My Kind of Town
Worse than prison
>> Queen's Medical Center
"We don't have to talk today," HPD Detective Sherlock Gomes said. "I just wanted to see how you're doing." He paused. "I know it was a pretty tough day yesterday."
She heard kindness in his voice. Serena had never much cared for cops, but she decided to trust this Sherlock Gomes. Or maybe it was just that there was no one else in the world for her. "We can talk now."
Gomes didn't argue. People who wanted to talk made his job so much easier. He slipped a notepad from the pocket of his silk aloha shirt. (Gomes didn't wear a blue uniform, but took great offense at the term "plainclothesman.") He went over the notes from last night, written in his tight, precise script, to confirm the details. Yes, Sen. Donovan Matsuda-Yee-Dela Cruz-Bishop-Kamaka kept her at the Makiki Heights hideaway. He'd explained that it was a business relationship, all she had to do was take care of his needs. But somehow she was falling in love with him, and then somehow she'd gotten pregnant. Which led to the big fight last night because Donovan insisted on an abortion.
"So the baby you lost was the senator's?"
She nodded, started to cry. With the baby, she lost all ties to the man who many believed would be Hawaii's next governor.
"And you thought that if you could do something embarrassing to the senator, he couldn't become governor, and he'd need you and the baby?"
Serena nodded through tears again.
"And that's why you went for a drive in his car, even though you don't know how to drive? And you crashed off the Keeaumoku Overpass?"
Which is why she was here with a broken arm and a crossword puzzle of stitches covering the right side of her face.
At impact Serena's face smashed into a Cuervo Gold bottle.
"So the senator paid the rent?"
"With campaign funds. He said it was his secret campaign headquarters."
Gomes could not hold his eyebrows down as he wrote.
"And he gave you other money as well?"
"For food and things."
And ..." Gomes had perfected the "I know there's more" tone of voice.
"Drugs. Ice mostly, some weed."
Gomes continued writing.
"You gonna arrest me?"
Gomes wrote some more, finally looked up. "No. I'm going to make you do something tougher than that."
Serena couldn't imagine what that could be.
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