Maybe. If I was lucky.
Then he slumped down against another big box and his head began to loll. I kept it up. His eyes closed. He was out.
I could hardly believe it. I’d actually put him into a sleep state, just by using my chant. I stopped dancing but I didn’t stop chanting. I didn’t dare-I kept repeating the same line, over and over. But I did start to move toward the door, my heart racing, my mouth getting dry.
I heard someone outside. My heart jumped. The door was pushed open and Roy stood there. To me he looked ten feet tall and more handsome than any man had ever looked. A couple of men seemed to be with him as backup, all three with guns drawn. Tears filled my eyes. I was safe. But I didn’t stop chanting. Not until Roy pulled me up into his arms and held me tight.
“You done good, Hawaiian girl,” he whispered near my ear while his companions shook Jason awake and put him in handcuffs. “I’m proud of you.”
I was trembling with elation. “How did you find me?”
“Jill told me to look for you at Star’s, and when we got here, we saw that black cat of yours. He saw me and went into his ‘Timmy’s in the well!’ act. You know, the way Lassie always does on that TV show. So we followed him and here you are.”
“Oh…I’m so glad you were looking.”
I melted against him, sobbing quietly. He kissed me, then rocked me until I got over it. I looked up with a teary smile on my face, but before I could say anything, he wanted to know something himself.
“How did you manage this?” he asked, gesturing at Jason, still lolling with his mouth open.
I hesitated. Oops. This was going to be the touchy part.
“You know I told you Jill and I were fooling around with hypnosis on Bebe,” I reminded him. “I think I’m getting pretty good at it.”
He stared at me, brows drawn together, and I pulled out my cell phone and handed it to him.
“You’re going to want this,” I said. “If it recorded the way it was supposed to, I should have a full explanation of how Star died right on it.”
He looked from me to the cell and back again, astonished.
I grinned. “You’re welcome.”
And I pulled away and walked out on my own.
Chapter Nineteen
Against all odds, the flower show was a huge success. Peace and harmony ruled the day and the most beautiful flowers won the highest prizes. Everything was as it should be.
“It is amazing,” Bebe said at one point, “how one little stinker like Starflower Moon could send an entire organization into a tail spin for so long. Now that she’s gone, everything is clicking along like clockwork.”
“Hmm,” I said, tapping my watch which seemed to be on the fritz again. “You don’t say.”
“Oh, you know what I mean. It’s fun to be part of the growers community again. Nobody is avoiding meeting my eyes anymore. Things are back like they used to be when Jimmy was here.”
“I’m glad.” I smiled at my favorite aunt.
It had been about two weeks since all the excitement had died down. Jason Moon was in custody and by all accounts, going to stand trial for murder, even though he claimed he didn’t really kill Star. I was going to have to testify because of that hour or so he’d abducted me, even though he hadn’t hurt me. And the funny thing was, I don’t think he would have. He was sure trying hard to think of ways to get around it at the time.
Still, his wife did die from actions he initiated, and he didn’t tell the truth at the time. Not only that, he’d tried to pin the whole thing on Bebe and as a result had his wife smashed by a car in a horrible way. No, there was no denying he deserved punishment of some sort.
To tell the truth, I hadn’t been following things very ardently lately. Those few days of “sleuthing” had put me way behind in my job as Activities Director and I had to do a good bit of catch-up in order to make sure everything went smoothly for the Spring Flower Show. I hadn’t had time for anything else.
So it was nice now to have this time with my aunt, so sort of sum up what it all meant to me. Arm in arm, we were taking one last turn around the showroom, admiring all the beautiful flowers, waving to friends, giving thumbs up to prize winners.
Fred Carver was proudly displaying the Grand Prize at his booth. His long-stemmed red roses had finally been rewarded with the recognition they deserved and he was beaming.
“Didn’t I tell you?” he said as we passed. “Now wasn’t it worth all the trouble we went to?”
I didn’t answer. I sort of wanted to go over and smack him one and say, “Who’s this ‘we’, mister?”
He’d given good advice and he’d helped make sure Bebe kept her job, but as for risk-taking—I hadn’t noticed him during the times of strife.
But never mind. We were all one big happy family now. So I gave him a smile and a wave and we moved on.
We saw Karl MacKenzie and his wife ahead. They were holding hands.
“Ah,” said Bebe, always ready to forgive and forget. “How sweet.”
We made a turn to get a look at the sweet peas—always favorites of mine—and also to avoid the MacKenzies, and we ran right into the Millers instead.
“Hey.” Margie was always friendly. Funny how she could look so much like her sister and be so different. “We’ve been talking it over and we’ve decided to keep Star’s farm and continue her style of flowers. So next year you’ll be dealing with us when it’s time for the yearly flower show.”
“Welcome aboard,” Bebe said. “We’re happy to have you.”
I noticed that Michael Archer had brought a pack of his 4H kids to see the show. I looked at Bebe, not sure how she wanted to deal with this. But her gaze was on someone else. Captain Stone was standing near the entrance looking for all the world like a natural sheriff in a Western town, surveying his territory. She began moving toward him as though she’d been drawn by a magnet.
“Hey,” I said, grabbing her arm to stop her. “Don’t you think you ought to say ‘hi’ to Michael?”
She looked at me blankly as though she didn’t remember who that was. Then recognition came back and she sighed.
“I suppose you’re right,” she said, but you could tell it wasn’t her first choice.
This disturbed me. As far as I knew, Stone hadn’t even been around for the last two weeks. Someone had said he was in Las Vegas at a conference. And darn it all, I didn’t trust him.
“Bebe,” I said. “Be careful of investing too much emotion in a man like Captain Stone. He’s so…” I couldn’t think of the right word, but she knew what I meant.
She gave me a quick hug. “I know how you feel about this, Mele,” she said. “But you don’t know him like I do.”
I groaned. Isn’t that the speech every woman about to throw herself away on a worthless man gives? Every one!
“I know you think he doesn’t like you,” she told me earnestly. “But that’s not quite right. You see….” She hesitated. “I can’t really tell you a story that’s not mine to tell, but Captain Stone knew your father in the Army, years ago. And they didn’t get along. He’ll have to tell you about it himself, but I just wanted you to know it isn’t really anything about you.”
Except that it was everything about me. I stared at her. Didn’t she get that? I had so little from my parents, I couldn’t afford to have the few things I remembered torn to pieces.
She was walking over to say something to Michael. But just for a moment. In no time at all, she was heading toward Captain Stone. And I had a lump in my throat.
“Hey, Hawaiian girl,” said a voice in my ear.
I spun around and there was Roy, grinning at me. My smile back was a little tremulous. I was still feeling sorry for myself, but I knew that wouldn’t last long with Roy to tease me.
“Hi,” I said, looking into his beautiful eyes.
“You want to blow this joint?” he said, trying to sound like Jimmy Cagney in a gangster movie.
I nodded happily. “Ta
ke me away.”
So he did.
We walked out to his car and I felt like I was running away from all my cares. “You want to go walk on the beach?” he said.
“Yes.” Yes, above anything else, that would be perfect.
But just as we were driving off, for the first time in weeks, I caught sight of Dante watching me from the side of the road. Our eyes met and I knew, as though he’d said the words aloud, that I would be seeing him tonight in my dreams.
My heart was racing. What had just happened there? Had I read his mind? Had he communicated to me by telepathy? I didn’t know, but I did know something had happened.
I looked at Roy. He was singing along with a song from the Fifties, and I joined in, too. But something deep inside flashed a warning, and I knew I was going to have to tell Roy about my ghosts if I was going to get much further into this relationship. Anything else wouldn’t be fair.
When the song died out, I smiled at him.
“Roy, tell me something. Have you ever seen a ghost?”
The End
If you would like to see a hula like the one Aunty Jane taught to Mele, try this:
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0trgqusEfQA)
If that one is no longer posted, try searching on You Tube for “Ho'opuka”
Ahi Poke or Salmon Poke
(pronounced PO-Kay)
A light meal for two.
1 lb sushi-grade salmon or ahi
(Why sushi grade? Because to be considered sushi grade, the fish has hopefully been frozen for a certain time to kill any parasites)
•1 avocado, cubed
•½ medium red onion, finely diced
•½ cup green onions, chopped
•1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
•1/2 tsp sesame oil
•1/2 tsp fresh ginger, ground or chopped
•Optional: Add crushed red pepper flakes or 1 tsp Chinese Chili Sauce
•Garnish with 2 TBS sesame seeds or chopped macademia nuts
(Or you could use chopped cilantro, tiny pearl tomatoes and crunched flakes of nori
In a medium glass bowl, mix together red onion, green onion, teriyaki sauce, sesame oil, and ginger. Set aside.
Cut the fish into ¾″ chunks, 1/2" to 3/4".
Add fish and avocado to the bowl with the marinade and toss. Add all other ingredients, toss and refrigerate for at least an hour, preferably more.
This delicious meal can be enjoyed with fried won ton strips, Japanese style white sticky rice, or on it's own. Best eaten with chop sticks.
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ABOUT AUTHOR
J.D. Winters is a pen name for Helen Conrad, an award-winning, bestselling author of more than 90 romances published under various pseudonyms with Harlequin, Silhouette, Loveswept, and others. She is currently revamping and rewriting much of her backlist--some available in the US for the first time--to present on Kindle, and developing a set of cozy mysteries taking place in the same world.
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