Page 6 of Hidden Falls

Marcella smiled at the familiar notice over the entry escalator: “ALOHA! WELCOME TO MAUI!” The sign was designed in bright colors to make you feel good, and it did.

At the end of the escalator to the baggage claim, Marcella spotted her friend Lei waiting for her at the curb, leaning against her silver extended cab Tacoma with her shiny detective badge holding the security agents at bay.

Marcella strode through the area and lifted a hand to wave at Lei. “Looking good, lady!”

“Back atcha,” Lei exclaimed, coming forward to give Marcella a quick hug. “You made great time getting here. Barely finished with our team meeting setting up for the case. I haven’t had lunch—you hungry? Figured we could catch up over food.”

“You know me. I could eat.” Marcella opened the truck’s door and shoved her carry-on into a back seat area cluttered with toys and car seats. “Got any Italian around here?”

“Sure. I’ll take you to what’s familiar. But don’t let your parents know you cheated on them with someone else’s cooking! Your mama would have my badge.”

Anna and Egidio Scatalina, Marcella’s parents, ran a lunch place in Waikiki that was a beloved mainstay of Italian cuisine for that area.

Marcella made a zipping gesture across her mouth. “Of course; I know better than you how she’d grill me for the details! My lips are sealed.”

Soon they were seated in a black leatherette booth in Kahului’s Marco’s Grill & Deli. Iced teas rested on the table in front of them and platters of pasta were on the way.

“How’s baby Rosie? And Kiet?” Marcella took a sip of tea. “It’s been too long since we’ve gotten the kids together.”

“Agree about the too long part. Kiet’s great. Always top of the academics and doing well as a swimmer. He’s not into team sports, which is fine. And Rosie?” Lei shook her head, a dimple appearing in her cheek. “That girl is a handful. She has a mind of her own, and her daddy’s wrapped around her little finger.”

“Takes after her mama, then,” Marcella teased.

“You know it.” They clinked their glasses together in toast.

“What about Jonas? Isn’t he getting big?” Lei took a sip.

“He’s the light of our lives. Loves the academics like Kiet does. We’ve got him at Kama’aina Schools since he has Hawaiian heritage.”

“Ooh, fancy. You going to have any more kids?”

“I’d love to. But when would we find the time, between my schedule and Marcus’s? We’d be lost as it is without his family stepping in to provide care.” Marcus Kamuela’s big Hawaiian family lived on Oahu; his mother and sisters were a daily part of their lives. “My parents would love to do more with him, but with running the restaurant and Papa’s part-time shoe business, they’re only available on weekends.” Marcella shrugged, a tug of sadness touching something deep inside. “I don’t know how we’d swing a second child.”

“You don’t want to miss out on something that big because of work.” Lei took a sip of her tea, brown eyes intent.

Marcella didn’t want to poke that sore spot anymore. She reached for the file, removing it from her large Gucci satchel. “Speaking of. I read on the plane what Waxman threw together about Malia and her situation.” She opened the file to the blank note pages and fumbled for a pen. “He thinks there’s more going on than what you’ve told us so far.”

Lei’s features seemed to freeze; her eyes widened. “Why would he say that?”

“Aha. You never could lie to me, girlfriend.” Marcella uncapped her pen and tapped it on the notepaper. “Spill.”

“I can’t. It’s not my secret to tell.” Lei broke eyes contact as the waitperson placed a steaming platter of linguini with clams in front of her, and a slab of eggplant parmigiana in front of Marcella.

Marcella was forced to put the file aside.

After both of their entrées had been decorated with slivers of freshly grated parmesan, Marcella pointed her fork at Lei. “You don’t get to hold back on me, Lei. I deserve to know all the facts.”

“There’s a high probability that this bit of history has nothing to do with the current situation.” Lei spun her fork in the linguini. “Here’s what I’ll do. Let’s pursue the leads we have, and if they seem to be pointing in a certain direction, I’ll have Harry disclose—the other thing.”

“Ah. There’s a thing, eh?” Delicious aromas made Marcella’s mouth water as she cut into her eggplant parmigiana.

“Yep. And that’s all I’ll say, for now. Harry needs to be the one to tell you about it.” Lei forked the pasta into her mouth and gave a little moan. “Oh, man. I’d be big as a house if I ate this stuff every day.”

“That’s why we Italians walk everywhere,” Marcella said. “No more shop talk until we’ve paid proper homage to this meal.”

Once the food was gone, Marcella opened the file again. “Where do you think we should start? There are a lot of threads to follow here.”

“I thought we’d start where Malia was last seen—her car. It’s in the impound lot.”

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