourist,
then
figured he probably didn’t care.

 “Funny. I
thought all decent rental cars came with ‘
em
nowadays.”

“Just give me
the address, Stuart. I can figure it out.”

He gave me the
address. Nothing about it sounded familiar.

“It’s way out
beyond Diamond Head. You know the
Kahala
Resort by
the
Waialae
Country Club? We’re just a few blocks shy
of that.”

“
Mahalo
.
I’ll find it. See
you at six.”

***

An hour later I
plugged in my phone to recharge it. By then I’d become nearly frantic about
Steve. It was after five o’clock and still no word.

I turned on the
TV. There was a ‘breaking news’ banner running across the bottom of the screen.
It said due to the storm the sewer system had failed in Waikiki and thousands
of gallons of untreated sewage had been diverted into the
Ala
Wai
Canal. It warned boaters and swimmers to stay out
of the canal until further notice.