Chapter 11
ELEVEN
SUGAR
Ifollowed Cookie to the front door and stepped outside. “What’s going on with Coochie and Birdie?”
“They spent the night at her house and left this morning. Coochie called and said it took them over two hours to get to Hilo. He said they were going to stop somewhere to wait for a break in the rain. He was supposed to call when they got back on the road. It’s been a couple of hours.
We haven’t heard from them, and Beaver can’t track their phones. ”
“Fuck,” I said quietly. “Where could they be?”
“I’d guess they’re pulled over because of heavy rain or flooded roads,” he said.
“And their phones?”
“Probably dead.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, even though I didn’t think it was that simple. I could understand one of them having a dead battery, but both? It didn’t sit well with me. “How’s Whisker?”
“On edge.”
It was expected. The last time we had a dead body in one of our establishments, it ended with Cooter and Pocket going to prison.
“What’d they do with the body?”
“Put it in one of the lava tubes. It’ll have to wait until after the storm,” Cookie said.
In the basement, behind a hidden access panel, we had access to a small series of undocumented lava tubes.
Cooter discovered them when he surveyed the land before building the clubhouse.
He saw the opportunity for what it was and took it.
We mainly used the tubes to hide imports and grow weed, but sometimes they were needed to hide bodies and evidence.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t hide everything down there.
“What about his car and the rest of his shit?” I asked.
“One of the prospects put on some of his clothes and drove his car to the part of Kalapana Road that always floods first. We put most of his shit inside and left the window down. Once the car is found, they’ll assume he was washed away and count him as a storm casualty.”
“Sounds good.” I was somewhat disappointed that the truth about Matthew and his death wouldn’t be known beyond the club. “Thanks, man.”
Cookie nodded in acknowledgment and disappeared down the stairs.
I went back inside and glanced at Kalani, who was staring at the wall. Hoping she would continue not being a pain in the ass, I let her be and made myself a cup of coffee.
When I sat down and brought the mug to my lips for the first sip, I could feel her eyes burning into me. I turned and looked directly at her over the top of my mug as I slurped a large sip.
“Whore.”
“A whore with coffee,” I said smugly.
“Whores who gloat don’t float.”
My forehead wrinkled in confusion. “What?”
“I don’t know. I was going for something like snitches get stitches,” she explained.
“But what the fuck does yours mean? Why won’t gloating whores float?”
“Because things with holes sink,” she said and swiftly added, “because they got stabbed. For gloating.”
“Huh.” I took another large sip. “You’ve already stabbed me, and here I am floating.”
“That doesn’t count. I didn’t mean to stab you.”
“You didn’t mean to stab me?”
“Relax, pissy pants. I meant I wasn’t there to stab you.”
“That makes it better.”
“I hope your coffee provides some avengement.”
“Will you shut the fuck up?”
“If you give me some coffee.”
Fuck this bitch.
“Fine.” I made her a cup of coffee, dragged her chair beside the table, and placed a straw in the mug. Then I watched as the little psycho sucked down the entire mug of hot black coffee in one go. “That was supposed to shut you up for a while,” I sighed.
“It’ll take more than that.”
As I got up to make her another cup of coffee, I wondered why I was entertaining any of her bullshit.
I didn’t have to do anything more than keep her alive until Coochie returned with Birdie.
Making her coffee and letting her go to the bathroom were beyond the call of duty.
Allowing her to continue to use her mouth was also a courtesy I did not have to extend.
“Here.” I placed an extra-large mug of coffee beside her, with a straw, of course.
“Thank you,” she said, and remained quiet.
I enjoyed the peace until Whisker called an hour later. “Need you to bring her to the clubhouse,” he said and ended the call.
“Prez wants you at the clubhouse,” I told her and took my mug to the sink. Then I removed the tape from her chest and legs and walked her over to the clubhouse.
“Is Birdie here?” she asked hopefully.
“Don’t know.”
“Sure you don’t,” she grumbled.
“Does it matter? You’ll find out in a few minutes.” I led her through the common room to church. Whisker, Biscuit, Cookie, and the other officers were seated and waiting.
“Close the door,” Whisker said. “We’re not expecting anyone else.”
“What?” Kalani gasped. “Where’s Birdie?”
“I told you we’d let you know when we hear from them,” I said and pointed to a chair. “Sit.”
When I took the seat beside her, she cocked her head to the side. “No tape this time?”
“You won’t make it out of this room if you try to leave.”
She nodded once and turned her attention to Whisker.
“Tell me how you knew Matthew Heinz,” Whisker demanded.
Heinz? So, they discovered his real name.
“I didn’t know him,” Kalani said simply.
Whisker nodded at me. “Slap the shit out of her every time she gives me a half ass answer.”
I got to my feet and pulled her chair away from the table knowing it wouldn’t be long.
“Tell me how you found out about Matthew Heinz.”
“His niece told me about the pictures. I discovered the rest on my own.”
“So you know his niece?”
“No. I attended her birthday party with a friend from work. Hannah told me about her uncle at the party.”
“And you took it upon yourself to kill him?” Whisker asked.
“Yes,” Kalani answered quickly. “Well, I took it upon myself to find out more. I’m not sure if I’d decided to kill him at that point.”
Whisker leaned back in his chair and studied her for several moments. “How long did it take you to decide to kill your uncle?”
“However many seconds it was between hearing my mother’s body hit the floor from my bedroom and seeing her in the living room. Could’ve been the moment I saw her. I’ll say zero to fifteen seconds. Is a range okay?”
What. The. Fuck?
Whisker tilted his head to the side.
Kalani shrugged. “I’m very much okay with murdering my uncle. I mean, a shorter sentence would’ve been cool, but I was still young when I got out.”
She’d been in prison? For killing someone? Like me.
“Still young?” I blurted. “How fucking old are you?”
“Twenty-eight.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little soon to be killing again?” I asked.
She laughed. “What assumptions did you make?”
“That you just got out of prison.”
She shook her head. “No, I’ve been out for seven years.”
“She was fourteen when she killed her uncle,” Biscuit added.
Whisker cleared his throat. “We can discuss her first murder after we’re finished getting the details of her current one.”
“Thank you for not assuming, but this is my second murder,” Kalani said.
Two knocks sounded on the door, followed by, “Pie.”
Cookie got up to open the door, and Pie stepped inside with a concerned look on his face. “Sorry to interrupt, Prez. We’ve got a problem with the flood barrier at Charli’s.”
“I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
As soon as Pie left, Whisker looked directly at Kalani. “Tell me everything I need to know about Matthew Heinz and the transaction involving his niece. Who knew about it? Who might come looking for him? Can anyone connect you to him? Can your devices connect you to him?”
“I can only tell you who I know knew about the sale, and that is Matthew Heinz, Ashley Mitchell, and Trenton Pritchard. I didn’t tell anyone after I found out until your boy over here interrupted my departure, but I have no idea who they might have told.”
Whisker nodded. “Keep going.”
“I’d assume his sister will start looking for him when he doesn’t show up to babysit Hannah,” Kalani continued. “He wasn’t married, but he could have a girlfriend. I don’t know. I wasn’t looking for his relationship status.”
“Anyone else?”
“I mean, Trenton will probably look for him when he doesn’t show up with Hannah, but I don’t know how hard he’ll look. Other than him and Ashley, I don’t know. I didn’t need to dig that deep.”
“And your connection to him?”
“Like I said, I was at Hannah’s birthday party with a friend from work. Ashley and Matthew saw me and spoke to me. I don’t know if they knew my name, but it wouldn’t be hard for either to find out.”
“Wait,” I interrupted as I remembered something Kalani had said. “You were a mermaid.”
Kalani tilted her head back and groaned. “Fine. Yes. I was at the party as a mermaid. My friend from work asked me if I could fill in because the girl who was supposed to do it got sick. It’s not really my thing, but it paid more than I usually make in a night.”
“Were you wearing a costume?” I asked.
“Yes,” Kalani admitted, scrunching her nose. “Why?”
I didn’t like the way she was looking at me, but I ignored it. “Do you think they would be able to recognize you?”
“Oh,” she said. “I don’t know. I was wearing a blue wig and had on a lot of makeup. Plus the mermaid tail.”
“Do you have any tattoos or distinctive markings?” Biscuit asked.
Kalani grinned. “Yes, but everything was covered with waterproof makeup. We couldn’t have any tattoos or excessive scarring visible.”
“What about your devices?” Whisker asked.
“The only thing electronically connecting me to Matthew Heinz is Ashley Mitchell’s address in my GPS. There’s no record of anything else.”
“You sure about that?”
“Yes, but feel free to have your Beaver check.”
“You didn’t keep any evidence?”
“I did, but I didn’t keep it on any devices. I won’t tell you where it is, but I will tell you that I don’t have anything you don’t already have or have access to.”
Whisker nodded. “Anything else?”
Kalani visibly swallowed. “I don’t know if Hannah’s father knows about their plan.
I took care of Matthew so he couldn’t sell Hannah, but the negotiations have already been made.
There’s nothing stopping Ashley from completing the sale to Trenton.
If you kill me without taking care of Ashley, this will all have been for nothing. ”
“What were your plans for Ashley?”
“Plan A was to send the evidence I found to her husband and a few law enforcement agencies. Anonymously, of course.”
“What was Plan B?” I asked.
“To kill her,” Kalani answered wistfully.
“All right.” Whisker tapped the torque wrench he used as a gavel on the table. “That’ll be all for now. Sugar, get the girl some clothes and let her take a shower. She’s still covered in blood, for fuck’s sake.”
“Yes, Prez.”
Fuck. I felt like an idiot. I should’ve gotten rid of her bloody clothes hours ago, but I fell asleep once she finally shut the fuck up.
“Wait!” Kalani blurted. “Can I please talk to Birdie? When are they supposed to call?”
Whisker’s eyes narrowed.
“Be glad we’re letting you talk to her when she gets here,” I said. “Don’t ask for more.”