Chapter Seven
When Ruthie and Peter learned mid-morning the next day that the flight from Los Angeles carrying many members of the gang had been delayed due to fog, the couple wasn't entirely surprised. Their own flight had been slightly delayed as well, but the trade winds made sure their plane arrived well ahead of schedule.
Not sure how to while away the extra hours, they decided to watch an in- room movie. Ruthie had suggested a romantic comedy, but Peter "accidentally" pressed the wrong button and the two wound up watching an erotic film instead.
By the time it was over an hour and a half later, Ruthie and Peter were having a shared laughing fit: She, because she couldn't help but pity the pathetic ways those women were trying to get beautiful and get some; he, because he wanted to help his wife relax after such a trying night; and both, because the situations in the film were so ridiculous that no couple would ever try duplicating it for real.
The movie, however, made the couple real passionate. With it just about time for maid service, Ruthie quietly hanged the "Do Not Disturb" sign outside the door and turned off the phone ringer. She then returned to her husband on their bed. Reaching into the bedside drawer, she pulled out something she had hidden in her luggage just before their flight out to Hawaii – a pair of blindfolds. She slipped the first one on herself, then the other over Peter's eyes. They very slowly undressed each other and made passionate love to each other. Being totally in the dark while this was going on finally did the trick for them, for this time they put their absolute trust in each other to the effect that they fantasized only about each other, for the very first time. This hadn't happened even when they had lost their innocence at the summer camp several years before.
Three hours later, the two finally parted and took off their blindfolds. Ruthie and Peter were at the mid-point between full adrenaline and total exhaustion. But finally, after more than three years of being lovers, they had finally, truly accepted each other as equals. This was now the true beginning of their marriage, the moment they had consummated their relationship not only physically but emotionally and spiritually as well.
Still on an emotional high, they took a bath together and continued their passion for another hour. Finally, around 1:30, they finally got dressed, headed downstairs, and walked down the street three blocks to an open-air buffet. As they chose their main courses and sat at their assigned table, Ruthie knotted her brow slightly.
"You know, honey," she told her husband, "at the rate things are going, it's going to take the cops weeks, even months, before there's a break in this case. By that time, there could be a whole bunch of people attacked, even murdered."
"And by that point," added Peter, "no one will want to vacation here anymore, or even live here. It's bad enough in Florida and some parts of our home California. But why should we worry about it, Ruthie? We have another two and a half weeks left on our honeymoon; and as soon as we get back we're going to have start packing for our new home in Los Angeles. You're my wife, and the last thing I need is my spouse to get hot and bothered about something we can do nothing about."
"You're not listening to me, Peter," said Ruthie, putting down her fork carefully and looking at Peter square in his eyes. "We can do something about this. To this point, everyone who's been killed or attacked here are friends of ours or my siblings. We need to go through everything and everyone we know, toss out the alibis, and come up with a list of suspects; and motives."
"But sweetie," said Peter, "that could take forever. Practically every friend of Eric's and Lucy's is a friend of ours. We won't have any time to ... you know ..."
"I'd rather not have sex and save some face than have sex and see more of our friends die!" snapped Ruthie.
"We're supposed to be using this honeymoon to get used to the idea of living together, and getting better acquainted with each other," countered Peter, his voice rising.
"Oh, it's not like we already had sex about fifty times or so before you proposed to me," rejoined Ruthie, her voice getting louder also. "And you've lived at my home for the last year!"
"But we haven't lived alone, just the two of us," said Peter, who was now standing up, and clenching his fists by his sides. It was all he could do to avoid physically lashing out at his wife. "And for what it's worth, the moment the 5-0 gets a whiff that we're doing their job, we're going to get busted on an obstruction charge."
"Obstruction of what?" said Ruthie angrily, now standing up and facing her husband eye to eye and toe to toe. "This maniac, whoever he is, has obstructed the married lives of some of the most decent people we know. Need I remind you, Peter that two of our friends are just now getting out of Tripler with arm slings and gauzes; and two more couples who have been on ice the last few days in the morgue are only now being loaded into a refrigerated plane and shipped back to the Mainland for burial? The real obstruction is disturbing our peace of mind, alienating our affection for each other and threatening our very lives! Now, I'm going back to our suite and putting on my trench coat. Whether you want to join me or not is entirely your business."
Ruthie turned to a waitress walking by. She laid a $10 in her hand. "Separate checks, and keep the change!" She stormed out.
Peter slowly sat down. He knew that he and his love would eventually have an argument at some point in their marriage, but he never could have imagined it would be so early on their honeymoon. Whatever was eating Ruthie Camden he couldn't figure what it was. But he calmed down enough to realize that maybe she was right. He decided to pass on dessert, paid the waitress his bill, and took the short walk back to his hotel and their reassigned suite.
As soon as he slipped his card in and opened the door, he said, "Sorry Ruthie."
"Forget it," said his wife. "Okay, while I was waiting for you, I put together as many people as I could think of. We'll need to go through them one by one and figure out where they are and if they have anything against us."
"Let me look at that," said Peter. "I might be able to come up with some names you missed."
It would have been an odd sight to the outside observer peering in. Just a few hours before, this newlywed couple had experienced the kind of passion that only Adam and Eve would have known the first time they encountered each other. Now, here was Ruthie and Peter all business, as if they were just casual business acquaintances and their marriage was strictly one of legal convenience.
Meanwhile, twelve miles to the west, a 767 was landing at the landing strip shared by Honolulu International Airport and Hickam AFB. The parents of Shelby and Rod were going through an agriculture inspection, as was Detective Michaels. So was Lucy, who stubbornly insisted on coming along so she could see her sister; as did Roxanne. Kevin was back in California, doing pretty much what Ruthie and Peter were doing right now – doing research.
He also was biting his lip as he did so; for the previous night, he and Roxanne had betrayed both their spouses and had an affair. They had gotten the call about Rod and Shelby just moments after the cops had reached climax. Kevin felt absolutely guilty for doing what he had done, and he was sure Roxie felt the same away about betraying Chandler, too. He would tell Lucy the truth as soon as she came back; but duty called first.
Meanwhile, back in Hawaii, Rod and Shelby's parents were shocked to learn that the newlyweds had taken the first flight back to the Mainland as soon as they had been discharged. They weren't going to take any chances with their luck again; they decided to spend the rest of their time at the Grand Canyon, and had left written instructions to their respective parents to leave them be.
On the other side of town, Lucy's reunion with her sister and brother-in- law was bittersweet. After hugs all around, Peter took Michaels aside to go over what he and Ruthie had in the hopes it might help the investigation. At the same time, Lucy asked Ruthie if she could confide a secret. Ruthie said yes.
With a terse whisper, Lucy told her sister, "I cheated on Kevin last month. Chandler and slept together while Kevin and Roxie were on a night shift."
Ruthie was horrified. On top of everything else that had happened, she didn't need to hear that.
When Ruthie and Peter learned mid-morning the next day that the flight from Los Angeles carrying many members of the gang had been delayed due to fog, the couple wasn't entirely surprised. Their own flight had been slightly delayed as well, but the trade winds made sure their plane arrived well ahead of schedule.
Not sure how to while away the extra hours, they decided to watch an in- room movie. Ruthie had suggested a romantic comedy, but Peter "accidentally" pressed the wrong button and the two wound up watching an erotic film instead.
By the time it was over an hour and a half later, Ruthie and Peter were having a shared laughing fit: She, because she couldn't help but pity the pathetic ways those women were trying to get beautiful and get some; he, because he wanted to help his wife relax after such a trying night; and both, because the situations in the film were so ridiculous that no couple would ever try duplicating it for real.
The movie, however, made the couple real passionate. With it just about time for maid service, Ruthie quietly hanged the "Do Not Disturb" sign outside the door and turned off the phone ringer. She then returned to her husband on their bed. Reaching into the bedside drawer, she pulled out something she had hidden in her luggage just before their flight out to Hawaii – a pair of blindfolds. She slipped the first one on herself, then the other over Peter's eyes. They very slowly undressed each other and made passionate love to each other. Being totally in the dark while this was going on finally did the trick for them, for this time they put their absolute trust in each other to the effect that they fantasized only about each other, for the very first time. This hadn't happened even when they had lost their innocence at the summer camp several years before.
Three hours later, the two finally parted and took off their blindfolds. Ruthie and Peter were at the mid-point between full adrenaline and total exhaustion. But finally, after more than three years of being lovers, they had finally, truly accepted each other as equals. This was now the true beginning of their marriage, the moment they had consummated their relationship not only physically but emotionally and spiritually as well.
Still on an emotional high, they took a bath together and continued their passion for another hour. Finally, around 1:30, they finally got dressed, headed downstairs, and walked down the street three blocks to an open-air buffet. As they chose their main courses and sat at their assigned table, Ruthie knotted her brow slightly.
"You know, honey," she told her husband, "at the rate things are going, it's going to take the cops weeks, even months, before there's a break in this case. By that time, there could be a whole bunch of people attacked, even murdered."
"And by that point," added Peter, "no one will want to vacation here anymore, or even live here. It's bad enough in Florida and some parts of our home California. But why should we worry about it, Ruthie? We have another two and a half weeks left on our honeymoon; and as soon as we get back we're going to have start packing for our new home in Los Angeles. You're my wife, and the last thing I need is my spouse to get hot and bothered about something we can do nothing about."
"You're not listening to me, Peter," said Ruthie, putting down her fork carefully and looking at Peter square in his eyes. "We can do something about this. To this point, everyone who's been killed or attacked here are friends of ours or my siblings. We need to go through everything and everyone we know, toss out the alibis, and come up with a list of suspects; and motives."
"But sweetie," said Peter, "that could take forever. Practically every friend of Eric's and Lucy's is a friend of ours. We won't have any time to ... you know ..."
"I'd rather not have sex and save some face than have sex and see more of our friends die!" snapped Ruthie.
"We're supposed to be using this honeymoon to get used to the idea of living together, and getting better acquainted with each other," countered Peter, his voice rising.
"Oh, it's not like we already had sex about fifty times or so before you proposed to me," rejoined Ruthie, her voice getting louder also. "And you've lived at my home for the last year!"
"But we haven't lived alone, just the two of us," said Peter, who was now standing up, and clenching his fists by his sides. It was all he could do to avoid physically lashing out at his wife. "And for what it's worth, the moment the 5-0 gets a whiff that we're doing their job, we're going to get busted on an obstruction charge."
"Obstruction of what?" said Ruthie angrily, now standing up and facing her husband eye to eye and toe to toe. "This maniac, whoever he is, has obstructed the married lives of some of the most decent people we know. Need I remind you, Peter that two of our friends are just now getting out of Tripler with arm slings and gauzes; and two more couples who have been on ice the last few days in the morgue are only now being loaded into a refrigerated plane and shipped back to the Mainland for burial? The real obstruction is disturbing our peace of mind, alienating our affection for each other and threatening our very lives! Now, I'm going back to our suite and putting on my trench coat. Whether you want to join me or not is entirely your business."
Ruthie turned to a waitress walking by. She laid a $10 in her hand. "Separate checks, and keep the change!" She stormed out.
Peter slowly sat down. He knew that he and his love would eventually have an argument at some point in their marriage, but he never could have imagined it would be so early on their honeymoon. Whatever was eating Ruthie Camden he couldn't figure what it was. But he calmed down enough to realize that maybe she was right. He decided to pass on dessert, paid the waitress his bill, and took the short walk back to his hotel and their reassigned suite.
As soon as he slipped his card in and opened the door, he said, "Sorry Ruthie."
"Forget it," said his wife. "Okay, while I was waiting for you, I put together as many people as I could think of. We'll need to go through them one by one and figure out where they are and if they have anything against us."
"Let me look at that," said Peter. "I might be able to come up with some names you missed."
It would have been an odd sight to the outside observer peering in. Just a few hours before, this newlywed couple had experienced the kind of passion that only Adam and Eve would have known the first time they encountered each other. Now, here was Ruthie and Peter all business, as if they were just casual business acquaintances and their marriage was strictly one of legal convenience.
Meanwhile, twelve miles to the west, a 767 was landing at the landing strip shared by Honolulu International Airport and Hickam AFB. The parents of Shelby and Rod were going through an agriculture inspection, as was Detective Michaels. So was Lucy, who stubbornly insisted on coming along so she could see her sister; as did Roxanne. Kevin was back in California, doing pretty much what Ruthie and Peter were doing right now – doing research.
He also was biting his lip as he did so; for the previous night, he and Roxanne had betrayed both their spouses and had an affair. They had gotten the call about Rod and Shelby just moments after the cops had reached climax. Kevin felt absolutely guilty for doing what he had done, and he was sure Roxie felt the same away about betraying Chandler, too. He would tell Lucy the truth as soon as she came back; but duty called first.
Meanwhile, back in Hawaii, Rod and Shelby's parents were shocked to learn that the newlyweds had taken the first flight back to the Mainland as soon as they had been discharged. They weren't going to take any chances with their luck again; they decided to spend the rest of their time at the Grand Canyon, and had left written instructions to their respective parents to leave them be.
On the other side of town, Lucy's reunion with her sister and brother-in- law was bittersweet. After hugs all around, Peter took Michaels aside to go over what he and Ruthie had in the hopes it might help the investigation. At the same time, Lucy asked Ruthie if she could confide a secret. Ruthie said yes.
With a terse whisper, Lucy told her sister, "I cheated on Kevin last month. Chandler and slept together while Kevin and Roxie were on a night shift."
Ruthie was horrified. On top of everything else that had happened, she didn't need to hear that.