I'm Kona Love You Forever (Islands of Aloha Mystery Series Book 6) by JoAnn Bassett

Author:JoAnn Bassett [Bassett, JoAnn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lokelani Publishing
Published: 2014-08-04T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 18

Charlene Cooper’s house didn’t look quite so purple at night. In fact, with the soft glow of lights in the windows and the scent of lavender wafting up from the riotous garden out front, the place looked downright cozy. I associate the fragrance of lavender with my mother. I don’t remember much about my life with her since she died when I was only six, but I can clearly recall nuzzling up to her at bedtime, safe in the bubble of her signature scent.

I knocked on the door and waited. No one answered. I knocked again.

“This better be an emergency,” said a husky voice from the other side of the door. The door opened and a wiry woman of about fifty stared out at me with a fierce face. Her orange-colored hair burst from her scalp in a frizzle, circling her head like one of Farrah’s auras. She wore a dark purple shift with a white front panel. The panel was embroidered with a smiling yellow sun with red curlicue rays trailing out from it like petals on a daisy. No doubt Farrah would’ve described Charlene’s choice of attire as “bitchin’ cool.”

“Whaddaya want?” she said by way of greeting.

“I’m sorry to stop by so late, but I’d appreciate a few minutes of your time. I’ve got a problem and I think you might be able to help.” In hostage negotiations class at air marshal school we’d learned a good way to approach a defiant suspect is to ask for their help.

“What kind of problem? You look fine to me.”

“It’s not a medical situation; it’s a paperwork problem.”

She twisted her face into an even fiercer scowl. “Paperwork. The bane of my existence.”

“I’m sure it is. But unfortunately, it’s the life’s blood of Hawaii bureaucracy.”

She invited me in and I kicked off my sandals at the door. The house looked like something out of a Hobbit movie with oddly carved dark wood furniture, colorful rag rugs, and loudly ticking clocks on nearly every wall. And there were cats—too many to count.

“Are we going to need to sit down for this?” she said.

“No, mahalo. I won’t stay long.”

She crossed her arms tightly and waited.

“I’m a wedding planner from Maui,” I began. Her face nearly caved in on itself and her eyes rolled skyward, but I soldiered on. “I have a client who was born here on the Kona side and her birth certificate somehow got switched with another child’s.”

She leaned back. “And just how do you suppose that happened?”

“Well, I’m not sure. I assume whenever there’s a lot of stuff going on at one time, like when you deliver multiple babies on the same day, it probably gets pretty hectic. And, like you said, paperwork is not a high priority in medical work, and—”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t a priority. I said it’s the bane of my existence. I’m one of only two midwives over here. There’s always some lawyer lurking around trying to trip me up for incorrect dosing or negligence or worse.

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