The Scent of Waikiki (Trouble in Paradise Book 9)

by Terry Ambrose

  “No, I don’t think you will.” Chance looked morose as he said the words.

  I huffed and inclined my head toward the door. “Let’s go. I need to go see my bride-to-be.”

  “Roger that.”

  Chance gave me another perfect smile, and for the umpteenth time, I wondered how often he’d used it on his parents. We got to the elevator and entered after a half dozen new customers piled out.

  As he punched the button for the lobby, I looked at him. “Tell me something, did your father buy you an F-18 when you were a kid?”

  Chance just stared at me.

  CHAPTER 29

  Chance dropped me off at my apartment about twenty minutes later. When I walked through the front door, I heard two voices. One was Benni’s, the other, that of Mrs. Nakamura.

  Benni and the old woman were sitting at the dining table, a half-filled bottle of wine between them. They each had a glass, which surprised me. I’d never seen Mrs. Nakamura drink. In fact, I’d assumed her to be a teetotaler. Right now, they were both looking at me with glazed eyes. I said an awkward hello, unsure of how to ask why the old schoolteacher was getting smashed in my apartment with Benni.

  “Ah, Mr. McKenna.” She reached across the table, grabbed a third glass, and filled it. Given the way the bottle and glass wavered in continuously opposite directions, it seemed a miracle she didn’t spill a drop. “Here, you will need this.” She held out the newly filled glass.

  Mrs. Nakamura’s speech was much less clipped than normal. Quite probably, she wasn’t getting smashed, but was already there. “Benni, Mrs. Nakamura,” I said. “What’s going on?”

  “Auntie and I were discussing a few things.” Benni blinked, scrunched up her face for a second, then giggled. “You, in particular.”

  “To that, we must drink,” Mrs. Nakamura trilled as they clinked glasses. The old woman wagged a bony finger at me and set her glass on the table a little too forcefully. “You must catch up, Mr. McKenna.”

  Rather than making an excuse about already being a bit tipsy myself thanks to Henry’s excellent bartending skills, I took a swig. I stopped, held up the glass to the daylight coming from the kitchen slider, and examined the wine.

  “This is excellent.” I took another sip, this time allowing myself a moment to enjoy the mix of flavors.

  “Auntie brought it. She walked all the way into Waikīkī to buy that wine, then came here to share it with us.” Benni rolled her eyes, then raised her glass to her lips. “But you weren’t here, so we started without you.”

  They both laughed and sipped their wine as they watched me expectantly.

  I raised my glass and nodded at Mrs. Nakamura. “Thank you for bringing us a lovely wine.”

  “Sit, sit,” The old lady said and patted the tabletop in front of an empty chair. “As I said, we have much to talk about.”

  Uh oh. That did not sound good. “Such as?”

  “You must understand, I am not normally a meddler.”

  “Absolutely. No one said you were, Mrs. Nakamura.”

  “What Auntie’s trying to say, McKenna, is that she’s worried about us. Between the wedding and this thing with Grace, she thinks we’re on a bad road.”

  “I would not call it a bad road, child. It is perhaps more of an unwanted detour caused by my own lack of proper judgment.”

  The two women nodded at each other, clinked their glasses, and peered at me. I raised my glass, managed a weak smile, and muttered, “Salud.”

  With that round done, Benni glanced down, then up at me. “I’m empty,” she said.

  “Allow me.” I stepped forward and slipped into the role of consummate host. “So, Mrs. Nakamura, you walked all the way into town to buy a bottle of wine because you were worried about me and Benni and what I’m doing to help Grace?”

  “To be truthful, Mr. McKenna, my journey began as more of an apology. I fear I have embroiled you in an unworthy venture.”

  Oh boy, more Mrs. Nakamura doublespeak. “I don’t quite follow.”

  The old woman stared into her wine glass for a long moment before speaking. “I taught fourth grade for more than forty years, Mr. McKenna. Seldom was I a bad judge of character.” She looked up at Benni and smiled. “When you joined my class, child, I knew you were destined for great things.”

  Benni reached out and grabbed Mrs. Nakamura’s hand. She had tears in her eyes when she said, “Oh Auntie, I haven’t accomplished great things. I’m so sorry to disappoint you.”

  “I am not one bit disappointed, child. You found a way to live happily; you have a wonderful daughter; and you have saved my dear friend Mr. McKenna from himself. I consider those very great accomplishments.”

  “You are also a wonderful friend, Mrs. Nakamura.” I downed a healthy swallow of wine and tried to read the old woman. I hadn’t expected a kumbaya moment when I arrived. But given this outpouring of good will, maybe we should all go out on the beach, start a campfire, and sing happy songs. Then I caught the old lady’s expression. She sat up straight and her smile had fallen away. I wondered if she was slipping back into the role of schoolteacher—albeit, a tipsy one.

  “I came here to apologize. Now I must finish my task.”

  “What do you have to apologize for?” I asked. “You brought us wine. You were concerned about us. There’s nothing to apologize about.”

  “Quite the contrary, Mr. McKenna. I must express my regrets over my interference. It is I who instructed Grace to speak with you about her rent.” The look on the old woman’s mouth turned down as she heaved a heavy sigh.

  I cleared my throat. “What do I not know here?”

  “Grace hadn’t intended to come here, McKenna,” Benni said. She looked across the table at Mrs. Nakamura. “Auntie’s the one who talked her into telling you about the scammer.”

  “Isn’t that a good thing?”

  “It is possible that Grace deceived me, Mr. McKenna.” Mrs. Nakamura lowered her gaze to the table. “I am most humbled by having misjudged her character.”

  “How do you know she deceived you?”

  “Grace and I spoke on two different occasions. The first was the day on which she came to see you. We were both in the laundry room and she told me she needed two extra quarters for the dryer. I gave her the coins.”

  “It was kind of you to help her out, Mrs. Nakamura.”

  “I have always liked Grace and considered her to be honest. She promised to return the money; however, I informed her it would be unnecessary. She thanked me and explained she was experiencing financial difficulties.”

  So Grace had needed a little prodding. Didn’t we all at times? “I don’t understand what the problem is, Mrs. Nakamura. Grace didn’t tell me she’d spoken to you, but that’s okay. She made the right decision in the end.”

  “As I said, Mr. McKenna, I believe I misjudged Grace’s motives.”

  There were three things I’d learned about Mrs. Nakamura over the past few years. First, her resolve was a stone wall. No amount of head-butting could even dent it, so it was useless to fight her—unless, of course, you liked headaches. Second, she had never been shy about sharing her opinions. Especially when they contradicted mine. Hers were those of a proud woman with a strong moral compass and caused her to push those around her to higher achievements. Lastly, she was not one to dive into a subject without laying the foundation first. That’s precisely what she was doing now, preparing her case.

  I had also learned Mrs. Nakamura could be encouraged to accelerate the foundation-laying process by asking leading questions. It was worth a try. “Has Grace done something illegal?”

  “Not as yet.”

  Benni shifted position and leaned forward. “McKenna, Grace may not have told you the whole story.”

  “What parts did she leave out?”

  Mrs. Nakamura sighed. “She may have left out the part about how she was what you would call a willing participant in this scam.”

  “A willing participant? Do you mean as in she was lookin
g for a deal too good to be true? That’s how most people are caught up in these things.”

  “Her motives were perhaps more ambitious. I believe Grace was looking for…” She paused and considered her words for a moment, then said, “Alternative employment.”

  In my prime, I’d have recognized Grace’s subterfuge. She’d told me only what she’d wanted. Yes, she’d admitted to wanting to work from home, but there were many different definitions of work-from-home. Whether it was because I’d been distracted by the changes in my life, or had simply lost my ability to spot the signs, I’d missed this one altogether. And that irked me.

  “Mrs. Nakamura, are you sure about this?”

  “Mr. McKenna, I am aware of your considerable background. It is, after all, why I asked for your assistance on Maui. However, it has come to my attention that Grace has recently realized she had saved nothing for the future. I feel responsible for her change in attitude because it was I who mentioned how thankful I was for my pension.”

  “So Grace doesn’t have a pension. Many people don’t,” I muttered.

  Mrs. Nakamura paused, then sighed as she gazed at me. She’d guessed my situation. I just knew it. To her credit, she chose to focus not on me, but on Grace. “When she borrowed the money for the dryer, I told her I would be visiting my granddaughter next week. I did not intend my remark to be cruel, however Grace was quite upset by the comment.”

  “Grace doesn’t have any real family, McKenna.” Benni brushed her bangs to one side and shook her head. Her brow furrowed with concern as she spoke. “She’s divorced. They never had keiki. Both her parents have passed so she’s alone and worried.”

  Mrs. Nakamura sighed and sat back in her chair. There it was. Foundation laid. Was my reluctance to give up on Grace because I believed in her—or was I merely being stubborn?

  “Are you saying she might have been trying to buy into something illegal and wound up getting double-crossed? But Chance and I met with the guy who scammed her. They didn’t seem like they’d been working together.”

  “Are you sure of that McKenna?” Benni asked. “Really sure?”

  “Mr. McKenna, one of the lessons I always taught my students is that we approach our problems from a prejudiced point of view. In this case, were you not predisposed to believe Grace had been, as you say, scammed?”

  I jerked my head back and gaped at the old lady. She still wore her wedding ring and a flower over her left ear. The old woman may have been widowed for decades, but she’d never broken her vows. In all my years I’d never met anyone who took her word so seriously.

  But Grace? A scammer? It seemed impossible. “It just seems so unlikely that Grace was trying to get into the business of running scams.”

  She nodded. “To be blunt. That is precisely what I am saying.”

  “Do you have proof of this?”

  “I thought you might obtain such proof.”

  My hand went to my chest and I found myself again staring at her. I laughed nervously and said, “How would I obtain this proof?”

  “You are her landlord, Mr. McKenna. Do you not have right of access?”

  I shook my head. “I need the tenant’s permission. It’s for making repairs, that sort of thing, not to…do what you’re suggesting.” Thank God I hadn’t said, “spy on my tenants.” A slip like that would surely have landed me back in the doghouse with Benni by offending Mrs. Nakamura’s moral code—one of the few codes I never wanted to trample on.

  “McKenna?” Benni leaned forward and took my hand. “Auntie’s not suggesting you simply break into Grace’s apartment for no reason. Isn’t there something about not conducting illegal activities in Grace’s lease?”

  Okay, didn’t see that one coming. “You think I should do this?” Then again, she was probably drunk.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Mr. McKenna, I do not wish for you to do something you feel would jeopardize your employment or violate your ethics; however, you may have cause to enter Grace’s apartment.”

  The two of them exchanged a knowing glance. I was a little on the tipsy side myself, but certainly could spot a plan in the making. Whatever these two had talked about had to be a doozy. “What did you have in mind, Mrs. Nakamura?”

  “Because Grace has indicated you have her permission to evict her, perhaps you should inspect her apartment for damages. Is that not a normal procedure when a tenant has provided notification they are terminating their lease?”

  “Yes, but that’s not really what Grace said. She said she wouldn’t fight an eviction.”

  “I understand, Mr. McKenna. But is this not an extraordinary set of circumstances?”

  “Yes, but…”

  “McKenna, you’re doing a lot of backpedaling.” Benni looked at me with glazed eyes and a bit of a smile. “What’s really wrong?”

  “Chance and I believe Grace’s scam—whether she was trying to run it or was just a victim—is somehow tied to Angela Keating’s death. That means this is way bigger than where we started.”

  Her smile dropped away and she shook her head vigorously. Mrs. Nakamura closed her eyes and groaned.

  “Do you realize what this means?” I asked.

  Benni’s expression changed gradually, and her breathing slowed to the point where it was imperceptible. “Yes, I heard you. I don’t know if I can do this again, McKenna. I’m worried about you.”

  Mrs. Nakamura sat staring into her glass, her thin eyebrows knitting together into a line of concern. Thank goodness she remained silent.

  “It’s why I’m so reluctant to take this any further,” I said.

  “I know you, McKenna. You’ll hate me if I keep you out of this.”

  “No. No, I won’t.”

  “Oh, please. You could no longer walk away from this than a hungry dog could ignore a bowl of fresh meat.”

  “No matter how poisoned,” Mrs. Nakamura said.

  Gee, thanks for the help, you old bag. Reaching across the table, I took Benni’s hand. “Maybe we can find a middle ground. Chance wants to dig deeper. I can let him do the fieldwork.”

  That earned me little more than a blank stare from them both. To borrow a baseball analogy, I was like a batter in the bottom of the ninth who had the bases loaded, a tie game, and was down by two strikes.

  Stumped as to what to say, I was thankful when my phone pinged with a message from Chance.

  —We got trouble. Bad news. Can I come over?

  Sure, why not?

  It looked like I’d turned into the strikeout king.

  CHAPTER 30

  “That text message was from Chance,” I said. “He wants to come over. Is that okay?”

  “Why not?” Benni shrugged and glanced at Mrs. Nakamura.

  The old woman nodded her assent.

  I texted Chance to let him know it was okay to drop in. As we waited, Benni sniffled, then chewed her lower lip and regarded me. Nervousness was not a normal trait for her, and this behavior concerned me greatly.

  “What’s going on?” I asked gently.

  “I don’t want to stop you from doing what you want to do, McKenna. I really don’t. But I’m worried about you.”

  She looked away. Again, atypical behavior for the woman I loved. A few seconds later, there was a knock at the front door. I called to Chance to enter. When he did and saw Mrs. Nakamura, he balked, but then smiled and seemed to overcome his momentary surprise.

  “You all look like somebody died,” Chance said.

  I forced a weak smile. “Technically, somebody did. Angela Keating.”

  He nodded and his expression turned somber. “You’re right. Sorry about that. Look, if this is a bad time I can come back later.”

  “No,” Mrs. Nakamura said. “This particular moment may be quite propitious.”

  “What’s up, Chance?” I asked.

  He pursed his lips and pointed at the empty chair next to mine. “Can I sit?”

  “Of course.”

  “I received a call,” he said as
he sat. “It was from Skye’s attorney. He somehow learned we were asking questions about Angela Keating and demanded we ‘cease and desist.’”

  “That’s not good.” I worked my jaw from side-to-side to remove some of the growing tension. There was one thing I could say about this day—it was turning into a royal pain. “If Skye called out the dogs, it’s got to mean we’re onto something.”

  “I’m sure you’re right,” Chance said.

  Benni was in the process of slowly twirling her wineglass between her fingers by the stem. Mrs. Nakamura had donned what I call her inscrutable face. It could be she was contemplating something deep, or simply waiting for this conversation to play out. I had no idea which.

  “Why would Skye want us to stop asking questions about the death of her assistant?” I asked, intent on continuing the thought. Chance, however, finished it for me.

  “Unless she’s involved.”

  Chance raised both eyebrows and I nodded in agreement.

  “Doesn’t this create quite a dilemma?” I asked. “We have a batch of missing perfume, a dead assistant, and one of my tenants getting scammed. All in the same couple of days.”

  “Most unexpected,” Mrs. Nakamura said suddenly. “Would you not agree?”

  Benni looked across the table at her and frowned. Her lips parted. “I suppose.”

  “Mr. McKenna is quite fond of pointing out that he who believes in coincidence is destined to be deceived.”

  The old woman’s wrinkled smile took me by surprise. Apparently, it took Benni by surprise also because she turned her gaze on me and raised her eyebrows. I shook my head and raised my hands in a gesture of surrender. “Don’t ask me. I’ve never said that before.”

  “Perhaps not, Mr. McKenna, however, you have quite often preached about the unreliable nature of coincidence.”

  “Preach might be a bit strong.”

  Benni rolled her eyes while Mrs. Nakamura smiled back at me.

  “Shut up, McKenna,” Chance said. “She gave you a compliment by making you sound smart.”

  “Nice,” Benni said and raised her hand so she and Chance could exchange a high five.