Chapter 7

Celeste Salvator sat on a sun-warmed bench just outside of her husband's tour office. She had turned her back to the glaring yellow police tape that prevented easy access. The gentle flow of a boat's wake through the harbour was a pleasant distraction until it drifted through the empty spot that had housed their tour boat, The Queen Celeste. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes to the melancholy she was fighting, Celeste settled her resolve to see this final duty through. With her eyes still closed, she was startled by a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Mrs. Salvator? I'm Detective Danny Williams."

Celeste couldn't help but notice the man's almost formal wear. Who wears a tie in Hawaii? However, she was drawn by the kind blue eyes. She gladly accepted the warm hand to help her up from the bench.

"Thank you, Detective." The blond man returned her smile before gently taking her by the arm and they started towards the tour office.

"Please accept my condolences on the loss of your husband."

Celeste patted the detective's arm. "Are the police any closer to knowing who did this to my Akino?"

"The police are talking to persons of interest, but we're still investigating."

Reaching into her pocket for the office key, Celeste passed it to the chivalrous officer. "Is that the politically correct way of saying you think you know, but you're not sure?"

With a sigh the officer nodded his head, "We're pretty sure. There's evidence to support our theories, but unfortunately it's not yet conclusive." He was quick to unlock the door and run a pocket knife blade through the sticky barrier of police tape.

Celeste bit back her frustration and sniffed her tears under control. With a determined nod of her head, she retook her hold on the young man's arm and let him lead her into the tour office. She had to pause after stepping over the threshold and felt lost in the familiar space. It was hard to imagine that she'd never again see Akino leaning over the photocopier cursing its inner workings or slamming his hand down on the stubborn stapler that seemed to always stick.

With a gentle pressure on her arm the detective brought her attention to the box of tissues he held out to her. Celeste felt a blush creep up her cheeks, "Thank you, Detective."

"Danny," the detective offered with an understanding smile.

"Thank you, Danny."

The kind man's arm waved through space, circling through the air. "So, what exactly are we looking for?"

Celeste was grateful for the re-direction. She used it to bring her emotions under better control. With one last sniff, she forced a smile and focused back on the task at hand. "We had a tour booked for today. Another operator – a friend – was able to take it and fit it into his schedule."

The detective lifted a curious eyebrow which Celeste waved away. "Jim is an old friend. He and Akino were boys together,I asked him to take the tour."

Danny nodded his head, but there was a look of suspicion on his face. "I'm sure everything is completely above board, but I would like to have one of my colleagues run a quick check on your friend and his purely innocent business opportunity."

Celeste frowned at the very thought of Jim Hueu being anything other than the very good friend she believed him to be. Still, the detective was only doing his job and it would be best to have Jim cleared quickly. "When I find the original contract you can make a copy, but I will also need to send it to Jim so he can make sure he has everything ready for the client." Danny nodded his agreement.

Akino's desk was on the far side of the office. Making her way over and settling into the worn, but comfortable leather chair, Celeste expelled a sigh as she eyed the various piles, deciding on which stack she should start her search. Danny followed her and sat with a plop in the facing chair.

"Your husband had more of a piling system than a filing system." His right arm seemed lost as it indicated the vast amounts of paper covering the desk.

The look of utter despair on the officer's face brought a bubble of laughter to Celeste. This shared opinion brought her Akino back to her if only for a moment.

"He never lost a contract and always seemed to know where everything was. I, on the other hand, never could find anything in this mess."

Danny pulled the pile closest to him onto his lap. "Let's hope that today is the day we break that streak."

Celeste nodded as she too started in on a pile to search for the necessary contract.

After ten minutes and several frustrated groans from the detective, Celeste declared her satisfaction with a triumphant, "I found it!"

"Oh, thank God," Danny slid his current paper pile back onto the desk. His hands were quick in preventing another stack from toppling over. He took a tentative step away and sighed with relief when nothing else moved.

Celeste grinned at the man's actions. His grumpy attitude was too late to hide the fact that he was really a kind and thoughtful man. She liked him. Trusting that the detective would clear her husband's old friend quickly, she handed the papers over. "I'll make you some tea and you can do… whatever it is that policemen do with evidence. That last page is a guest list. Jim will need that too."

A quick smile crossed Danny's features as he accepted the offer. "I take my tea sweet. Thank you." He stepped over to an area with clear counter space and began photographing the contract. Celeste had to shake her head at today's methods. So different from the ways of her favourite TV detective of when she was a young woman. Oh well, the way things were going today, all those lollipops would lead to diabetes.

It was only a few minutes for the kettle to boil and Danny returned the contract to Celeste. She held out a cup with steam rising. "I put in two lumps of sugar. There is more if you need." She pointed to the box of raw sugar cubes sitting near the coffee pot. The detective did indeed like his drinks sweet as he stirred in another cube, nodding his thanks.

"How long have you been in Hawai'i?" Celeste was curious.

"It'll be one year in March." He blew a cooling breath across the top of his tea. "Are you going to start calling me haole, too?"

She patted his arm, "A person shouldn't be judged because of where they come from." His eyes crinkled and he looked like he was trying to determine if she was mocking his home. She stopped him from questioning her with a gentle touch to his cheek. "You are a good man. It doesn't matter to me where you were born. You are in Hawai'i now. We'll help you find your way."

He put his cup down, "Hey, I'm not the one who's lost here." His hands started circling again. "You Hawaiians need a good clock. I swear no one from these islands is able to tell time. If they could maybe they'd spend less time in the surf and sand. Maybe slow down the shrinkage of everyone's brains. They're all sun baked and water logged."

Celeste laughed, "Next March, when you're wearing slippers on your feet and a bright Hawaiian shirt, come see me. We'll have another cup of tea."

There was a rebuttal in the detective's eyes, but he pinched his lips together and pointed at the contract, "Your friend must be waiting."

"We'll wear you down. You'll see," Celeste accepted the pages and smothered her laughter. The look of utter annoyance on the detective's face was almost her undoing. She moved to the old fashioned fax machine that was near her husband's desk. She heard Danny's phone ring and he was quick to answer it. He stayed on the other side of the office talking discreetly. Celeste assumed it was another member of his team as she heard mention of the guest list and calling someone's ex-wife. He was looking at her when he finally placed his phone back in his pocket.

"Do you know any of the guests listed for this afternoon's tour?"

"I don't know," Celeste pulled the final page from the fax machine's holding tray. "This was a reception of sorts for the committee looking to revitalize a neighbourhood on the north side of Honolulu. Most of these people are bankers and lawyers. Some are realtors and others are professionals with an interest in that area." She shook her head to his actual question though, "But I don't personally know any of them."

"Are you almost finished there?" the detective checked the fax machine, verifying that the pages had gone through. "I can call and have an officer take you home. I need to find someone."

His hand was on her arm as he gently, but firmly, lead her towards the door. His other hand was digging through his pocket in search of his phone. He didn't have the best grip on the device as he attempted to make his call single handed. He stopped beside the door and pointed to a chair. "I just need a minute. Do you mind?"

Celeste was adjusting the hem of her skirt after Danny helped her take a seat when the door to the office opened. It was the errand boy for Aloha Catamaran Tours, Wayne Roesler. Celeste thought he was a bit of a lazy young man but he was always polite when he stopped by to talk cars with Akino as they shared the cookies Celeste packed in her husband's lunch.

"I thought I saw Mrs. Salvator earlier? She was sitting on the bench out front," Wayne was quick to explain as he stepped all the way in to the office. Catching sight of Celeste sitting down, he closed the door so he could make his way over. The detective didn't budge out of the way. In fact Danny stepped directly in his path, preventing him from reaching her at all.

"Uh, Mrs. Salvator?" the young man peered over the officer's shoulder.

Celeste smiled back. It was only a moment until Wayne saw the badge on the belt of the man blocking him. He swallowed thickly noticing the hand resting on the holstered gun. Celeste thought she should introduce the two before Wayne embarrassed himself. Again, the young man looked over the detective's shoulder and she had to hide her smile brought on by the look on the boy's face. That was, until he spoke.

"Police?" Wayne's voice dropped, "Shit." And before Celeste was able to voice an introduction, Wayne snapped both his hands hard against the detectives head, his palms over the ears. The detective dropped.

~H50~

Kono had the digital copies of the tour contract up on the screens around the gathering room. She was leaning back on the computer table so she could comfortably see all three screens. She was running a check on the names from the guest list. Danny's text also asked her to look into Jim Hueu, owner and operator of Sunshine Tours. She couldn't find any warrants or convictions listed in HPD files and was running him through national data bases now. So far everything pointed to him being an upstanding citizen of Hawaii.

There was a ping from the computer table as an HPD file opened on the centre screen. It was a booking from two years ago for Mr. Carl Roesler, owner of Roesler Realty. His name was on the guest list for the afternoon's tour. The HPD file listed one booking for possession with intent to sell. Fifty kilos of Heroine had been found in a luxurious condo suite owned by Mr. Roesler, but as the building was under renovations and not yet available for habitation, the charges were dropped. There wasn't enough evidence to prove Mr. Roesler actually possessed the drugs.

Kono would have been okay to let the booking slide. It was quite possible that the criminal element had taken advantage of an empty building and Mr. Roesler was just the unfortunate owner of the suite they had chosen for their temporary storage. However, it was the picture from the booking that caused Kono to believe the charges maybe should have stuck. The face of Carl Roesler looking out from the booking photo matched to the picture in a three year old newspaper article on the grand opening of Aloha Catamaran Tours. There amongst several guests – invited by personal invitation according to the article – was Carl Roesler standing shoulder to shoulder with Thomas Terashima.

Wanting more information, Kono called Duke. Luckily he was free and happy to supply answers. "Carl Roesler is a known associate of Thomas Terashima. HPD believes they have a business relationship but as of this time they have not been able to physically link either of them to the drug trade. Roesler has made a name for himself in the real estate market and his company didn't seem to suffer in the downturn of the economy. He has one son, Wayne Joseph Roesler. No arrest records."

There was the sound of another voice in the background, and Duke excused himself for a moment. With the shuffling of papers he came back on the line, "The desk sergeant just brought me the files from last night. There was an automobile accident on the Pali Highway. It was a single vehicle crash causing the death of the driver…"

Kono already knew the answer but asked for confirmation, "It was Carl Roesler, wasn't it?"

"Yes. Do I need to have a team look closer at this accident, Kono?"

"I think that would be a very good idea, Duke."

Kono thanked Duke for all his help and said good-bye so he could return to his assignment. She wasn't sure what this meant for the investigation into the death of Akino Salvator, but she was sure they were connected. Besides the son, there was the listing for an ex-wife, Wendy Hendrickson, currently residing in Los Angeles, California.

Speed dialling Danny, Kono was quick to explain what she had found. Danny recommended calling the ex-wife. Checking the time, Kono dialled the long distance number. After three rings the call was answered by a teary voice. Kono identified herself and explained she was looking for information on Roesler Realty.

"The police called me this morning. Is this about Carl's accident?" Wendy asked.

"HPD is looking into the accident, ma'am," Kono deflected. "I'm investigating a separate case and there may be a connection with your husband's realty business. I was hoping you could tell me about Roesler Realty?"

"Oh, I hated his business. It's all Carl ever talked about. Money, and how to make more of it. The motto he shared with his son was that money can solve everything." There was a sniffled pause, "Have you seen Wayne? He's all alone now. Tell him not to worry and to come home. I'll pay for his flight."

"What would Wayne be worried about, Mrs. Hendrickson?"

"Money. What else? Carl kept our son on a tight financial leash. Carl always said he didn't just give money away. Wayne had to prove himself to his own father. Please tell Wayne to call me."

Kono assured the weepy woman if she saw her son that she'd pass along the request. She needed to call Chin. He had gone to the hospital to pick up Steve. Apparently he and his medical care givers had reached the conclusion that he was well enough to go home. Kono was sure it was more Steve decided he was well enough and the hospital staff accepting that if he was able to argue, he was well enough to be under someone else's care.

Chin answered and Kono could hear her boss in the background; they were still at the hospital and Steve was confirming with his nurse that he was fine. Kono quickly went over everything she had found and was putting out a request to pick up Wayne Roesler for questioning with HPD. Chin would be back to the office as soon as he dropped Steve off at home. She hoped Danny was having some luck in locating Wayne down by the tour office.

~TBC~