“Can you keep him in your office for at least an hour-and-a-half?”
Still gasping, and searching around his feet for the foam cup of decaf hed ordered, Sid finally came out with a hoarse“Yes.” A mouthful of the coffee allowed him to ask, in a reasonably normal voice, but with tears in his eyes, “What are you going to be doing while I'm keeping him in my office?”
“Im going to call Corky and have her come out with her crew of car cleaners. They can vacuum out his car while hes in talking to you.”
Sid looked skeptical. “Why all the secrecy?Im sure hed agree to it. Whats he got to lose?”
“Nothing. Ask him as soon as he comes in. The police can pick up his keys when he gets to the office and go out and check it out then. What he wont know, and very likely would never agree with, is with theyre going out to his home, and theyll be checking out Zoes car too. Corky can get a warrant, though technically the police might be in the right to do it without a warrant. Anyhow, while Joes in your office, incommunicado, they might find the reason for his confession in her car, not in his.”
“You know, Kay, you really do have a devious mind.”
Kay grinned as she crumpled up the red-splotched napkin, tossed it into the litter bag and turned the key in the ignition. “Its really Craigs idea, this time. Somewhere around there, there just has to be evidence Zoe handled dynamite. I cant think of any other reason why Joe would suspect her, and I cant think of a better place to look for dynamite traces than in her car.”
Looking at her watch, she added. “Butfor now, wed better be getting back. If Im lucky, Ill have time to call Corky, but thats about all the time Ill have to spare for the DyerOHearne case this afternoon.
***
The afternoon at the office turned into chaos. Since Kay had a late interview at the Napua Community Hospital with one of her less fortunate clientsone who had been shot by the policeshe had brought their second car to work, and Sid had planned on going home early.
Joe Demos had, as expected, been a reluctant client, talking about everything and anything except what might have thrown light on the case. Sids hour-and-a-half plans ran over two hours. And then, with Qual off to Honolulu, and with a sudden emergency call to the station because a client had tried to hang himselfor had made a good pretense at doing soSid had had his hands full. Even then, hed managed to get away only a half- hour later than he had planned, and he prided himself on having supper ready for the tired Kay when she finally arrived home at seven-thirty.
Sid had talents as a cook, but those talents generally ran in the direction of roasts and other grand entrees. Tonight, he was especially pleased at the green salad hed tossed together, to go with the cheese and sorrel casserole hed prepared the night before. Topping off the meal were strawberry crepes, the crepes themselves having been prepared by Kay many weeks earlier and safely stored away in the freezer.
Sitting in the living room after the satisfying meal, they relaxed over their decaf, with the three cats contentedly washing themselves after their own supper, and Jenny happily lying on the floor between her two owners. Kay lavished congratulations on her husbands successful culinary efforts. “Alan couldnt have done any better,” she said.
“Dont go expecting me to do this every night the way he does.”
Kay smiled. “I learned long ago not to expect miracles. Did the investigator on the Dyer case get in touch with you?”
“Yup. He goes by the name of Frank, which is fortunate, because he has a weird, unpronounceable Slavic namefirst and last. He sounds kind of young but, since Ramon vouched for him, thats what counts.”
“Wheres he starting?”
“I gave him the cities we had on our list. Hes going to Omaha first, because its closest. I called Ramon, andhes sending an email photo, and another general delivery, to the main post office there, just to be safe. Frank said hed play it by ear from then on. Hes also going to call the companies to see where Dyer was last seen. We both figured those might be the places to hit second.”
“Did you warn him he might run into Dyer, himself?”
“Aw cmon, Kay. Do you really believe hes still alive? I didnt even suggest it to him. His jobs going to be to find whoever Dyer gave the money to.”
Kay was only half listening. “I sure would like to find out what the Hawaiian Harvest executives drive?”
“Huh? Oh! You just cant get over the car business, can you? If you really want to find out, why dont you go down to their office and watch the parking lot.”
“Not a bad idea. Only, theres no guarantee theyll all be there, and Im sure most of them are two car families.”
“Better yet. Why dont you give Leilani a call. Id be willing to bet she knows every one of the workers there. Maybe she can get someone to look out the window of the retail store and report back to you every hour.”
Kay laughed. “Youre not only a good cook, Sid, but you come up with great ideas too. If I know Leilani, shes probably got a cousin doing security duty on the parking lot.”
Kay wasnt far wrong. ***
“Dobey Miranda. Hes my brothers wifes nephew. He drives a big stretch limo Hawaiian Harvest uses for all the big wigs. And his whole life is cars. If he doesnt know what everyone at Hawaiian Harvest drives, then Ill eat the cover off my computer.”
Dobey Miranda did indeed know what everyone drove, and more about the cars than Kay either needed or wanted to know. The problem she found, as she spoke to Dobey over the phone, was to keep him away from horsepower and turning radius and the nature of the audio equipment in each of the vehicles he described.
To test him, she had tried him out on the Dyer automobiles. The Mercury and the ancient Dodge came through in vivid and accurate colors, down to the rusty trim on the latters doors.
“What does Joe Demos drive?”
“The Demoses have two cars, exactly the same make and model, ninety-five Cadillac Sevilles. The only way you can tell „em apart is by the license plates. You know. „His and „Hers. You should see the upholstery in them. Its custom…”
“Do they have tinted windows?”
“Yup. Both of them. Would you believe it. They have stick shifts in both of „em. They really need tachs though, because I know neither of them keep engine revs up. With cars like that, you…”
“What color are they?”
“Light Ivory. These come with a special suspension and…”
“How about Richard Hanamoto?”
“Hes got two. An old Lincoln Mark VII. A ninety-one. Hes got a ninety-three Ford Aerostar Vana four-by-fourhe sometimes brings to work. You know, you can do sixty, fully loaded, goingup Ridge…”
“Does the Lincoln have tinted windows?”
“Yup. Like I said, you can…”
“What color is it?”
“Cream white. The power windows can be…”
“What about Winston Hanamotos car?”
Dobeys enthusiasm level dropped appreciably. “He drives a new Toyota Echo. Thats a subcompact. I guess its O.K. for transportation, but my old VW bug would leave it standing at the stoplight. I dont think…”
Kay had once owned a Toyota Tercel and knew its recent successor most certainly didnt fit the description of the car she was looking for. Before Dobey could go into any great detail concerning the small cars deficiencies, Kay asked, “And Isobel Kim?”
There was no mistaking the sudden note of awe in Dobeys voice. “She owns an Alpha Romeo.” The voice dropped several decibels.“Its a Spider Veloce.”
“A sports car?”
There was now no mistaking the condescension creeping into Dobeys voice as he assured her it was a sports car supreme. Kay let him talk on for some five minutes about the unbelievable virtues of Isobels vehicle, figuring she owed him some patient listening time while he expounded on his favorite topic.
***
Kay relayed the automobile information along to Sid who had now stretched out on the couch. Sheena, the matriarch of the cat family, eyed this potential sleeping plac
e, jumped up on Sids stomach, surveyed the territory for a moment, then promptly settled down for a nap.
Sid reached over to the coffee table for today's news magazine, being careful not to disturb the sleeping feline, and began to flip through the pages.
Kay picked up her briefcase and moved to the table. Jenny followed her, gratefully accepted a quick scratch behind the ears, gave a contented sigh and settled down at Kays feet. As she opened up the briefcase, Kay said, “Seeing youre going to do all that work Sid, I think Ill do some of my own, like reviewing the material weve got on the OHearne-Dyer case.”
“Dont work too long. We should be going to bed early. You look like you could use a good nights sleep.”
Kay looked over at the supine form on the couch and said,“You sure its sleep and my wellbeing youre thinking of?”
Sids voice emerged from behind the open magazine. “What else?”
Kay rearranged the papers shed spread out on the table, and started with the report of the police officers who had first appeared on the scene at the Dyer house. After rereading the two single-spaced sheets twice, she looked at the clock and decided there was still time to call the early-to-bed Hank.
Toni answered the phone. Then, after a few moments of chatting, Hank came on.
“I hope I havent interrupted you during your favorite TV program, Hank.”
“Nope. Im in the middle of reading a new book on the Battle of Midway. Do you know how close we were to losing the war right there? Why…”
Kay didnt interrupt, feeling if she could provide a listening service for Dobey whod given her information, she should be willing to do the same for Hank from whom she also expected information.
After several minutes of broken codes, of planes taking off in the nick of time, of bombers loaded with the wrong weapons and of similar minutiae surrounding the long ago naval engagement, Hank finally got around to inquiring about the reason for the call.
“Do you remember the report Manny and Jerry filled out on the Dyer case, Hank?”
“I should. Ive read it enough times.”
“It says here they responded immediately to the Dyers burglar alarm.”
“Im sure they did. Protective Services plugs all alarms into the patrol car channel the moment they ring. Whoevers closest goes out to investigate.”
“OHearne said hed hardly gotten through the door when the patrol car pulled up. It was pretty spectacular timing if what he said was true.”
“Sure. The Napua PD provides only the best of services.”
“If he was telling the truth, the patrol must have been just about outside the house when the alarm went off.”
“They were. They…” There was a long pause. “Oh, oh! Is that the way the report starts?
Kay was tempted to say, You read it. You should know. Instead she merely said, “Yes. It starts off by saying they responded to an alarm from Protective Services.”
“It shouldnt have. They forgot something. We got an anonymous call at the station about a prowler in the vicinity, five minutes or so earlier, and relayed it to Manny and Jerry. I guess they didnt put two and two together.”
“Do you still have the tape of the call?”
“Should have. The desk would have a file number on it and a record of when it was made. Maybe thats why they didnt put it on the report. They just figured it was already on record at the station, and they only put it in their log book.”
“Can you make a voice print from the tape?”
“Hmm. I see what youre getting at. We can try. But the old equipment weve got at the station doesnt give us hi-fi recordings. Ill be glad when the new budgets out. It includes a nice chunk of cash for updating our decrepit system. Anyhow, Ill make a note to see about a print tomorrow. Any guesses as to who might have made the call?”
“What would you say if I told you Morton Dyer?”
“Id say I was going back to the Battle of Midwaywhich I am.”
***
Kay glanced over at the couch and saw the magazine had fallen down onto Sids face. She smiled and went back to her task of reading all the papers she had on the death of Charlotte Dyer and the killing of Leonard OHearne.
She went through her own notes, put them into some semblance of order, expanded on those she found to be too cryptic, and finally leaned back with a sense of some satisfaction. In spite of the skepticism of both the police and her colleagues, the portrait of the two deaths was taking shape. More and more it was looking the way Kay had first envisioned it, but there were still shadows where there should have been highlights, minute details appearing only in fuzzy outline, and colors which seemed completely out of place. Yet Kay liked what she saw. There was satisfaction in seeing sense emerging from nonsense.
The phone rang.
“Hi. Kay? This is Corky. Didnt get you up, did I.”
“No. We arent the night owls you folks are, but we dont go to bed with the chickens, either.” Kay looked over at Sid, whose magazine had now slid off onto the floor, at the three sleeping cats and then at Jenny who had finally snoozed off. “At least,” she added, “not all of us do.”
“The reason I called was because Hank and I picked up some new information today about the OHearne case.”
“What was that?”
“Scouts honor you wont tell Hank? Hes touchier than a gouty toe these days. And even if hes convinced Joe isnt the killer, he wouldnt want the word to get back to the prosecutor about how were helping the defenseeven a deceased defendant.”
“Scouts honor.”
“Weve got A-1 evidence OHearne was a professional at setting explosives. Seems he did those two jobs on Oahu last year. Remember the one going off in the gambling casino? And the other at Lucky Tomass house? According to our source, he set both of them. OHearne was not only a professional, but an expert.”
Kay could see her portrait turn into a gelatinous mass. It boiled and shuddered. The colors changed. The picture was newand very different.
She sighed and said, “Thanks Corky.”
After the call, Kay carefully collected the sheets on the table and replaced them in her briefcase. Getting up, she said softly, “Sid!” Getting no reply, she spoke louder, “Sid!”
“Mmmm?”
“Youve been sleeping.”
“No I havent. Ive just been checking my eyelids for holes.”
“Well, you can keep on checking if you want to. Im going to bed.”
“How about a shower first?”
“O.K. But itd better be a quick one before I realize how tired I am.”
Sheena glared at Sid when he swiftly dislodged her from her comfortable perch. Settling for a warm sofa, she turned her back on the two of them as Sid toggled off the light switch and headed for the bedroom.
Chapter 16
Qual and Craig showed up at nine A.M., only minutes after Sid had left for a court hearing. Craig was brimming over with news as Kay came out of her office to hear the latest.
“Youll never believe this,” Craig said. “Zoe is straight, or at least Frieda had never heard word one about her. But do you know whos gay?”
Kays face was impassive as she said, “Isobel.”
Craigs expression changed so dramatically, and he looked so unhappy, Kay was immediately sorry shed spoiled his dramatic revelation. “How could you possibly have known?” Craig asked.
Qual broke into a laugh. “Thats Kays nature. Thats why shes such a good investigator. She knows everything before anyone else does.”
“Dont I wish,” said Kay.“But what did Frieda have to say about her?”
Since Craig seemed to be ignoring her question, Qual said, “Frieda considers Isobel to be colder than a tiger shark and just about as predatory. Isobels on the prowl at Friedas Bottoms Up Lounge and shows up every weekend.”
“New Years weekend too?”
“We asked Frieda specifically about that. She said Isobel wasnt there, which Frieda says was quite a surprise, since a big New Years party is a tradition there, and
usually all of the regulars are in on it.”
Kay looked puzzled.
Craig took advantage of the pause to ask, with a tinge of maliciousness in his voice. “Do you know about Winston?”
“No I dont,” answered Kay, shifting her thoughts onto this new subject.
Craig adopted a somber expression, sniffed and looked around the room.
Qual was still amused. “Go ahead and tell her, Craig, before I do.”
“Well,” Craig began, doing his best to seem reluctant, “we talked to Frieda about all the Hawaiian Harvest crew. She didnt know any of them personally other than Isobel, but she said a cousin of the Hanamotos was a bar regular. And, sure enough, when we came back in after the concert, he was there with some friends. So we struck up a conversation with him. And, believe me, he had a lot to say.”
The“lot to say” mainly confirmed what Kay had learned from Uncle Nate, but she was still pleased to hear the confirmation, and this time she made it a point not to pull the rug from under Craig. Her good intentions paid off as Craig added, “Their cousin said Richards a hundred per cent straight, and a devoted family man to boot. But what he said about Winston was completely different.”
Kay was all ears, and Qual continued to watch the proceedings with amusement. “Winstons cousin says Winston is completely sexless,” Craig said, the wonder obvious in his voice. “He said Winston wasnt even interested in dirty pictures when they were kids together. Youd better believe any teenager who isnt turned on by some kind of dirty pictures is just not normal.”
Kay tended to agree, but was uncertain as to what this new tid-bit contributed to the montage shed been working on the night before.
The thought struck her how a phone call to Uncle Nate might fit this new piece of information into the picture and might help to untangle the jumbled mess. As soon as Craig and Qual went off to the latters office, Kay dialed her folks number. This time, Etsuko answered the phone, and Yoshito joined on the extension.
After the usual inquiries about the weather and everyones health, Kay asked about Uncle Nate.
The Yoshinobu Mysteries: Volume 2 Page 65