The Howling Cliffs (Sara Mason Mysteries Book 2)

by Mary Deal

Other voices called her name.

  Sara cupped a hand at the side of her mouth and yelled upward toward the trail. “Here! I'm here!”

  “Keep yelling.” It was a man's voice. “Keep yelling. We'll find you.”

  Had she heard right? Was that Officer Makamai's husky voice?

  “Below the cliff. I'm down here! Keep coming. Be careful of the drop-off.” She stood, still clinging to the overhang but finding it difficult not to jump with joy. “Stop about two feet past the warning marker.” Light beams flashed above her but she couldn't be seen from the trail. She had landed on a ledge and then fallen to yet another and the boulder she now stood under not only hid the bones but her as well. “Keep coming.” She yelled as loud as she could to direct them to her location. “Keep coming this way.”

  A dog growled. It didn't sound like Ka'imi. Had they brought a search dog? All of a sudden the dog began to yowl. It was doing what all dogs did on the howling cliffs. Sara laughed in amazement at the sudden answer to the mystery of the howling.

  “You're right above me!” She felt such relief at hearing that dog that she had to fight back tears. Her excitement warmed her. She wiped her eyes. “No tears… no tears.” She gritted her teeth. Someone had played rough with the wrong person, and now she could guarantee that this crime meant punishment.

  Someone hushed the dog. Other excited voices drifted down. All flashlight beams pointed downward toward her direction, but shone over her head and not directly into the shelter of the overhang. She was, however, able to see a lot more of the surrounding area and gasped, realizing how easily she could have fallen to her death.

  “How far you down?” The man's voice was distorted by the wind but sure sounded like Officer Makamai.

  Sara glanced upward to the lights and tried to determine how far she had fallen. “At least forty feet.”

  “Sara, honey, you okay?” Birdie sounded as if yelling through cupped hands.

  “I'm okay, Birdie.”

  Birdie laughed loud and called out. “It's my turn to get you out.”

  A cold tremor ran down Sara's arms at the memory of Birdie having fallen down the trail behind her house. Some deranged person had a thing for people to fall over dangerous cliffs and the focus of that intention was meant for her. “Not for long.” Sara mumbled again, but with determination. “You will harm no one ever again.”

  “We brought a rope, just in case.” It was Officer Makamai. She was sure of it. “Give us a few minutes. I'll be coming down.” Several voices spoke at once, something about tying a rope.

  Radiance from the flashlight beams allowed her to see a wee bit more detail. The blurriness in her sight was clearing; the light helping her focus. She took another quick scan of the bones laying in shadow under the overhang. Could these be bones of an ancient Hawaiian? Regardless, the dogs knew something lay below the cliff that humans couldn't sense.

  “Sara, I'm coming down.” Officer Makamai being involved brought a lump to her throat. He was interested in her. She just knew it. She felt sad that she would not be able to reward his compassion somehow but would do nothing to encourage his interest. Maybe for this officer, solving this crime would suffice. He would understand her lack of personal attention. He already did, that's why he never made personal moves to get to know her. Yet, here he was again, like a guardian of some sort.

  “Be careful! Everything slides to the edge of a thousand foot drop!”

  “Stay in a secure area.”

  “There's almost no secure area. Be careful!”

  A length of rope dropped down. She ducked as rocks and pebbles began to bounce off the boulder above her. The ground at the side began to slide. She crouched in the shelter of the overhang as massive amounts of earth slid into the valley below. The sound of trees breaking and rocks crashing lower down made a rumbling noise across the valley. Finally, everything hit bottom, or perhaps came to rest on another abutment. Sara peeked out from under the overhang to see if Officer Makamai was okay.

  His voice came from overhead. “I'm on a ledge. Where are you?”

  Sara was exuberant and joked at the situation. “Take the elevator to the next level down.”

  She looked upward to see Officer Makamai, grasping the rope, positioning himself with a toe hold. At the side of the overhang, a massive boulder and a large plot of earth tore loose from the rain soaked crust and began to slide en masse, taking along more plant growth. The slippage left Officer Makamai hanging flat against a muddy wall. Had she tried to climb up in the dark, how easy it would have been for her to fall to a very shocking and painful end. How easy it would have been now for Officer Makamai to experience a similar end if he hadn't first tethered himself.

  Chapter 35

  Black shoes with thick gripping rubber soles appeared first, picking up mud with each step. Then the soiled pant legs of a dark blue police uniform eased down, and then the rest of the man slowly appeared. Halfway to her level, he stopped, his flashlight beam directly on her face. She must look as sodden as an Afghan hound after a bath. She glanced at her arms and saw what looked to be dark red splotches that didn't look at all like red dirt stains.

  Officer Makamai finally reached her level by dangling on the rope and jumping down the last couple of feet. His uniform was pathetically mud smeared up and down the front of him. “We'll get you out of here.” Then he called up to the others that he had found her. A boisterous cheer went up and the dog began howling again, but even the dog sounded happy.

  Sara was wet and dirty with her clothing sticking to her body. Her frigid nipples poked out dramatically from inside the tee shirt. Her continual shivering was exaggerated by eagerness over the fact she could now get out of her predicament. Officer Makamai's darting glance caused her to reach for her pocket where her bra hung out. She quickly stuffed it deeper inside and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Officer Makamai, how did you know?”

  “It's Palani, okay? Call me Palani.” He moved toward her and reached, like he wanted to touch her shoulder, but thought better of it. “How you holding up?”

  Sara had to smile inwardly. She might call Officer Makamai by his first name after all. “I'm okay.” She managed a weak smile but couldn't utter his name.

  He called up to the others. “Give us a bit more rope.”

  He reached to tie the rope around her waist and she withdrew.

  “Wait. You need to see something.” He looked at her with a most puzzling gaze. “First, I didn't fall. I was pushed.”

  “What?”

  “I came up here to try to learn why the dogs always howled. Two forceful hands pushed hard against my back and sent me flying.” She gestured the movements. “It happened so fast.”

  Again he reached to secure her with the rope. “We can talk about this after….”

  “No, wait.” She turned away and pointed. “You need to see what I found. Flash your light over there.”

  Officer Makamai's jaw dropped when he saw the bones. He let go of the end of the rope and bent down and crept closer under the overhang. As he flashed his light about, what came into view was shocking. The skull was small, like that of a child, with bones laying in a tight fetal position with its back to the open windy side of the crevasse.

  “I moved the skull.”

  “You touched it?”

  “Thought it was a rock. I guess the lower jaw came loose. I didn't move anything else though.”

  One arm lay outstretched. Something round and white rested among the bones of the hand. Both Officer Makamai and Sara went down on their knees and crawled closer to better see.

  “Some sort of disk.” He cast his light about.

  The clothing the child wore had long since deteriorated, surely claimed by the wind as it swept through the cracks and crevices. A fragment of a shirt with its front seam lay caught among the rib bones. Another piece of fabric with tattered edges lay under the hip area. “Bring your light closer.”

  She pointed to something specific. He edged closer. Some rusted
metal rings lay in front of the rib cage. The bones looked fragile and might crumble into dust if touched.

  They finally stood. “We're gonna have to close this area. And Sara….” He brought his light up so they could see each other. “I don't want you talking about this to anyone. This child could have gotten lost and fallen, but this could also be a crime scene.”

  How many children could have been reported missing and not found? How many parents simply moved away from the tragedy, not having located their child? Sara's mind revved. Her thoughts were no longer jumbled but very clear.

  It was true that hikers frequently got lost in Kauai's forest canyons, or possibly fell over cliffs and were never found. The dogs howled at this location knowing a dead body lay below the cliff. If the child hadn't wandered up the trail alone, someone was responsible for this child ending up in its predicament. That certain someone knew about the remains and intended the secret be kept. “Officer Makamai, get us out of here.”

  The officer tied the rope around Sara's waist, leaving a length for himself. “The rope's secured to a tree topside.”

  “I'm on it. Let's go.” This was not a time to be concerned with him wrapping his arm around her rib cage and holding her against the front of himself. He would hold her steady if she lost her grip or footing. She was determined to get to the top and solve the mystery of the howling cliffs. Nothing would stop her now. This moment of physical closeness with the officer was nothing to be concerned about and she gave thanks for him.

  “Careful now.” He yelled up to have people above start to pull. “Here we go.”

  It was a struggle to stay on the rope. Soil slid underfoot and Sara, not realizing how weakened she was, yelped as she lost her footing and felt Officer Makamai tighten his grip around her. His strong arms held her steady. The rope denied them an unstoppable death slide. At the top, exhausted, Sara had to sit and did so on the level solid-packed ground of the hiking trail. The dirt was wet and sticky. She didn't care. She was just as much so.

  Birdie bent down and looked her over from head to toe and joked. “No fair. Your episode is more exciting than mine was.” While others laughed, she looked closer at Sara's face. “Wow, you have scratches all over. And your chin. Oh, Sara!”

  Being reminded about her throbbing bloody chin called attention to the pain. The scratches reminded that she fell head first, or face first, through bushes and shrubs. She could have lost an eye, or worse, both. She placed both hands flat on the ground and closed her eyes as a wave of vertigo engulfed her. She held to the thoughts that she was safe at last. Everything would heal. She meant to find who did this to her. The reason for it lay in its resting place below the cliff.

  Another officer had come with the group, his forensic golden retriever and a blanket. Sara pressed an edge of the blanket against her chin. It was cleaner than her muddy palm or shirt.

  Bao Chang, the old Chinese neighbor from across the street, had also accompanied them with a flashlight of his own. Birdie really knew how to get help, which was a testament that people trusted the neighborhood busybody.

  But why had Bao come along? He kept glancing over the cliffside where she and Officer Makamai had just cheated death. He kept flashing his light down the cliffside and looking around the area. Sara couldn't see him well in the dark with only flashlights directed about but he seemed definitely interested in looking for something down there.

  Then she remembered that when asking him for help and telling him Birdie fell down her trail, he has asked, Someone push over cliff? Where dis cliff? She had told him Birdie fell and motioned toward her rear yard. Why would Bao so abruptly ask if someone was pushed and where? Another shiver ran down her spine and it wasn't from the wind blowing against her wet clothing.

  The two policemen stood talking a distance away. Officer Makamai was surely explaining what he had seen below. Soon, he spoke quietly on his shoulder Rover.

  Bao suddenly appeared having retrieved the backpack she had left in the clearing around the bend when Ka'imi was sleeping. How did Bao know where to find it?

  Sara accepted Birdie's hand. “How did you know I was missing?” She tried to stand. “Where's Ka'imi?”

  Birdie kept her flashlight beam pointed so the three of them could see each other. “She's at the pet hospital in Puhi.”

  “What? Why? I called to her but she never answered.”

  Birdie shifted her weight as she, too, stood. “Something awful happened to her, Sara. She managed to hobble down to the Arboretum. Two guys saw that she was real rummy and kept falling. One guy called me from the number on her tags and then brought her home.

  Birdie had rushed her to the Kauai Humane Society where she had to leave Ka'imi under observation. Later back home, Birdie rushed to Sara's house and saw no lights on. Only then did she fear why Ka'imi was alone.

  Sara touched her arm. “I'm so glad you checked.”

  “I called your phone and got no answer. Then I saw that cop sitting in his patrol car down the street and went and put a little fright in him about you being missing.”

  Sara thumbed in the direction of the valley. “My phone flew farther than I did.” She hesitated, and then realized it would be okay to tell what happened to her but that was all she would say because this was a crime and needed to be discussed with only the police. “I was pushed, Birdie. Someone pushed me.”

  Bao dropped the backpack. He took a step backwards. “No can!” He almost sounded like he wanted everyone to believe it couldn't be true.

  A light sprinkle began to fall. Birdie pulled a folded umbrella out of her back pocket. “Anybody need one of these?”

  The two officers returned and poked their heads under the umbrella. Sara motioned to a sheltered spot under a tree and all stood together.

  Officer Makamai picked up an edge of the blanket dragging the ground and tried to wipe some of the mud off his uniform. “We've got crime scene people coming. They'll block off the area.” He pointed with a look of warning. “You, Sara, you need to get to the hospital. An ambulance is waiting. Paramedics are headed up the trail now.”

  “That won't be necessary.”

  Officer Makamai looked her over. “You sure?”

  “Don't let them carry all that heavy equipment up this steep trail. I'll make it down on my own.” The raging desire to find who meant for her to disappear and why bones lay beneath the cliff side overpowered her need for help. This would be no set-back for her, but motivation to find the perpetrator in both cases.

  Officer Makamai shrugged and motioned to the other officer who called down to say help wouldn't be needed. However, he was right. She had banged her head again and, most likely, been unconscious for who knew how long, well-aware that her concussion could be bleeding again. She continued to pressure the blanket against her chin as pain throbbed. She had been exposed to the elements but was strong and healthy. Yet, her weakened condition caused by the accident only a few weeks earlier left her health in a precarious state.

  They headed down the trail. Despite having only beams from flashlights, old Bao was incredibly spry and led the way as if knowing the trail like a skilled hiker. The officers and Birdie kept their lights trained on the foot path to avoid slippery rocks and exposed roots.

  After hours huddled in the cruel elements on the cliffside, Sara's muscles had once again begun tightening. She slowed her pace. Then, as she watched Bao and thought of his unusual behavior, she had one of her intuitive hunches. With Bao and his strange curiosity a bit ahead, she touched Officer Makamai's arm and made him pause. “Can you come visit me tomorrow? We need to talk.”

  Chapter 36

  The red Fire Department ladder truck was just leaving the Arboretum, its polished shine gleaming in the headlights of the ambulance and police cars as it pulled away. The paramedics waited with trauma kits to check her over.

  Sara felt a little embarrassed. “How did you get all of them to come up here, not knowing where I was?

  Officer Makamai shrugged. “I'm a cop.
”

  “I could have been anywhere.”

  He smiled as if to tease. “Birdie insisted.”

  That was yet another reason to love her know-it-all neighbor. “The ambulance isn't necessary though. I'm okay.”

  Officer Makamai strained to see her through the dim light as they exited the trail and entered the clearing. “I'm not taking any chances of you going home and forgetting how serious your injuries are.”

  Sara nodded. “I know you're right.”

  Officer Makamai placed a hand on her arm and slowed her down as the others proceeded on. “Sara, I don't want you to say anything to anyone about what you suspected of this crime scene.” He further admonished that if anyone caught wind of activity on the trail, it would simply be reported as a case of a hiker experiencing vertigo. The police would want to complete as much investigation as possible before information leaked to the news media.

  The plan would be to rope off access to the Mauna Trail and make it look simply as if improvements were being made, as crews usually did from time to time. In order not to incite curiosity, an officer in street clothes and undercover car would park at the trail head.

  After the crime scene investigators finished up on the cliff, the remains would be brought down in a nondescript bag. Tourists and others who wished to continue sightseeing could simply follow the road back into the forest in the other direction or enjoy the low-land Kahawai Trail.

  With gossip spreading faster than a Tahitian hula girl's hips, those precautions had to be taken in order to preserve the element of surprise if the suspicions that Sara disclosed in a private moment proved true. However, they needed proof positive and with only vague circumstantial evidence, it wasn't going to be easy to make a case of her gut feelings.

  Later at the hospital, an emergency MRI showed some bleeding in the area of the first brain wound. A plastic surgeon closed the gash on her chin. He assured the facial and other scratches were superficial but that he would take care of them should they not heal and disappear. Other tests were performed. Her stiffening neck was x-rayed. The scrapes on her arms and legs had some torn skin cut away and then were bandaged. She was to spend the rest of the night and maybe the next in the hospital under observation to assure the brain bleeding, similar to stroke conditions, wouldn't cause any loss of functioning. She was given a deep tissue massage in the evening and one the next morning. Massages eased her sore, strained muscles and the vertebrae in her neck stopped crackling every time she turned her head.