Chapter 41

Lei showedup at the same time as the paramedics. "I was getting ready to drive back to Kahului when the call came in from Pono," she said.

The ambulance staff worked on Hugh Dragoon, then took him away with a whirl of lights as Pono and Lei conferred. She then bagged my gun, but after taking a photo of the skillet and weapon ‘in situ,' allowed me to return the frying pan to the house "since it wasn't used."

Keone helped Auntie back to the living room; she was feeling the repercussions of extreme stress and had "gone wobbly on her pins" and asked to lie down. He and Pono settled her on the living room couch with a pillow behind her head; I smiled to see how much she was enjoying their attention and fussing.

I returned the skillet to the rack above the stove and put the kettle on for tea as Lei photographed the tipped-over chair and bungee cords in the dining area.

Lei returned to the living room and sat on the ottoman, facing Aunt Fae. "Are you up for giving us your statement?"

"Definitely. Soon as I have a cup of tea."

"Coming right up. Anyone else?" I asked.

Soon we were all noshing on banana bread and sipping from mugs. Once she'd had a few restorative sips, Aunt Fae filled us in on what happened when she'd come in the house and found the intruder.

"When I arrived after the wedding, Tiki was on the stoop, all agitated, and I heard noises coming from upstairs. The perp was in Kat's room," she said. "Going through her stuff. Like a ninny I confronted him before calling the police. If I had it to do over again, you can bet I'd have stayed outside and held my horses until help was on the way."

"Did he say why he'd come here?"

"The man was delusional. He seemed to think Kat had taken his daughter from him. He kept saying, "She took my family, so I'm taking hers." I wasn't very happy when he trussed me up like that, but I like to think he wasn't going to kill me. Seemed he was more intent on getting back at you, Kat."

"Was it his idea or yours to call me?" I asked.

"His. The man kept yammering on about needing to talk to you. He made me call you. Of course, I didn't want to, because I was afraid he'd do what he said he would—shoot you. But I thought if I was able to tip you off, at least you'd know something wasn't right. That's why I said what I did. I hope you'll forgive me for the bad language."

I got up and gave her a quick shoulder hug. "It was brilliant. I knew something was wrong and was able to sneak in the ‘back' just as you warned me to."

I took over giving my statement of events. "This is good," Lei said at last, shutting off her recording app. "We're getting a clearer picture of Hugh Dragoon's activities and motivations since he staged his and Maile's deaths." She stood up. "Pono, let's get on the road. We still have a couple of hours of driving to go before we can call it a day."

Keone and I walked the detectives to the door and saw them off.

We turned to face each other, alone at last.

I tightened the towel around myself; I was reluctant to let it go for some reason. "Thanks again for this, Keone," I said. "I must've been in shock. I didn't even notice I was standing out in public nearly naked."

"Banana?"

"I thought I was the one who invoked our ‘safe word.'"

He smiled. "Let's get your auntie settled upstairs, then we can talk."

"I can get myself to bed just fine, thank you very much," Auntie hollered from the living room. "But we need a real dinner first, and I want to kick that off with something stronger than tea."

The three of us ended up eating Auntie's special recipe beef stew, reheated, and having a generous glass of red wine apiece.

Keone lent Aunt Fae an arm to get upstairs after dinner; she claimed the wine had gone to her head. I followed them up.

Misty was already sitting on Auntie's bed with Tiki, who had slipped inside at some point. The cats seemed to know which of us might be in need of comfort, and tonight they had elected to stay with Aunt Fae.

I pointed at Tiki. "That's the real heroine of the hour," I told Auntie and Keone. "She almost took the perp down all by herself."

"Good Tiki. Beautiful Tiki," Auntie cooed. "You're our guardian angel." Tiki stuck out a hind leg and licked her nether regions, clearly in agreement with the praise.

I hopped in the shower, then changed into my striped flannel pajamas. I would send Keone a message that I wasn't up for getting busy in any form.

Keone grinned when he saw my outfit. "Where's Jessica Rabbit tonight?"

"We've got a few things to work out before she can come out to play," I said primly. "How about another glass of wine?"

We refilled and took seats on a pair of lounge chairs on the back patio just outside the sliding glass door. I didn't want to chance Aunt Fae listening in.

"Okay. Now. Where were you during the wedding?" I asked.

"It's a wild story."

"Sounds intriguing. We've got time." I stretched out my legs and crossed them at the ankle, taking a sip of my wine.

He leaned in. "First things first. How are you doing, really? That had to be crazy, having that guy shoot at you like that."

"I'm fine. Better than ever, actually, now that we know Maile's alive and we have some answers. Of course, I should've realized when my weapon was moved that night after the Red Hat get-together, that I needed to get a gun safe." I told him about finding Maile at the hotel and the events at the wedding. He listened as I fought back tears of joy and relief.

"Did it ever occur to you when Maile turned up alive that since the hermit spared her, he might not have killed himself either?" Keone cocked his head. His eyes were soft with concern in the low light.

"No. I had no idea he was the one doing weird things." I shivered. "Like pushing me outside the K K office. He was probably the one to leave Barbara Long's braid on the steps and lock her in the shed. Now that was twisted." I took a sip of wine. "Your turn. Want to tell me why you missed the wedding?"

"I feel bad about that, especially when Pono told me about that dress you had on. But then, I got to see you minus the dress, so . . ." He smiled.

I waited. He still hadn't answered my question.

He set his glass down on the side table and turned to face me. "I had some excitement of my own this morning. I went to my mom's place before heading out for the wedding, and I found her passed out on the kitchen floor."

"Like, unconscious?" My voice squeaked like a fifteen-year-old boy who'd been given a wedgie. My mind flashed to discovering Artie collapsed in much the same way.

"Yes. Out cold. I panicked. Instead of calling for help, I picked her up myself and drove bat-out-of-hell style back to the airport. I commandeered the plane I'd just come in on and flew her to Kahului. An ambulance met the plane and took us straight to Maui Memorial."

"What? Oh no! Is she okay?"

He shook his head. "I wasn't thinking straight, but it turns out what I did might've saved her life. Mom's had a stroke, and they got the bleeding stopped and stabilized her at the hospital much faster than anyone could've out here."

I set down my wineglass so hard its contents splashed onto the glass tabletop. "Why didn't you call me? Or at least text me. Remember how angry you were when I forgot to call you when I was in trouble a few months ago?"

"Slipper's on the other foot now, isn't it?" He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I was too distracted at first, then I wanted to get back here to see you in person after I got your ‘banana' message."

"How's Ilima doing?"

"She's going to be okay. Eventually. She's lost mobility on the left side of her body, but she was conscious when I left. Lots of family are with her, keeping her company. The doctor says she should make a full recovery in time, with a lot of physical and other therapies."

"Poor Ilima. I'm so sorry. Pono told me that missing the wedding had something to do with your job."

"Yeah, well. About that." Mr. K picked up his glass and took a hearty swig. "Pacific Wings isn't pleased about me grabbing a plane of theirs for my emergency. I told the passengers who were booked on the outbound Kahului flight that they'd have to wait for the next one. I didn't have time to fool around with getting them boarded and dealing with their luggage. I may be facing criminal charges. Stealing an aircraft is a felony called ‘aircraft hijacking.'"

"Yikes! No promotion, then?"

"Out of the question. I'm just hoping they won't charge me. I'll be lucky to keep the job at all."

A long, glum moment went by. We sat there, gazing into the night. Light spilled from the windows and illuminated waving palm fronds in the backyard. Somewhere out in the tropical darkness, a frog burrumphed. I smelled Aunt Fae's gardenia blooming in its pot beside the slider and inhaled deeply.

"Would it be mean of me to smile that you're not leaving?" I said at last.

"Very mean."

I covered the lower half of my face with my hands. "Then I won't let you see it."

He leaned over. We kissed, a tentative connection that strengthened until I was in his arms on one of the loungers.

"These flannel pjs are sexy," he muttered, fiddling with the button at my throat. "They make me have to remember you this evening in just your bra and panties."

"Nice reframe."

"I better get home. I've got to face the music from my employer tomorrow morning, and I don't think it's gonna be a tune I want to hear."

"I really am sorry about your mom," I said.

I escorted him to the door, where Keone lingered for a moment. "Now that the little girl has been found, are you ready to begin thinking about us?"

"I've thought about us and concluded I've got some ‘me' work to do."

"Sounds fair. Are you planning to call that psychologist whose name Sophie gave you?"

"I am. And hopefully, you won't be in jail while I'm doing therapy." I kissed Keone once more, and then closed the door gently but firmly behind him.