Page 8 of Pau Hana: Cat cozy Humor Mystery (Paradise Crime Cozy Mystery Book 5)
I was rehearsinga possible voicemail message when Lei picked up.
“Kat. I guess you heard about Dragoon’s place blowing up,” she said.
“Yes.” My lips felt numb. I was having a hard time keeping my voice steady. The memory of the little pink sandals at the hermit’s back door swam in my vision like a scene from a horror movie. “I’m . . . in shock.”
“I know. It’s awful.” A beat went by as we both thought about my visit to the shack. “If it’s any comfort, my contact at Child Welfare Services reconfirmed that they have no unaccounted-for clients, and I checked the database again—no runaways reported. As far as we know, there are no missing children on this island.”
“But I definitely saw a pair of rubber slippers out there. Pink. Like a little girl would wear.” I was a robot, repeating it.
“I know. You said that before and I believe you. But I don’t know what else can be done.”
“What if the girl wasn’t in the system? What if she was a neglected kid who wasn’t on their radar? Or maybe she was related to Dragoon, and somehow he had custody . . .”
“I checked for that last thing. No papers filed for that related to him. I searched for family, relatives already. None. The man was alone.”
“What if she was a runaway from another island? Or maybe she was here with a tourist family, and he lured her away?”
“Again, unlikely. First off, the only way on or off this island is by air or sea. An unaccompanied minor would never make it past the authorities. And how would a youngster be able to sneak off a cruise ship or even a private boat without being confronted, and her loss reported?” Lei did that thing with blowing her forehead curl again. “Finally, if a tourist family was missing a child, it’d be all over the news and we’d have an Amber Alert.”
“You still haven’t addressed the UPS driver’s report of seeing her.”
“Would it make you feel better if I talked with him?”
“I hate to waste your time, but this is killing me. He was so certain when I talked to him. Maybe he remembered more about her than elementary age with brown hair.”
“Tell you what, you help me out by giving me this guy’s contact info, I’ll talk to him today.”
“I appreciate it, Lei. Sending his contact info now.” I forwarded Beachum’s number.
“Got it. Now, I need to ask you a favor.”
“Okay.”
“You were probably the last person out at that property. I need to get an official statement from you of what you saw and your assessment of the occupant’s behavior and state of mind.” She paused. “Of course, the fire investigation team will be checking for remains, and more than the fire department will be called in if the explosion was some kind of IED.”
“Of course I’ll give a statement. Whatever you need. I’m here at the post office until four. Let me know how you want to do it.”
Lei said she’d come by after we closed; that would work best for her schedule and the long drive. We ended the call.
Pua returned, bearing warm coffeecake from Artie’s second batch, and we opened on time.
I went through my postmaster duties strictly by muscle memory, dissociated from my body. I sorted mail, handled parcels, stuffed boxes, and sold stamps. People asked me about the “big boom” and I said “no comment.”
If you had asked me who I waited on, or how many packages I processed, I’d have come up blank: details didn’t register.
But every time I closed my eyes for more than a second, those pink rubber slippers appeared. They were a haunting memory—a glimpse of a crime scene that had no resolution.
Lei arrived at the post office door as I was about to lock up for the day. Her lightly freckled, tanned skin was sallow. Her big brown eyes were ringed in violet circles of fatigue. Her frizzing curls had been scraped into a ball, and her jeans and polo shirt were crumpled. “Is now an okay time to give your statement?”
“Perfect, actually. Come inside.” I pulled down the shade that had “Closed” emblazoned across it in about 150-point black type. Seems the post office powers-that-be wanted patrons to see the “Go Away” message from about a block away.
“How are you holding up?” she asked, trailing me to my office. Pua gave a finger wave goodbye as she retrieved her cardigan and headed out.
“Not so good.” I closed the office door behind us. Lei took one of the chairs in front of my desk. I sat behind it. I swept an assortment of pens and other detritus into a pile, then opened the desk drawer and scooped. The junk tumbled into the metal container with a satisfying clatter. I shut the drawer and leaned forward to meet Lei’s gaze, lacing my fingers together to stop their trembling. Peaceful Peach fragrance surrounded us. Silence descended, a welcome respite as we sat for a long moment.
“I know you’re skeptical, but I saw those sandals. There was a little girl out there.” I swallowed. “And now there isn’t.”
“Not to mention a man named Hugh Dragoon,” she said softly.
“So they found him?”
“No. Not a trace. The debris is too hot to search right now. The area around the house caught fire after the explosion.” Lei stared at me. Her expressive brown eyes told me that she was struggling with the likelihood of me being correct about the child, but her tightly pursed lips said that she was still squarely on the side of waiting for evidence. “I’m hoping that what I have to say may help in some way.”
“You talked to the UPS guy?”
“I did. As you know, his name is Doug Beachum, and although he’s sticking to his story that he believes he saw someone in the window, he’s now saying that in his confusion and haste to get out and get back on schedule he may have been mistaken. Who he saw may have been a man, not a girl.”
“That’s ridiculous.” I frowned. “I talked to Beachum and he was certain it was a girl just a day ago. Don’t forget, I spoke to Hugh Dragoon, too. He wasn’t one to stare forlornly out a window. If anything, he probably would’ve run outside and started taking potshots at the UPS driver. And, what about appearance? Dragoon’s a grizzled dude with a full beard. If Beachum mistook him for a young girl, he shouldn’t be driving until he gets his eyes checked.”
“In any case, that’s what Beachum said. He couldn’t swear that the person he saw in the window was a young child.”
I clamped my hand over my mouth to keep from saying something I’d later regret. When I could speak without swearing, I went on. “We both know witnesses are prone to equivocate when pressed for absolutes. So Beachum said he may have been mistaken. I get why he’s changing his story now when there might have been a tragedy. What’s the upside for him? There is none.”
Lei leaned forward, sincerity etched in the lines of her body, the intensity of her gaze. “Kat, I need to ask you to let this go. I’m here to get your official statement on what transpired out there yesterday. That’s it. You okay with that?”
I closed my eyes for a good thirty seconds, gathering my thoughts and setting aside my frustration. “Okay.”
Lei took out her phone and thumbed to a recording app. I retold the series of events that had occurred when I drove out to Hugh Dragoon’s shack. She pressed me for additional details after my tale was done, and I answered her questions until I couldn’t provide anything further.
“Thanks, Kat. I’ll let you know any new information when I get it,” Lei said when she’d turned off the recorder. She scooped the phone into her backpack and slung it on. “Get some rest, girl. You look done in.” I followed Lei and locked the post office’s back door behind her.
I wasn’t ready to go home yet and have to talk to Aunt Fae, Mr. K, or anyone else.
I went back into my office, sat down, and pulled over the box of tissues Pua had thoughtfully supplied me with. I tugged out a handful or two, put the wads of tissue against my eyes, and didn’t get up until they’d stopped leaking.
Truth was, this situation activated all my childhood issues.
I”d been in a terrible car accident with my parents on an icy road at age nine. They”d died on impact; I”d spent the night in the car with their bodies. The good news was, I didn”t remember any of that. The bad news was, they”d been gone, I”d developed severe touchphobia, abandonment issues and PTSD. I’d been left alone in the world.
Thankfully, I was sent to live with Aunt Fae, the best thing that could have happened to me under the circumstances. I was doing better than ever now that I”d left the Secret Service and really embraced a new life on Maui, surrounded by loving friends, family in the form of Aunt Fae, and even a romance with Mr. K.
But what about that little girl? She”d had no chance for anything better, and I might have been able to do something about that.