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My Kind of Town Don Chapman |
Bad with directions
>> Off the Big Island
They were close enough to Kona now that running up the tell-tale pink sails was a serious gamble. But they were not so close to Kona that they could reach the bay before dawn by just plowing along with the small electric motor. And it was crucial to get there under the cover of darkness. So as night fell, once again Daren Guy and Sushi Leclaire hoisted a pink sail.
Having slept during the day, they would again stay up through the night, adjusting the sail as needed while Daren tacked back and forth through the night.
They were also close enough now that the yacht's big-screen TV was picking up local stations, so Sushi's 12 Filipinas were below deck, glued to the TV.
Sonya Chan, though, stayed on the deck with Daren and Sushi. She would be needing some sleep for what lay ahead. But she also needed information.
"Ought to be there by 2 or 3 a.m.," Daren said when she asked.
"And then what?" Sushi said.
"Good question. Like I said, I got into this somewhere in the middle."
That part disturbed Sushi -- why had this Daren shown up instead of his friend Paul, why had the yacht's name been altered, and why was he afraid of flying the pink sail during the day?
And why did this Sonya always have a spear gun at her side? Troubling questions, but the answers didn't matter. Sushi had no choice but to go along.
"The plan," he said, "was for Paul to drop us at a remote beach called Pele's Bath. One of his associates would meet us there with a rented van."
"We know Pele's Bath!" Sonya said. She and Daren had several romantic campouts there -- a small turquoise bay formed by two arms of lava reaching into the sea, a white sand beach, and just above the beach, a natural hotspring bath carved in the rock, so hot you had to creep into it a bit at a time. Then, after simmering for a while, they'd run down the beach and plunge into the cool surf.
"So you come with me, Sonya, show me how to get to this Pele's Bath," Sushi said as if this were the only logical conclusion.
"Won't work, will it, babe?" Daren said.
"Uh-uh."
Sushi was completely confused. "Why?"
"I'm bad with directions," she giggled self-consciously. "There's lots of twists and turns in the road, it's like a maze in the kiawe, and the only times I was there Daren drove. I get all turned around every time. But I can find it in a boat." Besides, she didn't trust Daren alone with those 12 beautiful young Filipinas.
"That settles it then," Daren said. "The old man of the sea costume comes out again. I'm going ashore."
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Don Chapman is editor of MidWeek. His serialized novel runs daily in the Star-Bulletin. He can be e-mailed at dchapman@midweek.com