by Kathi Daley
I paused to take a breath while Justin and the detective sat and waited. After a few seconds I continued.
“After Jason was shot my father and I decided to conduct our own investigation. After all, my father was the cop who initially responded to and handled the case five years ago. He had the background knowledge and insight my brothers,” I looked directly at Justin, “decided not to utilize.”
Justin flinched.
“After it was discovered that both Cramers had been frozen prior to being placed in the water last week my dad and I began looking at things from a slightly different perspective,” I said. “During our investigation we found some interesting things that led us to our theory.”
I took a sip of the water I’d been given.
“It seems Clifford Cramer entered into a business relationship with a man named Skip Sellers. He also tried to bring his friend and occasional business associate Craig Newton in on the deal. When Mr. Newton refused to become involved, Mr. Cramer appears to have borrowed from a hard money lender, Akiyama. We suspect that when Cramer couldn’t meet his repayment deadline, he offered Akiyama the services of his very attractive wife to buy more time. But it seems Mrs. Cramer, while sexually liberal, was uncomfortable with Akiyama, who seemed unwilling to take no for an answer. A witness saw a man meeting his description arrive at the Cramer home looking for her. The fact that Mrs. Cramer was never seen again until her arm showed up in the water seems to indicate he must have kidnapped her.”
I paused to take another sip of water. Neither Justin nor the detective had said a word since I’d begun to speak. “My father and I believe Cramer had a plan to get the money he needed to buy his wife’s freedom, but he needed something that was at the home of his mistress, Roxanne Bronwyn. We believe whatever he was after was stored in the plastic bags I saw near Cramer’s body. It could have been drugs or something else. We also believe Ms. Bronwyn refused to give Cramer what he wanted, they struggled, and she was shot. When he saw my father he ran, which led to him jumping into the water and somehow surviving. We also have a report from a neighbor who saw Cramer leaving the Bronwyn home on the day after she was shot and killed, so we assume he returned to the house to get whatever it was he was after.”
I took another deep breath. “My dad and I believed that once Cramer was able to obtain what he was after he went to Akiyama and tried to barter for his wife’s freedom. It was at that point we suspected both Cramers were killed and their bodies put into a freezer. We never did figure out why they were frozen rather than simply buried or dumped in the ocean, but we felt finding the freezer would give us the link between Akiyama and the murders. We figured if we could provide that link we could ask HPD to open an official investigation into Akiyama’s involvement in the murders.
“So Dad called in a favor and found out which properties Akiyama had recently sold and then the two of you went off half-cocked and got Dad shot,” Justin finally said.
“Dad and I were on our own because you and the brothers refused to work with us even though we had insights to share,” I countered. “I feel awful about Dad being shot, but that was as much your fault as mine, so don’t try to pin it all on me.”
The detective smiled, but I could see he was trying to hide it. “Please continue, Ms. Pope,” he said after sending a stern glance Justin’s way.
“My father and I thought the timing of the bodies showing up in the ocean after all this time was relevant and we suspected Akiyama finally disposed of them because he sold the property where they had been stored. We identified the properties he’d owned five years ago and had recently sold and came up with a list of three. The first property was a single-family home. We spoke to…” I paused. “Damn. The old man must have been working for Akiyama. That has to be how the thug knew what we were doing.”
Justin and the detective glanced at each other.
“We spoke to a neighbor at the first property,” I explained. “He seemed like a nice old man, but I’m just realizing he must have ratted us out.”
“Please go on with your story,” the detective encouraged me.
“There isn’t a lot more to tell. Almost as soon as we arrived at the second property the thug snuck up on us. He shot Dad, then locked us in the building. I climbed up a rope and slipped out an air vent, then called 911. The rest you know.”
A woman came into the room and whispered into the detective’s ear. He smiled. “We have the man we believe shot your father in custody. Would you be willing to pick him out of a lineup?”
“Damn right I would.”
Once I’d identified the dirty, rotten lowlife who shot my dad, he was arrested and led to an interrogation room. The detective who’d interviewed me planned to also interview him. I was told to go home and he’d call me if he had any additional questions. Justin offered to drive me home, which was a good thing; I was exhausted and didn’t want to wait for another ride.
I was still irritated with Justin for his comment about Dad and me going off half-cocked, so it was a chilly ride until he finally said, “I’m sorry.”
I turned and looked at him.
“I should never have suggested Dad getting shot was in any way your fault,” he added. “If anyone is to blame it’s me. I knew Jason had shared some information with you lately, which was something I was very much against. But it should have occurred to me that if our older brother trusted your instincts enough to work with you, and our father trusted your instincts enough to make you his partner, maybe I should have as well. Do you forgive me?”
I smiled. “I forgive you. I know you and the other brothers still see me as your little sister who needs to be protected, but I’ve grown up. I’ve worked hard and I have skills to offer the team. I honestly don’t believe any of you could have leaped from a freezer to a rope, climbed it, squeezed through an air vent, and saved the day.”
“That may be true, but it’s equally likely that none of us would have ended up trapped in the warehouse in the first place.”
I hated to admit it, but Justin was probably correct. I did have a special knack for ending up in dangerous situations. “Will you call me to let me know how things work out after you interview the man who shot Dad?”
Justin hesitated for just a second before agreeing to do it. After he dropped me at the condo I realized my car was still at my parents’, so I ended up calling Cam and asking him if he could take me there to retrieve it when he got off work. After I hung up with him, I called Callahan’s and asked the bar’s owner to let Thomas, Woodson, and McCarthy know we wouldn’t be meeting them for drinks after all.
Chapter 13
Tuesday, October 31
“Do you think we have enough ice?” I asked Kekoa as we prepared for the Halloween party.
“Yeah, we have plenty. I’m wondering if we should have bought more chips, though. You know everyone gets the munchies when they drink.”
“We have enough food to feed half the people on the island. We’re fine. Hand me that bag with the cups and plates and I’ll set them out.”
Kekoa handed me the bag and I began to arrange the items on the table despite the bulky cast on my arm. Everything looked awesome. I found I was actually excited about the party that only yesterday had seemed like just a huge distraction.
“So, you were going to tell me what happened with the guy who shot your dad when Cam called and interrupted us,” Kekoa urged.
I stopped what I was doing and turned my attention back to her. “So get this: The guy has been working for Akiyama for ten years. In that time he’s done a lot of pretty bad things, but he’d never killed anyone. My brother convinced him to talk in exchange for some sort of immunity deal he worked out with the district attorney. The guy spent the next six hours spilling his guts about Akiyama and all the people he’s swindled and killed or had killed.”
“So?” Kekoa asked, with just a slight tone of impatience in her voice. “What did he say? Did he provide the missing pieces to the puzzle you’ve been working on?�
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“Pretty much. Basically, Dad and I were spot-on with our theory. Clifford Cramer did get into a business deal with Skip Sellers that he couldn’t follow through with once his friend refused to go in with him. He did borrow money from Akiyama, which he was unable to pay back on time, so he did offer his wife’s services in exchange for additional time. The wife did balk at the idea, so Akiyama kidnapped her and made her comply forcefully. Cramer showed up with a bunch of cocaine he hoped would pay off his debt. The problem was, while Akiyama was a money lender who had both swindled and killed many people, he drew the line at selling drugs.”
“You’re kidding!”
“Nope; it’s true. Anyway, when Cramer showed up with the coke Akiyama killed both him and his wife and put their bodies in the freezer.”
“Why did he do that?”
“I don’t know for certain, but by the time Cramer approached Akiyama the police already knew Roxanne Bronwyn had been shot and Mrs. Cramer was missing. Maybe he figured there was too much heat, so he’d freeze the bodies and dispose of them later.”
“I guess that makes sense. And it does make sense he could have forgotten about the bodies until he sold the warehouse and needed to clean things up.” Kekoa paused as she set up salami and cheese on a tray. “Do we have more wine?”
I began to slice the fruit for the sangria. “In the pantry.”
“So how does Jason being shot fit in to all this?”
“That’s the really strange part. It doesn’t.”
“Come again?”
“Jason finally remembered what happened. It seems once he found out about the plastic bags he suspected cocaine was involved, so he went to confront a dealer he knows in the area. One of the dealer’s men shot Jason when he showed up demanding to see his boss. It turned out Jason being shot had nothing to do with the Cramer case at all, other than that it was Roxanne Bronwyn’s coke that got Jason to confront the dealer in the first place.”
Kekoa began mixing the dip. “That’s pretty random. I guess the only thing I don’t understand now is why the bags from the coke were in the water.”
“Akiyama dumped the coke when he dumped the bodies. He must have a strong reason for his dislike of drugs, although I don’t know what it is. I’m not sure why he hung on to the coke for five years before getting rid of it; perhaps he stashed it with the bodies and forgot all about it.”
“Okay, final question: If Cramer didn’t die on the rocks the night he jumped into the ocean why did the watch he was wearing when he was found stop at midnight?”
I shrugged. “I have no idea. He could have broken it in the jump. Of course it makes no sense he would have kept it on if it was broken, unless it had some sentimental value. That’s one mystery that probably will never be solved.”
“I’m just glad the case is wrapped up and all the Popes managed to survive. The past week has been terrifying for me; I can’t imagine what your poor mother went through.”
“Yeah, it’s tough being the one who stays behind and keeps the home fires burning while her husband and children go out every day risking their lives. I think this experience had given me a new appreciation for how she provides the glue that keeps us all together.”
“It’s nice you got out of this closer to her.”
“It is. I’m going to take her to lunch later in the week to thank her for all she does.” I looked at my phone for perhaps the fifth time since Kekoa and I had been working together.
“Are you expecting a call?” she asked.
“Luke. We missed each other all day yesterday. With everything that was going on it was mostly my fault, but I’ve called him five times today and every time it goes directly to voice mail. He must have his phone turned off.”
Kekoa raised a brow. “That seems odd.”
“And there’s more. When I called him yesterday morning a woman answered his phone. She said he was in the shower and offered to take a message.”
“Maybe it was one of his sisters or his mother.”
“I’ve met them. It wasn’t.”
Kekoa crossed her arms in front of her. “Surely you don’t think Luke is cheating on you?”
“I don’t want to think that, but the longer it goes without a return call the more insistent my mind is that cheating is exactly what’s going on. What am I going to do?”
“You’re going to put that silly thought out of your head and enjoy the party you’ve worked so hard on. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation why Luke hasn’t called you today and once you speak to him you’ll see it.”
I sighed. “Yeah. I guess. I’m heading out to the porch to get the tubs for the beer.”
Kekoa and I worked side by side for another hour. Things were really coming together, but we still needed Cam to help with the setup of the fog machine.
“Where’s that boyfriend of yours?” I asked. “Shouldn’t he be here by now?”
Kekoa stopped what she was doing and glanced at the clock. “He should be here. Hang on. I’ll get my phone and text him.”
“Wait, I see his car,” I said as he pulled off the main road and onto Luke’s private drive. I watched as Cam, dressed as a surfer, which was pretty much the way he always dressed, got out of the driver’s side door, while a giant gorilla got out of the passenger side. “Who’s that?”
“I don’t know, but he has to be cooking in that heavy costume.”
Cam came into the house first, grabbed Kekoa by the hand, and headed out to the patio. I watched as the ape entered the kitchen. I was about to ask who he was when suddenly I knew. “Luke?”
He pulled off his giant ape head. “How’d you know?”
I didn’t answer but instead ran across the room despite my sprained ankle, jumped into his arms despite my broken wrist, wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist, and gave him the kiss I’d been dreaming of for more than a month.
******
Later that evening, I lay in Luke’s arms totally satiated and totally content. It had been a spectacular party and I’d enjoyed getting together with all my friends, but the first guests had arrived shortly after Luke and Cam, so for most of the evening I’d found myself wishing they’d all go home.
“Are you home to stay?” I finally asked the question that had been on my mind all night but had been afraid of hearing the answer to.
“Just for a week. I probably shouldn’t have come now, but I woke up in the middle of the night missing you so much that I called my older brother and asked him to cover at home, found a crappy but expensive flight, bought a last-minute ticket, and headed west.”
My head was on Luke’s chest as he held me in his arms. I couldn’t see his face, which was just as well because I was glad he couldn’t see my disappointment when he’d said he was going back.
“It’s been hard having you gone, but I totally understand,” I said when I was sure my voice wouldn’t crack with emotion.
“Part of me wants to just tell my family I have my own life—a life I love—and need to get back to it, and part of me is happy that for the first time my family needs something from me. That’s the thing about being the youngest. Everyone takes care of you and watches out for you, but no one really expects or needs anything from you.”
“Boy do I get that,” I said. “While I’m very sorry Jason was shot and incredibly sorry the family had to go through it, for the first time in my entire life I think my father finally saw me as a capable adult. Like you said, my brothers and parents have always treated me like some fragile princess, but now that I saved my father’s life, I think they can finally see I have something to offer.”
“So we’ll just do what we need to do,” Luke said.
Uh-oh; there was the sadness again. “We will. We’ll Skype and try to be better about connecting. And then, when your dad is back on his feet, you’ll come home and we’ll make up for lost time.”
“I’d like you to continue to stay in the house. If you want to.” Luke rolled over so I was on m
y back and he was looking down at me. “In fact, if you want to, I’d like you to stay.”
“Forever?”
“Exactly. I know I won’t be here at first, but I should be home in another month or six weeks. In the meantime, I can take comfort in the idea that you’re here in my bed waiting for me.”
“You want us to live together?” I clarified.
“I do. You can use the time I’m away to redecorate. I want you to feel like this is your home too. So how about it? Will you share my life?”
I wanted to say yes, but I found myself begin to panic.
“And just so you know,” Luke added, “I want us to get married. Someday, when you’re ready. I told you I wouldn’t bring it up until you were ready, but I want you to know that marrying you and having a family with you is my endgame. I just figured living together was a good first step. So, will you be my roomie?”
I fought the urge to flee and instead pulled Luke’s head down to mine. “Yes,” I whispered in the last fraction of a second before his lips met mine.
Chapter 14
Wednesday, November 8
My heart was heavy after dropping Luke off at the airport that morning, but there was hope as well. During the past week he’d helped me move all my stuff into his house—I mean, our house. He’d taken me shopping for a few new things like towels and dishes we picked out together, and then set me up with a bank account I could draw from to complete the redecorating we’d started while he was away. We promised to make each other a priority and never go to bed without having talked that day, and he promised he’d be home well before Christmas, one way or another.