Death of a Messenger by Robert McCaw

Author:Robert McCaw [McCaw, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oceanview Publishing
Published: 2015-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

THE DAY AFTER the burial service, Uncle Kimo accompanied Soo Lin, Keneke’s girlfriend, to police headquarters. As they set up in a conference room, Koa took two more pain tablets and brought in a straight-back chair. He wanted to conduct this interview without the nagging distraction of pain running across his back and down his arm.

Although Soo Lin knew of the murder, Kimo hadn’t been able to bring himself to burden her with the hideous details of her lover’s death. Koa could see why. Her red eyes and dark circles told him she’d been crying and probably hadn’t slept. His heart went out to her, and he wondered if she would be able to get through the interview.

Against this background, neither Kimo nor Koa expected her insistence on knowing the details. “I want to know everything. I want to know exactly how he died.” Koa looked at Kimo, the official next of kin, whose permission he needed before revealing confidential police information to anyone outside the legal family.

“Soo Lin is the closest Keneke had to family. She’s entitled to know, but”—Kimo turned to the young woman—“Soo Lin, Keneke died a horrible death. Maybe it would be better for you, if you didn’t pursue it.”

Soo Lin bit her lip and fought to control her emotions.

“Do you know the story of ‘Ōhi‘a and Lehua?”

“Of course,” Koa responded. All Hawaiians knew of the love story of the handsome ‘Ōhi‘a and the beautiful Lehua. So much did ‘Ōhi‘a love Lehua that he rejected Pele’s advances, angering the old fire witch, who burned the couple to death in a fit of jealousy. Later, feeling guilty, Pele turned ‘Ōhi‘a into a tree and Lehua into its magnificent red blossoms, forever joining them in the ‘ōhi‘a lehua trees that grace the island forests.

“Keneke and I were like ‘Ōhi‘a and Lehua. That’s how we met. He called me Lehua and told the story of the ‘ōhi‘a lehua tree. Later he admitted it was the craziest thing he’d ever done, approaching me like that, but by then we were in love. I loved him very much and I have to know how he died.”

Koa told her about their discovery of Keneke’s body, neither emphasizing the grisly details nor omitting any significant facts. She listened in grim-faced silence, occasionally pressing her palms against the sides of her head. She recoiled when Koa told her of the missing left eye and the spear of pueo. Koa withheld information about the burial cave, the adze makers’ workshop, and the passage to the collapsed pu‘u on the side of Mauna Kea. When he’d finished, the three of them sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity.

Virtually all police officers dreaded notification of next of kin, and Koa found the first interview with a grieving lover just as difficult. He had to ask hard questions and still tread gently to avoid aggravating a wound that hadn’t even started to heal. He watched Soo Lin’s face as she forced back her tears. Her large black eyes took on a determined look.

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