When we returned to our room the hotel phone was flashing. There was a message from Kalani to call him back as soon as we returned. Neither of us had taken our cell phones as we were not expecting a call, and had left them on charge.
I called Kalani and he told me he’d been able to visit Eli Johnson in the hospital. He’d asked him why Chas Baker recommended him to take over his job of sorting the mail at the post office. Eli said Baker always seemed to enjoy his job and he thought that some day he would like to have it. He also asked Baker to recommend him. Baker said he would if he did him a big favor, with no questions asked.
Johnson agreed. The favor was that when an envelope came addressed to the box number we now know never existed, he was to return it to the sender with a note on the envelope saying, “NO NEED TO SEND ANY MORE. WE ARE THROUGH…THANKS!”
Eli Johnson said he started to ask what it was all about, but before the words came out of his mouth Chas Baker reminded him, “Remember, no questions asked.”
He said he thought it was some kind of a joke, so he went along with it. Baker also told him to tell no one, and if he did he would deny it. And since everyone liked him, they wouldn’t believe Johnson, and he would probably lose his job for interfering with the mail.
I thanked Kalani and turned to Kat. “I guess our blackmailing job has just ended. I’ll send Mrs. Sinclair an email to let her know that our services are no longer needed. I’ll also tell her that her last payoff was sent back and she no longer has to worry about being blackmailed.”
I wrote her all the conversation I’d just had with Kalani, including what was supposed to be written on the envelope.
She wrote back, thanked us and said after all these years she couldn’t believe it was all over, and that she was in tears.
She asked if we would be returning home soon. I told her we weren’t sure, as some friends wanted us to stay and visit with them for a while, and that Kat and I wanted to investigate the three murders and to work with a Detective Larry Chen, hoping to solve the homicides before we returned home.
Mrs. Sinclair didn’t seem too happy. We didn’t ask why, and besides our connection with her had come to an end.
She said she was disappointed as she wanted to thank us in person and pay us the balance of what she owed us. But since we wouldn’t be there, she would deposit the $100,000 into our bank account.
We thanked her, said our goodbyes and called it a night.