My Kind of Town
>> Ala Moana Beach Park Clouded photos
HPD Detective Sherlock Gomes and Dr. Laurie Tang lived in the literal world. What was, was, and that was that. And when Gomes opened the hatch of the WWII-vintage Japanese mini-sub that had beached itself like a whale at the Diamond Head end of the park, they'd both seen the naked Hawaiian woman inside the sub kissing the head of the sub's lone occupant -- which turned out to be a skeleton --and then coming out of the hatch past them.
"You sure you didn't see a naked wahine?" Gomes asked extreme photographer Johnny B. Goo.
"See for yourself," Johnny B said. "It's digital."
Standing in the shade of the second lifeguard tower, Johnny B held his Nikon so Gomes and Laurie could see the display window. They had to press their heads and bodies together. Laurie wore a high-hipped electric blue swimsuit, Gomes red surfer shorts. Touching the lean, buff cop sent shivers through Laurie. He was affecting her in a way that her boyfriend, Sen. Donovan Matsuda-Yee-Dela Cruz-Bishop-Kamaka, never had. As for Gomes, well, police work has seldom been better than this.
Laurie was amazed seeing photos of herself riding atop the sub. Seeing photos of Gomes straining to open the exterior latches of sub's hatch reminded her of how his muscles had bulged.
"What the hell is that?!" Johnny B said. In this photo, the hatch was up, but a white cloud seemed to be rising from it. He clicked a button and the next frame appeared, and Johnny B swore again. The white cloud enveloped Gomes and Laurie. He clicked again, the next photo showed the cloud hovering over them as they looked inside the hatch. "Damn, some moisture must have gotten into the lens."
Laurie clutched Gomes' arm. "I don't think so. Those frames, that's when we saw her."
Gomes felt a breast pressed against his arm and could only nod.
"What are you saying?" Johnny B said.
"I think, Mr. Goo, that you did get photos of the woman we saw."
"That's not a woman. It's a cloud."
"I'm sure your camera doesn't lie. But neither do I, and I know what I saw."
>> Wearing wrap-around shades and a Dodgers cap pulled down low, Sen. Donovan Matsuda-Yee-Dela Cruz-Bishop-Kamaka watched from behind a monkeypod tree, his jealousy growing by the moment. It drove him crazy to see Laurie and Gomes so close. But he'd watch some more, waiting to see what kind of car Gomes drove and get his license number.
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