The Bone Field Debra Bokur (novels for beginners .txt) 📖

the spectator group, too, from what I can see. Maybe nine, ten years old. And we took a pistol off of Johnny Benga. So, we’ve got gambling, firearms, minors, and animal cruelty just for starters. Bitty kept her office here in the barn, in the back, so there are probably gambling records, too. We know that’s Angelo’s specialty.”

They stood, looking around the barn with curiosity. A vice squad officer was leading a small group of handcuffed individuals toward the entrance. One of them was an older man with a straggly beard and muscular arms emphasized by his shirt’s rolled-up sleeves. As the group began to pass the spot where Kali and Walter stood watching, the bearded man halted, peering closely at Walter’s face.

“Hey! It’s you, the cop from the podcast today,” he said. “Big star, right?”

The officer walking behind him gave the bearded man a small push. Walter shook his head at Kali, ignoring the comment.

“Wait!” the older man said to the vice officer. “Slow down a minute. I gotta tell that big cop something.” He twisted backward, speaking louder, directing his words toward Walter. “I got some juice for you, brah. About those plantation killings you was talking about, you know? I was gonna call you tomorrow, and here you are!”

“Here I am,” said Walter. He signaled to the vice officer to stop, then spoke to the man in handcuffs. “You’ve got one minute. Go.”

“What’s the reward, man?”

“Less than one minute. I’m already losing patience.”

“Just saying, you know? Information like that, there should be a reward.”

“You’ll feel good. Plus your karma will improve. Thirty seconds.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll take some good karma.” He looked over at Kali for a second before elaborating. “That anchor? You should talk to the Eden’s River people.”

Kali walked closer. “Eden’s River?”

“Church group, kind of a well-being place. Eden’s River. At first, seemed like mostly a bunch of women and organic food. I checked it out, you know? Being a single guy and all.”

“Do you know the location of this church?” asked Kali.

“It was on Lna‘i. Not in a building, like with a pointy steeple showing the highway to heaven. More like a free-love farm.”

Kali and Walter exchanged glances. “Do you think it was a commune?”

“Yeah! That’s the word. Grew all their own food and dressed funny and everybody slept with everybody else.”

“Did you know the person who was in charge?”

“Guy named Abraham was the dude. Creepy as shit.” He grinned. “Turned out the women were spooky, too. Not as much honi honi as I expected, so I got out of there.”

Walter stepped closer. “Where, exactly, on Lna‘i?”

“On a farm down near Kaunol, the old royal fishing grounds. You know it?”

“Do you know where Abraham and his followers are these days?”

The man shrugged. “Heard some stories they moved here, to Maui, but I never saw any of them around. I don’t know where, like an address or anything.”

“What’s your name?”

“Alan Lee.”

“You have anything else to share, Mr. Lee?” Walter asked.

“Yeah, a few thoughts on roosters. Birds love to fight more than they love to eat. I love to watch them fight. It’s a win-win. It’s our Hawaiian right, man!”

“On behalf of the Maui Police Department, I thank you for your help and your opinion.” Walter’s face was a stone. “You’d get the Good Samaritan award for today, except for the handcuffs and the animal cruelty charges.” Walter turned to the vice officer. “You can escort Mr. Lee, please.”

Kali and Walter watched them walk away, listening to Alan Lee’s voice as he cajoled the vice officer at his side.

“Eden’s River again.” Kali shook her head. “The name still sounds more like an outdoor adventure outfitter or some kind of yoga retreat than it does a church.”

They walked from the barn into the open space outside. Someone had turned on a floodlight that partially illuminated the parking lot. Kali did a quick calculation, and estimated there were about ninety vehicles, parked in makeshift rows and clusters. They stood watching as the team from the vice squad finished rounding up the last groups of people.

“I’ll get Hara to add in a records search for anything about Abraham Waters and his cult that Bobby didn’t already share,” he said. “Just in case there’s more. Somebody’s got to know where he is now.”

“Call me in the morning?”

Walter looked at the sky. “I think, technically, it is morning.”

“Yeah.” She rubbed at her arm again, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Then don’t call me at all. I’ve probably already got some crazy rooster disease and won’t be able to crawl to the phone anyway.”

“You shouldn’t have pissed off the rooster god.”

“He was a kupua that belonged to a king. Nothing to do with me.”

“Shapeshifter god, right?”

“Yeah. And mean. Could take on a ferocious human form, or a terrifying rooster that was a master fighter that killed his rivals and won every fight.”

“Guess there’s a lesson there.” He took her arm, looking closely at the gashes. “Go home and wash your arm and put something on it. Maybe you should get a tetanus shot or something. Those scratches are pretty deep.”

“I’ll be fine. Battle scar.” She grimaced, poking at the blood dried along her wrist where it had trickled from the wound. “Someday we’ll laugh about it.”

“Sure. Maybe you can add another tattoo. Bitty’s face around the scar. You know, kind of a tribute.”

Kali shivered involuntarily at the image. She already had enough nightmares in her life. What she needed was a good night’s sleep.

CHAPTER 21

The sound of Hilo barking happily wafted through the open window of the kitchen. Kali looked out, and saw him rolling in the long grass. A few feet away, she could see Makena picking a mango from one of the many fruit trees in the yard. She was reaching upward into the branches, studying several plump golden fruits, each of them tinged with crimson. As Kali watched, Hilo climbed to his feet and began running around the tree,