My Kind of Town
>> Maunalua Bay Getting some air
Quinn Ah Sun parked to the right of the boat launch ramp, turned off the truck. A crescent moon charmed the dusky sky.
"It's so beautiful," his cousin Lily said, gazing at the sea. "You know, I drive by here every day and never stop."
"Workaholic, right?"
"No. Well, maybe. But I love my work, Quinn. It's fun. I'm doing what I want to do."
And her work was, well, working. Quinn had seen Erika Engle's story on Lily's company, Ola Essences, in the Star-Bulletin business section. Lily created perfumes and cosmetics that came from real plants and flowers, products that were full of life, not petroleum- or animal-based chemicals. She'd found a way to remove the very essence of a plant, preserve its nutrients and bottle it up. Face cremes that came from aloe, cucumber and papaya, a pineapple astringent, perfumes that were practically fresh-squeezed from ginger, gardenia and roses. Phyto-cosmetics. The world loved them. Neimans, Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and now Harrod's were buying Ola.
"So if your work is going great, what got you so upset that you got wasted for lunch?"
Lily took a deep breath. "Short version, Quinn, is that my dad is talking about retiring. I worked for months on a proposal to reorganize the Soap Company, the parent company, and modernize some of the things we do, especially marketing and distribution. Today he told me I'm not worthy. My track record doesn't matter. He's turning over the company to Laird -- who is about to graduate! A school boy with no real business experience!"
"Mm."
"Hey, I need some air. Help me down from this thing, please."
Quinn didn't have to be asked twice.
>> HPD Headquarters
Detective Sherlock Gomes left his message on Dr. Laurie Tang's voice mail, asking her to call him. Then his plan was to visit the Makiki Heights address for Serena Kawainui. Like Dr. Tang, Ms. Kawainui's prints had been found inside the crashed car of Sen. Donovan Matsuda-Yee-Dela Cruz-Bishop-Kamaka. Earlier he'd gotten a call from Sgt. Olga Pimentel of the Traffic Accident Investigation Section, confirming his suspicion.
Serena Kawainui was the young woman driving the senator's car when it crashed off the Keeaumoku Overpass. Blood pathology confirmed she was drunk and loaded on crystal meth. She was also stark naked and had no ID. Heading out of the office, he wondered who he might find at her home.
Don Chapman is editor of MidWeek.
His serialized novel runs daily in the Star-Bulletin
with weekly summaries on Sunday.
He can be emailed at dchapman@midweek.com