Sid interrupted, asking, “Why do you ask, Kay? What makes you think someone might have used it.”
“It was the windshield. It didnt occur to me until just now. The car was covered with thick dust, but the windshield was perfectly clean. Someone, for sure, drove the car recently and had the windshield washer and wipers going.”
***
The guests found it not at all difficult to praise the cooks achievement.
“Mom and Dad should be here to try this, Alan,” Kay said. “Its super, and theyd probably be able to tell me what the secret ingredients are.”
Alan beamed his pleasure. Heaping platters of the entree, along with red bean, carrot and mushroom salad and the customary large bowl of hot rice were rapidly disappearing. “Its all standard stuff,” he said, “Standard for any of the old Japanese, anyhow. Theres seaweed and tuna, bamboo shoots and a little sake. Just standard stuff,” he repeated. “Dad says he makes up enough for forty-five servings at a time.”
Sid replenished his plate, saying,“If this is standard Japanese fare, I was born into the wrong ethnic group.”
At the end of the meal, Alan waved them away as Kay made an attempt to clear the table. “You go into the front room and catch up on your case. Ill get this stuff into the dishwasher and bring you some dessert.”
Corky caught Kays eye and grinned, saying, “Mom says I got Alan on special order, custom made.”
It wasnt until the four had finally settled down in the front roomKay and Sid with their decaf, Corky with her regular coffee, and Alan with his own pot of Earl Greyand a platter of bean paste cakes on the coffee table, before the conversation finally veered around to the news Corky had hinted at earlier in the day.
“Well, Kay,” she said, “just maybe weve found a motive for the killing.”
“What is it,” Kay asked.
“A million or so dollars,” Corky answered, “safely tucked away in Morton Dyers house safe. Theres going to be a grand opening party in the morning with lots of people in attendance, to see if its actually there.”
***
“Its a long story,” Corky said, leaning back in the couch and pulling her legs up under her. John, the cat, having been unable to find an unoccupied chair, had settled for her lap, then decided it was too uncomfortable a perch and switched over to Kays. “Winston Hanamoto, the head accountant, is the one who discovered the money was missing.”
Sid grunted. “It takes an accountant to notice a missing million dollars?” he asked, rhetorically.
“He isnt much of an accountant, thats for sure. His brother is the one who hired him, and even he isnt exactly singing Winstons praises. But the one whos really pissed at Winston is Sullivan Jabagat.”
“Sullivan Jabagat!” Kay exclaimed. “The state accountant?”
“The same.”
“But what does he have to do with all this?”
“Thats what I meant when I said this was going to be a long story. It goes back to the state-guaranteed loan to Hawaiian Harvest a few months back. The company was falling apart, and the legislature came riding to the rescue. But now, from the looks of things, everything was going to collapse anyway. The growers were the main problem. Not the only one, though, since Joe Demos had already about run the business into the ground.
“Anyhow, for months the growers wanted to be paid all they were owed, and they werent about to deliver any more nuts unless they got cash on the barrel head. No promissory notes, no dubious checks, no nothing but pure hard cash. So Winston kept several thousand handy in the petty cash drawer and a packet amounting to about a million in the office safe.”
Simultaneously Kay and Sid said, “What?” Sid added, “They must have been out of their minds to go leaving a million in cash in their safe.”
“Sullivan Jabagat says they were out of their minds not to have it in an interest bearing account, but there wasnt much danger of any burglar getting it. The old safe came out of a Napua bank which went belly up during the depression. The amount of dynamite itd take to open it would bring down the roof of the building.”
“So someone in the office must have known about the money and took it out the easy way,” Kay commented.
“Someone sure did. Early this afternoon, Winston had to draw on his reserve. So he opens up the package and its nothing but carefully cut up newspaper.”
Sid shook his head. “But how doesit point to the money being in Morton Dyers home safe?”
“Im coming to that. Isobel Kim, the marketing director, says she saw Morton Dyer in the room with the safe the day before he left. While, technically, only Winston and his assistant know the combination of the safe, it isnt hard to envision one or more others in the office finding out the combination. Their security measures there are as sloppy as the rest of the organization.”
Sid was still dissatisfied with the explanation. “Even if shes right about Morton taking the money, what makes anyone think he didnt have it safely squirreled away someplace on the mainland?
“I know the answer,” Kay said, before Corky could reply. “He would never have come back to Elima otherwise. He knew the theft would be discovered sooner or later. It just got discovered sooner than hed expected. Right, Corky?”
“Right on! The nut crop was bigger than expected, and last weeks windstorm just about shook the trees bare. All the growers were in, with pickups full and clamoring for their cash. If it hadnt been for that, Winston wouldnt have gone looking for the reserve supply for at least another month.”
“So the police figure Morton was coming back to empty his safe and then take off. Is that what their thinking down at the station?” Sid asked.
“Mm-hm. Maybe he even figured on skimming off a few more loose ones before taking off for good.”
“But where does Sullivan Jabagat figure into this?” Kay asked.
“Oops, I almost forgot. He was out sick when the state approved the loan. He says it was supposed to go through his office for final approval, and if it had, and if hed been there, hed have made damn sure only a minimum amount was kept in Hawaiian Harvests safe. He says it was crazy to have granted them access to the loan in the first place and crazier yet to have let them have it in a lump sum. He claims the whole company was being run like there was no tomorrow. Hes flying over to be in for the grand opening in the morning.”
***
“Sullivan Jabagats coming in this morning?” Qual asked, having only half heard Sids report. Sullivan was a long time friend of Quals, and Sid had assumed Qual would have wanted to see him. Sid had assumed correctly.
“Well have to take him out to lunch,” Qual said.
The comment brought Craigs head up from the copy of Eating Well hed been reading while sitting in one of Quals comfortable office chairs. “Youll do no such thing,” Craig said. “Theres a perfectly good Filipino recipe in here for pork and chicken. Ill drop by Uchimas and pick up the ingredients. Be at the house at twelve.” Turning to Sid, he added, “And Ill be expecting you and Kay to be there too.”
“Sullivans half Irish, you know,” Sid commented to Craigs retreating figure. “Any Irish recipes up your sleeve?”
Qual broke in with a laugh. “Dont worry. Craig will think of something. Maybe well have cake with green icing for dessert. Wheres Kay, by the way? Be sure to get word to her about the luncheon plans.”
Sid looked at his watch. “Right about now shes probably on a luxurious yacht interviewing the owner of Hawaiian Harvest and his wife.”
***
It was luxurious! While the Demoses yacht was only half the size of the giant Forbes craft tied to the other end of the T-dock, Kay estimated the Lady Mac had probably cost every bit as much as the other vesselperhaps more.
The lounge in which she and Corky were sitting opposite the owners had walls and a ceiling of a varicolored, hand carved, polished wood depicting nautical scenes. The floor was an intricate mosaic of the same material. Before the interview ended, Zoe had conveyed the information the yacht had been specially c
onstructed for them in the Genoa shipyards, famous craftsmen had been hired to do the finish work, and the wood in the lounge had been harvested from forests in eight different countries on five continents.
Kay had noticed how, almost invariably, when interviewing a couple, one or the other clearly dominated the interview. The Demoses were an exception. Whatever else might be said about them, both were positive personalities.
Joe Demos was slight and balding. His thinning dark hair was carefully combed over the open spot and thus served, unfortunately, only to call attention to its own sparseness. Shining and slightly bulging dark eyes convinced Kay he was wearing contacts. The dark shadow on his face indicated he was one of those men who shaved religiously, perhaps twice a day, but who nevertheless always seemed in need of one more shave. Kay guessed he was in his mid fifties.
Zoe obviously made extensive use of the beauty parlor. Her hairdo, carefully swept low and covering one eyebrow, revealed not so much as one stray hair. Her makeup had achieved the ideal where only a close examination could betray its existence. This was no small achievement on a woman whose hands clearly showed she was at least as old as her mate. Cosmetic surgeons had helped, but the ministrations of the beautician were what really accounted for the youthful good looks of this woman who, except in the glare of full daylight, could have passed for thirty-five or less.
“Sure. I met Leonard OHearne. Charlie had him out to the house once, didnt she, Zoe?” This was Joe Demoss answer to Corkys first question.
“Twice, Joe,” was Zoes added comment and correction.
Before Corky could ask for impressions, Zoe and Joe had launched off how they felt about O'Hearne.
“Nice looking man.” Zoe
“Quiet.” Joe
“He seemed quite interested in Charlie.” Zoe
“Something about him, though. I dont think Id really trust him.” Joe
“She had quite a few men friends, you know.” Zoe
Kay stemmed the flow to ask, “Howd they seem to get along?”
“She was quite infatuated, Im sure.” Zoe
“Pretty friendly like, if you know what I mean.” Joe
“I think she took a lot of satisfaction in parading him around. You know, he must have been younger than her.” Zoe
“I kinda got the impression he had an eye on her money.” Joe
“Do you have any idea about how long theyd known each other?” Kay asked.
“A year, maybe.” Joe
“No more than six months or so.” Zoe
Corky decided to cut in. “Were you here on Elima the night Mrs. Dyer died?”
“We were home.” Zoe
“Never left it all night.” Joe
The interview continued for another half hour. Kay felt they were getting nowhere. Glancing over at Corkys notepad, she could see two words at the end of the page. “Check neighbors.” The words had a double underline.
***
Corkys first comment as they pulled away from the marinas parking lot was, “Talk about zilch!”
“And from what you said about the rest of Hawaiian Harvests executives, thats par for the course.”
Corky gave out a sound closely approximating Hanks characteristic grunt.
Kays additional comment was, “What gets me is how the whole enterprise is falling down around their ears. One of their vice presidents has just died, his wifes been murdered, theyre on the edge of bankruptcy, a million dollars of theirs has been stolen, and they act like everything is just fine.”
Corky took her eyes off the road long enough to throw a quizzical glance in Kays direction. Kay smiled at the unasked question and said,“If they arent much concerned about whats happening to the business providing their luxurious life style, it shouldnt be too surprising they dont have much to offer about anything else thats going on around them.”
“Youre right. The whole managerial crew at HH are pretty much alike when it comes to worrying about the business. They're just kind of removed from it all. It will be interesting to see how they react when the Dyer's safes opened.”
“Are they all going to be there?”
“You bet. Its going to be like the Aliis opening football-day. The Demoses will be there, along with Richard Hanamoto and Winston Hanamoto. And Isobel Kim will be in attendance. And then therell be the loan officer from First National, along with Lieutenant Franco from the bunco division and the witch with her old man. And Sullivan Jabagat, of course. Oh yeah. Even Jeff Bentleys going to be there. Hank said hed try to make it, too. He says if OHearne isnt the one who killed Charlie, the murderers bound to be one of the bunch showing up for the grand opening, and he wants to be there to look them over. Thats why he wants me along to help keep an eagle eye on them.”
“Sounds like Hanks shifting over to money as a motive.”
“Not really. He hasnt budged an inch on OHearne. Ive never seen Hank so convinced hed arrested a killer.”
Kay was about to say she was leaning toward Hanks views, but then remembered OHearne was her client. The recollection didnt please her.
Chapter 8
Kay would have liked to have been present at the safes opening, but she was scheduled for a court hearing. Sid and Qual were involved in an actual trial. As a result, Kay had asked Corky to phone as soon as possible to fill her in on the details.
The first thing Kay did on returning to her office from the hearing was to ask Leilani if Corky had called. Leilani slipped off the earphones shed been using to take dictation, eased back into her swivel chair, rubbed the back of her neck and shoulder blades, and said, “No. Whats going on? You two are getting to be thick as thieves. Is it the OHearne case?”
Kay nodded, and the thought occurred to her Leilani might know something about the Hawaiian Harvest executives. The firms receptionist/office manager was always a fruitful source of information about events on the island, being, as Qual said, related to just about every local on Elima. “Do you know the Demoses or the Hanamotos, the ones who run Hawaiian Harvest?”
“ Not really.” A broad grin spread across Leilanis already broad features. “Theyre from Oahu. But I know something about Richard Hanamoto. He was the star football player at Aiea the year they won every game and played a big post season game on the mainland. I guess youd say I had a crush on him, cuz I had a big Sunday paper color photo of him in my bedroom. My sister used to make fun of me for that, and boy I used to get mad at her.”
“ So he was about your age, then?”
“Musta been.” Leilani smiled at her reminiscences. “I was a sophomore here in Napua. The Aiea team came over to play against Napua, and I screamed myself hoarse cheering for them. It wasn't as though they much needed my encouragement. They beat the Alii, fifty-six to nothing.”
A sudden thought occurred to Kay. “Whats my Friday look like, Leilani?”
Leilani punched a few buttons on her keyboard and scanned the monitor. “Mr. Abrams is coming in at eleven about the assault charge.”
“I cant even remember which neighbor it was he got into a fight with this time. Does Sid have an opening at eleven?”
Leilani punched another couple of buttons. “Mm-hm.”
“O.K. Give him Abrams. Ill talk to Sid about it. Anything else on my schedule?”
“Court hearing with Judge Wong. No. Wait a minute. He canceled. So I guess thats it except for the paperwork.”
Kay made a face.“I know. Ill try to catch up. Tell Qual Im going over to Oahu on Friday to see my folks. Theyre having a housewarming this weekend, moving into an apartment finally, and they wanted me to visit.”
“Isnt Sid going too?” Leilani seemed pained. Kay knew Leilani subscribed to the notion husbands and wives should spend as much of their waking and sleeping hours together as possible. Since Leilani felt in good measure responsible for smoothing out the rough pre-marital path for Sid and Kay, she undoubtedly felt even more strongly these two should minimize their separations.
“He can come over on Saturday if he wants to.”
Leilani didnt ask, but Kay knew she was curious as to why Kay had to be over on Oahu on Friday. Kay decided to satisfy the office managers curiosity. “My Uncle Nate is going to be there Friday, and Im almost certain he was at Aiea High about the time Richard Hanamoto was. Maybe when I come back Ill be able to tell you all about what your high school hero was really like back in those days.”
***
“Hey, Kay, you missed out on a good one.” Corkys voice on the phone was bubbling over.
Kay swiveled her chair, raised the blinds, since the sun had now gone above the broad eaves of the building, and looked out at the quiet street where the trades were swirling bougainvillea petals and plumeria blossoms along in little eddies. “Cmon. Fill me in.”
“Well, everybody showed and, it was so quiet when Louie started drilling, his bit sounded like a chain saw.”
“Louie? You mean Louie the Locksmith was the one they hired to do the job?”
“Yup. Why should they send to Honolulu for a safe cracker when the best one in the islands is right here in Napua? The loan officer who was in charge of the party says Louie could open up the big vault in the bank if they ever needed him to. Anyhow, it took him only two drill holes and fifteen minutes to crack it. The loan officer says the best part of it is Louie only charged the bank twenty-five dollars for the job.”
Kay immediately wondered whether Lamerne had been aware of the cost of the transaction, but decided not to interrupt the flow of Corkys information to find out.
“Everybody was jockeying for position when Louie swung open the door. You should have heard the sigh when the safe turned out to be as bare as Mother Hubbards cupboard. We dusted it, but the only recognizable prints were Mortons.”
“How did the Hawaiian Harvest crowd take it?”
“It was hard to tell. I think Joe and Zoe looked disappointed. Isobels an old stone face, and I couldnt read anything on hers. Winston and Richard went off in a corner. From what I can make out, theyre reading the handwriting on the wallfinally. I guess they figured the money would have allowed for at least a more orderly bankruptcy. I edged over to where they were talking, and Id hit it right on the nose. Winston, especially, was making noises like the world was coming to an end. Richard, at least, sounded like he was making plans to start looking for a job elsewhere. With four kids, hed better get cracking. Winston was just blubbering. But the loudest noise was from Lamerne.”
The Yoshinobu Mysteries: Volume 2 Page 56