“Impressive, you guys. We have the players. Which means we have the motive, too.” It was my turn to bask in the glory of success. I hesitated for a moment, then continued. “Spy kills snitch for money. Mandy found something she shouldn’t have, and Alvarez carried out the orders.”
Chance looked pleased. Benni, likewise.
Lexie, however, had buried her face in her hands and was leaning on the table. She sighed. “I hate to say this, but there’s a problem with the whole theory.”
Chance reached out and started reading what was on Lexie’s phone. “No way,” he whispered.
“What?” I blurted. “It’s too long of a leap from a rich guy manipulating the system to murder?”
“No,” Chance said. “Roger Lewis died of a massive heart attack about a year ago.”
39
Maybe it was because I hadn’t done all the research to uncover a motive for Mandy’s murder, but I didn’t see Roger Lewis’s demise as a problem. I’d known about him for a grand total of about five minutes, so in my opinion, having a new player out of the picture was actually good news.
“Uh, look guys, this might not be such a bad thing.” I tried to sound upbeat, but their disappointment was obvious. “It was a long leap from politics to murder, anyway. Right?”
Benni was watching a tour group gather in the center of the rotunda. “You’ve said before how the dreams have lots of symbolism. Yah?”
I eyed the gathering, wondering what made her ask the question. They were all decked out in colorful tropical wear. With only a few exceptions, they were all mixing, mingling, and laughing it up. “What are you so interested in?”
“The tour.” Benni indicated the group with a nod of her head. “Look at them. You have the blue-hairs, the ones who need a walker or a wheelchair. Even a few young couples who could save a bundle by going it on their own. Have you ever thought about why those tours are so popular?”
“It’s certainly not the cost.” I said. “Those things can be expensive. But, to answer your question about the dreams, there’s always been a connection between reality and Kimu’s message. The problem is Kimu can be so obtuse I can’t figure out the details until the right time.” I indicated Lexie with a tilt of my head. “This young lady saved my bacon.”
Lexie started. “What? Oh…thanks. I’m certainly no expert, but the dream interpretation class I took at UH was probably my favorite. The prof said we couldn’t make things up in dreams, but we could change them. If that’s true, you know what everything means already. You said you chased Frank Alvarez with a dead fish. Right?”
Benni held up the stuffed Peacock Grouper. “And now he’s here. You’re positive this guy looks exactly like the one Kimu pulled out of the ocean?”
“Right down to the eye staring at me.” I snuck a peek. “See? He’s watching me.”
Benni scrunched up her face and glanced at the others. “It’s a toy, McKenna. Nothing more. I’m going to call him Percy. Would that help?”
“There are a lot of things we don’t understand about the paranormal,” Lexie said as her gaze panned across the table to the fish. “Why Percy was here and why you bought him are questions we may never be able to answer.”
“You’re getting way too woo woo for me.” This wasn’t helping. I couldn’t shake the beach images anymore than I could fly. I also had one last secret to reveal. I might as well confess. “There are times when I wonder—I know this will sound weird, but when parts of the dream start showing up it’s almost like Kimu plants this stuff in the real world. Why that particular fish? Why here? In an airport?”
Chance snickered. “Sorry, buddy, but I don’t think a ghost can order stock for a convenience store. I’m curious. How many were there?”
“How many? How should I know? It wasn’t exactly like I could take inventory. Kimu said they were all dead. He reached into the water and pulled one out…no, two, actually. I threw the first one away because it was so revolting. The stench was overwhelming. It’s so confusing. I get why I dreamt about Mandy dying, but why was Penny there? And what about that big book? What makes it so important?”
Chance slapped his hand on the tabletop, causing the paper cups to jump and jiggle like the tikis on the sand.
“McKenna?” Benni raised both eyebrows and held my gaze. “Do you have any idea what you just said?”
“Apparently not.” Chance laughed. “Lexie was right, you did have the answer. It’s about information, McKenna. This whole thing is about that big red book you described.”
“But it’s not an actual book,” Benni said.
Great. Just what I needed. More convoluted logic. “Please, someone just lay it out for me. Why would Kimu have two women trudge through the sand carrying a big…whatever…if it was something else?”
“It’s a ledger or a journal or something of that nature.” Chance spread his arms wide to indicate size. “They can be really big, right?”
“So you think we’re looking for someone’s records?” I angled my head forward, hoping I had the correct answer since none of these guys were going to cut me any slack.
“Almost,” Chance said. “We’re not after the book itself, we want what’s inside. Facts, McKenna. It contains proof.”
“Okay,” I said enthusiastically. At last, progress. “Proof of what?”
The three of them looked around the table, sighed, and, in unison, said, “We don’t know.”
An animated discussion of computer records, storage, and what might be in “the book” followed. While the others bandied about possibilities, I watched the tour guide, a young woman wearing a black-and-purple flowered shirt and khaki shorts. She gave her charges instructions, pointed at the sign she held in her hand, and indicated the path they’d soon take.
“That’s it,” I muttered. I placed both elbows on the table and waited patiently for the others to take notice.
One-by-one, they stopped talking. Benni surrendered to her curiosity first. “What’s got into you?”
“You nailed it earlier. The tour. You asked why they were popular. I watched that guide gather her flock, and that’s when it hit me. I’ve said everything in the dream means something. Well, that implies nothing is what it seems. We’re onto something. Let’s assume the book is a symbol for some kind of information. Well, the orchestra isn’t about music, it’s about…”
“Organization!” Lexie cried. She screwed up her cheeks and winced. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to steal your moment.”
Bad McKenna really wanted to tell her to butt out, but Good won the mental wrestling match. “No worries. You’re correct. Everything has to be perfectly organized for an orchestra to play well. Just like the tour group. Just like…” I deliberately let my words hang, this time inviting an interruption.
Chance’s jaw dropped. “Oh. So now we’re working on a conspiracy theory?”
I nodded. Gave him a thumbs up. “It all fits.”
Lexie reached out and rested her hand on Chance’s arm. “If I had to write a paper on this for my class, I’d use the premise, “Big Business and Government Conspire for Profit.”
Chance leaned back in his chair, rubbed his chin, then bit his lower lip. “So if Mandy uncovered some sort of evidence of this…conspiracy…they had to kill her.”
“The question is the same one we’ve been working on all along. Who’s the ‘they’ in this case? I think my head’s going to explode. How do we explain the Mandy and Penny connection? They were on the beach together. They were both being chased by the plane, just like Benni.”
“I’d sure like to figure out what I’ve got to do with any of this. Have I ever been in one of your dreams before?” Benni’s fine eyebrows knitted together.
“Not one of these.” I gave her my best roguish smile. All she did was roll her eyes. So much for Mr. Suave. “Look, Alvarez has to be involved. He’s kidnapped me and made dir
ect threats. Colin Alcott might be well off, but he probably doesn’t have a spare million bucks laying around. The only person with that kind of money is Robson Poussin, so our next step is to see how he’s connected. We already know he is—or was—on island. We need to find out if he’s still here. If we can get the tail number on the plane, the FAA will tell us where it’s at.”
“I can just hear that phone call,” Chance said. “Hi, my name is McKenna. I live out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and I want to locate Robson Poussin’s airplane. Seriously? You think they’ll go for it?”
“You’re close, Chance. But, I’m not making the call. I have someone else in mind.”
40
Despite the lack of privacy and the abundance of background noise, I called the airport’s main number and asked to be connected to Mr. Seagrave in Security. The introductions were short and largely unnecessary. Seagrave’s tone struck me as suspicious.
“Did you leave something behind?”
It hadn’t occurred to me prior to calling just how frustrating it would be to make this call from the airport’s main lobby. Now that the call was in progress, the best I could hope for was an in-person sit-down. “You might say I did. Let me be blunt, Mr. Seagrave. You don’t seem too fond of Frank Alvarez.”
He snorted. “No comment.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way because I don’t want to get you in trouble. I’m trying to find the connection between Frank Alvarez and his employer.”
“I thought you would have figured that out already.”
“Oh, we did.” I stuck my finger in my free ear. The background noise rose and fell like crashing waves on the shore. “Meet me at Starbucks in the main concourse if you’re interested. I can guarantee you it will be worth your while to make the trip.”
“I’ll be there in two minutes.” He disconnected.
I smiled at my cohorts. “He’s on his way.”
Chance picked up his cup and motioned at the girls. “Let’s go. This will be easier if there’s no audience.”
Benni nodded, stood, and gave me a kiss on the cheek. It was more than a peck, less than full-on passion. Encouraging…and confusing. What did this mean? My heart raced while Good and Bad McKenna bickered over my next move. If only she’d say something, tell me we were making progress, but she didn’t and the mental carnival of chaos in my head continued until Seagrave showed up.
He greeted me with a curt nod. Before he sat, he surveyed the surrounding area. He did a full 360, reversed direction, then eased himself into the chair. “I’m glad your ‘ohana left. This conversation should remain confidential.”
“I understand.” Which I did, but it didn’t mean I agreed or was going to lie to my friends again. I waited while he did another scan of the concourse.
With the preliminaries resolved, he turned his steely gaze on me. “Who does Alvarez work for?”
“Not so fast. You want Alvarez and I get that. The thing is, so do I. If I help you, you need to do a favor for me.”
“What a surprise, you’ve changed your tune. In my office you said you’d keep me informed.” Seagrave stood. His posture was erect, his demeanor bordering on angry. “I don’t make deals.”
I raised a hand to stop him from leaving. His statement had to be a bluff. Otherwise, why would he be here? “You know as well as I do that information always comes with a price. What I want will help you, too.”
“How?”
“With this name, you get what you want on Alvarez. I’ll be one step closer to solving Mandy Kenoi’s murder.” I spread my hands wide and smiled. “We both win. I need the location of a plane I suspect is here. You call the FAA and get them to tell you the tail number. I can take it from there.”
He gazed at me for a moment, then returned to his seat. “Think you’re pretty smart, huh? Alright. What’s the name?”
“Robson Poussin, Finance International.”
Seagrave recoiled, blinked, then watched my face. “Are you positive?”
“Yes,” I lied. “I have it on very high authority Poussin is our man.”
“Whose authority?”
“Nuh-uh. That’s not part of the deal. If you want to know who Alvarez really works for, you’ll make the call.”
Leaning back in his chair, Seagrave studied my face. His eyes ping-ponged around the courtyard once again. Was he always this paranoid? Maybe it was an occupational hazard. I waited, fearful of overselling the proposition.
“I ought to just walk away. You already gave me the information, so why should I do you any favors?”
“Because you’re an honest guy.”
He blinked at me several times, then smiled, and crossed his arms over his chest.
Now. The final move had to come now. While he was so sure he had me. “And I’m onto something that could take Alvarez out of your hair forever.”
“I’m not calling the FAA,” Seagrave said.
My heart nearly stopped. I couldn’t believe I’d misjudged this man. “Why not?”
“I don’t need to call them. The plane you want came in three days ago. They’re flying out first thing tomorrow morning. Poussin is a heavy hitter. When he flies in, it’s a big deal.”
“What’s he fly, Air Force One?”
“Pretty close.” Seagrave watched me, his face impassive.
“You’re serious.”
“No,” Seagrave scoffed. “It’s a 737, converted to carry his own vehicles and equipment. It’s a combination fortress, flying hotel, and command center. Alvarez has always been about the money. He’s a classic gun-for-hire.” Seagrave pondered something for a few seconds and nodded. “It makes sense, working for Poussin. You didn’t hear this from me, but the guy is a dirtbag. I have cousins who have been fighting against what he bankrolls. They claim there are financial links between him, the pesticide giants, and the plantations. They have nothing solid, but from what I’ve heard, this guy made his fortune by polluting our ‘aina. It’s our land, not his.” He snarled, “He’s killing our keiki.”
It was the first time I’d seen Seagrave show such a deep emotion, but I understood why. Land and children were the future of Hawai‘i. The most precious resources we had. If Poussin was behind the effort to keep the status quo, he’d make a lot of people very angry.
“You’re pretty upset, I can see that.”
He closed his eyes and breathed slowly, remaining as silent as a sinner in church for the longest time. “My little niece was born with a birth defect thanks to all the atrazine in the water. The EPA and the Department of Agriculture say it’s within the legal limits, but the limits are way too high.” Seagrave clenched his jaw as he pulled out his phone and read the display. “You get him, Mr. McKenna. If you need anything else, you call me.”
He scratched a phone number on the back of his business card and handed it to me.
“A little birdie told me Poussin had a meeting with the governor and some local citizens and the locals got clobbered. I guess he’s got a lot at stake.”
“More than you know. Poussin flew in especially to crush the opposition. He wanted to be there in person so he could gloat. That’s what the rumors say, anyway.”
My breath caught in my throat. So much was starting to make sense. It was all so…real. I could practically smell the stench hanging in the salt air. Could see Penny and Mandy running for their lives. And Alvarez. A killer doing his employer’s bidding.
”You said he flies out tomorrow. Is that right?”
“Yeah, they’ve filed a flight plan to leave at noon.”
It was already late afternoon. We had less than twenty-four hours. We’d need a miracle. Or was that Kimu’s message? If so, maybe Benni was the key.
41
Daylight splashed across the terminal’s tile floor. With its domed ceiling, the courtyard reminded me of a massive regal chamber. Here, th
ough, there were only commoners. We, the rabble, all had our separate destinations. Whether we flew coach or first class, everyone endured the same lines. Unless you had a private jet. No lines. No waiting. No rabble.
The others returned after Seagrave left. I recited the whole story to them, including the fact that Poussin was flying out the following day. The news, rather than causing distress, seemed to galvanize them. Chance immediately volunteered to get us another car. It appeared we had only one remaining source. Our identity thief. Lexie had been the most aggressive in pursuing the Mandy and Penny connection, so I asked her to follow through.
She nodded, but seemed uneasy about the task and bit her lower lip as she spoke. “I…I’m sure there is some kind of connection. It would help if we could talk to Penny—in person, you know?”
“I agree. You have her address?”
“I have the one I told you about, but it might not be current.”
A short distance away, Chance paced across the floor. His head bobbed up and down, and then he glanced at me, gave me a thumbs up, and smiled. We had transportation.
“See if you can find out,” I said. Next, I turned my attention to Benni. “I don’t know why—or how. But, I suspect you play a key role in recovering the records. That has to be Kimu’s message. Let’s start by having you contact Mrs. Nakamura. See if she has anything to add. Maybe Hisao has given her new information. She may have nothing, but we need someone close to Hisao keeping us in the loop.”
“You want Auntie to be your mole?” She chuckled as she pulled out her phone.
Actually, that’s exactly what I was asking.
Chance returned to the table, picked up his cup, and drained the last of his coffee. “We’re good. Same vehicle’s available. It’s already gassed and washed.”
It sounded like Lexie had reached Penny’s landlord. Benni was talking to Mrs. Nakamura. I stood to stretch my legs and back in an effort to shake off the aches and pains of too many hours spent on hard seats. This was going to be a long day. “Lexie’s getting the address for Penny; she may be our best bet right now. Benni’s working on getting Mrs. Nakamura to spy on Hisao.”
Maui Magic Page 21
