And Not to Yield
Chapter 2
Words: 5,514
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Jogging up the stairs Magnum entered the partially open door with Homicide stenciled on the glazed glass in faded letters. A petite red haired secretary sat typing at a computer terminal, and a large gruff looking man in a worn suit looked up from the documents he was holding, and halting in his slow absorbed walk across the room, turned to stare at Magnum.
"What do you want?" he asked, a look of disdain crossing his features.
"Lieutenant Burke, I'm trying to get some information on those guys who tried to do in Higgins, Rick, and TC last night."
"They weren't locals, and we won't be getting the results back on their finger prints from the FBI for awhile," Burke replied after short hesitation. "Now, then Mr. Magnum, is there any else I can do for you?"
"What about the guy who broke it up? Do you have anything on him?"
"If you mean the guy who dropped the hammer on those two stiffs? Yeah, we have a handle on him."
"Well, Lieutenant can I ask what his name is?"
"Yeah... you can ask. But that don't mean I'm going to tell you." Burke gave a short laugh and shot TM a tight grin as he turned toward his office.
"Come on, Lieutenant, he saved my friends lives, why can't you at least tell me who he is?" Magnum said to the retreating back.
Burke stopped and slowly turned around until he was facing Magnum once more with disapproval set in his face. "Because I don't like crum bum private dicks in general and I don't like you in particular." He started to turn away again and then swung back waving the folder in his hand. "Besides, just wait a day or two and you can visit your hero down in the lock-up."
"What's that supposed to mean, Lieutenant?"
"It means, Mr. Private Eye, that as far as the police department and the DA's office is concerned this guy is a menace to society. He killed two people with an unlicensed Saturday night special, and then he took off before we could check him out..."
"Oh, come on, Lieutenant; those two he shot were killers and you know it."
"What I know, Mr. Private Eye, is that I've got the warrant request for his arrest right here." He shook the papers at Magnum again. "And by tomorrow morning every cop on this island is going to be looking for your buddy." Burke spun on his heel and walked into his office.
After a second Magnum followed and stopped in front of the desk where the Lieutenant was now sitting. "Look, Lieutenant, there's no need to put out a warrant. I can find him for you and have him come in on his own..."
"Your concern is touching, Magnum, but no dice. I've got a job to do and this is how its done. He's the principle in a double homicide and no matter how righteous the shooting many have been, he was responsible and he has to answer for it. Instead he chose to run away, and if you ask me that means that something is wrong. He has a record for previous assaults," Burke picked up the folder again and then dropped it on his desk, "so we are very interested in finding out just what he was doing packing an unlicensed piece. Especially one of these things." With that he pulled open a drawer and lifted out a plastic baggie with a cheap revolver in it. He held it a second then dropped it back in the drawer and slammed it shut.
Magnum took off his baseball cap and holding it in his left hand wiped his forehead before lowering his hand to lean against the desk. "Look, Lieutenant, can't you give me a break just this once? Sure, if you issue a warrant you'll eventually get him; but think of all the man hours wasted. And for what? You know he was shot. He was hurt and confused, and people do strange things in those circumstances. You know that. I can find him for you and save you and the department all that hassle and cost."
Burke sat quiet for a second looking at Magnum. Then shrugging his heavy shoulders picked up a pen and hunched over the forms in front of him as he started writing. "Get out of here, Magnum. The public pays us to do our jobs and we don't need any crum bum private dicks getting in the way."
"Just give me two days..."
Burke finished signing his name and thumping the pen down with finality, looked up at Magnum with an evil grin. "I'm not going to give you two more seconds. Now get out of here before I have you tossed out."
As their eyes locked there was a swirl of motion at the door and the young receptionist came through stopping at the desk next to Magnum. "Lieutenant, excuse me, but they're ready for you in the interrogation room." She flashed a smile at Magnum who smiled back and straightening up turned to follow her slight form out the door. Burke grabbed another folder from the stack and rumbled out behind them towards a bank of doors on the other side of the room. Hesitating briefly he threw Magnum a malicious glance then opening a door entered and disappeared inside.
As Magnum went past the receptionist's desk he smiled at her again and then hesitated as his hand strayed to the top of his head. "Ah... my cap." He looked around and then smiled confusedly at the girl again. "Did you see a baseball cap around here?"
"Why... no.." the gal cast a glance at the counter and then around the room.
"Oh, now I remember." Magnum turned back to the Lieutenant's room again. "Sorry. I think I left it on the desk. I'll be just a second." Crossing the room again he quickly entered the Lieutenant's office leaving the door open. After a brief glance the receptionist turned back to her computer terminal and began typing.
Scooping up his hat from the floor where he had dropped it, he threw a quick glance over his shoulder at the door and then grabbed the folder Burke had waved at him. Quickly scanning the contents he put the folder back and left the office. Halfway across to the receptionist's desk, the door Burke had disappeared into earlier opened and the Lieutenant came out reading more files. He suddenly stopped and looking up spied Magnum walking away.
"Forgot my cap, Lieutenant." Magnum smiled and waved his cap at Burke, much as the Lieutenant had earlier waved the folder at him. Giving the receptionist a Magnum special grin he said good bye and left the room, trotting down the stairs.
Burke stood where he was, looking between the open door of his office and the exit while his color darkened and evil thoughts swirled through the murky labyrinths of his mind.
"Yeah, I know, Ice Pick, but..." Rick grasped the phone receiver in one hand while he leaned back against the glass enclosure of the phone booth and closed his eyes briefly while he held his side with the other, "look, he was going to ice me, Higgins, and TC for no damn reason. He already had the documents Agatha... Agatha... you know, Higgins' friend, Agatha Chumley." Rick got a slightly exasperated puzzled frown on his face as he listened. "Yeah, that's her... Yeah, she's a real nice lady... You what? No, I didn't know that, Ice Pick. Well, that sounds like something she would do... But listen, Ice Pick, we gotta get those documents back today or Agatha and her whole family is going bankrupt... Tonight, tonight at midnight is the deadline, the banks are going to foreclose on the estate and they're going to lose everything... Yeah, I gotta find that punk today. Okay, okay, I'll call you back in a couple hours, don't let me down, Ice Pick, this is also personal between me and this guy now, you understand? Yeah, okay, in a couple of hours." Rick hung up the phone, glanced at his wrist watch and then pulling out more change from his pants pocket picked the phone back up and started dialing again. "Hello, yeah, who's this? Where's Shorty? Tell him Rick's calling... I don't care what he's doing tell him to get on the phone, got it?"
Shifting down, the Ferrari turned off into a tree lined side street with a muted rumble and rolled to a stop in front of a large wooden two storey house that sat back on a large hill side lot. Pammello and avocado trees dominated the front yard, and around the side Magnum could see the end of what looked like a large terraced garden. As he walked up the side walk to the large veranda extending across the front of the house, he was watched silently by several men seated around a table. A inconspicuous sign above the door read 'The Liliuaokalani House'.
"Good morning," Magnum called out as he approached the stairs. "I'm looking for the Duchess, is she in?"
"What'd ya want with her..." one of the younger men started to ask after giving the Ferrari a dark jealous look, but was silenced by an older man with a worn face who held up an admonishing hand.
"She's inside making sure everyone is tidying things up proper... we're staying out of her way and going over the job ads to make a list to check out today." He tapped the sheet of paper in front of him with a pencil. "She's probably back in the kitchen about now, just go through the main room and straight down the hall."
"Okay," Magnum nodded to the group as he trotted up the stairs and pulled the screen door open. "Thanks, guys." The main room was large and airy, with a couch and several chairs in front of a TV on one side and on the other were two large tables with computers facing a large black board. Book shelves lined the walls along with several filing cabinets. Large potted tropicals were positioned next to windows and he could detect the faint perfume of jasmine as he crossed to the hall. In the kitchen two men were washing dishes and a small woman with dark hair and Chinese features looked up from where she was mopping the floor.
"Can I help you?" The sharp interrogative was matched by the no nonsense look that accompanied it.
Magnum was momentarily brought up short by the brash tone but something hidden in the depths of her eyes immediately caught his attention and he found himself instinctively liking this unknown figure in front of him. Doffing his cap he gave a short nod. "I was told the Duchess ran this place and if you're her I'd appreciate a few moments to talk with you."
"I'm a little busy right now as you can see." She shook the mop handle at him for emphasis.
"Yes, Ma'am, I can see that." Magnum nodded at the mop. "But this is important. I won't take much of your time. I just need some advice."
"Well, you don't look as if you need a place to stay." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "What's it about?"
"I'm trying to locate someone who might have been one of your guests. I only know his street name, Bob, and that he had red hair." The two men at the sink went quiet and stole a quick glance at Magnum before turning busily back to their work. The Duchess' face went blank and she momentarily stared at the patch of sunlight just inside the screen door that led out onto the back porch.
Straightening up she turned a cold gaze upon Magnum. "And just what is it you want to know, and what makes it any of your business?"
"Ma'am, Bob, or whatever his name is, he saved three of my friends last night from being killed. He was almost killed himself. He's disappeared and we, my friends and I, want to do something for him." Magnum held his hands out and shrugged his shoulders. "That's it. We're worried about him because we know he was hurt and because he may be facing some trouble with the police. We just want to help him, we owe him."
The Duchess held the mop handle tight against herself and she gazed out the back door. Giving a slight sigh she turned to the two men at the sink. "Jim, can you finish up here for me, please. I need to talk with..." she turned a questioning glance on Magnum.
"Magnum, Ma'am"
"I need to talk with Mr. Magnum Ma'am, here for a few minutes." She handed the mop to Jim and then drying her hands on her apron walked briskly towards Magnum. "You don't need to call me, Ma'am." she said in a slightly reproving tone.
"Yes, Ma'am."
She stopped momentarily and gazed up at him. "Let me guess. Naval lieutenant, right?"
"Yes, Ma'am." Magnum cocked his head as a faint smile appeared on her face.
"I can tell you guys a mile off." She looked up at him for another second and then turned and went down the hall. "We can sit in the front room, and you can tell me what you want to know." As she walked her gaze swung around, her hands reaching out to adjust an item here and an item there. When they got to the living room she walked to the front door and called out to the men on the veranda. "Mark, have you got that list finished yet?"
"Almost finished, we got a couple columns to go yet." Came back the reply.
"All right, but get a move on, your ride will be here in a few minutes." She turned and walked over to the couch and sitting down on a corner motioned Magnum to a chair.
Although she tried to keep her face blank she clasped and unclasped her hands and faint worry lines appeared at the corners of her eyes. "Now tell me what you want to know."
"Its just what I said before, Ma'am. Higgins, one of my friends Bob saved, is very worried about him and insisted that I try and find him and offer him what help we can." Magnum shrugged his hands. "I'm just trying to get whatever information I can that might help locate him."
"Even if I knew anything to tell you, how do I know you aren't after a reward or something." She looked at him with a great sadness in her eyes. "Lots of the men that come through here would sell their mother for the price of a bottle."
Magnum looked at her obvious anguish and again shrugged his hands helplessly. "I don't know, Ma'am. You don't know me, you really have no reason to believe me." He stopped and pulling out a card from his shirt pocket took out a pen and wrote on the back of it. "This is my card, and here's the estate number. If you call you can talk to Higgins, he's the estate manager. Maybe he can convince you of his sincerity. He's at the estate and not in the hospital like he should be because he wanted to be able to take phone calls and help co-ordinate our search for Bob."
As he handed her the card her eyes suddenly locked on his hand, and instead of taking the card simply held it and pointed her chin toward his hand. "What is that?"
"Ma'am?"
"That ring. What is it?"
"Oh," he said withdrawing his hand, leaving the card in her hand, "its one of the rings three of us had made in Vietnam. Sort of a symbol of... you know, the friendship, the bond of brother hood that was forged there." He gave a measured looked, looking for a sign of understanding or contempt or blankness. Instead she suddenly got up and going to one of the front windows pulled aside the sheer drape and looked out.
"That red car yours?"
"Well, I drive it, Ma'am, but it belongs to Robin Master's estate, not me."
The Duchess stood looking out the window for a few more seconds then turned around and came back to the couch, tucking the card he had given her away in an apron pocket. When she sat down the gaze she turned on him was more open and accepting. "Okay, I know who you are now. I can tell you some of Bob's history. I don't know a lot but I can tell you what I know."
"Ma'am?" Magnum's voice was puzzled. "I don't quite understand."
"She didn't know your name, and you very well might not have known hers. She just told me that she remembered a red sports car and this funny ring with the two crosses on it."
She got real quiet for a minute then continued. "Besides running this place, I often get called out at night to go over to the women's shelter. About two years ago they called and asked me to go down to the emergency ward as one of the girls had been brought in beaten up. She had been trying to get out of an abusive marriage and coming back to the shelter from a class one night her husband caught her and was beating her when a stranger drove him off. She said the man who saved her took her to the hospital in a red sports car and all she could remember was that he had a mustache and that when he had cleaned the blood and dirt out of her eyes she had seen this ring with the crosses on it." She paused and looked at him questioningly. "Does that ring a bell, Mr. Magnum?"
"Oh... yes..." Magnum rubbed the side of his forehead and stared down at the polished floor and then looked back up at the Duchess. "I went back to the hospital the next day but they couldn't give me any information, not even her name, except that she was expected to make a full recovery. The cops said her husband had been found killed in a one car wreck the next morning, so her case was closed but they still wouldn't tell me who she was." He gave her a slight smile. "Of course I looked up the car wreck data and found out her name was probably Cynthia, but knowing that she was okay and not under a threat anymore I just let it go. Do you know what happened to her?"
The Duchess gave him the first real smile he had seen from her. "Yes, as a matter of fact she met a Navy Ensign and they were married last year. He was reassigned to San Diego not long after. I talked to her... oh, not even three weeks ago. She is happy and is expecting their first baby in about four months..." the Duchess got a gleam in her eye and reaching into the apron pocket pulled out his card and looked at it. "Thomas... yes... Thomas would make a good name." She looked up at Magnum and gave him a mischievous smile. "She was asking me about names and I told her I didn't know. I'll have to call her soon and let her know I've met you."
Magnum turned red and rubbed the side of his face. "Well..."
"She hasn't forgotten, she just didn't know how to find you to tell you thank you. I wouldn't be surprised if you get a phone call from San Diego some day." She smiled at his embarrassment and then turned serious. "But you came to find out about Bob. His is another story entirely."
The worry lines came back and she stared pensively out the front window. "He grew up in California. His parents were divorced and he lived with his mother who was an alcoholic - she died when he was about 14. His dad wanted nothing to do with him, so he just drifted. Somehow he managed to enlist in the army and I know he served two tours in Vietnam. I am not sure what he did but he seems very familiar with all sorts of weapons." She nodded her head at the TV. "Sometimes when military shows were on he would make comments about the weapons or what the men were doing. Normally you can tell that the guys are just boasting and don't really know anything. With Bob it is different, he doesn't boast and I never caught him in a lie. I don't think he cares enough to lie, if you know what I mean."
"I'm not sure that I do, Ma'am."
She sighed and looked pensively down at the coffee table. "In this business you meet a lot of people who have been broken or nearly broken by what has happened to them. Some, like Cynthia, persevere, hang on to those beliefs that sustain them and manage to build themselves a good life. Others just give up and become not much more than one of those potted plants, or take their own lives. Others become angry and if they can't control that anger become dangerous to themselves and society."
Her fingers knotted together briefly then she forced her hands apart and smoothing her apron over her knees looked up at Magnum with worried eyes. "I've talked a lot with Bob. At heart he is a good man, but his life has been one disaster after another, sometimes because of his own actions but often not. For instance, what happened with your friends, he tried to help them and now he's running from the police.
"Mr. Magnum, I know he won't talk to the police. He came by early this morning and I cleaned him up and gave him something to eat. He wouldn't talk much about what happened he just said, You know, Sis... He always calls me, Sis. He said, Sis, I was just trying to help some people out and now the pigs are after me again."
She motioned to her right forehead. "He has a scar here that he said the California Highway Patrol gave him when they pistol whipped him. They busted up his motorcycle and charged him with assault and all sorts of things and he spent a year in jail. After that he ended up here in Hawaii." She shook her head and touched her forehead just over her left eye. "There is another scar there he said he got from another beating the Honolulu Police Department gave him because he was sitting in a car one night up on a Diamond Head Drive overlook drinking a beer with a local girl."
She turned despairing eyes on Magnum. "I don't know what to do. I tried to get him to stay here, but he wouldn't. He just patted me on the shoulder and told me I was better off with out him around. He has that look in his eyes that I've seen before, when people are pushed just too far."
"Do you think it would help if I talked to him." Magnum was twisting his cap in his hands sympathizing with her distress. "He can come and stay at the estate, we'll get him a good lawyer, doctors, whatever. Maybe he just needs to know someone is on his side."
"I don't know, Mr. Magnum." Her hand strayed to her face as she sighed. "It might. Can you give me an hour or so and maybe I can get him to talk with you."
Before he could answer there were voices on the porch and then the screen door opened and a lively voice called out. "Mom, sorry I'm a little late... oh, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."
Magnum turned to look behind him and then suddenly got up. "Is that you, Lani?"
"Oh, Mr. Magnum. What are you doing here? I saw the Ferrari but I didn't think..." A tall beautiful Eurasian young woman in a blue flower print sun dress, with a hibiscus in her hair, walked up to him for a second and then stepped over and gave the Duchess a hug.
"Honey, you know Mr. Magnum?"
"Oh, of course." Lani said with a laugh. "I see him at the club all the time." She turned suddenly serious eyes back to him. "It isn't about Rick is it? I heard he and Higgins had been hurt..."
"Oh, no. Well, as a matter of fact its related but has to do with one of... your mom's former boarders."
The Duchess reached out and placed a hand on Lani's arm. "Its about Bob, honey." Upon hearing the name Lani gave a slight shiver. "Now, honey, he just tried to help out and now he's in trouble with the police again."
"Oh, I know, mom." She looked up at Magnum. "He's never done anything. Its just his eyes scare me, like... like... Oh, I don't know how to describe it. Like you see when a dangerous wild animal or something is trapped in a cage." She shook her head sending waves rippling through long dark hair that fell to her waist. "Mom, I have to go. After I take the guys around Dad asked me to bring him out some lunch. That'll leave me just enough time to get back for my class this afternoon."
"All right, honey." She pulled her daughter to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "But first tell me why you never told me you knew Mr. Magnum or this Rick." She said with a mischievous look in her eye.
"Oh, mom. That's girl talk." she said with a giggle. "Whatever would dad say if he heard us talking?"
"Ha, he'd say 'Is dinner ready yet?', as you well know."
"Anyway, its not like I've ever gone out with Rick, he asks but..." Lani turned questioning eyes on Magnum. "Is it true like they say that he has, well, that he has friends in the Mafia?"
"Oh... well, you know," Magnum looked down at the floor and slowly turned his cap in his hands, "Rick is one of my best friends, but unfortunately I am afraid that what you heard may be true..." He stopped turning his cap and look up at her brightly, "But, on the other hand I have never had any Mafia friends."
Lani stood looking at him for a second and then with a laugh socked him lightly on the arm. "Oh, Mr. Magnum..." Turning to her mom she gave her a quick hug and kiss and went out the door. Magnum and the Duchess stood listening to the sudden voices on the veranda followed by footsteps going down the steps. Through the windows Lani and the men could be seen getting in the van and then it made a U-turn in the street and disappeared.
"She's a good kid," Magnum said looking at the Duchess. "I had no idea she was your daughter."
"Sometimes its a small world, Mr. Magnum." She fished in an apron pocket and pulled out a card and handed it to him. "Call me in an hour or two and we'll see if Bob will meet you or not. I hope you can help him, I don't know what else to do."
"Thank you, Ma'am." Magnum put the card in his shirt pocket. "I don't know either, but I promise you we'll try."
Rick glanced at the clock on the other side of the bar, drained the last of the beer he had been drinking, and threw some bills down on the counter as he got up and walked over to a pay phone. Thumbing coins into the slot he dialed a number and shifted from one foot to another as he waited. "Ice Pick? Yeah, it's Rick. You got anything for me? Isenburg street... yeah, let me think... okay I got it, that used to be an old dojo, right, not far from the old Buddhist academy? Yeah... wait... no, you got that wrong, the other two were DOA, I'm just looking for the one who..." Rick's fingers tightened on the phone until his knuckles went white, and a dark unbelieving look came over his face. "Are you trying to tell me that the guy who beat the crap out of me was a woman!"
The black and silver BMW convertible cruising past the old run down shop buildings slowed slightly as it came abreast a narrow building with an oriental facade across its top. Black letters that appeared to have been brushed on in an attempt to imitate Japanese calligraphy proclaimed it to be the Hawaiian Martial Arts and Kick Boxing Academy.
Turning into an abandoned lot, Rick got out of the car and looking around pulled back the slide on an automatic, checked the chamber, eased the hammer back down, and stuffed it behind his back under his shirt. Walking quickly up the sidewalk he approached the Academy door and slowly eased it open.
Inside was a short concrete hallway with closed doors on the left side and an open doorway on the right, straight ahead the hall way ended in swinging doors that seemed to open onto the training hall. The sound of grunts and sharp yells accompanied by strange oriental music echoed off the concrete walls. Silently approaching the open door he looked in and saw a younger man in oriental martial arts clothing at a desk in front of a computer, apparently engrossed in a digital martial arts game. Rick stepped into the room and gave it a quick once over; except for the guy at the screen there was no one else.
Rapping his knuckles on the counter Rick cleared his throat. "Hey, excuse me." The young guy jumped and turned around with a startled look on his face. Turning back to the keyboard he punched a couple of buttons freezing the action and killing the sound.
"Ah... ha... sorry," he said motioning to the screen, "was just testing out some new moves, you know. Can I help you?"
"Yeah, you can. I met this chick who said she runs this place and I thought I'd drop by and look her up. Is she around?"
"Oh, you mean, Desiree. Nah, she left me a note that she had something come up and to cancel her classes for today." The guy shrugged his shoulders and made as if to turn back to the computer. "Sorry, I can't help you."
"Hey, pal, look." Rick pulled his wallet out and fishing out a twenty gave the guy a wink. "You know how it is with us guys. I'm hopping a plane for overseas in a couple of days and I really wanted to see her again, if you know what I mean. If you've got a phone number or address I won't tell her how I got it." With a smile he pushed the twenty across the desk.
"Well..." The guy hesitated and then scooped up the bill and stuffed it in his shirt pocket. "Here, let me see.." He turned to a small Rolodex and flipping through it jotted a number down on a pad. Tearing the sheet off he handed it to Rick with a smile. "Yeah, don't tell her I gave it to you or she'll take my head off."
Rick memorized the number and put the folded note paper in his wallet. "Thanks, I'll just tell her I got friends that helped me trace her car. That'll impress her."
"Ha," the guy smirked. "If she was driving that big pink big foot I doubt if she'll be very impressed. Just about everyone on the north shore knows that rig."
"Nah, she was driving something else... what was it... ah I can't remember, I'm not very good with cars, you know." Rick gave the guy an apologetic shrug.
"Oh, you must mean that old green Mercedes she is so proud of." The guy snickered again. "Don't know why, its falling apart and she can't afford to fix it up right. I've always thought maybe its the type of car she first got laid in, if you know what I mean."
"Yeah, who can figure these dames." Rick turned to the door but then paused. "Say, you say she lives up there on the north shore?"
"Ah.. actually, man, I don't know." The guy gestured to the Rolodex. "She's never left an address here, just some numbers - but they change all the time. But ask just about anyone up there, man, they know her, she spends all her free time away from the dojo here up there catching waves."
"All right, thanks, man. Have a good one." Rick gave the guy a grin and wave and went out of the room, his grin turning grim.
---- Dissolve----
