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I’D SLEPT IN MY CLOTHES which were now wrinkled and soiled. I needed a new outfit among other things. But, when I left the motel a little after eight o’clock, I decided coffee was what I needed first. I found a coffee bar in Wahiawa on Kamehameha Highway. I ordered an Americano with a double shot and an Acai Bowl for brekkie. Mostly, I had ordered it because it was the only thing on the menu other than coffee and tea. It was a yogurt bowl topped with banana slices and granola, drizzled with honey.
After fortifying myself with the most important meal of the day, I went looking for a hair salon. I liked my hair as it was, but after my photo had been broadcast on television, I needed to change my appearance. After a 20 minute search, I found one that accepted walk-ins.
By the time the stylist was ready for me, I’d found the look I wanted in a hairstyles magazine. Two hours later, the stylist had transformed my shoulder-length ginger tresses. They had become a blonde pixie cut paired with blunt, eye-skimming fringe. I asked the stylist to lighten my brows a bit with hydrogen peroxide. She did as I asked although she had insisted blonde hair with dark brows was a thing. I paid her and left the shop to look for a disposable phone. I needed to have a catch up with Malone.
Down the road from the hair salon, I found a shop that sold disposable phones. I bought one along with a charger I could use in the car and a $50 prepaid phone card. Back in the car, I removed the phone from the packaging and plugged it in to charge. I didn’t want the bloody thing going flat in the middle of a conversation with Malone.
While I waited for the phone to charge I went in search of a clothing shop. I found a shopping mall and once inside found a shop that sold the clothing I liked to wear. In less than a half hour, I had made my selections. I picked out a simple, casual dress, two pairs of shorts, and a pair of jeans. I bought matching tops for the shorts and jeans, a package of undies, and two bras. I wore the dress out of the store, having tossed the clothes I’d been wearing into the trash bin. With the new hairstyle and some clean clothes, I was all set.
Before leaving the carpark, I rang Malone’s mobile, and he answered straight away.
"How’s it going?" I said.
"Good, but I was getting a little worried after not hearing from you for two days."
"Yep, sorry about that," I said. "I had a bloody mare yesterday."
"How’s the case going?"
"To be fair, things have gone a bit tits up," I said.
"What?" Malone said. "What happened?"
"For starters, Douglas Shaw carked it yesterday. I found him dead on the floor of my hotel room wearing nothing but a bathrobe. Now the Honolulu cops are looking for me because they think I might have killed him."
"Ah, shit," Malone said. "What about the kidnapping?"
"Yeah, I haven’t got that all sorted yet, but the whole kidnapping thing looks a bit sus," I said. "I don’t think there was any kidnapping. It seems more like it was an extortion scheme to get money from Shaw with his daughter involved in it."
"Where are you now?"
"North of Honolulu, at a place called Wahiawa at the moment," I said. "I'm trying to stay a step ahead of the cops while I try to figure out who killed Shaw."
"What a mess."
"Yep, pretty much a total cock-up, eh," I said.
"What’s the plan?"
"First, I’m going to bowl round to Shaw’s house and have a chat to the missus and his daughter, Allison," I said.
"I can be on the next flight to Honolulu," Malone said.
"Slow down, Trev," I said. "You needn’t ride to the rescue at the moment. I can sort this out, and get things sorted with the police."
"How?" Malone said. "You think whoever killed Shaw is just going to admit it because you asked them if they did it?"
"Of course not, but I have some leverage to use with Shaw’s wife and the daughter," I said. "I’ve got a feeling they know who did it."
"What kind of leverage?"
"I went to rescue the daughter yesterday. I arrived with the guy who met me to collect the ransom. Shaw’s daughter, Allison burst out of the building she was in blasting away with a pistol. She shot and killed the guy I was with. I’ll threaten to go to the police with that if they don’t tell me what they know."
"She’ll only deny it if you go to the police," Malone said. "It will be her word against yours."
"I have the murder weapon," I said. "I took it off Allison afterward when she was trying to escape."
"Huh," Malone said. "That might work. But, it might be best if you go to the cops now and let them handle it."
"I’ve considered that," I said. "But, I’m worried the cops will lock me up while they investigate and I’ll be in jail until they get it sorted."
"Still, the longer you are on the run, the worse it looks for you."
"True enough, but I still want to talk to Shaw’s wife and daughter before considering turning myself in," I said.
"Okay, T.J., do it your way," Malone said. "But, if things go south, if you get picked up by the police, call me. I’ll get there as quick as I can."
"Yeah, definitely. If I get arrested before I can sort this, I’ll be happy to have all the help I can get."
We said goodbye, and I disconnected the call. Nothing for it now, but to drive to Shaw’s place and see what I could find out. I drove out of the mall carpark onto the motorway and headed toward the east side of the island. A bit less than an hour later, I was on HI-83, headed north up the coast on the windward side of Oahu to Shaw’s house. I hadn’t a clue what was going to be waiting for me when I got there.
