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AT SEVEN-THIRTY IN the morning, I parked the rental motorbike in front of a squat one-story building. It was on John Rodgers Field in Kapolei. There was a bright yellow Robinson R44 Raven II helicopter parked on a pad beside the building. A sign out front identified the facility as Hele Aku Aviation. I'd selected the flying service at random during a web search. I liked the website.
Walking into the building, I spied a slightly built brunette. She looked to be about my age and was sitting behind a gray metal desk. She was wearing a red baseball cap and a tan Nomex flight suit. She looked up at me from behind a computer screen when I walked in.
"May I help you?" she said.
"Yes, I'm looking to hire a helicopter," I said.
"You've come to the right place," the woman said. "I'm Jackie Fitzgerald, the owner, and chief pilot. Transportation or freight?"
"Transportation," I said.
"How many passengers?" Fitzgerald said. "Three is the max. My bird is a four-seater."
"Only me," I said.
"Where do you want to go?" Fitzgerald said.
"Well, there's a bit of a story to that, Ms. Fitzergarld," I said.
"Then have a seat and tell me about it," Fitzgerald said, motioning to the lone chair in front of the desk. "And you can call me Jackie."
"Great, a pleasure meeting you, Jackie," I said. "I'm T. J. O'Sullivan."
"You're not from around here are you?" Jackie said.
"No. I live in LA, but I'm from New Zealand, actually."
"Cool," Jackie said. "Why don't you tell me the story you mentioned."
"I'm looking for a man," I said.
"Aren't we all?" Jackie said, with a chuckle.
I smiled in spite of myself. "Yep, not in that way," I said. "The man is a crim. He took a great deal of money from a client of mine. I aim to find him and get it back."
"A client of yours?" Jackie said.
"Yep, I'm a private investigator," I said.
"So, this guy is trying to escape with the money?" Jackie said.
"I'm sure that's his ultimate goal," I said. "But, for the moment I think he is trying to lay low until the heat is off a bit."
"Why aren't the cops looking for him?" Jackie said.
"They are. But, I'd prefer to find him myself."
"So, where is this guy supposed to be?"
"Not too certain of that," I said. "I'm guessing on one of the other islands east of Oahu."
Jackie made a half turn in her swivel chair and pointed at a map of Hawaii affixed to the wall behind her desk. "That's quite a large area to search," she said. She turned back to face me. "That's sort of like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack."
"There is one thing that might narrow things down a bit," I said.
"What's that?"
"He stole a helicopter from a former employer," I said. "And, the helicopter has mechanical problems he was unaware of when he took it."
"What kind of mechanical problems?"
"Failing bearings in the tail rotor assembly," I said. "The mechanics who looked at it don't expect the bearings to last for more than another flight hour."
"I see," Jackie said. "You said he went south. So, we're looking at Molokai, Maui, or Lanai."
"Yep, his former employer doesn't believe the helicopter would make it as far as the big island."
"Still, that's a lot of areas to cover," Jackie said. "The man you're looking for, he's a local pilot?"
"Yes, he flew for a tour operator in Pearl City."
"He have a name?"
"Yes, Adam Morton," I said.
"I've heard of him," Jackie said.
"Have you? Do you know him?"
"Of him. I've seen him around. I know what he looks like. I know most of the helicopter pilots that fly out of Oahu for a paycheck."
"So, are you interested in the job?" I said.
"I am, but this kind of thing can get expensive in a hurry."
How much do you charge?" I said.
"Business is a little slow at the moment," Jackie said. "I could do it for $375 per flight hour. If it goes over four flight hours, I'll take ten-percent off the total bill."
"How would we proceed?" I said.
"Assuming we're looking for the helicopter on the ground somewhere. We could start with Molokai. We could fly the usual tour route and hope Morton is a creature of habit. Then work our way south as necessary."
"There is a usual route?" I said.
"Yes," Jackie said. "It's dictated to a large degree by operations over water procedures." She stood up and pointed to the map behind her desk. "The general route from Oahu is across the channel. Down the length of Molokai and then across the channel here and along the western side of Maui. That way you only spend time over the water crossing the channels."
"I see," I said.
"But now that I know who you are looking for, I'd say our best bet would be to start with Lanai. That's assuming mechanical problems didn't force Morton to land on Molokai."
"Why is that?" I said.
"Two reasons," Jackie said. "You said Morton wants to lay low. Lanai is the perfect place to go off the grid. The island is about 140 square miles with a population of only a little over 3,000. Only 30 miles of paved roads, most of it is dirt roads only accessible with a four-wheel drive vehicle. And, there is a small law enforcement presence."
"I see. It does sound remote. You said there were two reasons."
"Yes, the other reason is I heard somewhere that Adam Morton grew up on Lanai. He's familiar with the island. He may still know people there."
"Sounds promising," I said. "Still 140 square miles is a large area to search."
"Yes," Jackie said. "But, we could confine the search for the bird to the usual route across Molokai, then the usual route to Lanai City. If we don't spot it along the way, then we concentrate on searching a circle around Lanai City. He got there by helicopter. So, he would be dependent on his feet to reach civilization where he could get food and supplies. Or connect with someone he knows on the island."
"Sounds like a workable plan," I said.
"When do you want to start?" Jackie said.
"Now."
"Excellent, I fueled up the bird yesterday afternoon. Let's go."
