Hawaiian Crosswinds Page 13

  “Then, you saw your father and the Chinese man leave Kalihi together and walk to Hunnewell’s beach house. What about this feline in black clothes?”

  She smiled ruefully. “A carriage waited for her alongside the road.”

  “A nice one?”

  She paused, considering. “Come to think of it, yes.” She added, surprised, “Very much like the coach we used today from the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.”

  A spark of interest showed in his eyes. “Ah. You didn’t happen to see a pale, gaunt-looking fellow with her? Also in black?”

  She wondered why he asked that. Had he seen the woman and man together somewhere?

  “I couldn’t say. The sun had already set and it rapidly grew dark. I didn’t see her again. It was curious, though, why she would be at the leper facility. The way she behaved on the hospital steps was almost clandestine.”

  Rafe looked on, composed and unreadable. “What then? You followed your father?”

  Eden felt defensive, though she still believed she did the right thing. Even so, she plucked the lace at her sleeve. “Yes, I followed, and I shall tell you why. When he first greeted the man, he was amiable. Then, as they began to converse, his mood changed. Distress was written over his face, and the stark alteration worried me.”

  “But he left with the man willingly?”

  “Yes, I’d say he was anxious to go with him. He usually won’t leave Kalihi when he’s on duty unless called away by some major concern. So when I saw his distress, and how anxious he was, I knew something must be wrong. I followed them toward the Hunnewell beach house. It came to me then that perhaps Grandfather Ainsworth had sent for Dr. Jerome. Someone in the annexation meeting might have become ill, even Ainsworth himself—”

  “Hold on, my sweet. We need a detour at this point. Just how was it you knew your grandfather was at the annexation meeting— or rather, at the ‘secret’ meeting?” he said with a wry tone.

  Eden turned and smiled for the first time. It was rather fun to checkmate Rafe with surprises, since she so seldom was able to do so. She had another surprise in waiting, too. One about Oliver.

  “Oh, quite simple, really,” she said, baiting him.

  He narrowed his gaze under dark lashes. “Simple?”

  “Yes, Candace told me about the meeting.”

  “Candace,” Rafe repeated. “How did she find out about Thurston’s new Annexation Club?”

  “Oh, she knows quite a lot, now, thanks to a certain person.”

  Rafe’s bracing gaze caught and held hers. “Are you going to keep this certain person a secret?”

  “I don’t keep secrets from you,” she said with a look of innocence.

  He smiled, and taking hold of her arm, drew her close. “Are you taunting me, my sweet?”

  She laid her palm against his chest and pushed away lightly. “Earlier in the afternoon Candace stopped by to speak to Aunt Lana about the wedding—you did know Lana Stanhope is marrying Dr. Bolton in a few weeks?”

  “Yes. Let’s see …” His dark eyes smiled. “There was something about a honeymoon at Kalawao leper camp.”

  She narrowed her lashes.

  “Very nice couple,” he said meekly. “All right. How did Candace know about the meeting?”

  She smiled. “Why, Oliver himself told her.”

  “Oliver!”

  “Yes, he’d made plans with Candace two weeks ago to come to dinner at Kea Lani last night, then Mr. Hunnewell interrupted his plans. So Oliver had no choice except to inform Candace he wouldn’t be able to come. Well, when she wanted to know why, he had to explain, didn’t he?” She tried looking naive.

  “Oh but of course he’d need to explain. A woman’s curiosity and intellect must be satisfied at all times.”

  “And naturally Oliver told her about the Annexation Club meeting.”

  “Well, that was exceedingly discerning of him. Needless to say, she’d then wish to know who would be in the club, so I suppose he passed on even more interesting tidbits.”

  “I see you understand,” she said sweetly, keeping a straight face. “After all, Candace had invested her time in a perfectly fine dinner, and gotten a new gown, only to be disappointed.”

  “Don’t let Keno hear that she was disappointed,” Rafe said.

  “I doubt that she really was. But at least she felt somewhat compensated for a spoiled evening by hearing interesting tales about the club Oliver was invited to join.”

  “Ah, yes, I can see Oliver would make a top-of-the-line secret agent. He’ll trust his secrets to the trade winds to ensure Candace understands.”

  “Speaking of secrets, I’ve another to offer if you care to hear it.”

  Rafe cocked a brow. “You’ve earned my full attention.”

  “Well, it’s Oliver’s, actually,” Eden said. “Did you know he supports the Hawaiian monarchy?”

  Rafe lost his bantering mood and became alert. His quick gaze searched hers.

  “Did he tell you this?” he asked briefly.

  “Yes, he knows I support Great-aunt Nora’s work for the monarchy. Either Nora told him, or perhaps Candace. At any rate, he mentioned it to me recently. He couldn’t be more open about his own support of the queen. I don’t know if this means anything, but he also said he ‘has nothing but respect for the British Empire.’ He doesn’t have the courage to explain how he feels to Mr. Hunnewell.”

  “I don’t suppose he would, when his father is one of the chief architects of annexation in Honolulu. Especially when Hunnewell trusts that his son has the same convictions he does. Knowing Hunnewell Senior as I do, I imagine there are few secrets kept from Oliver—” He stopped abruptly.

  Eden looked at him. She recognized the engrossed look on his face. An idea had struck him with full force.

  “What about?”

  He turned his attention on her. “That rather shakes things up, doesn’t it? In fact, we need to add a fourth member to our list of possible spy suspects for Liliuokalani. Well done, my sweet. I withdraw my remarks about Oliver’s naïveté. It looks as though it may rest with some of us. In which case he’s clever enough to deserve being watched.”

  Anything that had to do with Oliver worried her because of Candace. “You think he was in the garden waiting to contact someone when Keno happened to show up?”

  “Now that Oliver’s been identified as pro-monarchy? It could be. Something was stolen from Thaddeus Hunnewell’s desk last night. Something important to the annexation cause. The question of who took it and why is complicated by the fact that Oliver is one of several who might have various motives.”

  “Liliuokalani couldn’t have a better spy, could she?” Eden said.

  “He’s right in the mix of things. You’ve given me something to think about, darling. So who among our motley group of possible spies was in the garden when Dr. Jerome arrived with the Chinese man?”

  “Silas,” she said, “my father, the Chinese man, Zachary, Keno, Oliver, and myself. Oh! And you”

  “Ah. I would be a valuable spy for the queen, would I not? Like Oliver, I’m allowed into the deepest, darkest meetings with those rebels Thurston and Dole. Furthermore, I’m the least suspected. That is the Devil’s way, isn’t it.”

  “Also, until the telegraph from Celestine, you’d planned on going to Washington D.C. with Mr. Thurston and Grandfather to discuss secret details about possible annexation. Yes, you would be a very profitable spy for Liliuokalani.”

  “How did you know about ‘secret details’ to be discussed in Washington D.C.?”

  “Grandfather mentioned it this morning to Silas.”

  “Did he? Rather reminiscent of Hunnewell and his son Oliver, isn’t it? Trustworthiness is assumed because of family position. But let’s move on, darling. Zach says a second man of Oriental descent was waiting in the shadows of Hunnewell’s fence, near the west wall. Did you happen to see him?”

  “Yes, he and Dr. Jerome talked for several minutes. Then he became angry, turned, and hopped into a hackn
ey.”

  “Angry. That may be important when we keep in mind the victim out back. And like Zach you heard nothing of what was discussed?”

  “Zachary?” She narrowed her lashes. “What about Zachary? And why is it I suspect you already know what I witnessed last night?”

  Rafe appeared to hesitate, then to make up his mind. “All right. You’ve promised to be candid, and you are, so I’ll meet you on level ground.” He poured coffee into his cup.

  “After we parted last night in—shall we say in no good humor?—Zach waited for me at the hotel. He’d been knocked unconscious as he came through Hunnewell’s gate by a phantom with evil intent. He awoke under some trees by the fence, but by then the annexation meeting was over and things had quieted down. That’s when he showed up at my hotel room blaming Silas for all the evils of the world, including the knot on his head.”

  “He was attacked by the same man who killed the Chinese?”

  Rafe considered. “I don’t think so.”

  That roused her suspicion. “Then someone at the annexation meeting would need to have struck him down.”

  “Maybe not. Any number of people from the outside could have done it. Hartley, for instance.”

  Herald, the medical assistant who worked with her father, had taken a reprieve from his duties for several days from the Big Island claiming he needed a rest. But Eden was not aware that he had any motive. She was about to say as much when Rafe continued.

  “Silas, also, is a possibility—though your grandfather made him a member of the group, I don’t consider him a true annexationist. He’s too much a newcomer to care about Hawaii’s destiny. Right now he’s on a wave to please the honorable patriarch with his dedication to all things Derrington, much to Zach’s frustration.”

  Eden agreed about Silas. He was a difficult man to understand. At times he came across as humble and genuinely thankful for the embrace he’d received at his homecoming from the “distant unknown,” but at other times he seemed as clever and shrewd as biblical Jacob before he’d become Israel, a prince with God.

  “Even the dead man in the garden may have struck Zach,” Rafe was saying, “since you say he was with your father. And yes, the assassin. He first may have followed the victim from Kalihi to Hunnewell’s, failed to get him there, and trailed him here to Hawaiiana.” He looked over at her. “I’ll omit the other honorable man among us besides Ainsworth, the dignified Dr. Jerome. Although he was there with the opportunity, I can’t see him bashing Zach. Jerome is mixed up about Molokai,” he said lightly, “but he’s a decent man, a true Christian.”

  Eden smiled ruefully. “Thank you,” she retorted. “I’m pleased you’re giving my father some leeway, because unfortunately, what I have to say about him leaves precious little.”

  His dark brow shot up. “Interesting indeed, coming from your sweet lips.

  “Shall I go on?” he suggested casually, and did, without waiting for her response. He leaned against the back of a tall winged chair, arms folded, and appeared as though discussing the weather. “So then, earlier, Zach followed Dr. Jerome from Kalihi Hospital on a jaunt to Hunnewell’s, where—”

  Eden stiffened. “Zachary followed my father?” she asked with a hint of indignation. “Why?”

  A hint of cynical amusement reflected in his smile. “I suspect, darling, for the same reason you did, though Zach didn’t think the man with your father was the man outside, but Silas.”

  She shook her head and moved about restlessly. “He’s usually wrong about Silas. It makes little sense for Silas to bring Dr. Jerome to Mr. Hunnewell’s house.”

  “Perhaps, but for that matter, why would the Chinese bring your father there to meet the man in Oriental silk robes?”

  Eden lapsed into disturbed silence. She’d already asked herself that a dozen times without a suitable answer.

  When she kept silent Rafe proceeded with disciplined restraint. “Zach followed them on foot from Kalihi to the beach house. I suspect you did the same?”

  Eden looked over at him. His head was tilted and his gaze said he was assessing her motives.

  “I followed him from Kalihi, but why didn’t I see Zachary?”

  “Yes. I wondered about that myself. He claims he didn’t see you either—no, wait. Let’s just say he failed to mention whether he’d seen you there. He may have decided to keep it from me, knowing my response. Especially after that crack on the head he took. Not a very mellow place to be wandering around alone, my sweet. In any event, he stuck like jam to his explanation that Silas was behind it.”

  Rafe set his cup down with a clink. “I’ll need to ask Zach why he kept quiet about seeing you. I don’t think he intends to get the law involved, since it was his uncle Jerome he followed, but all that’s changed now with a murder on our hands.” He scowled. “The Chinese would need to be bunged off here at Hawaiiana! Loads of new trouble, now.” He finished his coffee. “I can’t allow this to keep me in Honolulu. Not with Townsend in San Francisco. I need to be on that steamer.” He looked at her. “But I can’t just take off unless I’m confident you’re safe. No more wandering about the midnight garden.”

  She smiled. His concern made her feel loved. “I promise to be indoors and fast asleep by ten o’clock. At least we can tell the marshal we were together at Beretania at the time the man was killed.”

  “I just don’t care to have the marshal’s investigative work slow me down.” He looked at her. “Let’s forget both of them for the moment. I want to get back to Dr. Jerome and the corpse in our garden before Keno arrives.”

  The word our struck her heart; even in that sober moment it renewed a sense of belonging with him. She was not alone in this debacle, they were in this together. In a much smaller way, belonging to Rafe was to her symbolic of the peace and joy that swept over her soul when she remembered and considered that she belonged to Christ. The eternal God was Abba Father. Even in the midst of death, yes, even murder—like the first murder with Cain and Abel after the Garden of Eden. Whether one’s particular time to live in a world in rebellion against God took place in period of revolution, war, great sweeps of persecution, or the unknowns waiting at Molokai and San Francisco, as believers in Christ, she and Rafe could find His grace sufficient.

  He cocked a brow. “Darling? Are you awake?”

  Eden blinked and looked across the room at him. He narrowed his eyes, watching her.

  She smiled and sat down on the edge of the settee.

  “I was thinking of our mysterious garden,” she murmured, “our life, you see, our garden, as it were. I was thinking that so many things can happen in our garden, and that we’re ‘gardening’ together. Does that make sense? And that our True Father will oversee us, and bless if we continue to trust Him.”

  Rafe walked over, and clasping her hands, drew her up from the settee to stand close.

  “This is not the wrong place, but it is the wrong time. Even so you’re right, Eden, my love. It’s you and I together, no matter what. Dead body and all.” He brushed his lips against her temple.

  A tear came to her eye. “It’s sad about the poor man, terrible.”

  “Let’s get back to the living.” He gave her hands a little shake. “So Zach didn’t see you leave Kalihi Hospital. However, he did see your father leave. When you got to Hunnewell’s you saw him meet with another Chinese man wearing silk. All that is correct, right? But you heard nothing of what was spoken because it was a noisy, windy evening. Then what happened next?”

  “My father entered the front yard through the big gate, along with the dead man. A minute or two later I too slipped inside. Once I was in the garden I saw Dr. Jerome ahead of me, but I didn’t see the man again … until a short time ago.”

  Rafe took a turn about the room. “Our guest under the gardenia bush could have been the one who clobbered Zach, though I’m not yet convinced.” His intent look told her something badgered him. “Logically, you should have been the one struck from behind as you entered the gate, not Zach.
”

  “Yes, so I thought, but could Zachary have misled you about being knocked unconscious?”

  “I took a close look at his head. If it had been his purpose to mislead it would’ve been to try to pin it on Silas. He’d been clobbered all right. There’s no getting around that. But it’s a trip through a maze to figure out just when he did enter the gate. If he was as close behind Dr. Jerome as he claims—entering within two to three minutes afterward—he would have seen you, or you’d have seen him.”

  “Unless he came through another way,” she suggested.

  “He claims he entered by the front gate. All right. So much for that. So you didn’t see anyone else in the garden when you first entered except Dr. Jerome?”

  She kept telling herself she had nothing to hide, that she had volunteered to come and speak the truth. That she wanted a resolution as much as Rafe did. And there was no accounting how Rafe looked at her. Those eyes of his, so resolute, had a way of making one wilt, or warm.

  “No, my father was there, alone.” She put her palm to her forehead. “It was all I could do not to go to him. He walked up and down the walkway near the hibiscus bushes, in distress. I felt so sorry for him. He must have made a decision. What it was about, I don’t know. He walked quickly toward the back section of the garden.”

  “Toward the back lanai?” he repeated.

  “Yes. The back lanai. There’s a stairway from the garden up to a porch-like area that connects to one of the parlors. That’s where he went. I know of the area because Claudia had me come to the house recently. We all met in that very same parlor as the Annexation Club last night. I remember the back porch, and we went down those steps into the garden area.”

  Claudia was Oliver’s younger sister and for all intents and purposes she was engaged to Zachary but without an official announcement and ring. Ainsworth kept maneuvering and so did Mr. Hunnewell, but Zachary kept up his elusive dance.

  Silence followed the revelation on Dr. Jerome. She had expected a strong reaction from Rafe to what appeared an act of willful eavesdropping on her father’s part. She had been embarrassed by his action, and when Rafe said nothing untoward, or even registered surprise, she was taken aback. His eyes were inscrutable.