“YOU KNOW FARROW I HAVE a confession of my own to make.” Kiko was on her knees caressing my face. I was lying flat on the floor of the sauna in the same spot I saw the lioness. Beside us, Kuroneko was digging up the floorboards. Her eyes had a luminous clutch as she manipulated the crowbar seeping rapture.
“Keep it to yourself.”
“Hawaii’s not dead. She vaporized same as Missy.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I’m blackmailing Hawaii. She doesn’t know it’s me, but I’m blackmailing her.”
“Huh? Wait… what?”
“Everyone has something private that if exposed will ruin them. It didn’t take long to figure out the ghost in Hawaii’s closet. I charged her weekly installments. I did it all through Kuroneko. She’s not my birth mother. She sponsored me for a visa and helped me out when I first came to New York. She needs money to keep the sauna up and running. I am forever indebted to her, so I took an interest in it.”
“Hawaii didn’t resist?”
“I didn’t even think she’d make the first payment, but she just kept on paying. I wasn’t sure how she got the money. I could only guess that she was taking it from Percy. Somehow she was shaking him down for much more than I was taking. Hawaii and Percy both thought Monika was behind this. I had Kuroneko drop hints to help them figure it out. For some reason, I was invisible to them. I’d be lying if I didn’t realize this from the beginning. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t use this to my advantage. Farrow I’m starting to fall for you and I’ve already hurt you so much. You can never love me after what I did. How will you be able to love me now that you know the truth?” The sound of the sewer water boiling was faint and recognizable.
A giant monogrammed Louis Vuitton duffle bag led to the stench of a million or so in cash that was stashed away dreaming with the rats and roaches. Kuroneko stared at Kiko hoping she could psychically guide her mind to a more narcissistic scheme.