by J. E. Trent
“I know you’re back there, come on out,” Woo Ching yelled.
“Why don’t you come back here instead?”
“Okay, right after I kill your boyfriend.”
“All right, all right, I’m coming out,” Jessica yelled. She slowly walked out into the living room and sat next to Sam on the couch. She glared at Woo Ching for a moment, and then said, “I’m going to give you one chance to surrender. Set the gun down on the counter next to you and put your hands behind your head, interlocking your fingers.”
Woo Ching laughed as he brought his pistol to bear and then lowered the weapon, as if he had considered it. Jessica had a slight smile and a look of contentment on her face. She was glad he chose not to surrender.
Uncle Jack was in a bungalow two hundred feet from Jessica’s with a sniper rifle, and waited for Woo Ching to show up and make his move. He had been in the bathroom when Sam went out to get the paper, but when he’d heard Comet start barking, he’d run back into the living room, where he had his Remington. After he’d checked the video feed, he saw that Woo Ching was in the house. He looked through the rifle scope and could see him through the window. He was going to kill Sam and Jessica if Uncle Jack didn’t act right that second. He aimed the rifle through his window toward the living room window of Jessica’s bungalow, as fast as he could, just as they had planned. But Uncle Jack couldn’t get a clear shot, as Jessica sat on the couch, until Woo Ching moved toward her.
Woo Ching took two steps toward Sam and Jessica and raised his pistol again. Uncle Jack exhaled and squeezed the rifle’s trigger–Woo Ching dropped like a rock.
When the .300 Win Mag slammed into his chest, it must have ricocheted off a bone; the exit wound made one hell of a mess behind him in the kitchen.
Sam, Jessica, and Uncle Jack had rehearsed numerous scenarios if Woo Ching got in the house. Sam getting shot, while going out to get the paper, wasn’t one of them. He reminded them a few times, as they waited for an ambulance to arrive.
Epilogue
During the investigation of Mike Murphy’s crash, the FBI had questioned Simmy and noticed inconsistencies in her story right from the start. After hours of intense questioning, she’d finally admitted she had put the sugar in the airplane’s gas tank.
The U.S. attorney in Honolulu charged her with second-degree murder but reduced it to voluntary manslaughter, in a plea agreement, and Simmy took the deal. The judge sentenced her to five years in prison.
* * *
The sky was blue and clear on the morning of Pua’s first birthday party after being pronounced cancer free by her doctor. Jessica had rented a pavilion at the Old Airport Beach Park for the celebration; she and Sam had arrived early to decorate the gazebo and get ready for the party.
They placed ti leaves at each corner of the pavilion, as Sam lit the coals on the custom-built grill he’d trailered to the beach for the occasion. There was a bouncy house for the keiki, and lots of tables and chairs where all the aunties and uncles could sit and talk story. Sam got busy barbecuing huli-huli chicken as the crowd gathered.
Over a hundred people had RSVP’d and every starving real estate agent in town, who knew Pua, showed up for a free meal and a chance to pass out their business cards.
Pua’s new boyfriend, Charles, played slack key guitar as guests arrived. He was a local musician she had met while at the doctor’s office. They lived one day at a time and enjoyed every minute together.
Jasmine and Petty Officer Ryan Stinnett arrived an hour late from Honolulu. They’d missed their flight because Ryan had been delayed returning from an errand that morning. He’d gone to the Ala Moana shopping mall to pick something up for Jasmine. He said it was a secret and wouldn’t tell her what it was until the time was right. And it was important to get it before they left for Kona.
Uncle Jack and Kainoa played in waves on their boogie boards until they’d tired of that. Then they checked the lava tide pools to see what kind of cool creatures lurked thereabouts. Kainoa loved to find clownfish and chase crabs. Since Uncle Jin was in prison, on the fentanyl drug charges, Uncle Jack had decided he would fill that void in Kainoa’s life. And he realized that relationship had filled something missing in his. Besides, it gave him something to do instead of drinking beer most days.
As Pua's guests congratulated her on her victory over breast cancer, with hugs and plumeria leis of different colors, a shirtless old Hawaiian man, with weathered skin and a long grey-haired ponytail, sat on the beach in front of the pavilion. He started to rhythmically tap his hand against an ipu drum he had carried with him. The sound of the old man’s hand, as it slapped the drum, filled the air, and everyone became quiet. The combination of the heel of his hand and fingertips as they hit the drum, created different sounds. It sounded like oo-te-oo-te-te over and over again.
The rhythmic beat of the drum summoned Pua, Jessica, and Jasmine, as though hypnotized. They stood three abreast on the beach, in front of the crowd of at least a hundred and fifty people, and performed a healing hula. They danced and connected with each other and the people as they watched. It was the healing that their family needed at that place and time. Sam had never seen Jessica dance hula before, and didn’t realize how much of an island girl she was, until that very moment.
At the end of the hula, everyone clapped and gave the three sisters many hugs. The old Hawaiian casually got up and wandered off down the beach, toward town, with his ipu drum–and a smile.
After he’d disappeared from sight, Sam asked Jessica, “Did you know him?”
She shook her head. “No.” Then she looked over at Pua and Jasmine who sat nearby, and they both shook their heads.
* * *
By five p.m. all the guests had left the party, and everything was packed up. Sam and Jessica sat on the beach, and waited for the sunset. Sam hoped this time to see a green flash. Every time he thought he saw it, Jessica swore there was no such thing. They teased each other about it almost every time they watched a sunset together. And they did that as often as they could.
Uncle Jack grabbed a couple bottles of beer out of the ice chest and sat down by them. As he handed one of the bottles to Sam, he said he had some news.
“I thought you guys would like to know, I just got a call a few minutes ago from a friend in Honolulu that I used to work with. He said the FBI arrested Lau as soon as his plane landed in Honolulu earlier today. He was on his way back to Kona from Hong Kong when F-22’s, from Hickam Air force base, intercepted his plane and forced it to land on Oahu. The DEA had evidence he was responsible for a murder, and they passed it on to the FBI. So I don’t think you need to worry about him causing you any more trouble.”
Uncle Jack took a sip of his beer and looked toward the ocean as two dolphins cruised by. “Go home,” he yelled. He looked back at Sam and Jessica. “That was Kiki and Koa. They know the street lights are going to be on soon.”
Sam and Jessica looked dumbfounded for a moment. “Only in Hawaii,” Jessica muttered, as she shook her head, and they all laughed.
Uncle Jack said he had fresh fish for Kiki and Koa at the A Hui Hou and needed to get back to the harbor so he could feed them. The dolphins hunted for their food during the day, but could always get a free meal if they came back to the boat at night. Uncle Jack said his good-byes and left so he could get back to the harbor before the dolphins.
Sam and Jessica watched the sun as it started to set on the horizon.
“What are you going to do now that Lau is in prison and the Village is going to be okay?” Sam asked Jessica. Before she could answer, he said, “I know what you should do. You should move in with me and Mr. Jangles at the Keauhou Bay house.”
Jessica lightly rubbed Sam’s leg as she contemplated her answer. She smiled and said,
“Someone does need to look after you two. It might as well be me.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Jessica scooted closer to Sam, and leaned her head on his shoulder. They watched the sun disappear
, and Sam saw what appeared to be a green flash.
“Did you see it?”
“Nope.”
He sighed. “You’re never going to admit it, right?”
“That’s right,” she teased.
The End.
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Author Notes
Aloha! And mahalo for spending your time and money on this book. I hope you enjoyed it. If you could please post a review where you purchased this book I would be very grateful. Your review is critical to my success as an author and will help me write better books in the future. Thank you!
J.E. Trent Author
About the Author
J.E. Trent
J.E. Trent lived in Hawaii over twenty two years and loves sharing his knowledge of the tropical paradise in his novels.
Afterword
At the time when I got the idea for Sam and Jessica, I had been an auto mechanic for about thirty-five years. I was over fifty and my body was screaming at me every morning that I’d better find another way to make a living. Around that time I had written some flash fiction, that I had gotten a lot of positive feedback on. And I thought with some study, that maybe I could write a novel.
After a lot of brainstorming, Sam and Jessica came to be. A billionaire superyacht builder and a retired LA detective. They aren’t perfect; they’re growing through problems in their lives that people can relate to. They have character defects just like everybody does. But it’s how they strive to overcome them and do the right thing, is what I hope to convey in their stories.
During the twenty-two years I lived on the Big Island, I witnessed some amazing things. Those events are where a lot of the inspiration I get comes from. My goal is to intersperse those moments in my writing, creating something unique that you can only get when you read my books.
Hawaii is a magical place. My words will never do it justice. I hope that readers take away a bit of aloha after spending time with Sam and Jessica.
Mahalo for your support.
J.E. Trent
Acknowledgments
My wife, Eila Trent for editing and her suggestions that have led to Death in Paradise being the best book that it is today.
* * *
Shane Rutherford at Dark Moon Graphics made the beautiful cover for the book.
* * *
Mahalo to all the authors who have shared their knowledge at kboards.com and the 20BooksTo50K Facebook group and many others.
Also by J.E. Trent
Book 2 Death Orchid
Book 3 The Kona Strangler
Book 4 Death Tide
Hawaiian Glossary
Mana (Ma-Na)
Spirit
Aina (Eye-Na)
Land of the island.
Honu (Ho-Nu)
It is a green sea turtle.
Malama (Ma-La-ma)
To take care of.
Hapa (Ha-Pa)
Means mixed race. Hawaiian, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese and Filipino make up the majority of the population in Hawaii and when they marry their children are called hapa. A mixture.
Huli-huli chicken is grilled on a trailer in a parking lot or on the side of the road. It’s usually related to a fundraiser.
Da-Kine (dah-KINE) is a fill-in word used for anything you can’t remember the name of.
Aloha (ah-LOH-hah)
Aloha is “hello” and “goodbye.” You could also have the spirit of aloha = Giving, caring.
Mahalo (mah-HA-loh)
Means “thank you.”
Haole (HOW-leh)
It’s used to refer to white people. It can be used offensively, but isn’t always meant to be insulting. Originally it meant foreigner, but I seriously doubt anyone uses it for that anymore.
Kane (KAH-neh)
Kane refers to men or boys.
Wahine (wah-HEE-neh)
Wahine refers to women or girls.
Keiki (KAY-kee)
This word means “child.” You may hear locals call their children “keiki.”
Hale (HAH-leh)
Hale translates to “home” or “house.” It can often refer to housing in general.
Pau (POW)
When you put the soy sauce bottle down, you may hear a local ask, “Are you pau with that?” Pau essentially means “finished” or “done.”
Howzit (HOW-zit)
In Hawaii, “howzit” is a common pidgin greeting that translates to “hello” or “how are you?”
Lolo (loh-loh)
When someone calls you “lolo,” they’re saying you’re “crazy or dumb.” It’s sometimes used in a teasing manner.
Ono (OH-noh)
Ono means “delicious.” It can often be paired with the pidgin word “grinds,” which translates to “food.” So, if you eat something delicious, you might say it’s ono grinds.
Ohana (oh-HAH-nah)
Means family.
Tita (tit-uh)
Refers to a woman or teenage girl who could be said to either be a tomboy or else somewhat aggressive, tough, or rough with her language or manners.
Boating Glossary
Saloon = Living room. The social area of a larger boat is called the saloon. However, it is pronounced “salon.”
Cockpit = Is a name for the location of controls of a vessel; while traditionally an open well in the deck of a boat outside any deckhouse or cabin, in modern boats they may refer to an enclosed area.
Head = Is the bathroom.
Galley = Kitchen.
Stateroom = Bedroom.
Line = Rope.
Port = Standing at the rear of a boat and looking forward, “port” refers to the entire left side of the boat.
Starboard = Standing at the rear of a boat and looking forward, “starboard” refers to the entire right side of the boat.
Copyright © 2017 by J.E. Trent
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction created between the ears of J.E. Trent.
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