The tip of the knife came to rest underneath my chin, and I didn't dare breathe. Benny appeared in the doorway of my bedroom and yawned as he watched us. Go away, Ben. Go away.
"It was never going to end." Jeff's voice was quiet as his eyes fixed on Benny. "I went to see good old Randy the other morning and told him I was thinking about selling the theater. I have an offer on the table that's pretty good. He demanded half the profits if I sold. That's when I knew that I had to get rid of him. I still had some cyanide powder from the family jewelry store. After we shut down a few years ago, I figured it might come in handy someday. Turns out I was right."
Sweat broke out in a river on my forehead. "Did you know I was going to his room that morning with the food?"
He had his face in front of mine now, forcing me to look directly at him. He pressed the blade into my chin until the sharp tip connected with my skin, and I whimpered, seeing nothing but his eyes—a never-ending pool of darkness. "Not you in particular. When Randy told me the Loco Moco was bringing us breakfast and you knocked on the door, I excused myself to go to the bathroom. Imagine my surprise when I heard your voice. I already knew what I had to do so it was imperative no one else find me there. Guess you have a real talent for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Carrie."
There was no doubt about that.
Jeff moved the knife away and squeezed my neck tightly with his other hand, forcing me to gasp for breath. "Of course, when Randy said the coffee was terrible, that was the opportunity I'd been looking for. I knew you'd be coming back, and now you had a motive. The devoted young girl who would do anything for her boyfriend and his family owned business."
Stars were starting to dance before my eyes. "Please," I croaked. "Please don't."
Jeff continued, as if he hadn't heard me. "Right after you left, his cell rang, and he went on the balcony to take the call. That was all the time I needed. I dumped the powder in his coffee cup, and when he came back in, I asked him what was so bad about the coffee. To illustrate the point, he took another sip and then proceeded to give me the lengthy boring details about his beloved Kona coffee. As he started to have spasms, I wiped down a few things I had touched in the room and even remembered to grab my mimosa glass on the way out. It all worked like a charm."
Benny meowed, and Jeff looked over at him. It was the split second I needed for my fingernails to make contact with Jeff's cheek. Jeff let out a howl, and the knife slipped from his grasp. In a fit of rage, he smacked me across the face so hard that I almost blacked out. Before I could move, he pushed me down onto the couch, the weight of his body pressing mine into the cushions as he squeezed my neck tightly between both of his hands.
"Goodbye, Carrie," he whispered. "The curtain is about to go down on your life."
As we struggled, I was dimly aware of orange and white fur as it flew through the air. Benny landed on Jeff's shoulder and clawed him in the face. Jeff screamed and released his hold on me. He reached for Benny while I gulped some much-needed air. The cat hissed at Jeff as he caught him by his hind legs.
At that moment, there was a knock on my front door. "Carrie?" Keanu's worried voice drifted in from the outside.
"No!" I screamed and reached over the arm of the couch to grab the vase, which I wasted no time in bringing down on Jeff's head. He dropped Benny and toppled forward onto my glass coffee table, breaking it in half during the process. He lay on the floor among shards of glass, motionless.
The sound of someone kicking at the front door could be heard. It flew open, and Keanu rushed in. On his way toward me, he stopped for a brief moment when he spotted the body lying there. I stepped over Jeff and ran into Keanu's arms. Benny was now perched on the arm of the couch, contentedly cleaning himself, as if nothing had happened.
"Oh my God." Keanu held me tightly against him. "Are you okay? Did he try to attack you?"
"He tried to kill me. He's the one…killed…Randolph." I wasn't making much sense, but my voice shook so badly that I couldn't control it.
Keanu held me firmly around the waist with one hand as he reached into his pocket with the other for his cell and immediately pressed 9-1-1. "Yes, please send an ambulance to 54 Hani Drive, Apartment 1B. We need police assistance too. A man just tried to kill my girlfriend."
I looked down at Jeff, who still wasn't moving, and laid my head against Keanu's chest until my breathing returned to normal.
He kissed my hair. "Don't worry. He's not going anywhere anytime soon. You got him good, baby." He said something else to the operator and then disconnected the call.
I pressed my face into him, determined not to cry. "How did you know to come here?"
"What do you mean? We had a date, remember?"
I looked up at him, surprised. "Yes, but I sent you a text earlier this afternoon, saying that Jeff wanted to have rehearsal tonight. He came to pick me up and found my key under the mat, so he let himself in. He saw the crates and Wendy's number and suspected that I was on to him."
He pressed his lips against my forehead. "I never saw it. When I got out of the meeting, I had about twenty texts from my father and several vendors. I must have missed yours."
For once Terry had come through on my behalf. "I'll have to thank your father personally for harassing you so much."
Keanu kept the knife aimed at Jeff's nonmoving body. "Get something to tie his hands up with," he said. "I don't want to take any chances if he comes around before the police get here."
I ran into my bedroom and started to dump items out of my dresser until I found a scarf I'd worn during frigid Vermont winters. I went back to the living room and showed Keanu.
He nodded approval and handed the knife to me. "It's better than nothing." He dropped down next to Jeff's body. "I'll make it as tight as I can."
Once Jeff's hands had been secured, we sat down at the kitchen table next to each other while Keanu kept a sharp eye on Jeff and held the knife firmly in his hand.
"When I heard you scream, I was never so scared in my entire life." He examined my neck and face then glared over at Jeff in obvious contempt. "You've got bruises all over and a black eye. How the hell did you manage to get away from him?"
I turned and pointed at Benny, who was curled up on the arm of the couch, snoozing away. "My new hero."
Keanu looked from Benny to me and grinned. "Well, I'll be damned."
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Two weeks later
"Can I help you find something?"
The cheery female voice startled me out of my thoughts. A saleswoman from the Happy Hula Dress Shop was standing next to me, waiting for my response. When our eyes met, we both smiled in recognition.
"Hi, Carrie, how are you?"
I drew my eyebrows together. "Kallie, right?" She'd been in the Loco Moco several times and was always friendly, so I hoped I hadn't botched her name. At that moment, my mind was so preoccupied that I was lucky enough to remember my own.
"Close. It's Kaley. I'm the manager here."
She was pretty, a couple of inches taller than me, and most likely a few years older as well. Kaley's dark hair was almost as long as mine, her pale complexion striking against the red shirt that she wore.
I held up the cobalt silk blouse and knee-length white skirt for her to examine. "What do you think?"
She nodded in approval. "Those will look great together. Are you going on a job interview?"
Heat crept into my cheeks, and I hesitated, afraid to come off sounding like some sort of a braggart. "Sort of. I'm going to Hollywood for a screen test."
Kaley's brown eyes widened. "Wow, that's fantastic. Congratulations! When do you leave?"
"This afternoon. Nothing like waiting until the last minute, huh?" I'd been putting the shopping off until I had a little more money saved up.
She gave me a thumbs-up. "Hey, you've got this. The dressing room is in the back, if you'd like to try them on."
"I guess I'd better, thanks." I made my way to the rear of the open-floored sho
p, marveling at the attractive display of bathing suits, towels, and colorful sandals that adorned the walls. It was a treat for me to go clothes shopping because—one, I didn't have any extra money to spare, and two, I never had the time, which explained why I was doing it on the day I was supposed to be leaving Aloha Lagoon.
Vivian, my personal Hollywood gossip expert, had been the one to suggest that I buy a new outfit for my screen test. "Blue," she'd urged. "Make sure that the blouse or dress that you wear is blue. I hear that's the most desired color for screen tests. It represents positive energy." She winked. "What a coincidence that it happens to be the color of your hottie's eyes too."
This sounded plausible enough to me. Besides, I had no other information to go on. I wished that I could be as positive as everyone else was about the trip. A tiny part of me still hoped that Howie would call and say it was all off—the picture would not be made, that there was no money, anything. The entire idea of going to California by myself was nerve wracking enough. When I'd first arrived in Hawaii a few months ago, Brad had been waiting for me, and that had helped. Still, he was living proof now that sometimes it was better to be alone for the right reasons than with someone for the wrong ones.
I quickly slipped off my jeans and T-shirt and tried the outfit on, studying myself critically in the full-length mirror. I had to admit the color of the blouse was vibrant and worked well with my dusky skin tone. There was no time to waste, since I was meeting Keanu and everyone else for a quick goodbye lunch at the Loco Moco in a few minutes.
Terry and Ava had graciously offered to close the restaurant until after lunch so that my fellow employees—and Tad—could all wish me well on my journey. Terry hadn't said much to me in the past two weeks but did thank me for my help in the investigation. He'd also assured me that my job would be waiting for me whenever I returned to Kauai. They'd left for Arizona yesterday, and because of their hectic schedules, we still hadn't had that family dinner yet, which was just fine with me.
I put the skirt and blouse back on their hangers and wished I'd brought Keanu with me to get his thoughts. Then again, he always said everything looked great on me, which wasn't much help, even though it did do wonders for my self-image.
He'd been right, of course. If I didn't go to California, I would always wonder about what could have been. I had to do this, as much for myself as for our relationship, but that didn't make the decision any easier. After the party, Keanu would drive me to the airport so I could catch my four o'clock flight.
Kaley's voice sounded from the other side of the door. "How'd you make out, Carrie?"
"All set, thanks." Then I looked at the price tags and froze. Holy cow. Sure, the blouse was Anne Klein, but it was more than I had imagined. Even with the ten percent discount Aloha Lagoon employees received, there was no way I could justify spending this much money on myself. I had to be extra careful with my cash flow for the next few weeks—until I knew exactly where things stood.
I opened the dressing room door slowly and expected to find Kaley standing there, but she was up front behind the register, in the middle of a phone conversation. She caught sight of me, spoke into the cell again, and then ended the call.
I had hoped to slip the items back onto the rack without being noticed and then casually wave good-bye on my way out the door. No such luck. Kaley was headed toward me, a broad smile on her face. Great.
"Well, what do you think? Did you like the outfit?"
"Yes," I said honestly. "It looked great."
Kaley beamed. "Wonderful." She held out her hands for the items. "Shall I take these to the register for you?"
"Um," I hedged. "I really would like to buy them, but they're a little out of my league price wise."
She appeared unconcerned by my comment. "But you like them, right?"
"Yes." I wondered where she was going with this.
"Good. It's settled then." Kaley took the garments and walked toward the register. "Was there anything else you wanted?"
What the heck? "Kaley." I counted to five, an attempt to control my annoyance. "I just said that I can't afford them."
Kaley laughed in response. "No worries, Carrie. They've already been paid for. The…uh, person who did the good deed said that they wanted to remain anonymous but that you were to buy anything your heart desired. There's no charge on your end."
My jaw dropped. "Who in the world—" A warm tingle ran through me. Of course, I knew who was responsible. There was only one person who would go to such lengths for me. Keanu was generous to a fault with his heart and wallet. I still marveled at how I had ever managed to find him.
Kaley was busy placing the garments in a Happy Hula shopping bag. "Are you sure you don't want anything else? This…ahem…person said it was all right if you wanted to buy the entire store out."
Tears started to gather in the back of my eyes, but I managed a smile for the girl. "No thank you, Kaley. I have everything that I could possibly want." I whispered that one blissful word to myself again. "Everything."
* * *
After lunch, Keanu and I walked hand in hand toward his car as Poncho came rushing out of the kitchen door. "Ho'aloha! I almost forgot to give this to you."
The three of us stood by the passenger side of the car, and they both waited while I removed the shiny silver wrapping paper. I stared down in awe at a green sea turtle pendant that hung off a gold chain.
Keanu grinned at Poncho. "Good choice."
I fingered the turtle in amazement. "It's beautiful. Is there some type of significance to the charm?"
Poncho gestured for me to turn around and lift my hair so that he could fasten the chain around my neck. "This is called honu. It symbolizes good luck, endurance, and long life." He turned me around and admired the necklace for a second before his voice became gruff. "That is my wish for you always, ho'aloha. If you have those three things, you will never need anything more."
I was overwhelmed by the thoughtful gesture and, for the second time today, moved close to tears. In some ways Poncho was the closest thing to a father I'd ever had, and how I envied his little boys. "I'll treasure it always. Thank you."
To my surprise, he placed his arms around me and gave me a quick peck on the forehead. I returned the hug but was blown away by his action because Poncho hated public displays of affection.
Poncho released his hold on me and patted my cheek. "We will miss you. Come back soon." His eyes had clouded over, like the sky on an overcast day. He turned and walked quickly back toward the Loco Moco.
The dull ache in my chest started to spread to the rest of my body. Keanu opened the car door for me, and I settled into the passenger seat, determined not to cry.
He got behind the wheel and watched me closely. "You okay, sweetheart?"
I nodded but didn't look at him. If I stared into those incredible eyes I was certain to break down.
My flight was on American Airlines and taking off from Lihue Airport. I would change planes in Phoenix with an hour layover and then go on to Burbank from there. Howie would have one of his assistants meet me at the airport and then take me to a nearby hotel. I was even being chauffeured to the studio for my screen test the following day. If they decided that they wanted me for the movie, we would then discuss contract details and more permanent living arrangements.
Tad had suggested that I start hunting for an agent, but I thought it unnecessary. I had no plans to stay in California long term. My life was in Hawaii now. It was home—a word I'd never known the true meaning of before, and I belonged there.
Howie had invited me to join him for dinner tomorrow night after the test so we could talk. It seemed that he was going to an awful lot of trouble for my sake. Perhaps in an odd way Jeff's arrest had something to do with it. Howie had told me—after the initial shock wore off—how grateful he was to me for discovering the truth. He confessed that he had never suspected Jeff was capable of murder. To be honest, neither had I. The theater would continue with productions once a new directo
r and owner had been found.
Jeff had cooperated with the police and even led them to the place where Sean Tyler's body was buried on a bike trail adjacent to the college campus. Dental records had proven the body belonged to him, and his family had been notified. The other day, Vivian had given me the scoop on Randolph's will.
"Look at this." Vivian had pointed eagerly to the latest issue of People she'd been reading. "Can you believe that Randolph made a new will a few months ago and left everything to Coral? Guess the man had a conscience after all."
You think you know a person…
"I have something for you," Keanu announced when we got out of the car. He went to the trunk to remove my luggage and pulled out a purple laptop bag. "It was tough to find this color, but I know it's your favorite."
I stared at him in shock. "Oh no, you didn't."
He placed the bag over my shoulder. "But of course I did."
I bit into my lower lip. "Keanu, I can't take this. And for the record, I figured out who my fairy godmother was at the dress shop. Thank you for being so good to me."
Keanu brushed a strand of hair away from my face. "This laptop isn't just for you. It's a present for me too. Now we can skype every day." He grinned and flashed his dimple. "You won't have time to miss me if you see me every day."
"I already miss you." It was the truth. I watched his strong jaw tighten and the well-defined features focus on me while the pain started to swell inside my chest.
He put a finger on my lips. "I feel the same way. Come on, sweetheart. We need to go find your plane."
We checked my bags and then slowly walked toward security with our hands entwined. After we reached that point, I'd be forced to separate from him. There wasn't much of a line, so we lingered in a corner for a few minutes and indulged in a few of those public displays of affection that Poncho hated so much. I wrapped my arms around his waist, as he stroked my cheek softly.
Aloha Lagoon Mysteries Boxed Set Volume III (Books 7-9) Page 58