by Susan Harper
Pauline huffed. “How ageist of you,” Pauline said, then grinned. “Don’t worry, darling. If I can dive with sharks, I think I can handle sitting down for an hour.”
Danny laughed. “You’re going to be fun. I can tell.”
They signed the necessary paperwork, sat through an instructional video in the lobby, and then Danny showed them how to work the headsets they would be wearing. Danny called for one of his employees upon realizing that Pauline had a dog with her, and the woman was more than happy to watch an adorable dog while they went up. “Next time for stuff like this, you should probably leave the dog at home,” Danny said. “I can’t imagine the dog would have been happy after I turned those propellers on.”
“Oh, you’re so right!” Pauline cried. “Poor Dot!”
“This woman takes her dog everywhere like it’s a fifth limb,” Kendell said, smirking.
They headed out, and Kendell’s heart started beating rapidly as she and Pauline each grabbed a seat in the back of the helicopter. They were strapped in, given headsets, and told that the flight would be taking off shortly. Pauline had her bag with her, so Kendell knew the woman was still planning on tossing some ashes out of the plane.
Danny sat up front, and his voice came through the headsets for a check. “Can you hear me all right, ladies?” he asked, and they both threw up a thumb up.
“Hear you good,” Kendell said. His voice was loud in her ears, but she was told that was normal because he would need to be heard over the sound of the helicopter.
The propellers started turning, and dust and dirt flew all around the helicopter. Kendell laughed nervously as the helicopter first came off the ground, swaying back and forth for a moment before lifting off. “Whoa!” she heard Pauline in her ear, followed by the woman’s cackling laughter.
The moment the helicopter took off, it swooped up and down around the enormous mountainside. The view was simply breathtaking. It flew all throughout Oahu, zipping around the beaches. Eventually, he flew out of the familiar areas of Honolulu, and they flew toward one of Hawaii’s volcanos. It was smoldering, and she could see the lava actively flowing over the side and into the ocean. According to Danny, the reaction from the smoldering hot lava coming into contact with the sea gradually expanded the land mass of the island. Fun fact, Kendell decided.
“Woo hoo!” Pauline cried when a bit of wind swayed the helicopter back and forth.
“Would you just look at that water?” Kendell called. They flew directly between the volcano they had been observing and the beautiful, crystal blue ocean.
“Now,” Pauline said, suddenly plopping the urn into Kendell’s lap.
I should have known better than to sit by the window, Kendell thought, cringing, but she wanted to do right by her new friend. She removed the top from the urn and flung the ashes out the window. Danny didn’t even seem to notice; he was giving them some sort of archeological history lesson on the island, but Kendell wasn’t listening. She was watching the ashes float down, some flying toward the volcano while some flew out to the ocean. It was rather breathtaking. She looked over at Pauline, and the woman was smiling ear to ear with this look of absolute satisfaction.
Kendell handed the woman back the urn, and she placed it inside her bag. The helicopter continued flying around the islands, and Kendell and Pauline sat quietly, enjoying the view. They snapped a picture of themselves with a beautiful scenic background, the Hawaiian sun shining bright against the water below.
Eventually, their fun-filled flight adventure came to an end. Danny circled back around, and soon they spotted the mountainside where they had first taken off. “Oh, this was just wonderful, Danny!” Pauline cried into the headset.
“I’m so glad you ladies enjoyed the adventure,” he said. “Please be sure to remain inside the helicopter until you are informed that it is safe to exit.”
“Will do!” Kendell said.
The helicopter landed somewhat abruptly, but overall, it had been a fun experience. The two women laughed at how crazy Kendell’s hair had gotten once they exited the helicopter. Her hair had been whipped around by the wind and tangled terribly. Pauline snapped a photo of Kendell standing by the helicopter, the mountains in the distance. “I’m sure that was a lovely photo,” Kendell groaned slightly. She imagined that her peeling skin and tangled red hair made her look like a circus clown.
They headed back inside the building to collect their things, and they spotted a few employees—the woman they had left her with and three men—all on the floor playing with Dot. Pauline laughed. “Aww, I’m sure you are just eating up that attention!” she cried. Upon hearing her voice, the little dog yelped and scurried over to Pauline to be picked up and coddled.
“Thanks for watching her,” Kendell said to the woman pilot.
“It was the highlight of my day,” the woman said, laughing. “She was so sweet!”
As they were getting ready to leave, Kendell spotted something. One of the many pictures hanging on the wall was of Makani. “Hey! You all know Makani?” Kendell asked, and Danny looked up sadly.
“Yes, she helped us out with some repairs about a year ago,” Danny said. “She was a good woman. Our family business had taken a hit from a storm, and she had rallied some local contractors together to get us some free repairs we just could not afford at the time.”
“Makani was a huge supporter of local businesses like ours,” the woman said. “She even did some modeling for one of our advertising campaigns for free just to help us to compete with a more corporate tour company.”
“She sounds like she was as saint,” Pauline said. “We met her through one of Kendell’s friends, Brandon. His little brother was dating her.”
“Nick?” the woman asked.
“That’s the one,” Kendell said.
“How is he holding up?” Danny asked.
“Not great, honestly,” Kendell said.
Danny shook his head. “We’ll be at the funeral, but if you see him, offer our condolences for us.”
“Absolutely,” Pauline said, and the two women left, their minds back on the case. “We have one more stop on our adventure tour today, but this one is a little tamer.”
“Pearl Harbor, right?” Kendell asked, and the other woman nodded. Kendell was actually looking forward to checking out the memorial site and the museum. She wanted to pay her respects to those who had been lost, and she was a bit of a history buff, so she was excited to see the location.
“That’s right,” Pauline said. “But, after that, I say we dive back into this case. That girl was just too sweet for words. I’ve yet to meet anyone who did not completely adore her.”
“Except for the local politicians…and Bane,” Kendell said, crossing her arms. The man was still her number one suspect.
Pauline nodded in agreement. “Yes, and Bane.”
9
The women did not have to travel too far to the memorial site. When they first arrived, Kendell spotted a large sign reading World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument. They headed straight for the Pearl Harbor visitor center, where Pauline handed a kind woman their tickets. They, along with a large group of other tourists, were ushered into a large theater room. “Stop one on the tour is an informational movie,” Pauline said.
“How much did it cost?” Kendell asked; Pauline had essentially paid for everything on the trip thus far, so she was hoping to at least pay for the tickets.
Pauline shook her head. “They’re free, dear, you just have to register. The one thing you offer to pay, and it’s zero.” Kendell sunk in her seat slightly, but Pauline laughed at her. “Dear, I’m only joking with you. I told you, I like the company. We’re friends, and I’m spoiling my friend.”
“Well, I appreciate it,” Kendell said.
The woman at the front desk appeared at the front of the theater, all smiles. “Aloha, and welcome to the USS Arizona Memorial Tour. My name is Stacey, and I’m going to be one of the many faces you see today leading you on your
journey. Our tour begins here in our theater where we will be watching a documentary about the attack on Pearl Harbor. It’s only a brief twenty-three-minute video, but I promise you that it is quite enriching and informative. After the video, my friend Captain Scott will escort you all out these doors—” She waved toward one of the exits. “—where you all will then ride on a boat out into the harbor of the actual memorial. There you will have time to view the exhibits and see the sunken ship, the Arizona.”
The woman gave several more facts and figures about the memorial and the attack itself before stepping out. A moment later, the video began to play, and Kendell and Pauline each sat quietly learning about the incident. When the video finished, the house lights came on rather abruptly, blinding Kendell for a moment. Pauline had a sad but satisfied expression after hearing about the Pearl Harbor attack; she was very interested in the history here, and it was clear to Kendell that the woman was eager to go see the sunken ship.
They filed out of the theater with the rest of the crowd, following Captain Scott outside and toward a loading dock where a small, white boat was waiting for them. They crowded in, and the captain introduced himself loudly to the crowd as a Navy captain. According to him, it is mostly Navy officials who operated the day-to-day activities at the memorial.
The boat set sail for what was essentially a large, white floating museum out in the harbor just off the coast of Ford Island. Once inside the museum, the group scattered. There were several museum workers throughout the building all happy and eager to answer any questions. Pauline was very interested in the artifacts, and she separated herself from Kendell for moment as Kendell was drawn to a large wall cordoned off by velvet rope. The stone wall read: To the Memory of the Gallant Men Here Entombed and Their Shipmates Who Gave Their Lives in Action on December 7th 1941 on the USS Arizona.
The moment became a bit surreal for Kendell, realizing the wall was dedicated mostly to men who had sunk with the ship they were currently floating above. “Kendell?” a man’s voice asked, and she spun around on her heels only to see Bane in full Navy getup standing behind her.
“Bane!” she yelped as though she thought the man was going to push her out the window and over the side of the memorial. This was the last place she expected to bump into him.
“It’s Kendell, right?” he asked to be sure.
“Um, yes,” she said. “What are you doing here?”
“Um, I work here,” he said.
Kendell looked him up and down. “You’re in the Navy?”
“That’s right,” he said. “I was medically discharged a couple years ago, though. I developed an asthmatic condition after an out at sea station fire got the better of me.”
“Oh, well…um… Thank you for your service,” she said. “I didn’t know you were military. I guess I wasn’t expecting that.”
“And why not?” he asked, somewhat smug with the way he questioned her.
“Honestly?” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “You seemed like just a bum surfer boy.”
“Ouch,” he said, then laughed slightly. “That’s pretty harsh. Surfing is my life, though, especially now that I’m no longer active duty. Navy was my first love, though.”
“So, you…you work here?” Kendell asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “Some virus has been going around, so they’ve got me working double-shifts all week.”
“So, this is where you’ve been? Ikaika has been wondering what happened to you,” Kendell said.
“That old man worries too much,” he said, then sighed. “How is Nick holding up?”
“As well as can be expected,” Kendell said. “Who told you about Makani?”
“Mikey,” Bane said. “Ran into him when I went for a morning surf. The man wanted to borrow some money to buy a card for Makani’s memorial.” Bane’s face went slightly pale. “He…he thought I already knew. Not exactly how I would have liked to have had the news broken to me. It really sucks. Makani and I were not on great terms with each other. If I had known we were going to lose her, well, I would not have been such a tool. I was just jealous, you know?”
“How jealous?” Kendell asked, and Bane raised a brow.
“You accusing me of something?” Bane hissed.
Pauline came up behind them. “Well, well, well,” Pauline sang. “If it isn’t surfer boy. So, this is where you’ve been hiding?” Then Pauline looked the man up and down and giggled slightly. “Ooh, Bane, you should dress like this more often. The military getup suits you.”
“Is that old broad hitting on me?” Bane muttered.
“Just paying you a compliment,” Kendell said and crossed her arms. “Let me see if I can make some sense out of this really quick. You, the tourist-hating surfer boy, work at a location that is literally constantly filled with tourists?”
“Pretty much,” he said. “This place is different. It’s a memorial to my Navy brothers. Plus, some of the guys who work here are getting to be too old to whip up on rotten kids disrespecting the memorial. Got to pull in us younger boys to chase disrespect out of this joint. It happens more than you would think. Some kid tried writing his name on the memorial last week.”
“Wow,” Kendell grunted. “That’s so…well…like you said, disrespectful.” Kendell stared at Bane a moment longer. “So, how long have you been working here? Ikaika didn’t seem to act like he knew.”
“He doesn’t. I’ve only been working here for about a month. Before Makani and I broke up, we had been working with the museum at forming a non-profit that helps local retired military. The non-profit has been up and running for over a year now, but when the museum started looking into hiring new faces, they thought of me and gave me a call. I hadn’t told anyone about the job yet because I wasn’t sure it was going to stick. Plus, my fellow surfers give me a hard time about the military thing— working for the man, that type of attitude,” Bane explained.
“So, the morning Makani died?” Kendell asked.
“I was here,” Bane said. “If it’ll make you feel any better, you can even look at my time card. I wouldn’t hurt Makani. I loved her. I was a jerk, and I know that, but I still cared about her. And I want to know what idiot did this. Because when I find out, I’ll break his neck.”
“Violent,” Pauline chastised. “So very violent.”
Bane shook his head. “Yeah, comes with the territory. You two want the grand tour? That is my job, after all.”
“Ooh, look, Kendell… Suddenly, Bane is no longer too good to talk to the tourists!” Pauline teased.
“Today, I’m getting paid to,” Bane reminded them, but he offered them a somewhat warm smile. “Sorry about my attitude at the luau. I know that I need to tone it down. I should probably apologize to Nick especially. I’ve given him a hard time since day one, but honestly, I was just jealous. Seeing Makani go after some city boy who could barely swim when they first met was kind of a low blow, and I took it out on him, even though I know it was totally my fault.”
“Well, you sure have come around,” Kendell said. “So, level with me. Who do you think hurt Makani?”
Bane shook his head. “I have no idea. Maybe another surfer? The competition is this weekend, but I just don’t know anyone who didn’t like Makani, you know?” Kendell could not help but to look at the man suspiciously, and he clearly picked up on it. But, surprisingly, he was calm about it. “If it makes you feel any better, the police have already come knocking on my door, and they’ve cleared me. The whole bitter ex thing is obviously something to make me look guilty. But, honestly, if that was my motive? I wouldn’t have gone after Makani. I would have gone after Nick.”
“That was more information than we needed,” Pauline said.
Bane shook his head. “Sorry, guess I’m still bitter. I really do need to apologize to that little Jersey Boy…” He looked very sad despite his efforts to hide it.
“We saw the teddy bear on the beach,” Kendell said. “You put that there?”
“Yeah,” he s
aid. “I put that there before my first shift this morning. I really miss her, you know?”
“I’m guessing your breakup wasn’t super friendly. Was the bear a casualty during all of that?” Kendell asked.
“So, you saw the duct tape,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Yeah. We were fighting, and I tossed the bear at her. She ripped its eyes out and its head clear off before throwing it back at me. Not either of our proudest moments.”
“But you kept it,” Pauline said. “You even taped its head back on. Why?”
“Because I always loved her. I just couldn’t get over myself,” Bane admitted. “So, seriously, about this tour… I’d rather talk about anything else right now…”
Kendell and Pauline nodded, and they followed Bane around the interior of the museum as he gave them the guided tour. They observed the sunken ship, checked out some artifacts, and paid their respects to the fallen soldiers before returning to the small boat. They bid Bane farewell, and Kendell even wished him good luck at the upcoming surfing contest.
She and Pauline sat by one another on the boat ride back to the welcome center, both deep in thought. “What do you think?” Pauline asked. “Do you think he’s lying?”
“I’m not sure,” Kendell said. “But if he was working when Makani was killed, that sure does give him quite an alibi. Not like he could have jumped off the memorial site and swam all the way to the surfers’ beach and gotten back here without anyone noticing. And if the police really have already looked into him and cleared him, then we might be wasting our time with Bane.”
“So, now what?” Pauline asked. “I’m running out of ideas at this point.”
“I don’t know,” Kendell said, shaking her head. “But the funeral is tomorrow. I say we go, and maybe we can talk to a few other people about Makani. See if anyone else has anything to say about her other than the fact that she was a sweetheart who cared too much about everything and could surf.”