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I FOLLOWED SHAW OUT of the room and back up the corridor to the front door. He left me standing on the porch while he went to get the driver. Kathleen Shaw was sitting in a chair a few meters away with a blank look on her face, staring into the distance. She seemed to have been crying. I didn't care for the woman, but I felt compelled to walk over and speak with her.
Kathleen glanced in my direction as I approached her. "I suppose Douglas hired you," she said, "you're attractive enough."
It seemed strange, but the woman appeared jealous of me. "I'm only here to try to get your daughter back," I said.
"I'm certain Douglas has more in mind for you than that," Kathleen said. Her eyes started to fill with tears again.
"You all right, Mrs. Shaw?" I said.
"No, I'm not. If you want to hear about it, the first thing you'll want to know is what my lousy marriage is like. You'll want to know how my dear husband is too occupied with his own affairs to give me the time of day. But, if you want to know the truth, I don't feel like going into it."
I didn't know what to say to that, so I didn't say anything.
"Forgive me," Kathleen said. "I'm only feeling sorry for myself when my unhappy circumstances are for the most part of my own making. I suppose Douglas didn't mention to you that Allison isn't his daughter."
"What do you mean?" I said.
"Douglas and I married when I was 19," Kathleen said. "He was beginning his military career, and he was on deployment all the time. Not that it is an excuse, but I was young and lonely. On my twenty-first birthday, I went out to a club to celebrate, alone of course. A few days earlier, Douglas had left on another lengthy deployment. It was to some god-forsaken place in the Middle East. I met someone at the club. We ended up in a motel room. It was only a sordid little one night stand, but when Douglas returned a year later, Allison was three months old."
"Did you tell him about it before he returned?" I said.
"No," Kathleen said. "I planned to write him many times, but I was never able to do it. I knew he would be livid when he found out. Douglas has always had a temper, and his temper only worsened the longer he was in the army. So, it was quite a shock when he arrived home."
"What happened?" I said.
"He didn't throw me out, which is what I had expected," Kathleen said. "He called me some unflattering names, he beat me until I was black and blue, but he didn't leave me. He deserves some credit for that. And he has never told Allison that he isn't her father."
"How awful," I said.
"I tried to make amends, but Douglas has never been the forgiving type," Kathleen said. "We've lived as roommates since the day he returned from that deployment. He has never touched me since. He gets his sex from other women and flaunts his affairs to humiliate me, to punish me for my transgression."
"Why didn't you divorce?" I said.
"Douglas wouldn't allow that," Kathleen said. "He said if we divorced it might become known that I had Allison by another man. He said that he didn't want it to become common knowledge that he had married a whore. It would hurt his career. Instead, he insisted that we would remain married. He promised to make me regret what I'd done to him for the rest of my life."
"Still, it seems you could have left him," I said.
"No, I couldn't have," Kathleen said. "I had no education beyond a year at college after high school. I had never held a job. I had a child to support and no way to support her on my own. My mother died when I was a child, and my father had passed away before Allison was born. I had no siblings. I had no place to go. And, Douglas warned me that if I tried to leave him, he would have me declared unfit and take Allison away from me."
"It sounds as if you've had nothing but a living hell," I said.
"That's a fair assessment," Kathleen said. "But, as said, my circumstances are the consequences of my own foolish decision. And, Allison has been my saving grace. She can be difficult at times, but I love her more than anything."
"I can't begin to imagine how you've managed to live in such a way," I said.
"It hasn't been all bad," Kathleen said. "In fairness, Douglas has been an excellent provider both for Allison and me. We've never wanted for anything. I've had all the material things a woman could want, I've only not had happiness."
"I'm going to do everything I can to get Allison back, Mrs. Shaw," I said.
"Thank you, Ms. O'Sullivan," Kathleen said. "I apologize for my rude behavior earlier. I've had my fill of Douglas' affairs. When I saw the way he was ogling you, I knew he had more in mind for you than hiring you to find Allison."
"Mrs. Shaw, it doesn't matter one whit what your husband may have had in mind," I said. "I have no interest in sleeping with your husband or any married man for that matter."
"That may be true," Kathleen said. "But, Douglas can be quite charming and persuasive when he puts his mind to it. I've yet to see him not get something he wanted and it's quite clear to me that he intends to have you before this is over."
"Not even," I said. "What a sad guy. I've known heaps of men like your husband. I can't be bothered with pricks like that. I'm here for one reason, to get your daughter home safe."
Kathleen rubbed her upper arm mindlessly. I saw that the place where her husband had grabbed her arm earlier was starting to bruise.
"I trust that you will be discreet, Ms. O'Sullivan," Kathleen said. "If Douglas were to learn what I've shared with you, he would fly into a rage."
It seemed obvious that Kathleen was afraid of her husband. "No worries, Mrs. Shaw," I said. "I won't say a word. You can trust me."
I heard voices and turned to see Douglas Shaw and the driver, Ken, approaching the porch.
"Ken will drive you back to Honolulu now, Ms. O'Sullivan," Shaw said. He looked at Kathleen and me, curiosity written on his face. "Seems you two have mended fences," he said. "What have you two been talking about?"
"Nothing much," I said. "Just girl talk, you wouldn't find it of interest."
I walked down the steps and over to the car where Ken was holding the rear passenger door open. Shaw followed me to the car. I got in next to my luggage.
"You have my mobile number," I said to Shaw. "Call immediately when you hear something. I'll be ready to get on to it."
"Thank you, Ms. O'Sullivan," Shaw said. "I hope we can wrap this thing up without delay. Once it is over, I hope you will consider staying in Hawaii for a few days for something more entertaining."
I felt like punching Shaw in the throat but decided to behave demurely for the moment. "Perhaps," I said, "we'll see how it goes." I flashed him my best fake smile. What a prick.
Shaw smiled and closed the door as Ken got in the front seat and started the engine. We drove out of the carpark and headed back to Honolulu.
