Reluctant Witness

by Barton, Sara M.

  “We came to Hawaii because there was a recent outbreak of coffee rust that did significant damage to the entire crop on the island. The local farmers asked Lara for help in controlling the rust. She knew I had an interest in the matter, so she invited me along as a consultant. I must say I am delighted to be here.”

  “Your father wrote an amazing paper on fungus control in an issue of Non-Toxic Farming Practices about eighteen months ago, Chrisanth. I think the reason that he has made such strides in his research is because he’s taken what he knows about hybridization and applied it to the genetics of the plants, to bring out the best in them.”

  “It’s merely Darwinian theory in motion,” my father beamed, delighted that his companion thought him worthy of praise, “survival of the fittest. You start with the best plants if you want the best fungus control.”

  “True. It’s that and your biodegradable spray.” Lara turned in my direction. “Your father took the potential solution found by an organic coffee grower in Jamaica and figured out a way to take it several steps further with ordinary, non-toxic, biodegradable materials.”

  “She used garlic and organic coconut oil to spray the infected trees. I wasn’t completely convinced that the garlic had a real function in the process, as she claimed, although I thought she might be on the right track with coconut oil.”

  I enjoyed watching the pair take turns as they talked about coffee production. My parents had shared many a discussion on plant genetics over the years and I knew that since my mother’s death, my father missed having a partner to bounce ideas off of when he was in the middle of his research projects. Maybe Lara was the answer to what ailed him as a widower. She certainly seemed like a good match, with her depth of botanical knowledge and inquisitive mind. That was clear as she continued to expand on the issues involved in Kauai.

  Chapter Fifty

  “The Kona variety of coffee bean is world renown for its depth of flavor, but here on the island, the crop has been devastated by coffee rust. One of the coffee farms we’re here to assess grows a couple of other varieties of beans not normally found in Hawaii and they have significantly less rust damage to their plants,” Lara told us. “The farmers deliberately diversified and planted Jamaican Blue Mountain and Guadeloupe Bonifieur beans, strains of the Bourbon Pointu variety that originated in Java.”

  “Bourbon Pointu beans,” my father explained, “are legendary for their rich, smooth flavor and in some places, they sell for hundreds of dollars a pound, because the plants are less prolific than other, more common, varieties and require a bit more care. They seem to thrive in volcanic soil and at certain altitudes. It begs the question of the role of plant genetics. Have the Kona plants over-adapted to their environment here and somehow become more vulnerable to the disease? Have the other varieties of beans introduced on the island thrived because they were able to adapt successfully to a new environment? If so, how can we take these lessons and put them to work to bolster plant immunity to the fungus without causing harm to the environment?”

  My father had long been a passionate coffee drinker, so taking on Kauai’s coffee rust as a botanist seemed right up his alley. I could see he was already enthralled with the prospect. So was Lara. Her face was radiant as she described her goals for this project.

  “We’re hoping to find ways to minimize the crop damage from the fungus that has spread across the islands by implementing better agricultural management techniques. The problem here is that over the last several decades, the heavy use of fertilizer and pesticide has polluted the local water supply. Many of the coffee farmers rely on the quality of the water for organic certification, so they’ve developed water filtration processes to distribute it throughout the fields. Are they unwittingly spreading the fungus when they irrigate their plants, or otherwise inadvertently contributing to the problem?”

  “You two certainly have your work cut out for you,” I commented, thinking that my father and Lara might actually be staying in Hawaii for a while, “because that type of research sounds rather complicated. There are so many factors to consider.”

  “Oh, it is. My company is hoping that we can develop an environmentally safe product that can be used on organic and non-organic beans alike. If we can improve coffee production without creating environmental damage to an already challenged landscape, maybe a lot of the Hawaiian farmers won’t sell off their land for development. As it is now,” my father acknowledged, his face concerned, “Kauai is quickly losing its agricultural land to condos, golf courses, and shopping malls. And if this trend continues....”

  “...it will change the economics of the islands.” P. J. responded, jumping in. I could see the wheels begin to turn for Jeff’s father as he thought about the implications. “Importing food to Hawaii is so costly, and that will only drive up the prices of everything for locals and tourists.”

  “Exactly,” my father nodded.

  “And with the islands so dependent on sustainable farming, this project offers great promise not just for Hawaii, but for other countries where there are significant agricultural challenges. If you can solve the coffee rust issue here....”

  “...the techniques can be used elsewhere around the globe,” Lara added.

  “Would anyone care for dessert and some of our world-famous Kona coffee?” asked our waiter, Pico, leaning in to clear our plates from the table a few minutes later. It was obvious he hadn’t eavesdropped during our discussion. “It’s grown here on the island.”

  “Indeed it is,” my father laughed heartily. “I’d love a cup.”

  We all accepted Pico’s recommendation of banana cream pie to accompany the coffee. We continued the conversation as we waited.

  “Are you on Kauai for long?” That question came from Jeff as he looked from my father to Lara.

  “At least another ten weeks. After that, it’s back to the lab in California for me. I’m hoping to convince Lara to join me there, but she seems to have other ideas.”

  “I don’t think we can do meaningful research on the subject of coffee rust without a trip to the Caribbean,” said his fellow botanist. “We should visit Guadeloupe.”

  I happened to glance up in time to see Liz watching me yet again, those intense eyes burning a hole straight into my soul, and suddenly the answer of why was staring me right in the face. She didn’t know about Jeff and me. This wasn’t about her son. As far as she was concerned, I was just Woody’s daughter and I happened to show up unexpectedly in Hawaii. But this was indeed a mission of the heart. Liz was worried about Lara’s budding relationship with my father. Would I object to him finding love and use a monkey wrench to sabotage the romance? I decided to put the ladies’ minds at rest and help things along in my own way. After all, I didn’t want my father to remain a lonely man.

  “That sounds like a sensible thing to do,” I declared. “You need to go to the source in order to properly evaluate the situation, Dad. You always told me that’s the pinnacle of good research. Otherwise, you’re guessing that the conditions are the same, instead of actually knowing for sure.”

  My father, a bit surprised at my comment, agreed. “Very good point, Chris. I wasn’t looking at it that way. Maybe we should check things out in Guadeloupe, Lara.”

  Lara and Liz exchanged quick glances, pleased smiles on their faces, as if to say their plan was still on track. A moment later, Liz turned her gaze back to me, and as the others at the table were deep in conversation about the best places to stay on the island, she gave me a wink.

  We had just finished dessert and coffee when Jeff asked if anyone wanted to take a walk along the bike path in the moonlight.

  “I’d love one,” I admitted, putting my napkin on the table before I stood up. “Poor little Cooper is in need of a walk. Do you mind if he joins us?”

  “Who’s Cooper?” Liz wanted to know. “You have a son?”

  “No, my Yorkie,” I replied, smiling. I could tell she was fishing for information, so I put her out of her misery. “I don’t h
ave any kids. No ex-husbands either.”

  “Ah, did you hear that, Jefferson? She likes dogs. All my boys are dog people, Chris. In fact, my other son, Jackson, is a K-9 cop in New York.”

  “Is he? That’s an interesting job.” I could feel Jeff’s hand on the small of my back, pushing me forward, toward the door.

  “I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time to tell Chris all about the Cornwall clan, Mom. In the meantime, we’re going to stretch our legs.”

  “So, it’s just the two of you walking?” Liz wasn’t going to let it go without a little poke at her son. “What do the rest of you think? Does anyone else want to go?”

  “I’ll pass. After today’s tour of the Kauai Coffee Company fields,” Lara said, “I’m beat.”

  “Me too,” my father agreed, stifling a yawn. “It’s been a long day.”

  “P. J.?” Liz turned her gaze on her husband. “What do you say?”

  “I say we should leave the young people alone, Lisbeth, and take our ancient bones home to our rocking chairs.”

  “Well, I guess it’s decided then,” she announced mischievously. “The old folks will pass on the invitation for a moonlight stroll.”

  We made our way out of the restaurant, struggling to keep from laughing. Once outside, in the cover of darkness, my mirth got the better of me.

  “Oh, your mother is priceless!”

  “Tell me about it,” he sighed, exasperated. “I thought she would never shut up. Sometimes she’s a bit nosey.”

  “Especially about Cooper. I guess it’s a good thing he’s a dog.”

  “Were you surprised when I showed up?” he wanted to know, as soon as we were out of sight. He slipped his hand into mine and kissed my cheek sweetly.

  “Surprised in a wonderful way.”

  “I’m glad. You’ve never looked more beautiful, Chris.”

  “Stunned, but beautiful,” I giggled. “You took my breath away when you appeared.”

  I had so many questions to ask him, I wasn’t sure where to start. I told him as much.

  “Why don’t we get the little guy and then I’ll tell you some of the things you need to know,” he suggested.

  Cooper was delighted to join us on our moonlight stroll. He greeted Jeff with great canine enthusiasm that lasted through the elevator trip down to the vestibule and out to the sidewalk. Once he calmed down and began exploring the trail, Jeff and I picked up the conversation.

  “What do you want to know first,” he asked me.

  “Why is my father now using his real name, after almost twenty years?”

  “The answer is simple -- all those WikiLeaks. Your father’s alias was compromised because of his role in finding ways to prevent the harvesting of opium poppies. The company he works for has been slowly expanding its product line as a counter for the criticism it got on its genetically modified organism research from the GMO crowd. In taking on the new projects, your father began to identify potential agricultural improvements that would be acceptable in certified organic farming, and to avoid controversy, he used his birth name.”

  “How does Lara fit into all this, especially given the Cornwall family? Are you conning my father?” I studied Jeff’s reaction carefully, noting every twitch and blink.

  “Relax, Chris. Lara and your father actually know each other legitimately through their work.”

  “So, she’s not part of the investigation into my family?”

  “She has no idea what went on, any more than my mother does. When Lincoln started back-tracking your witness protection history, he needed to know more about your father, both under his real name and his alias. So, I asked Lara if she ever heard of him because I had done some research on the burgeoning organic coffee market. That was all she needed to give your dad a call and the next thing I knew, my mother and Lara were concocting a plan to give her a chance to become better acquainted with the widower. My mother used her contacts on Kauai and the rest is history, so to speak.”

  “So, this isn’t about WitSec? It’s really about coffee?”

  “It is, but why shouldn’t we kill two birds with one stone, love? This is a chance for you to spend time with your father while he’s doing something he loves to do, something that won’t get either one of you killed.”

  “That means this is really over? I can have a normal life?”

  “As soon as we wrap it all up, you can.”

  “Meaning there’s still more to come?”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “Oh.” I sighed heavily, my disappointment obvious. It felt like someone let the air out of my emotional tires.

  “There are a few things you need to know, Chris. When you showed up in Windham, Jack, Philomena and Vidal got busy checking you out. They knew something was off-kilter about the WitSec activities, so they got in touch with Lincoln. By that time, folks knew Jared was up to his eyeballs in dubious business and the FBI was very interested in identifying in Jared’s partner in crime.”

  “They thought I was that partner?”

  “They did, but that’s because no one knew Jared was still alive. Because this looked like a big federal case, especially after Shaun and Tovar were attacked, the FBI called Lincoln back from his overseas assignment and put him to work on it. I agreed to help out.”

  “Oh,” I sighed, feeling rather chagrined. “That makes sense.”

  “Spears made you not only the beneficiary of an insurance policy worth two million dollars, you were also the owner of real estate holdings worth somewhere in the vicinity of fourteen million dollars.”

  “That’s crazy!” I told him, pulling away. “I never....”

  He covered my mouth with his, kissing me deeply, tenderly. When we came up for air, he touched my cheek with his fingertips, stroking my skin.

  “The biggest giveaway was when you read my mother’s book. I saw you sitting there in the chair. You had such a haunted look on your face, as if you had seen a ghost from your past. It was Nora’s story that had you so upset. That’s when I knew you were unaware of the scale of Spears’ operation.”

  “But you still suspected me.”

  “Actually, I believed you until I got to Cinnamon Bay. But when those fake emails started coming and it looked like you were playing Cornwall brother against Cornwall brother, those doubts resurfaced. Your emotional meltdown was the last thing I ever expected. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what was going on inside that head of yours. When Nancy threatened to quit and take you home with her, I realized you were still a victim. Spears needed us to cut you loose so he could grab you and complete his scheme. That’s when it all came together.”

  “Jeff, why did Jared need me alive? Why did he keep hiring killers to kidnap me? Couldn’t he have just stolen the watch?”

  “It was more involved than just getting his hands on that watch. Don’t forget, Chris, there’s a reason Spears chose you. You look a lot like his fiancée, Leesa Braun. That’s why he named you as his beneficiary. He didn’t actually intend for you to inherit his estate after his faked death; he wanted Leesa to do that, posing as you. Once they had the money, they were set for life. They could disappear to some quiet little corner of the world and live out the rest of their lives in relative comfort, but first they had to wait for the estate to go through probate and that took time. In the meantime, they had to keep you alive until they had their hands on the money.”

  “I still don’t understand why Jared made my life miserable with all those tricks, Jeff.” I leaned against his shoulder, loving the way it felt to be so close to him as we walked. Every once in a while, his gait would change slightly, his way of shifting the pain from one leg to the other, and I wondered what it was like to have such a permanent disability. Jeff seemed so used to it, he just moved along on auto-pilot, adjusting his stride when it was necessary.

  “In order to make sure you didn’t try to collect the money, Jared kept you and the WitSec team busy, convincing everyone that you were in constant danger. He was afraid that t
he Marshals Service would get involved in the legal process, helping you establish yourself as the beneficiary of Jared Spears’ estate, with no one the wiser.”

  “And he knew that the moment that dead body was discovered in my condo, I’d be moved to a new secure location. The marshals would never risk giving up my identity just so I could inherit from Jared’s estate.”

  “Exactly,” Jeff agreed, squeezing my shoulder affectionately. “But it was even more complicated than that. The plan was to get you kicked out of the WitSec program, Chris, by targeting your handlers with some very nasty tricks. By the time you were attacked at the Gilded Nest, the marshals assumed you were involved in the assaults and the security breaches.”

  Chapter Fifty One

  “But someone killed that woman who snatched me,” I pointed out. “She was shot while I was still in the trunk of the Corolla.”

  “Once Abajo was out of the picture, both contract killers were promised extra money for capturing you alive. That was their incentive. The loser would automatically die as they fought over you. When you grabbed the woman’s phone and called the cops, you interrupted the murderer’s plan. That’s what led to the shootout in Windham.”

  “The guy who showed up at the ski house claimed to be a friend of Jared’s. Was he the killer?”

  “No, he was the guy doing security for Spears. He was supposed to follow the killers around and clean up after them, so no one would guess Spears was still alive.”

  “But why did Jared need me to sign for that bank account if Leesa was the one who was going to access it?”

  “Bottom line? He may have loved Leesa, but he sure didn’t trust her. He kept her in the dark about a number of things, including the details of that bank account. That was Jared’s way of making sure she remained with him.”