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Joely opened the bike up when she hit highway thirty and let all her attention focus on not crashing Dude’s motorcycle. She was proud of herself that she still remembered how to hot wire a bike. As highway thirty turned into Honoapiilani highway, she eased off the throttle. Where the hell was she going to go? She was on an island.
She pulled into her bank and closed the account, taking the cash in hundreds and smaller bills. It was a depressingly short stack. She stuffed the envelope in Dude’s saddle bag and got back on the bike. It was tempting to take a ride all the way up to Hana and see if she could go live off the grid for a while.
She stopped at Walmart in Kahului for a change of clothes so she wouldn’t stand out like a sore thumb in flip flops and her maid’s uniform. Stuffing everything into the backpack she also bought, she was ready to make her escape. Since she was so close to the airport, Joely considered parking the bike in short term parking and be on the next flight out.
“That’s the first place they’d look,” she decided. She didn’t want to keep running, looking over her shoulder. Timothy could pull a few strings, or his brother could and find out which flight she took out. They could even have someone waiting for her at her arrival gate, where ever that happened to be. No, she had to play this smart for now. Tightening the hoodie she bought at Walmart, so that her head was covered, she headed back towards Lahaina.
Dressed now in jeans, sneakers and the black hoodie that hid her hair and face, the only one who’d possibly be able to recognize her from the opposite side of the road was Dude because she couldn’t disguise the bike. It was all flashy chrome and tricked out. Amelia should have known Dude wasn't a beach bum when she saw the bike. Joely shook her head. She pegged Dude as a rich boy slacker almost immediately. He was a good guy, though. And she was glad he and Amelia were together.
As she entered Olowalu, she decided to stop at Leoda’s Kitchen and Pie shop. Dude was going to be pissed about the bike. Maybe if she bought him a macadamia nut chocolate pie, he might not mind that she borrowed it. She could leave the bike here with a note at the counter for him. She just needed to figure out where the heck she was going.
After placing her order for a hand-held carnita pie, pineapple coleslaw, and some lemonade, she took a seat in the back of the busy restaurant. She’d be able to see people coming and going, but even if Timothy was tracking her down he probably wouldn’t stop here for some ono grindz. It wasn't classy enough for him. To her, though, it was paradise. She was going to miss every single thing about this island, from the food, to the people, to the ocean.
Part of her, the long-suppressed part of her, whispered, “Killing Timothy is the only way to be able to stay here safely.”
Joely shook her head fiercely. That was her sister talking. Katie was currently doing time for murder.
Another ghost from her past whispered from pushed aside memories. “Call your sister. She’ll get you new papers.”
That was her father talking. But he wasn't talking about Katie, he was talking about her other sister.
The last time she spoke to Sammy was a little over five years ago. Sammy was a forger, apprenticed to their uncle when she was old enough to write. She was the one who had gotten Joely her new identity, and helped her escape from the hospital under everyone's noses. Joely might be able to find her. She opened up the backpack and saw the new laptop she purchased at Walmart. Her fingers itched to do it.
No.
She promised herself never to contact her family again. It would be like falling into quicksand. One little thing would spiral into another until the next thing she knew she would be hacking databases, cracking safes, or running cons again. She didn’t even know why she bought the laptop. It was too much temptation. She didn’t even have one in her room at Palekaiko. A part of her wondered if she lost her skills.
“Here ya go sistah,” the waitress said, sliding her food over to her.
“Thanks,” she said, glad for the tart, cold lemonade to ground her into the present. She was no longer in that life. Her family wasn't the solution. They were the problem. If her father knew she was on the run again, he'd offer to help.
If she helped him back.
She zipped up the backpack, covering up the temptation of the laptop.
She wondered if her parents were still alive. The last she heard they were down in Australia whale hunting. Only not the type of whales you saw in the ocean. The types with more money than brains. It occurred to her that if her parents knew she was best friends with the wives of two millionaires, they would be island bound. She wouldn’t let her parents ruin her life like they did her sisters'.
Joely hadn’t realized how hungry she was until she got a whiff of the savory pie. She inhaled her lunch and leaned back in her chair. She still didn’t know what she was going to do.
Deciding to call Amelia, she walked outside. Tying the hoodie around her waist, she darted around the building so she couldn’t be seen from the road.
It went to voice mail.
“Well, shit.” Joely thumped her foot against the wall.
Her phone began ringing almost immediately. It was Holt.
“I thought Timothy was in Molokini,” she accused, but she was too tired to put any heat in it.
“He got seasick and made the boat turn around.”
Joely groaned. “I need you and Dude to come pick up his bike.”
“Where are you?”
“Don’t worry about me. Tell Dude there’s a pie waiting for him at Leoda’s.”
“Don’t move. We’ll be right there. You’re coming to Makawao with me.