“Why was that, sir?”
“Kid was a dick.”
I said nothing. Like many, Beasley felt compelled to fill the silence.
“Drunk and disorderly, mostly.”
“What happened to him?”
“Took off the day of his high school commencement. Course, Reggie wasn’t going to march with no tassel and cap.”
“He failed to graduate?”
“I recall talk to that effect.”
“Where is Reggie now?”
“Could be the mayor of Milwaukee for all I know. More likely he’s dead. Never heard another word of him.”
So much for querying Reggie about Spider’s sense of haute dentition.
“Did you ever notice gold decoration on Spider Lowery’s teeth?”
“You mean like crowns or something?”
I explained dental sparkles. “Maybe later, after Spider joined the army? Perhaps in snapshots he mailed home from Nam? Maybe Plato or Harriet showed some to you? Or sent one to the paper? Or posted some online?” I knew I was reaching.
“Nah. What’s so important about Spider’s teeth? I thought you were all set with Harriet’s DNA.”
“The sparkle may prove helpful in identifying the body I disinterred. Assuming it’s not Spider. Besides, Harriet’s hospital slides are five years old. I’m exploring backup options, in case the samples are too degraded for sequencing.”
“Don’t know what to tell you, miss. Spider was”—Beasley hesitated—“different. But I doubt he’d a done something foolish like ornamenting his teeth with gold.”
“What
Beasley blew air through his lips. “I recall back in high school he offered to give his mama a kidney. Harriet was born with bad ones, guess it’s what finally killed her. Have to admit, I thought that was mighty generous. Spider wasn’t a proper match, wrong blood type or something. His brother, Tom, offered too. Course that was many years later. That didn’t work out either. Not sure I’d have done that.”
“Spider?”
Beasley didn’t answer right away. Then, “I remember he did a science project on spiders. Filled fifteen or twenty of those big white boards with pictures and diagrams and little note cards. Had all kinds of jars lined up with labels and spiders inside. The thing won first prize. Got displayed at the library. They still pull the posters out now and again. Spiders are long gone, of course.”
“Anything else?”
“I recall him going off to war. I recall him coming home dead. Sorry.”
I could think of nothing further to ask. Thanking Beasley, I disconnected.
Danny’s call came while Katy and I were underwater eyeballing butterflies, tangs, and one particularly doleful- looking trumpet fish.
While digging a towel from my bag, I noticed my BlackBerry’s message light blinking.
Danny’s message was short.
I did.
“What’s up?”
“Thought you’d want to know. I researched Xander Lapasa’s family. His parents, Alexander senior and Theresa-Sophia, are both dead.”
I heard paper rustle.
“Alexander Emanuel, Xander, was the firstborn of six kids, four boys, two girls. One sister, Mamie Waite, lives in Maui, is divorced, and has one daughter. The other sister, Hesta Grogan, lives in Nevada, is widowed, and has two sons.
“One of the brothers Marvin, was mentally handicapped and died young, in the seventies. The other two, Nicholas and Kenneth still live in the Honolulu area. Each is married, Kenneth to his first wife, Nicholas to his fourth. Between them, they have eleven kids and eighteen grandkids.”
I did some quick math. If Xander Lapasa was twenty-nine when he disappeared in 1968, that meant he was born in 1939.
Danny must have read my thoughts.
“The surviving siblings are all in their sixties.”
“Tell me about Daddy.” I wasn’t sure why all this family history was relevant, but Danny seemed eager to share what he’d learned.
“Alex Lapasa made his way to Oahu in nineteen fifty-six and got a job at an East Honolulu gas station. Two years later, the station owner died. A hit-and-run. A handwritten will transferred ownership of the station to Lapasa.”
“Sounds kinky.”
