by Al Boudreau
I took the note. “Thanks. I appreciate you getting this to me.”
Kaholo nodded and smiled. “Aloha, Mr. Peterson. Have a good evening,” he called out as he headed off toward the employee parking lot.
I held the note in my hand as I watched Kaholo walk away, my mind swimming in a sea of confusion. Unlike our earlier interaction, he was direct, running counter to my initial feelings about his involvement with our Odell imposter. I unfolded the handwritten message. Sorry I had to bail. You’ll likely be hearing from my wife this evening. Don’t believe a word. She’s a compulsive liar.
I reread the note and felt hesitant to follow my initial plan. Should I go ahead and ask desk clerk Kainalu for copies of whatever video stills he could provide of Kaholo and Odell, or head back to the room and regroup?
As I stood there in a daze, I remembered my phone had alerted me of an incoming text from Richard.
Get here as soon as you can. We’ve got company.
Chapter 9
I recognized the woman sitting on our couch as soon as I walked in the room. Terri Odell looked the same as she did in the images posted on Ellis Odell’s social media accounts, even though the photos had been taken nearly six years earlier. Petite, but well proportioned, with pin-straight, shoulder-length, dark brown hair, her clothing telling me she wasn’t afraid to spend money.
Richard raised his eyebrows. “Carter, say hello to Mrs. Terri Odell.”
I held out my hand. “Mrs. Odell. Pleased to meet you.”
She gave my hand a single shake and abruptly pulled away. “Mr. Kimball said you people have no solid leads concerning the whereabouts of my daughter. Anything new you can share?” she asked, voice wavering.
My first impression was that this woman was genuinely distraught, despite my mind flashing back to the handwritten note in my pocket. Don’t believe a word. She’s a compulsive liar.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Odell. As of this moment I don’t.”
Her tears began flowing.
I’d heard rumors of a few talented actresses who could cry on demand, but this woman would have had to possess a pair of mechanical mini waterfalls at the corners of her eye sockets to bring on such a deluge so quickly. “I’m sorry,” she said in a whisper. She took a moment to compose herself. “Ellis was … is … a good man, at the core. But he lost his way some time ago. The drugs, they … our Amber, she’s always been so sweet. Trusting. We’ve failed her as parents. I’ve cried so much over the past few days, I feel nothing but numb. I just want my Amber back. And a second chance to be a good mother. I need to make things right with her.”
I looked at Richard with the knowledge he wasn’t aware of the message I’d received. And I could tell he was totally buying into this woman’s grief. The anguish in his eyes seemed to match the pain she wore so openly on her face.
What would Sarah think if she were here? Would she tell me this woman was true-blue? A victim of the ravages drug abuse can inflict upon a family?
Or would Sarah indict Terri Odell as a fraud, hell-bent on selling her narrative for reasons unknown to us?
Mrs. Odell opened her purse as Richard rose and left the room. I was at a loss, with too little warning time given to have come up with a game plan. Should I ask her specific details concerning Ellis Odell, or keep my questions about the entire situation deliberately vague?
Richard returned with a box of tissues and unwittingly made my decision moot. “Mrs. Odell, what’s the deal with those crazy circular symbols tattooed all over your husband’s back?” he asked.
As soon as Richard dropped that bomb I felt a strange jolt ripple through my chest, like I’d developed an instant case of arrhythmia. My attention bounced back and forth between the two of them. Time seemed to stop as I held my breath.
She looked confused, but responded with zero hesitation. “Once my husband’s addiction to pills got out of hand, he picked up some strange habits. Going to the tattoo parlor once every few weeks to get a new ink on his back was one of them.”
I tried to catch Richard’s eye. I needed him to stop. I shook my head subtly so Mrs. Odell wouldn’t notice, but rapidly enough to get Richard’s attention and convey my message to him.
No such luck. He was on a roll.
“What exactly do those symbols represent?” Richard noticed my silent plea after his second bombing run, his expression changing to full-on chagrin.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Odell’s face once again seemed to telegraph genuine confusion in response to Richard’s inquiry. “I’m not sure where these questions are coming from.” She turned away from Richard and looked at me. “How exactly does the subject of my husband’s tattoos relate to finding my Amber?”
Now that I had Richard reeled in, I went into damage-control mode. “Mrs. Odell, I know this is all very unsettling. You want to find your daughter. We want to find your daughter. But to do so, we’re going to need more manpower. We’ll be picking up a third member of our team early tomorrow morning at the airport.”
“Okay … I understand. And you received our deposit?” she asked. “The fourteen thousand?”
“Uh, yes, we did,” I replied, torn whether or not to ask her who actually delivered the cash. I wanted to believe she wasn’t willingly involved in whatever game our Odell imposter was playing, but nothing was adding up. “We’ll also need your contact information. Preferably your cell phone number. I’ll call you as soon as we know more.”
She pulled a notepad from her purse and began writing. “Amber is the most important person in the world to me. I can’t take all this … feeling sick with worry much longer. Please tell me you’ll do everything you can to locate her.”
“I assure you, we’ll do our best.”
She nodded then stood up. “Call anytime,” she said as she handed me her number. “Middle of the night. Early morning. It doesn’t matter. I’m not sleeping much, anyways.”
I headed toward the door to see her out.
She reached out and offered her hand. “Thank you, Mr. Peterson. Knowing you’re on this gives me hope.”
“Good,” I said. “Oh, uh … one other thing. You did file a missing person’s report with the police, right?”
My question made her frown, lips trembling as the tears fell. “I … we … no, we can’t involve the authorities. These men, they’ll hurt Amber if I go to the police.” Overcome, she turned to leave, sobbing as she made her way down the corridor.
I closed the door then motioned for Richard to follow me out to the lanai. I took a seat, and Richard dragged a chair over next to me.
“Make sure you keep your voice down,” I said as I handed him the note I’d received from Kaholo.
“Why are we whispering?” he asked as he unfolded the paper.
“I don’t have a clear read on this woman, do you?” I asked. “For all we know she could be standing in the hallway, ear against the door, to find out where we really stand.”
“Oh, come on, Carter. Those were real tears. That woman was clearly upset. That’s no act we just witnessed.”
“I’m not totally convinced of that fact,” I said.
He shook his head as he looked down at the note. I watched his lips moving. “You found Odell?” he asked in a whisper.
“No. That bartender Kaholo handed the note to me a few minutes ago. Said Odell asked him to deliver it. So, getting back to Mrs. Odell. What did I miss? What was said before I came back to the room?”
“Not much,” Richard replied. “She introduced herself and told me she’d spoken to her husband this morning. That’s about it. She gave me a picture of her daughter Amber. It’s on the kitchen counter. Different shot than the one her alleged husband gave us, but definitely the same girl. Oh, and I told her about you, and that you and I were working the case together. And that you’d be back shortly if she wanted to wait.”
I went to grab Amber’s photo. The image showed her standing with Terri. They looked more like sisters than mother and daughter. Same height, same hair. I folded it
in half and tucked it inside my wallet. “You didn’t ask her any other questions?”
“I just asked her what she did for a living. Told me she’s a dental nurse. I swear, I texted you as soon as she stepped into our living room. We didn’t have time to discuss anything else,” Richard said. “I recorded our entire conversation, using my cell phone, if you want to hear it.” He took his phone out of his shirt pocket. “Guess I can stop recording now.”
I looked at Richard and nodded. “Good. Sorry to shut you down like I did, but I didn’t want to show her our cards. We don’t know what’s going on with any of this yet, so I feel like we need to consider her an unknown.”
“I’m not sure I follow,” Richard said.
“When Ellis Odell called you about this case, did he mention his wife at all during that conversation?”
Richard took a few seconds. “No, I don’t believe he did.”
“But you knew he was married, right?”
“Yes. In fact, he talked about his wife and daughter when we discussed security systems for his home six months ago. You know, the day we golfed together.”
“Here’s the thing,” I said.” Ellis Odell—or the guy who claimed to be Ellis Odell—never mentioned his wife to me, either. Not once. Don’t you find that odd?”
“Uh, yeah, I guess it is a little odd,” Richard replied.
“The guy talked for well over an hour during our initial meeting. Told me the crazy story about his daughter Amber being taken. But apparently didn’t consider it important to include his wife in the meeting. And didn’t bother to convey how deeply disturbed his wife was over their daughter going missing.” I threw my hands in the air. “In fact, I remember him saying ‘help me find my daughter.’ Not help us find our daughter. I consider that a red flag. Unfortunately, one I didn’t catch at the time. I should never have agreed to meet with him the same evening I arrived. I was clearly out of it.”
“Interesting. Now that you mention it, when he was here this afternoon he never brought up his wife being here in Hawaii, or coming to Hawaii,” Richard said. “Yet, here she is.”
“Yep.” I took the note from Richard and looked at it again. Sorry I had to bail. You’ll likely be hearing from my wife this evening. Don’t believe a word. She’s a compulsive liar.
“What should we do?” Richard asked.
“In my opinion, the less we share with Mrs. Odell right now, the better. At least until we know exactly who is who.”
“What about the guy at the accident scene?” Richard asked, his voice growing louder.
“Keep it down,” I whispered as I pointed at the balcony right above our heads. “For all we know, someone could be up in Odell’s room eavesdropping on us as we speak. I figure fake Odell put us in the suite right below his for a reason. In fact, moving forward, we should operate as if this entire suite is bugged.”
Richard nodded and leaned in toward me. “Sorry. So, the guy at the accident scene who got run over. Do we make certain assumptions moving forward? That the guy is dead, for instance. Or that he’s the real Odell. And if he is, that his wife doesn’t know he’s gone yet?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think it’s safe to assume any of that. I’m going to leave shortly. Drive into Honolulu. The traffic’s probably mellowed out by now. I’ll go downtown, tell the cops what we know, then see if I can get a positive ID on our accident victim.”
“And when is Sarah’s brother due to arrive?”
“Around six tomorrow morning, so I’ll probably stay in the city tonight. Get a room near the airport and grab him first thing. Then we’ll head back together.”
“Makes sense,” Richard said.
“Sit tight while I’m gone, in case Mrs. Odell decides to pay us another visit. Maybe spend some more time getting versed on how that GPS contraption works. It would be helpful to get a handle on how we can use it to our advantage. Keep it in the safe when you’re not messing around with it. The combination is the last four digits of your phone number.” I stood up. “By the way, I’m willing to spring for room service so you can get a couple decent meals while I’m gone.”
“Thanks, Carter. And yeah, I’ll do my best to get the device figured out. Probably have the whole case cracked by the time you and Andrew get back tomorrow morning,” Richard said with a grin.
“That would be a welcome shift,” I replied as I made my way into the suite. “I’m good and ready to have this case go our way.”
Chapter 10
The dashboard clock read 7 p.m. as I stole a glance out over the blue horizon of the Pacific. This evening’s sunset was a real stunner, hard to ignore as I sped up to merge with traffic heading southeast on Farrington Highway, bound for Honolulu.
I rolled the windows down and tucked the video stills of the man who claimed to be Ellis Odell into the center console of the rental car. I’d decided at the last minute to hedge my bets and hit up the head security officer on duty at Ko Ahiku with my request for a few images. I thought it best to leave Kaholo the bartender out of the equation for now, seeing how I was back and forth about his potential involvement with our client-turned-suspect. The last thing I wanted was to tip off the Hawaiian drink-slinger with the clue that we thought he was dirty. Even if he wasn’t.
It felt good to be breaking away from Richard and the resort for a while, considering the tragedy of errors this non-starter case had become. I thought the world of my old friend, but struggled with the fact his skills as a private investigator had dwindled after being out of the game so long. The phrase ‘use it or lose it’ applied heavily to detective work. Right now, Richard was the poster child.
Not that I was worthy of any sleuthing awards at the moment, either. I was irritated with myself. A simple no uttered to Richard when he called me about the case would have stopped this runaway train in its tracks.
Yet, I allowed myself to be lured in. Hawaii. Ego. Money.
No doubt, the majority of blame and responsibility fell squarely on my shoulders. And as a result, we were in the thick of a situation with no handle on what it was or where it was going.
All questions. No answers. Hawaii. Deflated ego. No money.
I looked out to the horizon again, the sun reduced to nothing more than a fiery dome resting on the surface of the ocean. It had a much-needed calming effect on me. I took a deep breath, finding solace in knowing the hours ahead would provide some alone time to think. To wrap my head around where we stood, and where we were headed.
And with Richard sequestered in our suite, it was unlikely he’d have the ability to do further damage.
As usual, Sarah was on my mind. I plugged my phone into the rental car’s hands-free system and gave her a call. Unfortunately, the phone connected and pulsed a few times before the six-hour time difference between here and home occurred to me. It was now after midnight in Bridgeport.
“Hello?” I heard Sarah mutter in a sleepy voice.
“It’s me, Sarah. Sorry to call so late. I completely spaced the time difference.”
“It’s okay,” she replied. “What’s up?”
“Oh, we’re in the process of trying to figure out where we’re at with this case … if you can call it a case at this point.”
“What do you mean? Something happen?” she asked.
“Sure you want me to get into all the details at this late hour?”
“You might as well. I’m awake now.”
“All right,” I said. “For starters, we have reason to believe the bozo who called Richard about the kidnapping case is not who he claims to be.”
“Uh-oh. That doesn’t sound good.”
“It gets worse. There was an incident. We think the guy who our shifty client is trying to impersonate was killed.”
“Carter! What on earth? You’ve been there less than twenty-four hours.”
“I know.”
“Are you thinking murder?” Sarah asked.
“That’s the sixty four thousand-dollar question. I’m on my way to Honolulu rig
ht now. My intent is to go to the cops with all of this and see what I can find out.”
“I’m afraid to ask, but … does this mean we’re not getting paid?”
“At this point I have my doubts,” I replied. Sarah went silent on the other end, so I decided to tell her more. “Seems Richard got himself into a serious financial bind. That, coupled with the fact he’s been out of the PI game for so many years, appears to be taking a toll on his abilities. He hasn’t been much help. In fact, he’s been a pain in my back side. So, I’m working at a deficit right now. In hindsight, I wish I’d listened to you and said no to this case.”
Sarah cleared her throat. “What case?”
“Yeah. Good point. Glad to know that me waking you up in the middle of the night hasn’t dulled your edge.”
“Sorry. It’s just really disappointing news. Hope this guy who wanted to hire you and Richard doesn’t have some ulterior motive,” Sarah said.
“Not sure I follow.”
“I don’t know. It’s late. And this update of yours is pretty depressing. Mind if we talk more tomorrow?”
“That’s fine,” I said.
“You haven’t forgotten about my brother during all this upheaval, right?”
“Nope. Picking him up first thing in the morning.”
“Okay, then. Sorry about the setbacks, but we’ll figure something out. Be safe. Love you.”
I smiled. “Love you, too.”
I hung up, buoyed by the fact Sarah had the power to make any situation in my life better, no matter the circumstance. It made me wonder how I got through the solitary days before she came along. All those years, between the day I divorced my wife and the day Sarah chose to push our relationship beyond platonic, now seemed like an exercise in marking time.
I felt lucky.
I smiled as the hills surrounding Honolulu came into view, glowing in the distance as thousands of lights were switched on for the evening. Passenger jets drifted across the sky, the downtown office towers providing a picturesque backdrop for the comings and goings of countless travelers hungry for a slice of the city’s unique Polynesian flavor.