by Aysia Amery
The third Menehune was dead.
“Jemma, I have to talk to her ghost. In Agatha’s novel the last victim hung herself, so I have to know if Heidi did the same or if somebody killed her.”
“We can’t stop, Ginger. There are two more Menehunes left, and I think they’re us.” Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“You go on ahead, and I’ll catch up,” I said.
“Dammit, Ginger, I’m not leaving you.” Annoyance pitched her voice this time. “Hurry up then.”
“I’ll be but a sec,” I assured her.
“Heidi. Please appear.” I didn’t bother to whisper this time, since I couldn’t give a rip who saw me. Our lives were in danger—NO—our lives were at stake, and I just needed to get this done.
“Heidi!”
She finally appeared.
“Did you hang yourself?” I didn’t bother with the small talk.
She shook her head.
“Do you know who killed you?”
Again, a no.
Dagnabbit! The murderer must’ve given her the ketamine and carried her here. That must mean the murderer was a man. Kat didn’t seem Amazonian enough to carry a body.
That left Evan or Mark as the killer.
“Let’s go!” Jemma yelled as she yanked my arm. She then took off running again.
We ran and ran and ran some more. Finally, I had to stop—my lungs were gonna burst. Hard huffs heaved out my breath, and I coughed and coughed until I gagged. I had no spit. It was as though I’d been sucking on felt.
I held my hand over my heart while it raced with the velocity of a runaway bullet train. It thumped and pumped harder than a jackhammer—I thought I was gonna drop down dead!
I swiped the back of my hand under my nose. Then grasping my sides, I squeezed. Man, I was so out of shape.
I didn’t bother to yell out to Jemma to slow down. I had no breath in me. Doubled over, I clamped my hands over my thighs. Crap! Cramps seized me, and I winced.
“What’s wrong?” I heard Jemma yell back at me. She sounded winded, but not anything like how I felt.
Without looking up, I flapped my hands at my wrists, motioning her to go on.
I tried to yell out, “Keep going. Don’t worry about me,” but only puffs of air wheezed out.
I rose full height and set my eyes on her.
My eyelids rose high.
Her figure no longer took center stage, but the one behind her did.
“Jemma!” I tried to yell, but my energy hadn’t yet rejuvenated my voice. It came out only louder than a whisper.
I didn’t need binoculars to know who it was.
It was the murderer.
Chapter 12
If I thought my heart pounded hard and fast before, it was near heart attack levels now.
Please don’t hurt Jemma. Please.
With all the stamina left in me, I barreled like a wild mare toward my dear friend, praying that maniac didn’t harm her.
My mind; numb, yet chaotic, verged on delirium. Was I experiencing shock? Adrenalin kicked in like a drug taking me on a high ride. I’ve never felt fear to this degree, ever. I wanted to pass out but I didn’t dare.
As I closed in, I scanned the ground for something, anything, to use as a weapon. I caught sight of a dead branch and scooped it up. Grasped tightly in my grip, I was poised for my attack.
Why was he just standing there? He made no move toward Jemma or me. He knew I had to be out for blood with the way I was coming at him.
Swinging the flimsy weapon over my head, I tried to strike but he deflected my blow and caught my arm with a hard grip.
Jemma put her fists to his arm and chest, and I thought he was gonna smack her with his other arm when a voice yelled out, “STOP!”
As though the command had been barked out by a drill sergeant, we all did.
It was Kat! She ran out of the brush. Her presence caught me by surprise, and all I could do was stare at her. Did she come back to help us?
But then she stood beside Mark and it hit me.
Kat was the sister.
So she was Kaline (pronounced: Kuh lee nay). And Mark was Maleko (pronounced: Muh lay ko). It was their names in Hawaiian.
Mark released his grip on me, and Jemma and I stepped backward a few paces.
“We’re not going to hurt you folks,” Kat said.
I found no relief in that.
“But there are two more Menehunes.”
Dammit, Jemma, you didn’t have to remind them.
“They’re not you,” Kat told us. Then she looked at her brother. “We’ve had our revenge on all those involved.”
“Why were we even here?” I asked.
“I remembered our parents talking about how a Maui girl had made the big time after reading an article about you. They talked about visiting your restaurant someday, but that day never happened.”
Wow. I didn’t know how to feel about that.
“We figured we’d tribute our parents by bringing you here to treat our victims to their one last great meal.”
Oh my god. This was crazy!
“When you were killing them, did you drug us?” I had to ask.
“Yes. We had to make sure you all slept soundly throughout the night. My brother could then come and go.”
“We found the hallways in-between the walls. We guessed that you entered the guestrooms through the mirrors.”
“Clever ladies,” she said.
“We found ketamine in Heidi’s things. We thought at first she was the murderer. Did you steal it from her to use on us?”
“We had our own. We didn’t use that drug on you. It was used only on those we killed. You all got a safer sleeping pill, but one strong enough to knock you out all night.”
That’s what I figured.
“So what now?” I asked.
I tried to sound calm, but my body shivered as though I wore a bikini in the middle of a snowfall.
Even though Kat said they weren’t going to kill us, it didn’t lessen my chills. They were freaking murderers. Who could ever feel calm among the likes of these two?
“We’ll give you a map so you can find the Waipio Valley access road. You’ll have to hike up it, but at the lookout you’ll be able to catch a ride.”
“Aren’t you afraid that we’ll turn you in?” Jemma asked.
Oh my god, girl, shush the heck up. I flared my nostrils at her. Unfortunately, Jemma’s attention was on Kat, so she didn’t catch my glare.
“We’ll be long gone by the time you get out. All that mattered to us was revenge on the people who deserved it. We don’t kill innocent people.”
“What about Evan?” I asked. “Was he also in on this?”
“Yes. He’s my boyfriend,” Kat said.
“What happened to Sam? Did you kill her too?”
Before Kat could answer, a wop, wop, wop serenaded my ears with a song of hope. I knew what it was, and so did the others.
Kat reached back into her pants and threw a map to the ground. “You’d better get going.”
Then both she and her brother ran.
Jemma’s eyes welled up. Mine did too. Funny how relief can make you cry as much as fear can.
We clung to each other while blubbering with tears—grateful to be alive.
“Let’s get out of here,” I said once I gained my composure.
“I’ll be right behind you, lady.”
“You sure about that?” I smiled. “You were light-years ahead of me before.”
Jemma quirked her mouth. “Just lead on, Magruff.”
“It’s ‘Macduff,’” I corrected.
“Whatever. Just go.”
I was on it. We followed the map back to where we’d have a chance at reaching civilization eventually. But before we made it to the access road, as was my hope, we bumped into two guys wearing rescue uniforms.
Thank god!
We told them what happened. They escorted us back to the chopper that had set down on the open grassy are
a just a few hundred feet from the beach. Maybe it was a few thousand, I don’t know. I’m not good with distance. I just wanted to get home.
“You okay back there, ladies?”
The console lit up.
“Yes,” I said, while Jemma just nodded.
“Sorry we couldn’t get here any earlier, but the storm made it impossible.”
The other rescue guy was calling in to their dispatch.
“What made you come for us?” I asked. Surely they couldn’t know what was going on back at the ranch.
“A few people had contacted emergency, worried about their family members when they didn’t call or return home yesterday.” He pressed a button. “What’s your name?”
“Ginger Lee.”
He picked up a small clipboard.
“Your name’s on here, so your husband was one of them.”
All of a sudden, my throat choked up and tears dribbled down my face. My Blaine.
“The authorities are being notified. They’ll send in a team to investigate your story. They’ll need you both for questioning, but for now, let’s get you out of here.”
I was all for that.
Jemma’s fingers entwined mine and grasped so tightly my fingers began to throb.
I let out a breath as the chopper lifted us off the valley floor and buzzed like a honey bee into the sky, carrying its pollen and nectar back safely to its comb.
I smiled at Jemma. She smiled at me. What an ordeal we had been through.
Then my thoughts went to Blaine.
I couldn’t wait to smother him with kisses while his loving arms made me feel safe again.
Looking out onto the ocean, watching surfers catch massive foam-tipped waves, my next thought was...
Oh boy, wait till I tell Reese about Jemma’s shoe and Thunderballs’ stinky fart.
: The End :
Thank you so much for taking time out to read my story. I hope you enjoyed it. Please check out my other books in this series if you haven’t already. And stay tuned for more rotten, stinkin’ murder mayhem in paradise with Ginger and her quirky crew. Mahalo!
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