Tuesday’s Child

Chapter 17

KALA AULANI AND JAY BRIGHTON STEPPED OUT OF THE ELEVATOR onto the floor of the attorney general’s suite of offices. “I appreciate your coming along, Kala, but I could have handled this myself. You did tell me when you left that you were not going to stick your nose into the firm’s business and that you really were retired. And yet, here we are! You just got back from Paris a few hours ago. Why don’t you have jet lag like everyone else?” Jay groused under his breath.

Kala smoothed down the wrinkles of her white linen jacket and skirt, which now looked like she had slept in them. Underneath the jacket she wore a scarlet silk blouse that matched the flower she’d pinned above her ear. She was in battle-dress mode. “That’s all partially true, Jay. But you left off the part where I said I was going to see Sophie’s case through to the end. I don’t have jet lag because I ate almonds. I never get jet lag. Besides, I couldn’t pass up a chance to see Ryan Spenser again. You think he’ll offer to kiss my feet to make this all go away? A small wager, Jay. Mr. Spenser is going to be downright testy today. I read the headlines this morning,” Kala said, as she stepped through the doors to the reception area.

“Nice digs. Our taxpayer dollars at work,” she murmured, as Jay gave their names to the gorgeous receptionist with the two-inch-long fingernails that were painted bloodred. Kala looked down at her own French manicure, which she’d gotten at the spa before they left to return home. A lovely manicure it was and truly French.

“How do you suppose that chick wipes her rear end with those nails?” Jay hissed in Kala’s ear as they took seats in the reception area.

“And how do you think I would know the answer to that?”

Jay shrugged. Kala had to fight to keep from laughing.

“Did you rehearse a speech or anything, or are you going in cold turkey?” Jay asked in a jittery voice.

Kala fixed a steely gaze on Jay and grinned. “Here’s the deal. I’ll say, ‘Pay my client what I asked, or we’re outta here, and I’ll hold a press conference within an hour of my leaving. ’ Do you think that will work?”

“Well, gee whiz, I don’t see why not. You’re the eight-hundred-pound gorilla in the room. Hell, they might even give you a check before you walk out of here. You do know you’re all wrinkled, right?”

“Linen is supposed to wrinkle. Don’t you know anything about women’s fashions?”

“No,” Jay snapped as he whipped to his feet the moment the door off the reception area opened. He turned to look at Kala, and as always in tense moments, he thought her one of the most beautiful women he’d ever had the pleasure of meeting. She was still as beautiful as she had been the day she’d hired him light-years ago. At that moment, she not only looked beautiful, she looked intimidating as hell. No one was going to push this lady around. No one.

All the men seated at the conference table, and there were a lot of them, rose when Kala and Jay entered the room. The lone woman remained seated. No one missed the red hibiscus flower in Kala’s ear. Early on in her career, Kala had given numerous interviews and said that wearing the flower meant she was a female warrior and ready to go into battle. Red was for going into battle, and white was for victory. Of course, she had made that up out of whole cloth, but no one but she and Jay knew it was make-believe Hawaiian folklore, fully on a par with the bit about putting a hex on Ryan Spenser. She had a standing order at a local flower shop to supply her with the gorgeous flowers whenever she demanded them. One time she had refused to enter the courtroom until one was delivered to her out in the court hallway. The flower shop’s delivery truck had not been on time that particular day. She’d made headlines that day and switched to a white hibiscus when the jury came back with their verdict.

The amenities over, coffee poured, pens in hand, mostly Montblanc, the informal meeting was ready to get under way. Nothing chintzy about this group, Kala thought. When no one made an effort to be first to speak, Kala decided to take the bull by the horns. First, though, she fiddled with the flower in her ear for just a few moments. When she was satisfied the flower was secure, Kala leaned forward, arms crossed on the table. Just another folksy meeting. Not.

“This is the second meeting you’ve called with my firm, and yes, I am once again a member of the firm before you can ask. Let’s get right to it. You have our numbers. You all know what has been going on. My client is demanding restitution, and she will not budge on the numbers. So that leaves us where we were at your last meeting with my associate, Mr. Brighton, who is sitting beside me right now. I’m not here to dicker, to negotiate, or to play games, and I have absolutely no desire to play nice. Time is money, people. Maybe all of you on the taxpayer dole can waste your time, but I go by billable hours as do all lawyers.”

Kala held up her hand. “One person here at this table speak to me. Give me your position right now and don’t tell me you don’t have a position. Don’t go the route the state has no money. If you don’t have it, find it. I’m not interested in hearing any of that. The clock is ticking, people.” Kala leaned back in her chair. Her slender fingers caressed the flower in her hair.

Someone cleared his throat. Feet shuffled under the polished conference table. Eyes flinty and steely glared at Kala and her partner from around the table.

A lone voice that sounded like it was a mixture of molasses and grit finally spoke. “We have no other choice but to agree to your terms. We want a protective order on this. We’re giving in to your demands with four payments over two years. It’s the best we can do. The first payment of five million by ten o’clock tomorrow morning followed by the second payment on December thirty-first. The same payment schedule for next year.”

Kala fiddled with the scarlet flower in her hair before she slid her chair back and rose to her feet. “Nice try! Two payments, the first payable now, the second payment due December thirty-first. Of this year. Divide ten and one-half years into the total payment, then tell me if any one of you sitting at this table would spend those years in prison for any amount of money. Just one of you.” Kala looked at first one face, then another, finally coming to rest on Ryan Spenser. “What, all of a sudden you’re clams? Tomorrow morning, my office, check in hand. And have Mr. Spenser deliver it. There is nothing else to negotiate, so my partner and I will see ourselves out.”

Kala reached up and plucked the brilliant-colored hibiscus from her hair. She walked around the table and dropped it in front of Ryan Spenser. She leaned over and whispered loud enough for the others at the table to hear her. “And I haven’t even started with you yet.”

Outside in the reception area, Jay clapped Kala on the back. “Nice going in there. Do you really think Spenser will show tomorrow with check in hand?”

“Oh yeahhhh,” Kala drawled. “He might even have a bell around his neck to announce his arrival.” They both laughed all the way down in the elevator. They were still chuckling when they walked into the office at ten-thirty.

At eleven-thirty, retired Judge Ben Jefferson called Kala on the phone to tell her that Ryan Spenser had filed a suit against her, accusing her of stealing evidence from the evidence locker in the Sophie Lee trial.

“He had also conned some judge into signing a search warrant to search your house and your offices, one of those young squirts I was telling you about back in Paris. Not to worry, my dear, I still have a few loyal friends at the courthouse. And remember, I’m still a lawyer; I filed a motion to quash it on your behalf. You can take it from there.”

“Oh, Ben, thank you. Don’t you want to know how it went at the meeting?”

“Only if you tell me you lost, which I assume you didn’t; otherwise, Spenser wouldn’t have asked for a search warrant and filed the suit. Are you going to call a press conference? Congratulations!”

“Nah. I don’t want to come across as cocky just yet. You wanna take me to dinner to celebrate? Oh, one other thing, Ben. If you have time today, stop by the post office to pick up my mail. Drop it off at my house, and I’ll go through it tonight. There’s probably going to be a lot since I stopped the mail the day of my retirement party. Take a big box with you.”

“No problem. I have to pick up my own. Anything else you need me to do?”

“I think that’ll do it. Thanks, Ben.”

“For you, Kala, anything.” Kala knew he meant it. She smiled at how easy their relationship was, had always been.

“Remember now, you promised to wear a white hibiscus in your hair.”

“You got it.” Kala giggled like a schoolgirl.

Kala returned to the business at hand after ending the phone call. “Does anyone know where Patty is?”

Linda poked her head out of her doorway, and said, “She told me she was going to check on Nick and would be back in an hour. You can reach her on her cell if you need her right away.”

“No, that’s okay. I can wait till she gets back.”

Kala walked back to the kitchen and poured herself an ice-cold glass of pineapple juice. She sat down at the old table and ran the morning’s activities over in her mind. She wanted to call Sophie to tell her they were almost to the home stretch and that, as of tomorrow, she would be $10 million richer, but thought better of the idea. Better to call Sophie when she had the check in hand. She finished her juice and returned to her office, calling out to Linda to send Patty to her office when she got back.

In her office, Kala flopped down and started to drum her fingers on the desk. She needed a game plan. She’d run with the moment. Ben said that was one of her major faults. Not that he was criticizing her, because when she did that, the outcome was usually positive. There was a lot to be said for confidence, and she certainly had plenty of that. Her heart kicked up a beat when she closed her eyes, envisioning Ryan Spenser handing her a check for $10 million.

Kala’s thoughts turned black when she contemplated the warrant and the suit Ben had told her about. Her mind raced back in time to the day she’d gone with Patty to the precinct to retrieve Sophie’s personal possessions. If she remembered correctly, it was three days after the sentencing that sent Sophie to prison for life without the possibility of parole. She and Patty had had a good cry before they entered the precinct’s doors. She’d signed her name on the log sheet and left Patty to wait for Sophie’s things because she had to be in court to file a motion for something or other. She’d talked to Patty later in the day to ask how it went. If memory served her right, Patty said she’d taken the box home and hadn’t even opened it. She said she just couldn’t look at Sophie’s things, and that was the same day Nick and his friends had moved her out of the apartment she and Sophie had shared.

Kala wondered if Patty had ever looked at Sophie’s belongings. More to the point, where were they? Was it possible the officer on duty had given Patty the things that were in the evidence locker along with Sophie’s personal belongings by mistake? Anything was possible, she decided. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember if she’d seen the list of items that had been tagged. She simply couldn’t remember, but more than likely no, she had not seen the list, she decided. To the best of her recollection, there had not been much in the way of personal possessions left behind at the Star mansion when Sophie was arrested. A few clothes, her cell phone, her purse and whatever she carried in it, lipstick, tissues, keys, her ancient laptop, toiletries, that sort of thing. She had a vague memory of Patty saying at some point, though, that Sophie’s laptop was at the apartment. If that was the case, then the detectives had probably taken it from the apartment. Was it in the personal possession box or the evidence box? She simply could not remember.

Patty had said that on her days off, Sophie always returned to the apartment she shared with Patty. She did her laundry and would return to the mansion with a small duffel to last her until her next day off. Spenser had not made an issue at trial over any of those things; nor had she when she filed her various appeals after sentencing. So what was the big deal?

Kala knew what the big deal was. Spenser was saying-no, accusing her of taking stuff out of the evidence locker, things he had used at trial. If somehow the officer on duty had mistakenly turned over evidence to Patty, who didn’t realize what she had all these years, then yes, this was going to be a problem. Even though Ben filed a motion to quash both the warrant and the complaint, a judge would have to hold a hearing. That was going to take a bit of time, at least a week, possibly longer. She knew how to stall when she had to stall. Just like all lawyers knew the drill. Buying time for your client was what it was called.

Kala’s fingers continued to drum on the desk. She looked up when Linda appeared with a fresh cup of coffee. Hawaiian Aulani coffee, the only kind she drank. It smelled heavenly. And it tasted pretty damn good, too.

“Patty called, she’s on her way. She said Nick is being ornery and cantankerous. Actually she said he’s being a pain in the ass. He wants to do things he can’t do, and he’s taking his irritation out on everyone. Just so you know. By the way, Kala, in all the confusion of your unexpected return, I didn’t properly thank you for that exquisite French perfume you brought back for me. Jay loves it.”

Kala smiled. She loved buying presents for people, especially people she loved.

“I’m getting married,” she blurted.

Linda blinked, then blinked again. “That… that’s great, Kala. When?”

“When this mess is all over. I’m retiring to Hawaii. Ben is going with me. The truth is, I asked him to marry me, and he said yes. It… it was one of those serendipitous moments, if you know what I mean. It’s going to be a traditional wedding. A luau, and I’m going to wear the traditional garb and do the hula in a grass skirt. The bride has to make the skirt and top herself out of leaves and… and stuff. A crown of flowers, too. Do you think I’m too old for all of this?”

“Hell no! Why would you even say such a thing?”

“Well, because of my culture. You absolutely cannot live in sin, so I have to get married. Ben is okay with it, but he said he is not going to wear a loincloth-that’s part of the tradition. Of course you are all invited. The whole office. We can charter a plane or something.”

Linda laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks. “Is this a secret, or can I tell everyone?”

Kala rolled the question around in her head. The more people who knew would be good because… because then she wouldn’t change her mind. If no one knew, she could say she had a senior moment and hadn’t known what she was doing when she had proposed to Ben. “Tell everyone,” she said in a strangled voice.

So it was official. She was getting married.

Kala’s mind started to wander as she stared out the window. Life in Hawaii with Ben. Slow and easy. Family, all the little nieces and nephews to see, long walks on the beach. She would have all the time in the world to do… nothing. Maybe, maybe, she could open up a storefront law office and work when she wanted to. Everything would be pro bono. Years and years ago, she couldn’t remember how many, she’d taken the bar in Hawaii and had a license to practice there. She’d renewed the license faithfully every single year. In fact, she’d just paid to renew it in the early spring. Maybe Ben would be interested in joining her fledgling little firm.

Kala thought about her homeland. Warm golden sun almost every day of the year, gentle breezes, the sparkling blue Pacific, finer in color than any sapphire, the scent of plumeria, which she dearly loved, everywhere. All the doors and windows in her house would be open all day and into the evening. The sheer curtains would billow inward, carrying the rich scent of the flowers indoors. Paddle fans would whirl quietly. What was not to love about that scenario? Absolutely nothing. She had enough money banked that she’d earned on her own that she never needed to worry about a thing. She had no bills, and she was certainly more than solvent, as was Ben. She wasn’t even counting the monies that went into her brokerage account from the family coffee business. Time to give back. She could do that. She corrected the thought. She would do that.

That thought took her down a different road. What was going to happen to Sophie Lee when this was all over? How would she spend all her money? Would she ever recover from those ten years in prison? Sophie would have Patty and Nick. Her heart told her somehow, some way, Sophie was going to end up with Nick, and Nick would make her world right again. With Nick and Patty at her side, Sophie would take her place in the world again, Kala was sure of it. And taking her place in the world had nothing to do with money. “And that,” Kala muttered aloud, “you can take to the bank. Sophie Lee is not about money, never was, never would be.”

Kala looked up to see Patty standing in the doorway. She smiled. “I was…”

“Woolgathering?” Patty smiled in return.

Kala nodded. “In a manner of speaking. We need to talk, Patty. Come in, take a load off. First, though, how’s Nick?”

“Welcome home, Kala. It’s nice to see you sitting at your desk again. Nick is cranky. You know men. He has some pain but refuses to take any pain meds. He’s going to tough it out. He tries to do more therapy than the doctors want, hoping that will speed up the healing process. Men can be stupid sometimes. That’s the good news. The bad news is his other hip is not good. He says his career is over if he has to have his other hip done. That’s not quite true, he actually said that his career is over now. He’s angry with his doctors, and he has a slew of them. None of them will commit to anything, so, of course, like any other stubborn guy, he’s thinking the worst.

“Between you and me, I think his days as a professional golfer are over. He’ll be able to play recreational golf, but no more grueling ten-hour practices, and no more tournaments. There go all his endorsements, but he isn’t even worried about that. All he keeps saying is he’s washed up at the age of thirty-four.

“One good thing is he has no money worries. He’s made some wonderful investments, and he’s always been frugal. They taught us that at the orphanage. He has those two golden retrievers that are at his side night and day. They’re good for him. He walks them religiously, and that’ll keep him active. He’s going to be fine physically. It’s just going to take some time. All he really wanted to talk about was Sophie. I couldn’t tell him anything positive one way or the other. I did share what we have and what we hope to do. That seemed to please him, but he wants it quicker and faster. What can I tell you, Kala, he’s a guy.”

Kala smiled. “Enough said. I want you to think back to the day you and I went to the precinct to pick up Sophie’s belongings after her sentencing. Do you remember that day?”

Patty squeezed her eyes shut to ward off the burning in them. “I remember,” she said softly. “Why are you asking?”

Kala explained about Spenser’s lawsuit and the search warrant. Then she told her about the check that was supposed to arrive via Spenser’s hand tomorrow at ten. “Tell me what you remember about that day.”

“I met you there because you had to go to court that morning to file something, and you were going to be cutting it close by going with me. We went to this… it looked like a dungeon to me at the time, and you signed off for Sophie’s personal effects. You explained to the cop on duty that she was to give me the stuff as you had to head to court. The officer said okay. You left, she went to get it, and came back with a box. She opened the door of the cage where she was sitting, handed me the box. She asked if I wanted to look at it, and I said no. I never did look at it, Kala. Was I supposed to? Is something missing? Sophie didn’t have a whole bunch of stuff, you know. She was even more frugal than Nick. She only had a few changes of clothes with her at the Stars’ and would come back to the apartment on her days off, do her laundry, catch up with me, then head back. Now that we’re talking about it, I do remember thinking the box was kind of heavy, but I wasn’t in any frame of mind that day to want to… you know, look at her things. I just couldn’t cry anymore.”

Kala nodded. “I understand. Where is that box now?”

“You know what, Kala? I don’t know. I don’t mean that it’s lost or anything like that. Nick and his friends moved me out of Sophie’s and my apartment that very same day. They put me into an investment house Nick had just purchased, and I bought it from him. He holds the mortgage on it. You’ve seen it, it’s small. Not a lot of storage, normal closets, no basement. But to answer your question, it’s either in my garage or at Nick’s. He took the overflow to his house because it’s bigger, and he has a three-car garage. By overflow I mean all my research from the paper. I had like fifty boxes of stuff.”

Kala nodded again, and said, “We need to find that box and go through it.”

“Well, there’s no time like the present. Let’s go and give Nick a thrill, two visits in one day. I say we make him give us lunch, too. It will give him something to do. I’ll call him and tell him we’re on our way.”

“Now, that sounds like a plan,” Kala said happily as she got up to follow Patty out of the office. She called out hers and Patty’s plan to anyone listening.

Kala rather thought they were on a roll.