Chapter 8

8

Keone spoke when we’d pulled out of Namolo’s driveway and were on the road. “Well. That wasn’t helpful.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, the puzzle of the ornament still gnawing at me. “Glad Cujo didn’t get off his chain, at least. But I have a feeling there’s more to this story. I’m just not sure where to go with it next.”

“I have an idea.” Keone’s eyes lit with excitement as he glanced at me. “I was waiting on some prescriptions for Mom and did some digging with my phone on the history of the ornament. And I think I found something. Someone we can talk to, at least.” He pulled the truck over onto the long grass on the side of the shoulder. “Let me pull this up on my phone.” A few minutes later he frowned at the device. “Not enough signal. Do you mind coming back to my place for a while?” He waggled his brows. “I’ll make it worth your time.”

I grinned. “You talked me into it. Drop me at Braddah Hutts so I can get Sharkey, and I’ll follow you home.”

“I like the sound of that last bit.” He stroked my leg in a way that reminded me it’d been a while. “Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” I replied. “This fly’s got a thing for spiders named Mr. K.”

Later, after we’d taken care of romantic bodily needs and had a shower, Keone opened his laptop on the kitchen table of his little cottage. He turned the laptop towards me, revealing an old newspaper article from the 1980s. The headline read: “Dispute Over Ancient Hawaiian Artifact Ends in Compromise.”

“According to this,” Keone explained, “the ornament was at the center of a heated debate between two prominent Hawaiian families: the Pahinuis and the Namolos. Both claimed it as part of their ancestral heritage.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” I leaned in, scanning the article. “So how was it resolved?”

“That’s the thing,” Keone said, his voice lowering. “The article says a compromise was reached, but it doesn’t give details. The guy who brokered the compromise is semiretired and lives right here in Hana. His name’s Dr. Sheldon Hale.” He pronounced the man’s last name the Hawaiian way— Hah-lay. “I think we should pay him a visit.”

I sat back in my chair, biting my bottom lip. “While it’s fascinating to dig into this ancient history about the ownership of the ornament, time’s a-wasting, as Aunt Fae would say. I honestly think this was a crime of opportunity, rather than calculation. Someone came to drop off a donated item, saw the fancy box the ornament was in, opened it and nabbed it because it was pretty and unusual.”

Keone got up. He wore a pair of black flannel boxers embellished with red-nosed reindeer that I’d bought him for the holidays; they were surprisingly sexy. Or maybe it was the man that wore them. “Want some hot chocolate? One of the passengers on my last flight gave me a gift basket that had some inside it.”

“Of course.”

While he put water on to heat, I looked around the simple dwelling. An original plantation house built in the early days of Hana town, the cottage was right beside Keone’s mom’s place on the same property. Ilima’s sewing talent was on display with a framed baby quilt that had been Keone’s as a child. She had made his infant clothing into a traditional pineapple pattern against a white cotton background. The woman could make anything beautiful.

“I never noticed your baby quilt before.” I pointed to the piece on the wall.

Keone smiled. “Mom’s sentimental.”

“But she’s an artist first,” I said, getting up to approach and view the way she had carefully pieced together pieces of blue onesie and little boy overalls into pineapple shapes and hand sewn them with nearly invisible stitches onto the batting. “I have so much respect for her.”

He came to stand with me, sliding an arm around my waist and pulling me close. “I’m glad. Because since Dad died, it’s part of my kuleana , my responsibility, to look after Mom. She will always be a big part of my life.”

“I love a guy who loves his mama. I get it.” I kissed him. “As I have kuleana to look after Aunt Fae. And Opal and Artie.”

He turned me in his arms. “Guess we’re not going anywhere, then.”

“Where would we go?” I smiled. “I went all over the world with the Secret Service, and there’s nowhere I’d rather be than right here on the east side of Maui. Ohia, specifically. Hana, in a pinch.”

Keone gazed at me and there was something troubled in his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak—and then the hot water whistled; it was ready.

Seemingly relieved, he let go of me and went to pour it into our mugs. A minute later, he brought me back a mug decorated with palm trees ringed in Christmas lights. The thick dark chocolate smelled divine, and a peppermint candy cane rested inside for stirring.

“Oh, this looks yummy.” I stirred the chocolate with the already melting sweet before glancing at Mr. K. “You looked like you were about to say something important.”

He smiled and sat back down at the table. “Later. Let’s get some more direction for this investigation. I’m thinking we relook at the list of people who had access to the garage. You said Elle had that somewhere?”

I sat down across from him. “Yes. Let me give her a quick call. Maybe, when we look through the list, some connection will pop.”

As I sat back in the cozy warmth of Keone’s kitchen, the scent of hot chocolate lingering in the air, I picked up my phone to call Elle. The soft hum of the refrigerator and the gentle rustle of palm fronds outside provided a comforting backdrop as the phone rang in my ear.

Elle answered on the second buzz. “Hey, Kat! What’s up?”

“Hi, Elle. I need that list of people who had access to the garage where the ornament was stolen.”

“Sure thing,” she replied, a hint of curiosity in her voice. “Give me a second to pull it up.”

While I waited, I glanced over at Keone, who was sipping his hot chocolate and watching me intently. The warmth in his eyes felt like a caress. I could get used to these good feelings; but the cautious part of me that had been hurt knew it wasn’t safe to.

“So you called all these people and asked them if they’d seen the ornament?” I refocused on the task at hand.

“I did. I asked specifically about the fancy box it was in, without telling them what it was. Some confirmed they’d seen the box but hadn’t opened or handled it. Most said they hadn’t noticed the box. No one admitted to opening it.”

“Okay,” I said, frowning as I stirred the rapidly dissolving peppermint stick into the last of my hot chocolate. Of course the thief hadn’t said they’d taken the ornament . . . Why would they admit to such a thing?

“Got the list,” Elle said, breaking my thoughts. “I’ll send it to you now.”

“Thanks.”

“What are you going to do with it, Kat?”

“Nothing specific. Keone and I are running back through everything, looking for anything we might have missed. How’s the event coming along?”

Elle sighed. “Between work, my family arriving tomorrow, and putting on that fundraiser, I haven’t had time to take a pee. Whether or not the ornament is found, we’re full steam ahead. I hope you like crocheted coasters and homemade coconut candy, because we’ve got a lot of that to sell.”

“I love that coconut candy. I hereby commit to buying a ton of it. I can leave it out on the post office counter for people to help themselves to when they get their mail,” I said. “I’m a big fan.”

“Great. One less thing to worry about getting rid of! Keep me posted.” Elle ended the call.

A moment later, my phone buzzed with the incoming message she sent.

I opened the list and scanned the names quickly, holding my phone out for Keone to see. Our faces bumped as we tried to read at the same time.

One name stood out to me as someone I’d heard mentioned before: the person who helped with Rita’s cats. “Keone, do you know this Leilani Akana?” I pointed to the name.

He sat up straighter, recognition dawning on his face. “Yeah, she works at the Hana History Museum as their coordinator. She’s got a connection with Dr. Hale through that. He’s the head of the board.”

I nodded. “That might be our next step. We should talk to her.”

Keone smiled, his excitement infectious. “Let’s set it up. This could be a lead. Mom knows her.”

“Nice when you live in a small town and everybody knows everybody,” I said. “Rita gave us her phone number already.”

As the evening breeze whispered through the open window, I spotted a little house gecko on the screen. It darted forward, grabbing a moth.

I hoped we were one step closer to nabbing our thief and solving the mystery of the Queen’s Ornament.