Mahu Surfer

by Neil S. Plakcy

  “I expected you to tell me you loved me, that you wanted to be with me,” Dario said. “Then I finally got the chance to show you how I felt, and you ran away.”

  “I’m sorry if I hurt you, Dario.” I started inching closer to him. “I never wanted to. Honestly, I didn’t know how you felt. But maybe things can be better now.”

  The noise he made in his throat sounded oddly like the one my father did, when he didn’t believe what I was saying. “I’m serious, Dario. Things can be different. I’m out of the closet now. I’m here on the North Shore.” I inched closer to him. “Give me the gun, and I’ll look after you. Mary is going to have to go to jail, but then you and I can be together.”

  “Mary! Where’s Mary? I have to talk to Mary!” He tried to stand up, but he fell back to the floor.

  I was close enough that I could tackle him. “Give me the gun, Dario,” I said. We wrestled on the floor, and then another rifle blast shattered one of Bishop’s big glass windows. Dario’s attention was distracted enough that I got my body on top of his, got my hand on his gun hand. I had a knee in his crotch and I was close enough to smell the raw scent of fear and perspiration coming off him.

  I mustered up a final burst of strength and wrenched the gun from him, pushing myself back from him. Another rifle burst split the air. “Everybody okay?” I called. “Terri?”

  “Okay,” she said shakily.

  “How’s Bishop?”

  “Dario shot him, and he’s going in and out of consciousness. Kimo, I’m scared. Who’s shooting at us?”

  “I thought I knocked Mary Fonseca out and handcuffed her, but either she’s gotten up or somebody else has gotten her rifle. See if you can drag Bishop under the table. Ari, can you help?”

  I kept one eye on Dario, who was crying on the floor in front of me, and the other focused on the window. Mary Fonseca was a damned good riflewoman if she was able to shoot with her hands cuffed together.

  “What about Brad, Dario? Who killed him, and that college kid? Why?”

  “I couldn’t stand to see somebody else have what I couldn’t.” He was crying full blast by then. “I know I shouldn’t have done it. I just went crazy.”

  “And me? Did you shoot at me when I was out at Pipeline?”

  “I’d never shoot you, Kimo. That must have been Mary. I think she knew how much I cared about you and she was jealous.”

  I heard another blast of gunfire, but this one wasn’t aimed inside. There was a volley back and forth, and then I heard a voice call out, “Hello the house. Anybody there? Police!”

  “Officer on the scene,” I called back. “Scene secured.”

  After

  Al Kawamoto was the first in the door, his gun held out ahead of him. In short order, he was followed by uniforms who took custody of Dario, and an ambulance crew that took Bishop Clark away, with Terri by his side.

  I sat at the table with Ari, and we reconstructed everything that had happened for Al. When we were done, I drove down to Wahiawa General, where Bishop was in critical condition. Terri’s parents had driven up from Honolulu by then, and her father sat holding his older brother’s hand and talking gently to him.

  “I’m so sorry things worked out the way they did,” I said to Terri, when we had walked out together. “If I had known there was any danger I never would have let you go to Bishop’s in the first place.”

  “You didn’t know what was going to happen.”

  “Yeah, that’s been the theme of my life lately. Everything happens and I don’t have a clue about it. Hell of a detective, huh?”

  “You knew there was a connection between Dario’s store and the deaths of the surfers.”

  “I should have figured it out sooner. The first time I heard that Dario had a wife, I knew something was funny. I should have looked at him a lot more closely, but I was afraid I was trying to make him the killer because I was scared of him.”

  “You weren’t scared of him,” she said, taking my hand. “What you were scared of is inside of you, but you’re working on that.”

  » » »

  Bishop’s death was big news because of the family’s prominence. And of course they had to note that there had been another Clark death, just a few weeks before. This time, though, I went to the funeral, with my parents. We sat at the Kawaiahao Church in downtown Honolulu, across from Honolulu Hale. The Clarks were descended from early missionaries to the islands, and had ancestors buried in the graveyard behind the church. After a brief service, Bishop took his place among them.

  I was in the news again, as Sampson told reporters that I had been working undercover to bring both Fonsecas to justice. Mary was being held for trial for her drug activities, as well as for the murders of Mike Pratt, Lucie Zamora and Ronald Chang. Dario was being held as her accessory for all that, as well as for the murders of Brad Jacobson and Thomas Singer.

  I closed up the house at Cane Landing and moved back to my apartment in Waikiki. After a couple of days off, and evaluations by both the department physician and psychiatrist, I drove my battered pickup into downtown Honolulu once more, parked at a meter a block away from the main station, and prepared to start the job I’d thought I was getting all along, as a detective in District 1. I sat in the truck for a minute, though, listening to Keali’i Kaneali’i ask where all the beach boys of Waikiki had gone. This boy, I knew, had gone away, but was back. Secure in that thought, I locked my truck and headed inside.

  About the Author

  NEIL PLAKCY is the author of Mahu, Mahu Surfer, Mahu Fire, Mahu Vice, and Mahu Men, about openly gay Honolulu homicide detective Kimo Kanapa’aka. His other books are Three Wrong Turns in the Desert, Dancing with the Tide, The Outhouse Gang, In Dog We Trust, Invasion of the Blatnicks, and GayLife.com. He edited Paws & Reflect:A Special Bond Between Man and Dog and the gay erotic anthologies Hard Hats, Surfer Boys and Skater Boys. His website is www.mahubooks.com.

  Trademarks Acknowledgment

  The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

  .38 Special: Smith and Wesson Corporation

  Advertiser: Honolulu Star-Advertiser

  Architectural Digest: Condé Nast

  Armani: Giorgio Armani S.P.A.

  Beach Boys: Brother Records, Inc.

  Beretta: Beretta U.S.A Corp.

  BMW: BMW of North America LLC

  Budweiser: Anheuser-Busch INBEV S.A.

  Chrysler PT Cruiser: Daimlerchrysler Corporation

  Coach: Coach, Inc.

  Colt Model 1860: Colt’s Manufacturing Company

  Corona: Grupo Modelo S.A.B. DE C.V.

  Croakies: Croakies

  Dolce & Gabbana: Dolce&Gabbana Industria S.p.A.

  Food Channel: Television Food Network G.P.

  Ford Taurus: Ford Motor Company

  Ford Woody: Ford Motor Company

  Fritos: Frito-Lay North America, Inc.

  Glock: Glock Inc.

  Guinness Book of World Records: Arthur Guinness and Sons PLC

  Hawaii Five-O: CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman Productions

  Hawaiian Airlines: Hawaiian Airlines

  HECO: Hawaiian Electric Company

  Heineken: Heineken Brouwerijen

  International House of Pancakes: IHOP IP, LLC

  Japanese Pistol type 94: Nambu

  Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale: Kona Brewery LLC

  Kona Longboard Lager: Kona Brewery LLC

  Kona Pacific Golden Ale: Kona Brewery LLC

  Land Rover: Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC

  Lexus: Toyota Motor Company

  M4 Carbine: Colt Defense

  Manolo: Manolo Blahnik

  Marlboros: Philip Morris Incorporated

  Mercedes: DaimlerChrysler

  Mexpipe: Mexpipe

  Miami Vice: Universal City Studios LLLP USI-UCS Holdings LLLP

  Mission Impossible: Paramount Pictures

  North Shore Cattle Company: North Shore C
attle Company

  O’Neill (surfboards): O’Neill Wetsuits USA

  Oakley: Oakley, Inc.

  Odd Couple: Neil Simon and Paramount Pictures

  Palm Pilot: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.

  Pop-Tarts: Kellogg North America Company

  Prince Kuhio: Hilton Hotels & Resorts

  Ralph Lauren: PRL USA Holdings, Inc.

  Reef (sandals): South Cone, Inc.

  Rip Curl (wetsuits): Rip Curl International Pty. Ltd.

  Salvation Army: The Rip Curl International Pty. Ltd.

  San Francisco 49ers: San Francisco Forty Niners, Ltd.

  Sex Wax: Zog Industries

  Sophie’s Choice: Universal Pictures

  SPAM: Hormel Foods, LLC

  Starbucks: Starbucks Corporation

  Surf Girls: MTV Networks

  Teva: Deckers Outdoor Corp

  The Matrix: Warner Bros. Pictures

  The Sharps ‘Big Fifty’: Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company

  Town and Country Surf Shop: Town & Country Surf

  Toyota Camry: Toyota Motor Company

  Valentino: Valentino S.p.A.

  Verizon: Verizon Trademark Services LLC

  Versace: Gianni Versace S.P.A.

  Volkswagen Bug: Volkswagen of America, Inc.

  Xbox: Microsoft Corporation

  MLR Press Authors

  Featuring a roll call of some of the best writers of gay erotica and mysteries today!

  M. Jules Aedin

  Maura Anderson

  Victor J. Banis

  Jeanne Barrack

  Laura Baumbach

  Alex Beecroft

  Sarah Black

  Ally Blue

  J.P. Bowie

  Michael Breyette

  P.A. Brown

  Brenda Bryce

  Jade Buchanan

  James Buchanan

  Charlie Cochrane

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  Kirby Crow

  Dick D.

  Ethan Day

  Diana DeRicci

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  S.J. Frost

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  JoAnne Soper-Cook

  Richard Stevenson

  Marhsall Thornton

  Lex Valentine

  Haley Walsh

  Missy Welsh

  Stevie Woods

  Lance Zarimba

  Check out titles, both available and forthcoming, at www.mlrpress.com

  THE TREVOR PROJECT

  The Trevor Project operates the only nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. Every day, The Trevor Project saves lives though its free and confidential helpline, its website and its educational services. If you or a friend are feeling lost or alone call The Trevor Helpline. If you or a friend are feeling lost, alone, confused or in crisis, please call The Trevor Helpline. You’ll be able to speak confidentially with a trained counselor 24/7.

  The Trevor Helpline: 866-488-7386

  On the Web: http://www.thetrevorproject.org/

  THE GAY MEN’S DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROJECT

  Founded in 1994, The Gay Men’s Domestic Violence Project is a grassroots, non-profit organization founded by a gay male survivor of domestic violence and developed through the strength, contributions and participation of the community. The Gay Men’s Domestic Violence Project supports victims and survivors through education, advocacy and direct services. Understanding that the serious public health issue of domestic violence is not gender specific, we serve men in relationships with men, regardless of how they identify, and stand ready to assist them in navigating through abusive relationships.

  GMDVP Helpline: 800.832.1901

  On the Web: http://gmdvp.org/

  THE GAY & LESBIAN ALLIANCE AGAINST DEFAMATION/GLAAD EN ESPAÑOL

  The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (glaad) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

  On the Web: http://www.glaad.org/

  glaad en español: http://www.glaad.org/espanol/bienvenido.php

  SERVICEMEMBERS LEGAL DEFENSE NETWORK

  Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, legal services, watchdog and policy organization dedicated to ending discrimination against and harassment of military personnel affected by "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (dadt).The sldn provides free, confidential legal services to all those impacted by dadt and related discrimination. Since 1993, its inhouse legal team has responded to more than 9,000 requests for assistance. In Congress, it leads the fight to repeal dadt and replace it with a law that ensures equal treatment for every servicemember, regardless of sexual orientation. In the courts, it works to challenge the constitutionality of dadt.

  sldn Call: (202) 328-3244

  PO Box 65301 or (202) 328-FAIR

  Washington DC 20035-5301 e-mail: sldn@sldn.org

  On the Web: http://sldn.org/

  THE GLBT NATIONAL HELP CENTER

  The glbt National Help Center is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization that is dedicated to meeting the needs of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and those questioning their sexual orientation and gender identity. It is an outgrowth of the Gay & Lesbian National Hotline, which began in 1996 and now is a primary program of The glbt National Help Center. It offers several different programs including two national hotlines that help members of the glbt community talk about the important issues that they are facing in their lives. It helps end the isolation that many people feel, by providing a safe environment on the phone or via the internet to discuss issues that people can’t talk about anywhere else. The glbt National Help Center also helps other organizations build the infrastructure they need to provide strong support to our community at the local level.

  National Hotline: 1-888-THE-GLNH (1-888-843-4564)

  National Youth Talkline 1-800-246-PRIDE (1-800-246-7743)

  On the Web: http://www.glnh.org/

  e-mail: info@glbtnationalhelpcenter.org

  If you’re a GLBT and questioning student heading off to university, should know that there are resources on campus for you. Here’s just a sample:

  US LOCAL GLBT COLLEGE CAMPUS ORGANIZATIONS

  http://dv-8.com/resources/us/local/campus.html

  GLBT Scholarship Resources http://tinyurl.com/6fx9v6