Big Island Blues

by Terry Ambrose

  “It’s a random event, dude. They don’t know about you. Stay cool.” I’d never heard that voice before. It sounded male. But, the words came out like short bursts from a machine-gun.

  “How can I not panic? I’m the one who got beat to shit. And now this guy? It’s my ass on the line, not yours. What if her mom talks?”

  “Her mom’s not going to talk, dude.” The second voice paused. “You need to, like, keep it together.”

  I glanced at Alexander, who gave me a thumbs up. And that sent a chill into my spine. We were thinking the same thing. We’d found a missing link.

  The question was, did we have enough to go to the cops? The answer, probably not. So what was our next move? Alexander answered the question for me by banging on the door with his fist.

  “Burroughs! I know you in there!”

  “Shit!” It was Burroughs, then came the other voice.

  “Dude, what did you do?”

  Without waiting, Alexander twisted the doorknob and charged into the room. It took me a second to realize what had happened. Once I did, I jumped into action right behind the big guy—and slammed into his back just inside the door. I might as well have been a rubber ball and him a brick wall. Talk about feeling stupid. It took a moment to recover my dignity, but when I did I was shocked to see who was in the apartment with Burroughs.

  “You!” I pointed at Donny. Seeing him with Burroughs, smack in the middle of Andi’s disappearance, was the last straw.

  Burroughs was sitting with his leg propped up, an ice pack on his knee. His body said he was in pain, his face told a different tale. He was panicked as he looked at the kid and me. “Look, man, I don’t want no more trouble. Neither does Donny.”

  “Blueslover.” I glared at him. “Yeah, I know your handle.” To Sam, I said, “For someone who doesn’t want trouble, he sure stirs up a lot. He practically ran me down at The Roasted Bean, then he stole my wallet just to prove he could do it.”

  “That’s how you keep a low profile, Donny? Jesus. What the hell’s with you?”

  “It was just a mind game, dude. Had to find out who he was.”

  Alexander took a step toward Burroughs. His fists clenched, his face the reddest I’d ever seen it. “Where’s Andi?” He demanded.

  Burroughs put up his hands. “No, don’t hurt me. I’m in enough pain already.”

  The thing was, he and Donny both had blank looks on their faces. In that instant, I knew what was wrong in this scenario. These bozos had no guns. Burroughs was scared to death because someone had beaten him up. And Donny didn’t seem capable of mounting any kind of physical threat other than a sucker punch. Either these were the lamest kidnappers I’d ever seen, or they weren’t kidnappers at all. “Ah, Alexander,” I said. He ignored me. “Alexander!”

  Everyone in the room jumped in surprise. Alexander still glared at Burroughs and Blueslover, but at least he acknowledged me. “What?”

  “Let me ask a couple of questions before you go tearing these two apart. Okay?” Without waiting for an answer, I asked, “Donny, how long has Sam been here on the Big Island?”

  Burroughs pointed at Donny with one angry finger. “Don’t you say a word.”

  “What’s the big deal, man?” Donny glanced at his friend. “Like, twenty years. That’s what you said.”

  I looked Burroughs in the eye. “Why’d you lie?”

  “You lied?” Donny’s eyes opened wide. “Yeah . . . what’s the deal?”

  “He don’t want you talking ‘cause he was involved in a murder twenty years ago.” Alexander’s accusation sounded like one of those wild leaps I might have made. He was desperate to help his sister.

  He leaned in close to Burroughs. “Ain’t that so, Mr. I Been Here Ten Years?”

  “Dude?” Donny scoffed. “You gotta be wrong. Sam wouldn’t hurt nobody.”

  “Maybe now,” I said.

  Alexander relaxed a bit, but was still on guard. “He must’ve been different back then. Tell him. Don’t be lying ‘cause I know the truth.”

  Burroughs shoulders slumped as he dropped the ice pack to the floor. “I always knew this would happen. Donny, I never lied to you. I did leave out a few things.”

  Since we’re having true confession time, the smart move was to keep my mouth shut, but Burroughs sounded a lot like a cheating spouse. I could just hear him, Oh her, did I forget to mention her? Call it leaving out details or a lie, it was the same end result.

  “It’s true,” said Burroughs. “I was there.” He wrung his hands in time to some melody only he could hear. “But, I didn’t commit murder. I never saw much of anything because I tried to jump one of them and he shot me in the leg. I couldn’t even help Benni when he started in on her because I passed out.”

  “One of them?” I asked. “How many were there?”

  “Two. I always figured it was a couple of guys who’d been in the Kona Sunset that night.”

  Almost before he was finished, I shot back another question. “Did you know them?”

  “No.”

  “Why were you attacked?”

  Burroughs stared at me. He must have seen that he’d been played. We knew less than we’d claimed. “I’ve said enough.”

  “I want to know where Andi is,” Alexander said.

  I guess solving cold cases wasn’t on Alexander’s agenda. Fine by me. It wasn’t on mine either. This guy’s guilt, however, might make him more pliable—that was fine by me, too. “We’ll call the cops if you don’t level with us about Andi. Where is she?”

  Burroughs waved off the question with one hand. “I got no idea.”

  When I gave Donny my best parental glare, he drew back. “Don’t ask me, man. She’s in silent mode. I wouldn’t tell you anyway.”

  “Give me a break, kid.” I pointed at him. “You sent her a helluva lot of messages that sounded an awful lot like a stalker.”

  “Donny?” Burroughs groaned as he said the name. “We talked about this. She’s your stepsister. Besides, she’s too old and not interested. You need to focus on girls your own age.”

  “That ain’t it, dude. We got a special bond.”

  I rolled my eyes. Sixteen with a crush. The kid might do anything. Follow her around like a puppy. Lock her away in a secluded cabin. “What could you be protecting her from? She’s just a singer.”

  Donny jumped up. “She’s not just a singer! She’s the best one on the island. Andi’s awesome. If she ain’t talking, she’s busy.”

  “With what?” I didn’t want to burst the kid’s bubble, but being young and in lust, he’d probably make excuses for her until she slapped him with a restraining order.

  “Things, man. She’s got things going on . . . with the band, probably.”

  Alexander moved to within a foot of Donny and stared down at him. “Don’t lie to me, boy. My sister said Andi ain’t talked to the band since she disappeared.”

  “No way, dude,” Donny said. “Her big break’s coming up. She won’t miss that.”

  “How do you know?” Now I was the one in Donny’s face.

  Burroughs stood as though he was going to protect Donny, but held back. Were we on a collision course for a visit to the cops on the wrong side of the bars? Or was Burroughs starting to understand Donny a bit more? Perhaps he’d even see there was something wrong in this scenario. I backtracked and repeated my question, this time in a more level tone. “How do you know she won’t miss her show, Donny?”

  “I see things, man. I get around.”

  So I’d noticed. “You spy on people.” It was really a question, but it came out more like an accusation. Neither Donny nor Burroughs seemed to notice.

  “Ain’t nothing wrong with what I do.”

  “What about Andi? You spy on her also?”

  “I’m protecting her.”

  Alexander leaned forward and growled, “Then I’d want to know what you found—dude.”

  “Donny, we haven’t done anything wrong, but this guy’s related to Andi. He has a right
to know.” Burroughs turned to Alexander. “Donny met Andi for the first time after a free concert they did one afternoon. He was smitten right off the bat. Donny’s got self-control issues, you know?”

  “You don’t know anything, Sam!” The kid rolled his eyes and glowered at the floor. My guess was that he had more than just self-control issues.

  Burroughs continued, “Anyway, she was real nice to him. Next thing you know, he’s found her on one of those social media sites.”

  “Facebook, dude. She has a fan page. I liked it. That’s all.”

  “I know you liked it. A lot.”

  Donny started to say something, probably an explanation of what “liking” actually meant. Sam didn’t have a clue, so I waved Donny to silence.

  Burroughs glanced at the boy. “Next thing I know, he’s sending her fifty messages a day. It probably freaked her out. Anyway, I told him to back off.”

  I fixed Donny with a look I hoped would scare him into cooperation. “Does your dad know anything about this?”

  “Dad’s oblivious. He sees spies, you know, everywhere.”

  Donny’s ever-so-slight smile gave me a creepy-crawly sensation. Was he a psychopath in training? “So there are online spies?” I asked.

  “Maybe.” Donny slouched back in the chair. “Go on, man, if you’re gonna tell him, get it over with.”

  I really wanted to know what tricks Donny was playing on his dad, but for now, that would have to wait. It was another task on my To Do list I’d never get to. I did wonder, though, if Warren might be crazy for a reason.

  “Shut up, Donny,” said Burroughs. “Let me handle this. Andi’s off looking for someone named Shaw Hardy. All I know is this guy worked at the Kona Sunset Bar twenty years ago at the same time as Benni.”

  “Who is he?” I asked.

  “I told you, I don’t know.”

  “Why’s she want to find him?”

  “She didn’t say. All she said was she wanted to keep this from her mom.”

  Alexander crossed his arms over his chest. It didn’t look like he was buying what Sam was selling. “Andi and her mom always been real tight. She got nothing to hide from her.”

  Burroughs huffed. “Wrong.”

  Sam Burroughs might be obstinate, but his nerves had gotten the better of him. Something about this story didn’t add up. I remembered his reaction when we’d barged in. I jabbed a finger at his face. “Where’d you get the shiner? And what’s with the leg? Those injuries are recent.”

  “I thought maybe you were with him. The boyfriend. He’s the one who did this to me.”

  “Andi ain’t got no boyfriend her mom don’t know about!” Alexander was adamant as he continued. “She don’t hang out with people who go around beating people up.”

  I hadn’t said anything yet, but I was beginning to wonder about Andi. What was she into? And why was Donny smirking?

  Burroughs shook his head. “There’s a whole lot of things her mom doesn’t know. And, boyfriend or not, he’s looking for Shaw, too. Ask your sister. She knows Shaw from way back. And the guy who did this? He’s a mean son-of-a-bitch. He didn’t give me a name. But he beat one name out of me. Boston Pete Messina.”

  “Where can we find Boston Pete?”

  Neither Sam nor Donny had any idea. Sam did tell us about Boston Pete, however. “The only place I know to find him is in the morning. He’ll be across the street on the grounds of the Hulihe’e Palace.”

  “Are you kidding me? You want me to walk around the park looking for a guy I’ve never seen before?”

  “Don’t worry about it,” said Sam. “He’s the one who looks like a walking mynah bird. He’ll be playing a ukelele.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The jumble of news we’d received from Sam Burroughs must have been too much for Alexander to handle. One minute we were listening to Sam talk about Boston Pete, the next, Alexander was out the door. I knew exactly where he was going. To confront Benni. And there was no way I could let him do that on his own. I caught up with him under the shade of the banyan tree out front. “You need to cool down before you go see her. Besides, we need to find this Boston Pete.”

  “I been wondering why she’s been so secretive about this whole disappearance thing. Now I find out . . .” His voice trailed off as he listed to one side.

  “Maybe we should warn the band. If this mysterious boyfriend is vicious . . .”

  Alexander buried his face in his hands, then ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know what I just found out. Has my sister been lying to me all along? Could the rumors be true?”

  A gentle afternoon breeze and a rustling of the leaves overhead gave me a wonderful moment of clarity. “It’s ohana that matters,” I said. “We need to deal with your questions. I want to know what’s going on, too. You are her brother and somehow we’re going to get her to understand that you’re on her side. But you can’t charge in and throw accusations around. Do that and she’ll shut you out.”

  Alexander’s eyes were rimmed in red and glazed over with tears ready to spill. “I’d do anything to help her.”

  I put a hand on his shoulder. “I know you would. Somehow, we need to get her to understand that as well. We need to know where this Shaw is—who he is. If she was inclined to tell us that, she’d have done it already. Why’d she keep this hidden? Maybe because she doesn’t know she can trust you? Maybe she doesn’t know Andi’s in a relationship with this guy. Psychopaths aren’t usually the kind of guy a girl wants to take home to momma.”

  “So you think Burroughs is right? You think this haole is Andi’s boyfriend?”

  “Let’s get in the car,” I said. We crossed the road, performed the vent-the-car ritual, and, once we were being blasted by cool air from the vents, I continued. “I didn’t want to say this within earshot of Burroughs, but did you see the look on Donny’s face when Sam said it was Andi’s boyfriend looking for Shaw?”

  “No.” Alexander’s brow furrowed as he positioned one of the air conditioning vents.

  Over the noise, I said, “It was like he knows the boyfriend isn’t real. Something else, I’m almost positive he’s infatuated with Andi. If he thought she really had a boyfriend, he’d be devastated. Instead, it was almost as if he’s playing some sort of mind game on Sam. I wonder if that friendship is on the level.”

  Alexander gripped his sides, forcing his shoulders to hunch forward. His voice was weak when he said, “McKenna, I always been there for her.”

  “Have you?” The words didn’t come out as I’d intended. They sounded far too accusatory, even to me. I added, “I asked her about your relationship this morning and she said she wished you two were closer. Maybe she needs to know how you feel. So far, there’s always been distance between you. Maybe it’s time to close that distance.”

  Alexander pinched the bridge of his nose. “Her secrecy is killing me, brah.” His breath caught. “I feel like she ripped my heart out.”

  I put a hand on his shoulder and waited until he met my gaze. “Then tell her that. It might be enough.”

  He seemed to consider that for a moment. “We should go talk to her.”

  “Agreed.” Honesty wasn’t the most-used tool in my belt, but maybe this once it was the right one.

  We’d lost most of the day already. Even though island time can conjure up feelings of frustration when things don’t happen quickly, the flip side is that it can make the day feel like it’s on fast forward. Before you know it, the day is over. As we drove to Benni’s place, it hit me that island time had won today’s battle, but I was determined to make the most of what was left as we climbed the stairs to the apartment.

  We found Benni sitting on the couch, consumed in the task of pounding on the laptop’s keyboard. She’d tied her hair back, wore an old baggy T-shirt over a pair of faded jeans, and was singing that same soulful melody I’d heard the day before. “What a voice,” I said to Alexander.

  His mood had softened, but his face still showed determination. “
She could’a made it big. Sis!”

  Benni jerked back from her task and gaped at us. “What are you two doing back? How long have you been there?”

  “Long enough to be impressed again,” I said. “I thought you were going to be tied up all day.”

  Her eyes darted down; her face flushed as she huffed. “More cancellations. Cam’s manager got me off the hook for the rest of the day after I threatened to quit. He and his wife are taking control of the problem child for the rest of the day. I’ve been checking in with some friends to see if they’ve heard from Andi.”

  “And?” I asked.

  “And nothing. Nobody’s heard a thing.”

  Alexander cleared his throat. “Sis, we gotta talk about when you moved here.”

  The rosy glow in her cheeks drained. “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this.”

  “To what, Benni?” I wished Alexander had listened to me, but it appeared his years of frustration were going to circumvent our plan. I placed a hand on my friend’s arm. “Twenty years, it’s been a long time.”

  Consciously, he knew that, but I was afraid the damage might already be done. Benni’s jaw was set and it looked like the siblings might be gearing up for another long separation. I didn’t want that to happen—not only for Alexander’s sake, but Benni’s also. Maybe mine, too.

  “We talked to Burroughs. We know about the murder,” said Alexander.

  “You don’t know what you’re messing with, Alexander. You need to go home.”

  “Benni, please.” I said.

  She waved a hand toward the front door. “Just leave. All I wanted was for you to look for Andi. Alexander told me how good you were. I thought maybe—I don’t know what I thought. I guess I hoped you had a magic wand or something.”

  I felt a stabbing in my heart. If we left now, it would be a disaster for everyone. We had nothing to lose. I said, “Alexander has something he wants to say to you and you need to hear him out. Sit down, shut up, and listen. If we go before you hear him out, you’re going to regret it for the rest of your life.” I put a hand on her shoulder. “Will you? Please? Then, if you still want us to leave, I guess we won’t have a choice.” I didn’t wait for an answer. I could only hope Alexander didn’t blow this. I guided Benni to a chair and gently pushed her down. To my surprise, she didn’t resist. “Tell her what you told me earlier.”