| |
––––––––
IT WAS 6:02 WHEN I parked the motorbike at my hotel and walked into the lobby. Carrying the backpack I’d retrieved in Kailua, I scanned the lobby. I didn’t see Detective Young. Not that I expected to. It was still almost an hour until seven.
Given my state, what I most wanted was a drink, but I also wanted to shower before Young arrived. I took the lift up to my room and opened the door with the key card. He was sitting in a chair by the sliding doors that entered on the balcony.
Adam smirked and stood up, pointing the pistol at me. "Hello O’Sullivan," he said. "You look surprised to see me. Surely, you didn’t think I was going to wait at the chapel to meet you. That would have given you all that time in the world to tell the police all about it so they could surround the place."
"I admit I thought you’d been rather foolish," I said. "Where are Kathleen and Allison."
"You’re a smart girl O’Sullivan. You’ll figure it out. Now toss the backpack over here."
I took the backpack off my shoulder. Grasping it by the straps, I tossed it on the floor at Adam’s feet.
"Well done," Adam said. "For once you’ve cooperated. Now, turn around and face the door."
"Piss off," I said. "I’m not going to make it easy for you by allowing you to shoot me in the back."
"You’ve got it all wrong. I never wanted to hurt anyone, I only wanted the money. Think about it, discharging this inside a hotel room would be very loud. Someone might see me leaving your room afterward. I will shoot if I have to, but I’d rather not. I don’t want a murder rap. Now, turn around like I told you and I won’t have to shoot you."
Funny thing that when it comes down to it. Self-preservation seems to force you to do anything that seems to offer you the chance to survive. Even if it means taking the word of someone you don’t trust you find yourself doing it. Still, I hesitated for a beat. I struggled to decide if Adam would shoot me in the back if I turned or not. Then I gave in. I turned and faced the door.
"See that wasn’t so hard," Adam said. "You've got to be willing to trust a little sometimes O’Sullivan if you want to survive a bad situation."
––––––––
I WOKE UP LISTENING to the sound of someone pounding on a door. Realizing I was face down on the floor, I tried to push myself up to my knees. But the room started to spin. I immediately collapsed back on the floor feeling like my head was going to explode.
I reached back and touched my head behind my right ear where it hurt the worst. My fingers came away wet and sticky. Bloody hell. For the second time today I had been bashed in the head and rendered unconscious. The pounding on the door continued unabated, and I became aware someone was shouting my name. I forced myself to crawl to the door. Grabbing the door handle, I pulled myself to my knees and then to my feet. Dizzy and shaky, I turned the handle and pulled the door open a crack. Then the door was flung open wide, and Young grabbed before I fell down again.
"How’s it going?" I said.
"Okay," Young said. "You look like hell. You all right? What the hell happened?"
"Yep, sure, all good," I said. "But I sure could use a drink."
"What happened?" Young said again.
"Adam was here waiting when I got back to my room," I said. "He ambushed me."
Young helped me over to the bed. I sat down on the edge of the mattress.
"You’re hurt," Young said. "You should lie down while I call for an ambulance."
"No," I said. "I’ll be right in a moment."
"You’re bleeding from the head, you might have a concussion."
"Yep, he hit me with his gun," I said. "No worries, I’m used to it, it seems to happen all the time."
"Was he alone?"
"Yep, the women weren’t with him if that's what you mean. I remember asking him about them, but can’t remember what he said."
"If you won’t let me call for an ambulance then we need to get you to a hospital." It was then I recalled what Adam had said. "You’re a smart girl, you’ll figure it out" or some sort rubbish.
"We have to get to that chapel right away," I said.
"What?"
"The chapel from the note, where Adam told me to bring the money," I said. "I'm sure Kathleen and Allison are there now. They could be hurt."
"Okay, as soon as I drop you off at a hospital I get out there," Young said. "I’ll call Oshiro on the way and have her head there now with a tactical team."
"No, I’m going with you," I said.
"No, you can’t," Young said. "Even if you weren’t hurt, you couldn’t. You’re a civilian, and this is police business."
"Fuck that," I said. "I’m involved in this, Young. I was almost killed twice today, and I’m bloody well going. You aren’t leaving me behind, no fucking way."
"Okay, okay, calm down O’Sullivan," Young said.
I stood up. My head hurt like a bastard, but the room had stopped spinning, and I was sure I could walk. "Come on, let’s go."
In the lift, Young rang Oshiro. He told her to get a tactical team together and to get out to St. Catalina Seaside Chapel right away. He told her about Adam ambushing me at the hotel and that I thought the Shaw women might already be at the chapel. Young’s had left his unmarked police car in the driveway of the hotel. We got in, and Young took off with lights and sirens toward Kalanianaole Highway.
"I still think you should go to a hospital," Young said.
"I will when this is over," I said. "To be fair, I’m not feeling too flash at the moment."
"Maybe the Shaw women are okay," Young said. "Adam didn’t kill you."
"Maybe," I said. "But he did mention that he didn’t want to shoot me in a hotel room. He said it would make too much noise and might attract attention when he left my room. He took everything by the way."
"He took everything?"
"Yep, the backpack, Shaw’s money, the gun I took off Allison, everything."
"We’ll get him," Young said. "He can’t get off the island. If he shows up at the airport and tries to buy a ticket security will arrest him."
"Have you found out his last name?" I said.
"Yes, and we found out where he worked," Young said. "We talked to his former boss at the helicopter tour business he flew for. His boss fired him after he discovered some damage on one of their choppers Adam had flown and wouldn’t explain. His full name is Adam Morton."
"He won’t risk the airport," I said.
"Then he won’t get off the island."
"He’s a bloody pilot, he doesn’t need commercial air to get off the island," I said.
"Well, we will worry about that later," Young said. "We’ll be at the chapel in 2 minutes."
––––––––
WE TURNED ON AN ACCESS road with a sign that read SEA LIFE PARK HAWAII and then onto another narrower paved road. There was a white wood frame chapel on a hillside.
"What is this place?" I said.
"It’s mostly used as a wedding chapel," Young said. "It’s very popular with Japanese tourists who come to Honolulu to get married."
Young drove into the carpark outside the chapel. An armored tactical vehicle, another unmarked police sedan, and an ambulance were there. A police helicopter orbited overhead. Oshiro was walking down the steps from the chapel entrance. She started towards us as we got out of the car.
Oshiro shook her head from side to side. "They are both dead," Oshiro said. "Both were shot. Allison Shaw was already dead when we arrived. Kathleen Shaw was still alive, but she died before the ambulance arrived."
"Shit," Young said.
Oshiro turned to me. "Before she died, Kathleen confessed to killing her husband. They had an argument in your hotel room. She slapped him, and he flew into a rage. He started beating her. She believed he was going to kill her. She saw the wine bottle on a table, grabbed it, and hit him in the head to make him stop hurting her. Guess you’re off the hook, O’Sullivan. Somehow that doesn’t seem right."
"And why is that Oshiro?" I said. "I told you I didn’t kill him."
"Because four people have died since you arrived in Honolulu," Oshiro said. "Four people who chances are would all still be alive if you had contacted us sooner."
"No way to know that for sure," Young said.
"Piss off Oshiro," I said. "I was only doing my job. No one could have predicted any of this was going to happen."
Oshiro took a step toward me. Young stepped in front of her. "Let it go," he said. "If you’ve got this, O’Sullivan needs to get to a hospital."
"Call for an ambulance then," Oshiro said. "The one already here already has two passengers."
"No, I’ll drive her," Young said. "I’ll call you later. We’ll need to organize the search for Adam Morton."
Oshiro stood there tight-lipped. Then she nodded to Young, turned, and walked back towards the chapel.
"Get in the car," Young said. "I’m taking you to a hospital."
