“Thank you, Noa,” Katherine said.
“I know,” Jack said, as a huge hand suddenly clamped on his back.
“Sullivan,” the familiar voice of Gordon Grant boomed, “I vanquished McNeil today at the Oahu Country Club. He actually challenged me to 18 holes of golf at my club. You must tend to him. He’s desperately in need of one of your Wiki Wiki’s. And while you’re taking care of Dave, I will tend to your beautiful wife.
“How are you, my dear?” Gordon asked Katherine.
“Wonderful, Gordon, and how are you faring since our last game of Five Up? I heard that you were in a state of depression for several days.”
“Ah, I should have known that my charity would go unappreciated.”
“Oh, I see,” Katherine said. Would you like to play a game here at the Club tonight?”
“I wish I could, Katherine, but duty calls. In my capacity as the President of this establishment, I have grave responsibilities. But may I say that you look ravishing. When Georgia sees that dress, I know she’ll want one just like it, and my assets will again decline significantly.”
“Think of the dresses your wife wears as assets, Gordon, and, by the way, where is Georgia?”
“She’s out by the seawall talking to the star of the movie, Hypatia Adams. You must meet her. She’s very nice, not at all a Hollywood type. And believe me, I know. When I was at USC, I dated them all.”
Jack had spotted Dave McNeil a few feet away at the bar, smoking a very fine cigar. Dave was an extraordinary man, fifty years old and in superb physical condition. His crew cut black hair was flecked with gray, his muscles toned by hours of paddling and coaching the Club’s women’s paddling team. A Midwesterner by birth, he had stayed in the islands after serving in the Marine Corps at Kaneohe Bay and joined the Honolulu Police Department. His wife Nicole was a member of one of the prominent missionary families who had brought both Christianity and capitalism to Hawaii in the middle of the nineteenth century.
Jack put his hand on Dave’s back and said, quietly, “I heard you played golf with Grant today.”
His head hung low, a Panama hat tilted back on his head, Dave slowly turned away from the bar, recognizing Jack’s voice, and said, “Thank you, friend, for charitably characterizing my performance today as playing the game of golf.”
“Did he do it to you again?” Jack asked.
“He did. I don’t know why I play golf with him. He’s not only good at it, he practices psychological warfare on me. When I hit a bad shot, which happens frequently, he doesn’t just ignore it out of pity for me. He makes a point of telling me how sad it is that I’m such a terrible golfer. When I stepped up to the first tee, he asked me if I was nervous playing with him. After the ninth hole, he asked me if I could remember the last time I had played so badly. After the round, he suggested that I consider giving up the game.”
“I know why you continue to play with him,” Jack said. “For the same reason we all do. He’s so goddamned much fun to be with. I laugh like hell when I play golf with him. And I tell him every time he hits a bad shot. It infuriates him and incites him to be even more competitive, if that’s possible.”
“I’ll have to give that a try,” Dave said.
“How’s life treating you otherwise?” Jack asked.
“Excellent. The ladies are paddling better than ever. My own paddling is better than last year. And crime seems to be following the economy down. So life is good. I’ve got plenty of time for paddling and for my kids. Unfortunately, I’ve also got time for golf.”
“Where’s your lovely wife?”
“Nicole couldn’t make it. The kids have a soccer banquet tonight, and she’s got chaperone duty.”
“Well, tell her we said hi. I hope we see you guys soon.”
“I hope so too.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Jack could see why Noa Watson thought Hypatia Adams was the classiest actress since Grace Kelly. Her presence radiated a vulnerability and magnetism that attracted everyone at the party.
Hypatia was laughing with Georgia Grant when Gordon brought Jack and Katherine over to meet her.
“Hello Diva,” Katherine called to Georgia.
Hypatia saw Katherine’s dress and exclaimed, “I love your dress. It’s just perfect for the islands. May I ask where you got it?”
Georgia tossed her long mane of brown hair, looked at Hypatia, and pronounced in a serious tone, “Hypatia, you simply must get together with Katherine. She designed this dress and, frankly, all the best dresses at this party, including, of course, mine.
“Hello darlings, how are you?” Georgia said, leaning forward to kiss Jack and then Katherine.
“Hypatia, I want you to meet my best friends in all the world, Katherine Sullivan, fashion designer to the most chic women in Honolulu, and Jack Sullivan, lawyer, coffee magnate, and all around good guy.”
“It’s so nice to meet both of you. Jack, I love your shirt almost as much as Katherine’s dress.”
“Thank you, Hypatia,” Jack replied, surprised that a movie star would notice how he was dressed.
Hypatia turned to Katherine. “Do you have a dress shop here in Honolulu?”
“Yes, I do. It’s called Hibiscus and it’s in the Halekulani Hotel.”
“Could I come over tomorrow?” Hypatia asked. “The screenwriters are revising some scenes, so we have the day off. It’s our first free moment since we arrived here, and I’d love to see your designs.”
As the women expanded their talk of dresses and high fashion, Jack noticed Arthur Fairbanks, the British novelist and his neighbor at the Royal Hawaiian, standing at the bar, ordering his usual whiskey. Arthur was a distinguished-looking man of medium height with only a wisp of light brown hair left on his head and a sandy mustache that gave the sixty-six year old Brit a dash of flair. He wore his social uniform: a blue, double-breasted blazer with his family’s crest on its buttons, gray trousers, a blue-striped shirt with spread collar, and a colorful ascot. That was as close as Arthur ever came to wearing Aloha attire.
Jack approached the bar. “Hello, Arthur, how are you?” he asked.
“Jack, old boy, good to see you, an Atlantic creature like myself, swimming among the denizens of the Pacific. I’m in cracking form. Thank you for inquiring.”
As Jack smiled, Arthur continued, “Of course, I hail from the more civilized side of that pond, wouldn’t you agree, Jack? But that’s why we get along so smashingly. We share an Atlantic heritage.”
“You know, Arthur, you’re right. That is why we get along so well. Atlantic pasts with a Pacific future.”
“Well said, my boy. God Save The Queen!” Arthur exclaimed, lifting his glass of whiskey.
“Now, what else? What’s new? Who do you know here? Give me the names.”
“Well, I just met the star, Hypatia Adams, and, of course, I know the Grant’s and Dave McNeil. I’ve met Sidney and George Lane but I can’t say that I know them.”
“Then you’re in for an interesting evening. The Lane’s go back a long way with the producer of this movie, and it’s not a very chipper tale.”
“Why? What’s their problem?” Jack asked.
“It traces back to their time in California,” Arthur explained. “When Sidney thought she’d be the next great movie star and George was counting on that too.”
“What happened - not enough talent?”
“Oddly enough,” Arthur said, “she had talent. Not nearly as much as she and George thought, but she was a rather good actress with a good singing voice, an unusual combination.”
“And?” Jack asked.
“She was never able to make the leap from good movies to great movies. And ol’ George really went round the bend, getting more and more frustrated as his financial expectations went unfulfilled. They became prickly toward others in the business, particularly the producers and directors who had, in their view, let them down.”
“I suppose that didn’t make them very popular on the Hollywood social
scene,” Jack observed.
“No, it bloody well did not.”
“Did she ever get a break and take a shot at the big one?”
“Yes, she did,” Arthur said, “and it was tragic. She nearly won the leading role in an epic film. In fact, her agent called and told her that she’d been selected. But, at the last minute, the producer changed his mind and selected a ‘close friend’ of the director for the lead role.”
“That must have been tough on Sidney,” Jack said.
“Yes it was, and equally so for George. She gave up after that. As you Yanks say, she threw in the towel, hung it up. And they moved to Hawaii, where George continued to work in banking, which had been his business in Los Angeles.”
“What happened to the movie?” Jack asked.
“It was an utter flop, one of those movies that Hollywood spends the Queen’s ransom on, hypes with an enormous marketing budget, and then watches fail in the most miserable fashion.”
“I suppose that gave the Lane’s a modicum of satisfaction.”
“On the contrary, it made them even angrier. The way they saw it, if Sidney had been given the lead role, the movie would have been a spectacular success. And they may have been right. There was enormous criticism in the Hollywood press about the complete lack of chemistry between the lead actor and actress.”
“How do you know all this, Arthur?”
“Because I consulted on the screenplay and I knew all the players. In fact, here comes one right now.”
Jack looked toward the lobby of the Diamond Head and saw Noa greeting a man with quite a bit of attention and deference.
“Who is that, Arthur?”
“That is Derek Reynolds, the producer.”
“The one who bumped Sidney and gave the lead to the director’s paramour?”
“Indeed.”
“Then this ought to be quite an interesting evening,” Jack said, watching people flock to greet Derek.
“Frankly, I can’t believe that Sidney and George would want to be in the same room with Derek, much less guests at a party honoring the cast of his latest movie,” Arthur said.
“Why would they do that to themselves?”
“I don’t know, Jack, but I must say hello to Derek. For all of his warts, he is one of Hollywood’s most successful producers, and I’ve worked with him on several projects. Pop over in a bit with Katherine, and I shall make the proper introductions. Oh, by the way, Jack,” Arthur added, “there’s something you should know before you meet Derek.”
“What’s that?”
“He’s been involved with Hypatia for about a year now, but I hear things aren’t going well.”
“What do you mean?”
“There have been some rumors about the police being called to her house in the middle of the night.”
“Not good.” Jack said.
“I just mention it because I know you and Katherine, and I have no doubt that by the end of this little soiree, you will have invited Derek and Hypatia to one of those dinner parties you two are so well known for. And if what I hear is true, they may not be a couple much longer.”
“How do they work together?” Jack asked.
“They don’t. Derek leaves the day-to-day production matters to his underlings. He selects the director and gives him nearly complete discretion.”
“So why is he here tonight?”
“He flew to Hawaii last weekend and tried to have a talk with Hypatia about their future or should I say, the lack of it. He saw her last weekend over on the Big Island, and is scheduled to fly back to Los Angeles tomorrow.”
“How’d it turn out?”
“I hear not well. He reacted badly when she said she wanted to end their relationship. If her sister hadn’t been with her, I think there might have been trouble. He’s a volatile man.”
“Thanks for the warning, Arthur. I think we’ll wait until that matter gets resolved before issuing any invitations.”
Jack glanced out toward the seawall and saw that Katherine, Georgia, and Hypatia were still engaged in animated conversation, so he turned back toward the bar and saw Dave lighting his second cigar of the evening. Noa waved to him and beckoned him toward the lobby, where he was standing with three men wearing Aloha shirts. By their bearing, Jack knew immediately that they must be the Pearl Harbor contingent.
“Jack, I want you to meet Admiral Andrew Simmons, Commander of the Pacific Fleet,” Noa said, adding, “I’ve told him all about you.”
“Very nice to meet you, sir,” Jack responded, reverting instinctively to his former status as a Navy Lieutenant.
“Jack, it’s great to meet you. Please call me Andy.”
“It’s a deal, as long as you don’t call me Lieutenant,” Jack replied with a smile.
“Let’s shake on it,” the Admiral rejoined, extending a well-tanned arm and strong hand.
“Jack, I want you to meet some colleagues of mine. This is Commander Tom Butler, skipper of the USS Halsey, the finest Destroyer in the Pacific Fleet. You can call him Tom, and Tom, you can call him Jack,” the Admiral said with a loud laugh.
“I’m pleased to meet you, sir,” the Commander said to Jack.
“Old habits die hard,” the Admiral observed as he looked around for the third member of their party, who was talking to Noa.
“Jack, let me introduce you to the political component of our delegation, Richard Stanley, the best Assistant Secretary of the Navy to visit Hawaii in a long time.”
“Nice to meet you, Jack. Noa gave us a brief on who we’d meet tonight, and you and I have a lot in common.”
“It’s good to meet you, Richard,” Jack replied.
“Please, I go by Rich.”
“I’ll look forward to talking with you, Rich.”
“Let me take these gentlemen to the bar for some drinks, Jack, and then join us there,” Noa said, obviously pleased that three of the Navy’s finest representatives in Hawaii had accepted his invitation.
Just as Jack decided it was time to drag Katherine away from Hypatia and visit with some of their friends, he ran smack into Sidney and George Lane who were walking toward him from the bar, drinks in hand.
“Hello, Sidney. Hello, George,” Jack said as they met.
“Hello, Jack,” said George. Sidney was looking elsewhere, searching the room, when her husband touched her arm and reminded her that Jack had just said hello.
“I’m sorry, Jack. But I was looking for that lowlife Reynolds. If I see him, I just may let him know what a Diamond Head Mai Tai looks like, all over his face.”
“Sidney, come on,” George said. “I knew we shouldn’t have come here tonight. I’m sorry, Jack, but I’m afraid some people here stir very unpleasant memories for Sidney and, frankly, for me.”
“Well, George, life can do that.”
“Yes, it can,” Sidney said.
It was obvious that the Mai Tai in Sidney’s hand was not her first of the evening.
“George,” Sidney said in a firm voice, “you may not want to join me, but I’m going over and say hello to the biggest prick Hollywood ever created, and I hope I can restrain myself.”
With that, Sidney and George proceeded, Mai Tai’s in hand, toward Derek Reynolds. Jack averted his eyes, waiting for the crash, but it didn’t come. Instead, it appeared that the three of them were engaged in civil conversation.
Jack decided it was time to retrieve Katherine and headed for the seawall. A young woman had joined the group, a younger version of Hypatia, not quite as tall, but with the same shade of blonde hair and similarly elegant features. She was talking with Katherine, while Hypatia listened to Georgia describe the high quality of the local theater on Oahu. As Jack approached, Katherine turned toward him and said, “Jack, this is Hypatia’s sister Jennifer. She flew in from Los Angeles last week to spend the weekend and has decided to stay for a while.”
“Very nice to meet you, Jennifer. How are you enjoying Hawaii?”
“Fine, for the most part. Although,
as I was just telling your wife, the company my sister has been keeping leaves a bit to be desired.”
“Well, there are plenty of nice people on Oahu, and many of them will be here tonight,” Jack said.
“It’s not the Oahu people I’m referring to, Jack. It’s the Hollywood people and one in particular. Katherine will tell you all about him.”
“Okay,” Jack said, wishing he weren’t there, but quickly adding, “Katherine, how would you like to meet the Commander of the Pacific Fleet?”
“I’d love to.” Katherine was an inveterate reader of national security thrillers.
“Would you excuse us, Jennifer?” Jack asked.
“Absolutely, I’ve got to watch out for my sister anyway, in case that jerk Reynolds comes this way.”
“Jennifer, please don’t refer to Derek in that tone,” Hypatia said.
“He’s a creep, Hypatia, and if he comes near us, he’ll regret it.”
With that, Hypatia excused herself and moved Jennifer down the seawall toward the beach, where no one was standing.
“Georgia, we’re going over to meet the Admiral. Want to join us?”
“No thanks, Jack, I think I’ll see if Gordon needs any help managing this party.”
As Jack and Katherine walked toward the bar where Admiral Simmons was entertaining some guests, Jack asked what Jennifer had said about Derek Reynolds.
“It seems that Derek is a really erratic guy, prone to fits of anger, very possessive of Hypatia, very jealous, and way too high strung. He fancies himself a ladies man and even flaunts it, if you can imagine that.”
“Why is Jennifer so exercised about him tonight?” Jack asked.
“Because he’s been pushing Hypatia around and she wants to end their relationship, but he won’t let her. He won’t go away. And when they met last weekend on the Big Island, things apparently got worse.”
“What happened?”
“It’s very strange. Jennifer flew in from Los Angeles to spend the weekend with Hypatia on the Big Island to get some sun and relax on the beach. They were staying at The Poinciana, just two sisters having a girls’ weekend, when Derek showed up out of nowhere and told Jennifer to leave.”
Moonlight Cocktail Page 3
