The Yoshinobu Mysteries: Volume 2 Read online

  Boson Books by John Broussard

  Dear Diary, I'm in Love Death and Near Death Dead Before a Rival

  Expect the Unexpected

  Fifty-Minutes Flaherty Mana

  Mayhem, Mystery and Murder Murder at Milltown Junior College No Time for Death

  The Yoshinobu Mysteries: Volume I The Yoshinobu Mysteries: Volume II

  ______________

  THE YOSHINOBU MYSTERIES

  Volume 2

  by

  John A. Broussard

  ______________

  Second Four Novels in One Volume

  BOSON BOOKS Raleigh

  Published by Boson Books 3905 Meadow Field Lane Raleigh, NC 27606

  ISBN 1-932482-30-X An imprint of C&M Online Media Inc.

  © Copyright 2006 John A. Broussard

  All rights reserved For information contact

  C&M Online Media Inc.

  3905 Meadow Field Lane

  Raleigh, NC 27606

  Tel: (919) 233-8164

  e-mail:[email protected] URL: http://www.bosonbooks.com

  Cover Art by Joel Barr

  Contents

  Preface

  A Very Personal Death The Body from the Third Floor

  Body in Hobart Death to Order

  Preface

  No one reads a preface which is more than a page long, but it will take less than a page to tell you about Elima. It is one of the Neighbor Islands. That is what the residents of the main island of Oahu call the other islands in Hawaii and, more and more, that is also what the residents of those other islands call them too.

  Elimaand the time setting is somewhere in the near futureis much like the other Neighbor Islands. It is a county in its own right, has its own mayor for the entire island, its own police force, its own tax structure and its own share of corruption. Once almost entirely ruralwith the standard crops of sugarcane, pakalolo and pineappleit was recently discovered by Mainland and Japanese entrepreneurs. Along with the other blessings of civilization have now come sprawling resort hotels, a rising crime rate and the twentyfirst century con man. But does Elima actually exist?

  In a sense it is far more real than those other dots of land in the middle of the North Pacific and is a distillation from all of them. The peoplethe haoles (white newcomers), the Asians, the Portuguese, the native Hawaiiansin the following pages are also an amalgam of what one can find on any of these islands. They all exist as you see them, but only in the author's imagination.

  A VERY PERSONAL DEATH

  Chapter 1

  The phone rang. There was no reply to his “hello” except the click of a receiver being replaced on the hook. He shrugged, dropped his own phone back into its cradle and reached for the glass on the night stand.

  Death was ninety seconds away.

  Yet all seemed normal in the hotel room, its lone occupant most normal of all. He sipped at his drink appreciatively, looked out at the distant surf sliding across the white sand, watched the fading pink of the tropical western sky, and he counted his blessings.

  Its great to be able to charge up to the company a couple of days at a luxury hotel in Hawaii. Even the IRS cant argue about this being a business expense. Its as business related as you can get. He laughed quietly.

  Death was fifty seconds away.

  He slipped off his shoes, sat down on the edge of the king-size bed, lifted his glass and said softly, “Heres to ten-million, twenty-million, maybe fifty-million dollars.” Before he could touch the glass to his lips, he heard a quiet knock at the door.

  A muffled voice: “Room service.”

  God! He shook his head. For the kind of money this room costs, youd think there wouldnt be any screw-ups. Aw, what the hell, I might as well have him get me another drink, as long as hes here anyway.

  Crossing the thick rug in his stocking feet, he reached for the knob.

  Death was ten seconds away.

  When he opened the door, the first thing he saw was a long-barreled automatic with a strange looking cylinder on the end and the gloved hand holding the gun. Then, lifting his eyes to those eyes, he recognized the face.

  There was a soft pop.

  Death had arrived.

  ***

  “Alive, vital, animated, vivacious, vibrant, sensual, intelligent, beautiful, elegant woman, seeking man of integrity, depth of character, compassion and humor, for a long term, committed relationship.”

  The days work at Smith, Chu, Yoshinobu and Correa had ended. Everyone was gathered around Laura Correa, the most junior of the partners, as she read aloud the personal from a copy of the magazine, New York. “Now, how could I possibly compete with that?” she asked the others.

  Quality Smith, a balding, pleasant-faced attorney, with a nervous habit of adjusting his eyeglasses with both hands, was the senior member of the crew. Some nine years previously he had come to the city of Napua and established the only firm on the island of Elima devoted entirely to criminal defense. The practice proved to be so successful that Sidney Chu, a handsome Chinese now in his early thirties, had joined the firm shortly afterwards to be followed in turn within ten months by Kay Yoshinobu, a tall, slender, truly lovely Japanese.

  Leilani Pak, the middle-aged receptionist, still took much of the credit for the marriage between the two young attorneys, claiming she had steered them successfully around the boulders littering the road of their courtship. The heavy-set, native-Hawaiian woman, who invariably wore a colorful muumuu had, from the day she had first come to work, regarded the personal lives of the attorneys as her special concern. As she began to see the trend of the conversation, she shook her head with an increasing vigor which threatened to dislodge the large red hibiscus in her hair.

  Laura Correa, the most recent addition to the organization, was personable, attractive and, much to Leilanis chagrin and despite her efforts, still single and rapidly approaching the age of twenty-five.

  The sixth member of the group gathered in the reception room was Craig Thomas, Quals housemate. Since Qual and Craig lived less than a block away from the office, Craig was a frequent visitor and had virtually become an honorary member of the firm.

  Of the group, Leilani was the only one voicing opposition to Lauras decision for putting a personal advertisement in New York. “Its a shame. You could have had your pick, Laura,” she said. “How many women are there on Elima who could have married the countys prosecuting attorney?”

  “Dont be so old fashioned, Leilani,” Qual said. “Why should Laura settle for a man living on this island or in the state of Hawaii, when she can sample from the whole US– actually from the whole world, just as easily?”

  “ Hmph,” Leilani muttered. “Its nothing but a lottery. Theres no way of knowing what you might get.”

  “Life, itself, is a lottery,” Craig said, reading some of the personals over Lauras shoulder and not looking up as he spoke.

  Qual made a show of being startled at Craigs pronouncement. “We now have an office philosopher in our midst,” he remarked, readjusting his glasses.

  Sid, looking over Lauras other shoulder, said. “What I cant figure out are all these abbreviations. I know what M and F stand for, but what does D mean? Does DWF mean dwarf white female?”

  “D means divorced,” Laura said. “I figured out D, but I'm not sure about the W. You're probably right. It must mean white.”

  “Ill bet W stands for widowed,” Kay disagreed.

  “Doesnt make sense,” Sid protested. “It would make this one a divorced, widowed female.”

  “Theres no reason why she couldnt be,” said Craig. “She could have been married twice. Besides, if I remember right, New York wont allow you to say white.”

/>   “Then whats J?”

  “Jewish,” Qual said, unequivocally.

  “So you can say Jewish, but you cant say white?” Sid sounded skeptical.

  “Right,” answered Qual.

  “So, can Laura say Portuguese?”

  “I had a great-grandmother named Maimonedes,” Laura said. “Maybe I could claim Im Jewish.”

  “Theres no need to. Look at the context,” Kay said, after moving into the crowd around the paper. “I was wrong. W does stand forwhite. It seems you can say youre white, but you cant ask for someone who is white.”

  “What in the world is G?” Sid asked, half seriously.“I still think D means dwarf and G means giant.”

  “Dont be silly,” Craig said, “G is for gay. Where did you see that?”

  “Relax, Craig,” Qual said with a laugh. “This personals business is for Laura. Remember?”

  “This whole personals business is silly, if you ask me,” Leilani said, searching for her handbag under her desk. “You mark my words, Laura, youll get nothing but grief looking for a husband this way.”

  “Im not necessarily looking for a husband, Leilani. All Im going to do is to answer some letters –if I get any. Ive no intention of becoming a mail-order bride. If nothing else, I might find one or two interesting people to write to.”

  Leilani looked grim but said nothing in reply. Instead she called her husband, John Pak, informed him she was on the way home, and told him to put on the rice.

  “I guess youre right, Craig,” Sid said, with a broad grin and looking up from the paper. “G must mean Gay, and D must mean divorced. Otherwise, whoever put this ad in is a giant dwarf male.”

  *** Laura propped the personals section of New York up in front of her as she ate dolmas at her favorite restaurant. Located just a few short blocks away from the law firm, the small restaurant, run by a young refugee Lebanese couple, featured dishes from several Middle Eastern countries. A few months before, Laura would have never believed she would ever be eating some strange mixture of spice and rice and beef wrapped in grape leaves and dipped in yogurt sauce. Now Im not only eating it, but liking it, she remarked to herself. Maybe I should start thinking the same way when it comes to men. Its probably shortsighted to decide beforehand what Im going to like and what Im not going to like.

  –Single man, 39, seeks compatible woman interested in bridge, jazz– But Im not the least interested in either bridge or jazz. I cant believe either of them would ever turn out to be like dolmas.

  –DWM seeks someone who likes her life and the way she looks. No smokers, drama majors, boozers, or someone looking for a shoulder to cry on.–

  I guess Id qualify. I certainly like my job, and Ive gotten used to the way I look. I dont smoke or drink, and Im in absolutely no danger of becoming a drama major. Still! It would be nice to have a shoulder to cry on once in a while.

  –Distinguished physician seeks wholesome woman for supportive relationship. Sincere only.–

  I wonder how he sorts out the sincere from the insincere. Maybe I should write to him and tell him Im insincere, but would he consider me anyway.

  –East Coast Professor. Seeks intelligent, attractive woman concerned about the environment. Marriage and commitment a definite goal. Must be willing to relocate and be open to passion, permanence and possible progeny.–

  There are some things Id better start thinking of. Am I willing to relocate? How important is age, height, nationality? Do I really want marriage? Kids? I never realized how many decisions Im going to have to make. Why is it these people all seem to know what they want, but I dont?

  Laura looked up at the waitress who had come by to ask if she wanted anything else. Laura looked down in surprise at the plate she had emptied. She smiled and said, “More dolmas please.” Folding up the paper, she thought, At least that was an easy decision.

  Chapter 2

  Neither Sid nor Kay was completely adjusted to their new home. After years of living in a cramped apartment in town, the house seemed enormous, and the acre of land surrounding it even more so. Located off of Ridge Trail, some ten minutes from Napua, their new residence had at first appeared to be too quiet. It was so quiet they could hear the surf breaking against and over the shallow cliffs a thousand feet below them and a mile away to the west. On the other hand, their three cats had found no difficulties in adjusting.

  John Samuel, father of Bluebeard and now a neutered tom, had set about clearing the acre of ground of any and all mice. Bluebeard had shown much more interest in birds and, to both Sids and Kays relief, no success at all in capturing any. Sheena, the recently spayed mother, spent her waking hours in exploring and had, so far, gotten herself closed up into three closets and one file cabinet.

  Sid had been born in upstate New York, far from the ocean, and as a result had gone through a period of“rock fever” when he first came to Hawaii to work for the firm. In addition, the almost complete lack of seasons had at first made him nostalgic for the sharply differentiated ones in the Adirondacks.

  Since law school at Columbia had almost urbanized him, it took a while for the rural setting of the island to convince him Elima was where he belonged. The first few days in the new house, with its panoramic view of the Pacific, almost shook the conviction he had built up over his years on the island, but he rapidly recovered. After a week, he wondered how he could have ever felt this was anything but the ideal spot for a home.

  Kay, too, came from an urban background –Honolulu. For her, Elima was little different in terms of geography and climate, but vastly different in terms of social relations. When she had first arrived, it seemed to her everyone knew everyone else. She was also convinced everyone had scores of relatives on the island.

  Even after a spurt of development and the increased influx of tourists and new residents, Elima was a far cry from Oahu in Kays mind. For her, it was not the vast sweep of the ocean she could see from their new home which disturbed her, it was the stillness descending at night. Only crickets and an occasional gecko broke the silence when the offshore breezes blew, shutting off the sound of the distant waves. Still, she too began to share Sids convictiontheir new home was the perfect place to live. They had both decided to try their hand at landscaping and gardening, something Kay had done little of, and Sid none.

  “ Where did you ever get this recipe for teriyaki beef?” Sid asked as he spooned out the last piece of meat from the serving dish.

  “Believe it or not, I got it from my mother. It actually is an old Japanese recipe. My ancestors came from Aomori province, somewhere way up north, and from what Mom says, they make their foods a lot hotter there than they do anywhere else in Japan. Maybe thats because its such cold country.”

  “Its delicious,” Sid said. “Your mother can come over from Honolulu and cook for us, anytime.”

  “So? Whats wrong with my cooking?”

  “Its great, but if the pupil is so good, imagine what the teacher must be like.”

  Kay laughed. “I wonder if Laura will get a smooth talker like you.”

  “Iwonder if shell get any talkers at all. I think Leilanis right, even though Im not about to tell Laura that. After all, you found the perfect man right in the office you were working in. Leilanis absolutely correct. Its pretty silly for a woman to go looking thousands of miles away for a husband.”

  “Sid, youre an old fogy. Laura has nothing to lose by putting in an advertisement but the price of the insertion. Ill bet you she gets at least a dozen replies to her personal ad.”

  “Youre on.”

  “What are we betting? Oh, oh! Get the gleam out of your eye. You dont have to bet to get that.”

  “Wheres our copy of Joy of Sex? Im sure we can find a suitable wager.”

  ***

  Craig had just put a bowl of hot Hollandaise sauce on a warming plate on the table. Qual was dishing up the steamed broccoli.

  “Do you think Laura is really serious about putting a personals ad in New York?”

  Craig asked
. Though Craig had lived most of his life in Los Angeles and San Francisco,

  he had a considerably narrower view of the world than Qual, who had lived his early

  years on the windward and, what had then been the sparsely populated area of Oahu. Qual served himself up a section of the mushroom omelet, saying, “Im sure she

  intends to. The Wagner case was pretty upsetting to her. Iknow its made her do a lot of

  soul searching, and I think shes decided to use her head to find the right partner rather

  than leaving it all up to her hormones. As I was telling Leilani, theres no need for Laura

  to confine her search to Elima when theres a world to choose from. Can you think of

  anything she might have to lose by doing it?”

  Craigs eyes narrowed in thought as he reached for the omelet. “I have to admit

  Leilani has a point. At least, if Laura is dating someone who lives here, she can find out

  something about him, but a perfect stranger…”

  Craig interrupted his own trend of thought to carefully cut off a sliver of the omelet,

  place it on a small plate, and slice it into small pieces which he blew on to cool them off.

  This was a special treat for Chichi, a young tortoise-shell cat, offspring of John Samuel

  and Sheena. Chichi had a soft cushion of her own, on an extra wide chair of her own, and

  a special serving tray on it to hold the approaching saucer. Her expression was one of

  quiet appreciation for the service she was receiving, while recognizing full well it was

  merely her due.

  Qual smiled at the concern on Craigs face when Chichi seemed at first to reject the

  gift of food, and at Craigs obvious relief and pleasure when she decided to sample it and

  finally finished it off.

  Craig uncovered the warm buttermilk rolls he had just brought out warm from the

  oven. “Lauras such a nice person–for a teetotaler, that is–Id hate to see her hurt.” Qual poured each of them a glass of extra dry California chablis. “I worried about