Kauai Temptations

by Terry Ambrose

  Des whimpered, her breaths short and ragged. Blood welled from her lower lip. She hissed, “You coward.”

  “I only said I couldn’t kill you.” He glanced at me. “Get the cops.”

  She sobbed uncontrollably as her head fell back onto the floor. Kong spun the pistol around in his hand. He held it out for me to take, butt first. I seized it, knowing I had a new problem—not getting shot by some trigger-happy rookie outside.

  At the front door, I opened it a crack. “Najar, this is McKenna.” I inched the door open.

  “Come on out.”

  “I’ve got Kong’s gun in my right hand. I’m turning it over to you.” For the second time that day, I raised my hands to be safe. About halfway through the door, a voice from my left scared the crap out of me. “Put it down. Slowly.”

  I nodded. There were at least six cops pointing weapons of various sizes at me. They were scattered around the yard, all in different directions. One of the cops was Najar. I supposed he might be happy he’d get to send me home for good. Sharp pains lanced my knee as I bent down, but I followed the instructions precisely.

  “Move away.” The cop motioned toward the front line they’d set up.

  I limped down the steps, crossing the distance to Najar as quickly as I could. He said, “How did you get his weapon?”

  “Kong gave it to me. He’s ready to surrender. Des isn’t, but he’s got her subdued.”

  “Put him in the back of my car.”

  “I didn’t do anything.”

  “Back of my car. You’d better hope they come out on their own.” When he spoke into the microphone, the amplified voice shattered the silence of the neighborhood once again. “Kong Lam, Desiree Lam, come out now.”

  “Let me talk to Kong. He’ll listen to me.”

  “I said to put him in the back of my car.”

  An officer gripped my arm to guide me away. “Antoine’s dead,” I said.

  Najar motioned for the officer to stop, his brow furrowed.

  “You didn’t expect that, did you?”

  “I was afraid it might happen. He was white collar, not like those two.”

  The officer relaxed his grip as I spoke, “It was kind of an accident, but Des shot him. She was trying to get Kong, but missed.”

  Najar looked puzzled. “I heard she was a good shot.”

  My cheeks felt hot. “Not when you’re being tackled.”

  Najar’s eyebrows went up. He glanced over his shoulder. The officer released my arm.

  “What would you tell him?”

  I yelled, “Kong, this is McKenna. Can you hear me?”

  “I hear you.”

  “Are you coming out?”

  “I’m thinking about it.”

  “Think about this. Was it worth it?”

  “Was what worth what?”

  “Losing Morah. Having Des double-cross you. Losing your family. Was it worth the money? Come on out, do your time, start over.” I paused, not knowing what to say. “You’ll find someone else.” He and I knew it was a lie, but maybe he’d believe me out of desperation.

  Silence. Des appeared in the doorway a few seconds later, unarmed. Behind her stood Kong, his hand clamped around the back of her neck. The cop by the door, joined by three others, separated the two before beginning the arrest process. I heard bits and pieces of the required Miranda reading I’d almost heard myself at Island Electronics.

  Somehow, now, I almost wished Miss A. hadn’t succumbed to the pressure, that she’d sent me packing back to Honolulu. Maybe I’d never have seen Morah Wilkerson’s obituary.

  Each movement Des made appeared to be torture. Her body was rigid, her legs shook with each step. Despite the pain, she struggled against the officer’s grip even as they forced her into the back seat. I watched with sadness as Kong was placed into different car. Even with his wild hair, he gave the appearance of a broken, not a dangerous, man.

  Najar volunteered to drive me to the Home Depot where I’d left Buster. I was sure there was a lot he would want to know, but before we got into those details, I wanted to know how he’d found me.

  “It wasn’t hard,” he said. “After you told me about him and the Wilkerson girl, we put him under surveillance. A couple of hours ago, my sister called crying her eyes out because he was having an affair. She said she found a little bottle of shampoo from the Kauai Marriott in Antoine’s travel bag.” He chuckled, “The guy had money, but he was still a cheapskate at heart.”

  “So you followed him to the house?”

  “Kind of.” Najar turned on his lights. Dusk was fully upon us and even on this side of the island the reflected oranges, pinks and grays from sunset promised that the real thing on the west side was spectacular. “We lost him in Kapa’a. Fortunately, while we were looking for him, a patrol car spotted their guy Roger. We picked him up. I never figured him for a snitch, but I think he saw the end coming. When I told him he’d go down for murder if you were killed, he gave us the address before he even asked for a lawyer.”

  “I’m so thankful you got here when you did. I think Kong might have actually killed Des—I don’t know if I could have stopped him. He loved Morah so much. More than the money. Maybe more than Des. Morah’s the one person who loved him without condition. I think he probably would have died for her without giving it a second thought.”

  Najar murmured, “You could be right.”

  We drove the next few miles in silence. A shower rolled through and I realized how thankful I was to see something so simple as a rainstorm. The slap, slap, slap of Najar’s wipers created a steady rhythm I’d never appreciated as much as in that moment. After less than a minute, the sun broke through and the drops became more intermittent. With the rain had come a refreshing clarity. More of my fears had been washed away.

  “Will they go hard on him?” I asked.

  “Kong?” Najar snorted. “He’ll do time. How long, I don’t know. His sister, I hope they throw away the key.”

  “Me, too.”

  The last of the raindrops splattered against the windshield. “You started this whole thing because Kong’s gang stole your identity. You don’t hate him?”

  “Hate? I did at first.” I thought of our dinner at the pizza parlor. “Now I understand him. He and I have a bond.”

  Najar laughed. “Your ID?”

  In the distance, I saw the familiar orange of the Home Depot sign. Beyond the buildings were the mountains I’d seen while flying into Kauai a few short days ago. How much I’d learned here on the Garden Isle. The colorful sunset had darkened into black, red, gray and purple. The colors were fading quickly, but what I’d learned would stay with me. I’d learned that whatever I did to lay my past to rest, that past would always be a part of me. I’d always remember Kong Lam because of the parallels in our lives.

  I glanced across the car at Najar and lied my ass off. “Yah, my ID. Suckah stole me blind. He had to pay.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  I returned to Honolulu the following day and spent the next two weeks catching up. Melanie loved the story, so I was back in her good graces. Alexander denied having called in favors at first, but later succumbed to one of my many apologies for having nearly gotten myself killed—again. He kept telling me I’d have the chance to pay him back someday. I never realized how quickly the day might come.

  It was late on a Thursday afternoon. Alexander and I were sitting on the lanai, both sipping ice-cold glasses of lemonade. He said it was important we shared in this endeavor, so he’d brought the chips and lemons. I’d been responsible for the salsa and sugar. If all I had to do to make him happy was to make fresh lemonade and eat a few chips, so be it.

  We watched the surfers ride their little waves. This was one of those days when the flat surf sent the locals elsewhere on the island while newbies who felt they were conquering the world practically ran over each other with their boards to ride a two-footer. I pointed to one particularly white-skinned guy we’d taken to calling “The Faller.”r />
  “So what do you think?” I said. “He’s from Milwaukee? Maybe Kansas City?”

  “He ain’t got no tan, brah. Gotta be from somewhere they got no sun.” Alexander cocked his head to one side. “That your front door?”

  I listened. Sure enough. Someone was knocking. “Guess so.” I went inside to see who was interrupting our afternoon downtime.

  When I opened the door, my jaw fell open.

  “What’s the matter with you? Ain’t you got no manners?”

  “Uh, uh, come on in, CJ.”

  She beamed. “Thanks. Mi casa, su casa, right?” She rolled in a suitcase, its wheels hopped over the seam between the concrete walk and the entryway tile.

  Behind me, I heard Alexander chuckling. I had a sinking feeling my payback time was already here. CJ gave me a big hug after dropping her bag in my minuscule entryway. With my face buried in one of those big cushions of hers, I was surprised at how much I’d missed them.

  She abandoned me the moment she spotted Alexander. “Cousin.” Midway through their greeting, she turned and faced me again. “Put my bag in my room, would ya?”

  Her room? I shot a quick glance at Alexander. He raised his hand in a shaka sign before I could say a word. It looked like I’d be sleeping on the couch—I’ve only got one bedroom. I obeyed like a dutiful houseboy as she and Alexander went out to the lanai. A few minutes later, I joined them. CJ had parked herself on my chaise lounge. Alexander was seated at the chair he’d been sitting in before. The two laughed, but stopped when I appeared in the doorway.

  CJ said, “C’mon out here, honeybun. CJ’s got something for you.”

  Alexander patted the back of my favorite chair. He was working on a “gotcha” smile—something else was coming. “Sit, my friend, sit.”

  “We ain’t got all day, hurry up,” CJ said, her piccolo voice a merry twitter.

  I sat, feeling like a four-year old who’d seen his first clown, not sure whether to laugh or cry. What was about to happen? Not sure of what else to say, I went with something noncommittal. “This is a surprise.”

  CJ’s lips formed an “oh.” “Well, no matter. We’re gonna have some fun, uh huh.”

  “What are we gonna do?” I glanced at Alexander. “You want more lemonade? CJ, how about you?”

  She nodded, as did Alexander. I hurried back to the kitchen, glad to have a reprieve from my firing squad. I took my time filling three glasses. When I couldn’t delay any longer, I returned to find a photograph on the small lanai table. Much like the waitress at the Marriott, I examined the photo while setting the glasses down in front of my guests. The picture was of Morah and Kong.

  “Where’d you get this?” I asked.

  “Lu wanted you to have this. She wanted me to thank you for proving Morah wasn’t cooking meth when she died.”

  I shook my head. “So? I don’t get it.”

  CJ turned suddenly serious. “Because of you, she’s got a whole different memory of her sister. She’ll have those memories for her entire life, McKenna.”

  I stared in disbelief. “But, the police, they were investigating. They would have figured it out.”

  “Maybe. They were investigating Kong and Des, not Morah’s death. It might never have come out. She wanted you to know how grateful she is.”

  I ran my fingers around the frame and image. Kong and Morah embraced each other at Spouting Horn. Behind them, the geyser erupted into the air. They both smiled, not the fake kind people put on for the camera, but the real thing, one of pure joy. The dryness in my throat was replaced by a lump. I felt pressure behind my eyes. “How did Lu get the picture?”

  “Kari had it,” said CJ. “She sent it to Lu the day after you left.”

  Alexander was somber, “She would have turned his life around.”

  CJ nodded. “You hear anything about the baby? Was it Kong’s?”

  I nodded. “Najar called this past week. DNA confirmed it. He also said that with the evidence they gathered from the house, the case is getting pretty tight. They’ve got records. The materials. The arsenal. They think they might even have a way to tie Des to the murder in Honolulu.”

  Alexander said, “The guy Kong came to see?”

  CJ looked lost, probably because I hadn’t filled her in before returning home.

  “Des never admitted it, but I’m sure she had Roger make it look like a drowning. That’s probably why he rolled over so fast on Des. He was smart enough to know she’d say he did it. My guess is he wanted to put it on her first.”

  CJ nodded. “Well, listen to mister lawyer man over here, uh huh. Say, since you got all the scoop, did Antoine ever really sleep with Morah?”

  I shrugged. “We’ll probably never know.”

  “Maybe had the woman thing going on that weekend? I know all about that. You be glad I wasn’t here last week. Uh-huh.”

  I took a hasty sip from my glass, practically spilling lemonade on myself. “She was pregnant, remember?”

  Alexander nodded. “For a guy like Antoine, not getting laid makes the weekend a waste.”

  “Men! Frankie’s the same goddamn way.”

  “That’s why you’re here?”

  “I needed some time away.”

  I glanced at Alexander, then back to CJ. “Why? What’d he do?”

  “Asshole asked me to marry him.”

  I broke out in a smile. “That’s great. Congratulations.”

  “I ain’t ready.”

  “You don’t love him?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “He seemed like a nice enough guy to me. That is, what little I saw of him.”

  “Then you marry him. He liked you, too.”

  Alexander added, “McKenna, I think she needs some time to think about this. It’s why she called me.”

  “Oh. Lifelong commitment, see each other all the time. Got it.”

  “Maybe I need me a little Morah time. You know, a little time to get wild.”

  “So you came to me?” My voice squeaked almost at a piccolo level. How embarrassing. The thought of “Morah time” with CJ, well, that was just plain frightening.

  “Course not, you moron. I’m meeting a man over here.” She gave those big cushions a shimmy.

  If I hadn’t been so surprised, I might have made a wisecrack about dangerous equipment. But, I was beyond surprised. I was in shock. “You’re going to cheat on Frankie? I won’t allow it.”

  CJ crossed her arms as she nodded firmly. “He said you were a good Boy Scout.”

  “Oh great, now I’m gonna get the Fidelity Merit Badge? Thanks a lot. Fine. Go screw whoever you want. I don’t care.”

  “Thanks, he’ll be here in about an hour.”

  Oh, crap, now what? “Who? Wait—here? As in here, here? My-place here?”

  “Frankie. He’s meeting me here. We’re gonna stay with you for a couple of days.”

  Alexander choked on some lemonade while I gawked at both of them. He swallowed hard, but couldn’t stop his sudden coughing fit. It didn’t seem possible, but my best friend had played me.

  “What did you do?” I asked.

  “CJ and Frankie wanted to get away for a weekend. So I volunteered your place. I figured you owed her.”

  The image of CJ and Frankie rolling around on my bed wouldn’t go away. Oh, no. Erase. Erase. I might have to buy a new mattress—and a box spring.

  I took in their beaming faces. This little weekend was a coup for Alexander and they both knew it. Alexander knew me so well. Better than I knew myself. If he’d have told me ahead of time, I’d have found a way to get out of this. As it was, I got it. It was time to challenge myself. To become a better person.

  Where was Hillary when I needed her advice and enthusiasm? Probably back in Charlotte with her new husband by now. But, that was okay. She’d always be a fond memory from Kauai that I could keep alive. “You two can stay here. But, you’ve gotta pay. There’s a price.”

  “Now he’s got a price, uh huh. Fine, what is it?”
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br />   “You’re buying at Starbucks. I need a coffee orgasm.”

  THANK YOU

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