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My Kind of Town Don Chapman |
Uggums’ revenge
>> Lahaina
The harbor was glassy and still in the light of a waning moon.
"Detour," Lucien Charbonnier whispered to Cruz MacKenzie as two large Polynesian guys approached. Steven Stills, a 5-pound bag of sugar in one hand, shook hands with them, spoke in hushed but angry tones. One of the men carried something heavy in a plastic Foodland bag. Whispering, Steven introduced Cruz and Lucien to them without actually mentioning names. They were his diving buddies, and had come in the name of Uggums, the 13-foot tiger shark they had gotten to know and revere.
"Over there," one of them said softly, pointing to a 25-foot Boston Whaler without lights.
Lucien and Cruz followed Steven and his pals along the dock.
"The Portagee is celebrating at the Pioneer Inn," the other added, "thinks he's king of the world after catching a shark."
The first held his forefinger to his lips. "Shhh."
One of the large Polynesian males pointed to Cruz and Lucien, then at his eyes as he looked up and down the dock. OK, they would be the look-outs. Steven and the other two men quickly stepped onto the boat. Cruz heard muffled snickers as they found the gas cap and first Steven, then the other man poured bags of white sugar into the gas tank, then put the cap back on.
"A gift from Uggums and her children," Steven's unmistakable voice carried across the water.
>> Off the Big Island
Just another 10 minutes and Daren Guy would have had the 12 beautiful young Filipinas and Sushi Leclaire aboard Wet Spot, and both the luxury yacht and the Japanese fishing trawler Tuna Maru would've been on the way to their own kinds of pay days.
But then out of nowhere, 200 miles from land, the big Princess cruise ship appeared, bearing down on where Wet Spot and Tuna Maru were about to make their illegal transfer. And in a heartbeat Daren whipped the wheel, turning away from Tuna Maru, quickly getting a fishing pole in a bracket at the back of the boat.
But, using the yacht's red laser light, he flashed off a Morse Code message to Tuna Maru: Same time, same place tomorrow, be there or be square.
Aboard Tuna Maru, the girls heard the captain screaming in Japanese at Sushi. One of the girls, who had worked for a time as a maid at the Japanese embassy in Manila, knew just enough of the language to translate. "He's very angry ... he has to go now fishing ... one more day, no more ... if the little boat isn't here, he throws all of us into the sea."
Aboard Wet Spot, Sonya Chan said, "Daren, you said there's going to be money exchanged tomorrow? I'd feel better with some protection. Where's the spear guns?"
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Don Chapman is editor of MidWeek. His serialized novel runs daily in the Star-Bulletin. He can be e-mailed at dchapman@midweek.com
