Page 37 of Tiki Beach
“Define ‘tense,’” Aunt Fae said, setting down her magazine and going into the kitchen. “This calls for banana bread.” She took a loaf off the counter and cut a generous slice for each of us, popping them in the toaster oven.
“I’ll sum it up. He made veiled threats, Tiki attacked him, I escaped, and Lei showed up just in time to prevent further escalation.”
“Tiki attacked him? That’s my girl!” She reached down to offer Tiki an approving scratch, which the cat accepted as her due before returning to her breakfast.
“But the worst thing is, he burned Pearl’s cranes. The ones where she’d documented the evidence she’d gathered.”
Aunt Fae expression hardened even as the fragrant aroma of warm banana bread surrounded us in a comforting perfume. “This is serious business you’re mixed up in. Attempted murder—it’s like something straight out of my magazines, except it’s happening to my niece.”
“I’m being careful,” I said.
“Hmm. Is ‘careful’ what we’re calling breaking into museums after-hours now?”
I choked on my coffee. “How did you?—”
“Pua called looking for you yesterday evening,” Aunt Fae explained with a mischievous twinkle. “She mentioned something about whether I thought it was hypocritical of you to scold her for breaking into your office when you’d done the same thing at the museum.”
“Someone must have seen Keone and me,” I muttered. “Dang it.”
“I assured her that ethical consistency is overrated when solving this kind of case,” Aunt Fae said cheerfully. “Besides, I was the one who taught you how not to need keys. Remember that time we got locked out of our Maine cabin during a snowstorm?”
“You told me it was an essential life skill,” I said, smiling despite irritation with Pua’s tattling. “And that particular time it was.”
“Wasn’t I right?” She grinned. “Look how handy it’s been for your Secret Service, then criminal investigation career!”
“But I’m a postal worker now.”
“A postal worker who solves crimes in her spare time,” Aunt Fae said. “I rest my case.”
Before I could formulate a suitably witty retort, my phone rang from somewhere in my bedroom upstairs. “That’s probably Keone,” I said, heading toward the stairs. “We’re supposed to go hiking today if nothing breaks in the investigation.”
“Tell him I’ve got extra banana bread if he wants to stop by for breakfast first,” Aunt Fae called after me. “And home cured bacon from the Namura family.”
“He wouldn’t want to miss that!”
But my phone’s screen showed not Keone’s name, but Lei’s. A call from the detective this early on a Saturday made my heart speed up. “Lei? What’s happened?”
“As you may have heard, Pearl was moved back to our Maui hospital. She woke up briefly today, around four a.m.” Lei’s voice was clipped, professional, but I could hear the underlying strain. “Someone tried to get to her. Kawika, her caregiver, was attacked.”
“What? Is he okay? Is Pearl safe?” My heart had jumped so hard I lay a hand on my chest.
“Pearl’s safe. Kawika has a concussion. I’m at the hospital now. I need you and Keone to come out as soon as you can.”
“We’ll be there ASAP,” I promised, already moving to my dresser to grab clothing. “Maybe Keone can fly us out—you know how long the drive takes. What exactly happened?”
“Pearl regained consciousness briefly and managed to say a few words to Kawika. Then someone hit him. He came around quickly though and was able to give me a call.”
“And Pearl?” I asked, my heart racing.
“Unharmed. The nurses had just given her scheduled medication, so she was drifting back to sleep when the attack occurred. She’s sedated now, and I have a uniform outside the door.”
“Did Kawika say what Pearl told him?”
“Something about ‘1942’ and ‘crane box.’ Does that mean anything to you?”
“1942 was when the processing center was operating on her family’s land,” I said, quickly pulling on jeans while holding the phone against my shoulder. “And the crane box is what we’ve been looking for—a sandalwood box with a crane carved on it that supposedly contains her father’s journal.”
“Well, now we know it’s important enough for someone to risk attacking a man in a hospital to prevent him from sharing what Pearl said.” Lei’s voice hardened. “I’ve got officers stationed outside Pearl’s room. No one gets in without clearance.”
