Chapter 6
Heather was sunburned, sandy and happy. She’d spent the entire day with Mike until he had to get ready for his TV weatherman gig that night. When he left her at her apartment door he kissed her. It was their first; fast, forceful, leaving a lingering little sizzle behind.
She sighed as she took off her sandy beach cover-up and bathing suit and stepped in the shower, wondering if she’d ever be adept surfing on the short board. Mike had been teaching her styling tricks. They were surfing on the Windward side of Oahu where the swells were much more intimidating than the gentle waves of Waikiki that she was used to. Mike stayed with her for a couple of hours to make sure she’d be okay with the larger waves. Then he paddled out further to get some of the big ones.
It was fun and she loved being in the surf with Mike, but she couldn’t seem to get her sweet spot on the board that day and kept losing her balance. Her crashing falls off the board were nothing short of spectacular, she thought wryly. She wasn’t happy she had a scar from the lightning bolt situated right in the middle of her chest. She would probably never wear a bikini again. Today she was glad she had on a one-piece suit. There was no doubt she would have lost her top in the rough waves. They were sneaky. You didn’t even know the top part was missing ‘till you felt an odd little breeze and looked down. It had happened to her before. Can you say major embarrassment?
Mike surfed like he’d been born to it, and when the big sets started rolling in later in the day Heather retreated to the beach to watch the eye-candy. Mike was bronzed, athletic and beautiful to her eyes in his swim suit.
He had impressed her with his intellect the night before when he recited mathematical formulas for the makeup of diamonds and the exact formula for Newton’s Law of Gravity, but today she experienced a whole different side of him. His manner of speech changed dramatically on the beach into the native Pidgin Hawaiian spoken by the experienced surfers she met that afternoon. They were the real Hawaiians, the cool guys. It seemed like everyone on the beach knew and was pals with Mike. Heather was greeted with genuine friendship and treated with respect simply because she was with him.
Heather was still in the shower when she heard the phone ring and decided not to get out. If it was important she expected whoever it was would leave a message or text.
Sunburns leave you very sleepy and thirsty. Heather woke up after a little nap and found she’d been asleep much longer than she had planned. She turned on the TV, hoping to see Mike’s report. Damn, she was too late; they were already into the sports reports on the local station.
As she was going into the kitchen for a drink of water she remembered to check her phone for the call she missed. When she opened it she saw she had two. Both were from Michelle; one saying she wouldn’t be home until after eight p.m. The next one came in at eight thirty, saying Michelle was on her way home. Heather had slept through the second call.
Heather looked at her watch with alarm. It was almost nine thirty. She gulped the water and walked out the door and down the long hallway to Michelle’s condo. When she knocked there was no answer. Lucifer was making loud meows at the door, which Heather had never heard before when Michelle was home. It was like he was screaming and sounded mournful, sad and scared. The noises were loud enough to wake Michelle if she was inside and had gone to sleep, Heather thought.
Heather had her cell phone in her hand so she pressed Michelle’s number again as she went back to her apartment. There was no answer.
Heather turned around and went to the elevator. She was getting concerned. The way to check if Michelle arrived home was to see if her car was in its assigned space. She went to level 3 Parking and saw Michelle’s car in its usual place. That meant she had to be home now. But why was Lucifer screaming, and why wasn’t she answering her phone? Michelle was a night-owl and usually stayed up late.
Heather went back up to her place and called again. The call went to voice-mail, like all the others. The last recourse was to check Michelle’s apartment. They had traded keys ages ago in case of emergency. This situation could be just that. After what happened last night, with Wendy falling or being pushed off Omar’s balcony, Heather was anxious about her best friend, especially with that damned, devious and deceitful Omar out of jail. He had a stalking thing going on with Michelle which was totally abnormal. He seemed to be fixated on her in a dangerous unhealthy way; wanting to be the father of her child. It was outrageous and scary.
When Heather got to Michelle’s door she called out, “Lucifer, I’m coming in. I want to find Michelle.” She was a little afraid of the tiny cat.
Heather took a deep breath and opened the door. Suddenly there was fur in her face and she grabbed it. Lucifer! He started the loud meows again as she held him as far away from her as she could with stiff arms. His blue eyes were wide and fearful.
“Michelle, I used your key and came in,” Heather called out, still gazing at the cat, who was suddenly limp in her hands. He really looked kind of pathetic, Heather thought as she went inside and kicked the door closed, so she shifted him and held him like a baby against her shoulder. To
