“Hey beautiful.” Ray Solomon slipped into the chair next to her on the other side.
“Howzit, Ray?” She didn’t want to keep being paranoid so she put on a big smile.
“Not bad. Small kine tired.” His shoulder-length hair was glossy as an otter’s pelt under the harsh fluorescent lights. He rubbed his shoulder. “I pulled something pounding nails today.”
“Oh, that what you do?”
“Yeah, construction. For the moment,” he said, with that flash of smile.
“Keeps you in shape,” Lei said, her eyes flicking to his well-developed biceps. Am I flirting? That would be a yes. He grinned, making a muscle for her.
“Got all kinds of uses for these guns,” he said.
The instructor came up to the lectern and class got underway. Mary never showed up, and afterward Ray lingered as she gathered her books.
“Like get something for eat?” he asked, in pidgin.
“Thanks, but I’ve got someone waiting at home.”
“Sure, that’s okay.”
“It’s my dog,” she said. “I have to get straight home or she’ll chew the wall down. It’s a long day for her with no food or company when I have class.”
“Sounds like you’re pretty tied down.” They walked down the hall.
“She’s like family, so I don’t mind,” Lei said. “Hey, did Mary say anything to you about missing class today? She’s always here.”
“No,” he said. They arrived at her truck and she hit the remote. The lights flashed as the door unlocked, and Lei couldn’t help smiling-it felt like the truck was greeting her.
“Like my new ride?” she said, turning to him.
“Wow.” Only his mouth smiled. “Nice.” He stroked the muscular curve of the wheel well with both hands.
“I needed something with more juice,” she said, slinging her book bag into the back. “I was sick of that granny car.”
“Good. Well, see you.” He walked away, and she stared after him. He’s not happy about the truck. Weird. Maybe he was jealous? Well, she was definitely not going out with him, she decided. She got in and fired up the truck, and then called Mary’s cell. It went immediately to voicemail.
“Mary. Where are you girl? Left me alone with Ray and he asked me out. It’s all your fault.” She shut the phone with a snap, but her smile faded.
She’d really been looking forward to seeing Mary after the day she’d had, she thought as she pulled into the driveway at home. She’d been deflated and tired as she went into her cubicle at the end of the interviews with Jeremy, around 3 p.m. Topping it off, on her desk had been a memo assigning her to “Mandatory Counseling Session Number 1 of 6” the next day at 2 p.m.. Stapled to the back were two fine invoices for the charges the Lieutenant had authorized from the debacle with Keiki.
The last thing she needed right now was to stir up the past with counseling-it was hard enough pretending she had her shit together without talking about it. She pulled into the garage, letting the sectioned panel rumble shut as she got out of the truck. Keiki did her happy greeting bark.
“Hey baby. I hope you have dinner ready, I’m starving,” she said to the dog, rubbing her ears through the chain link and stalling another moment. She hated what this guy was doing to her. She used to like picking up her mail.
Bracing herself, she went to the mailbox and opened it. There was nothing inside but a card, the kind that shows a package to pick up at the post office, with no indication of who the package was from.
Probably Aunty sending some poi rolls. She hoped.
Pono’s deep purple lifted Ford F-250 pulled into her driveway. He was on his cell phone, the stereo blasting Bob Marley’s Buffalo Soldier. She put her hands on her hips, trying to look annoyed as he hopped out of the cab in typical after-work garb, a pair of nylon athletic shorts and a University of Hawaii football jersey.
“Whatchu stay doing here?” Annoyance called for pidgin.
“Babysitting,” he said, snapping his phone shut. “Get used to it.”
She turned, unlocked the front door, stepped inside, and deactivated the alarm. Pono came in behind her. There was nothing on the floor. She frowned to hide her relief.
“I appreciate it, really, but this is crazy. You can’t come over every night.”
He ignored her, slipping past and going to the rear entrance where he unlocked the dog door. The big Rottweiler careened in, her toenails scrabbling. She barreled toward Pono, sitting at the last second, gazing at him in naked adoration. He squatted and patted her chest.
“Now this is a good dog,” he said. “Eat anyone today, girl?” Keiki moaned in ecstasy, rolling on her back so he could rub her tummy. Lei went to the fridge. It was still empty.
“Damn. I forgot to get some food.”
“No worries,” Pono said. “Tiare sent some ono grinds.” He went back out the front door and returned with tattooed arms wrapped around two bulging paper bags. He was unpacking various items as her cell phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Lei? It’s Roland.”
Mary’s boyfriend? He never called her. Lei stuck her finger in her ear to block the sound of crunching foil as Pono unwrapped steaming laulau. The savory smell of the seasoned pork wrapped in taro leaves filled the air, distracting her. She went into the living room.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“Do you know where Mary is?”
“No. Thought she’d be with you,” Lei said. “She wasn’t at class tonight.”
“I’m looking for her. I don’t know where she could be. She always calls me after class and she didn’t. I went to her place and she wasn’t there-no note or nothing.”
“Was anything disturbed?”
“No. Nothing. The door was locked.”
“Well like I said she wasn’t at class. So something must have come up before then.”
“Her captain-he told me call all her friends and family,” Roland said. She heard the rough edge of terror in his voice. “I know it’s too early to report her missing but I wanted to see if she was called in or something, and she wasn’t.”
“She’s probably hanging out with a friend.”
“She doesn’t have that many friends, and her family don’t know where she is. That’s not like Mary.”
“Then, you should call back and report her missing,” Lei said. “Have them put out a “Be On Look Out” over the radio. They can’t post it until she’s gone twenty-four hours, but I bet she’ll turn up, hung over and sorry.”
“I hope you’re right,” he said, and clicked off.
Lei went back into the kitchen, buying time to collect her thoughts. Her heart had picked up speed and her stomach knotted. She’d known it wasn’t like Mary to miss class and not call. She went to the cabinet and scooped dog chow into Keiki’s bowl from the big Tupperware bin, grinding open the can of wet dog food and smooshing it in. Keiki dove into the bowl of food as Lei sat down.
Pono had dished up, adding scoops of white rice and lomi lomi salmon with tomatoes to their Hawaiian feast. He cracked open a couple of the Miller Lites and pushed her plate toward her.
“What’s up?”
“You know Mary Gomes?”
“Yeah, went school with her.”
“She stay missing.”
“She used to be a party girl in high school.” Pono stirred the lau lau into the rice, scooped it up with his chopsticks. “She probably wen’ spend the night somewhere.” He sat back, took a swig of beer, rubbed his lip with his finger.
“Her boyfriend Roland says no. They are practically living together. He says she always calls, and she didn’t. She wasn’t at class tonight either.”
“Twenty-four hours haven’t passed.”
“I just have a bad feeling.” Lei pushed her plate away without taking a bite. She got up and paced the kitchen, opening cupboards.
“What you looking for?”
“Mary had a favorite club. She was always trying to get me to go there. I have their matchbook around here somewhere.” She rummaged through her junk drawer, held it up, a black square with bold red letters spelling out PUNA MUSIC CLUB. “Feel like going out for a drink?”