Inside, she bought a case of Heinekens, then went to the greeting card display to find a thank-you card. She selected one she could add a few words to, then proceeded to the manager’s booth.
“May I help you?”
“Yes, sir, I would like to purchase a gift certificate for groceries. What is the largest dollar amount you carry?”
“We carry $10, $25, $50, and $100 gift certificates.”
“Great, I’ll take five of the $100 gift certificates.” Layla pulled out a book of traveler’s checks and began signing them.
At Mr. Soo’s, she got out and asked him if she could put her car in his garage, as he had offered.
“Yes, let me see what you have rented,” he said with excitement as he grabbed his garage door opener. “A station wagon. How clever of you. We will get a lot of use out of that on our shopping trips.”
“My thoughts exactly. Plus, I imagine it will come in handy during the remodeling. I’ve gotten some beer to take to the Boones along with a thank-you card and $500 worth of grocery-store gift certificates. Do you think that will help smooth things over?”
“Most excellent idea,” Mr. Soo said, beaming as he opened the garage door.
A case of Heinekens turned out to be heavier than Layla realized as she toted it and her purse up the stairs to the Boones’ back door. She banged her knee on the back door as a way of knocking.
George opened the door with a surprised look on his face. “Let me get that. You shouldn’t be carrying such a heavy load up the stairs. After all, you’re still recovering from surgery.”
“I forgot all about that. I think it will be fine. I did a lot of crawling around and stretching when I was doing my restoration project without any complications.”
“Are we having a celebration?”
“Well, of sorts, a farewell party for me and a thank-you party from me to you and Annie. I’ll let you handle the beer, and I’ll take my purse to the bedroom.”
In the bedroom, Layla added a personal message to the thank-you card, then placed the $500 worth of gift certificates inside. Back in the kitchen, Annie and George were relaying bottles of beer into the refrigerator.
“Is it too early for us to share a beer?”
“It’s close to noon. We’ll call it a pre-lunch cocktail,” said George.
Beers were opened, and then Layla handed Annie the thank-you card, saying, “This in no way can make up for my thoughtlessness or the deep thanks I owe you both, but I wanted to give you some token of my appreciation for your kindness and understanding.”
Annie opened the card, read the brief note, then looked at the gift cards. “George, look what this girl has done.”
George looked at the five $100 gift certificates Annie fanned out for him. “Layla, thank you so much. What a thoughtful gift and something we can always use. I envision you and Mr. Soo joining us for some prime grilling in the very near future.”
“I must admit, I did hope you might invite us over for a meal.”
“Honey, this is very generous. We really appreciate you doing this for us,” Annie said, giving her a hug.
CHAPTER 36
Bags packed, Layla sat on the lanai with George and Annie, enjoying a cup of coffee. “The first thing I’m doing today is purchase a coffee maker and coffee. Mr. Soo is a tea drinker.”
“Don’t blame you. You’re a coffee drinker like me,” Annie said.
“Layla, don’t push Mr. Soo about visiting his former home. I doubt he will go back until all those screens and dividers are down. That way, things will look more like the home he originally purchased before Mrs. Soo made her changes.”
“I agree with you that once the screens and dividers are down, he might be more comfortable visiting. I will keep him updated and will let him make his own decision when to visit.”
After coffee, George helped take the bags over to Mr. Soo’s. Annie promised they would be having them over for dinner soon.
Mr. Soo was out on his walk, which Layla was grateful for; it would give her free time to get her errands done. First, purchase a coffee maker and coffee, then go to the bank and meet with Mr. Munson as her trust officer advised.
Layla stopped by the coffee shop first. Browsing to find several different types of brew, she discovered a section of coffeepots and purchased coffee and coffee maker without looking any further.
At the bank, she asked a teller if she could speak with Donald Munson. When Donnie heard who was wanting to see him, he hurriedly went out front. “Layla, I’ve been in touch with your trust officer, and we’ve set up a sizable checking account for you. All I need is your signature and, if I may suggest, a cosigner as well,” Donnie said, directing her to his office.
“I never thought of something like that. Who would you suggest?”
“George Boone would make a good choice. He’s an honest man, and if his signature is needed, he would easily come in to accommodate. You can just ask George to sign this signature card and then return it to me. I will also need your signature.” Donnie pushed the card toward Layla, who read it, then signed.
“Donnie, do you know how the sale of Mr. Soo’s property is coming along? Is your bank handling the transfer of funds?”
“Hopefully, it should be ready for all signatures by the end of next week, and yes, our bank will receive the funds, then immediately transfer into Mr. Soo’s account, which he keeps with us. These things often take longer than anticipated, and I know you are anxious to begin remodeling. To take up some of your time, come by the Visitors Center. I’m there every Friday afternoon. I’ll give you a tour of where we are currently and where we hope to be when everything is finished. I’m sure you will enjoy seeing how things have developed.”
“What a kind offer. I would like to see how the project is progressing and report back to Kim.”
“Thank you. That would be nice if you let Kim know, and I’ll look forward to seeing you this coming Friday.”
Layla’s next stop was the grocery store. Although she agreed to eat at Otis’s, it would be no more than one meal a day. She would prepare dinner for Mr. Soo each night, being sure not to cook any fish. During the time she was married to Kyle, she had become quite a casserole queen, never knowing for sure when he would come home. She would ply Mr. Soo with her wide variety of casseroles.
At the store, she stocked up on enough for several meals and also the ingredients to Agnes’s “beer” cookies. She knew George and Annie would enjoy them. On her way back to Mr. Soo’s, she spotted him chatting with the owner of a local tourist shop. She pulled over to the curb and asked him if he would like a ride home.
“Yes, that would be nice. It has turned warmer than usual today. My goodness!” Mr. Soo exclaimed when he opened the car door. “You have air conditioning. This is lovely.”
On the way, Layla explained about her plans to prepare dinner for both of them. She assured Mr. Soo he would enjoy her cooking, and he said he would give it a try.
Late the next morning, Layla watched for Annie to return from her jog. Seeing her coming down the driveway, she waved and told her she would be coming over soon, bearing cookies.
“That’s just what I need after jogging, some cookies,” Annie said.
“They’re Agnes’s special beer cookies, best eaten when drinking beer. No kidding.”
“George will love them. See you shortly.”
Layla packed a bag of mincemeat cookies; grabbed her keys, signature card, and cell phone; made sure all was secure, and walked over to the Boones’.
Layla handed Annie the bag of cookies. “I wasn’t kidding. These go great with beer. Agnes bakes them for Dewey and Don to snack on while watching sporting events and drinking beer. Weird, right?”
“I think I’ll try one with a beer now. It’s so miserably hot, we’ve lost our trade winds. I hope George gets back soon. He’ll end up with a good sunb
urn in this heat.”
As Annie finished her sentence, George came dragging through the front kitchen door. His face and chest were red, he was dripping sweat, and he was actually panting.
“Honey, are you having a heart attack?”
“No, need cold air,” George said, opening the side door to the freezer section of the refrigerator and standing in front of it.
“George, what’s happened? Annie asked, dampening paper towels and handing them to George. “Do you want water?”
“Yes, very cold water, please,” George said in short bursts.
Annie went to refrigerator door and depressed the ice dispenser, filling a large glass with ice. She took it to the sink, added water, then handed it to George, who was still sucking in the cold air from the freezer section. He drank the whole glass down and handed it back to her, indicating more.
“Here’s another glass, but get yourself out of the freezer before you catch something. What the hell happened to you?”
George closed the door to the freezer and finished his second glass of water. “Hi, Layla, didn’t notice you before, eyes were seeing stars.”
“George, tell me right this minute what’s going on?” Annie demanded, her hands on her hips, a stern tone to her voice.
“Hell, Annie, I came down with a case of male ego,” George said, plopping down on a counter stool, wiping his face with paper towels.
“What are you talking about?”
“I was making my way along the beach, you know, in my jog-walk routine. Then, wham, out of nowhere, Fiona comes tearing by, saying, ‘Better pick it up, old boy.’ Well, that really pissed me off, so I took off after her and that was back before the jetty. I hauled ass all the way home. I never did catch her, but I liked to kill myself.”
Annie eyed George disapprovingly. “Was she wearing her four-inch heels or was she in tennis shoes?”
“Very funny. I swear that woman is a ball buster, and I don’t care if you don’t like me saying that. I almost died defending the males of Paia.”
“I brought some of my special cookies that go great with beer. Want to try one?”
“Only if my lovely wife will permit me a beer to go with them.”
“I shouldn’t after that stunt you just pulled. That was so juvenile,” Annie said, passing beers around.
“Thank you, honey. You know we guys sometimes do these type of things, must be in the genes. Layla, these cookies are good. Funny, they do go great with beer.”
“Thanks, George, the more I hear about Fiona, I’m getting leery about working with her. What I really came over to tell you folks about was the dinner I fixed for Mr. Soo last night. I decided we could eat breakfast or even dinner at Otis’s but not more than one meal a day for me, just too much fat and cholesterol. Last night, I fixed a green salad, macaroni and cheese, and pork chops. I served the salad first, making sure Mr. Soo ate some greens. Then the pork chops and macaroni, they were big center-cut chops. He put a pork chop on his plate, then eyed the macaroni, and looked at me and said he had never eaten macaroni and cheese before and wasn’t sure he would like it. Can you tell me how he could have eaten all those years at Otis’s and not eaten macaroni and cheese? Anyway, I suggested he try a small portion, and if he didn’t like it, I would know not to serve it again. He ate a couple of bites, smiled, and loaded up his plate with more. After that, he had two more helpings and made me swear to make it again real soon. Where does that little man put all that food?”
“We’ve wondered that for years,” said Annie, laughing.
“George, I need a favor. Would you be the cosigner on my newly opened checking account? Donnie suggested you, and all you’ll have to do is sign this signature card and I’ll drop it back to Donnie.”
“Sure, glad to. Leave the card here, and I’ll sign it and give it to Donnie tomorrow. I have errands to do in the area, so no problem. Let’s sit on the front lanai and have beer and cookies. It should be cooler there,” said George, still sweaty from his workout courtesy of Fiona.
Passing the charcoal Layla had done of George and Annie, Annie commented, “Layla, both Donnie and the sheriff thought your work was terrific. Neither knew you were such a talented artist.”
“That’s nice to hear. I must thank each of them.”
Although the sheriff had told Annie he thought Layla’s charcoal was terrific, when he first saw it as George was taking him to the front lanai on Dewey’s last night in Maui, he grabbed George’s arm, saying, “My god, George, who did this? Surely someone who saw the Okamoto murder scene or photos and has a sick sense of humor.”
“This was done by Layla on our trip to the national parks in Utah. She never saw the murder scene or any of the photos. Eerie, isn’t it?”
“What did Annie say when she saw it?”
“Annie made no connection to the Okamotos, which tells me she has blocked that memory out of her mind. If she was able to recall it, she would have been as shocked as I was at the resemblance of the position and placement of her and me to the Okamotos.”
“Jesus, this is scary,” said the sheriff, taking one last look at the charcoal.
CHAPTER 37
Friday afternoon, Donnie was sweeping off the veranda at the Visitors Center when he looked up and saw Layla walking across Baldwin headed toward the center. He was glad she was going to visit and update Kim on the progress, which he would explain to her was slower than he imagined because of various regulations and environmental requirements.
He walked down the steps and greeted Layla as she walked up the driveway. “I’m so pleased you’ve come to see our progress or lack of it.” Donnie then explained all the trouble there had been with the driveway and the other items that had slowed things down. He told her that the anticipated opening date was now out of the picture but assured her that the center would be open as soon as possible. They had ample funding, and crews were working as fast as possible; the holdup was with the numerous inspections that were required.
“The driveway and veranda are lovely. It looks like you’ve planned to open up the veranda to the inside.”
“Yes, that was George’s idea. We will serve cold drinks, coffee, salads, and sandwiches. It will be a welcoming center where folks can browse inside, then come outside and relax. George also suggested we have an area on the inside that sells local artwork. I saw the wonderful charcoal you did for George and Annie, and I was hoping you would contribute some that we could sell, maybe even some of our windsurfers. That would be a real attribute to the center.”
“Thank you, Donnie. I’m always flattered when someone compliments my charcoal work. I originally planned to be an artist, but in New York, artists doing charcoals, especially landscapes, were a dime a dozen. That’s the reason I got serious about doing restoration work, which I dearly love. I would be flattered to do some charcoals for the center, and catching the windsurfers in flight will be a wonderful challenge.”
They continued inside with Donnie explaining all that had been done and all that was still to be done. He was very complimentary of the ideas he had received from George and how he hoped he and Annie would lead a docent team once the center opened.
Time passed quickly, and Layla said she had to be leaving, explaining her new cooking duties in lieu of eating nightly dinner at Otis’s. She assured Donnie she would tell Kim what a wonderful job was being done on the Visitors Center and let him know the opening date would be pushed back. She assured Donnie that Kim would understand as he was honored to have the Okamoto Visitors Center opening in the home and business that had belonged to his parents for so many years.
“By the way, Donnie, where do you think the best place for me to pick up some art supplies would be?”
“Well, I’m not sure. I’m afraid my knowledge of art supplies is quite lacking. We don’t have an art store, per se, here in Paia. Your best bet would be to check with Fiona. She would kn
ow where the best store in all the islands is located and can assist you with what you would need.”
“Thanks, I’ll check with her.” Layla left the center and headed back down the hill to Mr. Soo’s. She hated to ask Fiona. Maybe she would be out on her lanai, and she could get it over with quickly. Layla had to admit she was beginning to feel about her the way George did. Although she did have to grin, thinking about her breezing by George and making that comment which would piss any man off.
Not finding Fiona on their front lanai, Layla decided what the hell and walked up and rang the doorbell.
Fiona opened the door in a terry-cloth sarong and a towel wrapped around her head. “You caught me hitting the bottle. The roots were beginning to show.”
Caught completely off guard by her frank statement, Layla uttered, “Never thought about it. I came by to avail myself of some of your shopping wisdom.”
“My favorite subject, how can I help you?”
“I do landscapes in charcoal, and I need an entire set of supplies, charcoals, easel, drawing pad, etc., Donnie Munson said you would be the person to ask where I could find the best on the islands.”
“As surprising as this may sound, the best art supplies are handled by a dealer in Hilo. I deal with him frequently when refurbishing supplies or cleaners are required. In fact, that is where I’ve ordered the supplies for cleaning the wood in your new home. If you can give me a list of the brand and exactly what you need, I can e-mail it to Mr. Lee.”
“I’ll e-mail my needs, then you can send them to Mr. Lee.”
“I’ll phone Mr. Lee and tell him the information will be e-mailed to him. Do you want him to send it express mail, and do you want to wait until he has everything, in case he doesn’t have it all in stock?”
“Yes, express mail by all means, and send what he’s got and anything that remains as soon as he receives it. How will he get reimbursed?”
Maui Murders Page 22
