“This is good!” Kala said, drinking deeply.
“I know. Take a load off,” he said, pointing to one of the wooden stools in the kitchen. “What brings you here at this time of day?”
“You sound just like Patty Molnar. Why does everything have to work around a certain time of day? Why can’t I take a bubble bath at two o’clock in the afternoon? Why can’t I come here to your home at three o’clock in the afternoon? Is there some book out there that says we have to conform to a time schedule?”
Kala didn’t realize how shrill her voice was until Spenser held up his hand and went, “Whoa there, Nellie!”
“Sit down, Spenser. I want you sitting when I tell you this, so when I offer my apology, you won’t fall over.” To make her point, Kala plucked the two flowers from her hair and placed them in the middle of the table. “Every one of your old cases came up whistle clean… Why are you looking at me like that, Spenser?”
“Because I told you I did nothing wrong. And this all surprised you. That’s why you’re surrendering with the flowers?”
“Well, yes, I guess so. How could you be so damn perfect? Everyone screws up at some point. You never did. How is that possible?”
“All those
“I want to hold a press conference and tell the world, you standing right there alongside of me, with Sophie Lee in the middle. Tomorrow I’ll arrange it. Sophie’s plane lands in a few hours. I called her on the way over, and she’s all for it. Believe it or not, Spenser, she holds no ill feelings toward you. She knows and understands you were just doing your job. That’s not to say that during her ten-year incarceration, she didn’t plot your death every night of her life when she was falling asleep.”
“So what you’re saying is, when I apologize in person, she isn’t going to kick me in the nuts.”
Kala smiled. “No, Sophie is not going to do that. That’s not who she is. All along I’ve tried to tell you what a remarkable young woman she is. If I had a daughter, I’d want her to be just like Sophie Lee. I haven’t mentioned it to her yet, but I’m going to suggest she forfeit the second ten million.”
Spenser was off his chair in a flash. “Oh, no! No, no! That young woman deserves every penny you can milk out of this state. If it was up to me, I’d vote for fifty million. You could have gotten it, too, Kala, if you’d played ball a little harder. That’s what they were prepared to pay out. Over time, of course.”
“Now you tell me!” Kala drained the last of her sun tea.
Spenser laughed so hard his shoulders shook. “I did tell you, you just didn’t pick up on it. I told you
“Imagine that,” Kala drawled, as she mentally calculated what a third of $50 million would come to for Aulani coffers. She shrugged. Win some, lose some.
“Yeah, imagine that.”
“There was nothing in the journals. I brought one to show you. Audrey Star could barely write. I made myself crazy trying to decipher her daily recordings. It was all just your basic girly stuff, gushing and prattling on about nothing. We found where Adam hid all the jewelry that wasn’t kept in the safe-deposit box. Right there on the same bookshelf as the diaries. Take a look at this,” Kala said, reaching down into her briefcase to pull out one of the leather-bound journals.
Spenser leafed through the elegantly bound book and let loose with a soft whistle. “I had no idea. I had no clue the woman was mentally challenged. There was not even a hint from Adam Star. Not that it would have mattered in the end. It might have created more of a circus atmosphere, which would have really played hell with your client at trial. I’m glad we didn’t know it because I would have exploited it to the nth degree. It would have been my job to do that.”
“I know, and I’m also glad none of us knew it. Let that poor woman rest in peace. I wish I knew, though, why Adam married Audrey. For some reason I don’t think it was the money. He said it wasn’t. But then look what he did.”
“Yes, look what he did. I know he confessed to killing his wife, but there’s something about it that just doesn’t ring true to me. I’m very glad for Sophie Lee’s sake, but for some reason it just isn’t adding up for me. For the life of me I cannot figure out what it is. Do you have any ideas about it?”
Kala shrugged as she got to her feet. “I’ll have the office call you later today after they arrange for the press conference. I promise to be humble tomorrow.”
Spenser laughed. “Enjoy your meeting with Sophie.”
“I will. Thanks for the tea. You can keep that diary. We have a ton of them. All but the last one. Give it some thought, Spenser. You were there that day. Try to remember if you saw it, didn’t think it was important, whatever.”
“Kala, I can’t afford to lose any more sleep over this. When I can’t figure something out, I can’t sleep. I was hoping tonight for a good night’s sleep.”
“If I can’t sleep, why should you?” Kala quipped.
Chapter 26
THEY WERE EXCITED, BABBLING TO EACH OTHER, AS THEY watched the sleek charter plane’s wheels hit the runway. The late-afternoon sun coated the plane and the surrounding air in a golden sheen that looked like a glistening nimbus. That did not go unnoticed by any of the six people waiting expectantly for Sophie Lee’s arrival.
The plan was for all of them to return to the Aulani offices, where two bottles of Dom Perignon were chilling for a small celebration. And then, Kala had said, “us old people will go about our business and let the young people get reacquainted.” Meaning, of course, Sophie, Patty, and Nick. Patty had argued with Nick for hours, saying Sophie needed to stay with her. Nick could see the logic of it, and, of course, he was invited along, but still he didn’t like it. He wanted Sophie to himself. He wanted so much, but he knew that Sophie couldn’t be overwhelmed right then.
“Slow and steady” had been Ben’s fatherly advice, and he knew it was good advice. Following it would be the hard part. His good hip ached. He ignored the ache and concentrated on the plane, which had just come to a standstill. Even though he wore sunglasses, the glare of the sun was blinding. Would he even be able to see Sophie clearly when she first appeared in the cabin doorway? He could hardly wait to drink in the sight of her.
Jay sidled up to Kala, his cell in hand. He read from a short text he’d just received. “Press conference is scheduled for ten o’clock at the courthouse. Spenser confirmed. We’re good to go, Kala.”
Kala nodded. Her big problem was what color flower to wear in her hair. Red or white? A wicked thought raced through her mind. She wondered if she could convince Spenser to wear a white hibiscus in his lapel, and she’d wear one in her hair. A united front. The bullshit is over. We’re a team who in the end just wants justice to be served. No one’s ego had to be stroked. Done. Over. Her heart kicked up an extra beat.
“The door is opening,” Patty squealed.
“You look too serious, sweetheart,” Ben whispered in Kala’s ear. “Lighten up. By the way, when we go home, we are going to go through those mail sacks. An old friend of mine called me this morning to tell me he sent me something he wanted an opinion on and wanted to know why I hadn’t responded. I explained about the mail, being away, then coming back to this circus. I promised to read through it this evening and get back to him ASAP.”
“Works for me. I don’t have anything planned for this evening. And you’re right, I can’t back out my convertible because Patty dumped the sacks behind it. That means we have a plan. Are you going to grill some tuna for us? I’ll make the salad, and I’ll even clean the grill.”
“Now that’s an offer I can’t refuse. There’s our girl, Kala!”
And there she was. Sophie wore a white waffle-weave sundress that showed off her glorious tan. Kala blinked at her fashionable haircut, the highlights in it, but she was stunned to see a cluster of white hibiscus tucked behind her right ear. She frowned and didn’t know why. Around her neck, Sophie wore a scarlet lei that looked professionally made. The frown stayed on Kala’s face. Even from where she was standing she could make out the gold locket around Sophie’s neck. She wondered why the young woman wasn’t moving. It looked to her like Sophie
