by Rose Smith
“I appreciate that. Prepare for the worst, but hope for the best,” said Wolf. That’s not only the policeman in you talking, it’s also the SEAL in you.
“Once a SEAL, always a SEAL. “Detective Sheldon fist-bumped Wolf before pulling into the parking lot at Police Headquarters.
He walked Wolf up to the Chief’s office on the top floor. His office was huge.
“I’d like to introduce you to Chief Richard Cummings.”
Cummings came from behind his massive desk and shook Wolf’s hand.
“Chief, this is Navy SEAL Matthew ‘Wolf’ Steel.”
“Call me Wolf,” he smiled and shook the chief’s outstretched hand.
“Sit down, gentlemen.”
Cummings sat in his chair behind his desk while Gage and Wolf sat down in the two chairs across from him.
“I’m sure Lead Detective Sheldon has filled you in on what we need from you.”
“He told me you think the ring my wife saw might be linked to organized crime in Hilo.”
“It comes from a credible source, but we still have to check it out. In the meantime, we don’t want to take any chances with Mrs. Steel’s safety. We’d like you to keep her with you at all times. If you have to leave her with someone, we’d like you to leave her with a trained police officer.”
“No problem,” Wolf told the Chief. “And thanks for appointing a policeman to keep an eye out.”
“We’ll try to make sure the officer on duty doesn’t get too close. He’ll be in the lobby or near the elevators in the Grand. The last thing we want to do is telegraph to anybody that we have an eye-witness in this case.”
The chief’s intercom buzzed.
“Excuse, me, gentlemen.”
He picked up his phone and pressed the intercom button.
“What? On the way to the airport? Got it.” He hung up the phone. “An informant spotted Jackson Richardson on his way to the airport after leaving his hotel.”
“We’re on it, Chief. Let’s go Wolf. I’ll fill you in on the details on the way.”
Gage and Wolf rushed to the police sedan. Detective Sheldon sounded the whine of the siren. “Jackson Richardson is the man Brianna Kamehameha was having an affair with,” he told Wolf while the sedan dodged cars and raced through the busy streets of Hilo toward the airport. “We need to get to him before he leaves the island.”
“Is he connected with organized crime?” Wolf inquired. “Don’t know. That’s something we want to find out. He’s a small-time dope dealer, but a lot of them have mob ties on the island.”
“Describe him to me.”
“He’s an overly tanned beach looking dude. Dark hair, greasy, wears it slicked-back. About 5’ 11.”
“Got it.”
The tires of the sedan screeched as the detective sped up and parked at the main airport entrance.
Gage and Wolf sprinted out of the car and into the airport, racing to the nearest check in counter.
“Where’s the gate to the next flight out to Los Angeles?” Lead Detective Sheldon asked the reservationist after flashing his badge. She searched her computer screen.
“Gate 58,” she told him. “Straight ahead and to the left.”
“Thanks!” He and Wolf rushed down the wide hallway leading to the gates.
“There he is!” To the right of them, Detective Sheldon spotted Richardson hurrying toward the gate, looking nervous.
They dashed toward him. Once he spotted them, he jumped onto the people mover. He ran by a woman who was surfing on her cell, almost knocking her down. He pushed past a couple, now in full sprint. Gage and Wolf got close, but he managed to outrun them. He ran past the gates, racing down the stairs—even sliding down the banister, knocking other passengers out of the way.
“Halt!” Shouted Gage. Richardson continued running. When he came upon the luggage carousel, he jumped onto it, sprinting into the plastic curtain and diving down the luggage chute.
“Shit!” Gage, said, looking for a door leading outside. Before he knew it,
Wolf had dived in the same luggage chute, in hot pursuit of the suspect.
Spotting a door, Gage rushed to it with his badge on display. “Let me out,” he ordered the employee who stood by the exit. The worker unlocked the door. Outside, he raced down the stairs hoping to get to the bowels of the airport where they housed the luggage.
While flying down the stairs, however, he spotted the suspect. Wolf was close on his tail. The perp raced toward a moving luggage transport vehicle. He dashed toward it trying to put it between him and Wolf who was fast gaining on him.
Wolf lunged, grabbing the perp and splaying him all over the luggage vehicle, causing the baggage to tumble and spread over the flight line.
“Put your hands up!” Ordered Detective Sheldon, standing over the suspect with his gun drawn.
A dazed Jackson Richardson surrendered.
“Glad I brought you along,” Detective Sheldon exhaled to Wolf as he helped the SEAL up.
“Glad I could be of assistance,” said Wolf.
Gage Sheldon handcuffed Richardson and they escorted him to the sedan then to headquarters.
“We got him!” Chief Richard Cummings couldn’t contain his excitement.
Detective Sheldon could hear him speaking on the phone as he reported the latest on the Kamehameha case to the mayor. “He was headed for the mainland!”
Even though they had barely brought him in for interrogation, Sheldon knew his attempt to run would shoot him to the top of the suspect list. Though in the Chief’s mind, he was already there.
Since the Kamehameha family were the most important on the island, the mayor had demanded Chief Cummings keep him informed of every detail of the case.
Sheldon declined commenting to the media after they swarmed the sedan as he and Wolf drove up to the precinct with the suspect where Detective Makoa Koskos waited.
Detective Koskos processed and booked Richardson on suspicion of the murder of Brianna Kamehameha. He led the handcuffed suspect into an interrogation room and sat with him in silence while Sheldon briefed the chief.
“I want this bastard’s confession!” Chief Cummings bellowed, his pink skin turning tomato red from his balding head to his neck.
“Understood, Chief. We’ll do a thorough interview, but we don’t know yet if he committed the murder. We need to make sure we get the right perpetrator.”
“And why in the hell would he be trying to run?” The Chief’s black tie creased and moved on top of his belly when he spoke as he leaned back in his chair.
“Remember, an innocent man will run as hard and fast as a guilty one. I’m not saying he did or didn’t do it. I’m saying we need to do this one right. And you know that if the husband wasn’t who he is—he would still be a suspect. I haven’t ruled him out yet.”
Chief Cummings looked at Detective Sheldon and snarled—the redness on his neck spreading to his cheeks. “Ok, let’s do this!”
Gage Sheldon poured himself a cup of black coffee and went into the interrogation room where Richardson and Detective Koskos were waiting. He calmly sat down across from the suspect, next to his partner. He looked over the piece of paper Detective Koskos was making notes on. After taking a sip of his drink, he pushed the record button on the audio machine sitting on the table and spoke in a calm voice.
“Detective Makoa Koskos has informed you of your rights. Am I correct?”
Jackson Richardson nodded his head.
“Please answer verbally. This conversation is being recorded,” Sheldon reminded him.
“Yeah!” Richardson said, speaking toward the device.
“You know you don’t have to say anything to us, you know you can request an attorney at anytime and end this interview.”
“And what am I gonna pay him with—my good looks?” Richardson’s sardonic smile caused Detective Sheldon to make a mental note one of his teeth was missing on the left side of his mouth. His bottom teeth were crowded and slightly crooked. He looked
at his hands. He noticed the circle of lighter flesh on his left ring finger.
“You can have a public defender assigned to you,” said Detective Sheldon, still steady and calm. He made a note to have Detective Koskos check for a horseshoe ring in pawn shops near Richardson.
“A lot that’ll do me with royalty after my ass! I didn’t do it! Sure I was seeing her, and I did call her to say I was planning to hook up with her that night. But I never saw her! I didn’t kill her.”
“Where were you on the night Brianna Kamehameha was killed?”
“I was in my apartment—alone.”
“What were you doing checking out of the hostel today instead of at your apartment?” Asked Detective Sheldon.
“Even though you should be looking at his royal highness, her prick of a husband—I know how this game is played. With his connections I knew you guys would need a scapegoat. And with my history, I make a good one. I knew you guys were gonna come looking for me. And I was behind on my rent anyway.”
Detective Koskos had looked up Richardson’s record. He’d already been arrested a couple of times for drug trafficking and had one arrest for disorderly conduct.
Detective Sheldon signaled for his partner to continue the interview while he excused himself. He’d phoned Dr. Nalani Yung before going into the interrogation room. She’d returned the call while Sheldon was interviewing. He called and told her he had a suspect in the Brianna Kamehameha case and needed her to make a mold of the suspect’s teeth to compare it to the forensic evidence. They set up an appointment for Sheldon to bring Richardson to the dentist’s office. He then returned to the interrogation.
After a couple of hours of denials, Sheldon asked Richardson a different question. One the detective surmised caught the suspect by surprise.
“Did you know about Brianna Kamehameha’s medical condition?”
“What medical condition? Was she sick?”
“Was she?” Both detectives sat in silence, waiting for cues from Richardson. He looked perplexed.
“I don’t know anything about her being sick.”
“I didn’t say she was sick,” Detective Sheldon stated, still studying the suspects face for clues.
“Did you know she was pregnant?”
He saw surprise register on Jackson Richardson’s face.
“Shit! That bastard must have known.”
“Hanale?” Inquired Detective Sheldon.
“Brianna had told me she had something in the works that would make Hanne let her have a divorce. Something that would make him let her go.”
“I’m listening.”
“He had a vasectomy 10 years ago. She knew the baby wasn’t his.”
~ Chapter 12 ~
Nalani arrived a few minutes before she was due to meet Irene at The Loved by The Sun Juice Shop for coffee. Once Irene came and they sat, Irene told her Mokoa had misgivings about Dr. Cranston Stein, a ‘good ole boy’ network dentist the Chief called in to go over the forensic evidence.
“In breakneck speed, Dr. Stein is ready to testify to the grand jury that the person Detective Sheldon has in custody is the one whose bite matches the bite marks on Brianna Kamehameha.
“Chief Cummings is anxious to get The Blood Moon Murder solved. He’s also convinced they’ve already got The Blood Moon Murderer behind bars. He’s determined to prove it wasn’t his life-long pal Hanale Kamehameha. Makoa told me something doesn’t sit right with him or Sheldon on this case.
“He said they studied the mold against the guy’s teeth, and though neither of them are forensic dentists—it doesn’t look like a match to either of them.”
“And though Hanale Kamehameha is a gazillionaire, Makoa says he has some missing and crooked teeth he never had fixed. They want to do a comparison, but the Chief is resisting.”
“Detective Sheldon called me, but I was working downtown,” Nalani explained. “He left me a message. I’m glad you told me more of what this is about. I made the mold of the suspect’s teeth, but I haven’t had a chance to compare it to the DNA evidence.” She sipped her cooled off cinnamon-caramel latté.
“I’ve got to go to the bathroom,” Irene stated. “Jr’s, kicking my bladder.”
“Oh, no, hope it doesn’t hurt.”
“It doesn’t,” Irene said as she stood. “It’s just his gentle reminder for me to tinkle,” she laughed.
“Ok. I’m going to see if I can reach Detective Sheldon,” said Nalani. She dialed the number he’d left on the message.
“Detective Sheldon.”
“Hello, Lead Detective Sheldon. Nalani Yung here. I’m returning your call.”
“Hello Dr. Yung,” answered Gage. “I’m tied up at the moment. Can we meet for dinner so I can fill you in? I want to keep this off the record for now.”
“Ok.”
They made plans to meet for dinner around 5 p.m.
Soon after she got off the phone, surprise flowed through her when a familiar face walked into the shop holding hands with a beautiful caramel-kissed smoothed-skin petite woman. Her thick curly black hair was styled in a semi-relaxed afro. He saw Nalani almost as soon as they walked in the shop. Color drained from his face. He tried to act like he didn’t see her. Nalani wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easy.
Since her Bucket List Booty Call, he’d made excuse after excuse. And he only seemed to be available late at night. He didn’t want her hanging around. She began to suspect he may be married. He made too many excuses.
Irene bristled as she walked past Ionale and the pretty black woman. She felt bad for Nalani, knowing how crazy she was about him.
“What a louse,” she fumed as she sat back down.
“Excuse me a moment, Irene,” Nalani said.
“Are you sure you want to talk to him now?” Questioned her worried friend.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to cause a scene. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She made her way to the couple. “Hello Ionale,” she said, standing next to the table where he and the woman sat. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
Flushed, and unsure of what Nalani was going to do next, he tried playing coy.
“Oh, hi. Nalani. Yung? Right? This is Shirley. Shirley Nixon.”
“Shirley. Nice to meet you, Shirley.” Nalani extended her hand and Shirley put down her coffee and held her hand out to shake Nalani’s.
“Nice ring,” Nalani noted.
“Oh thanks, we’re engaged.”
“Oh? Congratulations. That’s great.”
“Ionale, can I see you for a moment? It’s about an issue at work. I need to brief you.”
“Sure,” he said—a little unsure of himself. “I’ll be back in a few, Babe.”
“It was really nice meeting you, Shirley, said Nalani.”
“You, too.” Shirley returned to drinking her coffee and began swiping through her cell phone while Nalani lead Ionale outside.
“Thanks, Babe,” he said sounding 50 shades of relieved. “I owe you one.”
“I didn’t do it for you,” Nalani retorted. “Judging by the way you’ve been lying to me, she’s gonna find out soon enough about her fiancé. I should probably thank her for dodging a bullet.”
“Oh so it’s like that, huh.”
“Yeah, it’s like that,” she started walking toward her car, tears brimming her eyes.
“Your loss, Babe,” he called out, as if she was the one who’d done wrong. “By the way—I hate dogs—I’m allergic to muts!” He started to walk back to the coffee shop, but stopped dead in his tracks when he realized Shirley had followed them, probably hearing most of what they’d said. Seems she wasn’t completely in the dark and she didn’t look like someone to take lightly. While Nalani walked away she turned around to see Shirley pushing him in the chest asking him what was going on.
Nalani went to her car to grab some tissues to wipe her tears. She gathered herself before going back to the coffee shop where Irene offered a sympathetic ear.
“Did you give that
bastard what for?” Irene demanded once Nalani had sat back down.
“She’s Ionale’s fiancé,” she blurted out. “I’ve been dreaming about him ever since high school. I thought he was the one.”
Irene reached out and rubbed Nalani’s shoulder.
“You haven’t been dreaming about him. You’ve been dreaming about who you thought he was,” Irene told her.
“You’re right. I knew there were signs the minute he called me over for a booty call,” Nalani admitted then hissed. “It was more like a wam-bam- thank-you-ma’am.”
“You should consider yourself lucky then,” Irene huffed. “A man who can’t throw down in the bedroom is about as useful as a bed without a mattress.”
“You know that’s right,” Nalani chimed. “That’s a damn good way of looking at it. I should consider myself lucky. And anyway, he admitted why he never wanted to come to my house. He’s allergic to dogs.”
“Now you know that’s a deal breaker for sure,” said Irene.
Nalani laughed. “At first I was disappointed that he didn’t like dogs and he couldn’t throw down.” She sipped her latté. “But I think I’ll be ok. Still, I’m not gonna say it doesn’t hurt.”
“Being deceived always does,” sympathized Irene. “Like too many men, Ionale seems to be suffering—not from tooth extraction—but truth extraction. Don’t you wish sometimes you could take your dentist’s tools to their private parts?”
“Sure enough,” Nalani concurred then winced at the thought. “Remember you told me he’d like the afro wig? The one I showed you and Caroline at the luau?”
Irene nodded.
“When I showed up in it—he had a real funny look on his face. He jerked me into the apartment so hard, I thought I was gonna fall. Now, I know why. It makes sense. I think he thought I was his fiancé with that afro I had on.”
They burst out laughing.
“Well, at least he’s an equal opportunity ‘hoe!’” Irene let out a hearty laugh and Nalani howled so hard everyone in the coffee shop looked at their table for a moment, some couldn’t help but chuckle along, knowing the joke had to be good. Nalani was sure glad she had her friend.
