House of the Hanging Jade (21 page)

“Geoffrey knows Marcus?” Lars asked in surprise.

I nodded. “There was a picture in the envelope. It was a picture of you kissing my hand in the car the day you and I went to Hilo together. It had been taken from a distance. I went across the road to the property over there and found a camera lens cap on the ground underneath that huge monkeypod tree. Geoffrey must have been hiding up there.”

“Do the police know this?”

“Yes. I left a message for Detective Alana last night after he had left the office. I'm sure he'll talk to me about it in the morning. I didn't tell anyone about the picture, though.”

“This concerns me for a number of reasons. First, it's obvious that you aren't as safe here as we thought. Second, if he approaches one of my kids again, I'll find him and kill him myself.”

“I told Marcus that he should come right into the house if he ever sees Geoffrey anywhere outside or on the road.”

“Good. We should tell Justine the same thing, and they should plan to be in the house whenever they're home until this jerk is caught. And he
will
be caught. Someone can drive the kids to the bus stop every morning and pick them up after school every afternoon.”

“I'll be glad to do that. This is all my fault, anyway.”

“None of it is your fault, Kailani,” he said softly, reaching out his finger and tracing it across my cheek. “You haven't encouraged Geoffrey in any way. We do have to protect the kids, though.

“And though this should really be the least of our concerns, there
is
a photo of you and me floating around out there. We don't want Barbie to see it.”

I nodded, understanding completely. “You'd better get back to bed,” I said.

“Want me to sleep outside your room?”

“No. Go to bed and sleep well.” I smiled at him, hoping my eyes didn't betray that I really did want him to stay near me.

But they did give me away. “I think I'd better stay close. I've been sleeping in my office, but not tonight. I'll sleep on the lanai. It's not cold and the daybed is perfectly comfortable.”

“What will Barbie say?” I whispered.

“Nothing. If she asks, I'll explain that I wanted to keep watch, so I stayed out there. Don't worry. I'll be right out here if you need me,” he said gently, pointing in the direction of the lanai.

“Promise me you'll call if you need help,” I said.

“I promise. Now go to bed,” he said with a smile. He leaned over and brushed his lips quickly against my hair and left. I thought about trying to stay awake in my room in case Geoffrey returned and made any trouble, but I decided it would be wiser to take a sleeping pill and try to rest. I trusted Lars to protect everyone, and the morning promised to be tiring.

The pill worked. I cocooned myself under the comforter in my room and fell asleep quickly once the medicine started working. I woke up at dawn and found Lars in the kitchen. He had made a pot of coffee and poured a mug for me.

“Any more problems last night?” I asked anxiously.

“None at all,” he answered. “Now that you're up, I'll go take a shower. You all right?”

I nodded. “Thanks for staying out there. I'm glad you did.”

“I could tell you didn't want to be alone in this wing of the house. I wanted you to feel safe.” His eyes rested on mine for just a moment and I could feel a little spark flare to life. It filled me with warmth and protection. It wouldn't take much for that little spark to turn into a raging fire.

Just then we heard footsteps on the lanai. Lars stepped away from me and refilled his coffee mug as Marcus came into the kitchen.

“I hope you were able to get back to sleep last night,” I said in greeting.

“Yeah. No problem. What did the police say?”

“Not much. They didn't see anyone. They're coming back this morning to double-check,” Lars fibbed.

I changed the subject. “Ready for breakfast?” I asked brightly. “Give me ten minutes and I'll have huevos rancheros on the table.” Marcus grinned and went out to the lanai. Lars gave me a quick wink and disappeared down the hall.

Justine had joined Marcus by the time I took breakfast to them. I joined them at the table with another cup of coffee. They ate quickly and with gusto, not stopping long enough to ask any questions about the excitement during the night. I was a little surprised, but I thought perhaps they wanted to forget it, wanted to believe that whatever I heard had really been my imagination. For one brief moment I looked up to see that Marcus had fixed me with a thoughtful stare. I waited for him to speak, to ask me something, but he remained silent. He probably knew it had something to do with Geoffrey.

The kids finished breakfast in record time and dashed off to get their backpacks. I met them at the front door with my car keys.

“What's going on?” Marcus asked.

“Your dad wants me to drive you guys to the bus stop.”

“Why?” asked Justine.

I hadn't thought about that. I decided to be as honest as possible. “The police are coming back this morning to talk to me and to double-check that the property is totally secure. I'm just driving you as a precaution.”

“Do you think the house isn't safe?” Justine fretted. “Someone came to our house and killed Dr. Doug. What if that person came back last night?” Her voice was rising.

“It's perfectly safe. Remember? We've talked about this. Whoever killed Dr. Doug is long gone and will never come back. The person who was here last night was probably just curious,” I hastened to assure her. “The police really just want to have a look around in the daytime and talk to me again.”

She seemed to accept my explanation and we all trooped out to my car. I waited with them until the bus came, then returned to the house.

Barbie was on the lanai with her coffee, waiting for breakfast. As I set a plate of huevos rancheros in front of her, she looked at me with anticipation. “Would you still like to come in this morning for that massage?”

I had completely forgotten about my appointment with her masseur. “Oh, I'm sorry, Barbie. I have to be here to talk to the police. They're coming back this morning. Can I reschedule?”

“Of course. I'll cancel the appointment as soon as I get to the office. Let me know when you want to come in and I'll take care of it for you.”

“Thanks, Barbie,” I said with a smile. I didn't want to offend her by telling her that I wasn't really thrilled by the idea of a massage, and especially one given by someone who worked with her. I was happy to have an excuse to cancel and I wondered if I could just keep putting her off.

After she went to work and Lars had eaten breakfast and was working in his office, Detective Alana and another officer came to the house to talk to me. Akela had left at dawn, so I answered the door. I sat down a bit nervously.

“Miss Kanaka,” Detective Alana began, “I understand Mr. Corcoran was on the property last night.”

“That's right.”

“Are you sure it was him? Were there any lights on?”

“No. But there was enough light from the moon for me to recognize him.”

“What do you think he was doing here?”

“I have no idea.”

“But he didn't make any effort to get into the house?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Do you have any idea where he's staying?”

“No idea. But I did leave a message for you about the property across the road. Did you get that?”

“Yes. I wanted to talk to you about it before we go over and have a look around.”

I was in a quandary. I couldn't tell them how I knew about the monkeypod tree without telling them about the photo of Lars and me in the car. I thought for a moment and then said, “Geoffrey approached Marcus Jorgensen and gave him an envelope for me. Inside it was a picture of the driveway of this house. I knew the photo had to have been taken not far away, so I went across the road and looked around myself. I found a camera lens cover under the monkeypod tree over there and put it in my pocket.

“Later on I got a call from Geoffrey. I answered it without looking at the phone screen. He said he needed his camera lens cover back. So I knew he had seen me under the tree.” I shivered involuntarily at the memory of that phone call.

“The picture he gave you was just of the driveway?” Detective Alana sounded skeptical.

“I was in the driveway.”

“Can I see the picture?”

“I'd rather not show you just now. It's not very flattering.”

“Miss Kanaka, I've seen more unflattering pictures in my career than you can imagine. I can assure you this one won't make me blush.”

He must have realized the photo was of me in a compromising position, but I knew Lars trusted me to keep the photo private. I shook my head. “I'd really rather not show it to you. Not just yet. Can you go over there without seeing the photo?”

The officers stared at me for a long moment, then looked at each other. “I suppose we can,” the detective said. “I'm going to need to see that photo at some point, though,” he added sternly.

“Okay. And thank you.”

They excused themselves to inspect the property again, retracing the steps the officers had taken during the night, looking for Geoffrey. I watched as they picked their way through the underbrush and riotous tropical growth, stepping on plants and flowers that were so well tended by the gardeners. The officer with Detective Alana had a camera and he took pictures from time to time.

They left after they had completed their inspection of the grounds, promising to let me know what they found after they had searched the area around the monkeypod tree on the property across the road.

Barbie called after the police left. “What did they have to say?” she asked. Her voice sounded tired. I told her everything the police had said and she let out a sigh. “I do wish that Geoffrey had never come into our lives. Whatever made you want to date him in the first place?”

I was a little annoyed. “He wasn't like that in the beginning. I couldn't have known he would turn out like this.”

“Mmm.” She sounded doubtful. “Would you like to come into the office now?”

I couldn't think of an excuse fast enough to put her off, so I agreed. A half-hour later I was driving up to Waimea for a massage that I didn't want. I checked in my rearview mirror frequently to see if Geoffrey was behind me, and thankfully he wasn't.

When I got to her office, Barbie came out to the waiting room to greet me and then led me to the back, where the examination and therapy rooms were. Like the office in Kona, this one was large and decorated in beige and ivory. Soft Asian spa music piped quietly through hidden speakers, and the entire space was scented with a calming mixture of lavender, vanilla, mint, and tropical florals. The whole effect was supposed to be soothing and relaxing, and I'm sure it would have been if I hadn't been anxious about Geoffrey, his midnight trip to the Jorgensens, the divorce, the kids, Dr. Doug's murder, and my relationship with Lars.

Barbie introduced me to the masseur, who was breathtaking. He was tall and slim, tanned, with hair the color of caramel. I took one look at him and wondered cynically whether Barbie had slept with him too. It was likely.

The massage felt good, but not great. I was unable to relax, even with the soft scents floating around me, the music playing in the background, and the masseur's capable hands trying to knead the stress from my back and shoulders. He was doing his best, but I still felt edgy and nervous.

When he had worked some of the kinks out of my muscles for almost an hour, I could bear the stress no longer. I asked him to stop, which he did immediately. He looked at me questioningly and asked if everything was all right.

I tried to reassure him that it wasn't his work, but my mind that was keeping me from enjoying the massage.

“If you live in Barbie's house, I can see why you're stressed out,” he said with a wry smile. “There's been a lot going on over there, what with the two doctors and the other thing.”

“What other thing?” I asked, assuming he was going to say something about the divorce.

“Oh, you know.” He looked around theatrically, then continued. “The baby,” he whispered.

I was stunned. Was Barbie pregnant? I realized my mouth was hanging open and I snapped it shut.

“Oh, the baby,” I answered lamely. I didn't want him to think I didn't know what he was talking about. “Yeah.”

I tried paying for the massage and giving him a tip, but he smiled broadly. “It's on the house. Barbie's orders.” I thanked him and then stopped to say good-bye to her before I left.

“Thanks for the massage, Barbie. Are you sure I can't pay for it?”

“Nonsense,” she said, waving her hand. “I wanted you to have a treat. Are you relaxed?”

I hated to tell her the truth, but I figured the masseur would tell her that I wasn't a good client, so I said, “Almost. The masseur had a tough job getting me to relax and he did great. I feel much better than I did when I came in.”

That seemed to satisfy her. “Isn't he the
best?
”

“Definitely. Thanks again,” and I left her office and returned to the house.

I drove home wondering about the baby—how could I find out about it? Who was the father?
There are so many possibilities,
I thought wryly.

I served dinner to Liko and the kids that night since Barbie wasn't home from work and Lars had an important conference call that went late. I was still bewildered by the information the masseur had shared with me. And I suppose I was a little preoccupied as I came and went between the kitchen and the lanai.