My Kind of Town
>> Waikiki Gold Coast Get Gomes
There had been no subtlety in the way Machiavelli Wang said it, and no question. "Donovan, this is Sal. He's going to take care of your problem with Sherlock Gomes."
So this was Sen. Donovan Matsuda-Yee-Dela Cruz-Bishop-Kamaka.
"I apologize for being so abrupt, my friend," Machiavelli continued. "But time, I'm afraid, is a colleague of our enemy." Once a speech writer, always a speech writer.
Salvatore Innuendo led them into the living area, closed the sliding glass doors to the lanai, turned up the stereo. Lester Young was playing saxophone. "Pagin' the Devil."
"You got another one of those," the senator said, nodding toward Innuendo's glass of Pinot Grigio.
"Not a chance," Machiavelli interrupted. "While Sal is doing his job in the next few hours, my job will be to get you cleaned up. No more booze. Etcetera."
"Would the etcetera have anything to do with this visit?"
The senator's hang-dog slouch told the former, disgraced member of the Vatican Security Office everything but the finer points.
Machiavelli quickly filled those in. HPD Detective Gomes, investigating the crash of the senator's car off the Keeau-moku Overpass, visited a Makiki Heights address listed on the state ID card of the young woman who was the lone occupant. She had no license. Gomes found a hillside cottage, and the senator.
As well as a glass pipe and small amounts of crystal methamphetamine and marijuana. And Gomes gave the senator a choice. Jail and all of the headlines or a quiet visit to a drug rehab clinic in Portland. He would pick up the senator at 9 a.m. and personally put him on the plane. And just 13 hours to go.
For Machiavelli, neither of Gomes' options was viable, especially not now that the mayor was out of the race for governor and Donovan was back in. But they had to get the senator back in the public eye in a positive way, ASAP.
"Your Sherlock Gomes comes with a reputation," Innuendo said. "What can you tell me about him that I don't know from the media?"
Machiavelli gave him a home address and the license number and description of his '71 Barracuda. "And we know where he will be having dinner this evening.
Earlier today Donovan's female companion, a Dr. Laurie Tang, informed him that she is now his former companion, and that she will be hosting Detective Gomes for dinner tonight. This is his key to her condo, and the security pass card for the garage. Oh, and Gomes is known by his police colleagues not to carry a weapon."
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