Burned

“I told you I always felt like a queen when I wore that lei!” his mother exclaimed. “Now it must really be worth something. It’s so wonderful we have it in our family! And we came by it honestly!”

“I don’t have it anymore.”

“What?” his mother cried. “What did you do with it? I gave it to you for good luck!”

Some good luck, Will thought. He cleared his throat. “I lent the lei to a woman who worked at the hotel and was in charge of our newsletter. She wanted to photograph the lei and use the picture in the newsletter she was going to write covering the ‘Be a Princess’ Ball we’re having this weekend. I gave it to her the other night right before she left the hotel. The next morning her body washed ashore. She had the lei around her neck. The police identified it as the royal lei stolen from the museum thirty years ago.”

“My word!” his mother cried.

“I haven’t told anybody that it was our lei. I don’t want them to think I had anything to do with the woman’s death. And I don’t want them to think that my parents stole the lei when they were on vacation in Hawaii.”

“Of course we didn’t!” his mother said indignantly. “You should never have let it out of your possession. That was a family heirloom!”

I wish you had never let it out of your possession, Will thought. “I just wanted to let you know what is going on. And to find out where you bought the lei in the first place.”

“Where could that boy at the airport be now?” his mother asked.

“Good question. He’s not a boy anymore. Maybe he’s getting his toes operated on at this very moment. I may need a sworn statement from you both explaining exactly where and when you got the lei.”

“Maybe we should go out there. Bingsley, what do you think?”

“Mom, that’s not necessary.”

Suddenly Tracy’s kids could be heard screaming in the background.

“That’s a great idea,” Bingsley said with abrupt enthusiasm. “I’m logging on to the computer. I’m sure I can find us a bargain flight. Son, we’ll be there as soon as we can.”

“That ball sounds like such fun,” his mother cried. “Can you get us tickets?”

Will put his head on his desk. His wife was coming home tonight. They hadn’t seen each other in almost two weeks. Wait till she found out that Almetta and Bingsley were on the way. And why they were coming to Hawaii.

Why me? he thought. Why me?

21

A s Gert and Ev’s flight approached Kona on the Big Island, passengers were craning their necks to look down at the acres and acres of dark, rugged lava stretching endlessly below. It resembled the surface of the moon.

“I can’t believe this is Hawaii,” a woman in the front row complained to the flight attendant seated nearby. “That’s not paradise. It looks like a bunch of burned-out rocks. Where are the pineapples and palm trees, for goodness’ sake?”

“You’ll see them soon,” the flight attendant assured her. “You know, you are about to land on the island that is home to the world’s largest active volcano. That’s why it looks barren. But there are beautiful beaches, huge ranches, waterfalls, and pineapple plantations down there as well. And the Big Island gets bigger all the time.”

“How’s that?’ the woman scowled.

“The volcano’s eruptions have added twenty thousand acres of land to the island since 1983. Part of the airport sits atop a lava flow.”

“Terrific.”

“I promise you, you’ll love it. Soon you’ll want to live here forever.”

Gert turned to Ev and smiled. “There’s always one wet blanket in every bunch.”

“Don’t you know it,” Ev replied. “At least one. We’re stuck with two wet blankets in our group. Did you see the way Bob and Betsy sat there like stones this morning at breakfast? And they’re writing a chapter on exciting relationships! That’s like you and me writing about life as a supermodel.”

Gert laughed, emitting a little snort. “And that Joy is a little troublemaker. That makes three wet blankets. She even had the nerve to ask if we give spending money to the group. She should be lucky she has that little butt of hers in Hawaii. Remember when we were her age?”

“I certainly do. The only time we got out of Hudville was to drive to the State Fair. Whoop-dee-doo.”

“Now we’re making up for it, sister.”

“We are-all because we were sweet and kind to our neighbor.”

“What luck he moved in next door.”

“What luck his wife died.”

The plane swerved from side to side and then bumped across the pavement a few times before it settled into a smooth glide down the runway. The airport was small, and the passengers disembarked down a set of portable stairs and onto the tarmac. Palm trees swayed in the breeze, and the luggage carousel was just steps away. Tour guides greeted groups of arriving passengers with welcome leis. Gert and Ev strode through the crowd and made their way to the curb where a young man in a beat-up all-terrain vehicle was waiting for them.

Carla and Jason hurried to catch up with the twins. “Ladies,” Carla called to them as Gert opened the front door of the Jeep.

Impatiently, Gert turned to the couple. “Yes?” she asked, trying to sound civil.

“I heard you two were in charge of a tour group at the hotel. We wondered if maybe you knew of a good place to have lunch over here. It’s a special day for us. We just got engaged last night.” Carla proudly held our her hand to show off her engagement ring.

Gert briefly glanced at Carla’s hand and was clearly unimpressed. “We don’t know of any lunch places,” Gert answered abruptly without complimenting Carla’s treasure. “We’re visiting friends.”

“Oh, okay,” Carla said dejectedly, stealing a glance at the guy in the front seat. He hardly looked their type. He was young, sweaty, and had on old work clothes. The twins got in, slammed the doors shut, and the Jeep pulled away. “It doesn’t look to me like they’re going to high tea,” she commented, staring at the departing vehicle.

“No, it doesn’t.” Jason took her hand. “Forget them. Let’s go rent a car.”

“Okay,” Carla agreed, silently wondering where the twins had gone. She thought their actions seemed suspicious. Why couldn’t they have asked their friend about a restaurant? It wasn’t every day you got engaged. Something was up with those two not very nice people. They were downright rude for no reason. And worst of all, they didn’t tell her what a gorgeous ring Jason and his mother had so carefully picked out for her. The woman had actually been dismissive of the one piece of jewelry Carla had been waiting for her whole life! What an insult! Carla’s blood started to boil.

And after someone insulted Carla, she wasn’t the type to let it go. Ever. Grudge was her middle name.

22

H e stared at the picture of Dorinda Dawes and read the story of her death. He remembered everything about the night he broke into the museum and stole all those seashells. He had the Queen’s lei around his neck when the cops chased him into the alley. That was almost the end for him. But when Dorinda Dawes wore that lei around her neck, it was the end for her.

Thank God he wasn’t caught that night thirty years ago. It had been close. Why can’t I resist a dare? he asked himself.

Sometimes he wished he’d been born with a larger capacity for coping with boredom. He envied people who were content to do the same thing over and over again.

“Till I’m blue in the face,” as his grandmother used to say. “I cook and clean till I’m blue in the face, and I’m still tickled pink that God gave me two hands.”

Gra