Kaua'i Me A River Part 10

"You need a computer to name this baby? Don't even tell me you're planning on calling him *Google' or *Yahoo' or whatever. That'd be criminal." I'm sure I sounded way more cranky than it called for, but since I'd been saddled with a ludicrous name I felt I had the right to weigh in.

"No," said Farrah. "I'm not searching for a geek name. I need my computer to look up his Hawaiian name. In English his name would be *Moses' but I don't want to call him that. I need to find out the Hawaiian spelling."

"Hang on. I've got a Hawaiian dictionary around here somewhere." I rummaged through my bookshelf and came up with a yellowed copy of "The Pocket Hawaiian Dictionary," by Pukui, Elbert and Mo'okini. The blurb on the cover promised Hawaiian spellings for popular names. I flipped to the name section and found the *M's.'

"It's Moke," I said. "The Hawaiian version of Moses is Moke."

"That's so perfect," said Farrah. She looked down at the baby's sleeping face and whispered, "Aloha, little Moke. E komo mai to your new life. Your new mama loves you with her whole heart."

It would've brought a tear to my eye but I'd already begun steeling myself to go shoe shopping.

As Steve pulled into a parking spot at the mall my cell began playing Mendelssohn's wedding march. That ring meant someone was calling on the *Let's Get Maui'd' line. I checked the caller ID. I didn't recognize the number but it was an *808' area code which meant Hawaii.

"Aloha, this is Pali Moon," I said. I used to answer, Pali Moon, Let's Get Maui'd, but it was often misinterpreted.

"h.e.l.lo, Pali. It's Joanie Bush, Phil Wilkerson's former wife. Do you remember me?"

"Of course. What can I do for you?"

"I got your number off the Internet. So it seems you're a wedding planner?"

"I am." I could hardly imagine the woman who'd been so nasty at the reading of my father's will would want me to coordinate a wedding for her, but maybe she'd called to apologize.

"That's pretty funny," she said.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, your dad should've kept you on retainer. I mean, think of the money he would've saved."

Had she called simply to heckle me?

"What can I do for you, Joanie?" I shot an apologetic look at Steve, who was drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

"In this situation, it's more what I'm doing for you."

"Have you talked Peggy out of contesting the will?"

"Peggy's not one to be talked out of anything, I'm afraid."

"Joanie, I'm kind of busy right now. Can I call you back?"

"No can do. I'm heading off to the mainland today. Even though Phil totally screwed my kids out of what was rightfully theirs, I feel bad for you. I have some information I'm sure you'll want to know."

Steve tapped the face of his watch.

"I'm sorry, Joanie," I said. "But I'm in kind of hurry."

"Look," said Joanie. "I don't know what you've been told about your mother's death, but I'll bet it's a lie."

"I haven't been told much of anything." I felt my cheeks start to feel hot.

"Well, I'm willing to tell you the truth. Unless, of course, you don't care."

"I care very much."

By now Steve had plopped his head back on the head rest and closed his eyes. I felt trapped between hearing what Joanie had to say and continuing to rudely ignore Steve.

"I'm afraid I really can't talk right now," I said.

"That's fine with me," said Joanie. "Because I'm only willing to tell you about this face-to-face. I've got a flight to Honolulu in half-an-hour. Then I've got a short layover before I leave for the mainland at four. If you're interested in hearing what happened to your mother, meet me at the Honolulu airport."

"I'm not sure if I can..." I let it trail off.

"It's up to you. But right now I'm feeling generous. Once I get back home, who knows?"

"Okay, I'll come. I'll try to get the next flight over."

"I'll wait near the Hawaiian Airlines ticket counter. If you don't get there before I have to leave I'm not willing to wait."

We signed off and I turned to Steve.

"Let me guess," he said. "No shoes, Sherlock?"

"Looks like it."

"But what about the fireman dinner tonight? Your new dress? What about Hatch?"

"I'm only going to Honolulu. I'll get a turnaround flight and be back in plenty of time for the banquet."

"Wearing b.u.t.t-ugly shoes," said Steve. "What's in Honolulu?"

"One of my dad's ex-wives is willing to tell me how my mom died. But she'll only talk to me in person so I have to meet her at the airport. If I can get on the next flight, I can hear her out and be back in a couple of hours."

"This is nuts, Pali. It's already almost one o'clock."

"I know. But I can make it work."

"And what was that about someone contesting a will?"

"Drive me to the airport and I'll tell you."

I gave him the same TV Guide version of the reading of my father's will that I'd given Hatch and Farrah. As far as my inheritance, I said my dad had left me a little money but I'd have to wait until after probate before I'd see any of it.

"Peep toe," Steve said as we turned onto the road that circles Kahului Airport.

"What'd you say?"

"Peep toe. That's the kind of shoes I had in mind to go with your new dress."

Steve dropped me off and I bought a ticket for the two-thirty flight with a return flight at four. It'd be tight, since it took a little over a half-hour to get from Kahului to Honolulu, but I knew I could do it.

I went through security and called Hatch. He wasn't happy with my plans.

"You want me to pick you up at the airport at four-forty-five? It'll take half-an-hour to drive back to your place and then almost another hour to get down to Wailea and get parked and everything. I don't want to be late."

"Okay, how about this: I won't go home after you pick me up. If you'll go up to my house right now and pick up my dress and shoes I can change in the airport bathroom. Then we'll have plenty of time to get down to Wailea."

His silence spoke volumes-no, an entire library-of irritation. "Pali, I know how important knowing what happened to your mom is to you. But this banquet is really important to me, too."

"Have a little faith. I'll be there."

CHAPTER 15.

Joanie Bush looked even more painted and blousy than she had Wednesday at the attorney's office. She'd teased her hair into a towering inferno of spiky blond clumps and her talon-like nails had been re-lacquered with black nail polish with a diagonal silver racing stripe on each one. Her clingy black and white traveler knit outfit made her look downright upholstered.

She was sitting in a row of chairs by the windows. As I approached, she got up and glanced around the terminal as if checking for someone tailing her.

"Let's not talk here," she hissed. "Is there a coffee shop or somewhere where we can be alone?"

"Why don't we go outside by the lei stands? They have benches out there."

"Can I smoke?"

"I don't know. I suppose you can until they yell at you."

We went outside and walked through the parking lot to the lei stand area. We found an empty bench and as soon as we sat down Joanie rummaged through her enormous satchel and brought out a long brown cigarette.

"Want one?" she said.

I shook my head. "Never got into that."

"Well, you might consider starting after you hear what I have to say."

"Joanie, I appreciate you taking time to meet me like this, but I can do without the drama."

"Sweetie, Phil was all about drama. He lived his entire life playing to an audience."

"Tell me about my mom."

"Okay, so of course I never knew her. She'd been dead almost seven years when I met Phil. He was still married to what's-her-name, Rita, but that marriage was going south fast. I sold real estate. In fact, I sold your dad the Honolulu property in the video. Real nice views. Totally remodeled, inside and out. Four-car garage. It had granite everywhere, Brazilian hardwood floors, and even gold-plated fixtures in the master bath."

"How does this relate to my mom?"

"Hold your horses, I'm getting to that. So anyway, right after Phil and I hooked up I realized the guy had issues. He always seemed on edge, like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. I asked him about it again and again but he claimed it was just the stress of running the cable company. Back in those days, cable was cut-throat. But Phil had friends in high places. His family back in Oregon had beaucoup bucks and since he was now their only son they didn't mind throwing a little cash his way when he needed it."

"He was the only one left because his brother had committed suicide," I said. I'd remembered that from Phil's video.

"Yeah, after Vietnam. Phil said his brother was messed up in the head."

I looked up. The sun was still high in the sky but at this rate I'd need to catch my flight home before I learned anything of value.

"Joanie, I'm sorry to rush you, but doesn't your flight leave at four o'clock?"

"Yeah, right. Well, here it is. Your mom didn't die of natural causes. And it wasn't an accident, either."

I was half-expecting something like that, but still I felt the blood rush to my ears. I could hear a faint thud, thud, thud in my left ear.

"How did she die?"

"Before we get to that, let me say I got this on good authority. This isn't just idle gossip."

I shot her a puzzled look.

"Phil told me this himself. He said he didn't abandon your mom. He kept in touch. That's why when he found out about her getting killed he took it real hard."

"Was he... I mean, did he have anything to do it?"

"No way. He said he loved her *like a rock.' You know, like that old Paul Simon song, *Love Me Like a Rock'? He never got over what happened."

"What did happen?"

"He told me a jealous guy who had a crush on her came in and killed her one night after she'd snubbed him. Phil said the guy was probably hopped up on something. Those Kaua'i hippies were always smokin' weed and dropping acid and stuff like that."

"But Auntie Mana said she'd died of a cerebral hemorrhage."

"Well, according to your father, the guy hit her over the head with a piece of wood or something. She got a bad concussion that made her brain bleed. Seems she died before she got to the hospital."

Images of my mother cowering under the blows of a crazed attacker flashed before me. "Did they catch the guy?"

"No. According to Phil, he totally got away with it."

"If my dad loved my mom so much why didn't he demand justice for her?"

"He said he wanted to, but there was a big cover-up. And that's why he was nervous all the time after he moved back to Hawaii. He said he thought the family involved in the cover-up might come after him."

"Why?"

"Because they knew he knew."