“I’m afraid you’d be a lot better at the coffee business than I’d be at the police business, at least from the City of Honolulu’s perspective.”
“I’m willing to give it a try, Jack. By the way, we informed Mrs. Reynolds that we can now release the deceased’s body to her. She’s flying in from Los Angeles tomorrow to escort the body back to California for burial.”
“Really? Are you going to meet with her?”
“Right again, Jack. Call me when you have something.”
“I will.”
Katherine walked into the kitchen as Jack hung up the phone.
“That is a Cheshire cat grin if I have ever seen one, my dear.”
“I prefer to call it a Maine Coon grin,” Jack said.
“Tell me about your day,” Katherine said as she flopped down on the sofa next to Jack.
Jack proceeded to recount the entire day, starting with his encounter with Kulani at the Club when he learned about the Ford Taurus, running through his discussion with the Kailua florist about Jennifer, to his lunch at the Lane’s and the tour of their gardens with the empty patch of freshly turned soil next to the ‘Akia shrubs, to the Kia car in front of him on Kalanianaole Highway, and ending with his conversation with Dave McNeil about the results of the toxicology analysis and the evidence found in the Ford Taurus.
“Jack, I knew you were on to something but now I know you’re really going to solve this crime!”
“I am. But I still need more information and I know just where I’m going to get it.”
“Where?”
“Bob Street.”
“You didn’t get it all out of him this morning?”
“I didn’t know everything this morning that I know now. So I’ve got some more questions for him.”
“When are you going to call him?”
“Right now, I’ve got to strike while the iron’s hot.”
“What do you think about pizza for dinner?”
“Perfect! I think it’s going to be that kind of an evening.”
“I’ll call and tell them to deliver it around 8 o’clock.”
“Great! Maybe we can even get a swim in first.”
“I’ll order the usual - onions, olives and tomato slices.”
“I can taste it now.”
While Katherine called the local pizzeria, Jack gathered his thoughts. If the poison used in the screenplay that Derek rejected was ‘Akia, and if that screenplay was all over Hollywood, then the list of possible suspects could be extensive. If its circulation was limited, the list of suspects would be smaller. Maybe very small.
“I’m off the phone, Jack, and dinner is all set. You can call Bob now.”
Jack dialed Bob Street’s number in Santa Monica and got lucky again.
“Bob, this is Jack.”
“Are you still on that case?”
“I am and I’ve got some more questions for you. Listen, do you remember telling me that the poison used in the Alfred Hitchcock-type screenplay sounded like the name of a foreign car?”
“Yep.”
“Was that car a Kia?”
“You know, I think it was. That’s a Korean car, isn’t it?”
“Yes. I saw one today and made the connection with a plant out here that’s poisonous.”
“I’ll be damned. I should probably check the screenplay but, now that I think about it, I’m sure the poison was ‘Akia.”
“Have you by any chance spoken with Loretta about the legal status of that screenplay?”
“I called her on Tuesday to convey my condolences but I didn’t have the heart to bring up business.”
“I can certainly understand that. Did that screenplay get wide circulation in L.A.?”
“I don’t think so. I haven’t heard anybody talk about it. The only people I know who read it were Derek, Loretta and me. By the way, Jack, Loretta’s flying out to Honolulu tomorrow to pick up Derek’s remains. She called and invited me to the funeral.”
“Was she upset?”
“I only spoke with her for a few minutes but, yes, I would say she sounded upset.”
“This must have set off a lot of emotions, what with Derek being out here with Hypatia when he died.”
“No doubt about that. I’m sure she was angry and jealous and I’m sure her anger was directed as much at Hypatia as at Derek.”
“Well, it couldn’t have been all that bad, Bob. You said Loretta has been off the reservation herself a few times.”
“The difference is that her dalliances were only in response to Derek’s, and they were never really serious. She’d latch on to some young actor, sort of the way a woman vacationing at a spa might find a pool boy for a little entertainment.”
“Who’s her current latchee?”
“I don’t know. I’m not even sure she has one at the moment. But if she does, she’ll keep him in the background. Loretta is very discreet.”
“If she had one, would she bring him to Honolulu to claim Derek’s remains?”
“I doubt it. Loretta wouldn’t want to risk the kind of impression that would make. She’s rather proper.”
“Well, if you get a look at that screenplay again, double check the name of the poison and give me a call.”
“I will, Jack, but the more I think about it, the more certain I am that it was ‘Akia. I remember associating the poison with the car when I read it. I’ll call you if I get hold of it.”
“Thanks, Bob,” Jack said as he hung up and began to sketch out notes of everything he had learned to date.
Two hours later, after a quick dip in the Pacific, the doorbell rang and the smell of pizza filled the living room. Jack made a beeline to the refrigerator for a Miller Lite — in his view the perfect partner for this entrée — and joined Katherine on their lanai.
“What did you learn from Bob this time?”
“In the screenplay that Derek Reynolds was reviewing, ‘Akia was the poison.”
“Really? And who else read that screenplay?”
“The only other person Bob knows who read it, besides himself and Derek, was Loretta.”
“So, since Loretta wasn’t at the cast party on Monday night, you need to find out whether Bob is correct that no one else read it.”
“Exactly.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“I’ve been pondering that very question since I hung up the phone. And I think I have the answer, or at least the starting point.”
“And that is?”
“Breakfast with Arthur Fairbanks tomorrow morning.”
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
There is no more enjoyable restaurant for breakfast than the Surf Room at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Situated on the edge of Waikiki Beach, it offers a panoramic view of the world’s most famous beach. Jack arrived there at eight-thirty and, while waiting for Arthur Fairbanks, picked up a fax copy of the Sunday New York Times from a table at the entrance to the restaurant and scanned the front page.
“Good morning, my good man,” Arthur intoned with a slight nod of the head. “Very sorry I’m late. The lifts were a bit slow this morning.”
“That’s all right, Arthur. I just got here myself. How have you been?”
“I’ve been tip top. Dillingham has been pestering me about his bloody radio show but, other than that, I have no complaints.”
“Yes, he’s very excited about it, and Katherine and I are looking forward to it.”
“I must admit that I am as well.”
Just then, Lily, the hostess, dressed in a long pink dress imprinted with white flowers, approached them.
“Good Morning, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Fairbanks. Would you like a table by the beach?”
Jack nodded, and they followed her through the interior of the Surf Room, beneath the pink and white awning that covers its porch, to a table next to the low pink wall that separates the porch from sand that stretches in a crescent from Waikiki to Diamond Head.
“Lily, have you added bangers and mash to the breakf
ast menu yet?”
“No, Mr. Fairbanks. I talked with the chef about your request, but he’s sticking with American and Japanese breakfast entrees for now.”
“A continuing tragedy, Lily, and one that leaves me no alternative but to resort to my usual poached eggs on toast, with some Earl Grey tea, please.”
“I’ll have guava juice, mango with slices of lime, whole wheat toast and coffee, Lily,” said Jack. “Arthur, I’ve been thinking about this Derek Reynolds thing and trying to figure it out.”
“What are you bolluxed about? I realize that the police are buggering everyone who was at the party, but do you have reason to believe it was anything other than a heart attack — the byproduct of his lifestyle over the past thirty years.”
“Do you know Derek’s wife Loretta, Arthur?”
“Yes, I’ve known her for quite a long time, since she burst on to the Hollywood scene as what they used to call an ingénue.”
“What’s she like?”
“She was a very talented young actress. A very attractive blonde, which I’m sure won’t surprise you.”
“How old is she?”
“Loretta is probably in her mid-to late-forties now. They’ve been married about twenty years.”
“That’s strange. I’ve never seen any of her movies. Was she mostly a stage actress?”
“No, she was a screen actress, but she didn’t make many movies.”
“Why not, if she was so talented?”
“Because Derek didn’t want her to work. He wanted a fulltime wife, or so he told her at the time.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“He gave her the old American line that he wanted her to be the mother of his children and didn’t want her running off from one movie set to another, which she could have done quite easily given her talent and her beauty.”
“What did he really want?”
“It’s what he didn’t want, Jack. He didn’t want any competition.”
“He feared competition from Loretta?”
“Competition may not be the right word. He wanted a beautiful and talented wife but not one who, because of her own accomplishments, might attract attention and draw it away from him. So Derek made a deal with Loretta. In return for giving up her career, he would give her a very comfortable life with a big house and lots of money.”
“And she cut that deal?”
“Yes, she did. Loretta grew up on the wrong side of the castle, or as you Yanks say, the tracks. She was poor and had a very difficult childhood. Her parents’ home was in disarray all the time, and it’s remarkable that she emerged from it at all.”
“Wouldn’t that make her even more reluctant to give up her career?”
“Not really. Think about it, Jack. Actors and actresses lead very insecure lives. They don’t know when the next call is coming from a producer or director or if any call will ever come.”
“But you said she was good.”
“She was smashing, but she knew how harsh the world could be, and she didn’t want to risk returning to a life of poverty under any circumstances. And besides, Jack, you know it doesn’t necessarily matter whether you’re good or not. The law business is not that different from the acting business. A lot depends on who you know. It’s the very essence of the personal services industry.”
“Did Derek live up to his side of the bargain?”
“He did and he didn’t. As Mrs. Derek Reynolds, she had plenty of money but she didn’t have security, which was always of more concern to Loretta.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, once she gave up her career, Derek knew he had her in a bind. She couldn’t go back to it, because her best years were gone. And the longer she stayed out of it, the less interest Hollywood producers and directors had in her.”
“So he felt as if he could get away with murder? Sorry for the use of that metaphor, Arthur.”
“Actually, my good man, you’re quite correct. He continued to provide her with the trappings of wealth but he also kept up his philandering. She was convinced that he would leave her someday.”
“It sounds like she’d have been better off if he had.
They’d have gotten divorced and she’d have taken a chunk of his wealth to ease the pain.”
“That’s probably true, but she always held out hope that he’d change and return only to her. At least until Hypatia arrived on the scene. Derek was insane about Hypatia. She made him crazy. He couldn’t think about any other woman after he met her.”
“I imagine Loretta didn’t react too well to that.”
“No, that really pushed her over the edge. For the first time, I began to see her slipping about in public with other men.”
“Anybody famous?”
“No, none of the well-known actors would risk incurring the wrath of Derek Reynolds. She was drawn to the up and coming younger set.”
“Did you see her out with many of these guys?”
“I wouldn’t say many, but there were certainly a few. No one held it against her or even thought less of her, because Derek was rather notorious. He was completely over the top with Hypatia, at least in his pursuit of her.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“As I said, Hypatia made Derek completely crazy, but I don’t think Derek had the same effect on her. It seemed to me that she tolerated him because, as a professional matter, she had to. I always doubted that anything was really going on between the two of them.”
“So what was Loretta worried about?”
“Derek conveyed the impression to everyone in Hollywood that there was quite a lot going on between him and Hypatia. The coup de grace was Derek’s selection of the screenplay they’re filming here on Oahu and giving Hypatia the lead role. I think he believed this would really get Hypatia’s attention. And so did Loretta.”
“Did Loretta weigh in on this screenplay?”
“I’m sure she did. She reviewed all of them for him and she was a bloody good critic. She visited her acumen on me a few times, and I was convinced that she should have become a movie producer herself after she left the silver screen.”
“Did anyone else review screenplays for Derek?”
“Not that I know of.”
“I hear Loretta’s coming out to Honolulu today to pick up Derek’s body and take him back to Los Angeles for burial. The autopsy has been completed.”
“I’d love to see her. I have great respect for her.”
“If there’s a memorial service here, maybe you can attend.”
“I hope so, Jack. It would be a proper gesture from the cast and crew. I think I’ll inquire, now that I know Loretta is coming.”
“Would you let me know also, Arthur?”
“Of course, and, by the way, have you been out to see the Lanes’ gardens?”
“I was out there yesterday afternoon for lunch. You were right on target. They are spectacular.”
“Smashing! I’m glad you went. I don’t know anyone who has learned more about Hawaiian culture and recreated the atmosphere of Old Hawaii than Sidney and George Lane.”
“Yes, I know what you mean. I had a very nice lunch and tour. They seem to have adjusted well to life in the islands.”
“Oh, don’t be fooled, Jack. They miss the buzz. Sidney follows the movie set like a hawk. She reads every tabloid and movie magazine and subscribes to Variety. And she stays in touch with her Hollywood friends by phone. Plus, George is still dabbling in the business.”
“I thought he was a banker.”
“He’s an investment banker who makes a lot of money. And he invests some of it in the movie business.”
“Is he very active in it?”
“He still reviews screenplays and gets calls from producers who are looking for financial backing. I dare say he keeps a hand in the business.”
“Fascinating.”
“That’s what I like about you, Jack. You find everything interesting. In a way, you’re an explorer, just like Captain C
ook.”
“That’s what my wife says. Well, Arthur, I just looked at my watch and realized that I’m probably cutting into your Sunday schedule.”
“Don’t worry a bit, Jack. I never fret about losing an hour in the morning because I know I can make it up in the evening. I’m more productive then anyway.”
“I feel the same way. I sit down in the evening with Katherine and I come up with ideas much more readily than I do in the morning. Why do you think that is?”
“I’m not sure. If you were coming up with more creative thoughts after one of your famous Wiki Wiki’s, I could venture an explanation. But in the absence of that glorious stimulant, I will instead attribute it to the beauty and inspiration of your lovely wife.”
“I agree completely. Arthur, I enjoyed our breakfast and I hope we can do this more often.”
“Indeed. And Jack, would you do me a favor.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Let me know what you conclude about Derek. I, too, was surprised by the circumstances of his premature demise.”
“I will and may I ask you a favor also?”
“With pleasure, my good man.”
“Would you call me as soon as you hear there’s going to be a memorial service for Derek here in Honolulu.”
“I shall ring you up immediately.”
“Thank you, Arthur,” Jack said as they got up from their table and walked out of the Surf Room.
Jack walked through the halls of the Royal Hawaiian, past the exhibit of silver and china that graced its dining room tables on the hotel’s opening day in 1927. Once in the lobby, he looked at the window display of Panama hats and the latest patterns in Aloha shirts available at Newt’s in the hotel’s courtyard. He needed to talk to Jim about getting a new Panama hat. Then he decided to visit Katherine at her shop in the nearby Halekulani Hotel.
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
Mornings on Waikiki always intrigued Jack. Frenetic activity consumed every square inch of the hotel lobbies and small streets that led from the hotels to Kalakaua Avenue. Tourists were checking in and out, food was being delivered to restaurants, merchants were hawking souvenirs and tours. Taxicabs were lined up waiting for tourists who had wisely decided not to try to find their way around Honolulu in rental cars. The air held a wonderful mixture of pungent salt from the Pacific and the soft fragrance of tropical flowers from the leis that each hotel bestowed on arriving guests.
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