My Kind of Town
Connect the dots
>> Pearl Harbor BrigIt would take some time and some checking, Commander Chuck Ryan said, but he and Lt. Garvey Tanonaka were satisfied that Lily Ah Sun was telling the truth. And if what she said was true -- that flower bomb terrorist Muhammed Resurreccion's business interests on Mindanao included a private agency that found domestic work for Filipinos in more prosperous countries -- it gave him a way to import extremist Muslims and build sleeper cells in America.
They were especially interested in speaking with Lily's friend Rayna Chang and the yardman she got from Muhammed's agency.
As Chuck led her out of the interrogation room, Lily felt both vindicated and sheepish. "I resented it at first when you wanted to question me, Chuck, but now I see why."
"You never know what you're going to find until you start asking questions," the Navy intelligence officer said. "Lily, you helped us connect the dots. This could help us shut down a bunch of would-be terrorists before they have a chance to strike."
FBI agents were already on their way to visit Rayna and her yardman. The CIA was working to obtain all the records from Muhammed's agency. Each and every one of the people on the list would get a visit.
"What about Rosalita?" Her maid, the widow of Muhammed's cousin Jesus. "You don't suspect her?"
"It's pretty obvious that Muhammed was willing to give up Rosalita and her daughter, as well as his driver, the woman you met. Besides, as Catholics, Rosalita and her daughter hardly fit the profile of an Islamic suicide bomber."
Lily worried that the trauma of the bombing -- which followed the rape attempt on Rosalita the night before -- would be too much for Rosalita and her 6-year-old daughter Elizabeth.
But when Chuck opened the door to another room, she heard Elizabeth laughing and saw her getting a horsy ride on the back of a big black man on his hands and knees, while Rosalita and the driver, Wilhemina, watched and laughed. While Chuck introduced Lily to Lt. Martin Luther Washington and explained he was the one who threw the flower bomb overboard just before it exploded, Elizabeth was bouncing from his back into Lily's arms, squealing "Auntie Lily! Auntie Lily!"
Ryan, after driving Lily, Rosalita and Elizabeth back to Lily's car, called Fawn and asked if she was up for a late dinner. She was. Lily, Rosalita and Elizabeth drove home, where they would stay up half the night talking about Muhammed and the flower bomb. Marty Washington was ready to resume his Hawaiian vacation, and said so. Wilhemina asked if he needed any company. Marty said he'd be delighted. And he would be, in ways he hadn't yet imagined.
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