“I didn’t plan to! At first.” She dropped the butt and ground it under her flip-flop before lighting another.
“This is about the mortgage?” Mr. Wahine asked. “We’re fine, sweetie. Really. Although Leroy’s scam was wrong,” he glowered at his son. “Filling up the place was a great idea. You killing the folks off…not so much. Probably won’t get a single customer now.”
“What are you going to do now?” Finally, Joe spoke.
“About what?”
“You can’t kill all of us and expect to go free.”
“Why not?” She pointed the pistol at him.
I caught my breath and took a step toward my cousin. Ethan held me back. I frowned at him. Sure, my cousin got on my nerves, but I loved him. I’d take a bullet for any one of my family. I just prayed it would be quick and not hurt too bad. I hated pain.
“Stop doing that,” Ethan hissed out the side of his mouth.
“I can’t let her shoot them,” I whispered back.
“Stop talking!” Camilla’s face turned red.
Mrs. Wahine stood, wiped her face on the neckline of her muumuu, and approached her daughter. “You haven’t been taking your medicine, have you?” She glanced at us over her shoulder. “She’s schizophrenic. Has been since the age of twelve.”
Well, that explained a lot.
“What difference does it make?” Camilla’s shoulders slumped. “I have to kill everyone and burn the place down.”
“Kind of defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?” I hadn’t meant to say those words out loud.
Camilla transferred her crazy mind to me. “Stop talking. This is all your fault. If you hadn’t meddled in things that didn’t concern you, you’d be getting on a plane tomorrow none the wiser.”
Oh, I was getting on a plane tomorrow. With my family. I couldn’t wait to get away from these crazy people. Her stupid remark made me feel a bit like a character in a Scooby Doo episode with those ‘meddling kids’.
I sidled up to Joe. “Do something.”
“Not yet.” He kept his arm around April, who apparently had decided that not speaking might make her invisible.
“Are you waiting for her to shoot someone first?”
“I’m waiting for the cavalry. Stop talking.” Joe slowly sat back in his seat.
The what? Everyone was here. I glanced around. Manuel was absent, along with Malia. All we had to do was wait out the crazy woman with the gun. Great. I glanced toward the window, relieved to see the storm had stopped. Why weren’t the police here yet?
“What are you looking for?” Camilla marched toward me. “Huh? Hoping for a rescue? Well, that isn’t going to happen anytime soon. The road’s blocked.” She grinned. “I have help, remember? Someone else stands to gain from the insurance money. I’m not worth marrying without money as part of the package.” Tears shimmered in her eyes. “Nobody wants a crazy woman for a wife. The insurance money is my last hope.”
I shrugged away from Ethan and took a step toward her. Maybe she wouldn’t listen to my message of hope, but I had to try. “Everyone has worth, Camilla. You are as precious to God as I am. As your parents. Your brother.”
“I told you I’m a Buddhist.”
“Didn’t he exhibit love?” Oh, why hadn’t I studied up on alternate religions for a time like this? Selfish and concerned with my own world, that’s why.
“He taught about the true spirituality of the mind. Mine is tainted.”
She really had gone off the deep end. Tears burned my eyes. “Well, I don’t know anything about him, but I do know how my God feels about you. And He will forgive you. Even for this.”
“I’m going to shoot you first.” Camilla backed up and lit another cigarette.
I suppose she needed the courage first.
During our conversation, Leroy had circled the room, coming up behind his sister. Ethan and Joe came on each side. With me in front, we surrounded her.
Leroy put a finger to his lips. I nodded and stepped back. Maybe the boy had some guts after all. I did the only thing I could do. I grabbed Aunt Eunice’s hands, and we prayed. It didn’t take long for Uncle Roy to join us, which was a good thing. My uncle was a prayer warrior of the greatest kind.
The three around Camilla tackled her down.
A shot rang out.
My leg burned for a minute before the pain turned to a raging fire. “I’ve been hit.” My eyes widened, and I fell forward into Uncle Roy’s arms.
“Summer’s shot!” He laid me on the floor and pressed his strong hands against my thigh. “Eunice, kept praying.”
Another shot rang out and someone yelled. I thought it sounded like Leroy, but the pain in my leg overshadowed everything else. I closed my eyes against the tears running down my face. Strange, but the only thing I could think of was that we wouldn’t be going home tomorrow.
Sirens wailed.
###
I opened my eyes in the hospital, mortified that I’d fainted over a shot to the leg. All those times I’ve had a gun aimed at me, I’d never met the bullet.
Ethan slept in a moss green vinyl chair beside the bed, his hand covering mine. Even in sleep, he’d never left me. This I knew without being told.
“Hey, husband.”
His eyes popped open and a slow smile spread across his face. “Hey, wife.”
“Who else got shot?” My heart lurched at not seeing any of the rest of my family or April.
“Leroy.” Ethan shook his head. “He didn’t make it. Poor Mr. and Mrs. Wahine lost both of their children yesterday. One to death and the other, most likely, to a mental ward.”
“Where is everyone else?” As if my question summoned them, Aunt Eunice and Uncle Roy, along with Joe and April poured into the room. They circled the foot of the bed and grinned like fools. I joined in, my face hurting from the effort. “I want to go home.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Joe stepped out of the room.
“Will they let me go?” I glanced at Ethan.
“Probably.” He leaned over and kissed me. “You’ve been asleep for two days.”
“I have not.” What a wimp. A little shot in the leg and I obviously thought I was dying. “I’ll have to go in a wheelchair, won’t I?”
“Most likely.” He cupped my cheek. “But don’t worry. I’ll push you.”
“We thought you were dead.” April fell to her knees beside the bed.
I laughed when only her eyes showed over the edge of the mattress. “It’d take more than a bullet in the leg to kill me.”
“Obviously.” She laid her head against my arm. “You’ve got a Hawaiian honeymoon you’ll remember for the rest of your life.”
“And a scar as a momento.” I tried to sit up. “Where’s my camera?”
“In the suitcase.” Ethan laughed. “You took enough pictures for five photo albums.”
“Tell me Joe still has the copies from Mrs. Aldrich’s box, and the notes. They’ll make great keepsakes.” I laughed. Happy to be alive, and happy to see my family around me.
Joe arrived minutes later, pushing a wheelchair. “Better get dressed, cousin, because we’re busting you out.”
“When does our flight leave?” I grabbed Ethan’s hand. “Tell me it’s soon.”
“Tomorrow morning. We’ve got one night to actually relax on a beach.”
“Not at the Wahines.” I didn’t want to go back there.
Everyone laughed, but sobered quickly. So much heartache. So much death. All because a young woman with a tortured mind didn’t understand her value.
Was the young man I’d seen her kiss the one she thought wouldn’t marry her without any money? Or was her fear another strike against her illness? My heart ached for the Wahine family, but I wouldn’t be searching for answers.
I didn’t plan on trying to solve any mysteries for a very long time. I clutched Ethan’s hand. No, I was more than ready to start my married life. And, if God was inclined to answer my prayers, I already carried Ethan’s child.
; I really hoped so.
The End
Dear Reader:
Maui Macadamia Madness may be shorter than the other three books in the series, but I hope it wasn’t shorter on fun and mystery. Readers were asking for a Summer Meadows honeymoon mystery, and I hope this story delivered what you wanted. I pray you saw Summer’s spiritual growth and maturity over the course of the series and, like her, realize our strength comes from our Heavenly Father. God Bless You!
Cynthia Hickey
Check out my other books at www.cynthiahickey.com
About Spyglass Lane
Spyglass Lane Mysteries is a collection of Christian cozy mysteries—modern-day whodunnits with colorful characters and plenty of wholesome romance.
Discover other Spyglass Lane titles at Smashwords.com.
About the Author
Cynthia Hickey grew up in a family of story tellers and moved around the country a lot as an army brat. Her desire is to write real, but flawed characters in a wholesome way that her seven children and five grandchildren can all be proud of. She and her husband live in Arizona where Cynthia works as a monitor in an elementary school.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Dear Reader:
4 Maui Macadamia Madness Page 16