by Kay Hadashi
Once a proper amount of time passed, Melanie went looking for Addie. “Sorry about earlier. We generally…we’re not…there was something of an urge, and since you were out and Tay was sleeping, we let down our guard.”
“Melanie, I never noticed a thing. You took advantage of a day off. Who am I to pass judgment over what married people do in their own home?”
“Well, just feel like you can come and go as much as you want.” Melanie poured glasses of juice for them and sat at the kitchen table with Addie. “Did you find anything in your letters to Kenny? Detective Nakatani called and was curious.”
“Every time I start to read, I tear up. I did find a few names, though.” She went to her room and came back with a slip of paper. “He mentioned Gonzo’s shop in some of his later letters. Maybe they were the ones he was doing odd jobs for?”
“He was still a beginner surfer, not expert enough to work at a surf shop. I doubt they’d put him to work cleaning up. Regular employees do that anyway. Those shops don’t make much money, one of the reasons they close as soon as their initial lease is up.” Melanie wasn’t going to mention the shop owner was a known pusher. “Did he say anything in particular about them?”
“Only that that was where he learned to surf and he was making friends with a few of them.”
“That’s a good lead the police should hear about.” Her phone always within arm’s reach, she called Detective Nakatani. Getting no answer, she ignored leaving a message. “You know what? Let’s go check out Gonzo’s.”
“Just the two of us?” Addie asked.
“Josh is working on his curriculum and Tay will resume playing with Mister Cleveland once she wakes up. It’s a nice day. No reason for us to be cooped up inside.”
“Mister Crumpet,” Addie said, adjusting the driver’s seat of Melanie’s pickup truck.
“I wonder why I can’t remember his name?”
“She certainly is fond of that one. And the action figure.”
“Oh, yes. Yoshi, the Action Man. She practices Japanese while playing with him, Spanish while playing with Fiesta Fernanda, Hebrew with Bathtime Bathsheba, and Ka-choo Kailani when practicing Hawaiian. After tomorrow, it’ll be Tonsil Turtle, or some such thing.”
Addie proved to be a slower driver than Melanie. “I hear you’re still looking for a nanny?”
“We had a good one but lost her several months ago. Then we got another, but she didn’t last long once she discovered our busy schedules of people coming and going at all hours of the day and night. Then we decided on hiring a live-in nanny. She’d move into the room you’re in, turning that part of the house into her suite. The room across would turn into the baby’s room in a few months. Honestly, I don’t know what people expect anymore. Free room and board and decent pay while living across the street from one of Maui’s nicest beaches just isn’t good enough for some people. We’ve even advertised on the mainland, offering a bonus and pay relocation costs. No one.” Melanie took a breath. “Sorry about going on like that.”
“I think we both have a lot of things to get out of our systems,” Addie said. “Is there a place we can sit and chat undisturbed?”
“I know the exact right place.” She pointed to a small parking lot just before they got to Lahaina. “But first, Gonzo’s.”
As they walked into the surf shop, Melanie had no idea of what to ask. In her condition, it was obvious she wasn’t looking for a surf lesson. Instead, she pretended to be shopping for surf garments, and was glad when Addie went along with the charade.
“Can I help you?” a man asked. He was big as though he got plenty of exercise, and his hair was cut military style. He’d just come in from the back room, which led to where the rental equipment was located.
“Yeah, my hubby is taking up surfing and his birthday is coming up. Any ideas on a gift he might actually like?”
“Rash guard, leash, maybe a new board. How about a series of lessons?”
“He already knows how to surf.”
“Maybe some advanced lessons in bigger surf?”
“How much are boards?” she asked.
He came from behind the counter and took Melanie to a long rack of boards along one wall. They had a full array, from short guns used in heavy surf, to long and wide tankers used in easy conditions. They also offered kite surfing equipment and wakeboards, something Melanie had never liked much. “We have new boards, along with used ones that are here on consignment. Take my word for it, the new ones are way better.”
Since he didn’t seem to recognize her as mayor, she let the game unfold. She looked at the price tags on a few, about what she would expect in any shop. She had to pretend to be surprised anyway. “Kinda expensive. Anything cheaper?”
“The consignment junk is over here.”
Those prices weren’t much cheaper. “What about last year’s rental stuff? Do you have anything like that?”
“Maybe he should come in and pick out what he wants?” the man said.
“Except that I’m the one with the checkbook. Is Gonzo around? I heard he’s the one to see about making deals here.”
“Where’d you hear that, the maternity ward?”
“At the beach.”
“Well, it sounds as though someone is pulling your leg. There is no one named Gonzo, not at this shop. It’s just a catchy name.” He began to walk away.
“Wait. Maybe some lessons are a good idea. How much are those?”
He gave her a price list from a rack. “We’d want to see his skill level before taking him out to heavy surf. A rental board is included in those prices. No discount if the customer brings their own.”
“So, you have a lot of rental boards?” Melanie asked, pretending to read the sheet.
“We have enough.”
“I see. You must be the boss here, since you know so much.”
“Lady, you got your price list. If you want to buy something, get out your checkbook and start writing. Otherwise, I have better things to do than talk to some guy’s pregnant wife.”
She noticed then that Addie had left the shop, leaving her alone with the man. “Are all of your rental boards accounted for?” she chanced asking.
He stopped and turned back to her. “Sure has been a lot of interest in our rental boards these last few days. Who are you, anyway?”
“Just a customer.”
“You’re sure you’re not with the cops?”
She turned to face him straight on, letting her belly close the gap between them. “Do I look like a cop to you?”
He began nodding his head, letting a grin form. “Now I know who you are. You’re that lady mayor we got stuck with a while back. Well, I’ll tell you something. You and the cops can keep out of my shop. Got it?”
“Just trying to figure out how a couple of kids died recently, that’s all. They were using rental boards from this shop when they died.”
“Look, lady. I don’t care how many times the cops count my boards. Let them come in and search the place for dead bodies. I got nothing to hide.”
“It seems to me you’d be a little more willing to cooperate if you had nothing to hide.”
He went nose to nose with her, the oldest intimidation trick in the book. It had never worked before and it wasn’t scaring Melanie off then. “Get the hell outta my shop, understand? And tell the police that the next time they come back to bring a search warrant with them. And a few of their pals, too, because I’m not so easy to deal with as a pregnant lady.”
“No, you’re much more of a whiny bitch than I am.”
“Look…” He began ramming his finger into her chest, exactly what she expected, and definitely the wrong thing to do right then. It just happened to be right over her twenty-year-old Special Forces tattoo.
Reaching up, she got a hold of his finger and bent it backward, not stopping until she saw anguish and pain on his face. Getting him bent over backward, she looked close at him. “Special message from the mayor’s office: if I ever hear about you
touching a woman like that again, I’m gonna do something about it. And I can guarantee it’ll be a lot more painful than this. Okay?”
He called her a name, certainly not the first time she’d heard it. Giving his finger an extra twist, she pushed him back.
Normally a quick getaway was in order in situations like that, and she waddled as fast as she could for the door. Thankfully, Addie was waiting in the truck with the engine running.
“Sorry about the scene back there, Addie,” Melanie said, buckling her seatbelt. “Good thing you stepped out when you did, otherwise you would’ve heard the mayor say a few things that weren’t so mayoral.”
“I hope you don’t feel like I abandoned you. When I heard the argument start, I thought you might want to leave in a hurry.”
Melanie laughed. “As in a quick getaway?”
“Did you learn anything from him?”
“Maybe a little. He was awfully protective about his rental boards. He turned in a hurry when I asked how many he had.”
Addie handed over a small stack of business cards. “While you were talking to him, I got one each of all their business cards. Not sure if it’ll help any. Maybe we can look them up on the internet?”
“Better yet, if you don’t mind, we could look through your letters to Kenny to see if we can match any names.”
“If you help me, we could do that this evening,” Addie said. “I don’t mind at all if you read what I wrote to him, if it helps getting to the bottom of what happened to him.”
Melanie’s phone rang. “Uh-oh. It’s from Detective Nakatani.”
“You think he heard about what happened?”
“He seems to know everything that happens on Maui five minutes before it happens.” She answered the call. “Detective, what can I do for you?” she asked with extra courtesy injected into her voice.
“Been shopping for surfboards today, Mayor Kato?”
“I can explain.”
“I’m sure you can explain how our pregnant mayor beat up a small business owner. Mister Gallagher is seriously considering pressing battery charges.”
“Then I will too, if ramming his finger in my breast is considered battery. Once he did that, the gloves came off.”
“Why exactly did you go there?” he asked.
“I had a hunch and wanted to play it out. All I did was ask a few questions.”
“What was your husband doing when you were asking your questions?”
“He didn’t take me there, Mrs. Winston did. But she’s not involved at all. In fact, she spent most of the time outside waiting for me.”
“You know we’ve already talked to them, and have, or maybe I should say had, plans to interrogate each of them one at a time in the station.”
Melanie’s tic started, which she rubbed with a knuckle. “Sorry.”
“I hate to ask, but did you learn anything?”
“He was incredibly touchy when I asked about the rental surfboards, especially about how many he had. That’s when he recognized me and tried tossing me out. But Mrs. Winston had the good sense to get their business cards, which we’re planning on spending the evening comparing to names in her letters to Kenny. Maybe we can make some associations between what Kenny might’ve mentioned to her and Gonzo’s shop, other than renting a surfboard.”
“Well, I hope you can find something. But Mayor, I must tell you I’m getting a little tired of the interference from City Hall in this investigation.”
“I figured you’d get around to giving me another lecture. The good news is that I’ll be at the hospital most of tomorrow while my daughter has a minor surgery, and you know about Friday.”
“And Thursday?” he asked.
“I’ll do my best to leave the rest of Maui alone while staying home with my daughter.”
“I’ll take that as a promise. I’ll also head off Gallagher’s attempts at having you cited for battery by reminding him he touched you first.”
“And a little too personally. Pregnant or not, I won’t give him a second chance at that.”
***
After dinner, Melanie and Addie spread out the letters to Kenny on the living room floor and organized them chronologically. Then they organized the business cards from Gonzo’s shop between them. Thérèse quietly played a counting game only a few feet away, which soon turned into singing.
“Okay, we have a Jimbo, Curt, Ozzie, Franklin, and Flex,” Melanie said. “We should look for any variation of those names, like Jim, James, Jimmy, Curtis, and so on.” Melanie looked up at her companion, trying to judge her mood from the look on her face. She seemed all in with their little project. “For this evening, we should just scan your letters for names rather than read them through?”
“Maybe we can keep a list of all names and places? And businesses?” Addie offered.
“Good idea.” Looking at the first letter, Melanie was immediately struck by how personal it was, almost like reading someone’s diary while they were in the room with her. “You have lovely handwriting, Addie. Nobody writes in cursive anymore.”
“Old habit drummed into me as a schoolgirl. You suppose Flex was that charmer we met today at the shop?”
“Seemed like an apt name for him. Ozzie sure sounds familiar.”
“Should I ask what happened in the shop after I walked out?” Addie asked, setting one letter aside and taking another.
“Maybe best you don’t. Just some posturing.”
“From what I saw looking in the rearview mirror through the front window, you had the guy pretty well in hand.”
“Just something I learned a long time ago, about what to do when someone thumps you in the chest.”
“Josh said you and Trinh were in the military together. Is it something you learned then?” Addie asked.
“More like from my mother. She was quite skilled in things like that, and taught me how to manage difficult situations.”
“What an interesting family you have.”
Melanie laughed. “You don’t know the half of it.”
“I have a mention of Curtis here, a surf buddy,” Addie said, reading one of her letters.
“Must be the same guy. Put his name on the list and set that letter aside.”
“Momma?” Thérèse asked.
“Yes?”
“I get my turtles out tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“If I put them in the ocean, will they get like big kind honu?”
“Different kind of turtle, Sweetie. People can’t make honu.”
“Even if we try really hard?”
“Nope. Sorry.”
“Momma?”
Melanie tried her best not to sigh. “Yes?”
“What do people make?”
“Other people. Baby people.”
“You no got honu in you, right?”
“I sure hope not. Can you do me a favor and tell me the Hebrew alphabet? Daddy said you had trouble with that the other day.”
“Alif, bet…”
Melanie and Addie went back to scanning letters for names, jotting notes every now and then. Once the girl was done with the alphabet game, she wandered off to her room to play.
“I’ll be glad when she starts preschool. Hopefully, they’ll tire her out and she’ll want to go to bed earlier than she does now.”
“Is preschool expensive here?” Addie asked, taking a break from reading her own letters.
“The one we finally got her into is kind of snooty and expensive, but they have the hours we need and aren’t far away. We really didn’t want her in school so soon, but with our schedules and not having a nanny lined up yet, we didn’t have much choice.”
Addie went back to reading. “Well, whatever happens, I’m sure it will work out for the best.”
Chapter Eleven
When Wednesday morning came around, Melanie was sure to tail after Thérèse everywhere she went before going to the hospital. Addie went to the hospital in the morning with the rest of them. Leaving
the car behind, the group went in together.
When Thérèse took Addie’s hand for the walk into the building, Melanie and Josh trailed along behind.
Once they got to pre-op, the girl was checked in and Melanie and Josh were interviewed by an anesthesiologist that Melanie often worked with. The girl was given a set of hospital pajamas, and Melanie took her to a bathroom to change her clothes.
“I saw you holding Aunt Addie’s hand a little while ago. Just like old friends, huh?”
“I guess so. I never had an old friend before, except you and Daddy.”
“Don’t forget Trinh.”
“Oh, yeah, her.”
“Did you ask if it was okay to hold her hand?” Melanie asked.
“She seemed like she wanted to, so we did.”
“Well, it was very nice. You remember your promise, right?”
“Yes, Momma.”
“What is it?”
“Be nice to people at the hospital.”
“Right.” Melanie got the girl’s pajamas straightened out. “What else?”
“No magic?”
“Right. “No playing with stuff with your magic. In fact, no touching of anything. And do everything Auntie Trinh says, okay?”
“I promise.”
When Trinh came to get Thérèse, the girl looked at her blankly.
“Don’t you recognize me?”
“You’re wearing funny clothes.”
“Funny costume, huh?” Trinh asked the girl she helped deliver three years before. She picked her up for the trip to the OR. “This is where your momma works. She dresses like this, also.”
Melanie gave Thérèse one last kiss before watching her best friend take her daughter away. The conversation continued as they went to a set of double doors.
“Momma works here?”
“This is where she comes every day.”
Melanie watched intently as the doors swung closed.
“You okay?” Josh asked after a few minutes.
Melanie had been scrolling through images on her phone, making a new file for the pictures she’d taken that morning. She looked at the last one, a photo of Trinh holding Thérèse just before they left the pre-op waiting area. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine.”