Yuletide Stalker. Irene Brand
to hang loosely about her hips. She put on the sandals she’d worn yesterday. She hadn’t brought many clothes, because she hoped to buy a few locally made garments.
Linc hadn’t said what time Roselina served breakfast, but since it wasn’t yet seven o’clock, she walked to the beach. The tide was out, and she picked up several small shells to take to her friend Lucy. She stepped out of her shoes to test the temperature of the water. It was cool, but not too cold, and she thought she could easily swim each morning.
Hearing a sound behind her, Maddie turned and waved to Linc, who walked toward her. He wore white walking shorts and a red knit shirt. Her heart fluttered like a leaf caught in a strong wind, and this reaction to Linc’s appearance irritated her. What had happened to her common sense?
“You’re up early,” he said.
“I couldn’t sleep. My mind and body are still operating on Eastern Standard Time.”
“That happens sometimes,” he said. “It will take a day or two for you to get over jet lag.”
Laughing up at him, Maddie said, “I didn’t realize what jet lag was until I woke up before dawn this morning.”
“Ready for breakfast?” Linc said. “Roselina has everything prepared. I have a full day planned for you.”
“Such as?”
“Since you want to research World War II in Hawaii, I’ll take you to the Punch Bowl Cemetery to see the memorial to the men who died in that war. We’ll also go to Pearl Harbor and visit the USS Arizona memorial. After you get a general view of these historic places, you can do more detailed research if you like.”
“I’m planning to collect books and pamphlets, as well as take pictures. I brought some disposable cameras with me.”
Roselina served breakfast on the patio. In the distance, large ships plied the open waters of the Pacific. Palm trees along the coast swayed like ballerinas in the mild breeze. Sun had warmed the air, but the breeze had a cooling effect.
Sipping on a glass of pineapple juice, Maddie said, “This can’t be me—Maddie Horton—in paradise. We’d already had snow and some zero temperatures before I left home. Pinch me so I can tell if I’m dreaming.”
Playfully, Linc reached across the table and pinched her arm lightly. It was a simple gesture, but an electrifying one. Blue eyes looked into gray ones, and for a moment the universe seemed to stand still, as if they were seeing each other for the first time.
Coming out on the patio with a tray, Roselina said, “Here’s a—” She stopped abruptly. But her words had broken the spell. Linc shook his head and felt his face reddening as he expelled the breath he’d been holding. Maddie clutched a napkin in her hands and looked away.
Groaning inwardly, Linc wondered how to deal with the unbidden emotion that had suddenly filled his heart. If he thought the attraction was one-sided, it would be easier, but he was convinced that Maddie had experienced a similar reaction. He would have to keep reminding her and himself of the eleven years difference in their ages.
He turned to Roselina who stared at him—speechless for a change. Clearing his throat, he said, “Are you going to keep us in suspense? Have you made one of your special omelets?”
“Of course, Mr. Linc! Special food for a special guest.”
She took the lid off the serving dish and swept the tempting omelet onto the table between them. “You like omelets, Miss Maddie?”
“I’ve bought them in restaurants lots of times. I’ve never eaten a homemade one.”
“Then you’re in for a treat,” Linc said. The difficult moment passed, but it wasn’t forgotten by any of them.
After they finished the meal, Linc pushed back from the table and propped his right ankle on the opposite knee. Roselina poured another cup of coffee for him and brought hot tea for Maddie. Preparing a cup of tea for herself, she joined them at the table.
“This is as good a time as any to tell you what I know about your father’s death,” Linc said. “He was sent to Hawaii on a short-term assignment to test a new plane the navy wanted to purchase. While he was here, he investigated and brought about the arrest of some Hawaiian employees who were stealing military supplies and technology and selling them to foreign governments.”
Shocked at this disclosure, Maddie gasped, “I’ve never heard that. I’m sure Mother didn’t tell me.”
“She probably didn’t want to worry you,” Roselina said. “Mothers are like that.”
With a somber face, Linc continued, “A father and two sons were involved in the theft. The father was killed resisting arrest at the time. The sons were imprisoned, but they escaped from prison a few days ago. The oldest son was recaptured and died from wounds he’d received while trying to escape. Before he died he confessed that he’d been involved in the death of Commander Horton. He’s a member of an ancient Polynesian cult that practice ‘a life for a life’ religion. To his way of thinking, Stanley Horton had caused his father’s death, so he sabotaged the plane Stanley was flying.”
“That’s sounds medieval,” Maddie said, shocked. “I didn’t know anything like that went on anymore.”
“Not many people in the islands hold to the old ways, but there are a few. The police think the other escapee was injured, but he hasn’t been captured yet.” Getting up from the table, he reached his right hand to Maddie. “Don’t think about it. Let’s get started so you can see Honolulu.”
But he wasn’t sure he wanted Honolulu to see her. Well rested, she was even lovelier than she’d been when she’d arrived yesterday.
Since they had two hours before they could enter the Pearl Harbor memorial, he drove to the Punch Bowl Cemetery. Maddie took several photos of the whole area and close-up shots of the towering memorial to World War II veterans.
A motor launch quickly took them from the mainland to the site of the USS Arizona. Maddie’s lips trembled and tears misted her eyes as she looked at the pieces of the ship still visible through the waters after more than fifty years. She scanned the long list of those entombed in the wreckage during the air raid that had plunged the United States into World War II. The deaths of these servicemen made more vivid poignant memories of her own father’s death.
Linc had been aware of the sadness Maddie was experiencing. When they returned to the launch to take them back to the main island, tears slowly slid down her cheeks. He wiped them away with his handkerchief, and throwing caution to the wind, he put his arm around her. She leaned her head on his shoulder. When they reached the dock, she looked up at him with grateful eyes. “Thanks,” she said, and he squeezed her hand as he helped her out of the boat.
“I’m not sure I can write a paper on this subject,” she said. “It’s such a sad chapter in the history of our country, I don’t know if I can deal with it.”
“Don’t make up your mind now. Every war has had its tragedies. Too bad nations can’t learn to live in peace.”
He left the parking lot and turned toward the city of Honolulu, thinking it was time for Maddie’s mind to be diverted from the horrors of war. She’d had enough tragedy in her young life. Had he made a mistake to take her to the war memorials before she saw the lighter side of Hawaii?
Maddie had heard of Waikiki Beach all of her life, and when she knew she’d be coming to visit Linc, she’d rented a travel video about the beaches of Hawaii. But the film hadn’t prepared her for the beauty of this area—the tall, swaying palm trees, the wide sandy beach, the sun shimmering on the tranquil water.
They accessed the beach on the western end, and the first thing to catch her eye was Diamond Head a few miles down the coast. Then she looked seaward at the blue, placid Pacific where people were swimming, surfboarding or riding in outrigger canoes. Others lay on the beach under tents, and numerous visitors sunbathed in