Clara hung her head again. “No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Promise.”
“Any guesses?” Gina asked.
“If I had to guess…”
Just then, they were interrupted by Felix and Flor coming in for the sandwiches and lemonade that had been made.
***
At the end of the workday, Gina already had her phone out and Detective Kona’s number dialed before the last of her crew was even gone.
“I have something for you, Detective, and it’s big.”
“About Danny?”
“Yeah. I have a good lead for you to follow, solid.”
“Too little, too late, Miss Santoro.”
“Why?” she asked.
“I have to file it as a cold case. I might be able to get back to it, but not right now.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? The poor guy was homeless and you’re filing it as cold? What kind of bunk is that?”
“Not bunk at all. I have two other murders to investigate, just in the last twenty-four hours. Now, if you really do have something useful, I can come by and listen, but I don’t want to hear about bottle caps. Understand?”
“You don’t have to come by. I heard on very good authority that Danny was a pimp running his business out of Bunzo’s.”
“Already knew that. Anything else?”
“Yeah. He very well may have been killed by a rival pimp, also working that bar.”
“This is solid? Reliable?”
“Directly from the mouth of one of his girls.”
“Where are you right now?” he asked.
“At the estate.”
“I’ll be there in a few. Don’t go anywhere.”
Gina barely had time to eat the last of the sandwiches and some lemonade before Detective Kona got there. He parked in the same place as always, at the side of the house. She finally figured out why, which was that it was hidden from view by the Tanizawa house on the ridge above.
“Who’s your source?” was the first thing he asked Gina.
“One of the girls that worked for him. And before you ask, she didn’t know his last name, and wasn’t even sure if Danny was his real first name.”
“That’s why I’m not getting anything on him when I show his picture around. All I ever heard was that he was a two-bit pimp that ran cheap girls out of Bunzo’s. Are you able to tell me the hooker’s name?”
“Kinda implied that I wouldn’t. I get the idea she’s squared up, and won’t work the streets anymore.”
“I already have a pretty good idea of who it is.” Kona took a deep breath and sighed. “Okay, what did she tell you about him?”
“She’d been working for him for only a few months. He didn’t have many girls, and they worked cheap. When another pimp moved his girls to Bunzo’s, he paid protection money, and Danny didn’t. That’s what led to Danny’s downfall.”
“Protection money to who?”
“Harry Tanizawa, the bar owner.”
“Who was the other pimp?”
“Chuck, the evening bartender at Bunzo’s.”
“Perfect set-up for him. Pays for protection, and gets it back in pay for tending bar.”
“Everything I’ve heard is that Harry knows nothing about the prostitution ring in his bar, but he really does after all.” Gina clenched a fist and punched her other hand with it. “And the real money comes from the girls Chuck pimps out every night.”
“Miss Santoro, how much undercover work did you do back in Cleveland?”
“A couple streetwalker stings. Why?”
“Are you busy this evening?”
“You want me to do a sting at Bunzo’s with you? Forget it. I’m not a cop anymore, remember?”
“Might be a few bucks in it for you.”
“Why not just use a cop from the precinct?”
“A little short staffed these days.”
“Is that why you work alone?”
He nodded. “I’m the only homicide detective in Kahala Precinct.”
“I don’t know how big that is.”
“From here to Hawaii Kai. That’s seventy square miles and a hundred thousand people with only one homicide detective to cover it. In fact, everything on the other side of East-West Road is someone else’s problem.”
“Sorry he didn’t die on the other side of the street. Had I known he’d be so much trouble, I would’ve dragged him across the street and dumped the body there.”
“You want to help get the dude, or am I wasting my time?”
“One night, that’s it. Don’t push your luck asking for more.” She aimed an accusatorial finger at him. “If you get me killed, you’ll have my mother to deal with, and she ain’t so forgiving.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
If there was one thing Gina knew how to do, it was look slutty. All she had to do was channel her inner high school prom date appearance. After too much makeup needed to hide the slight shiner she still had on one eye, even extending the cateye effect a little too much, she put on her pushup bra and tightest T-shirt. Finishing her outfit was her bright green tennis skirt that showed more leg than any of her others, and sat low on her hips. She finished her hooker appearance by wearing every piece of jewelry she’d brought to Hawaii. With one last application of bright red lipstick, she hoped she might not be too recognizable at Bunzo’s.
The only heeled shoes she had were two-inch wedges, which she carried with her when she left the house. When she got to the sidewalk out on East-West Road, she crossed the dark street to where she had arranged to meet Detective Kona that evening.
Mid-evening and classes were long done for the day, and most buildings were closed. The wide boulevard was mostly quiet. Having not brought an umbrella, Gina had to stand under the awning of a doorway to keep a rain shower off. It was the light over top of her that made her stand out, and after a couple of cars slowed down to take a long look at her, she got impatient waiting for Kona. She checked her phone for missed calls or messages repeatedly, and just as she was being honked at by a car full of horny co-eds, an SUV pulled to the curb in front of her.
She’d been expecting to see Kona in his usual sedan, so she didn’t recognize him right away.
