Lana'i of the Tiger (The Islands of Aloha Mystery Series) Page 4
***
When Tyler returned at four he wasn’t alone. A strikingly-beautiful young woman accompanied him up the steps. She was one of those people you try not to stare at, but you can’t look away. Her coffee-with-cream-colored skin glowed like amber, her high cheekbones were a sculptor’s dream, and her long lithe legs reminded me of a giraffe—without a giraffe’s knobby knees.
“Penny,” said Tyler as he and the giraffe-woman came inside, “I’d like to introduce you to my girlfriend—”
“Fiancée, remember sweetheart?” She flashed me a diamond on her left hand that would’ve put the sun to shame.
“Oh, yeah, my bad,” he said, feigning a little boy’s pout. “My fiancée, Desiree Diamonte.”
“Call me Deedee,” she said. “Everybody does. You may have heard of my lingerie line—Double D Designs? Once it really takes off I’m going to be branching out into handbags, jewelry, and hopefully a fragrance someday.”
So, Deedee Diamonte was a wannabe entrepreneur? Well, good for her. I’m all for women taking charge of their own lives, and livelihoods.
“Pleased to meet you, Deedee. And welcome to the White Orchid.”
Deedee looked around the great room and as she did, I could see clouds building behind her espresso-brown eyes.
“Sweetcakes,” she said grabbing Tyler’s wrist. “Can I talk to you for a minute? Outside?”
They went out the front door while I huddled at the desk in the great room. The walls of the plantation-built houses on Lana’i are thin, like paper thin, because the pineapple company didn’t use plaster-board or insulation when they built homes for their workers. The thin plywood walls acted more like speaker bellows than sound-dampeners so everything resonated.
“No way,” said Deedee. “I mean it. I am not staying here.”
“You’re being…” Tyler’s voice had a desperate tone. “Okay, what do you want me to do?”
At this point, Deedee lowered her voice and I heard only the sss-ssst of her urgent whisper.
Tyler came back inside, alone. “I’ll be back in a little while, Penny,” he said. The screen door slammed and he was gone.
***
When Tyler returned it was after eight o’clock that night. I’d eaten a quick dinner of stir-fried veggies and rice and I was reading in the great room when he came in. He looked guarded, as if he was keeping a secret.
“Oh, you’re out here,” he said. It’d taken him a couple of seconds to notice me in the meager glow of the floor lamp.
“Did you and Deedee already have dinner?” I said. Then I thought, Uh-oh, maybe that sounded like prying. “Uh, what I mean is, do you need me to fix you anything to eat?”
“Thanks, but I’m good. We had a great dinner up at the Lodge at Koele. Pretty much gold-plated everything.”
“Yeah, that’s how it is up there. The locals call it the Bank of Koele, because that’s where tourists deposit their money. Anyway, welcome back.”
“I feel I need to apologize for Deedee’s behavior,” he said.
I started to object but he cut me off.
“No, really, she’s kinda spoiled. Her daddy’s a major player in the financial industry so she was brought up in privilege. He gave her a wad of cash to start her business, but since then he’s pretty much told her she’s on her own. The good news is it’s made her resourceful. She’s gone out and hustled. Right now she’s waiting for a call-back from HSN to pitch her lingerie.”
“HSN?”
“Yeah, you know,” he said. “The Home Shopping Network. Deedee’s bound and determined to be the next Jessica Simpson.”
I nodded even though I wasn’t exactly sure what he meant. Did Deedee dream of playing Daisy Duke in the next remake of ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’? That seemed odd, but that’s the last I’d heard of Jessica Simpson.
“Anyway,” he went on. “I’m sorry she chose not to stay here. I hope you aren’t offended.”
“Thanks, but there’s no need for an apology. Deedee seems very nice.” –to look at, I wanted to add, but didn’t.
“Yeah unfortunately, her idea of roughing it is a hotel without towel warmers and an in-room masseuse.” He shot me a smile that looked phony as all get-out.
“Understood. Bed and breakfasts aren’t for everyone.”
“I got her a room—well, actually a suite—up at the Lodge.” And then as if reading my mind, he went on, “But I’m still going to stay down here. I prefer it.”
“I guess congratulations are in order,” I said.
He looked puzzled.
“You’re getting married.”
“Oh, that. Yeah, well that’s something I’m trying not to think about.”
Now it was my turn to look puzzled.
“No, no, that came out wrong,” he said. “What I mean is, the damn paparazzi will have a field day with it. I hate stuff like that. It’s my life we’re talking about here, not a big payday for some stalker lurking in the bushes. If I could, I’d make it a crime for scumbags like that to get within five hundred yards of me and Deedee. And those long-lenses they’ve got on those cameras? I think they should have to register them like handguns.”
I gave him a small nod, but we both knew I’d never experienced anything remotely close to what he was talking about.
“Can I ask you a question?” he said.
“Sure.”
“Do you know of anyone around here who could put together a simple wedding on the sly?”
I went to bed that night with a smile on my face. Maybe I was finally getting some good karma payback for doing the right thing last month. Or maybe it was merely a case of being at the right place at the right time. But whatever it was—dumb luck or hard-earned karma—I didn’t care. I was putting on a wedding!
CHAPTER 6
The next morning I called Darryl on his cell. “How’s everyone doing over there?” I said when he answered.
“Great, if you don’t count hanging out in this creepy hospital all day. Ewa says she loves being a mom, but since we’re still here I think the jury’s still out. I mean, the nurses bring her meals, put plumeria blossoms on her pillow after her sponge bath, and take care of the baby. Who wouldn’t love it?”
“Have you named your little boy yet?”
“Yeah. His name’s Ethan. It’s Ekana in Hawaiian. We’re still deciding which way we’ll spell it on the birth certificate. Ewa’s folks would definitely vote for the Hawaiian way, but my folks think you gotta go All-American.”
“Well, either way, it’s a great name,” I said. “Say, I need to ask you about something.”
He quickly broke in. “You got a problem? That Hollywood dude givin’ you grief or somethin’?”
“No, in fact, quite the opposite. He’s really a nice guy. Even insists on bussing his own table after breakfast.”
“So, what’s up?”
“He wants to get married.”
“To you?”
“No, no,” I laughed at the mere thought of Tyler picking me over his own personal Miss Universe. “His fiancée arrived on the island yesterday and they want to do a quick, quiet ceremony. No reporters, no fans, no news cameras.”
“I thought Ewa said he was a movie producer. Why would reporters show up?”
“Well, I guess he’s a major player in the business. From what I’ve gathered, if you’re a mover and shaker in Hollywood there’s bound to be buzz about your private life. Comes with the territory, I guess. And he’s a major supporter of African-American causes.”
“So, he’s a celebrity but he doesn’t want to be?”
“Something like that. The way he explained it to me is, in the entertainment world fans are focused on the actors because they’re the ones they see. But in the entertainment business, the producers are much more important. They determine which movies get made and which don’t. That makes them the kings of the hill.”
“Okay, so then why does this king need my permission to get married?”
“He wants to do it here,
at the White Orchid. He wants to hold the ceremony in the greenhouse and then have a small champagne reception in the great room. We’re only talking a few people, maybe four or five besides the bridal couple.”
“Sounds okay to me. Do you think we should charge him anything?”
“Of course. I’ll need to get the gardener to completely clean out the greenhouse. He’ll have to move tables and plants around, bring the blooming orchids up front, clear out a place to hold the actual ceremony, and then…” I stopped, realizing Darryl probably didn’t need to hear every detail of what had to get done to make the place ready for a wedding. “Stuff like that.”
“I don’t know how much to charge,” he said.
“Look, Tyler and Deedee have been eating all their meals at the Four Seasons so they’re used to paying through the nose. Whatever you want to charge will be fine. I’m handling getting everything ordered and when it’s over I’ll give them a bill for the whole thing. The cost for using the White Orchid will be included.”
“Okay, but let’s keep this between you and me. If Ewa finds out we’ve got a Hollywood hotshot getting married at our house, there’s no way she’ll agree to stay a week at my mom’s house. No way.”
“I understand. It’s probably best to not say anything anyway. The guy wants to keep everything hush-hush. I’ve promised to only divulge details on a need-to-know basis.”
“Roger that. It’s a total black op.”
I smiled at his goofy military-speak. “Mahalo Darryl. I’ll keep you up to date on what’s happening.”
He started to say ‘aloha’ and hang up, but I stopped him. “Darryl, now that I think about it, I think you should charge a thousand dollars for the use of the White Orchid.”
“A thousand bucks! Are you pupule?”
“No, I’m not. I think Tyler Benson would be happy to pay a thousand dollars to guarantee his privacy. And, I think when I point out that your new son will be needing money for school in about twenty years, he’d be honored to make the first deposit into Ethan’s college fund.”
“Wow, when you put it like that…. Mahalo, Penny. I don’t know where Ewa found you, but I’m sure glad she did.”
***
Tyler didn’t disappoint me.
“You’re right. They have a new baby. It’s the least we can do. I can hardly wait to tell Deedee that we’ll be the first people to contribute to the little guy’s college fund. She loves kids.”
But Deedee didn’t prove to be the Angelina Jolie that Tyler had hoped.
“A thousand dollars? For using a greenhouse? That’s ridiculous,” she said when she came to the White Orchid the next morning. “For that kind of money we could rent an upscale venue like the library at the Lodge at Koele, or even the ballroom at the Four Seasons Manele Bay. Darling, I agreed to keep our wedding low-key, but that doesn’t mean paying Park Avenue prices for a trailer park setting.”
Tyler looked stricken. “The White Orchid Bed and Breakfast is a labor of love for these people, Deedee. Not only have they put a ton of money into it, but they’ve invested their time and talents. It’s got way more ambiance than the cookie-cutter hotels you’re so fond of. Believe me, sweetheart, you won’t regret getting married here. It’ll make a great story for our children, even our grandchildren.”
“Whoa, whoa. Don’t you go getting ahead of yourself, Mr. Tyler Benson. I agreed I’d think about having kids. No promises. For the foreseeable future my focus will be on making Double D as big a brand as Victoria’s Secret.” She shot him a sultry smile, and ran a well-manicured fingertip up his chest, his neck, and finally his chin. When her finger reached his lips, he kissed it.
“Baby-doll, I’m one-hundred percent behind you,” he said. “What makes you happy, makes me happy. But believe me, having a small private wedding here will be great. It’ll be as cozy and romantic as getting married in our own home.”
“Sweetie, our home is at least ten times bigger. And about a thousand times more elegant.” She paused and batted her ridiculously lush eyelashes. “I’ll let you win this one, lover. But you’re going to owe me, big-time. And you know what they say—payback’s a bitch.”
Tyler Benson’s narrowed his eyes. It looked to me as if he wasn’t used to being threatened. Especially in front of an audience.
***
Tyler and Deedee left to go up to the Lodge at Koele for lunch. I got busy with the wedding preparations. I snagged Mr. Shu, the gardener, as he arrived in his beater truck.
“Mr. Shu,” I said. “I’m Pal—er, Penny Morton. I’m helping Darryl and Ewa with the bed and breakfast while they’re over in Honolulu with their new baby.”
“Baby? What day she have the baby?”
“She had it two days ago, on Thursday. It’s a boy. They’re both still in the hospital.”
“Something wrong?”
“No, they’re both doing fine. But the law says the hospital has to allow a new mother to stay at least two days past the delivery date if she wants to.”
“Why she want to stay in hospital?” He wrinkled his face up like he’d just taken a whiff of something foul.
“I don’t know. I guess because it’s her first child, and they’re helping her learn what she needs to know to be a good mother.”
“Pfft,” he snorted. “That like telling a seed how to make root and leaves.” He shook his head in scorn.
“Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about the greenhouse.”
He clasped his hands in a fist at chest level. It freaked me out a little, since it’s the same stance we take before a kung fu match.
I went on, “You see, we’re having a small wedding ceremony in the greenhouse next weekend. Only a few people, but the bride and groom want to be surrounded by living things, especially orchids. They’re holding it inside because then they won’t have to worry about wind or possible showers. And, it will be more private.”
“Married in a greenhouse?” He squinted his eyes up so tight they nearly disappeared behind the wrinkles.
“Yes. I’ll need you to clean out the orchid area and make a place for the wedding couple and the minister. And then clear a spot for a handful of witnesses.”
“Clear a spot? What are you saying?”
“Clean out an area big enough so at least seven people can stand close to each other. Move the tables around, take out the buckets and fertilizer. You know, make it look nice.”
“It’s a greenhouse—not nice. They want nice, tell them to get married in there.” He pointed to the main house.
Okay, I’d tried a simple request. Now it was time to bring out the big guns.
“Darryl wants them to get married in the greenhouse. He said to tell you it needs to be all ready by next Thursday. He’ll call me Thursday night to make sure everything’s done.”
“Darryl say that?”
“Yes. That’s what Darryl wants.”
“Show me.”
For a second, I thought he wanted me to produce proof that the order had come directly from his boss, Darryl Fontaine. But when he started walking toward the greenhouse I realized he’d taken me at my word and now he wanted me to show him what he had to do.
With the door closed, the greenhouse felt like a steam bath. It was at least ten degrees warmer than the outside air, and at least twice as humid. The primal odor of loam, fertilizer and living things overwhelmed my sense of smell. I thought of that old cult movie, Little Shop of Horrors, where the giant plant yells, Feed me!
We wound our way up and down the aisles of the greenhouse. As we passed hundreds of potted orchids, Mr. Shu poked a finger in every third or fourth pot as we went. The place was shadowy and dirty and I couldn’t for the life of me imagine why Tyler had insisted on being married in there. I come from hippie stock, and my best friend back home uses the same tea bag at least three times before tossing it out, so I’m no stranger to tree huggers and Earth Day. But even to me, this dimly-lit fecund jungle seemed more like the setting for a slasher movie than a wedding.
“How about in here?” I said. “It’s got good light. If we moved a few of the nicer tables into the corner, draped them with tablecloths and added a dozen blooming orchids, it could make a really nice setting.”
Shu grunted in agreement.
I dismissed any notion of providing chairs for the guests. First, it would call attention to the uneven dirt floor. Second, I’d heard enough of Deedee’s take on things to know she’d most certainly want to spend the least amount of time necessary in the greenhouse. A quick ‘do you take this woman, do you take this man,’ and then she’d be leading the march back to the house for the champagne toast.
Shu walked me to the greenhouse door and held it open for me. “My name not Mr. Shu,” he said as I passed him on my way out.
“Pardon?” I said. “That’s the name Ewa gave me for you—Ho Wing Shu.”
“That’s correct. But not Mr. Shu. I am Mr. Ho.”
“Of course,” I said. I made a short bow of contrition. “I should know that, Mr. Ho. I wasn’t thinking. In your culture your family name comes first.”
“Yes, that is correct. My family is Ho.” He flashed me a smile that would have sent a dentist into apoplexy. More than a few teeth were missing, and the ones that were left were yellowed and ground down to mere stubs.
“Very well, Mr. Ho. So, do you think you can have the wedding area all ready by next Thursday?”
“Yes. Ready by tomorrow if you want.”
“No, thank you. Next Thursday will be soon enough.”
I went into the main house, anxious to start making a list of everything I’d need to put on a charming mini-wedding in less than a week.
***
Tyler didn’t return to the White Orchid that Saturday night. I figured he and Deedee had stayed at her suite, celebrating their newly-minted plan to get married on Lana’i. I imagined them ordering a fancy room service dinner along with a perfectly-chilled bottle of Dom Perignon.