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IT WAS AFTER EIGHT when I woke up. By the time I’d retrieved the car the previous evening, feeling shattered I had come straight back to the hotel. When I spoke to the clerk at the front desk, I’d learned the hotel had canceled my original reservation. Shaw had organized the room for me and guaranteed payment. With Shaw dead, the hotel manager had feared payment might not be forthcoming. I had to agree to accept responsibility for paying for the entire stay and to present my credit card. The clerk then booked me into a new room.
After showering but before bed, I’d switched on my mobile and the disposable one I’d purchased. The police had switched them off after taking them when they had arrested me. I had three voice mail messages from Malone on each phone. I decided I better call him before he caught a plane for Honolulu. I rang up his mobile but got his voice mail. I left a message telling him I was all good and had sorted things with the Honolulu police for the time being. After promising to call back later, I’d hung up. Then I’d gone to bed and had fallen asleep straight away.
I had some breakfast and coffee in one of the hotel restaurants then I drove back to the place where I’d hired the car. I wasn’t a car person, actually. I quite liked motorbikes. I decided to return the car and to hire a motorbike from a place I’d driven past a few days before. I dropped off the hire car then walked the three blocks to the motorbike place. I chose a carbon gray Kawasaki Ninja H2. The motorbike came with a helmet, so I was all set. Too bad I hadn’t been on the Ninja yesterday instead of driving a car. I’d never have stopped for that cop, and he’d never had caught me either.
Merging onto the motorway, I again headed for Shaw’s house and my delayed meeting with his wife and daughter. This time I made it through Kailua without incident. I still hadn’t come up with a story to get past the gate guard when I arrived at the gate to find there wasn’t a guard. The gate was standing open. I continued through it to the house. I slowed after turning the last corner of the access road and stopped when I could see the house. There was no sign of the guard from before out front, and there were no vehicles about. There was no activity around the outbuilding either. I assumed it was where Shaw housed his security force. Strange. It was if there was no one here at all. I put the motorbike in gear and continued to the house, stopping in the driveway out front. I climbed off and removed the helmet. Leaving it on the seat of the bike I followed the side of the house to the back. I found an unlocked patio door. I opened it, stepped inside, and closed the door. I could hear voices from another part of the house and went looking for the people I heard speaking.
Outside the room, where I’d first met Douglas Shaw the voices were more distinct. There was no doubt that the people speaking were in the room behind the closed door. I twisted the knob and eased the door open so that I could peer around it into the room. Shaw’s wife and daughter sat together on the couch. A man was standing in front of them with his back to me. It was clear that the man had frightened the women. The door hinges squeaked when I opened the door a bit wider. Allison looked in my direction, and we made eye contact, tipping off the guy I was there. He spun around pointing a gun at me.
"Come on in if you don’t want to get shot," the guy said.
For an instant, I thought about slamming the door and making a run for it. But, out of concern for what might happen to the women I didn’t. I opened the door and stepped into the room.
"Adam, you rat bastard," I said, "are you still lurking about?"
"Well, if it isn’t psycho bitch," Adam said. He motioned towards the couch with the pistol. "Come in and have a seat on the couch with the other ladies."
I started across the room. "And don’t try anything," Adam said. "You won’t get the chance to sucker punch me again."
"Sucker punch?" I said. "I seem to recall it was a kick in the nuts, not a sucker punch."
"Yeah, whatever," Adam said, "sit down."
Allison scooted toward her mum. I sat down beside her.
"Where is the money?" Adam said to me.
"In a safe place," I said.
"Where?"
"Can’t tell you that," I said.
"You will tell me, or I’ll shoot you."
"Brilliant idea," I said. "Then you will never find the money."
Adam pointed the gun at Allison.
"No, please," Allison said.
"Then I’ll shoot Allison if you don’t tell me where the money is."
"I can’t tell you because I’m not familiar enough with the area to tell you where to find the money. You don't need to hurt anyone. I can take you to the money."
"You will not take him to the money," Kathleen Shaw said. "It’s ours." Glaring at Adam, she continued. "We agreed to pay you ten thousand dollars for your services."
"That was before your daughter reneged on our agreement. She tried to kill me and take off without paying me," Adam said.
"You’re the one who broke the agreement," Allison said. "You demanded half of the money after Jimmy brought it."
"I deserved half for taking the risks I did," Adam said. "Now after all the trouble I’ve been through because of you three, I’m taking it all."
"I’ll go to the police," Kathleen said.
"And tell them what? That you and your daughter cooked up a fake kidnapping scheme to extort money from your own husband. And you want to complain because one of your co-conspirators kept the ransom money? I doubt the police will be very sympathetic, Ms. Shaw."
I’d been right all along. There had never been any kidnapping. It had all been a sham.
"It isn’t like you were ever going to get the money back anyway," Adam said. He pointed the gun at me. "I figure little miss private eye here killed your husband so she could keep the money herself."
"That’s not true," I said. "And, I didn’t kill Douglas Shaw."
"The police said you did," Adam said. "It was on the news. In fact, it was on the news they arrested you. That’s why I came here. What are you even doing here? Why aren’t you in jail?"
"The police picked me up and had me in for questioning," I said. "I didn’t kill Shaw. They hadn’t any evidence to charge me and had to let me go."
Adam smiled and looked at the other two women. "Well, if she is telling the truth, I'd like to know who did kill Douglas Shaw."
Neither Kathleen nor Allison met his stare.
"Never mind that," Adam said. "I couldn’t care less who killed him. I only want my money." Adam looked at me. "Go find something to tie these two up with. I’m not taking all three of you to get the money. We’ll leave these two here."
I got up from the couch.
"And don’t try anything," Adam said. "You do anything besides what I've told you to do, or you don’t come back, and I’ll kill them both, and it will be on you."
"Ahkay, no worries. I’ll see what I can find, and I’ll come right back."
I walked to the doorway and started through it.
"And leave the door open," Adam said.
I did so and walked down the hallway until I found the kitchen. I looked through the cupboards and drawers until I found a roll of silver duct tape. I walked back to the room where Adam was holding Kathleen and Allison.
"Found this," I said, holding up the tape.
"Yeah, that will work," Adam said. "Tape their wrists together behind their backs and then tape their ankles together."
I went to Kathleen first. She stood up and turned her back to me, arms behind her back and wrists together. I wrapped several turns of tape around her wrists, careful not to make it too tight. When I had finished, she sat back down. I knelt at her feet and did the same to her ankles. I moved over to Allison and repeated the process. I looked at Adam. "Satisfied?" I said.
"Now tape their ankles together," Adam said. "I don’t want them feeling tempted to get up and hop around looking for something to cut the tape off with while we’re gone."
I knelt again and wrapped several turns of tape around the ankles of both Kathleen and Allison. The result left them bound together. When I’d finished Adam said, "Now put a strip of tape over their mouths."
"But there is no one about to hear them," I said.
"Never mind, do as I told you."
I tore two strips of tape off the roll and placed one over the mouth of each woman.
Adam looked at Kathleen and Allison. "Listen up," he said. "You two sit here and be quiet while we are gone. Once I get the money, I’ll let O’Sullivan go. She can come back and turn you loose." The women nodded.
"How far is it to where you stashed the money?" Adam said to me.
"About a 15-minute drive," I said.
"Okay, let’s go then," Adam said, motioning towards the doorway with the muzzle of the pistol.
I walked through the door in the direction of the patio door I had come in earlier with Adam following. He was far more careful after what had happened in Haleiwa. It wasn’t going to be easy to jump him a second time.
Once outside, he told me to walk to the outbuilding. When we got to the building, he told me to keep walking until we arrived at the back of the building. There was a white sedan parked behind the building that had been shielded from view. That was why I hadn’t seen a car when I had arrived earlier.
"You’re driving," Adam said, tossing me a car keys. "Get in."
I got in behind the wheel. Adam got in the front passenger seat, keeping his pistol pointed at me. "Let’s go," he said.
I started the car, put it in gear, and headed for the driveway. We passed the house and continued down the long drive to the road. I turned onto the road and started towards Kailua.
"I’d be within rights to give you a little payback for Haleiwa," Adam said. "But, I don’t want to hurt you. I only want my money. Let’s go get it without any drama, and you’ll live to see the end of the day. It’s not your money anyway, so this shouldn’t be a problem for you."
"Ahkay," I said. "I’m cool with it." I went out of my way to appear resigned and cooperative. Inside I was racking my brain trying to think of a way to turn the tables on Adam again. No way was I going to hand over the money to him. I thought about crashing the car, but he might have a split second to shoot me, or we could both die in a crash. I kept driving and trying to think of a better plan. Neither of us spoke. After about ten minutes we arrived on the outskirts of Kailua. That’s when a plan dropped right into my lap. We were approaching an intersection and a few meters from it, the traffic light went yellow. There was a police cruiser at the intersection waiting for a green light to cross the road in front of us. I accelerated, and our car entered the intersection a second or two after our traffic light went red. Adam had been watching the light and hadn’t noticed the police car until the last second. The police car had started ahead, and the cop had to brake to avoid colliding with us. The cop swung in behind us and immediately activated his emergency lights.
"You stupid, stupid girl," Adam said. "This isn’t going to help you."
The cop hit the siren, and I pulled the car to the side of the road. "Take the ticket and keep your mouth shut," Adam said. "Say anything, and you might get me arrested, but you won’t be alive to see it."
The police car stopped behind us. I watched the outside rear view mirror. After a few moments, the cop got out of his car and approached my window. Adam concealed the gun at his right side next to the car door.
"Good afternoon," the cop said, "license and registration please."
I looked up at him and saw the dawn of recognition on his face. He was the same cop that had arrested me the day before. "It’s you again," the cop said. "We have to stop meeting like this Ms. O’Sullivan."
"Ah, right," I said. "And, wouldn’t you know officer I haven’t got my license on me, again."
"Are you supposed to be back on the street?" the cop said.
"Yes," I said. "I had a chat with the lovely detectives in Honolulu. We got things sorted, and they let me go. I'm only required to stay in town until they’ve finished their investigation."
"I see," the cop said. "But, please understand I’m going to have to check that out. Who is that with you?"
"Adam," I said. "Adam is a friend. We were chatting about where to stop and eat, and I didn’t notice the traffic light until it was too late."
"Uh, huh," the cop said. "Turn off the ignition and hand me the keys please."
I switched off the car, pulled the key out of the ignition, and passed it out the window to the cop. He dropped the keys on the top of the car and then took a step back. "I need you both to exit the vehicle," the cop said.
"Officer is this necessary," Adam said. "I can vouch for her. I picked her up at the police station when they released her."
"Yes, sir, it is necessary," the cop said. "Now both of you, get out of the vehicle."
"Happy to," I said. I opened the door and hopped out. Adam opened his door and did a runner. The cop shouted at him to stop, but Adam was hitting his stride. The cop ran after him in hot pursuit. I walked back to the police car. I reached through the window, turned off the ignition, and pulled the key out. I turned and threw the keys as far as I could across the road into the grass. I walked back to Adam’s car, grabbed the keys off the top of the car, and got back behind the wheel. I started the car, did a turnabout, and drove back in the direction we had come from. Regardless of what happened to Adam, I knew one thing. Soon the cop would give a description of the car and registration details over his radio to his mates. I had to get back to Shaw’s place quick smart before that happened and another cop spotted me.
I made it back to Shaw’s without any further drama. I stopped Adam’s car out front of the house and left it there. There was still no one about which was great. I intended to get some answers from the Shaw women at last. I tried the front door and finding it unlocked. I let myself in and walked back to the room where I last saw Kathleen and Allison. When I opened the door, things seemed as they had been when I had left with Adam. Both women were still sitting on the couch, bound together. I walked over and pulled the tape off their mouths, but left them bound. I sat down in a chair across from the couch.
"What are you doing?" Kathleen said. "Turn us loose."
"In due time," I said. "We’re going to have a chat first about why someone tried to frame me for killing your husband."
It was then that I felt what I reckoned was the muzzle of a pistol pressed against the base of my skull. A familiar deep, masculine voice said, "They aren’t telling you anything."
