Akahi nodded. “Good, good.”
I had the feeling this conversation was going to rely on me to get it going or we were going to have an awkward moment.
“Let’s get right to it. I hired an investigator because I had problems with trespassers; more specifically, some asshole was trying to break in and I wasn’t going to stand for it. I didn’t discuss our business,” I said, motioning between us. “This is how I make my living. I wouldn’t dare risk it.” Lie. I also left out how I gave up Roger and Souza. “In the end, hiring the investigator was the best decision I ever made. It saved Izzy and me.”
While I explained, Akahi listened intently. His eyes never wavered and he nodded occasionally. He seemed to be buying what I was telling him which is why I was surprised when he asked, “Why did you tell the investigator to look at Roger?”
Chapter 78
Don’t you hate when someone knows what you did or said but pretends not to, just to set you up?
Instincts told me to keep lying. Braddah Moku suddenly appeared and took a seat next to me, which told me otherwise. I was ambushed. This was the second time that a person I thought was a good friend turned out to be something else. I was speechless. That is, until Braddah Moku put his arm around me and in his quiet voice said, “Tell my brother what you told me.”
Earth calling Darby. Did I hear that right? Braddah Moku and Akahi are brothers? Well this certainly explained all the similarities between the two. Their calm demeanors and large statures were family traits. I looked at Braddah Moku for direction with my jaw unhinged, swaying in the tropical breeze.
“Brah, it’s okay. Tell Akahi what you told me.”
His smile helped to comfort me. I tried to think about what the negative would be for spilling the truth, but I stopped. Braddah Moku had never steered me wrong before, so I had to trust that he wouldn’t start now. My gut said he was on my side. I hoped so.
I told Akahi everything, but I made sure that I made it clear that a name was all I gave up, nothing more. I needed to protect Izzy and myself. That’s what this was about.
Akahi took a deep breath, held it, and then slowly let it out. What I had to say wasn’t what he wanted to hear.
Chapter 79
I still wasn’t sure if I understood what was going on. I looked at Akahi and shrugged.
“Brah, you just went confirm something for me.”
“I did?”
“I had one hunch that Roger went work against the gang. I went ask Souza to keep an eye on him. What he told me had me worried. But then Souza went disappear.”
“You think Roger got rid of him.”
“I cannot think of any other reason. Roger must have thought we knew and went panic.”
“About what?” I asked.
“We figure out he trying for distribute drugs by partnering with the Yakuza.”
“Drugs! Where is he now?”
“That’s what we trying for figure out right now,” Braddah Moku said.
Akahi shifted in his seat. “As far as we know, he went run off, like the punk he is. His place stay empty. Even his girl doesn’t know where he went.”
Sheesh, a madman on the loose and I couldn’t help but think if there was anything I did or said that would have him come after me. “Where do you guys think he went?”
Akahi shook his head. “Not sure, brah.”
Braddah Moku gave me a pat on the back. “No worry, Darby. He’s not going to bother you.”
I turned to Braddah Moku. “How do you know? I gave him up to the investigator. He knows that you guys are on to him. Maybe he thinks I’ll report him to the police.”
“Nah, he’s more worried about us. We think he went leave the island, went to the mainland. He get family in Seattle. We already reaching out for some friends over there.”
“Darby,” Akahi asked, “is there anything else you can tell us?”
I sat there for a minute and rehashed the conversation with Balagot. I was pretty sure I had told them everything. I shook my head and told him no.
Braddah Moku stood up. “Come on, Darby. I walk you out.”
Just as I was turning around to leave, I remembered Tav’s card. “Akahi, is it okay if I swipe this card? It’s my buddy Tav’s. You remember him from the cockfight, right?”
Turns out Tav had a credit of $750. “It’s a good thing I checked, but I’m puzzled as to why it’s so much.” The system’s betting history showed that Tav had let his winnings ride on the same rooster that won the rest of the night. Talk about dumb luck. I pocketed his winnings for him and exited the house behind Braddah Moku.
“So, Akahi is your brother.”
“It’s not something I go around announcing. Most people know though.”
“The eyes, the size, the soft voices… You’re both pretty chill. I can totally see the similarities.”
“Akahi is a good guy inside. When we was young, he got caught up with the wrong group of guys but he made sure that I didn’t do the same thing. As a big brother, he was good that way. I try to look out for him when I can but… you know. It is what it is.”
I knew exactly what Braddah Moku was talking about. It is what it is. Or is it?
“So do you think Akahi and his crew really have a shot at catching Roger now that he’s on the run?”
“Depends on how badly they want him.”
“What does that mean? The guy tried to screw them over.”
“True, but now he can never show his face around here again. Out of sight, out of mind, brah.”
Just like that. One minute they want to kill you; the next, they forget. Braddah Moku patted my back. “No worry about him, Darby. I get my ear to the ground.”
Chapter 80
On the drive back to the beach house I had a chance to mull over the recent events that had taken place. With the NBB consult wrapped, I could end it with them and go legit. Continuing to do what I do was a bad idea. I would have plenty to worry about with Mr. FBI as my father-in-law. Did I really want to risk it all? Is this what I really wanted? I don’t know. I didn’t know. Though the one thing I was sure of was that I had a wonderful woman who had agreed to spend the rest of her life with me. Why would I screw that up? I had a Darbytastic future ahead of me.
My cell started to ring as I pulled into the driveway of beach cottage.
“Hey, Tav, what’s going on?”
“Did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“Harold. He got promoted to a heavy-hitter.”
“Wait, what?” I almost dropped the phone when I heard that.
“Harold is a heavy-hitter. He’s even up on the sales board.”
What the hell… “I don’t understand. How did this happen? He’s manager of the bottom-feeders.” I walked around the house to the lanai and sat down.
“I know. I was hoping you had some insight. I mean, clearly he found himself a client.”
“How would I know? I’ve been in Hawaii. I can’t believe this. Shit…”
“What?”
“That means he’ll move up to the twelfth floor.”
“Yeah, so?”
“The only empty office is next to me.”
A burst of laughter spilled out on my end.
“I’m sorry, but that is too funny. Just when you got away, he sucked you right back in. Hey, I’m about to walk into a meeting. I’ll talk to you later.”
I stared out at the ocean, numb from the news. The smelly donkey was now a heavy-hitter. How did this happen? The guy was an idiot. He wouldn’t have a clue of how to snag a big client, let alone sell them enough product to make it into heavy-hitter land. The Teleco Sales Manual doesn’t teach that well. The only way he could have pulled this off is if—Shit!
The only way he could have pulled this off is if he figured out a way to do what I do. He had all the information. Imagine two consultants to the underworld. Maybe it was time to pass the torch.
I stood up, opened the back door, and walked straight into a fist.
/> Before I could comprehend what was going on, I got hit again. This time my knees buckled and I went down. As I lay on the floor, I could taste blood running down the back of my throat. According to my previous experience, it should be gushing out of my nose as well. I felt myself being dragged and then the sound of a door slamming shut. I was in trouble. When I tried to get up, I was kicked in the rib cage. A sharp pain pierced my body. So this is what it feels like to break a rib. The pain was overwhelming. I couldn’t move. I was getting the shit beat out of me and I still had no idea by whom.
A hand clamped down on the back of my head and pulled me up and back so I was on my knees. I screamed from the pain that erupted from my side. My attacker had begun to punch me over and over again. I didn’t know how much more of this I could take. I wanted it all to end but it only got worse.
That’s when I heard the sound of wood breaking and large pounding footsteps. For a second, my attacker stopped punching me. Then the weight of a body landed on my back, forcing me to the ground, belly down. More pain shot through my body. I yelled and screamed as I tried to get away. I finally was able to turn on my side. I could make out two people on the floor next to me. It was Roger Kwan and Braddah Moku. It took a second for me to make any sense out of this. It must have been Roger who attacked me and somehow Braddah Moku showed up. The two of them were wailing away at each other. I started to move myself further away, not wanting a wild punch to find me.
Braddah Moku had Roger pinned beneath him and he was trying to move into a straddling position. That’s when I saw the glint of metal. Roger had a knife. He began stabbing my friend in the back. Spots of blood began to appear on his blue shirt. I couldn’t believe my eyes, or my ears. It was a sickening sound, almost indescribable. With each blow, the six-inch blade sunk into his back, but Braddah Moku didn’t give up. He had maneuvered his forearm over Roger’s throat and proceeded to put his entire weight on it.
Roger continued to stab Braddah Moku wherever he could. Blood was dripping everywhere. I had to do something. It looked like Roger was winning this battle. And then Roger’s knife hit the mark. He sunk the blade straight into Braddah Moku’s neck. A thick stream of blood spurted out and didn’t stop. His heavy breathing quickly turned to gurgling. Braddah Moku was bleeding to death, yet he continued to force all of his weight on Rogers throat. Suddenly there was a loud pop and Roger stopped moving. His throat had completely collapsed.
I moved over to Braddah Moku and quickly applied pressure to his neck wound. He rolled off of Roger and onto his back. I looked into his eyes, not sure if he was aware of what was happening to him. His eyes shifted and found mine. A smile slowly appeared on his face, the same friendly smile he had shown me the first night we met at Kolohe’s. He gently gripped my arm and gave it a comforting squeeze. I knew as I dialed 911, the big man, my friend, was leaving me.
Chapter 81
I spent another week in Hawaii so I could attend Braddah Moku’s funeral. I wanted to pay my respects and say goodbye to a friend. This man had only known me for a short time, yet he gave his life to save me. I’d never forget him.
I had made plans to fly out the very next day so I said my goodbyes at the funeral. When I reached Akahi, I shook his hand and gave him a slightly longer hug.
“Take it easy,” he said.
I smiled at him. I was about to tell him what a great person Braddah Moku was, but I had already told him that a million times the day his brother died. I expected him to be angry that Roger had been the one that killed his brother, but he wasn’t. He was just sad. I patted him on the shoulder and left.
Izzy was already in San Francisco when I returned. She had wanted to come to the funeral but I talked her out of it—no need to reopen the wound. It would just bring up too many bad memories of what went down. The time spent with her parents did a lot to help her deal with the Momi incident. The trip had brought the two of us closer and that’s what I wanted us to remember.
We were engaged. In a year we would be married. Izzy had changed her thoughts about a quick wedding after talking to her mother. She was now looking forward to planning our day with her. Even though I hadn’t mentioned it yet, I knew Tav would be my best man and Ralphie would be the ring bearer. I wouldn’t have it any other way, and neither would Izzy.
Linda Sawyer had called Izzy while she was visiting her parents to let her know she could have her old job back when she was ready. Teleco was being pretty cool about the situation. “Take some time off and come back when you’re ready,” is what management said. Plus, now that Harold was a heavy-hitter, he had lost all interest in making sure Linda filled Izzy’s position quickly. I, for one, wasn’t ready for that reality. Life on the twelfth floor was about to change.
When Izzy told me she wasn’t all that sure she wanted her old job back, I was a bit surprised. I thought she liked working at Teleco.
“I do like it there,” she said, “but I’m also thinking this can be an opportunity to pursue something else—to find something that I can be passionate about.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“I’m not sure, but it would be great to have a few months to think about what I really want to do. If not now, when?”
I was all for it. I told her to take her time. Who wants to be stuck in a job they don’t like? I also had some thinking to do. Between Izzy’s FBI father and Harold’s new status as a heavy-hitter, my career path wasn’t picture perfect.
Even though our careers were up in the air, there was one constant that fell back into place perfectly. The three of us, plus the pug, were back together again at The Vic.
Epilogue
Insanity.
That was the defense the public defender had conjured up for Momi Kapalama. No one thought it would hold any weight: not the prosecutors, not the judge, not the media, not even the jury. Yet somehow, some way, it did. Momi was found guilty by reason of insanity and sentenced to spend her remaining life at the Hawaii State Hospital in Kaneohe, on the eastern side of the island.
The person who was the most surprised by the verdict was Momi herself. She couldn’t stop giggling after hearing the decision. In her mind, she had gotten away with it. It didn’t matter that she was going to be locked up for life in a hospital. She knew she wasn’t insane, so in her mind, she had gotten away with her crimes.
After the verdict, the decision was made to transfer Momi from the courthouse to a holding cell, and then to the hospital as soon as possible. The court thought it would be best to keep her out of the public eye and tucked away at the hospital.
It was near 8:00 p.m. when the guards charged with transporting Momi arrived at the motor pool. Danny Nobrega stepped out from behind the white van used for high-risk inmate transport.
“What, Danny? You got transferred out of records?”
“Nah, just stretching the legs. Doctor said I gotta move around now that I get one desk job.” Nobrega watched them get into the van. “Where you guys heading?”
“We’re transferring the crazy lady to the hospital tonight. We going pick her up right now.”
“Eh, watch out for this one,” he said. “She almost killed a good friend of mine.”
“No worry. We can handle her,” the driver said as he pulled away. Nobrega watched the van go around the corner before heading back inside.
The white van pulled around to the Intake/Release area where Momi was being held. Fifteen minutes later the officers had her loaded into the vehicle and were on the road. It would be a forty-five minute ride to the hospital—maybe more as it started to drizzle.
By the time the van had reached the dark stretch of highway that cut through the Ko’olau Mountain range to the other side of the island, torrential rains were pelting the vehicle, slowing its movement to forty miles per hour. To make things worse, the van got a flat.
Pulling over to the side of the road, the driver turned to his partner with a face that said, “Sorry, brah.” The other guard buttoned up his jacket, readying himself for
what lay ahead. Changing the tire in the rain would be quicker with two men, but it was against regulations to leave an inmate alone. And anyway, Kekoa, the driver, didn’t trust her. Every time he looked at Momi in the rearview mirror, she had an eerie smirk on her face.
Manu, the other guard, closed the passenger door behind him and clicked his flashlight on. He wasn’t looking forward to damage duty. The wind had picked up and the rain was coming down even harder. He made his way to the rear of the vehicle and knelt next to the right rear wheel. It was definitely flat. Upon closer inspection, he noticed the valve stem was broken—the source of the leak.
Right about then, a car pulled up behind the van. Immediately the headlights from the vehicle blinded Manu. It was hard enough seeing clearly with the rain, but with the lights, he might as well have been wearing a blindfold. The lights turned off leaving Manu seeing nothing but floaters. Before he knew it, someone was standing next to him.
Manu was still kneeling when he heard the voice. He looked up, still squinting from the rain. He couldn’t make out who the person was. “Brah, I appreciate you stopping, but—”
That’s as far as Manu got before a heavy object hit him in the head, knocking him out. The stranger moved up to the front of the vehicle where Kekoa was singing along with the radio, oblivious.
When the front passenger door opened, Kekoa shouted out, “Wow, Manu, you finish change the tire already? That was fast.”
But Manu didn’t appear. Kekoa called out again. “Eh, Manu, either get in or close the door. The rain stay coming inside.” Still, the figure stood just outside the door. Kekoa was fed up with Manu’s games and leaned over to close the door. That’s when a fist hit Kekoa straight in the face, sending everything in his world into a sparkly haze. A flashlight to the back of the head put him under.
Momi sat quietly in the back seat where it was dark, watching what happened outside and up front. Her feet were in chains and her hands were cuffed. “Eh, what’s going on? Who are you?” she shouted.
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