The pause was a beat too long. “Of course not. I’m just enjoying the adventure. We should come back here someday. You know, together. I’d love to show you around.”
We went through the required ‘miss you’s’ and ‘love you’s’ and then hung up. But the catch in my chest was still there.
Next I called Farrah. “Hey, how’s it going?”
“We’re good,” she said. “Ono’s a little worried about the boat. Did you hear about all the nasty stuff they’re dumping in the water down there?”
“Yeah. Say, Farrah, Jeff had to go back to California today and I was wondering if you and Ono might like to come over and keep me company?”
The phone went dead. At least I thought it went dead. After a bit, I said, “Farrah? You still there?”
“Yeah. I’m here. I’m just thinking.”
A few more moments of silence and she said, “Mahalo for the offer, but if you don’t mind I think we’ll take a rain check. Ono doesn’t get to hang with Tomika very much and we’re having a blast. But hey, why don’t you come here? I’m sure Tomika would love to see you again.”
Now it was my turn to scramble for an excuse.
“Uh, mahalo, but I’ve already turned in my car so I’d have to take the bus. It’s kind of a hassle in the rain.”
“Tomika’s got a car and driver. He can come and pick you up.”
“Thanks, but I think I’ll just stick around here and relax. When are you and Ono planning on heading back?”
“Who knows? The harbor’s a total mess and Ono says this storm’s not over with. We might be stuck here for a while. Remember when I said this might turn out like ‘Gilligan’s Island’?”
“Tomika’s high rise condo is hardly a grass shack. And I bet you’re not talking on a coconut-shell telephone.”
“Yeah, but we’re still a bunch of people stuck on a freaky-strange island,” she said. “You gotta admit this place is way weirder than Maui. Yesterday I saw a guy hitchhiking out by Ala Moana Park and nobody picked him up. Not one single car stopped. ”
Time to change the subject. “What’s happening with the Gadda?”
“Bea’s being totally cool. She got some kids from the high school to help her. She says having them around makes her feel ten years younger. They even showed her how to text message.”
I started to sign off, but Farrah interrupted. “Oh, before you go, Tomika wants to say ‘aloha’.”
There was a rustle as the phone changed hands. “Aloha, Pali,” Tomika said in her distinctive sing-song voice. “Mahalo nui loa for introducing our favorite boy to such a nice girl. I’m so happy for them.”
I stuttered out a ‘me too,’ before saying aloha and hanging up. Happy for them? Had I missed something? In my line of work, ‘happy for them’ has a more substantial ring to it than ‘happy they just met.’
I watched as the thick clouds moved in and then I went inside to read. About an hour later my phone rang and I snatched it up, hoping Farrah had changed her mind about dropping by. I checked the caller ID but it said, ‘Barb Pt Btwks.’ Whatever that was. Probably a wrong number.
“Aloha.”
“Aloha. Pali? Sorry to call when you’re prob’ly on your way out. You okay to talk?” I recognized Moko’s island cadence. Or at least that’s who I thought it was.
“It’s fine. Is this Moko?”
“Yeah, sorry. Should’a told you that. Anyways, you hear about Stu?”
“No, not since Tuesday night when I went to his house for dinner.”
“You didn’ talk to him or Natalie yesterday? Or today?”
I didn’t know how to tell Moko it was probably a safe bet I wouldn’t be putting Stuart or Natalie Wilkerson in my cell phone contacts list. “No, I haven’t heard from either of them. Is everything okay?”
“He had an accident Tuesday night. Got taken to the hospital. He was okay and they let him go, but then today he had to go back in.”
“He got in a car accident? What happened?”
“Nah. No car. He fell in the canal.”
“What? Start from the beginning, Moko.”
“Okay, so Stu was at this meeting with his boss. And then the next thing you know, they’re fishing Stu out of the Ala Wai Canal.”
“He fell in?” I said.
“Looks like it.”
“And he couldn’t get himself out?”
“Stu doesn’t swim. He never learned.” He chuckled as if an island-born kid who couldn’t swim was some kind of joke. Truth is, I can’t swim either.
“So they took him to the hospital?” I said.
“Yeah. They got him out and the ambulance took him in to check him out. He was a little banged up, but they gave him a few stitches and sent him home.”
“Why is he back in there today?”
“The cuts got infected or something. He was here at work and he started yelling and acting all pupule. You know, crazy-like.”
“What hospital is he in?”
“Queen’s. Up there on Punchbowl. You gonna go see him?”
“Sure. Will you be there?”
“I gotta finish up one thing here at work and then I’m heading out.”
“Do you know which room he’s in?”
“No clue. But when the ambulance left here they had the sirens goin’ and all that. They probably took him to the ER.”
CHAPTER 15
Since Jeff and I had taken the number 42 bus to get to ‘Iolani Palace just a few days before, I was pretty sure that was the one I should take to the hospital. But just to be sure I looked it up. I mentally high-fived myself when my phone showed the 42 bus route from Waikiki to Ewa Beach by way of Beretania. The same King Street stop we’d gotten off on before would get me within a block and a half of Queen’s Medical Center on Punchbowl Street.
I made it to the King Street stop in twenty minutes. I had to stand in the aisle the whole way because it seemed everyone in Waikiki had decided to take the bus downtown. When I got off, the rain had turned to mist so the short walk to Queen’s was pleasant. The hospital grounds looked like a park, with neatly trimmed lawns, big trees and beds of colorful flowers.
The sliding glass doors to the main lobby parted, and I walked up to a huge desk positioned dead ahead. A sign on the desk said, ‘Information.’ A local woman of about fifty was seated behind the desk wearing a bright blue mu’u mu’u. She had a white plumeria blossom pinned above her left ear.
“Aloha,” she said as I approached. “Can I help you?”
“Aloha. I’m here to see my brother, Stuart Wilkerson. Can you tell me what room he’s in?”
“He must have a big ohana,” she said with a smile. “You’re the fourth person to ask for him this morning.” She typed on her computer. “Yes, he’s in the ‘Iolani Tower. Room 412. Do you know the way?”
“No, I’m from Maui.”
“You came here all the way from Maui? You’re a good sista. Okay, here are the directions.” She held out a small slip of paper.
“Does the computer say what his condition is? I’m not sure why he was brought in.”
“Sorry, I don’t have that information. You can ask at the nurse’s station when you get to the floor.”
“Mahalo,” I said. I took the little paper square from her and made my way to a bank of elevators.
When I got off the elevator I looked around. The place looked like a well-run hotel, with dark koa wood floors polished to a mirror shine and pale yellow walls with wood wainscoting running the length of the long hall. There were hardly any people around, giving the place an eerie end-of-the-world feeling.
A male orderly came down the hall pushing an empty gurney. “Aloha,” I said. “Can you direct me to Room 412?”
“I just came from there,” the guy said. “The patient’s been transferred to Intensive Care.”
“And where is that?”
“ICU’s in the Queen Emma Tower.”
I looked down at the slip of paper in my hand.
“It’s
close by,” said the guy. “You know the elevators you used to get up here?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, go back to the same elevator you came up on and take it down to the ground floor. Then take a left from there and go up the ramp. Look for the sign for the Queen Emma elevators. Go up to the fourth floor. When you get off there’s a sign that will show you where the ICU is. You can’t miss it.”
I thanked him and made my way through a maze of elevators, ramps, and halls until I finally got to the ICU waiting room. Moko was already there, his head down. He looked up when I said his name.
“Pali. Did you have any trouble finding this place?”
“No trouble. Just a lot of twists and turns. Do you know why Stu’s in the ICU?”
“Nobody’s saying much. Natalie’s downstairs getting tea with the big boss. The nurses said we’ll be able to go in and see Stu in a little while.”
“What happened?”
“Good question. Seems Stu’s got some kind of infection. They got all kinds of stuff for that though, right? I mean, when he fell into the canal he only got a couple of cuts.”
“Then why did he get put in Intensive Care?” I said. I didn’t mean to beat up on Moko, but it was one of those kick-the-dog kind of things.
“Maybe this is where they got the good antibiotics and stuff,” he said.
I let it go at that.
After a few beats I said. “How’s Natalie taking it?”
“Pretty good. She’s worried, like we all are. But she said Stu’s a fighter and he’ll be okay. He won’t want to miss work. To tell you the truth, things have been kinda tense.”
“Tense between Stu and Natalie?”
“Nah, tense at work. The big boss is jammed up over somethin’. They don’t tell guys like me what’s goin’ on, but everybody knows the boat yard’s in some kinda trouble.”
At that point, a ridiculously good-looking guy came out of the men’s restroom on the other side of the waiting room. His tight dark blue polo shirt outlined well-defined pecs and his knee-length cargo shorts put his tanned chiseled calves on full display. I tried to not stare, but he offered a fascinating counterpoint to an otherwise dismal setting.
Mr. Universe took a seat one row away. Moko caught my eye and discreetly tipped his head toward the guy.
“You know him?” I said in a low voice.
“Yeah. That’s Jason. He’s Stu’s best friend.”
“Why’s he sitting over there instead of with us?”
“He doesn’t know you. Probably thinks you work here or something.”
“Are you two friends?”
“Not really. He and Stu are tight, though. The dude practically lives at their house. Stu even got him his job.”
“He works at the boat yard?”
“Nah, he works at Stu’s club.”
Natalie and a man I assumed was the guy Moko had referred to as ‘the big boss’ showed up. The boss guy continued down the hall to the swinging doors of the ICU but Natalie turned into the waiting room. She carried a large lidded paper cup and teetered a bit on her sky-high platform heels. She wore a fitted gray pantsuit with a pink V-neck shell that showed about as much cleavage as one can get away with before being busted for soliciting.
She clip-clopped over to Jason and he looked up.
“Thank you for coming,” she said. “I hated to wake you up this early but I knew you’d want to know.”
He dropped his head and nodded.
She then came over and took a seat across from Moko and me. “Here, Moko, I brought you some tea.” She handed him the cup. “I made it just the way you like. One sugar, no milk.”
He mumbled ‘mahalo’ and set the tea on a side table.
“I’m sorry I didn’t get any for you, Pali,” she said. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”
“No worries. I’ve already had a ton of coffee. What do you know about Stu’s condition?”
“Not much. I’m waiting for someone to come out and tell me something. I’m not very comfortable going in there. You know.” She put a hand on her still undefined baby bump.
“How’d Stu wind up in the Ala Wai Canal?” I said.
“It’s a mystery,” she said. “Stu went to his meeting right after you left on Tuesday night. He didn’t come home, but I wasn’t worried. Stu told me he’d probably stay out at the boat yard. It happens a lot. Silent partners come in from the mainland, or sometimes a celebrity brings in a yacht and they want privacy. Stu works strange hours sometimes.”
I must’ve looked skeptical, because she quickly went on.
“They’ve fixed up a couple of rooms out there with beds and showers. Both Stu and Barry camp out there if they have to.”
“And Barry is…?”
“Barry Salazar and Stu are business partners,” she said. Moko made a little sound in his throat, but when I looked at him his face remained impassive.
Natalie went on. “Anyway, Barry’s gone in to see what he can find out.”
Moko spoke up as if he wanted to set the record straight. “Barry’s dad built the Barber’s Point Boat Yard back in the fifties. Barry took it over from him ten years ago. Stu started working there, what? Two years ago?” He narrowed his eyes at Natalie as if daring her to dispute his timeline.
“That’s correct,” she said. “Barry was good friends with Stuart’s father. Oh, I’m sorry. I guess he was your father, too,” she shot me a tentative smile. “Anyway, now Stu and Barry are running the business.”
“But Barry’s the main guy,” Moko insisted.
“Michael,” she said, using Moko’s formal name like a reprimand. “Just because you work there doesn’t make you privy to what goes on in the upper echelons. Stuart and Barry share the executive role.”
Moko stood up and grabbed the paper cup of tea off the side table. He stalked off; dropping the cup into a nearby waste can. It hit bottom with a loud thunk.
CHAPTER 16
Natalie shook her head. “Don’t mind him; he’s just upset about Stuart.”
“Do you know why they moved Stu to the ICU?” I said, trying to get past the family drama. “He was in a regular room before.”
“The nurse told me they’re concerned about infection. I guess one of his injuries has gotten kind of ugly.”
“Did Stu tell you where he was having his meeting last night? It’s a long way from Barbers Point to the Ala Wai Canal.”
“Oh, Stuart never holds meetings at the yard. He usually has people come to the Waikiki Yacht Club. We’re members. Stuart likes to do business on his own turf.”
“The yacht club’s right on the canal, isn’t it?”
“Technically, it’s in the harbor. But it’s by the bridge. Where the canal goes into the harbor.”
Jason, aka Mr. Universe, pushed himself up from his chair and came and stood by Natalie. “You wanna go outside and get some air, Nat?” he said. “It’s getting kinda hard to breathe in here.”
She stood and looked down at me. “Would you mind staying here in case there’s any news?”
“No problem,” I said.
Natalie and Jason headed down the hall. There was a shaded lanai right outside the ICU waiting room but for some reason the glass doors leading out there were marked, emergency exit only.
A minute later, Moko reappeared. He didn’t ask where Natalie and Jason were so I assumed he’d passed them in the hall. He sat down in the same chair he’d been in before.
“Jason seems like a nice guy,” I said.
“Yeah. He and Stu been friends since keiki days. Back then, you’d never see one without the other.”
We both stared at the muted TV hanging from the ceiling. It was tuned to CNN. After a few minutes I got tired of reading the subtitles and my neck was starting to get a crick.
“A friend of mine was on the news last night,” I said.
“For sure? On CNN?”
“No, just the local news. He rescued a guy up at the North Shore.”
“He a lifeg
uard?”
“No, just a bystander. He had to go back to Maui this morning. He’s actually my roommate.”
“Roommate? No lie? You guys like…” he bumped his two fists together and smiled.
“No, no. Not that kind of roommate. Just friends.”
“Hey, no judgment. Jus’ wondering. I don’ know much about you ‘cept that whole sorry mess after Dad died.”
“Are you mad about the will?”
“Me? Nah. I got ever’ting I need. My wife, my kids. And now, thanks to you, I got that trust money comin’ in every month. No worries.”
“Would you mind staying here in case someone comes out with any news?” I said. “I’m not used to sitting this long. I’ll be back in five.”
“Take as long as you need. I’ll see if I can get an update on Stu.”
I headed down the hall and turned at the first set of glass doors leading outside. Natalie and Jason were on a bench, his arms folded tight across his chest. I went outside and waved. Jason uncrossed his arms and stood up to greet me while Natalie busied herself stubbing the toe of her fancy shoe into the cement. The unmistakable odor of burning cigarette hung in the humid air.
“Are you smoking?” I said when I got within earshot. “Aren’t you pregnant?”
“Since when is anything I do any business of yours?”
“Hey, that’s my niece or nephew in there. And besides, I’m pretty sure it’s against the rules to be smoking so close to the building. Especially a hospital building.”
“Jason,” said Natalie. “Have you met Stu’s half-sister, Pali? As you can see, she’s quite the bossy big sister.”
Jason stood and shook my hand. “Nat’s not been herself lately,” he said. “I mean, I’m pretty freaked about what happened too, but at least I’m not pregnant.”
“Nice to meet you, Jason.” I shook his hand and took the opportunity to get a really good look at him. The guy was as handsome at close range as he was from across a room. His tanned skin offset a brilliant white smile and dark brown eyes. His tight polo shirt had an understated logo with a little red flag on it. Underneath the flag it read, ‘Waikiki Yacht Club.’
“Are you also a member of the yacht club?” I said, pointing to his shirt.
O'ahu Lonesome Tonight? (Islands of Aloha Mystery Series #5) Page 9