by Susan Harper
“We should look into the city officials too,” Pauline said. “Sounds like Makani had a tendency to rock the boat. This could have been a hit.”
“That might be taking it a little too far,” Kendell said, “but I’m open to the possibility. Makani was someone of importance around here.”
“Exactly,” Pauline said.
The boat arrived back at the dock, and they all unloaded. It had been a long day for Kendell and Pauline, so the two women took a cab back to their resort. Frankly, Kendell was really looking forward to a nap.
10
Finding appropriate funeral attire in the touristy area that Kendell and Pauline were staying proved to be difficult. Everything was bright and colorful for tourists to pick over and pretend they had purchased something local rather than manufactured. Eventually, the two women found a boutique where they were each able to pick out something a bit duller. Kendell found herself a black dress, and Pauline some nice black pants and elegant pullover top.
They hurried back to the resort, where they changed, did their makeup, and picked up some flowers they had ordered from the front desk, where they were waiting for them. “Ladies… Where are you two headed?” the man behind the counter asked curiously.
“A funeral,” Pauline said sadly.
The man raised a brow. “Oh… Oh, dear…” he began, but before the man could explain his concern, they heard Brandon from behind them.
“Kendell, Pauline, what are you two wearing!” he yelped.
Kendell spun around, a bit confused as to why such a question was being asked. “What do you mean?” Kendell asked just as she spotted Brandon in a nice pair of slacks and a very brightly colored shirt. “Um… Brandon… Why are you wearing a bright yellow polo?”
The man behind the counter cleared his throat. “Ladies, in Hawaii, no one wears black at funerals. It’s very…untraditional…”
“We need to change!” Pauline exclaimed.
“I just spent two hundred dollars on this dress…” Kendell grumbled under her breath. “I don’t know if I have anything…”
“Go grab something from the gift shop,” the man behind the counter suggested. “We have a lovely assortment of ladies’ garments.”
Kendell and Pauline sped into the gift shop after Pauline tossed Dot and her carrier to Brandon. The two women changed into their brighter colors before rushing out the door with Brandon. “You could have told us that Hawaiians didn’t wear black at funerals,” Kendell griped as she climbed into the back seat of the truck.
Brandon pulled out of the parking lot, laughing slightly. “Sorry, and honestly, I had not even thought about it myself until Nick mentioned it the other day. I should have thought to tell you.”
“Well, at least the gift shop had something in my size,” Pauline said. “Believe me, that’s an incredible feat.”
“Where is the funeral taking place?” Kendell asked.
“At Ikaika’s,” Brandon said.
“That’s an odd place for a funeral service,” Pauline said.
“She was cremated. They’re spreading her ashes. It was her favorite surfing spot,” Brandon said. “Cremation is a popular burial method in Hawaii. Ikaika offered to provide food for the guests. Makani’s father is going to spread her ashes in the ocean.”
“Makes sense for a professional surfer,” Kendell said. “Very fitting. A good way to honor her.”
“Makani’s father asked Nick to help spread her ashes,” Brandon said. “He’s a little anxious about it. He’s not one to like a lot of attention, but he felt very honored. I could tell.”
“How very unlike his big brother,” Kendell said. “The attention-seeker.”
“Don’t judge me,” Brandon said, but he smirked slightly—a silent way of admitting he was indeed the attention-seeker Kendell claimed him to be.
Brandon eventually pulled off the main road onto the bumpy mess that Johnny’s bus had once taken them. Kendell was just glad they didn’t have to walk. It was amazing that at such a cutoff location, Ikaika managed to stay in business, but locals supported one another. And with a personality like Ikaika’s, Kendell imagined everyone around knew him and knew about his surfers’ hangout.
There were a number of vehicles, Johnny’s rickety bus included, all parked along the tree line. There was a large crowd of people standing around Ikaika’s outdoor bar and grill. Pictures of Makani were hung up everywhere on various sized easels. After exiting the vehicle, the three of them walked toward the crowd.
Kendell could see that Ikaika had set up a number of chairs in the sand. A large television was set up at the front of the line of chairs, a large extension cord bringing power to it from the bar and grill. A man called out for everyone to have a seat, and Kendell and Pauline sat near Nick and his family. Kendell looked around. There were a lot of familiar faces. Johnny, Bane, Mikey, Ikaika, and several of the surfers who had been there the morning of the murder. Brandon nudge Kendell before the service got underway and nodded back where several people were standing dressed in suits. “Who are they?” Kendell asked.
“City officials,” Brandon said. “Came to pay their respects. That’s the Mayor of Honolulu over there.”
Kendell glanced at the older, graying man in the navy-blue suit; he was wearing a brightly colored vest and tie under his suit. “She had friends in high places,” Kendell whispered.
“It’s her involvement in various charities,” Brandon said. “She was well-respected. And over there - those people are professional surfers.” He nodded toward a more casually dressed group. “That guy right there? Olympic swimmer.”
“Dang,” Kendell said, impressed with Nick for having found himself such a prestigious girl. Makani had been such a wonderful person, it seemed. However, she recalled Johnny telling her that the mayor had a restraining order against Makani. It seemed awfully strange that you would want to show up to someone’s funeral whom you had filed against.
The memorial service got underway. A man who ran the local funeral home spoke first, and they started a slideshow with numerous pictures of Makani, starting with her childhood. One of the first photos was of a toothless Makani sitting on a surfboard that was way too big for her, a loud group “aww” erupted from some. From the pictures, it was clear that Makani was involved in a lot of social justice warrior events. One photo was of Makani hitting someone with a picket sign, followed by a photo of the two of them laughing it off as though they had apologized to one another. The picture of Bane and Makani at the fair had made its way into the slideshow, and a few people laughed and whispered comments in Bane’s direction. The man shook his head in embarrassment and looked down. There were lots of pictures of Nick and Makani in the more recent pictures. A picture of her laughing as Johnny fell off his board. Lots of pictures of her at Ikaika’s. There was even one picture of Makani and Mikey smiling at the camera together.
When the video ended, a few more people got up to speak. Eventually, everyone stood and moved out onto the beach where Nick and Makani’s father stripped to their swimwear and headed out on surfboards where they spread her ashes in the water. When the two men returned to shore, Makani’s father loudly announced that Ikaika had kindly provided food for those wishing to stay.
Several of the city officials used this as an opportunity to dip out, along with those who did not know her quite as personally. Kendell and Pauline decided to stay to be there for Nick. “We should use this dinner as an opportunity to mingle and talk to some suspects,” Pauline whispered to Kendell as they made their way up the beach toward the bar and grill.
“Agreed,” Kendell said.
Before they even got to the grill, they heard shouting. Kendell glanced up just in time to see Bane and Johnny come tumbling out from between two tables, landing on top of one another in the sand. Punches were being thrown, and Makani’s mother was shouting and crying for the two of them to stop. It was Makani’s father who put an end to it. The man stomped on Johnny’s leg, causing the man to yelp, and yanked
Bane up by the hair. “Get out of here! Both of you! You disrespect my daughter’s memory fighting here!” he roared.
Both men quickly uttered apologies before going their separate ways. “What was that about?” Kendell asked Nick as she and Pauline approached.
“Johnny accused Bane of killing Makani,” Nick said under his breath.
“What do you think?” Kendell asked.
“There’s no way,” Nick said. “Bane’s a jerk, but he would never hurt her. Johnny was out of line. Everyone’s still…upset…on edge. The police are still trying to figure out who did this. I hope they do soon before this circle of friends completely implodes.” Nick approached Makani’s father, placing a hand on the man’s shoulder and murmuring something to him to calm him down. The two men headed toward Ikaika, where the man helped them get situated for their dinner.
“Looks like Nick got really close with the family,” Kendell said. “I wonder if he will stay in Hawaii?”
“From what I’ve learned, it sounds like he has created a life for himself out here,” Pauline said. “I couldn’t imagine wanting to leave a place like this for New Jersey.”
Kendell nodded and had to concur. Hawaii was an incredible place. People gathered around tables, all telling fun stories about Makani. Frankly, it was quite merrier than a funeral in New York. Kendell liked it. When I go, this is how I want my friends and family to be, she decided. Laughing, telling stories, making one another feel better. Celebrating life, not mourning loss.
As Kendell was enjoying some of her dinner and listening to a story about Makani’s first surfing competition, she spied Mikey hiding out in a corner. The man was always lurking. Always just standing back and observing. It was always the quiet ones you needed to worry about; maybe he knew something he had yet to share?
Kendell excused herself form the table and made her way over to him. Mikey looked nervous to have someone looking directly at him. She smiled kindly. “Hey, Mikey,” she said. “So, I saw you at Makani’s memorial site the other day. The card you put down was very sweet.”
He frowned. “Yeah… I had to borrow money from Bane to buy it…” he admitted, sounding quite ashamed.
“How is the job hunt going?” Kendell asked. “I was told Makani had been helping you out in that endeavor?”
He smiled. “I got a job on the docks,” he said. “I start Monday. My new boss knew Makani… She was here earlier. She is paying for my uniform until I can pay her back so that I can get started right away. I think it was just as favor for Makani, but it’s the first time I’ve had a job in a long time.”
“Good for you,” Kendell said.
“Believe me, I had little to do with it,” Mikey said, wringing his hands anxiously. “Makani had everything to do with it. She was the only person who didn’t completely write me off as a lost cause. She got me help. I’ve been sober for over a year. That’s the longest I’ve gone since I was probably fourteen without a fix. I’m not going to let myself fall off the bandwagon again. For Makani. She would want me to keep pushing forward. I don’t want to let her down.”
“That’s really good to hear,” Kendell said. “I’m sure she would be glad to know that you’re pulling yourself together. The job is a great start.” Mikey continued wringing his hands and staring at his feet. Something was up. “Mikey, are you okay?”
“I’m worried someone hurt Makani…because of me…” he said under his breath, and Kendell raised a brow.
“How do you mean?” she asked.
“After Makani got to know me…she started harassing authorities about cracking down on drug dealing in the area,” he said. “Makani… She went after one of my old dealer. He’s in jail now, and then she was pressing me to give her the name of the newest guy I had been going to for the drugs, but I wouldn’t tell her. And, she told me just a few days before she had been killed that she had identified my dealer’s supplier and was going to be taking that information to the police. She was cleaning up the streets.”
“Do you know who the supplier was?” Kendell asked.
“No,” Mikey said. “And my old dealer was in jail. I asked her to let it go and to just let the police handle this sort of thing, but Makani was never one to sit still when there was injustice in front of her. My dealer got me hooked when I was just a kid. She didn’t want that to happen to anyone else.”
“Who was Makani planning on sending this information to?” Kendell asked.
“Directly to the mayor’s office,” Mikey said. “This is my fault, isn’t it? She’s dead because of me. I know it.”
“It’s not your fault, Mikey. You didn’t make Makani get involved. That was her choice,” Kendell said. “But I’m going to do what I can to find out exactly what happened to Makani. That much, I can promise.”
11
Kendell pulled up outside of City Hall, Honolulu along with Pauline and the woman’s trusty puppy dog sidekick. She could hardly imagine what Pauline planned to do to get them a meeting with the mayor, but the elderly woman was quite confident. They headed inside, where they found a directory hanging on a far wall. “Mayor’s office is upstairs,” Pauline said.
“I’m sorry,” Kendell said, shaking her head. “But I don’t get how you plan to get a meeting with him?”
“We’re just going to walk in, dear,” Pauline said, heading to a nearby elevator.
“I’m not sure if it’s going to work that way, Pauline,” Kendell argued, but the woman was insistent.
Kendell followed the woman into the elevator. Frankly, she was just trying to figure out how Pauline had managed to get Dot in the door. She had that effect. Somehow, no one ever noticed that she was obviously carrying a small purse dog. It was like the whole world bowed to Pauline, but then again, she did always walk with such confidence for someone so old. It was like she owned any room she walked into. Kendell imagined that in her younger years, Pauline was a stunning woman who had gotten very used to getting whatever she wanted if she just used the right words.
The elevator opened, and the two women poured out into the hall. There were a lot of people wearing suits walking up and down the halls, most hardly paying them any mind at all. There was a secretary in the main lobby of this floor, so Pauline trotted up to her. “I have an appointment with the mayor,” she said.
The woman frowned. “I don’t think you do,” she said, but she skimmed through the mayor’s booking anyway. “Yes, the only thing Mayor Caldwell has on his agenda for today was an appointment with Miss Makani, but that has obviously been canceled.”
“Yes, that’s what we’re here for,” Pauline said, and Kendell eyed her elderly companion suspiciously.
“I’m sorry?” the secretary asked.
“We are here on behalf of the deceased Miss Makani,” Pauline said. “I believe we are right on time?”
“Well…yes…but…” The woman looked very confused, but she snatched up her desk phone. “One second.”
“Of course,” Pauline said, taking a few steps back from the desk. “Take your time.” She wandered over to a wall where she began casually admiring some artwork hanging in the lobby.
Kendell followed Pauline. “How did you know Makani had an appointment with the mayor?"
“Ikaika gave me some things of Makani’s that she had left at his bar. A small box of stuff he gathered up. He meant to give it to Makani’s parents at the funeral, but it slipped his mind. He asked me to deliver it instead. The box is still at our resort. I was going to bring it all to Nick so he could get it to Makani’s parents, but first I decided to skim through everything.”
“And what did you find?” Kendell asked.
“A planner,” Pauline said, smirking. “And guess who had an appointment with the mayor this morning?”
“So, that’s why you dragged me out of bed so early to try to go talk to the mayor?” Kendell questioned.
“To swipe Makani’s appointment time, yes,” Pauline said proudly.
“Yes, sir,” the secretary was saying beh
ind them. “Well, they say they are here to fill in for Miss Makani?” There was a long pause. “Okay, sir. I’ll send them in.”
The secretary hung up her phone and wandered over to Pauline and Kendell before asking them to follow her. She escorted them toward a back area of the building, eventually arriving in a large room where Mayor Caldwell was waiting for them behind a desk. The man was wearing a casual pair of khakis and an orange shirt. “I wasn’t expecting to see anyone today,” he said, standing up from his desk and coming around to the women. “I saw you two at the funeral for Miss Makani?” he asked, extending his hand to shake.
Pauline shook first, then Kendell. The secretary excused herself to allow them some time to talk. The man kindly pulled up a chair for each of them before sitting back down behind his own desk. “So, you are here on behalf of Makani? Do you have some information for me?” he asked, leaning back in his seat.
“I’m sorry for the misrepresentation here,” Pauline began, sounding quite professional in her demeanor. “Truthfully, we are hoping you could help us with something.”
“Oh?” he questioned, smirking—seeming slightly amused by the old woman who had weaseled her way into the mayor’s office with her redheaded sidekick and poof-ball doggy companion.
“Yes,” Kendell said, taking over for a moment. “We noticed you had come to Makani’s funeral. Rumor has it that you had a restraining order against her, and we wanted to ask some questions to see if you could help us with Makani’s case.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize you two were…detectives?” he asked.
“No, we’re not detectives,” Pauline said. “We’re friends with the young man who had been seeing her prior to her death. We are just trying to make sense of it all.”
“I see,” he said. “And what is it you ladies are wanting from me?”
“Well, for starters, why were you at Makani’s funeral? We were told you had a restraining order against Makani,” Kendell said.