Big Island Blues

by Terry Ambrose

  From above, I heard Skip. “Hot Rox, don’t do this. Oh, shit!” I glanced up and he was gone.

  Roxy batted her blue eyes and winked. “McKenna,” she wheedled. “Please? Just a peek. I don’t want to keep it. I just have to know. I’ll bet there’s money in there. A bunch.”

  “It would be wrong. The cops should open it.”

  She poked at the bag again. “Please?” She wheedled.

  “We shouldn’t.”

  “That’s not a no,” she said as she knelt down and leaned sideways over the lump of green canvas. She righted the bag. Hefted it for a moment. Licked her lips again.

  “You can’t do this,” I said. But, my resistance was fading fast, and deep down, I wanted to see what was in that bag, too.

  “Don’t you want to know what you almost got shot for?” Roxy glanced up at me. She lifted it again, this time with one hand. “C’mon, we’ll just tell the cops it was already open. Please?”

  I glanced up when I heard Skip’s voice. Marylyn must have come to and now I’d have no reinforcements. I whispered, “This is wrong!”

  She winked at me. “No, McKenna. This is so right!” She unzipped the bag.

  From the landing above, I heard a woman’s voice. It sounded as though she’d just woken up. To hell with it, I thought. I squatted next to Roxy to peer inside. I think my jaw hung somewhere around my ankles at all that cash.

  Oh, crap, what had we done? Roxy had been right. This made me an accessory to—what—money pandering?

  I heard Skip telling Marylyn to remain still. She uttered something that sounded like an obscenity.

  Roxy flipped through one of the bundles. “All twenties.” She repeated the process and lifted the bag again, this time in both hands. “I’d say about five grand. Give or take.”

  “I don’t even want to know how you calculated that.” A police car rolled to a stop out front. “Time to close it up,” I hissed. “Cops are here.” I stood.

  “Damn, that was fun.” She stood, smoothing her dress. As the cops approached, she leaned into me and said, “She sold it, McKenna. She sold your guitar.”

  It wasn’t my guitar, but as we waited for the two cops to take control of the scene, I concluded that Roxy was right. While one of the responders bagged Marylyn’s evidence, the other deposited her in the back seat of the car. With the essentials out of the way, they turned to us. We went through what had happened and recited what Marylyn had told us.

  When the cops were gone, Skip and Roxy offered to buy me a drink. I wondered if by having a chance to talk to Roxy, Benni might not be so angry with me. “Could I maybe invite a guest?”

  Roxy’s eyes lit up. “As long as there are no guns or cops involved, sure.”

  I dialed Benni’s number. She didn’t even say hello, but asked if I was okay. “I’m fine. There are a couple of people I’d like you to meet. I think it will help to explain a lot of things.”

  “Oh.” Her tone was flat.

  Shit. I might never get out of this dog house. “No, you don’t understand. This is the couple from the surf shop. They’re here making wedding plans and I thought you might want to, you know, talk.” When she hesitated, I walked away a few steps and, in a low voice, said, “Believe me, she’s just a friend. And she’s with her fiancée. Can you meet us for a drink?”

  “No. I mean, we’re home. I just got Andi back and won’t leave her. If you want, bring them over.”

  We disconnected and I informed Skip and Roxy that they were invited to Benni’s. At first, they resisted, but when I explained that it would be a favor to help me find a way back into Benni’s good graces, they agreed. On the way, we all decided that Roxy had been right. Marylyn had sold the guitar. The meeting at South Point was a way to get the instrument while eliminating the victims. Had Shaw not been there, it might have worked. This had to be a con, but why so elaborate?

  “You know,” said Roxy, “I just don’t see Marylyn as the mastermind in this. From what I can tell, her planning skills are pretty low. She also said her son wasn’t the brightest bulb. I see her as a follower, not a leader.”

  “That makes sense,” I said. “Based on what she said, I’m rethinking the entire past few days. If she was only carrying out orders, that casts her in a whole new light and means someone else is behind this. I don’t think it’s Blueslover. I can’t believe that kid would want to go to so much trouble just to steal an old Martin. If he only wanted the guitar, why not track down Shaw and steal it from his home?” I saw that we were almost at Benni’s street. “Turn here. It’s up the street on the left.”

  Up on the second floor lanai, Benni stood between Alexander and Andi. I leaned out the open window and waved. Andi and Alexander, waved back. Apparently, he’d awoken and was functioning again. Benni, however, turned away and went into the living room. Talk about wanting to kick myself. Either my time with her had come and gone, or I’d misread her completely. My ability to comprehend Benni’s thoughts was even less than my ability to understand Kimu’s messages. The thought left me deflated and yearning to hop the next flight back to Honolulu. All I wanted was a chance to sulk alone for a few days—or months.

  When Benni met us at the door, we did quick introductions. Her welcome was cordial for Skip and Roxy, but cool to me. If I pushed things, I risked ruining my relationship with Alexander, too. Through the crying of my heart, I heard a lonely voice—mine—telling me to salvage what friendship I had.

  “Thanks for having us over,” I said.

  “You wanted me to meet your friends, I’m happy to do it.” She turned to Roxy and gave her a quick once-over, then grimaced. She said, “This is my daughter, Andi.”

  “Thanks for helping.” Andi gave them both a big hug.

  “What can I get you?” asked Benni. “I have beer, wine, and tequila.”

  Roxy glanced at Skip, then me. “You know, water will be fine. You have a really cute place. I love island-style furniture. And that view! Wait, is that Alexander?”

  A cloud of anger formed over Benni’s face as she turned to Skip.

  “Same,” he said. “We don’t want to intrude. Are you sure you’re okay with us barging in on such short notice?”

  Benni straightened up and sniffled. “It’s fine.” Glancing at Andi, she added, “You can help me in the kitchen.”

  “Can I help?” Roxy started to follow the two women, but stopped when Skip put a hand on her arm.

  Roxy winced at me and I wondered if she could feel my pain. I wanted to die.

  Skip whispered, “Are you sure you want us here?”

  Right now I didn’t even want me here if it was going to upset Benni, but it was too late. The damage was done. I cleared my throat. “Let me introduce you to Alexander.”

  The big guy must have heard his name because he came through the door at that moment. “Hey, Harris—oh, wait, what you goin’ by these days?”

  Roxy extended her hand. “I’m so sorry for all the trouble I caused. Truce?”

  Alexander shot a quick glance at me. I gave him a thumbs up. The two shook hands, then Skip introduced himself. In the kitchen, Benni looked like she was ready to explode while Andi appeared to be giving her a wide berth. I said, “Excuse me.” I went to the kitchen and stood next to Benni. “I wish you’d let me explain.”

  She took in a deep breath and her eyes got larger. If I thought she’d been mad before, I’d seen nothing. “Everything’s just great. I’ve met your friend. Happy now?”

  Andi came and stood next to Benni. She rested her hand on her mom’s arm, then put her head on Benni’s shoulder. “I love you, Mom. And Mr. McKenna did get me back. It’ll be okay. You’ll see.”

  “You’re right, honey.” Benni went to a box of tissue on the countertop, pulled one out, and dabbed at her nose. “We were fine before. We’ll be fine again.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  I felt as though someone had ripped my guts out, diced them into little pieces, and tossed them onto an open flame. Once I was out of the way,
Benni would recover without me. Yes, these two would be “fine” after I was gone.

  Benni pasted a smile on her face and in a chipper voice, said, “What would you like, McKenna?”

  Cyanide? A bus to run me down? I went with water. When Benni handed me the glass, I said, “Please, can we talk?”

  “You’re leaving after the festival, right?” Benni stared straight into my eyes.

  I could see sadness and anger, but there wasn’t a thing I could do. I had a life to return to. My stupid fantasies—no matter how fleeting—had been exactly that. Those of a lonely fool. “I hadn’t thought about it.”

  She pulled back her shoulders. “Let’s go talk to your friends before they have to leave, too.”

  Standing to one side, Andi held back tears as she bit her lip and avoided my gaze. The decision was made. It was the only one that made sense. It was time for me to go home.

  By now, everyone was settling in around the living room. Skip and Roxy were on the couch, Alexander had pulled up a dining table chair, flipped it around, and sat with his arms on the chair back. Andi pointed at the couch.

  “McKenna? Why don’t you sit there?” she asked.

  “I guess I’m the one who needs it most.” I tried to sound cheery, but instead my quip came off as self-pity.

  Even Alexander, who might normally try to rescue me from my own mouth, didn’t come to my rescue.

  It was Roxy who tried to get things moving in the right direction. “So, on the way over here, we all came to the conclusion that Marylyn wasn’t smart enough to be the one behind this whole scam. Her son couldn’t do it either. Andi, you saw Marylyn this morning, do you agree?”

  “I don’t know.” Andi scrunched up her face. “You know, her son was just this guy who didn’t know anything other than prison and hatred.”

  “He was there for almost half his life,” I said.

  “Oh.” Andi’s mouth opened. “That explains a lot. I just don’t get why they would do this. It all just seems like such random violence.”

  “People commit crimes for lots of reasons,” said Skip.

  Common knowledge, I thought. His comment made me wonder how much he really knew about Roxy’s background. For instance, did he know she’d tried to force me to commit a felony in Honolulu? Crap. Maybe that was it. “What if Art and Marylyn were forced into this?” I asked.

  Roxy sat next to me sideways in her seat. “I’d go with that. A third person, a mastermind, pulling the strings.”

  “I remember someone else had the same kinda problem.” Alexander stared straight at Roxy.

  Just like me, I thought. Just. Like. Me. “Think about it, who had something to gain?”

  “Nobody I know would do this kind of thing,” Benni declared.

  “What if it’s someone you only think you know?” I asked.

  Roxy shifted position. “Uh, McKenna? Do we need to talk?”

  “No, no. I mean, what if someone from Benni’s past got worried about something? For instance, this all started when Shaw came back. Right after that, this letter about the guitar shows up and then someone tries to kill him.” I glanced around the room. All eyes were on me. “What? Did I say something wrong?”

  Benni’s eyes flared in anger. “You’re saying Andi’s father did this?”

  Andi put a hand on her mother’s knee. “Mom, that’s not what McKenna said. It actually makes a lot of sense. When I was visiting with Shaw—Dad—this sucks, what do I call him? I don’t know. Anyway, that’s exactly what he said. This whole thing started when he made contact with me.”

  “I don’t think much of this Shaw guy, Benni,” said Alexander. “Maybe he got some nasty connections.”

  I’d been, as the saying goes, throwing spaghetti on the wall. Maybe what I’d thrown had stuck. “That’s not it at all, Alexander. There’s no way Shaw could be involved unless he did something that forced someone’s hand. Shaw’s not the bad guy, but someone he knows is.”

  “It’s got to be someone from his past,” said Skip.

  “That’s where all the skeletons are.” Roxy shrugged as she glanced around the room. “What? We’ve all got some. Some are just bonier than others.”

  There was a moment of silence. I don’t know what the others were thinking, but deep down I was in full agreement. “Think about it,” I said. “Whoever is behind this went to a helluva lot of trouble to make sure Shaw and Andi didn’t get together.”

  “Or Shaw and my sister,” said Alexander.

  That’s it, I thought. Turning to Benni, I said, “You carried around a secret for twenty years. Is there anything that might have come out once you and Shaw saw each other?”

  She shook her head. “I can’t think of anyone who could have a secret worth killing for. Or getting killed. The only big event in my life . . .” She paused to gaze at Andi. “Other than you, honey, the only big thing was the robbery.”

  “Let’s start there and make a list,” I said. “There’s Burroughs. He was the bartender that night, yah?”

  Benni stood and started to walk away. “Why would Sam have himself beaten up? That makes no sense.”

  “Mom, please.” Andi went to her mother, stood before her, and put her hands on Benni’s shoulders. “We need to find out what happened. I need to find out what happened. That man killed my father.” She took a deep breath. “I have to know why.”

  “You’re right, honey.” Benni sat back down.

  “I don’t think Sam had himself beaten up.” I leaned forward so I could hold her gaze. “The thing is, we need a list of all the players. There were how many in the band that night?”

  “Just Haiku, Shaw, and me. The others were still pretty hit and miss. They played when they could. In fact, a couple of them weren’t even on island then.”

  “How many were in the bar?” asked Skip.

  Benni shook her head. “It was pretty empty. There were only maybe ten people there. A few tourists.”

  “Any locals?” Roxy and I asked the question at the same time. I would have liked to have given her a high five, but figured it would piss Benni off further. As it was, we seemed to be treading on sensitive ground.

  “It’s been twenty years, how can I remember that?”

  “Mom?” Andi looked up at her mother. “This might be important. I really think McKenna’s onto something.”

  Benni let out a huff. “Fine. There would have been the waitress and I think they’d hired a new busboy—oh yeah, Big Mike Breenfield.”

  “Ew, ick,” said Andi. “You worked with that slime?”

  “I didn’t have a lot of choice. Anyway, he runs a local T-shirt shop now. The last time I saw him he told me he’s running for County Council. The waitress was—oh, I don’t remember her name. Anyway, she got married to a sailor about fifteen years ago. She’s long gone.”

  “And there’s nobody else?” I asked.

  “I can’t remember anyone else being there. And Mike was in the bar, not outside.”

  Alexander sat, shaking his head and looking lost. “You gotta be wrong, McKenna. Nobody gonna wait twenty years for revenge.”

  “That’s a good point.” I looked at Skip and Roxy. Of everyone here, they probably understood the criminal mind best of all. “Why would a guy wait that long to avenge his father’s death? If he had sniper training, he could have killed Shaw and gotten away before anyone even knew to look for him. Benni, who knew that Shaw wanted to meet Andi?”

  “I only told a couple of friends. Oh, wait, I did go shopping back in January, right after Shaw sent the first letter. I told Sam because I was in the shop. I didn’t . . .” She stopped and her eyes defocused while her mind must have played back memories of previous events. Her brow furrowed. “I was just wandering around and went into Mike’s shop by mistake.”

  “And you talked to him then?” I asked.

  “I was so surprised to see him. He got me to talking and I vented to him about Shaw.”

  “Not again,” I said absently. What bothered me most was t
hat I’d completely missed Kimu’s meaning in the dream. I leaned back and began to laugh. Everybody in the room stared at me as though I’d gone crazy.

  Maybe I had. I finally managed to get out a few words. “Damn, damn, and damn. He told me and I never even saw it.”

  The one person who didn’t think I was off my rocker was Alexander. “Kimu?” he asked.

  “Who else? What other ghost would spend their time playing mind games with a haole in paradise? How could I have missed it?”

  “Missed what?” asked Benni.

  “All the answers,” I said.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  I cleared my throat and looked at each of their faces. Alexander, knowing and expecting the truth about his great grandfather. Andi, wide eyed and eager to hear how one of her kupuna might be coming back to guide me. Skip and Roxy, both mainlanders who would be skeptical of our ancient mysticism. And Benni, the woman who’d taken my breath away the first moment I saw her—who’d now see me for a complete lunatic just like her ex-husband.

  “Sometimes,” I paused to swallow hard. I didn’t dare look outside the window. That damn red cardinal would probably be on the lanai watching me to see if I measured up. My breath felt ragged, but I plunged forward anyway. “Andi, sometimes your great-great-grandfather visits me in my dreams. He’s always very obtuse, but he laid this all out. I just couldn’t see it until now. There was a—guy—in the dream who was all decked out in red, white, and blue. He looked like he was an old-time political candidate or something. Kimu—arranged a meeting—you know, got us together.”

  Andi’s jaw fell for a second, then she asked, “So you met the mastermind in your dream? That’s awesome.”

  I had a fleeting image of Big Boy on the surfboard, then one of Mike standing before me in his out-of-sorts board shorts trying to force me to buy a fake lava-washed T-shirt. “Uh, yeah, we kind of had a sit-down meeting.”