Unknown Victim

by Kay Hadashi

  “No more scar.” With that, he pushed her head back and pricked her eyelid. Gina dabbed the mini-flood of thick blood that came out. She pressed a fingertip on the lid, hoping to get as much out as she could. “Okay?”

  “I guess. Never expected to do this on a Sunday morning.” She snorted a laugh through her nose. “Would’ve been more fun to go to church.”

  He told her he was going to finish putting up paneling on the walls that day, and that she could do whatever she wanted, she wouldn’t be in his way.

  “Hey, before you throw that razor away, I have something else.”

  She pointed to the hard knot on the back of her head. He wiped some alcohol on her scalp, and even before it was dry, he pricked the goose egg in a couple of spots.

  “Go take shower. Wash it out good.”

  The cold water felt good that morning as she pressed as hard as she could on the goose egg, forcing the blood out of the bruise. She still wondered about the wisdom of letting a handyman cut her, but he’d done exactly as he promised, of making only a prick with the corner of the blade.

  “Glad to know I have a good cut man in my corner,” she said while drying. She put some ointment on her scalp and a small Band-Aid on her eyelid. Both were already feeling better now that the blood had been let out, and the pressure was off. When she went out, he was already on a ladder hammering nails into a wall as if nothing had happened in the kitchen. “Thanks for doing that. It feels better already.”

  When he gave her the usual wave, she knew he’d already moved on to his primary task of the day. Taking her garden sketchpads out to the front porch, she found a place where the morning sun could shine on her face. She began with drawing a new map of the estate, putting in a few of the landmarks there, the double-track driveway that circled through, the long row of fruit trees along one side, and the stream with its bridge on the other. With this map, she wanted to outline the basic entrance that she planned for the front. While she doodled a ground-level picture of what it could look like, a car came across the bridge.

  “What does he want?”

  Gina ignored Detective Kona as he parked his sedan in what was becoming his personal spot at the side of the house. She continued to sketch on her pad, even as he came up the steps.

  “Miss Santoro, good morning. Who’s here?” he asked, nodding at the truck at the front of the house.

  “The handyman. He’s hammering nails in the walls. What brings you to the estate so early on a Sunday morning, Detective Kona?”

  “The same thing that got you that shiner.”

  “I fell off a ladder. No reason for you to investigate that.”

  “If you had, you’d have a cast on an arm.” He sat next to her on the porch step. “An old yellow Datsun pickup truck was reported to the police as being improperly parked in an alley last evening, right about the same time as a 9-1-1 call was made from the same location. That call is suspiciously similar to your number.”

  “Only similar?” she asked.

  “What happened at the park last night?”

  “There’s coffee in the kitchen, if you’d like some.”

  “Would you rather go downtown to be interrogated, or interviewed here?”

  Gina set aside her sketchpad. “A young woman was being attacked in the front seat of a car.”

  “With the way you face looks this morning, that woman was evidently you?”

  “No.” For the tenth time that morning, Gina wondered where Holly might be, if she’d changed into a new person by then. “A teenager named Holly.”

  “How did you get involved?” Kona asked.

  “I’d followed them to the park. When I saw her get knocked out and then attacked, I called 9-1-1. But the call took so long to get answered, I ran to the car to stop what the man was doing to her.”

  “Which was?” he asked.

  “He already had his pants down.”

  “Did you witness the act?”

  “I witnessed something I’d rather not see again. But no, the act was not yet being undertaken.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “I pulled him off of her and out of the car. When he tried getting away, I stood on his arm.”

  “Nice technique. I’ll have to remember that. Then what?”

  “I was concerned about the girl, who looked unconscious on the front seat of the car. But I’d left my phone in the truck. I needed police for the man and an ambulance for the girl. I was just trying to figure out what to do when I got whacked in the back of the head. What happened during the next hour or two is still rather blurry.”

  “That’s what happens when you run a stakeout without back-up.”

  “It wasn’t a stakeout.”

  “What was it then?” he asked.

  “Look, the guy had said he was getting off work from Bunzo’s at five, and made it sound like an invitation. So, I went back.”

  “Who was the guy?”

  “The daytime bartender. It should be pretty easy to find him.”

  “I’m confused. He asked you out on a date, but ended up with a teenager instead?” Kona asked. “How did he meet her?”

  “I think she was working the bar. Somehow, she ended up with him as her date.”

  “She’s a prostitute and she got into that kind of trouble? That doesn’t add up,” Kona said.

  “She’s still pretty young. Maybe she’s new? She made it sound like she does that for pocket money rather than a living.”

  “Part-time hooker?”

  “She also said she’s a student at the university, and that her hometown is on Kauai. Maybe you can find her that way?” Gina said. “Honestly, I was a little insulted when I saw them leave together. I guess to satisfy my curiosity, I followed them.”

  “Who was the guy again?”

  “The dayshift bartender at Bunzo’s. His name is Hughes. White guy in his thirties, blue eyes, mousey hair.”

  “Why did you want to be picked up by one of Bunzo’s bartenders? There are better places for that than Bunzo’s.”

  “I wasn’t trying to be picked up. I just wanted to have a drink somewhere with him so I could ask a few questions about Bunzo’s, and find out what he might know about Danny. But by the time I got there, he was leaving with someone else.”

  Detective Kona looked at his notes. “Holly?”

  Gina nodded. “That’s the name she gave me. How’d you know that?”

  “I have my sources. Why didn’t you report the assault?”

  “Holly started freaking out when I said I was going to. She wouldn’t even go to the ER to get checked out by a doctor. At one point, I thought she was going to jump out of the pickup. I’m still a little worried about her.”

  “Don’t. You said you got whacked in the head?”

  Gina showed him the small prick that Kenzo the handyman had made on the back of her head. “This was a big goose egg a couple hours ago. I was out cold for at least a few minutes. By the time I came to, Hughes was gone, as was his car. It was just me and Holly, and she was crying her eyes out. It took me a while to figure out what happened. By the time I talked her into going to an ER, she talked me into getting a meal first. That’s when she ducked out on a visit to the restroom, after giving me some big song and dance about being a college coed that lived in a dorm on campus. She duped me every step of the way.”

  Kona chuckled. “She’s good at it.”

  “You know her?”

  “Frequent flyer in the downtown lockup. I didn’t know she was going by Holly these days.”

  “How do you know it’s the same person I was with last night?” Gina asked.

  “Dark-skinned Asian with large eyes, piercings, and blond hair?”

  Gina nodded. “How’d you know?”

  “Her bag was found in a park dumpster. No ID, but the phone number of the cell phone is on file with the police department. She came in this morning to claim it from lost and found.”

  “How’d she know to look for it with you guys?” Gina
asked.

  “Not the first time she’s lost her bag. She was able to identify it by the number. Did she give you a last name?” Kona asked.

  Gina shook her head. “Only Holly. The waitress said she has a different name whenever she goes in.”

  “Don’t tell me. She wanted to go to Jack’s Restaurant?”

  Gina laughed at herself. “Boy, am I ever a sucker.”

  “Not really. Maybe a little. You’re sure the man who did that to her was named Hughes?”

  “Eighty percent. I never got a good look at him until I was pulling him from the car, and it was dark by then. I got a better look at his hind end with his pants down than I did with his face. He was fighting back, so I didn’t get a clear look at either end. But if you go pick him up, I might be able to pick him out in a lineup.”

  “Before we talk about that, I want to know what you wanted to talk to him about?” Kona asked.

  “There’s something going on at that bar, I know it. I just can’t put my finger on what. I thought they were running a prostitution ring from behind the bar, but since I saw him smoking some meth in the car last night, it might be drugs.” Gina gave something some thought. “Actually, while driving Holly around, he stopped at Pinoy Boy’s for beer and something else. Maybe he got the meth there? I don’t know.”

  “You’re sure it was meth?” he asked.

  “Yeah, the usual foil pipe and white cloud. He only git a couple of puffs before he tried forcing himself on Holly. When she fought him off, he belted her but good.” She watched him make notes in some sort of special shorthand on his pad. “Honestly, Detective, I only wanted to have a quick drink with him, asked a few leading questions, and then get out.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t,” he said.

  “Yeah, I know, I’m interfering in your investigation to the point of being obstructive.”

  “No, you’re not interfering. You’ve been helpful, actually. The problem is with Hughes.”

  “What about him? Hopefully Holly filed a complaint and you picked him up?”

  “We picked him up, but not because of a complaint. Hughes was found floating face down in the Ala Wai Marina early this morning. He’d been in the water for several hours.”

  “There goes that lead,” she said. “How’d he get it?”

  “Bullet to the forehead. That’s why I’m glad someone else got in his car instead of you.”

  “Me, too. Where’s this marina? What’s it called again?”

  “Ala Wai. It’s at one end of Waikiki. Don’t you go anywhere else besides bars?”

  “Hardware stores. Kinda wished I’d gone to church this morning. Do I need to make some sort of formal statement for my alibi for last night? Because I don’t have one.”

  “Where were you between ten PM and four AM?”

  “Here, and no, I don’t have anyone for you to call to verify that.”

  “I seriously doubt you offed Hughes,” he said.

  “Why?”

  “You’ve told me a couple of times that you’d never touch a gun again. Otherwise, you’re not the type to off some dude.”

  “You sure about that?” she asked.

  “I can see you roughing up a perp in an alley, but not wasting him.”

  “Maybe, as long as my dad never heard about it.” All Gina wanted to do was go back to her sketchpad. “Did Hughes have anything to do with Danny?”

  “Directly? I’m not sure. But once I started to follow the leads you’ve given me about Bunzo’s, my investigation took a new direction. Danny had something to do with Bunzo’s, or vice-versa, that much I’m convinced about.”

  “Well, count me out. I’m sticking to being a gardener.”

  “I thought you were a landscape horticulture something or other?” he asked.

  “I might not be any better at that than I was as a cop.”

  “Why?”

  She waved her arm in a grand gesture in the direction of the estate in front of them. “My job is to turn Hawaii’s biggest weed patch into a beautiful horticultural garden that residents would be proud to pay their hard-earned money to visit.”

  “So?”

  “I’m utterly clueless of what to do. I have a crew of a dozen that comes to work five days a week, and all they’ve done is prune a few branches and dig a hole in the ground.”

  “It looks different now than it did on Monday. What are those sketches?” he asked.

  Gina handed them to him. “This is what it’s supposed to look like when I’m done.”

  “What are these places?”

  She explained the drawings of the individual gardens on her map. “This area is the Japanese garden, and here’s the koi pond that goes with it. In the middle of the grounds will be the vegetable gardens. Through our digging this week, we’ve discovered an old diversion ditch from the pond to the pea patch for irrigation. I’ll need to talk to the Tanizawas to see if they want that included in the final development. Honestly, this is turning into an archeological dig more than it is a garden restoration.”

  “Walk me around the place. I’d like to see it again.”

  “Again?”

  “My school had field trips here when I was a kid. I think I’ve seen it only once since then.”

  Instead of pushing through weeds and vines, she took Kona along the double track. Gina felt quite satisfied with herself, knowing the differences between the various fruit trees that had been pruned. She picked up a papaya that had fallen since the day before.

  “All this fruit, and nobody is eating it except for the rats. I have plenty of them around here.”

  “So I’ve heard. But nobody eats fruit from off the ground. It has to be harvested. Once it falls, it's bruised on one side, and then like you said, the rats get to it.”

  “I still haven’t learned how to know if something is ripe. The crew picked a few things the other day, but I didn’t get the chance to see what.”

  “Have someone show you how to determine if fruit is ripe for picking. Tropical fruit is a little different from fruit you grow on the mainland.”

  “I don’t know much about those, either. Not much of a farmer, I guess.”

  “You will be soon enough, if you ask the right questions.”

  “I’m not sure of what to do with all these different things. Seriously, what’s the difference between a papaya and a mango?”

  “Not much, if you’re eating it fresh for breakfast.” He took the papaya from her hand and set it on a rock. Using a knife he got from his pocket, he sliced it in half lengthwise. “Papaya have all these little seeds. Just scoop those out and replace with crushed pineapple. Then squeeze a quarter lime over that and eat with a spoon. Very ono way to eat, perfect for breakfast.”

  “Ono?”

  “Delicious. The Japanese say oishi. The Filipinos have a lot of words for it and usually say masarap.” He finished cutting cubes of the juicy flesh and offered her a taste. “We learn something new every day, whether we want to or not, Miss Santoro.”

  “I’ve learned about a hundred new things every day since I arrived.” Gina tasted the sweet, pulpy fruit. “This is ripe? This is what it’s supposed to taste like?”

  “It might be a day or two over-ripe. You can turn it into dessert with a scoop of ice cream. Make friends with the Filipinos. They have tons of recipes for cooking with all these different kinds of fruit.”

  “So far, the only Filipino food I’ve had are the sandwiches Clara makes for us each day.”

  “She’s not much of a cook?” he asked. They’d made their way to the large brush pile in the middle of the grounds to toss away the fruit rind.

  “I think she’s distracted with the idea that a man was found dead here last week. She avoids the front porch at all costs.”

  “People in the islands are pretty superstitious,” he said. “The Filipinos are Catholic, but mix a lot of old-fashioned beliefs and superstitions with it.”

  “Such as?” Gina asked. She had a few superstitions of her own.
<
br />   “Ghosts. But everyone in the islands believes in them.”

  “Felix said once that the house is haunted. I chalked that up to not wanting to work by himself every day.”

  “Don’t try to convince him otherwise. There are too many layers of myths and folklore that all these different groups of people brought with them. Do yourself a favor, Miss Santoro, and don’t try to change people from a culture you’re not familiar with. It won’t end well.”

  “So I’m discovering. Between me being indecisive and the work crew being superstitious, I’m surprised anything gets done at all.”

  She pointed out the small trees and shrubs they’d found and marked in the old Japanese garden, and they looked at the mound of dirt that was growing next to the hole that was being dug for the pond.

  “I guess we’re keeping the old bridge once the new main entrance is built,” she said. “Nostalgia, or some such thing.”

  “That bridge has been there for a long time. I’m surprised it can still take the weight of a car driving across.”

  “Maybe that’s why the Tanizawas don’t want me to bring in heavy equipment to work on this project. If I could, I could get the pond dug, and the fields plowed in only a few days. And scrape out a new driveway that goes through the place.”

  “Maybe,” he said. They were back to his car by then. “Do you have big plans for today?”

  “I was thinking of going for a drive, see a few more places. I might even risk putting on a swimsuit and go to the beach. Any suggestion on where I can go?”

  “A Waikiki suntan is the envy of the world. Just wear sunscreen and a hat, and take water. Park near the Ala Wai Marina and walk to any beach you find.”

  “Ala Wai Marina. Isn’t that where…”

  “Hughes was found, yes. You can walk around there to look at the yachts. I find that entertaining from time to time.”

  “Like I know something about yachts.”

  “On the other side of the marina is a popular mall. Everything from cheap tourist stuff to expensive clothing and jewelry. Good food court, too.”

  Something he said perked her interest. “How expensive is expensive in Honolulu?”

  He chuckled when he started his engine. “Our salaries put together wouldn’t be enough to buy pretty little bobbles in some of the stores at that mall, or along Waikiki. Pretty to look at, but leave your credit card at home!"