My Kind of Town
>> 2002 Wilder Blow the man down
Dr. Laurie Tang had been awoken twice by phone calls already -- first from Detective Sherlock Gomes, then from her boyfriend Sen. Donovan Matsuda-Yee-Dela Cruz-Bishop-Kamaka. But she'd had just enough sleep that she was no longer exhausted from her long day at the Queen's ER. And so she lay there, tossing and turning, dissecting her true feelings for Donovan.
Why was she so upset that he'd been out of touch for three days and that a young woman crashed his car off the Keeaumoku Overpass, drunk, loaded on ice and naked? And why was Laurie so shocked and hurt when the nameless young woman was brought into the ER and just before the anesthesia kicked in whispered to Laurie, "Please save the baby"?
Where did Laurie's feelings come from? She'd taken enough psychology courses to make some educated guesses. Was it love? Or was it her own ambition, the true legacy of her immigrant parents from what used to be called Formosa? Was it the allure of power? The possibility that Laurie could become the next First Lady of Hawaii? Or was it that Donovan was tall, dark, handsome, intelligent, witty and successful, everything she wanted in a man?
In many ways theirs was an old-world relationship, much like her parents'. Not so emotional and romantic, but a good match between two people who enjoyed one another's company and were committed to the same goals. But obviously that wasn't as true as Laurie had thought. She was committed to Donovan and his quest for Washington Place. But talking to him on the phone tonight, she realized that she didn't know him as well as she'd thought. And even though she was the one who said they needed to take a break, it was her heart that was hurting.
>> Makiki Heights
Sen. Donovan Matsuda-Yee-Dela Cruz-Bishop-Kamaka couldn't sleep, partly because he was still too wired from the crystal meth he'd been smoking, but mostly because he needed to figure out how to get rid of Detective Sherlock Gomes before he had a chance to talk with Laurie tomorrow morning before Gomes could tell her who fathered Serena's baby or about the crystal meth. In short, Gomes was the only one who could keep Donovan out of Washington Place or make him lose the best First Lady candidate he'd ever met.
The question was how. Donovan knew some boys who could be counted on to perform certain unsavory tasks. But this wasn't ripping his opponent's signs out of yards. This was murder. Donovan would have to do it alone, and he suddenly knew how. Hey, ho, blow the man down.
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