Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii or the characters. I do not use this
forum for profit. I do own the story and it's premises.

Fandom: Hawaii/Sean Harrison

Author: Stormm

Rating: R

Warnings: Some language, some graphic violence.

Title: Malama

Chapter: 1

Today was a celebration and all of Hawaii basked in the cultural sights and sounds of King Kamehameha Day. This day, Hawaii and its people would enjoy the diversity of food, music and culture of the united islands.


Lt. Detective Sean Harrison, a resident of the islands, but not a Kanaka maoli, walked along the Honolulu city streets thinking about his own celebration. He would be sharing a meal of Poi, luau, a main leafy vegetable, crab, fish, squid, chicken, bananas, coconut juice, mountain apples and sugar cane with his native in-laws and his son, of
course, excluding his estranged wife.

When he had first came to the islands back when he served as a Special Forces member, his stomach did not take to the staple diet of the islands very well. But after marrying a native of the islands and settling down to every day life, his metabolism adjusted to the new type of food. Now he relished in the cultural cuisine on a daily basis. During this time, he also became familiar with the Native language and culture. Too bad he could not say the same for his partner.

Lt. Detective John Declan, a newly resident of the islands, but a born and raised Chicago police officer, lavished in the sun and surf of his new home. Keeping in step with his partner, he was confused when it came to the culture and its people. There were a couple of cases in which he felt like a fish out of water. Especially on the case where he almost drowned and a perk had to save him. He still had a lot to learn in order to survive this tropical paradise.

"So Sean, what are you doing tonight?" asked John, as they walked into the HPD office.

Sean glanced at him as they walked through the crowd of desks towards their own desk space.

"Basically spending time with my son and my in-laws for the holiday," he replied, sitting down at his desk and taking out his case files.

"Yeah, well, unfortunately, with my mom being in Chicago, it's kind of hard to spend the holiday with her," said John sitting down at his desk and eyeing Sean with a baleful look.

"Oh, please! Is this some new type of begging for an invitation?"

"Please, Sean, please. I have never seen a traditional Hawaiian celebration. Can I come? Can I?" begged John childishly.

Sean sighed heavily. He knew it would be no problem to tell his in-laws that he was bringing his partner with him to the celebration and he did like his partner, but lately Declan seemed to manage to weasel his way into Sean's outside activities a lot lately. He knew the man was lonely being a malihini on the island. He was out of his element and being so, the man latched on to Sean.

"Okay. But you do what I tell you, no questions, understand?"

"Of course, Sean. You know me. I can always follow your lead," replied John, his eyes lighting up with glee.

"Yeah. I remember. That's why I am specifically re-iterating my instructions. Don't do anything unless I tell you."

"I got it, Sean."

"What about me?" came a voice from the other side of the room.

Sean turned to see Lt. Detective Christopher Gains smiling at him from his desk across the way.

"Not you too?" exclaimed Sean, shaking his head in exasperation.

"Well, I heard about your in-laws' celebration from last year. They always have a great Ho`olaule`a."

"What?" asked John curiously.

"Celebration," replied Sean. "This would not have anything to do with my sister-in-law, now would it?"

"Ilana? No, of course not. Why would you think that?" answered Chris, trying to look innocent.

"Yeah, right," said Sean sarcastically. "And hell just froze over."

"It did?" questioned John, jokingly.

"Listen, if I invite you, then I have to invite everyone in the place."

"No, you don't," came a comment from the door.

Sean turned to see Officer Kaleo standing in the door, smiling broadly at him.

"And what does that mean?" asked Sean, dreading the answer.

"You just have to invite me, Danny, Linh and Captain Harada."

Sean dropped his head despondently. He was hoping that the celebration would not turn into what it was now turning into, a work event. But then again, if he had his co-workers there then his in-laws would not dare broach the subject of his estranged wife and their current situation. It was considered Kapu at a celebration with outsiders.

"Okay, okay. That is the end of the invitations. I will tell my in-laws to expect six more guests. But the same goes for everyone as it does for John. No questions!"

Kaleo walked away to go tell Linh and Chris got up to find Danny to tell him of the news.

"I'll tell the Captain, but I don't think he'll be coming," said John, getting up from his desk.

"Why do you think he won't come?"

"He's got plans with his own family. But I wouldn't leave him off the invitation if I were you. Once he finds out that everybody else was invited and he wasn't…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Go ahead. I better call my in-laws and let them know," responded Sean, picking up the phone. Sean shook his head in wonder. How was he going to explain this to his in-laws?

The phone rang on the other end and it was picked up on the second rang. "Hey, Joe, I got to ask you a favor…"

To be continued………


http://www.mauimapp.com/moolelo.htm


Malama - to take care of, tend, attend, care for, preserve, protect,
maintain; care, preservation, support, fidelity, loyalty; caretaker,
keeper.

Kanaka maoli – Native Hawaiian

Malihini – Newcomer, visitor

Kapu - Forbidden, sacred, taboo, no trespassing

* * * * * *

Chapter: 2

Sean arrived to his in-laws home earlier than the other guests. He wanted to spend time alone with his son before the rest of the guests arrived.

He knocked on the door of the huge house that was located in Kailua, a small city on the east coast of Oahu, which was only 20 minutes drive from Honolulu.

An elderly man opened the door and smiled gently at Sean. “Sean, you’re early, son.” He then motioned Sean inside.

“I know,” replied Sean, stepping inside the house and walking into the living room. “I just wanted to see Jack before the crowd arrives.”

Sean found he was lucky in having the in-laws that he did. They did not fault him for his current situation with his estranged wife. They understood all too well what he had gone through during their marriage. They also were very kind in saying that six extra guests were no trouble. His only issue would be with Ilana, his wife’s sister. She and Sean did not get along as well as he did with most members of his wife’s family. It was this confrontation that he was trying to avoid and hoped that Chris would be a great distraction.

“Jack is with Nani. They went for a quick swim before the celebration. They should be back soon,” explained Joe Kanunu.

Maka Nani Kanunu was Joe’s youngest daughter of three. Her name in Hawaiian meant Favorite One, which she was to the doting parents and also to Sean. She was the normal nineteen-year old attending school at the University of Hawaii and was studying Computer Information Technology. Her primary career choice was to work at HPD like her Uncle Sean. But he, like her parents, did not agree. Unfortunately for them, Nani was as hard headed as her Uncle and would not listen to their reasoning.

“So Joe, how’s the fishing going? Catch any big ones?” asked Sean jokingly. It was a big joke among the family and its background came from the fact that Sean’s son had caught a bigger fish than his father-in-law at last year’s celebration.

“Fishing been good, Sean, so don’t rub it in,” answered Joe smiling broadly.

Suddenly, Sean’s young son, Jack and his sister-in-law, Maka Nani came bursting into the house from the back door dressed in bathing suits and wrapped in towels. They were laughing and spraying water all over the entranceway.

“Ai! What are you two doing?” exclaimed Joe. “Nani, you should know better. Your mother just cleaned the house for the celebration and now you bring in the ocean. Ahahana!”

The two mischievous individuals only giggled. They knew that the elderly man would never be angry over something like this and neither would be his wife. So the head of the household only smiled gently at them and motioned for them to go upstairs to change clothes.

“Hey, hey, guys. You forgetting something?”

“Dad!”

“Uncle Sean!”

They both ran to the blond detective and were caught in a huge bear hug.

“Argh! You guys are getting to big for my arms,” said Sean laughing deeply.

“Oh, Dad!” exclaimed young Jack Harrison.

“Please, Uncle Jack! I’m trying to loose weight and you are not giving me any confidence about it.”

Sean looked the two up and down. Maka Nani had grown since the last time he saw her. In fact, he could not believe it had been a whole year and in that time, she was growing more and more into a beautiful Hawaiian girl.

“You’re beautiful just the way you are, Nani.”

“Oh, Uncle Sean, you probably tell all the girls that!”

“Oh, no. Just my favorite girl,” said Sean, kissing her gently on the cheek.

“What about me, Dad? Haven’t I grown?” said Jack, jumping up and down to get his father’s attention.

Sean picked the boy up into his arms and said, “Of course. In two weeks since I’ve seen you, you must have grown at least an inch.”

“Ke tûtû kâne says I have grown two inches.”

Sean smiled at his son’s enthusiasm. “You are growing, aren’t you?”

“Yep!”

“Well, go upstairs and change. The guests will be here soon.”

“Okay, Dad,” said the little blond ball of energy and he ran upstairs to his bedroom to change.

“I better go too, Uncle Sean.”

“You’re coming to the dinner, right?”

“Nah. I got a date with a hunk.”

“And who is this hunk?” asked Sean protectively.

“Oh, Uncle Sean. He’s just a boy at school that I met. His name is Frank and I don’t want you harassing him when he gets here.”

“But what kind of uncle would I be if I didn’t?”

“A nice uncle,” said Nani, smiling and squeezing Sean’s hand. “Please be civil.”

“I’m always civil.”

“Yeah, right. You’re a cop. Cops are never civil.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” purred Sean playfully.

“But I would. But I appreciate you being my Malama, but really, I don’t need it” she replied, kissing him upon the cheek and then she started walking up the stairs too.

“He better watch it!” he yelled to her retreating back, grinning to himself. She was no longer the little girl when he had first married her sister.

* * * * * * * * *

The celebration was winding down as Sean watched another guest leave and say their goodbyes to their host.

Jack fell asleep an hour ago on the rattan chair in the living room and Sean had put him to bed, telling him he would pick him up in the morning to go to the beach.

In the end there were only Joe, his wife, Alana, Sean, Ilana, Joe’s daughter, Chris, Danny and John. The others had left to their own homes and bed.

Sean was lucky that he did invite Chris. Ilana had no time to harass him about the current situation with his estranged wife and the subject was not broached all night.

Sean was about to see John and Danny off, when the doorbell rang. He opened the door to find Captain Harada standing in the doorway.

“Captain? What are doing here? The party’s over,” said Sean, smiling at him.

“Yeah, Captain. You’re kind of late,” stated John, chuckling. “Kaleo was here and there not much left concerning food.”

Captain Harada stayed silent and bowed his head. Sean could see that there was something that was not good news.

“Sean, I have some bad news. I’m so sorry, Sean…”

“Captain, what is it?” asked Sean, fear now hammering in his heart. He and the Captain had partnered together years ago before he got promoted to Captain. Although he was his superior, he was still his friend.

“Sean, Maka Nani…Nani…” said Harada, his throat tightening in sadness.

“What?” exclaimed Sean. “What has happened to Nani?” The fear now was rising into his mouth. He could taste it overpowering all his senses.

“She’s dead, Sean. I’m so sorry.”

The meaning of those words dropped into the pit of Sean’s stomach. His face paled and nausea threatened to overtake him. “Nani dead! No! She was just here, alive. It was not possible,” he thought to himself. His mind was in turmoil. How could he tell his in-laws, Jack, her sisters, no, it could not be.

His legs started to shake in shock and Harada noticed this. He grabbed Sean by the elbow. “Come on, Sean. Let’s go inside,” said Harada, gently pushing him into the house.

John and Danny had overheard the conversation and were also staggered by the news. They followed Sean and Harada back into the living room of the house.

“Sean. Sean, what’s wrong?” asked Joe noticing Sean’s pale face and they way he stumbled along.

Sean did not answer. He could not answer. His mind could not grasp the words or that Joe was saying. His mind was in turmoil. All he knew was someone that he dearly loved was dead and he did not know why or how. “Oh, God,” he thought to himself. “This can’t be happening.”

Harada helped Sean to sit down on couch. He then bade Joe, his wife and his daughter, Ilana to sit down next to Sean. This was the part of the job that he hated, especially when it concerned people who he considered friends.

“Mr. Kanunu, Mrs. Kanunu, I have some bad news about your daughter, Nani,” he started.

At this Joe, his wife and his daughter all jumped up from the couch. The stood there frantically, fearing the words that would leave the Captain’s mouth.

“What? What has happened to Nani?” exclaimed Joe. He then turned to Sean and saw the way he looked and it was then he knew the news was not good. “No, no,” he said in such a small whisper. But his wife and daughter heard it.

“Sean, what is going on?” demanded Ilana of her brother-in-law. In her heart Ilana knew it was bad. She had never seen her brother-in-law look so defeated, so lost.

“Captain Harada, tell me now! What has happened to my daughter?” yelled Alana Kanunu, her heart thumping hard in her chest, her mind thinking all sorts of things concerning the life of her daughter.

“She’s dead,” came Sean’s soft reply. There was dead silence in the room as if the eye of hurricane was over the house. Then, all hell broke loose.

Alana started to scream and wail, dropping to her knees onto the carpeted floor. “No! No! Not my Nani! Please God, no!”

Her husband, knelt next to his wife, bringing her into his arms, as the woman continued to cry out her disbelief at the news. Joe, himself was still in disbelief. His favorite one could not be dead.

Ilana joined her father on the floor with her mother, her arms wrapping around them both as she glared angrily at Sean. She was in pain and her pain had no outlet to go except at the man whom she blamed for failure in his duty to her sister. She reasoned that since the day her sister married the ‘elelū kea, he had sworn to be Nani’s Malama. But now he had broken that promise and Nani was dead.

“How did it happen?” asked John, saddened by the current events and looking worried at his partner. It was suppose to be a happy time, but now it had become something disastrous.

“They found her car off at the bottom of a cliff about ten miles from here. There was a boy with her…”

“Frank,” replied Sean softly, standing up from the couch and walking over to window and looking out at it. “It was her date. God, Captain! She was only nineteen years old! How could this happen?”

“They were both pronounced dead at the scene. We have people examining the site and the coroner has the bodies to determine if they were…” Harada poised in mid-sentence. He did not know how to broach the subject concerning what was their current assumption, drunk driving.

“What Captain? If they were what?” questioned Sean, turning to face the Captain, tears now flowing freely down his face.

“To determine if there was alcohol or drugs involved,” finished Captain Harada.

“That’s ridiculous!” yelled Ilana. “Nani would never be involved in something like that! How dare you insult my sister!”

“Daughter, please,” came the plea from her father. He was more concerned about his wife right now who had fainted from the news. He picked her up into his arms and said, “I need…I need to take care of my wife, Captain. If you…if you…”

“Of course, sir,” replied the Captain curtly and watched the man proceed to the staircase with his limp bundle.

“Sean?” came the soft voice of his father-in-law, tears now streaming like a river down his face. “Could you please handle things for me in the meantime? Call the doctor and have him…have him…have him…”

Sean looked at him with understanding and sorrow. “Sure…sure, okay, Joe. I’ll handle everything.”

After Joe had reached the top of the stairs and gone into their bedroom, Sean noticed that a noise caught his attention on the top of the stairs.

“Dad?”

“Jack,” answered Sean, walking up to the top of the stairs to meet his son. He thoughts turned to how was he going to tell such a little boy that his favorite Aunt was never coming home.

“What are you doing up, son?” asked Sean, wiping the wet tears from his eyes and trying to compose his features. He had already decided that he would tell me in the morning. He did not think right now was an appropriate time.

“I heard screaming and yelling,” Jack said yawning and rubbing his eyes fiercely. “Did something happen?”

“Why don’t we just go and put you back in the bed and I’ll tell you about it in the morning, okay?”

Although his father’s face showed nothing, his voice did sound strange to young Jack’s ears. There was something wrong, but he knew how adults always thought he was too young to understand. He would not pressure his father now. He could see whatever it was, was really upsetting his father.

“Okay, Dad,” said Jack, turning back towards his bedroom.

At that moment, Ilana came bounding up the stairs, her tears not shed with the anger she still held.

“Let me, Sean. I know you have something you must do,” interjected Ilana, her eyes catching Sean’s in their hold.

Sean knew what Ilana meant. He reluctantly nodded and turned to his son before he went into the room.

“Jack, Ilana’s going to tuck you in. I’ll be up later, okay?”

Jack nodded, although he felt put upon. To be tucked in by his aunt was undignified for the young boy. He thought he was too old to be tucked in. He knew something was really wrong for Ilana and his father to want to put him to bed. He would let it slide for now.

“Okay,” he answered hesitantly, then turned to proceed towards his bedroom. He paused at the doorknob and turned to his father. “Dad?”

“Yes, son?”

“I love you, Dad.”

“I love you too, son. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Jack then opened the door and walked into his bedroom.

Ilana walked passed Sean, but before she reached the room, she called back softly to him, “You are Malama. You know what you have to do.”

Sean only nodded. The words did not need to be spoken between them. He watched as his sister-in-law entered his son’s room and closed the door softly behind her.

Sean then descended down the stairs and came to face the Captain and his fellow officers. His eyes shown brightly with tears and they could see the anger that was slowly creeping into his face.

He noticed that Danny was missing from the group.

“Where did Danny go?”

“He went to the site to see if he could help out with the…” trailed Chris.

Sean only nodded knowing that it was hard for his fellow officers not to sympathize with the man. They knew like he did that this was something they all dread working in their current profession.

“I want to know everything that the coroner finds out about…about how she died,” he said in a voice so low, they almost missed it.

“As soon as we know, you will know.”

“Thanks, Captain.”

“Is there anything I can do for you, Sean?” queried John. He was very concerned about his partner and he knew how close he and Nani were from his conversations with him about his in-laws.

“No,” said Sean, walking back over to the window and staring out of it. The ocean was so beautiful at night. It hid the dangers that existed in its depths. It seemed the life also had the same characteristics.

“Listen, Cap, I’ll go over to the station and see if they have anything yet,” put in Chris. He had been silent throughout the ordeal, keeping his thoughts and feelings to himself.

He had become acquainted with Nani through his persistent hunt of her sister. He liked her, a lot and as far as he was concerned, she was a good kid. He did not think that the coroner would find any evidence of alcohol or drugs in this instance. He just hoped that it was an accident. Anything else and he hated to think of the consequences.

The three men started for the door and were about to exit to their own cars when John turned to face Sean once again.

“Sean?”

Sean turned to face his partner and friend. “Yeah?”

“What does Malama mean?”

John watched as Sean face turned to one of anger and then to one of annoyance. He had not thought that they could hear Ilana’s words on from upstairs.

“Nothing. It means nothing. Good night, John,” and he turned back to the window, dismissing them.

John shrugged his shoulders in confusion and proceeded to follow the other two officers out the door.

Once the door was closed and they were walking towards their vehicles, John turned to Chris and asked, “Why was Sean acting so strange about that word? Do you know what it means?”

Chris glanced at him with hesitation, but then relented. “Malama means basically protector, caretaker, brah.”

“Of what?”

“I don’t know. You’d probably have to ask Sean about that,” said Chris, opening his own car.

“I’d leave it alone if I were you, Detective,” came Captain Harada’s reply from the other side of the driveway where his car was parked, “If you know what’s good for you.”

John could only stare at him as he watched him drive away. As he watched Chris start his car up and drive down the long driveway, he looked back at the house and said to no one in particular, “What are you into, Sean?”

He then got into his own car and drove away towards home and a troubled sleep.

To be continued……

* * * * * *

Ahahana - Shame on you! You’re gonna get it!

ke tûtû kâne – grandpa

‘elelū kea – white cockroach

http://ulukau.org/

* * * * * * * *

Chapter: 3

Sean had called the doctor as requested by his father-in-law as soon as the others had left. The doctor had given his mother-in-law an examination and a sedative, pronouncing that it was shock, and that the sedative would keep her asleep throughout the rest of the night.

As soon as the doctor was done, Sean had escorted him to his car, thanking him for his assistance and watching the doctor’s car drive away into the night.

Afterwards, he went back into the house to end up pacing the living room floor, thoughts of Nani’s death running rampart through his head.

Ilana had gone to bed earlier, again reminding Sean of his duty to Nani and went to grieve in private. She was not a very outward emotional person, but Sean knew the death of her sister affected her no less than it did the others. She would not show her broken heart to them. She was always considered to be the strong one and she would be no less now that her father and mother needed her.

Shawna, his estranged wife was a different story though. He decided she would have to be told accompanied by her doctor. His wife was not a very well woman, mentally and he did not even know if she would understand in her current condition.

Jack was the other issue. How could he explain to his son, that his most beloved treasure was gone? He could not think of the implications or what his reactions could be. They were so close, almost growing up together and the ties that bond them would now be severed through no fault of their own.

In a few hours the dawn would rise up over the island. People would get up and get dressed to go about their daily lives. They would turn on the TV and watch the news for their daily weather and traffic reports and in that narration, they would hear of the death of a young Hawaiian girl and boyfriend in a tragic accident. They would then shake their heads in sympathy and then they would turn the TV off, returning to their daily lives and never really understanding that such a bright soul was taken from this Earth.

He sat heavily upon the rattan chair. Holding his head in his hands, he began to outwardly shake. He needed to do something and as Ilana had pointed out several times, it was his duty. His responsibility, and he could not shirk it or ignore it. He needed to know the circumstances surrounding Nani’s death and he could not do it here.

Suddenly, his cell phone rang and the number displayed that it was Honolulu Police Department. He pushed the button to receive the call and slowly put the phone to his ear.

“Yeah.”

“Sean? It’s Chris.”

Sean did not answer right away. He was still trying to deal with his turbulent emotions raging inside of him.

“Sean? Are you okay?”

Sean shrugged off the feelings and pushed them to the back of his mind. He would have to deal with his own grief later. Right now, Nani needed him to be strong.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m here.”

“Jill just called. She needs…needs someone from the family to come down and clarify some discrepancies she found. She’s ready to put in for dental records. The…. the bodies…the bodies were pretty badly burned. ”

Jill Templar was the Chief Pathologist at the county coroner office.

“Okay. Tell her I’ll be down there in thirty minutes or so.”

He then heard Chris having a conversation with someone and when it was done he said, “Declan says he’ll met you there.”

Sean was surprised to say the least. It was a true gift of friendship that John was showing by accompanying him. But Sean felt that it was his burden and not John’s in this instance.

“Listen. Tell Dec thank you, but I can handle it.”

John must have heard him over the phone. Sean reasoned that Chris had put them on speaker.

He heard Declan say, “Sean, it’s no problem. I know you can handle it, but at times like these we all need a little support. Besides, you saved my life, remember.”

Sean heard his words, but he also heard was what not said. He saved his life, but it also created a bond with him that every partner has to another.

“All right, Dec,” answered Sean relenting. “I’ll meet you out front.”

No response came, there was none needed. He only heard the click of the line as it was disconnected.

Sean sighed dejectedly. He stood up and felt his thirty odd years weighing heavily on his soul. It was going to be long day and he did not know if he had the strength to deal with it, but he knew he could not fail in this task.

He walked out of the house, locking the door behind him and went in search of his car for the drive to the city.

* * * * *

County Coroner’s Office – Honolulu Division – Morgue

Sean had met John in front of the County Coroner’s office. The morgue area was located on the basement floor.

As they rode in the elevator together, Sean felt his stomach churning in anxiety. He really did not want to do this, but he had to. He knew if he did not then it would fall to one of the other family members and he could not let them go through that. He did not want to go through that, to remember Nani like that instead of the way he saw her before she left the house. It was so unfair, but no one said life was.

John could only see calmness on the man he considered his partner and friend. But his eyes showed something different. They were red from crying and the stress and pain of what happened came through like a beacon. He placed his hand gently on his shoulders to show how much he felt the anguish in the man.

Sean only acknowledged it with a slight nod and fell back into his cocoon of turmoil.

The elevator had stopped and they both quickly exited the car and walked down the corridor to where the morgue entrance was. Sean reluctantly opened the door and stepped inside, John following close behind.

Jill was waiting for them at her desk in the morgue. She stood up once she saw them entered, walked over and hugged Sean. “I’m so sorry to hear about your niece, Sean,” she said.

Sean and Jill were not only long time colleagues, but they were good friends. He had met Jill when he joined the force. She was the one who had introduced him to his wife, Shawna. She had also been one of the bridesmaids at wedding.

“Thank you, Jill. I appreciate all that you have done, for myself and my family,” said Sean, trying to keep the hurt from rising in his voice.

Jill then turned to Declan and said, “Hi, John. How’s things going?”

“You know, Jill,” was all he replied. He was still concerned about his partner’s piece of mind.

Jill nodded in understanding. She was worried about Sean too and also about how he would hold up during the review of the body. It was not in the best condition. It seemed that the car had exploded after the gas tank caught on fire. She was waiting for the criminal investigation staff to get back to her on their findings concerning the car. It just that it was strange that the gas tank would catch on fire, although it is possible that there was something defective with the car. But she kept this knowledge to herself. She did not want to make speculations about the accident.

“Where’s…where’s her body, Jill?” asked Sean, a lump forming in his throat.

“I’ve placed her in a private room. Why don’t you two wait here while I bring it out and I’ll show you what I need,” answered Jill, talking in her professional tone.

Sean and John nodded and silently stood there, waiting for Jill to return from another room. The room they stood in was an examination room that was used by the working staff of the Coroner’s office. It was metallic, clean and Sean smelled the odor of disinfectant in the air. The nausea that he kept at bay raised its ugly head.

Just then, Jill walked through the door, pushing a metallic table with a body lying on it covered with a sterile white sheet.

Sean’s eyes never left the body that lay on the metal table.

John saw that Sean was not fairing well with the task and decided it was best that they get to it quickly before he might have to pick his partner off the floor.

“Sean?”

Sean heard John’s unasked question. “Let’s get to it.”

Jill took this as a confirmation to proceed and swiftly pulled back the sheet. What was revealed was not something that Sean or John had seen in their lives as police detectives. Sean himself had only seen this type of death during his stint in the service.

“Oh, my God!” John exclaimed.

Sean said nothing. He only stared at the burnt carcass that was once a human being. There was no face to say of. The hair was gone completely and all that remained was a skull with missing eyes. He also noticed that parts of the body were distorted, broken and there were certain places where some type of skin had existed were flaking off to ash, disturbed by the removal of the sheet. His nausea let itself be known and Sean refused to let it become dominant.

“How…how…did she die? Were there any indication?” he asked the pathologist.

Jill swallowed hard. It was difficult enough when the person was someone they did not know, but now…

“I am so sorry, Sean. From my initial examination of the body, she was probably already dead when the car burned. There were breaks, including the vertebrae. She was on the passenger side of the car and it seemed although her airbag was released, it could not stop from her…from her receiving the damage that she did. We believe she was dead when the fire started. I won’t be able to complete my report until I receive the dental records…there’s…there’s nothing here that can definitely identify her as being Nani.”

Jill was also devastated by Nani’s death, although she was not as close to the girl as Sean was. She had met Nani only a couple of times during her association with her sister, Shawna. She volunteered to handle the case due to the fact that it was her friend’s sister and she could not see anyone else but herself handling it properly.

She and John both watched Sean closely, seeking any break in the calm exterior that currently he was trying to display to them. It did not break at the news, although in Sean’s mind he was glad that she did not suffer the fire. That would have been a more painful death.

Sean said, “So when the car hit the ravine, they were both dead?”

“No. Only Nani. Based on the fact that they found his body half way out of the car, it seemed that the young man, Frank Corvino was in the car on the driver’s side was still alive. At least until the lower half of his body was engulf by fire. We believe he was trying to crawl out of the vehicle. Both his legs were broken, but he did not succeed. But I called you down here because of two things. For one thing, I need you to verify Nani’s dentist,” Jill passed the file over to Sean for him to peruse.

“Yeah. This was her dentist. She and Jack shared the same dentist. Has been since she was little. I use to take her there when her parents were busy or her sisters were busy tied up elsewhere. She had a lot of cavities over her…her…lifetime,” answered Sean sadly. “She…never…never could stop…eating all that junk food.”

“I’m truly sorry that I had to bring you down here, Sean. But I did not think that the family could have handled it any better than you. As soon as I am done with my other tests I’ll work on the dental verification and then I can send my report,” came Jill’s statement, hand rubbing his shoulder gently trying to give him some support.

Sean only nodded. His eyes were still trapped on the burnt corpse in front of him. Although he heard what Jill was saying, his mind still could not believe that this thing was the once lively girl he had watched over the years.

“The other thing I need from you and I don’t know if you would know this or would someone else from the family would know this but,” she said reaching to the side of her desk and grabbing a wrapped piece of cloth, “I need someone to verify if this was Nani’s. It was found in what remains of the car. I know it did not belong to the young man since his family has already identified that they have never seen it before.”

Jill opened the wrapped cloth and showed them a scorched gold medallion. No chain was present. The medallion was in the symbol of two knives crossed at the hilts and encircled with a snake that was biting its tail.

Sean looked at it, but he knew Nani would not wear something so gaudy.

“Have you seen it before, Sean?” asked Declan. He, himself, had never seen anything like it before.

“No. I don’t think it was Nani’s, but I’ll check with her family. How did it survive the fire though?”

“Well, at the 2nd stage of a car fire called the free burning stage, the temperature of the burning car can reach up to 1700 degrees Fahrenheit with a full tank of gas, combustible materials, and so forth. But gold does not start to melt until at least approximately over 1900 degrees Fahrenheit.

“Do you have a photo of the medallion I can take with me? Maybe someone in the family knows what it is.”

“You know me so well, Sean. Yeah, I took a couple of shots for the report. You can have one of them,” she said walking over to the desk and coming back with an 8’by 10’ black and white print of the medallion.

“Thanks,” responded Sean, putting the photo under his arm. He then said, “Is there anything else you need from me?”

“No. At this point, Captain Harada will receive all the information in the case. We will let him know our final findings.”

“So, you’re not going to tell me anything, huh?”

“Sean, you and I both know that if in my findings I find that they died from anything other than a car accident that the information will be sent to Captain Harada first. I really did not want to get you too much involved in this, but since her dentist name was mixed up with some others and there was the piece of jewelry, I needed someone to verify the information. I would have asked the family, but I did not think that they were up to handling this right now.”

“But you thought I was?” he asked sarcastically. He was starting to feel angry at the whole situation.

John saw this and stepped in.

“Sean, I think Jill is trying to say that she thought you were stronger and being a cop could handle it better than they would. Not that it wouldn’t affect you any less. We know this is hard for you, but it’s our job.”

“So when does it stop being our job!” he yelled at them. “When! When it becomes Jack on that table! Or someone else that I care for! I cared for Nani as if she was my own.”

“Sean, Sean, no one is saying that you cared any less for her,” put in Jill. She knew what she was seeing was the grief that Sean had tried to kept hidden.

“But it does not make sense. This whole scenario is wrong. Nani was a good driver and responsible driver. She was very possessive with that car. It was her first new car and she would never let anyone else drive it. Not even a guy she was dating.”

“Sean, we don’t know what happened during that time. Maybe Nani was tired and because she was responsible she did not want to fall asleep at the wheel, so she let the him drive,” stated Declan, trying to calm his friend down.

Sean eyed him doubtfully and then those eyes turned to one of disgust.

“You think she was drunk, don’t you?” he exclaimed.

“No. No, Sean. I did not say that,” said Declan, holding up his hands pleadingly.

“Then what? I thought you were my friend.”

“Sean, we’re all your friends and colleagues. You know John would never…”

“I don’t know, anything!”

Sean would not believe that Nani could drive drunk. Not Nani. It ran over and over in Sean’s mind. He could not believe it. His heart starting thumping hard in his chest and he felt his legs go from under him.

If it were not for Jill and John, Sean would have hit the floor. But their quickness stopped Sean from reaching the floor. Each grabbing an arm, they helped him to walk over to a chair situated in the room.

“Sean, are you okay, man?” asked John, very worried for his partner.

“Sean, put your head down between your legs. How long has he been like this?”

“Don’t know. Sean, should I drive you over to the hospital?”

Sean heard the voices, but they did not register. He felt hands pushing his head downward and was too weak to deny them. The terrible death of Nani and then Jill’s news of what she found had put their toil on his already fragile mind and body. He could not believe what she told him.

Breathing deeply, he felt the dizziness and the fading vision getting better. He knew it was probably from all the worry and pain that he had gone through since last night. Now it all had just caught him by surprise.

“I think you should take him to the hospital,” he heard Jill’s voice say.

Sean sat up in the chair quickly, almost going back into the abyss of darkness and held up his hand.

“No…No, I’m fine,” he said to them. “It’s just that I didn’t get much sleep.”

John knew there was more to it, but he would let it drop. He had no evidence to prove otherwise.

Jill felt the same. She had her doubts about her friend. She always knew Sean to be a strong man, but never in her time knowing him had he almost collapsed in front of her. Jill knew there was more going on here than they could see. She wondered what was on the man’s mind.

Sean looked at his friends and colleagues and knew they were worried. He did not want them to worry and did not want to bring more of their attention to him at this time. He needed to be alone with his thoughts. He still had to tell Jack and that was especially eating him up inside.

He looked at both his friends and saw the worry and concern in their faces. He knew he had wronged them and could not understand why he had done it. He said, “I’m sorry, guys. I don’t…I don’t know why I said that. You are my friends and appreciate your help on this. I guess…I guess I just need some sleep. Been on a short fuse since…since…”

“We know, Sean,” replied John, knowing how difficult it was for him to talk about it.

“Listen, why don’t you go home and get some sleep,” suggested Jill.

Sean nodded that he understood and John helped him to stand. He gently pushed John’s hand away.

“Do you want me to drive you to your home or in-laws? You can leave your car in the parking garage until tomorrow,” said John.

“I can make it my own.”

“Are you sure?” asked Jill.

“Yeah. I’m fine now. I promise you I’ll be okay,” and he then walked over to the door to the morgue and went through, rubbing the back of his neck.

John and Jill watched him go, each of them in their thoughts about their friend’s welfare. John turned to Jill, his eyes asking what should he do. Jill peered at him back, her eyes saying she did not how to answer. John then nodded to her in goodbye and followed his desolated friend out of the morgue.

* * * * * *

Chapter: 4

8:00 A.M. The next day

Sean never went back to his in-law’s house. He could not deal with the memories that filled its rooms and corridors. At least not yet, not until he could get himself together.

He sat in his car on the edge of a cliff, over looking the ocean as it waters rolled serenely back and forth. Sunrise had come and he looked at his watch and so that it was 8:00 A.M. He knew that Jack would be getting up soon to go to school.

He picked up his cell phone and dialed. It rang three times before it was picked up.

“Hello?” came the voice of Ilana over the phone.

“Ilana, it’s Sean.” He paused waiting for her response and hoped she would not remind him of his duty again.

“Hi, Sean. What’s wrong?”

“Is Jack up yet?”

“No. Not yet. In fact, everyone’s still asleep.”

“Except you,” thought Sean to himself. He knew that Ilana was trying to show a strong front, but he knew her too well.

“Well, don’t let him go to school today. This was probably on the news today and I don’t want anyone approaching him until I’ve spoken with him first.”

“I understand. I’ll…I’ll take him to the beach and stay with him until you get back,” she volunteered.

“Thanks, Ilana. How’s your father and mother doing?”

“Not good. They both still in shock about this. Are you going to tell Shawna?”

“Yeah. I’ll call her doctor before I go over there. See what kind of day she’s having first.”

“Good idea. When do you think you’ll be back?”

“Probably in a little while. I just got something I need to check out first,” he lied.

“Okay. Will be waiting here.”

He was about to disconnect the call when he heard her say, “Oh, Sean? I don’t blame you for this. There is nothing that you could do about it. It was kulana po’ino.”

Sean did not answer. In his heart, he felt there was more than the hand of fate that caused this and he was going to prove it.

“Sean?”

“Yeah, I’m still here. Thanks, Ilana. I appreciate what you’re trying to do,” he replied and disconnected the call.

As he sat there contemplating Ilana’s words, he picked up the envelope that Jill had gave him at the morgue. He opened and pulled out the picture of the strange medallion that the police had found in the car.

He held it in his hand staring at the contours and the design as if they would speak to him and give him some kind of clue as to what had happened. But they were silent. He sighed deeply, putting the picture back into the envelope. He did not know how he was going to broach the subject of the death of Nani to his son. It would not be an easy task and it was one that he would gladly never have to do.

He turned the ignition to his car and backed away from the cliff edge to the road that would lead him back to his family. As he drove away, he did not see the man dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and jeans standing on the other side of the road, behind the palm trees watching.

As soon as the man was sure that Sean was gone, he started slowly walking back to where he parked his car. “So, Mr. Harrison, ” he thought to himself, brushing his long black hair out of his eyes. “What are you up to, huh?” He then took a cell phone out of his pocket and speed dialed a number.

“Yeah, it’s me. He just left. What you want me to do?”

The man waited for a response from the other side of the line. “Okay, I’ll keep an eye on him. But what if he gets too close? Uh, huh. Sure. It will be my pleasure as long as it’s at the same rate. No problem.”

He then disconnected the phone and jumped into his black Camaro. “Yeah!” he thought to himself. “This is going to be one big score,” and he laughed as he drove away to catch up with his prey.

* * * * *

9:30 A.M. The next day

Sean had reached his in-laws house in no time. Parked out front in the driveway were two other cars. He knew them to be Declan and Danny’s car. He got out of his car and walked over to the door. Before ringing the bell, he had a feeling of foreboding that gnawed him to the bone. He rang the bell and found himself looking into his sister-in-laws eyes.

“Come in, Sean. John, Danny and Chris are here,” she said stepping back inside. Sean followed, anxiety slowing eating his heart.

When he got inside, he found John, Danny and Chris standing in the living room talking silently to his father-in-law. He did not see his son or his mother-in-law and figured that either they were still asleep or some other place within the house.

They all saw Sean and suddenly the low conversation stopped. They all turned to stare at him, Joe looking at him with eyes of unbelief.

“What? What’s happen?” asked Sean excitedly. He knew if they were here, it was not good.

“Sean, listen, we found out some information concerning the…accident,” started Declan, walking slowly over to him. “Why don’t you sit down?”

“Why? What is it? What did you find out?”

“Sean, take it easy,” said Chris walking over and placing a hand under his arm trying to lead him to the couch.

Sean forcibly pulled his arm from his grasp.

“Don’t play games with me, Chris! What the hell’s going on here?”

“Sean, please. Keep your voice down. Mother and Jack are still upstairs sleep,” pleaded Ilana. She knew this was tearing him apart at the seams. It was doing the same to her so she knew how he felt. “Please, ke kaiko`eke kâne.”

Sean looked into her eyes and knew she was in just as much pain as he was. He did not wish to put her through any more anguish.

Sean nodded to the others and took a seat on the rattan chair.

Declan sighed in relief. He knew his friend was hurting, but he had to keep his professional demeanor on this.

“It seems,” began Declan “That some witnesses saw Nani and her boyfriend at the Ka‘okika Club last night. They were partying with a group of other college students. A waitress who served them said that she brought them over drinks about twice that night.”

“So?” queried Sean angrily.

“Sean, they were drinking,” interrupted Danny.

“Two drinks. That does not constitute DUI,” replied Sean, his ire slowly rising again.

“But Sean, it shows that there was some type of alcoholic substance involved,” responded Chris.

“Sean, what are they talking about? What has this got to do with the accident?” asked his father in law confused.

“What my friends,” he said emphasizing the word friends. “What my friends are trying to say is that Nani and her boyfriend might have been driving drunk,”

“Sean, we did not say that Nani was driving drunk. She wasn’t at the wheel,” explained Chris.

“No, but you are saying that the guy she was with probably was and that Nani, a responsible-headed kid, would let someone drive drunk in her new car. Yeah, right! Tell me another one,” said Sean getting up from his seat.

Joe sat there in disbelief. He also could not belief that Nani had done something like this. Out of all of his children, she was the most responsible, even more so than Ilana and Shawna at her age.

John Declan was confused also, but not about the DUI information. He was confused by Sean’s attitude and actions. He did not understand what was going on with his partner and he needed to find out fast. This was all going downhill.

“Sean! Sean!” he exclaimed, grabbing Sean by the elbow. “Let’s talk outside.” He then pulled Sean towards the sliding doors that led to the patio.

Sean followed willingly trying to get his temper under control.

As soon as they were outside, John closed the doors behind them and pushed Sean into one of the patio chairs.

“What the hell is going on with you?” yelled John.

Sean glared at him silently, his eyes holding an intensity that Declan had never seen in his partner before.

“You’re suppose to be a professional. You’re a veteran cop and you know better than to let emotions get in the way of an investigation!”

“I don’t give a shit,” said Sean so low that John almost missed it.

“What? What did you say?”

“I…said…I don’t give a shit!”

“Now, Sean…”

“Don’t now Sean me. This is bullshit. Nani does not fit the profile but everybody’s trying to find a way to make it fit.”

John stood there in exasperation. It hurt him that Sean thought they would do less than their jobs on this investigation. But then he knew that Sean was not seeing reason and that Sean was too emotional to be involved in this.

“Sean, I think you need to take a step back from this. This is someone I know you loved very much, as much as Jack. But you got to see it from all sides. The evidence, and it is only circumstantial at this point, is leaning towards a DUI determination. Now, although myself, Chris and Danny have our doubts about it, the District Attorney won’t. There is no evidence to prove otherwise.”

“Then I’ll do my own investigation,” he declared and stood up from the chair. He then opened the doors and walked back into the house.

John followed quickly behind. “Sean! Sean! Wait a minute. We need to talk about this.”

Sean ignored his pleas and continued to walk upstairs to where his son lay sleeping. Once he reached the door, he turned to look at the others downstairs. As he did he saw the eyes of his friends and family on him and he did not want to deal with it right now. He swiftly opened the bedroom door and went inside, not turning back to confront their looks of bewilderment and concern.

John stood at the edge of the stairs, watching as his friend and partner enter the bedroom and close the door silently behind him. To Declan, Sean was not only closing the door to them, he was also closing himself from them. He turned back to the others and decided he needed to find out what was eating his partner and fast. He knew there could be no good to come of not resolving it.

kulana po’ino – ill-fated

ke kaiko`eke kâne – brother-in-law

Ka ‘okika Club – Orchid Club

* * * * * * * *

Chapter: 5

Sean sat on the bed of his son, watching him sleep. He was so serene and peaceful, unlike the turmoil that was brewing under Sean’s calm exterior.

He placed a hand on the top of Jack’s head, gently brushing the strands of blond hair that were up out of place. Jack did not stir and Sean dreaded waking him. He did not want to tell him that his beloved Nani was dead.

He thought about the time when Jack was eight years old and they had a dog. His name was Makani that meant “Wind” in Hawaiian. He was part Alaskan Husky and part Wolf from what the man had told him and Shawna when they had purchased him from the pound. And to Sean, he was like the wind because of the way he would take off at a run, his feet barely disturbing the sand on the beach. Sean and Shawna loved that dog and so did Jack.

Unfortunately, Makani accidentally got out of the yard and was killed by a truck on the freeway. Sean tried to console his young son. He told him that Makani soul was in Dog Heaven where all the good dogs go and there he was living the life of a happy dog. Jack had asked him if he would be in pain in Heaven and Sean had told him no. He also told him that Makani knew they loved him and that one day they would all be together again. This eased the young boy’s heart some, but it took time for him to get over losing the dog.

Now at twelve, he would have to explain to him about his cousin’s death. He knew this would be harder and not so easy to get over for the child. In fact, it was not easy for him either. Especially since his instincts were telling him that this was no accident, unlike the dog. There was something else behind Nani’s death and he was determined to find out.

He decided to let Jack sleep. Jack had stayed up later than usual due to the celebration and Sean knew the boy would sleep until late. He would wait until he woke up on his own to tell him. He sighed deeply and a thought jumped into his head. Shawna. He had no chance to talk to her and still had his doubts on whether or not she would understand. His estranged and soon to be ex-wife had mental issues. No. That wasn’t the word. She was crazy. That was the word and it took Sean fifteen years to find that out.

The only things good that came out of his marriage to her was Jack, Nani and his in-laws. They had made an outsider feel a part of their family and they still welcomed him even with the turbulence that was going on between him and Shawna. They never took sides and only looked out for the best for Jack.

Sean got up from the bed and decided to see if his friends and colleagues were still there.

He exited Jack’s bedroom and slowly walked down the stairs to the living room. Once there, he found only John still there.

Sean eyed John as if to say, “Where is everyone?”

John did not need Sean to voice his question to understand it. He said, “Your sister and father went upstairs to see about your mother. The doctor just arrived to check up on her. Chris and Danny went back to the station. They’re going to check out some things concerning the boyfriend, Frank Corvino. Captain just called and said that Kaleo found out some information surrounding his affiliations. It seems that he was part of a street gang. I’m going to meet them and then get back to you.”

“So you do believe me when I say there is more to this?”

John hands came up swiftly and he said, “Hold on there, Sean. I never said that. What I said was that there were things in this Corvino kid’s background that just stands out. It does not mean that I think Nani’s death was anything other than an accident. At least not until we find more evidence to prove otherwise.”

Sean felt somewhat relieved at Declan’s statement. Although it did not mean that they sided with him, it did mean that their suspicions were roused.

“Well, then,” said Sean taking a sit on the couch. “We need to find more evidence to prove otherwise.”

“Sean, you as well as I know that Captain Harada will not put you on this case. You’re too close to it.” He noticed that Sean was about to argue the point. “No, wait. Listen to me before you say anything. Let me and the others see what we can find out. Don’t do anything until you hear from me, okay?”

Sean looked sheepishly at John. He knew his friend was worried about what type of trouble he might get into if he proceeded on his own. But to Sean, there was no other choice. Declan being a Malihini did not understand what Malama meant to the Kanunu family and their traditions and right now he did not feel like explaining it to him.

“I won’t do anything until I hear from you,” Sean lied.

John looked at him in doubt, but he could not directly call him liar. “Sean?”

“I said I won’t do anything until I hear from you and I won’t.”

“Okay. Take care of your family and I’ll be in touch,” said John walking over to the door.

Sean got up and followed him. He opened the door for him and watched as John walked through, closing it behind him.

Once he saw John’s car drive away, he opened the door and went out to his car. He opened the door and pulled out the envelope that Jill had given him with the photos of the medallion. He then walked back inside the house and found Ilana coming down the stairs.

He pulled out the photos and walked up to her. “Ilana, I need you to look at something,” he said giving her the pictures.

“What’s this?” she asked bewildered.

“This medallion was found in Nani’s car. Have you ever seen it before?”

“No,” she answered, shaking her head. “It’s not something I think Nani would wear, but I could be mistaken. I think you need to ask Mom or Dad. They might know.”

“Thanks,” replied Sean disappointed. “Do you think you can take this up to your folks and see if it’s something familiar?”

“Yeah, sure. Wait right here,” she said taking the photos and running back upstairs.

Sean did not have to wait long. Ilana came down the stairs, followed by her father. Sean saw something strange on the elderly man’s face. He just did not know what it was.

Joe Kanunu came to stand in front of Sean, the pictures of the medallion held in his hand. “Sean, where did you get this?”

“From a colleague at the County Morgue. They found the medallion in the Nani’s car. Do you know what it is?”

“Yes. I do. But I am confused as to how this…this thing became to be in Nani’s car.”

“What is it, Joe?” asked Sean, his heart beating fast from the fear that ran in his thoughts.

Joe looked back down at the medallion and exhaled softly. “This is not a good thing, Sean. It is very bad.”

“Bad, how?”

“This is a symbol used to designate a person for death. It is the crest of the Keilani family.”

“You mean Paul Keilani, the big Hawaiian industrialist?” Sean had heard of the man. In fact, there was no one in Hawaii who did not. The man was sort of a descendant of the original chiefs of Hawaii, though not a direct lineage. This did not stop Paul Keilani from using his ancestry to build his empire. Sean had also heard that the man was ruthless when it came to his business and his personal life.

“Yes. Do you know the history of them?”

“No, not really. I only know that they were suppose to have been one of the original chiefs under King Kamehameha’s rule.”

“Come. Sit,” said Joe, motioning for the couch. He sat down and Sean sat down next to him. “You are right about them being related to one of the chiefs under King Kamehameha. But there is more to the story that only the people know about. The history of he Keilani lineage was a dark and deeply troubled one”

“How’s that?” asked Ilana. She did not understand what was going on, but she wanted to. Her sister had died and if it was because of some old Hawaiian myth then she wanted to know why.

Joe looked at his daughter and bade her to take a seat next to Sean on the couch. “There were many mysterious deaths that they associated with the Keilanis. But none could be proven so I will not go into those. But I will say that their ancestors were warriors of King Kamehameha, fierce and dangerous. They were a part of the Warriors of Paradise and fought well for him in the conquering of Hawaii and insuring one man’s rule. They had a particular way of identifying their conquests that King Kamehameha abhorred. They would carve this symbol on the head of the men they killed making sure everyone knew it was their club or spear that ended an enemy’s life.”

“So they were very powerful,” interjected Ilana.

“Yes, they were. They were also cursed. King Kamehameha’s kahunas believed that they were conceited and arrogant. They did not kill just out of loyalty to the King. They killed because they enjoyed it and enjoyed the things that came with it, such as the dead enemy’s women as there own or their lands. They were so overcome by greed, that they used the skills they were trained with to steal from others. When the Kahunas found this out, they banished them into the wilderness. They were never heard again until around the 1920s when John Keilani came into existence.”

“Paul Keilani’s grandfather, wasn’t he. He started the business that Paul now owns,” replied Sean.

“Yes and Paul inherited it from his father. But that is not all he inherited. He also inherited the darkness of the Keilanis.”

“Darkness?”

“Evil. Keilani business looks legitimate. But underneath, there are ties to drugs, gambling, everything and anything the islands have that’s illegal.”

“So Paul Keilani is just a big-time crook.”

“But he is an untouchable crook. No one has been able to tie him to anything and they probably never will.”

“But what does all this have to do with Nani?” asked Ilana, now more confused.

“Yes. That’s what I want to know,” said Sean.

“I don’t know, Sean. All I do know is that the Keilani family leaves their crest on a person targeted by their organization.”

“I don’t think the medallion was meant for Nani,” replied Sean in thought. “I think it was meant for her new boyfriend, Frank Corvino.”

“But he was just a boy from college. He’s just a kid,” said Ilana shocked by Sean’s revelation.

“So was Billy the Kid. I think Nani was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. A casualty of war to them.”

“You think Paul Keilani’s men did this?” queried Joe Kanunu in amazement.

“I think there is the possibility,” answered Sean determined. “I’m going do some noising around into Frank Corvino’s background,” he said standing up.

“Sean, Nani’s dead and there is nothing you can do to bring her back,” came Joe’s response. Sean eyed him surprised. He thought out of every one he would understand the responsibility that was placed upon him.

“Joe, I loved Nani as if she was my own. I was her Malama and I plan to make sure that if there is someone responsible for her death that the pay for it. It’s what I do.”

Joe looked at him sadly. It was not that he would not want Nani’s murderers brought to justice if it was so. It was that he was afraid for the rest of his family and for Sean. He knew Paul Keilani was a very dangerous person and from the stories that he heard, his vengeance had no limits.

“Sean. Please be careful. Keilani is bad news for anyone who steps into his territory. He can hurt your family and no law would be able to touch him.”

“Listen, Joe. I know what I’m doing. I promise. I will be careful, but I need to do this. I’m going to call some friends of mine and have you guys moved to a safe house first off to the Big Island. No one will know where you are except for me. I want you to take Jack and Shawna with you. I’ll call her doctor and let him know that you will be coming to pick her up. Pack only essentials and a few clothing. Hopefully, you won’t have to stay there for long.”

Joe nodded and knew the precaution was definitely needed. “Okay, Sean. Ilana, start packing and make sure that you take the medicine for your mother.”

Ilana nodded and ran up the stairs to bedrooms.

Sean pulled out his cell phone and started dialing a number. The line rang three times on the other side before it was answered.

“Yello?”

“Pete? Pete Okana?”

“Yeah, who’s this?”

“It’s Sean Harrison.”

“Sean! Hey, brah.”

“How you been, Pete?”

“An den? Ho pretty good, how my favorite Haole? Where ya been? Ain’t heard from ya in long time.”

“Not so good, Pete. Sorry about not getting in touch with you sooner. There’s been an accident in my family, Maki.”

“Sean, so sorry to hear that, brah.”

“Thanks, Pete. Listen, I need a favor.”

“Sure, Sean. Ya know any’ting for you.”

“I know, brah. Listen, need you and the boys to take care of my Ka`Ohana.”

“Sure, Sean, no problem, brah. Just tell.”

Sean discussed the details of where to pick up his family and how many men to bring with him. He told Pete of what he had planned and why he wanted his family off to the Big Island. Pete never questioned or never flinched from the responsibility. Sean knew he would not. He and Pete went way back to his Navy days and the boys he would bring were loyal only to Pete and himself.

When Sean was done, he then turned to Joe and said, “Peter Okana and a few of his men will be here at noon. Make sure you’re ready to leave.” He then described what Pete looked like and what he would be driving. “They will take you off the island and I’ll meet you at the safe house as soon as I can. Don’t tell Jack anything yet about Nani. When I get there, I’ll tell him myself.”

“Are you sure, Sean? I mean we could tell him.”

“No!” exclaimed Sean, a little too loud. “No,” he said again this time softer. “It’s my responsibility. Shawna does not know yet either. I rather do this myself.”

“Okay, Sean. I trust you to know what you are doing. It’s…It’s just I don’t understand why won’t you let your colleagues help?”

“Because Joe, they believe that Nani’s death was an accident and they have to follow the law. What I’m going to do is outside the law. It’s the only way to get Paul Keilani if he’s guilty.”

Joe stared at him shocked. He knew Sean was driven, he just did not know until now how much.

“Don’t look at me like that, Joe. You already said it yourself. Paul Keilani lives outside of the law and no one has been able to touch him. I have to work his way in order to find the evidence that I need.”

“But Sean, what if he’s not guilty? What if…what if this medallion is just a coincidence and it was an accident?”

“Then I’ll drop it and we put Nani to rest. But until then, we must do this my way, okay?”

Joe nodded reluctantly. He trusted Sean and knew that Sean would die for his family if need be.

Sean started for the door when he heard Joe ask, “Where will you be? How will you get in touch with us?”

“Don’t worry. I have Pete’s cell phone number and he has mine. We can keep in touch through those lines. Oh, you better bring some food. Pete’s a bachelor and usually he don’t understand anything about stocking up on food,” said Sean smiling. He then waved good-bye and walked out the door to his car.

Ilana Kanunu was standing on the stairs as she heard the last of her father’s and Sean’s conversation. She just hoped Sean was not getting over his head in this. They had lost one family member and they did not need to loose another one.

kulana po’ino – ill-fated

ke kaiko`eke kâne – brother-in-law

Ka ‘okika Club – Orchid Club

Kahunas – Spiritual leaders

Brah – Hawaiian pidgin talk for

An den – Hawaiian pidgin talk for what's up? how are you doing?

Haole – Hawaiian pidgin talk for “Foreigner/Caucasian”

Maki – Hawaiian pidgin talk for “dead”.

Ka`Ohana - Family

* * * * * * * *

Chapter: 6

Sean wanted to directly confront Paul Keilani, but he wanted to first check with John at the precinct to determine if anything knew had came up from the investigation team.

When he got to the precinct, he noticed that the other officers and colleagues quickly glanced away. It felt strange, but he knew it was awkward for them when one of their own suffered from such a tragic death in their family, especially when the death that got a lot of news coverage and publicity from the media.

He saw John busy going through a file at his desk and walked quickly over to his partner.

“Hey, partner, what’s up?” asked Sean trying to put on a good façade that everything was fine.

John looked up startled to find his partner standing over him trying to view what he was reading. He immediately closed the file, preventing Sean from seeing what he had found.

“Keeping secrets, partner?” questioned Sean, snatching the file out of his hand and moving away from the young black detective.

“Sean. Sean! Give me that back!” yelled John getting up from his seat at the desk and trying to retrieve the item from his partner.

“Why? Something I should not know about?” Sean smiled at him, knowing that John was trying to keep something from him.

Just then, Captain Harada came into the room from his office. “Sean, come in here, now!” commanded the Captain.

Sean glared at John, trying to compel him to tell him about the file before he had to face the captain. But he saw the negative look that he gave him and knew it was no use.

“Sean, now!” came the Captain’s command again.

Sean resigned himself to his fate and he handed the file back to John and walked into the office of Captain Harada.

Once inside the office and the door closed, Captain Harada bade him to take a seat. Sean sat down in one of the chairs directly across from the Captain and smirked at him.

“Sean, how long have we known each other?”

“Don’t know, maybe about seven years.”

“And in all that time, did I ever lie to you or try to deceive you?”

“Never Captain,” said Sean getting the feeling that something was up. “What’s this about, Captain?”

“Sean, I think you should take some time off. I know how close you and your son was to Nani and…”

“Wait a minute, Captain!” exclaimed Sean. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

“No, no, Sean,” said Captain Harada holding up his hands trying to calm him down. “I’m only trying to say that I think you’re too close to this case. I think you need to take a step back and let us do our jobs.”

Take a step back. Sean had heard the same thing from Declan. “Did Declan say something to you?”

“Sean…”

“Did he?” asked Sean, now angry, standing up.

Terri Harada stood up also. He leaned forward so that his face was closer to Sean’s and said, “Sean, listen. Things are becoming hot around this. The media has been spewing out garbage on this case. They’re saying the daughter of a prominent Native Hawaiian ecologist has been murdered. I don’t know where their getting their information from, but we have no evidence to point to this.”

“And…”

“And I need you to kind of back off from this. The Commissioner is getting a lot of flack and…”

“What the hell is this?” yelled Sean, now seething with anger. “You want to right this off as an accident just to soothe the Commissioner?”

“Sean, I’m not saying that. What I am saying is that you need to give us a little time to have all the evidence together. If there is something suspicious then we’ll put it in front of the District Attorney’s Office.”

“And by that time Nani’s killer will have disappeared!”

Captain Harada looked at Sean with shock. He knew Danny and Chris had told him that Sean was not himself, but he did not know it was this bad. Sean was a good cop and he knew, just like Harada did, that nothing was positive until all the evidence was looked at. How Sean had come up with such an assumption could only mean that he was right. He was too close to the case to see reasoning or keeping to the facts at hand.

Harada sighed disappointedly. “Sean, as of today, you are on personal leave until further notice,” said Captain Harada sadly. He saw that Sean was about to say something, but he held up his hand to stave off the tirade he knew was coming. “Not another word. This is an order.”

Sean closed his mouth angrily and turned to walk out of the office.

“Sean!” called Captain Harada to him before he could leave. “I’m really sorry about Nani. Please express my condolences to your family.”

Sean swallowed the lump that had lodged in throat and answered, “Sure, Captain, sure.” And with that he opened the door and left the office.

John, Kaleo and Chris watched as Sean came out of Captain Harada’s office looking worse than when he went in. They knew something had gone wrong, but they did not know what.

“Hey, Sean!” called Kaleo.

But Sean ignored him and walked straight for the exit.

John and Chris saw this and knew it was not good. They both went after Sean as he went through the doors.

“Sean, Sean!” yelled John.

“Wait up, Sean!” yelled Chris.

Unfortunately, Sean had chosen not to answer them. He did stop until he got to the steps leading down to his car and turned to face them. He waited until the two other men caught up to him.

“Sean, where you going, bro?” asked John, as Chris stepped up beside him and Sean.

“None of your damn business!” screamed Sean.

“Sean, what’s wrong?” asked Chris worried.

“Why don’t you ask, Harada!” he retorted.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’ve been placed on personal leave until further notice. Now, leave me alone,” he said walking away and getting into his car. He drove away quickly burning rubbing, leaving the other two men to just look at each other in bewilderment.

* * * * *

Excerpt from Chapter 6

Sean drove around at first, not knowing where he was going. He finally realized that he needed to confront Paul Keilani, but not without first acquiring some information.

He stopped at the ABC store on the corner of Kalakaua Avenue and Ala Moana Boulevard. He parked his car at one of the meters and ran inside the store.

He saw whom he wanted on the far side of the store, packing boxes of souvenirs for the tourists. He walked quickly over to the young Hawaiian native and grabbed him by the arm, forcing him to follow him into the back-enclosed area of the store.

“Hey, hey, brah! What’s up with the handlin’?”

“You listen to me and you listen to me carefully, Ku'oko'a. What has Paul Keilani have to do with Maka Nani Kanunu or Frank Corvino?” questioned Sean angrily.

“What the hell is goin’ on, brah? I don’t know what ya talkin’ ‘bout,” replied Ku'oko'a, looking around to see if anyone else had heard.

“What does this mean?” he said pulling the folded picture out of his pocket and showing it to the young man.

The young Hawaiian only stared at the object as if it was the devil himself.

“I…I…” he stuttered.

“`Ike `oe?” asked Sean.

“A`ole au `ike!”

“Are you sure? Because if you’re lying, I’ll come back and you won’t have to worry about Paul Keilani.”

“I’m sure, Sean.

Sean reluctantly released the young man, but he said before turning to leave, “If you hear anything, I mean anything, you contact me, you understand?” He then handed him his card. “Call me on my cell phone.”

“Sure, Sean,” replied Ku'oko'a nervously. He watched as the man walked out of the store. He knew he was in trouble. He needed to contact Paul Keilani fast.

Translations:

`Ike `oe? – Do you know.

A`ole au `ike – No, I don’t know.

* * * * * * * *

Chapter: 7

“Ua mau ke ea o ka ‘āina i ka pono O Hawai’I”

Ua mau ke ea o ka `âina i ka pono `o Hawai'I

Ua mau ke ea o ka `âina i ka pono `o Hawai'I

If just for a day our king and queen
Would visit all these islands and saw everything
How would they feel about the changes of our land

Could you just imagine if they were around
And saw highways on their sacred grounds
How would they feel about this modern city life?

Tears would come from each other's eyes
As they would stop to realize
That our people are in great, great danger now

How would they feel?
Would their smiles be content, then cry

Chorus:
Cry for the gods, cry for the people
Cry for the land that was taken away
And then yet you'll find, Hawai'i.

Could you just imagine they came back
And saw traffic lights and railroad tracks
How would they feel about this modern city life

Tears would come from each other's eyes
As they would stop to realize
That our land is in great, great danger now.

All the fighting that the King has done
To conquer all these islands, now these condominiums
How would he feel if he saw Hawai'i nei?

How would he feel?

Would his smile be content, then cry?

(E hana hou i ka hui)

(Repeat chorus)

Ua mau ke ea o ka `âina i ka pono `o Hawai'i
Ua mau ke ea o ka `âina i ka pono `o Hawai'i.

Interpretation by Hawaiians: Being perpetuated (is) the sovereignty of the land to righteousness/ to balance, Hawai`i

From Hawaii ’78 – Israel Kamakawiwo’Ole (IZ)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The popular Hawaiian song, Hawaii ’78 played on the cassette player as Sean drove his red Cadillac on H1 on his way to back to Honolulu. He had just came back from his apartment in Ewa Beach to retrieve some of his belongings that would need before leaving later tonight to visit his family on the Big Island.

The highway was crowded with Oahu rush hour traffic and it was taking him longer to get back to Honolulu than expected. His plan was to approach Paul Keilani directly. He knew some would say that this was a pupule plan, a crazy plan. But Sean knew no other way to make Keilani nervous enough to make a mistake. He knew this man was guilty and he needed proof.

He finally got off the exit that would lead to Kalakaua Avenue and to the office building of one Paul Keilani. Once there he parked his car in front of the building, knowing that the traffic or beat cops would not bother it since his Honolulu Police Permit was viewable through the front window.

He walked leisurely into the building and took the elevator to the Penthouse. The building held several businesses including Keilani’s, but Keilani Building and Construction owned at least five of the 20 floors of the building.

When he got off the elevator, he followed the sign that led to the huge reception desk to the Chairman and Owner of Keilani Building and Construction. The receptionist was a short, lean Japanese man in his thirties and seemed to be busy with a messenger.

When he was done with the messenger, the man looked up at Sean strangely and said, “Can I help you, sir?”

“Yes. I need to see Paul Keilani. My name is Detective Sean Harrison.”

“I am sorry sir, but Mr. Keilani is in a meeting at the moment. If you would leave your name and telephone number I am sure that Mr. Keilani’s assistant can schedule an appointment for you some time in the near future,” replied the receptionist.

Sean saw that he was not going to get in with this strategy. He reached in his pocket and pulled out his detective identification. He opened it and placed it on the desk of the receptionist.

“Could you please tell him it’s very important that I speak to him?”

The receptionist looked suspiciously at the badge and then said, “Please wait here.” He pointed towards the cushioned seats surrounding the area. “I will check.” Sean watched the receptionist disappear through a door on the far left of the desk.

Sean did not have to wait long. A young African-American woman came walking out of the door. Her hair was braided in twists around her head and she wore a business suit and walked with such confidence that Sean knew she was someone of importance.

“Detective Harrison, is it?” she asked stepping over to him.

“Yes. Miss…?”

“Miss Callahan. Kira Callahan. I am Mr. Keilani’s assistant. Can I help you?” she asked extending her hand.

“Well, Miss Callahan…” started Sean, taking her hand in his and shaking it firmly.

“Call me Kira,” responded Kira Callahan, taking her hand back.

“Well, Kira, I need to speak to Mr. Keilani and I was told that I needed an appointment.”

The woman smiled thoughtfully at Sean, taking in the measure of the man. “Well, Detective Harrison…”

“Call me Sean,” interrupted Sean, giving her his best smile.

“Well, Sean,” said Kira nodding slightly at the courtesy he just gave her. “Mr. Keilani is currently not available. May I inquire about your business, Detective?”

“It’s personal,” replied Sean, glancing at the door.

“Would you please come with me, Detective?” asked Kira, motioning to the door in which she came out of.

Sean nodded and he followed her through the door, leaving the confused receptionist at the desk.

The office was huge in comparison of some offices Sean had been in. Kira walked to the oak desk on the far side and sat behind it. It had all the necessities of an office, including a computer monitor on the desk. She then waved to one of three cushioned seats in front of her.

Sean sat in the one directly facing her, laying his hands on his legs and glaring at the young woman in front of him. He had a feeling that she was Paul’s diversion to lead him away from getting to the man.

“Detective Harrison, I handle all of Mr. Keilani’s business, whether personal or not. Maybe you can tell me what it is exactly that you want?”

“What I want, Miss Cal…Kira is to meet with your boss. I believe I have some information that would be of some interest to him.”

“And what would that be, Detective?”

Sean sighed and went into is pocket within his shirt. He then pulled out the folded photograph that he had been carrying around. He handed the photo over to Kira.

Kira reached for the photo, but she had only seen a partial piece of it while Sean was passing it over. She stared at the photo, keeping her face impassive and calm she said, “And what is this?”

Kira assumed that she had fooled him, but she had not. He saw how her face had briefly dropped at the unavailing of the photo.

“Well, you may not know what it is, but I know Mr. Keilani would.”

Kira eyed him wistfully. He was very sure of himself, but she could like this man. She had seen the medallion in a painting in Paul’s home. It was around the portrait of one of his ancestor’s neck. She just could not understand what it had to do with what the detective wanted.

She said, “Is this in conjunction with some type of police business, if you don’t mind me be so bold to ask?”

“Yes, it is.”

Kira nodded. If it was this important, then maybe Paul should speak to him. Her instinct told her that this was a good man and usually her instincts were right.

“Currently Mr. Keilani is out of town right now,” she responded, watching the man’s face grimace in disappointment. “But he is due back tomorrow. I…I can probably set up an appointment for you with him then. His schedule is pretty much open.” She saw the detective’s face quirk up in surprise. “Why don’t you leave your number where I can reach you and I can call you tomorrow if it is possible.”

Sean practically beamed at the young woman. Although he knew she lied about not ever seeing the medallion, he had a feeling that she was not privy to all of Paul Keilani’s dealings. If anything, he knew he could use her to get close to Keilani.

“That would be great, Miss…I mean Kira. I would most definitely appreciate it,” replied Sean standing up and extending his hand for a handshake.

Kira took his hand into hers and shook it firmly, noting how Sean had held it a little longer than necessary.

Sean then turned to leave, but before he reached the door, he turned back and said, “I was wondering, is there a Mr. Callahan?”

Kira surprised, but delighted at this question said, “No. There is not. Why?”

“Oh, I just thought maybe if you’re not busy tonight, you could join me for coffee. I know a small café here in Honolulu that’s opened all night and they serve the best Kona coffee in Hawaii. Maybe we could discuss what I am looking for from Mr. Keilani?”

Kira smiled widely and at first she was about to say no, but then he said, “Please? I think you could be of great help to me and my case.”

“Well…I don’t know what I can do, but how about you meet me in front of this office, say around seven? I’ll be done with my work here by then.”

“Sure, sure. That would perfect,” said Sean. “See you at seven.”

Kira rose and bowed her head in acknowledgement and said, “At seven, Detective.”

“Sean.”

“Sorry, Sean,” she replied as she watched him exit the office.

Once he was gone, she sat back down at her desk to get back to finishing her reports for Mr. Keilani. “Well, this was going to be an interesting night,” she thought to herself. She then started going through her files on the computer.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

When Sean reached his car downstairs, he found it was not alone in its parking space. John Declan was leaning on it, waiting. Sean grimaced when he noticed his partner glaring at him. He knew he was in for a reaming and he did not care at this moment.

Sean walked over to his car and started to sidestep John on his way to the driver side, when John stepped in front of him, stopping him dead in his tracks.

Sean knew that John was worried about him and was afraid that he would go a little too far in trying to find out what happened to his niece. But Sean was willing to go the distance, no matter where it might lead him. Unfortunately he knew that Declan was not about to let that happen.

“What can I do for you, John?”

John rolled his eyes in exasperation. He was trying to keep Sean from throwing away his career and his life by doing something he thought stupid.

“I’ve been looking for you,” replied John.

“Yeah? So, you found me,” he said trying to step around him.

John moved to block his retreat again.

“What do you want from me, John?”

“What I want is to understand what the hell is going on here!” exclaimed John finally letting his anger loose. He eyed Sean determined knowing that he was going to get some answers one way or another.

“You wouldn’t understand,” said Sean glaring at him impatiently.

“I thought we were friends, Sean. No, more than friends. Partners.”

Sean relented at this comment. “We are Dec, we are. It’s…It’s just that this is very difficult for me to make you understand.”

“Try me,” said John, his face laced with concern.

Sean breathed out and said, “You know that medallion that was found?”

“Yeah, what about it?” asked John, his interest now piqued.

“Well, it belongs to the family of Paul Keilani. His ancestors used it during King Kamehameha’s day and used it to mark their kills.”

“So, this led you to believe that your niece’s accident was not an accident?”

“Correct.”

“But Sean, that seems just a little too circumstantial to me. It’s not something that the DA or Captain Harada will initiate an investigation.”

“I know. That’s why I’m doing my own investigation.”

“Sean, you know you’re playing with fire and you going to get burned,” replied John seriously.

“Yeah.”

“And you know it could cost your job?”

“I know, I know,” said Sean. “But I have to do this.”

“Well, if that’s the case, what do you want me to do?”

Sean stood there shocked. He had not planned on getting Declan involved. If this did not turn out right, he did not want to be the cause for the man losing his job.

“You do nothing,” answered Sean defiantly. “You do not get involved with this, Dec. Do you understand?”

“Sean, you can’t do this alone. And anyway, I thought we were partners.”

“We are, Dec. That is why I don’t want you getting involved.”

“But Sean, partners help each other and support each other.”

“I know, Dec. But right now I need to do this alone. Tell you what, if I need any help, I’ll call you.”

John looked at him skeptically. “You will?”

“I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die.”

“That’s not funny,” said John deadpanned. But he knew Sean was not going to budge on his decision. “Okay. But you call me if you need any help and you keep me updated on whatever you do, understand?”

Sean knew the only way to get rid of him was to agree. “Fine. I’ll call you as soon as I know something.” He then walked to the driver side of the car and got in behind the wheel. John moved back from the curb. Sean turned to John before driving away and said, “Tell the guys I appreciate everything that they’ve done and as soon as all this over we’ll all go out and drink ourselves unconscious.”

John smiled at this comment and nodded, as he watched Sean drive away. He just hoped that Sean knew what he was doing. If not, there would be hell to pay.

Pronounciation:

Ewa Beach Eva Beach (pronounced like ever)

Ua mau ke ea o ka ‘āina i ka pono O Hawai’i O Ma, k-a-o-ka-ina, e-ka-pono, O Haviee

Pupule – crazy Poo-poo-leh

* * * * * * * *

Chapter: 8

Sean had caught the afternoon flight to Kona, the Big Island to visit with his family. He did not forget about his so-called meeting with Kira Callahan. His return flight was scheduled for 5:00 P.M. and he figured that would be enough time for him to go home and change.

The main purpose of his visit to Kona was to talk to his son and his estranged wife about Nani’s death. He did not look forward to either conversation.

When he got off the plane, he found Pete Okana and another man waiting for him. He walked quickly over to them and shook Pete’s hand. Pete then pulled him forward and hugged him hard. Sean hugged him back. He and Pete went back a long ways. They both had served together in the Special Forces and they had saved each other’s lives more times than they could remember.

“Eh, Brah! Long time no see,” said Pete, as Sean stepped out of the big man’s arms.

Pete was a huge Hawaiian, about 200 pounds of muscles. There was no fat on the man and Sean knew like all Hawaiians, surfing and swimming was a daily routine of their lives, which kept most of them fit. Sean remembered that Pete’s father’s side of the family was Samoan and his mother’s side was Japanese.

Most of Hawaii’s population was a mixed of cultures and of races. Those races included besides Japanese and Samoan were Tahitians, Filipinos, Polynesian, Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese, African Americans, Hispanics and just recently as the 1940s in big boom, Caucasians.

This mixture could be seen in the eyes of the other man that was with Pete. He had the look of a Samoan, but the hair texture and eyes and nose were not.

Pete said as he noticed Sean eyeing the young man, “This is my brother’s son, Patrick Okana.”

Sean smiled and shook the young man’s hand. Knowing now who this man was explained what he saw. He remembered that Pete’s brother had married an African American woman and he could see the features in Pete’s brother’s progeny.

“How are you?” asked Sean of Patrick.

“Fine, except for Unc here. He don’t know how to hang loose,” was Patrick’s reply.

Sean smiled and knew that he was speaking about Pete’s obsession with control and order. It was why he and Pete got along so well. They both shared the same attributes when it came to doing things the right way and doing things their way.

“How’s everything, Pete?” asked Sean, now concerned about his family.

Pete knew what Sean meant and replied as he took his bag from his hand, “Everything’s fine. Got them settled in at my mom’s old place.”

“You still keeping that old place?” he questioned as they started walking away to where Pete’s jeep was parked.

“Hey, man, it’s my mother’s ancestry home.”

“Pete, how much of that bull have you been telling the malihinis?”

“Hey, Brah, it creates an income, ya know?”

“Yeah, I do.”

Pete motioned for him to get into the passenger side of the jeep, while his nephew jumped in the back with his bag. Pete then got into the driver’s side and turned the ignition. In no time, they were on their way to Hilo Bay where Sean’s family was staying.

*****************************************************************************

Pete had dropped his nephew off at his home before coming to the so-called safe house.

When they pulled up to the house, Sean had found it looking exactly the way he had seen it years ago when Pete’s father was alive. There was not much changed about it.

The house was built in the early 17th century Japanese architecture known as Minka. The Minka design was traditionally utilized in the building of homes of warriors and village headman. From what Sean understood, Pete’s mother ancestry came from a great warrior of Japan.

The house although was not an exact replica of the house that Pete’s mother was raised in when she lived in Osaka, Japan before coming to Hawaii with her own mother and father, it still showed some of the Japanese architecture.

The two-story home was mostly built with wood, clay and tiles of black and white. The doors were made with regular modern wooden doors that slid open and closed and could be locked from intrusion. The windows were built in the original Japanese style of sliding decorated screen coverings, but behind them were the modern wooden shutters to keep out the storms that would assault the Island during the Winter.

In such houses, the upper sections of the kamaya, which is the cooking room of the home, were roofed with tile, and clay walls were raised up around the thatching to serve as firewalls. This style is called yamatomune.

Once they got to the door, Sean removed his shoes and placed them on the mat near the door. Although this was a Japanese custom, by the end of Japanese occupation of the islands, most Natives of the islands had adapted it for themselves.

The house was made up of long corridors of finished wooden and tile walls. The house was long and thin due to the location of the house that was located on the top of the overlook of Hilo Bay.

The floors were made of finished wood and with only his socks on his feet, Sean felt how slippery it was. Luckily, there were many oriental rugs placed in designated areas that kept him from falling.

The staircase banister was made of bamboo dyed black and the stairs were of carved black stones.

Sean was about to walk up the stairs to where he knew some of the bedrooms were that housed his family, when he heard a shout coming from the back entrance of the house that led out to the gardens.

“Dad! You’re here!” exclaimed Jack, running towards him.

As the boy jumped, Sean pulled his son up into the air and into his arms.

“How’s my big man?” he asked smiling for the first time in a long time and kissed his son gently on the cheek.

Jack face scrunched up in annoyance. “Dad, I’m old enough not to use kiddie names!”

“Oh, sorry, Jack,” he said putting the young boy down on the floor. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Dad. This place is great! It’s got a garden and such and a little fish pond with real goldfishes.”

“The fish are called Koi, Jack.”

“Not goldfishes?”

“Sorry, son, they’re not gold fish although they have the color,” explained Sean patiently.

“Oh,” sighed Jack disappointed.

Sean eyed him and said, “What’s wrong, son?”

“I thought I could raise Goldy to be that big,” he told his father.

Sean smiled and said, “Well, Goldy will get bigger,” as Sean knew the goldfish was still young and would grow the size of the tank. “But not that big.” He watched as his son’s face light up at the prospect.

“So where is your grandmother and grandfather?”

“Grandma Alana, she stays sleep all the time. Grandpa Joe is out back with Auntie Ilana.”

“Why don’t we go out back and find them, huh?”

“Okay,” said Jack, grabbing Sean’s hand and leading him away to the back entrance of the house.

“I’ll put you bag in the upstairs room,” said Pete as he watched him walk away.

“Thanks, Pete,” replied Sean, following the lead of his son to the outside.

**************************************************************************

It was around noon and Kira Callahan sat at her desk wondering about her meeting tonight with Detective Sean Harrison. She did not know how she would be able to help him, if that was what he was looking for.

She started having second thoughts about meeting him, but he seemed to be a nice guy. Unfortunately, lately for her the nice guys always turned out to be assholes when she finally got to know them. She hoped this was not one of those times.

She had lied when she told him that Paul Keilani was out of town.

In fact, she was instructed to do so to anyone except for his close associates. Mr. Keilani was a very private man from what Kira deemed working with him for the past five years. She had hired her right out of her college trainee program.

After three years of working as an assistant to his Vice President of Public Relations, she was suddenly promoted to assistant to the Chairman and primary owner of the corporation, which was Paul Keilani.

She did not understand it. Although she worked as hard as anyone else in the company and sometimes she went 110% over, she did not think that she had made that much of an impression on him.

During her two-year tenure, she had only met Mr. Keilani three times and it surprised her when he remembered who she was. It was kind of strange too, but Kira had learned that Paul Keilani had the unusually ability of photographic memory when it came to people and names.

Now she was about to meet with a man that she had a feeling meant no good for her boss. She was having second thoughts about meeting Sean Harrison, except she liked the man and right now her feelings were making themselves known.

She finally decided that she would meet the man, but if what he wanted was anything other than simple conversation, then she would leave and forget about this Sean Harrison. Her job was important to her and she would not risk her reputation on a fleeting fancy.

She picked up her files and walked out of the office towards her next meeting.

* * * * * * * * *

Chapter: 9

Sean found his father-in-law and sister-in-law in the garden, sitting on two chairs, as Jack ran around the fishpond positioned in the middle of it.

They both seem to be in their own world and at the same time, they seem to be watching Jack enjoying his enthusiasm at the fishpond.

Sean walked directly to stand near them and said, “How have things been?”

Both his father-in-law and sister-in-law looked at him in surprise.

“I did not hear you come in, Sean,” said Joe.

“Just got in. Only staying for a couple of hours. Need to get back.” He did not need to mention that it had to do with the investigation into Nani’s death. They both already knew that Sean would not stop until he found all the answers.

Joe only nodded and turned back to watch is grandson enjoying the fish in the pond.

“Where’s Shawna?” asked Sean, fidgeting with the stone at his feet.

Joe looked at him in sympathy and replied, “She’s upstairs sleeping. The doctor was here and gave her sedative.”

“Did you tell her…about…”

“No, no. She was upset after the plane ride. She still does not know.”

Sean sighed heavily at this. It was going to be rough telling Jack, but he knew he was going to be even rougher telling Shawna since she would not understand what was being said.

He was about to speak further, when his cellular phone rang. Sean picked it up and moved a little away from his family as not to disturb them.

“Sean here.”

“Hey, Sean, it’s me John,” he heard Declan’s voice over the phone.

“Hey, Dec. What’s up?”

“Sean, I think you need to get here as soon as possible,” came John’s hurried words.

“Why? What’s happened?”

“Sean, we found something you need to see. The girl in the car was not Nani.”

“What?” exclaimed Sean into the phone, making his in-laws jump at his shout.

“I said, we know the girl in the car was not Nani. The dental records came back negative. We don’t know if she’s still alive, but if she is we don’t know where she is. All we know at this point is that at least she wasn’t in the car when it went over the cliff,” explained John. “Where are you now?”

“I’m…I’m out of town at the moment, but I can be there in the next couple of hours,” answered Sean, planning now how to get a chartered plane back to Oahu.

“I’m not going to ask again seeing as it took a long time to connect to you, so I’m assuming out of town means you’re not on the island.”

Sean smiled at the phone. His partner was not as dumb as people thought he was.

“Well, I needed to see to some important details.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. Just get your butt back here as soon as possible.”

“On my way. And Dec?”

“Yeah, Sean?”

“Thanks, man.”

“No problem. You’d do the same for me,” replied John.

Sean closed the phone, not replying to Declan’s statement and turned to his in-laws and smiled.

“Sean?” asked Joe concerned about his outburst. “Is there something wrong?”

Sean turned to his father-in-law and put his enthusiasm away for the moment. He did not want to get their hopes up only to have it dashed if they still found out that Nani was not alive.

“There’s been a development in Nani’s case. I’m going to have to leave. Do me a favor?”

“Sure, Sean, anything.”

“Don’t tell Jack or Shawna about Nani yet, okay?”

“But why? They need to know soon, Sean. We need to start planning…start planning the…”

Sean knew what he meant. “I know, Joe. But listen to me. Don’t do anything until you hear from me, okay?”

Joe looked at him doubtfully, but then thought his doubts were unfounded. Sean had always looked out for the best for the family. He trusted the man with his life and his family. “Okay, Sean. But don’t wait too long. Tradition dictates that we need to do this as soon as possible.”

“I promise. It won’t be too long,” replied Sean. He then walked over to where Jack was playing and knelt down next to his son.

“Jack, I’m going to have to leave soon, son. I’m sorry I can’t stay long.”

“But, Dad, I thought you said we were going to go to the beach?” asked Jack, his mouth pouting in disappointment.

“We are, son. We are. It’s just that I have some business to take care of first. I promise. Tomorrow I’ll take you to the beach when I get back, okay?”

“Okay, Dad,” replied Jack, a smile slowly gracing his small face. “Can we even go fishing and find fish like Goldie?”

Sean laughed at this. “Yeah, we can go fishing, but I don’t think we’ll find any fish like Goldie, but we can try,” he said, picking his son and hugging him. He then placed a kiss on the boy’s forehead. “You be good for granddad and grandma, okay?”

“I will, Dad,” he said, as Sean lowered him to the ground and watch him run back towards the garden.

When Jack had left, Sean’s heart felt a weight lifted, but it did not take away the fact that he had a new burden to bear.

He pulled out his cellular and dialed the number to the airport to find out when the next charter flight he could take back to Oahu.

******************************************************************************

Sean had found a charter flight that was leaving in about an hour. He decided not to take everything that he brought with him back, since he would need some clothes on his return. He would change once he got back to his home in Ewa Beach. Pete had offered to take him back to the airport, leaving two of his men to guard Sean’s family.

As they drove on the road that led to the highway back to the airport, Sean found himself under Pete’s scrutiny. The Samoan kept glancing at him as he drove on the highway.

“Something of interest, brah?” asked Sean, taking in the scenery as they drove in the jeep.

“Yeah. You brah. What’s up? I can see somethin’s been botherin’ ya ever since ya got that phone call.”

“It’s nothing, Pete. Just something I have to take care of,” said Sean, trying to evade his friend’s question.

Pete knew Sean was trying to avoid answering him. But he and Sean and a couple of the other guys who were helping out had a history. One that they had each tried to forget over the years. They had lost good men during the time they served together. They each held scars outside and inside. Some of the scars had healed, but Pete knew with Sean, it still festered. He was their leader and he never forgave himself for the lost of those men.

“Sean, ya know, brah, if ya need us, we dere, okay?”

Sean smiled gently and grabbed the man by the shoulder, squeezing it softly, letting Pete know that Sean knew he could count on him.

“I’ll keep that in mind, Pete. I may have to call on you soon,” said Sean thoughtfully.

Pete gave him a quick look of curiousity, but kept silent.

They came to the exit ramp for the airport. Pete pulled up to the passenger drop off point and watched as Sean grabbed a small bag and jumped out. Sean then reached over and grabbed Pete’s arm in their sign of friendship.

“I’ll see you when I get back,” said Sean.

“Take care of yourself, Sean. If ya need me…”

“I know, I know.” And with that he turned and went through the airport terminal doors.

Pete drove off with hopes that things would be better for the man when he got home.

************************************************************************

Sean entered headquarters around three hours later. He knew he was supposed to meet Miss Callahan at around 7:00 PM at her office. As soon as he landed, he had hailed a cab and went home to shower and change.

Once that was done, he took his car and drove to headquarters to meet with Declan. He prepared himself for anything, including the rage he knew his captain would have concerning his recent whereabouts.

He pushed through the doors and found all eyes on him. Most of the people there were pretty much busy with booking perps or on the phone. But he found that John, Danny and Chris all standing around his and Dec’s office area, their backs turned away from him. He walked over to them softly, not wanting to startle them out of their conversation, but also wanting to hear what they were saying.

He had got only a couple of feet from them, when John spied him and said, “Sean! It’s good to see you back, man.” John then moved around the desk he standing next to and came over to shake his friend’s hand.

Sean returned the action, but he held his emotions in check. Although he knew he could trust these men with his life, he did not know if he could trust them enough to understand what he was doing.

“How have ya been, Sean?” asked Chris surveying the man discreetly. He knew Sean was not in what he would call a right frame of mind right now, but then he probably would be the same way with someone he loved missing or even dead.

“Fine,” Sean answered tersely.

“Sean, I’m sorry about…” started Danny.

“Thanks, Danny,” replied Sean cutting off his condolences. “So Dec, what’s going on?”

John looked at Sean and then glanced at Danny and Chris. “First of all, Jill called and said that the dental records were not Nani’s.”

“That I understood. So that means she’s still maybe out there, right?”

“Well, we don’t know anything for sure, Sean, but yeah, so far that’s what it looks like.”

Sean saw a look crossing his partner’s face and then saw the same look on Chris and Danny’s faces.

“And…?”

“We also found something that might tie Frank Corvino to Paul Keilani’s organization,” interjected Chris. He then picked a file that was lying on John’s desk and handed to him.

Sean opened it and read the file. When he was done, he looked up at his colleagues, surprise on his face.

“So he was dirty,” came Sean’s statement.

“Yeah,” jumped in Danny. “Dirty as any dirt bag can get.”

“It seems he’s worked specifically for Mr. Keilani’s subdivision business operation,” added John.

“But how come we are just finding this out?” asked Sean.

“Well, from what I gathered, since it was not a direct affiliate of Mr. Keilani’s company, there was no tie.”

“But how did we find out about it?”

“Our beautiful Officer Linh Tamiya did some research into the business operation that Frank Corvino worked for and found out that when she traced ownership, it all came back to Keilani’s Building and Construction Corporation as a partner.”

“Good girl,” replied Sean. “So what’s our next steps?”

John, Danny and Chris both looked at Sean in apprehension.

“Well, Sean, you do nothing,” came John’s statement.

“What?” exclaimed Sean. “What are you talking about?”

“You cannot get involved in this, Sean,” John explained. “It against the departmental procedures.”

Sean stood there, anger fuming just beneath the surface. He knew what John said was true, but also knowing that there was no way he was staying out of this.

“I cannot just stand around here while…”

“Sean, Sean, listen to me. Captain Harada is already pissed at you for the way you acted the other day. He has you officially on leave of absence. We are in deep trouble ourselves right now for even telling you this information. If this investigation gets fucked up, the DA will just throw it out of the window. Do you understand me?”

Sean listened to his friend explain the situation. He understood the situation. But in his heart, he could not accept the situation. He took a deep breath and said, “Alright, John.”

John did not like the fact that he had acquiesced so easily. He knew the man was up to something and it was not good.

“Don’t alright me, Sean. I mean it. One whiff that you’re poking your nose in this and Harada will have all our heads.”

Sean looked at him and knew that Declan was serious. He gave him most contrite look and smiled.

John could only accept it without the proof to say otherwise.

“I’ll catch up with you guys later,” said Sean turning and heading for the door.

“And where are you going to be?” asked Chris.

“Visiting a pretty lady,” answered Sean as he pushed out of the door.

* * * * * * * *

Chapter: 10

Sean had just made it by 7:00 P.M. in front of the building that housed Keilani’s Building and Construction.

As he was exiting his car, he noticed Kira Callahan walking through the revolving doors of the building. He waved at her and she waved back, smiling as she made her way over to him.

“So, you made it,” she said laughingly. “I didn’t think you’d show.”

“Are you kidding? Now why would I miss out on a pleasant dinner with a beautiful lady,” said Sean taking her by the hand and leading her into his car.

“Why indeed?” responded Kira teasingly as Sean opened the passenger side of the door and bade her to be seated. It seemed to Kira that Sean was the last of the dinosaurs with his manners. Most of the men Kira had dated had barely held the door open for her. Sean intrigued Kira, but she still was no fool and knew that he was up to something.

She watched as Sean closed the door to her side and ran over to the driver’s side of the car.

“So where are we going?” asked Kira, curious.

“Somewhere different,” answered Sean smiling at her. He then put the car into gear and sped away down the avenue thinking that even if nothing came out of this meeting, he still was going to enjoy it.

*****************************************************************************

They had driven down the shore to a little place near Turtle Beach that Sean knew about. It was not very fancy, but it did have a beautiful view of the beach and sea turtles that constantly came ashore.

The maitre ‘d of the restaurant situated them at a table that had a beautiful view of the waves while they waited for someone to come and take their order. Kira noticed the surfers that were out on the evening tide. She watched them as they body surfed on the rolling waves. The people of Hawaii surfed all day, including late into the night. Night surfing was dangerous, but to the natives it was a way of life. Water was the main sustenance of their lives.

While Kira was kept entranced by the surfers riding the waves, Sean was busily taking in the view of the young lady who sat across from him. Her silky brown skin glistened in the evening setting sun. Her hair was braided into tiny long length braids and Sean could see the African ancestry prominently in her. Her brown eyes scanned the surface of the water outside, making the light of the moon twinkle within her eyes. He had never met someone who could stir feelings in him like this since his wife Shawna. Sean thought he could fall in love with someone like this. But then his mind wandered to why he was here and he sighed.

Kira although engrossed in the scene outside, heard the audible sigh come from her dinner companion. She looked over at him concerned. “Is there anything wrong, Sean?”

Sean recovered quickly. “No, no, Kira. It’s just a beautiful evening and I’m with a beautiful woman,” Sean lied.

Kira smiled at his compliment. She enjoyed it, but was not gullible enough to believe that this why this man was here. “So, Sean. I can assume that you didn’t bring me here to woo me. I think you wanted to talk, so let’s talk,” said Kira trying to force his hand.

Sean chuckled and said, “You know, you sure know how to make a fella feel wanted.”

“Well, Sean, I like you too, but I know that’s not why we’re here,” said Kira matter-of-factly.

“Yeah,” answered Sean, reaching for her hands across the table and taking them into his. “I need to ask you a favor, Kira and you may not like it.”

“So, why don’t you tell me and we’ll see,” replied Kira, leaving her hands clasped within his.

“The reason why I was going to see your boss was because I needed some information from him. That medallion I showed you?”

“Yes. What about it?”

“Well, I shouldn’t be telling you this, but it seems I have no choice if I want you help. It was found at a crime scene and it was determined to be a part of your boss’ ancestry legacy.”

“That I know. But what’s this favor you need?”

“I need you to find out everything you can from your boss on that medallion?”

At this statement, Kira pulled her hands back from him and sat upright in the chair. At that particular moment, the waitress came over to take their order. They ordered their drinks and told the waitress they needed more time to decide what they wanted for dinner. The blond-haired waitress nodded and walked away.

Once she was gone, Kira said, “You want me to spy on my boss?”

“No, Kira. Not spy. Just find out about the medallion, you know what it symbolizes and what’s it used for, that kind of thing.”

Kira sat silently in contemplation and said, “Is that all I have to do?”

“Yeah. I don’t want you to loose your job and I don’t want your employer’s business secrets. I just need someone who’s close enough to get me information on the medallion. It seems there is a lot no one knows about it.”

“Why don’t you just get a warrant and get the courts to get him to tell you?”

Sean smiled. This woman was not stupid and he loved that about her. “Because the evidence currently is very circumstantial. The DA is not going to get involved unless we have some hard proof.”

“And you want me to get that hard proof.”

“Only on the medallion. Oh, and one more thing.”

“Yes?”

“Can you get me a meeting with him?”

Kira looked at him shocked. She knew that would be hard to do. “I don’t think I can do that, Sean. You see, Mr. Keilani approves all his meetings. Do you think that if I tell a Police Detective wants to meet with him, he’s going to say he’s okay with it? I mean if the DA won’t get involved, how are you going to make him?”

Sean knew Kira was right. There was no way he could force Keilani to meet with him. “Well, I guess that’s a bust,” sighed Sean exasperated.

Kira saw the disappointed look on his face. She wondered why he was so charged up on this case. She figured as a police detective he had thousands of case like this. Why should this one be so different and why did it affect him so? “Sean, what is it about this case that bothers you so?”

Sean eyes stared hard at Kira. She had asked the one question he had hoped she would not ask. But he knew he had to be honest with her if he wanted her help. “The reason why this case means so much to me is because one of the people killed was my Ka`Ohana,” answered Sean sadly.

Kira had lived on the island all of her life and she knew what the word meant. Family. Someone had killed his family. Now she understood the fury behind his actions. “I’m sorry to hear that, Sean. Really I am.”

“Thanks, Kira. She was only eighteen. And I believe that she was a casualty, not the person who it was aimed at.”

Kira felt very terrible now and she wanted to help. She said, “Sean, there may be a way you could meet with Mr. Keilani.”

Sean looked at her with hope in his eyes. “How?”

“There is a dinner party that all the top executives will be at Keilani’s house tomorrow night. You could come as my date,” suggested Kira.

Sean smiled at this. “Are you trying to seduce me, lady?”

“Only if you let me,” teased Kira.

Sean grabbed her hands and pulled them into hers. “Lady, you’re gon’na spoil me.”

“So, it’s a date then?”

“How could I refuse such a terrific offer,” said Sean leaning over and kissing both of her hands.

“Oh, a gentlemen too. I am damn lucky,” laughed Kira. Her face then turned serious. “I just hope I’m not making the biggest mistake of my life.”

“I promise, Kira. I want do anything to embarrass you or cause you problems with your boss,” replied Sean, trying to calm her fears.

“Appreciate that.”

“Okay, so let’s enjoy our dinner,” said Sean motioning for the waitress to come and take their order.

The waitress came to the table with their drinks, took their orders and then walked away.

Once she was gone, Kira said, “So what do you have in mind after dinner?”

“Well, lady, I think I can come up with something,” said Sean smiling mischievously at her.

Kira laughed loudly at this and knew whether it was a mistake or not, she was going to at least have a good time.

* * * * * * * * *

Chapter: 11 of ?

Sean awoke the next morning. The clock on his nightstand said it was 6:30 A.M. He smiled as he remembered how he had spent the night with Kira, making love all night long and turned to look at her. Unfortunately, she was not there. Her clothes that were thrown on the chair that night were gone and he found a note on the pillow next to him. It said,

Sean,

I had a lovely time, but had to go.

Call me later today at the office and

I’ll let you know where to pick me up

for the dinner party tonight.

Oh, by the way, it’s black tie.

Love,

Kira.

Sean sighed and smiled again. It was a great night. He decided right there and then, he needed another hour of rest before going to the station to see how John and the others had got along in their investigation. Kira being at least 7 years his junior had knocked him senseless and after last night, he knew he needed to recuperate to stay alert at the party tonight.

He grabbed his pillow and hugged it to his chest and was about to go back to sleep when the phone rang. Annoyed at the interruption to his sleeping time, he picked the phone off the receiver and muffled into the phone, “Yeah, you better have a good reason for waking me or you’re so dead.”

“Sean, it’s John. You better get your ass down here.”

Sean sat up, now awake and alert. “Why? What’s happened?”

“Well Jill just finished up her identification of the dead girl. We know who she is.”

“Okay. I’m on my way. Be there in an hour.”

“We’ll be waiting,” said John and then he heard the click of the phone being disconnected.

Sean held the phone in his hand for a minute longer and then woke from his daze. They knew who the girl was in the car and they knew it was not Nani. He decided to make an important call to the Big Island. He dialed the number to the safe house where his family was kept. It rang several times before someone picked it up.

“Aloha.” came the woman’s voice over the phone. Sean knew it was Ilana.

“Ilana, it’s me, Sean.”

“Sean, when are you coming back?”

“Probably not until tomorrow. I have something to tell you. Nani’s not dead.”

“Sean, please…”

“No, listen. She’s not dead. The Coroner’s office discovered the identity of the girl and it wasn’t Nani.”

“Oh, thank God! Oh, this is wonderful news, Sean,” said Ilana happily.

“Wait. Wait, Ilana, listen,” said Sean cutting off her enthusiasm.

“What? Is this not good news?”

“Yes and no. It proves that Nani wasn’t in the car, but we still don’t know where she is or if she’s alive,” explained Sean sadly.

“But it gives us some hope, Sean. Should I let father and mother know?”

“Not yet, not yet. We still haven’t determined if Nani’s alive. I don’t want to get their hopes up and then have them dashed all in one day. Do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“Can you stall the ceremony?”

“For how long? You know father and mother and how they are about traditions and such.”

“And what about you?”

“Me? You’re Malama and being Malama I trust in your judgment,” said Ilana with a finality.

“Then you’ll do it?”

“Yes.”

“Thanks, Il.”

He was about the disconnect the line when he heard her say, “Oh, Sean?”

“Yeah?”

“Be careful. I have a bad feeling about all this.”

“I will Ilana. You take care of our family.”

“I will, Sean. You take care of yourself and come back to us.”

He hung up the phone and then jumped up to move towards the bathroom. He had to take a shower, get dressed and get down to headquarters to find out what John had. He knew he also had to be at the cleaners to pick up his tuxedo and get changed picking up Kira for their big meeting with her boss. Sean knew there was something going on, he just needed the proof. Maybe if they knew the identification of the girl in the car, it might give him some more information.

**************************************************************************

Sean walked into headquarters within two hours, his mind in turmoil on what his friends had found out. As he walked through the area, there were stares and looks of concern on his fellow officers’ faces, but he ignored them. He found John, Danny and Linh in the briefing room leaning over a file and some photographs.

“What’s up, boys and girls?” asked Sean, coming into the room and closing the door softly behind him.

“Glad ya hear, Sean,” said Danny. “You ought to see this.” He then handed Sean the file they were reviewing.

Sean looked at the file and leaved through it quickly. He raised his eyes to his friends in question. “So the woman was Leia Roberts?”

“Yeah. She was Frank’s girlfriend and the word on the street, she was his partner,” said Danny.

“Hmmm. So they were both involved in the drug dealing business,” said Sean thoughtfully.

“Yep, we think it was a hit by the competition,” added Linh.

“Do we know who the competition is?” asked Sean, although he had his own intuition about it.

“No one’s talking,” said Linh. “I tried talking to a couple of the locals, but everyone seem scared.”

“Dec, we need to find out who this competition is. It’ll probably lead us to the why and the who,” said Sean. In his mind, there was only one person who was behind all this and he was going to meet that man tonight. “And it still does not answer the question why they were in Nani’s car and where is she.”

“We’ll get it on, Sean,” said John nodding to the others. They all nodded in agreement.

Sean started to walk out of the room when John turned to him and said, “Sean, can I talk to you for a moment?”

Sean looked back at John and knew this was probably not a conversation he wanted to have right now.

“Can it wait, John?”

“No. It can’t,” said John determinedly. He motioned for Danny and Linh to leave them alone. Danny and Linh nodded that they understood and filed out of the room.

As Danny and Linh walked by him, they each grabbed him by the arm, expressing their sympathy. He nodded to them in appreciation and acceptance and then returned to face his friend.

The door closed behind them softly and Sean then walked over to sit down in one of the chairs at the conference table. John sat directly across from him, at first saying nothing, trying to understand what the man across from him was thinking.

“So, John, what’s this about?” asked Sean eyeing him questionably.

“How have you been, Sean?”

The question caught Sean off guard. He had expected his friend to ask him about what he was up to, not about how he was doing.

“I’m doing okay, Dec. What about you?”

“Well, you see, there’s this friend of mine and he seems to be having problems remembering he’s a cop and…”

“Stop right there, Dec,” started Sean.

“No, you stop, Sean. What the hell do you think you’re doing?” exclaimed John.

“I don’t know what you mean, John,” said Sean looking at him confused.

“I got called into the Captain’s office because of some big shot lawyer who filed a complaint that says a certain detective has been harassing his client,” said John angrily.

“ What?” Sean exclaimed.

“A complaint in the name of one Ku'oko'a O’kano charging one Sean Harrison with harassment. You’re lucky the Captain ain’t here right now or your ass would be in a sling.”

Sean his eyes glared as he heard the name. “John, Ku'oko'a is a two-time, low life, thief!”

“Sean, did you or did you not go to see this guy?” asked Declan pointedly.

Sean remained silent. He knew he could not lie to his partner, but he could not tell him the truth either.

John rolled his eyes in disappointment. “Sean, you cannot do this!”

Sean still refused to answer him and John was getting angrier by the minute. He thought Sean trusted him and it seemed it did not know him as well as he thought. He then turned the subject matter to something else. “What is a Malama, Sean?”

“None of your damn business! Stay out of it, Declan!” answered Sean, now rising from his seat.

But John would have none of that. He moved quickly from the other side of the desk to prevent the man from moving from his seat.

“Dec, get out of my way,” said Sean threateningly.

“No. Not until I get my answer.”

“Leave it be, Dec. It’s something that you can’t understand.”

“Can’t I? I know about family Sean. I come from Chicago and my mother and brothers are all I got. If something happened to them, I don’t know what I would do.”

Sean looked into John’s eyes and saw that he spoke the truth. He wanted to trust John, but he did not know how. Nani’s life was on the line, if she was still alive.

“Malama means protector, John. I was Nani’s protector, given that responsibility by her family that I agreed to take. I would fail in my responsibility if I did not find Nani’s killer and revenge her death. It’s tradition, John.”

“Sean,” continued John. “I know about tradition and the responsibility that goes with it. But you can’t let tradition make you do something stupid.”

“I can handle it, Dec.”

“Really?” asked John sarcastically. “I don’t think so. Look at you! You’re sneaking around here like some kind of thief and you’re forgetting about the law.”

“The law?” exclaimed Sean, now pushing John out of his way. “The law? You can easily talk about law when it doesn’t affect someone you love?”

John looked at him with hurtful eyes. “Don’t talk to me about the law and those I love, Sean! You know nothing about it!” John then decided a different tack needed to be taken. “Did you know that I had a sister, Sean? Did you?”

Sean glared at him, wondering where this was leading. He stood there in front of him, his hands clenched into fists. “No, Dec. I did not,” answered Sean trying to keep his anger under control.

“Well, I did, Sean. Do you know where she is? Do you?”

Sean shook his head that he did not.

“She’s dead, Sean. Dead. She’s buried under six feet of ground in Chicago. She was kidnapped, raped and murdered. She was only sixteen, Sean. Sixteen.”

Sean, his anger now forgotten looked at his friend who was in anguished. Sixteen? Not much younger than Nani. “What…what happened?”

John turned his sorrowful eyes away from his friend, not wanting him to see what lay behind them. He turned his back and looked out the window of the conference room. “She was taken to an abandoned building in one of the combat zones in the area. I was a first year cop then and tried everything I could to find her. When we…when we did find her, she had been raped and strangled to death. My mother was heartbroken and suffered a heart attack at that time. I…I decided I would find the murderer and make them pay!” he said turning back towards Sean.

“Did you find them?”

“Him. I found him. After working days and nights without any sleep or food, I finally found him. He was a drug addict that preyed on young girls. We found out that my sister, Evelyn wasn’t the first one had killed. He had a list of them. I cornered him before backup could arrive. I had my gun aimed right at his heart! I would of shot him right then and there to make up for all the hurt and pain he caused so many families.”

“So what did you do?”

“I tell you, Sean. I had my finger on the trigger, ready to put as many bullets as I could into that bastard’s body. But right before I could pull the hammer all the way back I realized if I did kill him then I would be just like him. I threw him on the floor and handcuffed him until the others could arrive. Afterwards, he was tried for the murder of seven girls, including my sister. He’s on death row now, waiting for his turn to die.”

Sean looked at his partner solemnly. He knew the man was hurting at not having to end his sister’s killer’s life. Just like he was feeling about not having Nani’s murderer in his own hands. He bowed his head in sympathy and in resignation. He had to tell John the truth. He deserved the truth.

“John, I’m sorry about you sister. I didn’t know.”

“I know, Sean. It’s…it’s just after all these years it still…”

“I know, I know.”

“So don’t think I don’t know how you feel, Sean. Because I do.”

“I know you do, Dec. It’s just that…well, I’m afraid he might get away.”

“He who?”

Sean sighed and knew he to finish what he started.

“Paul. Paul Keilani.”

“The big building contractor?”

“Yeah. The necklace that was found in the car is a family symbol. My father-in-law says ancient Keilani warriors used it as a warning to those who were enemies or try to go up against them. I think it was meant for Frank Cordova.”

“But what has that got to do with Nani?”

“That’s the problem. I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”

“Sean, if it is Keilani then we talking about big guns here. He ain’t so small time hood.”

“I know, Dec. But I can’t stop. I gotta find out if Nani’s dead or alive and if she’s dead, I need to bring her murderer to justice.”

“But whose justice, Sean?”

Sean glared at his friend, knowing what he meant.

“Listen, Dec. A lot of heads are probably going to roll on this one. I think you should stay out of it.”

“Sean, I am already in it. When the shit hits the fan, me, Danny, Linh and Chris are all going to get hit with it. We’ve been giving you information you should never have received. As far as the Captain is concerned, you’re on indefinite leave.”

Sean knew he was right. They were in it up to their necks and he had put them there. He felt guilty at having brought them into this mess.

John saw the look on Sean’s face and said, “Sean, we wouldn’t have it any other way. We stick together, understand?”

“Alright. If you’re all willing to go down with the sinking ship, then you should know everything. Tonight I’m going to confront Keilani.”

“How? Why?”

“I met a young lady named Kira Callahan. She works as Keilani assistant. She’s going to get me into a party he’s having tonight. I want to rattle his cage and see what pops out.”

John nodded, although he had some issues with Sean’s plan. “You’ll be on his playground, Sean.”

“I know it. But I got safety net he don’t know about. You,” he answered smiling at John.

John smiled back. “So what’s the plan?”

Sean leaned back in the chair. It was good to have his partner back, even though it probably meant that they would both loose their badges and their jobs.

* * * * * * *

Chapter: 12

Sean picked up Kira at her apartment at the hour she requested. They drove to Keilani’s where the party was in full swing. It was black tie, as Kira had explained and Keilani was playing the noble host, wandering around his huge mansion style home, making sure that his guests were happy.

It was lucky for Sean and Kira that when they arrived, Keilani was busy somewhere else. It would have been awkard for them to meet when Sean was still trying to put the final touches to his plan.

As Kira walked around, holding Sean’s arm tightly, keeping a look out for Keilani. She wore her black sequenced dress with the back out and although she did not see, Sean had some trouble keeping his mind on the job at hand.

Sean was dressed in an immaculate black tuxedo that he had for the past two years. He had bought it out whim and now it came in handy. He felt Kira glance at him ever so often, wondering what the young woman was thinking. He figured she was probably thinking the same thing he was which was last night.

Sean, turning his attention back to business, noticed one of the waiters moving towards him. His eyes opened in surprise when he saw it was John, dressed in the uniform of the hired caterers.

“John?” he said as the man approached him.

John held up his hand and stopped to stand side by side with Sean. “Yeah. And if you say one word about this, I swear…”

“Not me,” said Sean holding his hands up defensively. “Where’s Chris and Danny?”

“Over there,” said John nodding towards the other side of the room.

Sean saw Chris and Danny dressed in black suits near the back door entrance. They had headsets that Sean knew were portable communication devices.

“They’re bodyguards?”

“Would you believe it? They get the cushy jobs and I got to play fetch boy,” grumbled John. He then turned to Sean and said, “You owe me.”

“I know, I know,” answered Sean smiling. “They going to be able to hear us?”

“Yeah. They have a set up where they can switch channels. One channel is for the security for the party and the other is for us.”

“What about Lynh and Kaleo?”

“In the surveillance van. They’re listening in.”

“Okay, so you guys remember what to do?”

“Yeah. We wait until you give us the signal.”

“Right. Hopefully, Keilani won’t know what hit him,” said Sean distractedly.

John did not like the sound of that. It held an ominious tone to it. Sean had not disclosed the evidence that he had to confront Keilani with. In fact, John believed that it was sketchy at best and that worried him. If they did not get something concrete, they were all going to be fried by Captain Harada for their illegal operation.

“Sean?” queried John.

“Yeah?” responded Sean, still watching for that man he sort to appear.

“You’re sure about this? I mean, you haven’t told us what you have on him,” said John doubtfully.

Sean eyes widened with surprise and anger. “Listen. You don’t have to stay. I won’t fault you for it, but I’ve got to do this,” came Sean’s low response.

John knew that even though Sean showed no outward anger, he had just been smacked on the hand and told to either do as Sean says or leave in so many words. John nodded solemnly, starting to wonder if this was such a great plan after all.

“We are oh so dead,” he said grumbled as he walked back over to his position near the bar. Of course, Sean did not hear him. He was too busy watching the man Paul Keilani move closer to them.

Sean observed the man as he strolled towards them, greeting his guests as he moved through them.

Paul Keilani had the look of the islands. He was definitely a descendant of the great people of Hawaii. He walked through the crowd with the presence of Hawaiian royalty although his family was nowhere near that. His Samoan and Polynesian features were prominent on his face and he was as tall as Sean, but about a inch shorter.

Paul spied Kira Callahan and sauntered over his way towards them. Sean could feel the man scrutinizing him, probably trying to figure out how he fit into Kira’s life. Relative, lover or friend, he could see that Paul was intrigued.

“Hello, Kira, my dear. So glad you could make it,” said Paul Keilani, grabbing the young woman’s hand and kissing her gently upon it.

“You too, Mr. Keilani,” replied Kira staring at the man’s action. He had never done that before and it took her by surprise.

“Call me Paul, Kira. You have been working for me for a long time now. We should be familiar with each other by now.”

Kira eyed the man suspiciously, but replied, “Sure, Mr…I mean Paul. Ah, Paul, this is a friend of mine, Sean Harrison.”

“Detective Sean Harrison,” said Paul Keilani, holding out his hand.

“You know me?” asked Sean.

“Let’s just say that your reputation proceeds you, Detective Harrison,” replied Paul smiling.

Sean took the man’s hand. As they shook hands, he could feel the power the man carried within him. This man held his domain with an iron fist. He knew he had to tread carefully around him.

What Sean did not know was that Paul Keilani was thinking the same thing. He too thought he needed to proceed with caution when it came to this detective. He was no ordinary man and Paul knew an exceptional individual when he met one.

“So, Kira,” said Paul letting go of Sean’s hand and turning his attention back to his assistant. “How do you like my little get together?”

“It does not seem that little to me, Paul. By the way isn’t that Mr. Tanaka over there?”

“Why, yes, that is,” answered Keilani. He turned to Sean and said, “Mr. Tanaka is one of the island’s most prestigious clientele. Kira and I have been trying to get a meeting with him over the past few days, so if you don’t mind, can I borrow her from you for a moment?”

Sean knew this was the opportunity he needed to be out from under Keilani’s eyes. “Sure. No problem.” Sean then turned to Kira and said, “I’ll meet you at the bar, okay?”

“Are you sure, Sean?” asked Kira suspicious about Sean’s willingness. She knew he was planning something and did not want to be left out of it.

“I’m sure, baby,” he said purposefully kissing her on the cheek. He then watched the reaction that came from Keilani and was shocked by what he saw. The man was jealous. Very jealous, but why considering Kira had told her he was only her employer.

Kira smiled, but also noted the look on Keilani’s face and she too was surprised. She had always kept their relationship professional only and this bothered her greatly. She saw that Sean had noticed this also, so whatever reason he wanted Kira with Keilani must be a good one.

“Come, Kira. I don’t want to miss talking to Mr. Tanaka,” said Paul, his statement seething with anger. He then motioned for Kira to proceed to the other side of the room. “We’ll talk later, Mr. Harrison.”

Sean watched as Keilani and Kira walk away, Kira ever so often turning around to stare at him as wishing him to explain. Sean could only shake his head to signal to her not to bring attention to him. Kira understood and proceeded to pull Keilani over to Tanaka.

Once they were gone, Sean heard John through his wireless earphone. “What the hell was that?” came John’s whispering voice.

“Keilani knows me and if he knows me, he knows why I am here. I needed him somewhere else while I search upstairs.”

“Do you know where you have to go?”

“Yeah. Kira told me on the way here that on the second floor, the last door on the right of the corridor is Keilani’s home office room. It’s where he works when he’s not in the office. She said anything that might help me would probably be there in a safe.”

“A safe? So how the hell are you going to get it opened?”

“Kira had the combination. Remember, she is his assistant. But after that look he just gave me, I’m wondering what else she is his assistant in.”

“Sean, is there something you ain’t telling me about you and Kira’s relationship?”

“No,” answered Sean too quickly for John’s liking. John knew something was up with their relationship, just not what and it looked like his partner was going to be talkative about it.

“Okay. But you better hurry. I think your girlfriend just bought you some time,” said John walking away before his comment could sink in.

Sean smirked as he friend and partner went back to the bar. He then started to proceed casually walking towards the stairs that led to the upstairs rooms. “Well, no time like now,” he thought to himself as he disappeared in the crowd that was traveling up and down the stairs of the huge mansion.

* * * * * * * * *

Title: Malama

Chapter: 13 of ?

Sean got into the room easily. It was locked, but Sean having grown up in the ghetto of Hawaii had a learned a trick or two and he unlocked the door without any problems.

He cautiously stepped inside the darken room and pulled out a small flashlight from his pocket. He knew it would not do for him to turn on the lights and someone came by and noticed them. He also did not know if there was any type of alarm hooked up with the light system and although Kira did not think there was, he could not take any chances.

Once inside the doorway, he closed the door silently behind him and used the flashlight to find the wall where Kira said the safe was housed.

“I’m in. Where’s Keilani now?” He whispered into his mike.

“He’s still with Miss Callahan talking to a Japanese guy,” came John’s reply over his earpiece.

“And what about the guards?”

“One’s by the entrance, one’s by the stairs that lead to where you are Sean and one’s by the back door to the kitchen and the rest of the house,” came Danny’s voice.

“Let me know if they start to come upstairs and any other of the guests or Keilani,” he whispered back. “Kaleo, Linh, you still got the outside guards in sight?”

“Yeah, Sean,” came Linh’s lithe voice. “We’re keeping such a close eye on them that I can see if there’s an ant on their behinds.”

“Seems like Linh’s cleaning up her act, Sean,” came Kaleo’s comment.

“How’s that?” asked John.

“Linh never use to say behind,” added Chris over the comm.

Sean heard laughter and smiled. But then he turned on his serious voice. “Cut the chit chat, guys. We got a job to do. I’ll let you know when I’m done.” And Sean walked over to the wall and started his search for the safe.

******************************************************************************

John noticed that Callahan and Keilani were moving towards the staircase. He knew if they were going to his home office, they would find Sean in the middle of a breaking and entering and they’d all be damned.

He quickly took up a tray and put two martinis on it. He then swiftly navigated through the throng of people to intercept the couple.

“Here are the drinks you requested,” announced John, looking at Kira and winking.

At first, Kira was confused and was about to say that she did not order any drinks when she noticed John’s look and wink.

“Oh…thank you, sir,” she said taking the drink from him and passing the other one to Keilani.

“Kira, I didn’t think you like martinis,” said Keilani surprised.

“I…I don’t usually, but it is such a grand occasion I wanted to try something new for a change,” she lied.

Paul smiled at that and grabbed her hand, leading them away from the staircase. John heard him say as they walked away, “Did I ever show you my garden, Kira?” As they disappeared John heard Kira reply, “No. I would love to see it.”

John walked back to the bar and stood in the corner against the wall. “Sean?” he whispered into the mike.

Sean had just succeeded in getting the safe door open and was rifling through the things he found in there when he heard John’s call come over his mike. “Yeah, what is it, John?”

“Listen, you don’t have much more time. I just stopped Keilani from coming upstairs. How much longer?”

“Not much longer. I’m already in the safe. Just let me know if anyone else tries to come upstairs.”

“Gotcha. Just hurry it up, okay?”

“Yeah. I will. Out.”

Sean then turned back to the items he found in the safe. Along with about two thousand in cash, there were some jewels and some documents. Sean ignored the valuable items and started leaving through the documents. One document stuck out among the others.

It was a thick document and Sean noticed that the insignia on the cover was the same as what was on the necklace.

He quickly opened the document and took out the small camera he had on him and started snapping pictures of each page.

Once he was done he put the document back inside the safe and was about to close it when he noticed a very small folder leaning in the back of the safe. He grabbed the folder and opened it and saw inside there were pictures. Pictures of Frank Cordova, the guy Nani was last with. There was also another man in the pictures, but Sean did not know his identity. Sean took pictures of the pictures and placed them back into the folder and locked the safe.

“Okay, guys. I’m coming down,” said Sean into his mike.

“You’re clear, Sean,” came Chris’ voice over the mike.

Sean strolled down the hall and down to the stairs trying not to attract any attention. He had just reached the bottom and noticed Kira and Keilani moving towards him unawares of his presence. He decided to intercept them and started to walk over to them, grabbing a drink from one of the waiters handing out drinks as he did.

When he reached them, Keilani looked up in surprise to see him standing before them.

“Ah, Mr. Harrison, so good of you to join us. I thought we lost you there for a while,” said Paul recovering from his surprise.

“Just enjoying the artwork,” said Sean pointing to the paintings on the wall.

“I see you have very good taste. That is a Van Gogh there. A very rare and valuable one. It has cost me dearly to acquire it.”

“I bet it has,” said Sean sarcastically.

Keilani eyed the blond detective and heard the sarcasm that was dripping in his voice. But he chose to ignore it for now. He had plans for Sean Harrison, but this was not the right place to put that plan into action.

Just as Keilani was about to reply to that, Native Hawaiian music started to fill the air of the room and all eyes turned to the stage.

Keilani knew he had lost his chance and bowed to the couple saying, “I need to speak with the entertainment I have hired for tonight. Please, go and enjoy yourselves. Maybe I will see you later.”

Kira and Sean nodded and walked away towards the other side of the room where the bar was situated, while Paul walked towards the stage to speak with the masters of ceremony.

******************************************************************************

When they reached the bar area, Sean turned to Kira. “So how did you talk with Keilani go?” he asked smiling at her.

Kira looked at him annoyed. She was not happy at the conversation she had with Keilani. “The man is a dog,” replied Kira angrily. “He had the nerve to try and make a pass at me. And when that didn’t work, he tried to blackmail me.”

“So what did you do?” asked Sean feeling guilty having had to let Kira deal with Keilani’s unwanted advances, his eyes keeping Keilani well in his vision.

“Let’s just say he and I have understanding as to what my job entails and what I would do if he wanted requested anything that was not part of my original job description,” said Kira smiling wickedly.

Sean glanced at her and saw that Kira was not kidding. He smiled back in admiration. He liked this woman. She had spunk.

“Good for you!” exclaimed Sean emphatically and kissed her on the cheek.

What Sean and Kira did not see was Keilani glaring hatefully at them from his position on the stage.

At that moment the band started to play Izzy’s “Kaulana Kawaihae”, a soft Hawaiian song and Sean looked into Kira’s eyes. Kira stared back into those baby green eyes and smiled gently at him.

“Do you wan’na dance?” he asked.

Kira nodded and Sean took her by the hand, leading onto the floor with the other dancing guests. He puled her into his arms, wrapping them around the small of her back and her shoulder. Kira nestled even closer and they both danced slowly, swaying with the vibrant music that was flowing over them.

Sean felt he could rest in heart here with this woman and Kira felt much the same. As they danced they both held each other eyes, blocking out everyone else around them. The moved closer and closer to each other until there was no space left between their bodies for air or anything else to flow. They foreheads touched lightly and Sean grinned with anticipation of what it would be like to be in this woman’s arms, without an audience, without the confines of clothes.

He was startled out of his reverie when he heard his named called. He broke abruptly apart from Kira and looked around to spy John approaching him quickly.

“Sean, we need to get out of here, now. Chris just heard that security think there was a break in on the upper floors,” whispered John.

“Right,” answered Sean curtly. He then turned to Kira and said, “Shall we?”

“We shall,” she answered just as curtly and they both walked quickly to the exit to where the car was parked.

“John, you guys meet us at my place once the party is over,” said Sean.

“Gotcha!” replied John and he walked away to find the others.

As Sean and Kira were almost at the exit, they heard their names called. They turned to find Paul Keilani walking towards them at a fast pace.

“Sean, Kira, leaving so soon?”

“Uh, yes. We have a previous engagement that we must attend,” piped up Kira. “ And we just couldn’t miss out on your party though, Paul, but unfortunately this is also important so…”

“I see,” answered Paul thoughtfully. His face looked deep in concentration, but then he said, “Well, it was a pleasure having both of you. And I do mean both of you.” As he said this, eyes specifically settled on Sean.

“Thanks for having us, Mr. Keilani,” said Sean suspicious.

“No, no, it was definitely my pleasure,” said Paul putting out his hand.

Sean took the hand and shook it, but felt the slight pressure there as he did. Paul Keilani was testing the waters. Sean hoped he found them strong. Paul let go first and but his eyes never left Sean’s face.

“Good bye, Paul,” said Kira as she walked through the doorway.

“See you tomorrow, Kira,” replied Paul as he watched them walk out.

When they were gone, one of his security men came running up to him.

“Mr. Keilani, we checked the office sir and everything looks alright. Maybe you just left the door open?”

“I did not, Peter. Search the office again. I want to know if anything is out of place. Anything,” said Keilani eyeing the man angrily.

“Yes, sir. But I don’t think we’re going find out who was there.” And the man left to join his other colleagues.

Paul stood in the doorway, watching as Kira and Sean drive away. “I already know who was there,” he said to no one in particular. He then turned away and went back to his guests.

* * * * * * * * *

Chapter: 14

Sean and the others met up at his home. They could not go to headquarters considering that they had accomplished an illegal breaking and entering into someone’s home. Sean had ordered pizza and had some beer in the refrigerator that they all consumed while lounging around his dining room.

After everyone was fed and satiated, they all sat gathered around Sean’s dining room table, with scattered bottles of beer and pizza. Sean wanted to go over the information that they found in Keilani’s office. He had set up his laptop at the end of the table and hooked up the digital camera he had to the laptop. He then loaded the pictures that he had taken of the documents and photographs that he had found.

At this moment, Linh and Sean were scrutinizing and trying to enhance the images on his laptop. Kira sat closely by his side, giving him input on items she knew, while Chris, Kaleo, John and Danny watched a football on Sean’s small TV in the kitchen.

It was then they heard Sean say, “Shit!” This made Chris, Kaleo, John ad Danny turn around to look at their friend.

“Sean, what’s up?” questioned John concerned.

Sean did not answer, but was breathing hard, his eyes seeming somewhere else. Kira turned saddened eyes to John and the others, not knowing what to say and Linh looked at them confused.

Linh did not know what happened. One minute they were going through the pictures, she using her talent with computers to enhance them when they came upon a picture of a ring. It was small had an emblem on it that Linh did not recognize. Kira did not seem to recognize either, but when Sean leaned over Linh’s shoulder and peered at it, he had cursed at the sight of it and had gone still.

Sean finally decided to look at them, shivering slightly. He then turned and walked away to the patio that led to the beach. He opened the sliding glass door and stepped out into the cool breeze that he hoped would wash away the pain he was feeling right now.

The others watched him go, not understanding what was going on.

“Linh?” called Chris seeing that they were not going to get the answer out of Sean at this moment.

“I don’t know, Chris. We we’re just looking at this photograph that Sean took inside the safe.” She then turned the laptop towards them so that they could view the picture.

John, Danny and Kaleo looked at it still not gleaming why the picture of this ring would create such a look of anguish and pain on Sean’s face.

They all turned to Chris and saw him staring at the ring as if he saw a ghost.

“Chris?” called Linh softly, not wanting to shock the man with her sudden call.

“It’s…It belonged to Nani,” said Chris, swallowing the lump that was now in his throat.

“Nani?” came John’s startled question.

“Yeah. She…Um, she was given it on her sixteenth birthday. It’s the family crest. Joe gave it to her as a sweet sixteenth party as a family gift.”

They all realized why Sean could not speak after viewing the picture.

“So Keilani is involved in Nani’s disappearance?” said John thoughtfully.

“So it seems,” said Chris sitting down in one of the dining room chairs hard.

“So…how do we find out where she is?” asked Linh. “It’s not like he’s going to tell us.”

“No. He won’t.” interjected Kira. They all turned their eyes towards her as they remembered she was there. “Mr. Keilani is very ruthless. If he is involved in this…”

“If?” yelled John. “If? There is no if here, Miss Callahan.”

“Call me, Kira. And you’re right. There is no if since the ring was discovered in Mr. Keilani’s vault. I think the only real question is where Nani is and if she is alive.”

“Yeah, that’s the big question,” murmured Danny.

“Well, I think I might be able to help,” volunteered Kira.

They turned surprised eyes at her offer.

“And just why would you?” asked Linh. “He is your boss.”

“He’s my boss, not my owner. I thought I was working for a reputable businessman, not a criminal. I can get another job anywhere. But Sean cannot get another niece.”

They knew she was right and admired her for her loyalty to what was right.

“So what did you have in mind?” asked John looking at her with a devilish grin.

Kira smiled back and started to lay out her plan.

*****************************************************************************

Sean had sat out on the patio for a while now. He had tuned out the conversation that was going on in his house. He could not get the picture of the ring out of his mind. He knew Nani would not part with that ring for anything in world. The only way someone could get the ring off her finger was by force.

What he did not know was whether or not she was alive when it was removed. He closed his eyes, trying to keep by the tears that were threatening to flow. He still had Jack and his other family members to think about. He could not break now. He suddenly felt very tired and very much his thirty-odd something years. He sat there, listening to the ocean’s song as darkness and sleep captured him in its hold.

It was much later when Sean awoke to footsteps approaching him on the wooden patio floor. He opened his green eyes and found himself looking up into dark pools of brown. A dark skinned face and a smile that housed a row of sparkling white teeth joined them.

“Kira? What are you still doing here?” he asked trying to stifle a yawn.

“Waiting for you to wake up,” answered Kira kneeling besides his chair. “The others left a while ago and I figured you needed the rest.” Her hand touched lightly on his arm and he put his hand over hers.

“I can’t believe she’s dead, Kira. I refuse to believe it,” said Sean emphatically.

“I don’t think she is dead either, Sean. “

He looked at her with eyes of astonishment. “You do?”

“Because you do.”

“Do you think that is logical?”

“Logic has nothing to do with it,” replied Kira touching his cheek with her other hand. “It has to do with believing. I believe that my boss, who I now have lost all respect for has her and he has her for a reason.”

“So, is that what you told the others?”

“Something like that,” Kira answered. She then sighed gently and let her hand fall from his cheek. “I’m going back to work tomorrow and if I what I suspect is correct, I think I can find out where Nani is.”

“How? I don’t understand?”

“Let’s just say that I have knowledge that can get me the information. But not tonight. Tonight I just want to relax,” she said silencing his questions. “We can talk in the morning.”

“You should be in bed,” he said tiredly realizing how late it was.

“Anytime big boy,” she said as her hand brushed back a fallen blond lock of hair.

“Don’t you have to go to work tomorrow?”

“Well, let’s just say that I’m going in a little late,” answered Kira smiling sweetly at him.

“Oh,” replied Sean, pulling her into his lap. “Well, maybe I can think of something we can do in the meantime.” He then gave her a leer that made her giggle with amusement.

She leaned towards his face still keeping her precarious hold in his lap and kissed him gently upon them.

Sean grabbed her by her braids and pulled her back towards him. As their lips met, he felt such desire that it filled his entire body with a fire that burned deep. Kira felt the same way and twisted in the chair so that their bodies were meshed together. They stayed that way, drinking in the taste of their lips as they sort each other tongues.

When they finally broke apart, they were both heaving heavily and their eyes glistened with delight.

“So…” started Sean. “Where do we go from here?”

Kira’s tongue flicked around her lips, devouring the taste of him and answered, “Well, I guess we can be more comfortable in the bedroom.”

Sean eyes quirked in feigned suspicion at her and said, “Are you trying to seduce me?”

“Of course, silly. Why do you think I stayed when the others left?” said Kira teasingly.

Sean smiled and kissed her again. He then lifted her up into his arms as he stood up from the chair. Kira held on tight, her arms wrapped lovingly around his neck. They kissed again and did not stop until they were through the sliding glass doors and into Sean’s bedroom.

Sean then gently placed Kira down on his bed and then sensually crawled on it towards her. Kira lay on her side, her arms reaching out towards him as he crept closer.

When he finally was near her, he grabbed her into his arms and as they kissed passionately again, they started to strip each other out of their constricting clothing.

Once the barriers were removed and the impediment of clothing gone, they went at each other ferociously. They kissed and touched every part of each other’s body in a frantic moves. It was as if they thought that if they did not do it quick enough, the other would disappear.

As their sexual tensions mounted, Sean grabbed Kira by the waist and rolled her over on the bed until he was underneath her. Their touching slowed, as did their kissing. Sean looked into those brown eyes that seemed to go on forever and said breathlessly, “Do you believe in love at first sight?”

Kira eyes twinkled at the question. “Not as much as I use to,” answered Kira honestly.

“Well, I think that’s just what happened to me,” said Sean simply. He looked at her waiting to see what her response would be.

“And so do I, Sean. I’ve never met a man that I thought could be my match, but you’ve managed just to do that. I love you, Sean. I can’t explain why or how and I don’t want to.”

“I love you, Kira. I didn’t think I could love anyone after I divorced my wife, but it happened.” He then kissed her softly, letting him taste the sweetness of her breath.

Kira hugged him hard and kissed him back just as fervently and they were both lost in darkness and silence of their lovemaking.

* * * * * * * * *

Chapter: 15

When Sean awoke the next morning, he found the bed empty of the warm presence that was there the night before. He saw a note on the nightstand next to his desk. He picked it up and read it.

“Sean, on my way to work. Had a plan that I spoke about to the others. I’m going to try and see if I can find out any information pertaining to the whereabouts of Nani. I think I even may know where. Keilani once told me that he had a private property on the far side of the island near the Waimea Bay area.”

“Smart girl,” thought Sean. He then read onward.

“He said that if he was to hideaway from the world, it would be the one place that he could go and never be found. I think that is where he took Nani, if he has her. I’m going to try and find out where it is. You know how Keilani is. The only way to find the information is in his personal files. He’s smart enough not to leave anything about this place out in the open for anyone to find.”

Yes. Kira was a smart girl. He just hoped she was careful.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be careful. Love Kira.”

He laughed at the last part of the letter. Yep. That was his girl all right. He folded up the paper and placed it to the side. He then jumped up out of the bed and padded quickly towards the bathroom and the shower.

As he jumped into the shower and turned on the water, he thought about the coming day. Kira had her plan, but he had his own. Once he called Joe and let him know what they had found out, he was going to approach Keilani and try to rattle his cage. It was a rather old-style detective play, but it worked no matter how prominent the suspect was. It would also keep Keilani focused on him and not on Kira, giving her the time she needed to get the information.

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Kira arrived at the office determined to get into Keilani’s personal files today. She walked passed the receptionist desk and of course, Katie the receptionist was not there. It was too early. In fact, it was too early for anyone but building security.

Kira walked quickly through the quiet corridor to the suite office of Paul Keilani. She knew he was not in yet either since he usually arrived in his private limousine around 10:00 A.M. It was now 7:30 A.M. and Kira knew she had only an hour before the place would start to come alive.

Once she reached his office, she pulled out the spare key that would open the door. Keilani had given her the key, as she was his right hand at the office. She put the key into the lock and turned it and heard the click as the door unlocked. She turned the knob and swiftly stepped into the huge office.

She closed the door and locked it again behind her. She did not want someone to come upon her as she was rifling through his desk.

She moved to set behind the desk and started to go through the drawers, looking for information on where Keilani might have stashed Nani, if she was alive. She hoped with every ounce of her heart that Nani was alive, for Sean’s sake and her own.

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Sean had finished dressing and was about to go out his door when the phone rang. He picked it up while he tried to juggle keys in his hand. “Hello?”

“Sean?”

“Ilana?” He had forgotten he was supposed to call her.

“You didn’t call me and Jack has been asking for you.”

“Oh, God. I am so sorry Ilana,” exclaimed Sean. He ran a hand through his wet hair. “I was so busy tracking down…” He stopped, not wanting to tell her about the ring.

“What, Sean? Tracking down, what?”

“I…listen, Ilana, I need to tell you something, but I don’t want you to get upset, okay?”

Ilana held silent, but Sean could tell that she was nervously waiting for him to continue.

“We found Nani’s ring. The one Joe gave her for birthday.”

“How? Where?”

“It does not matter where, but I want you to tell Joe that Nani might be alive and for him to hold off on the ceremony. Okay?”

“But Sean…”

“Please, Ilana.