I parked myself at the dining table where Kari gestured for me to sit, pulled out my little notepad, and then put on my best newspaperman composure. Instead of sitting at the table, she padded across the room to the CD player, where she knelt while she pushed a button. The player stopped; she pushed another, and the power went off. A tattoo in the small of her back stared at me from immediately below the waistline. Suddenly, the room felt like an oven.
When she stood, she went to the kitchen counter, where she picked up a glass containing a green liquid. Her movements were fluid, just like the ocean on a calm sultry day. She said, “I call it a Seaweed Smoothie. Lots of antioxidants, vitamins and fiber. You want to try some?”
Seaweed? It looked more like a witch’s concoction than a smoothie. “I’ll pass,” I said, glad I hadn’t been caught peeping. “Thanks anyway.”
She laughed. “Morah turned her nose up at it, too. But you get kelp in tons of products—from ice cream to salad dressing.”
With her lithe build and tanned complexion, Kari made a helluva Seaweed Smoothie model. Slim, flat stomach, well-toned arms—that small tattoo I was dying to see again. I had to stop wanting to ogle her before she threw me out for misbehaving. Get your mind off the damn tattoo, I thought.
“I can’t eat a lot of those,” I said. “Salad dressings. Most contain something called gluten.”
She scrunched up her face. “You’re a celiac?”
I blinked in surprise. “You know about it? Wow, most people have no clue about how much wheat they’re getting, let alone what it can do to them. So what can you tell me about Morah?”
She pushed back that lock of hair again while she stared absently into her glass. “I work in a health store. That’s how Morah and I became friends. She was thinking about getting away from soy.”
I snorted. “I have enough trouble reading labels for gluten. I don’t need to be looking for more problems, at least, not yet.”
“Soy’s everywhere. Read the labels.”
“I already do that.”
Kari ‘s jaw tightened, her cheeks reddened. “It’s like, totally pervasive.”
“So that’s how you met? She came into the store?”
“Morah was lost—mentally. Physically, she was still okay. She did lots of drugs, ran with the tough crowd. Basically, her boyfriend was a total screw-up. He—never mind. Anyway, she was trying to become more health-conscious. But, I have to say, even at the end, she was like, really needing help.”
Kari closed her eyes, raised the glass, then took a quick swallow. Her facial muscles tightened up. She set the glass on the counter and shook her head.
I chuckled. “That good, huh?”
“Tastes awful, but it’s really good for you. Sure you don’t want some?”
“Not even if you paid me.”
She shrugged, then downed what remained in the glass.
My eyes started to roam. Focus, McKenna. “Back to Morah. So why was she screwed up?”
Kari rinsed her glass, then came to the table and sat opposite me. “Morah had always been what you’d call a free spirit.”
“You’re the one the paper quoted.”
She flushed. “I told them not to use my name, but I guess they liked the phrase. Anywho, she hated confinement, so the jail time, like, really messed with her head. For a long time, she wouldn’t even date because she didn’t trust anyone. She said she didn’t want to be tied down. Then, she, like, went totally in the opposite direction. She slept with almost every guy, and a few of the women, she met.”
“She was a lesbian . . . no, bisexual?”
Kari rolled her eyes. “I dunno what she was. It was like there was a revolving door in her apartment.” She moaned, then gazed off while she probably watched a replay of previous events. “Bad times were all over her.”
“She got past it?”
Kari’s jaw tightened. “Barely. This one guy was all, ‘I love you, I love you.’ He worked in the Red Dirt Shirt store.”
“I saw that on my way here. It’s the store that started the whole natural dye craze. The stuff stained everything after Hurricane Iniki if I remember.”
“Whatever. Are you, like, a walking encyclopedia or something?”
I snickered, the challenge was on. “You live here and don’t know the story? The owners of a T-shirt shop came back to their store after the hurricane. All of the white T-shirts were brown. Really brown. These guys tried to wash out the shirts, but all they could get rid of were the big chunks. Rather than go broke, they started selling the shirts. Instant sensation.”
“For real? I guess that guy wasn’t a liar after all. Have you seen the lava-rock shirts?”
“I splurged and bought one recently.” It had been a present, one that was never delivered. “What guy wasn’t a liar?”
Her brow crinkled. Obviously, she had more than my recent spending habits on her mind.
“What guy?” I asked again.
“Oh, the guy from Red Dirt. That’s the line he used, too. He brought Morah T-shirts and stuff all the time. Finally, she started giving them away. Then he stalked her. She had to call some attorney. It was totally out of hand, she got a restraining order, all that stuff. The guy got thrown in jail a few times, but he kept coming back.”
“Did she ever get rid of him?”
“He just went away.”
“Uh, Kari, stalkers don’t just go away.”
“I know. Totally bizarre, right? They’re, like, over your shoulder forever. I dunno, maybe he left the island. Anyway, after that, there was a new guy who started showing up.” She pointed at me and, with a big smile, said, “Now there’s one scary dude.”
I shook my head. “I don’t understand, why’s that funny?”
Kari covered her face with her hands, then fluffed up her hair. “Kong is like, King Kong. If you met him in a dark alley, you’d totally throw down your wallet and run in the opposite direction as fast as you could.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Why’s that?”
She laughed. “Wow. Like, picture a gorilla.” Kari started counting on her fingers. “He’s got big, frizzy hair. A scraggly beard. Huge scar on his right cheek.” She held up a fourth finger, “He’s built like an armored truck. He looks like the meanest, baddest dude on the island.”
“Yikes.”
She opened both hands like a magician who had completed his trick. “But, he’s sweet as pie. He treated Morah like a queen. The couple of times I met him, he was always respectful and quiet. He runs a computer business. Of all things. The guy totally looks like a professional wrestler.”
“Some people look more like their dogs than their jobs.”
“You’re funny.” She laughed. “I think he’s the CEO or something. He’s definitely not hands on.”
“Is he still around?”
She nodded. “Oh yeah. He was around a lot the past few months. Way more than anyone else, even her sister. Kong’s a sweetie, I’m gonna miss him.”
I blinked back my surprise. “You said her sister. Lu Tawana visited her here?”
“She lives down the road. Not far.”
“I saw Morah’s obituary, Lu was mentioned as a relative, but I didn’t realize she lived here.”
“She works at some clinic. She and Morah used to be all close and friendly until Morah got busted. Then, Lu dumped her. I guess an ex-con didn’t fit into her perfect little world.”
The edge in her voice was the first hint of negativity I’d seen in Kari. Until now, she’d been an angel. The change took me aback. “Do you know how I could reach her?”
Kari shook her head. A twisted, tangly curl dropped down over one eye. This time, she grimaced before pushing it away. “At the funeral. She’ll be there. So will Kong. I never added them to my address book.”
“When was the last time you saw either of them?”
She gazed beyond the fluttering curtains. “A couple of months for Lu. Kong hasn’t been around since Morah died, but he was here until the weekend
before.”
Another change came over Kari in that minute. She bit her lower lip; her cheeks filled with the bright pink of embarrassment. I wondered if she’d talk or clam up like a teenager. “Tell me about that weekend.”
She shook her head. “It’s stupid.” She went to the sink, picked up her glass, and turned on the faucet. Was she stalling? Or trying to decide how much to reveal? She rinsed the glass a couple of times, then filled it. “You want some?”
I nodded. “Sure. Strange how you can dehydrate so quickly in a place surrounded by ocean, yah?”
Kari slammed her glass on the counter; water shot up like a little fountain. I started to rise, but she motioned me back to my seat as she wiped up with a sponge. “I like guys—okay. I’m not into women.”
Whoa. Talk about too much information. Unless—was she coming onto me? My breath caught in my throat. I might see the tattoo up close and personal. I considered how many Viagra I might need. Could you super-size those? Focus, McKenna, focus. I cleared my throat. “You, um, look, um, straight.” Talk about sounding like a moron. Again.
She shook her head. “Just—never mind. I’m being stupid. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
But her face said it wasn’t stupid. I wanted to know more. “Did Morah say something about that weekend to make you—uncomfortable?”
Kari gritted her teeth. “It’s not like I’m totally sure of what she was asking. Maybe it was all perfectly innocent. I’m like, really bad at this kind of stuff, you know? I can read a wave, but keep screwing up my relationships. People baffle me.”
Now we were into relationships? “I wish I could help you out, but I’m a bigger screw up in the relationship department than you’ll ever be.”
“You know just how to make me relax, don’t you?” She brought me a tall glass of water. I briefly considered pouring it over my head, but decided the manager would have my hide or charge Kari a big fee if I soiled the new carpet. My breath quickened at the nearness of her bare arm. The slightest hint of mango and papaya filled my senses. A lotion, perhaps? Or perfume? I needed a detour before I embarrassed myself. Something—anything. I remembered seeing a board propped up against a wall in here. Where was it? “You surf?”
She pointed to the corner behind me, where two boards leaned into the corner. The one in front was a light blue with dark powder blue trim; the one behind, a pale green. She laughed, “Ya think?”
“I’ve never tried it, but I did dream I surfed once.”
The smile was back, once again lighting up her face. “It’s awesome. The waves here can be totally outrageous. We had a big swell last week, I rode a ten footer. Oh—my—God. Talk about a totally awesome experience. I was so stoked for days. Until Morah got killed.”
“Ten foot?” I half-laughed in amazement.
“Don’t laugh, that’s like twenty on the mainland because we measure from the back, not the front like they do.”
“I know. I was impressed. You wouldn’t catch me out there.” I winked. “Do you surf with anyone in particular?”
“A couple of guys I know.”
“Boyfriends?”
She shook her head. “Once. Now they’re only friends. Sort of. I’ve never like, found my one true love, you know? How about you?”
Immediately, the lump in my throat returned. It happened every time. “Yah, once. Kari, you’re not the only one who’s bad at relationships. I got the gold medal for screw ups. That’s why I’m here in the islands.”
“You ran away?”
“Maybe I was lost.”
Kari nodded. “I totally get it. There’s days when I’m so—so . . .”
“Alone?”
“Unsure. I know the kind of guy I want to be with. Then the primal instincts kick in and I’m back to booty calls with losers and old boyfriends. Even Morah, she had it together with Kong, then she screwed it up. What is it with us, anyway? Are we like, doomed to make the same mistakes over and over?”
I took her hand and was shocked when she didn’t recoil. Instead, hers relaxed in mine. I said, “You’re young. Very attractive. You’ll find someone. Much as I hate to say it, you’ll probably have to lay off the booty calls—unless, of course, it’s a really big emergency.”
We both laughed. I held her gaze. “So what did Morah do—say to you?”
“Guys, a one track mind.”
“This is an emergency. A big one.”
Her lighthearted laugh filled the room again. “I can’t get over how easy you are to talk to. Is that from being a news guy all your life?”
“Not even close. I was a snake charmer of sorts.”
“Serious?”
“Bad joke. I was a skip tracer. When you ran away, I found you. With that kind of job, you’re either really good at getting people to give you information or you’re fired. The truth is, I’ve only written the one series for the paper. Before that, I was a grumpy old fart who was trying to get past his mistakes. At least I have a job I like.”
She pushed the hair away from her face and sipped her water. Another swipe at an imaginary curl and she took a deep breath. “Morah said Kong had asked her to marry him. She was totally thrilled—for about two days. Then, she got all concerned about the commitment thing. Would it last forever? Would he dump her when he found out she was pregnant?”
“Wait a minute. Morah was pregnant?”
“You didn’t know? Yeah, she did the home test thing. It came up positive.”
CHAPTER TEN
If you boiled it down to the most basic level, my identity theft investigation had morphed into a search for the killer of a pregnant, identity-stealing junkie. Did that make me a hero or the lowest of the low? I wasn’t sure. The aloha spirit ideal told me this was a good thing; my skip tracer instincts said, not so fast. Had the police discovered that Morah was pregnant? The autopsy would turn it up, but would it mean anything to them if they thought she’d killed herself?
Kari fingered the pendant hanging from the chain around her neck. Even her hands and fingers seemed athletic to me. They were well-proportioned with nicely trimmed nails. I hadn’t touched my water, but had a sudden desire to drain the glass when Kari stared at a point on the floor halfway across the room. The fine lines of her face held a sadness which showed how deeply she’d miss her friend. The reminder of how quickly friendships could be lost seemed to cast loneliness into a room filled with daylight and an airy breeze. Why did this pretty girl have so much trouble with relationships? Why any of us?
“You said Morah had trouble with guys. Was this Kong the father? Could it have been the Red Dirt guy? Or maybe the test was wrong; those things aren’t always reliable.”
As if to ward off a chill, Kari rubbed her hands on her arms. Between the ceiling fan whirring silently overhead and the breeze filtering through the window, the room seemed perfectly comfortable. Unless, of course, I got another look at that tattoo. But, there was something this girl wasn’t telling me.
“I’m not sure. It could have been Kong. Maybe someone else. I think she was starting to sleep around again because she even asked me to go on some spa weekend. When I turned her down, she went with some guy she used to date.”
I stared at her, my mind trying to keep up with the double bombshells. “Morah asked you to go away for the weekend?”
“She said it would be a weekend I’d never forget.” Kari’s face flushed again. This time, she avoided my gaze.
“Why would she do that?” We’d come full circle and since I’m not exactly the world’s greatest authority on women, Kari’s discomfort put us in the same kayak with no paddles. Weren’t we a pair?
“I think it was her old fear of commitment coming back. She wanted to do everything one last time before she tied the knot.” She rolled her eyes. “More like, everyone.”
“Why’d you turn her down?”
That got her attention. Now we were in a staring contest and her reaction made my question seem stupid. “Besides not wanting to ruin the only good friendship
I had?”
“You could have gone as friends, yah?”
“It wasn’t right. She said someone else was paying for it. I couldn’t do that. I mean, I’d want to pay my share. I didn’t have that kind of money.”
So, unlike Morah, Kari was honest. Were their views on drugs different also? “What makes you think Morah hadn’t decided to cook up a batch of meth as part of her wild weekend?”
“I’m telling you, meth wasn’t her thing. It was sex. She only got involved with the drugs before because of her old boyfriend.”
“So Morah was promiscuous and you’re not. That’s not your fault.”
“You don’t get it. She wanted to be with me that weekend. If I hadn’t turned her down, she’d still be alive.” She wiped away a tear at the corner of her eye. “It’s totally my fault she’s dead.”
“You can’t be sure of that.”
She pushed a few stray locks away from her face, then seemed to disconnect from everything around her, including me. Her eyes glazed over with moisture. “That’s the way it looks from here.”
“Are you going to her funeral? Maybe say goodbye?”
She hung her head. “I don’t know yet. It’s gonna be small, only Lu, Kong and a few people from her work. It’s gonna be totally tense.”
“Funerals usually are.” I’d already made up my mind, I was going to attend. Maybe I could get CJ to go with me.
She shook her head. “It’s not that it’s a funeral—” She blew out a frustrated puff of air. “Kong and Lu don’t get along. Morah told me the last time they were in the same room together they nearly killed each other.”
What had I stumbled onto? I’d come here to investigate the theft of my identity, but had uncovered a murder. What other island secrets would I find? A calm fell over me. My mana asserting itself? Telling me I had the power to see this through? Or, was it nothing more than a foolish flash of naiveté?
I glanced around Kari’s apartment, once again the investigator searching for clues. The flowered print on the rattan-framed couch had big bright hibiscus on a dark blue background. The small coffee table in front of the couch was rattan also, though much darker and had a glass top, on which there were several magazines scattered at random. There was one end table and a white torchiere lamp in the corner. A little glass ball with sand and seashells inside sat next to a paperback book on the end table. Kari obviously hadn’t benefited monetarily from her association with Morah.
Kauai Temptations Page 8
