My Kind of Town
>> Queen's Medical Center Gomes must go
What else could go wrong, Sheets Ah Sun wondered. His youngest son Lance lay here in the ICU, tubes and wires running into and out of his head after falling and hitting his head on a curb. And that was going to screw up plans for the whole family to fly to his eldest son Laird's graduation from Stanford Business.
And then to find out that his daughter Lily had somehow reunited with her cousin Quinn, son of Sheets' brother Mits. Sheets and Mits and their families had not spoken in 21 years, since that fateful night in Waimanalo. And now Lily was threatening to find out why they quit speaking. That would be bad for everyone, especially for Sheets.
>> Makiki Heights
In her heart, Dr. Laurie Tang knew who had fathered the baby inside the woman who had crashed Sen. Donovan Matsuda-Yee-Dela Cruz-Bishop-Kamaka's car off the Keeaumoku Overpass, and who had somehow ended up under Laurie's care at the Queen's ER this morning. But in her heart, she was still in love with Donovan. That's why she was hurting.
"Donovan," she said, gripping the telephone receiver tightly in her hand, tears on her cheeks, "I think we need to take a break."
A long pause on the other end of the line. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, not see each other for a while."
"I see. Well, as it turns out, I'm supposed to be leaving for Portland in a day or two."
"What's in Portland?"
"Um ..." Searching for an excuse that would fly. "... a, uh, conference." Actually it was a drug rehab center that HPD Detective Sherlock Gomes was forcing him to check into. It was either that or Gomes would arrest him for possession of crystal meth. The same Gomes who had visited Serena at Queen's. The same Gomes who was meeting Laurie tomorrow morning.
And suddenly Sen. Donovan Matsuda-Yee-Dela Cruz-Bishop-Kamaka knew what he must do. The only person who had evidence that Donovan had been smoking ice was Sherlock Gomes. The only person who could tell Laurie who fathered Serena's child was Gomes. The only person who could keep him out of Washington Place and make Donovan lose the best First Lady candidate he'd ever met was Gomes. And up through the crystal methamphetamine that still coursed through his veins a plan arose. Sherlock Gomes had to go.
"So when are you meeting this Sherlock Gomes?" he said.
"Before my swim tomorrow at Ala Moana."
Laurie suddenly wished she hadn't told Donovan the truth, and not just because he didn't deserve it.
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