My Kind of Town
My Kind of Town
Both sides now
>> Queen's Medical Center
As HPD Sgt. Mits Ah Sun and his young Thai bride Wanphen entered his son Quinn's room, he had no idea he was walking into an ambush.
"I stopped at the nursing station, son, they tell me you're doing much better," he said. "That's great news!"
"Velly good," Wanphen said, bowing, her fingertips joined prayerfully, touching her nose.
Quinn returned the gesture. He'd been raised Buddhist by his mother and it came naturally. "Yeah, this place gets real old real quick."
They chit-chatted for a while, Mits noting the sheaf of papers on the stand beside Quinn's bed and never guessing that they were duplicates of the old newspaper story photocopies Gwen Roselovich had brought him and he'd then chucked in the trash. Quinn and his cousin Lily's questions about the feud between their fathers had apparently run its course, as had their relationship.
Sheets was telling Quinn that his captain at the Pearl City station just announced his retirement when Quinn interrupted.
"Speaking of police stuff, Pops, I need to talk with you."
"Shoots."
"Um, alone, if that's OK, Wanphen?" He pressed his fingers and palms together, made the little praying bow to her.
She returned it. "Of course."
Quinn waited for the door to close. "I talked to Mom today."
Mits was too shocked to speak at first, at last managed "How is she?"
"Told me and Lily she was on a 16-year-winning streak."
Which was the exact length of time since she left Mits and Quinn to become a professional gambler in Las Vegas.
"You and Lily, huh?"
"She's been by a few times."
This could lead to no good.
"So, um, did Flo call you?" She'd tried to stay touch with Quinn after she left, but he'd always refused to talk with her or to visit her.
"The second time. The first time I called her."
No contact for 16 years, now they're talking twice a day?
"We had a good talk. She's an interesting lady."
"You don't mind me asking, what prompted the call after so long?"
"It started with this." Quinn picked up the sheaf of papers.
More newspaper photocopies. It was all Mits could do not to curse.
"Which led Lily to visit Tony Martinez. Which led to me getting up the nerve to call Mom."
Mits had been here before, but never from this side. He was usually the guy to present incriminating evidence, not be confronted with it.
Don Chapman is editor of MidWeek.
His serialized novel runs daily in the Star-Bulletin
with weekly summaries on Sunday.
He can be e-mailed at dchapman@midweek.com