I smiled at Hugh and said, “It’s very hard to believe that Ming broke your engagement.”
“Oh, I knew she’d had an affair in the past with another actor, and as the wedding approached, he began to remind her of the good old days.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you. It hurts to be left.” I spoke slowly, thinking that Hugh was still charming and sexy, and I was touched that he’d still cared enough to fly from Japan to be with me. But that was it; I could hardly believe that this was the man who’d broken my heart three times running. Perhaps, finally, my heart had healed.
“Well, it’s all water under the bridge. Or how do the Japanese put it?” Hugh broke into my thoughts.
“Water washes everything away.”
“Yes, I think that Mitsuo Kikuchi is reputed to have said that about his son’s dealings.”
“Oh, are you talking about Jiro?”
“I don’t know his name, but he would be in his late twenties, I think, and bit off, mentally?”
“That’s the one! What do you know about him?”
“Jiro was in the news-or rather, was deliberately kept out of the news-about five years ago, when he was in his early twenties. Jiro became too aggressive with a hotel waitress or maid. Because she was a foreign worker, she was convinced not to press rape charges in exchange for a cash settlement and help securing a permanent visa.”
“Mitsuo Kikuchi arranged all this?”
“That’s the rumor, and it’s an old one, which is why I’m unfortunately fuzzy on the details. And keep quiet about it, please. If it ever gets out that I slandered him or his son, Kikuchi would probably send goons after me.”
“I won’t talk about it. But God, my instincts were right! I knew there was something creepy about Jiro when he came up to me in the swimming pool. And Kainoa Stevens thought Jiro was trying to date Charisse. I wonder…”
“You went swimming with Jiro?” Hugh sounded aghast. “How close to these people are you?”
“Don’t worry so much! The house is about a half-mile away, and Jiro lives with a round-the-clock psychiatrist. They have a private pool, but the two of them occasionally visit our community’s pool for some reason.”
“I can imagine the reason.” Hugh shook his head. “Damn it, Rei, you’ve landed in about the most unsafe location in all of Hawaii, walking distance from a suspected rapist. Please tell me that you’ll move into my suite at the Royal Hawaiian!”
I laughed shakily. “You’ve got to be joking. At the moment I’m living with three valiant family defenders.”
“None of whom is home.” Hugh frowned at me. “Please come with me to Waikiki, just for the evening. We can eat something, and then I’ll have the driver bring you back here, once you’re certain that somebody’s home.”
“Come on, Hugh. I’m not your girlfriend anymore! There’s no need to be so protective.” But all the while I was thinking that it would be nice to have a ride into town. After Hugh and I had finished our meal, I could track down Michael at the Hale Koa and try to make amends.
“I know that. We’re friends now, Rei, which is the way it always should have been. And your keeping me company over supper would give me a chance to…well, apologize for the way I ran off to South America, and my other misdeeds.”
I looked at him, thinking that what Michael had predicted would happen, was starting to happen. The ending would be different, though; I’d make sure of that.
27
THE ROYAL HAWAIIAN was almost as pink as my dress, and pleasingly old. We ate outdoors on the lanai-grilled tuna for Hugh and a small green salad for me. I wasn’t hungry; it was too distracting, being outdoors in Waikiki, sitting with Hugh while Michael was somewhere nearby. When twilight fell and Hugh started yawning, I pressed upon him our house phone number, as well as Tom’s mobile, in the event that a golf date could be arranged between the two of them the next day.
I asked Hugh’s driver to stop at the edge of the green parkland of Fort DeRussey, the military-owned land that surrounded the Hale Koa. But as I began walking to the hotel, I noticed a significant number of people heading toward the Alai Wai Canal. Michael still wasn’t answering his phone, so I decided to follow the crowd.
“Is there a festival?” I asked a local woman at the edge of the crosswalk, before I made the commitment to crossing Kuhio Avenue.
“It’s the end of o-bon season. People start at a Buddhist temple, where they light candles and send them down their canal in memory of their ancestors. The tradition stopped for some years, but it’s come back.”
The green banks of the Alai Wai were lined several people thick, but so many of them were short that it was easy for me to get a good view. The lights blinked and bobbed and slowly traveled along with the current; as I squinted westward down the canal, I could see no end to the lights. If I’d known about this earlier, I would have found my way to the temple to light candles for Harue and Ken Shimura. Instead, I selected two of the most brilliant lights and pretended these belonged to them.
Someone brushed against my back, and I took an extra step to regain my balance. The local crowd was starting to evaporate, and tourists from the bars, having gotten a glimpse of the lights, were pressing in. Drunken-sounding laughter made me realize that it was time to return to the brighter lights along Kalakaua Avenue.
Ten minutes later I walked the curving steps up to the Hale Koa, thinking about the rest of my night. My father, Uncle Hiroshi and Tom were at home; I’d confirmed this with a quick phone call after I’d parted with Hugh. But I’d refused to let Tom pick me up right away as he’d suggested. It was still early in the evening, and I was dead set on finding Michael.
I walked through the Hale Koa’s wide, open-air lobby toward the elevators. I remembered Michael and Kurt’s room number, and knew that the two rooms to the left of it had been reserved by Parker Drummond and Eric Levine. I tried Michael’s door first, with no luck, then tried the other two. The last door was opened by Karen Drummond, wearing a short silk bathrobe.
“Oh, I’m sorry to catch you dressing.” At least, that’s all that I hoped was happening. “I was wondering if you knew where Michael was?”
“It’s no problem.” Karen opened the door wider, and ushered me in. “How wonderful to see you! We were all so worried when we heard you were in the hospital. I’m sorry but we’re getting dressed to go out. We’ve got a dinner reservation in, what, an hour?”
“Forty-five minutes!” came an answering call from behind the bathroom door.
I dutifully followed Karen inside, but felt too uncomfortable to sit down on the corner of the rumpled bed she offered, while she in turn went to a sink in a galley that was a twin to the one in Michael’s room and started brushing her teeth.
“He should be back from sailing any time now. He’s been out for hours,” Parker said from behind the bathroom door.
“Did he take your boat?” I asked.
“No, no, no-it takes at least two to handle her. He went out on a little catamaran,” Parker added as he emerged from the bathroom, buttoning the top few buttons of a mauve and turquoise print aloha shirt. When I looked uncomprehending, he said, “It’s a small sailboat. He checked it out at the yacht club a few hours ago.”
“Well, he hasn’t been answering his phone.”
“He may not have taken his phone on the water because of the risk of capsizing. Those little boats go over easy.”
“Really?” I said, feeling a prickle of unease. “Do you think he wore a life jacket?”
“So you do care about him.” Karen gave me a speculative look, then passed her husband in the narrow area outside the bathroom where there was a sink and mirror. She opened a make-up bag, and began extracting a top-quality arsenal that put my collection to shame.
“He’s an excellent swimmer and seaman, Rei,” Parker said, coming over to sit down next to me. “Don’t worry. If the two of you had plans tonight, I’m sure he’ll make it back.”