House of the Hanging Jade (26 page)

“Any dinner?”

I looked at him in surprise. “You're just in time. I was getting rid of the salmon. Want some?”

“Sure. Want to join me?”

“I don't think I should.”

“Listen. After everything that hit the fan this afternoon, I think we can risk being seen together sitting at the same table on the lanai.”

I shrugged. “If you think so.”

“Come on.” He took the plate I handed him and led the way to the table. I followed him with a small plate of my own. We sat opposite each other and ate in silence, both of us content to listen to the quiet sounds of the palm fronds rustling and the waves slipping in and out below us. Marcus stalked across the lanai while we were eating. “Can I get you anything, Marcus?” I asked. He stood still for a moment, looking past us out to the ocean, and answered, “I'll find something myself. Thanks.”

He returned a minute later, holding a plate with a bit of salmon and some sliced mango on it. “Not hungry, son?” asked Lars.

“Not really.” With that, Marcus returned to his room.

Lars sighed. “That's what I was upset about today. Barbie told me she was going to tell the kids about her baby and I wanted her to wait. I thought we should all discuss it together, but she wanted to tell them on her own. And now look what's happened. Everything is a mess.” He chuckled mirthlessly. “I don't think she even knows who the father is. Can you believe it?” He shook his head ruefully. “What a wreck we made of things, Barbie and I.”

I wanted to reach out and cover his hand with mine, to tell him everything was going to be all right. But I didn't dare, because I didn't know whether everything would be all right or not.

T
he next morning I drove the kids to the bus stop. I was feeling much better and I was anxious to get outside and away from the house. As I waved good-bye to them, I considered whether to venture down to the water for a little while. Looking around, I saw no one across the road at the monkeypod tree. Two police cars sat up the road a bit, but otherwise there were no people in sight. Geoffrey must be taking a day off, I thought wryly. Touching the bruise on my face, I considered again. But the blue water was so inviting and the sound of the waves was so peaceful and mesmerizing that I went through the house and, after tidying up the kitchen from breakfast, wandered down to the water.

I spread my towel on an outcropping of lava rock to the left of the small cove in front of the house. Clasping my hands around my knees, I closed my eyes and lifted my face to the sky. The rays from the sun filled me with warmth and serenity. I heard a noise behind me and turned toward it.

Barbie was walking slowly down toward the water, shielding her eyes from the brightness with her hand. She hadn't seen me. A long white sundress hid any evidence of her pregnancy. I sat quietly, wondering whether I should say something to her. She probably wanted to be alone, so I wasn't sure if I should make my presence known. I shrank into myself, hoping she wouldn't see me.

She continued walking across the jagged lava rock to the shoreline, where the water splashed onto her sandaled feet. Her shoulders rose and fell heavily, as if something was weighing her down. I wondered how much she thought of Lars and the kids and her crumbling marriage. I wondered for the first time how she felt about being pregnant again. I remembered my sister's excitement when she was pregnant with my niece; that excitement seemed to be missing from Barbie.

I was so intent on watching Barbie that I didn't hear anyone creeping up behind me. Suddenly, rough hands grabbed my shoulders, forcing me off the ground. I gasped and somehow noticed, out of the corner of my eye, Barbie turning toward me in surprise. Then, instead of running to help me, she ran toward the house. I called to her, but she kept running, stumbling twice on the jagged rocks.

I whipped around as quickly as my bruised body would allow. Geoffrey was staring me in the face. His mouth, missing two front teeth, was twisted into an ugly scowl and his nostrils flared with anger and hatred. I took a step backward, but he held me fast.

“I told you I'd find you,” he growled. His eye twitched. The man standing before me was so different from the person I had known in Washington.

I searched my mind for something to say that would calm him down, something that would help to assuage his anger. I was afraid of saying the wrong thing and enraging him further.

I looked around wildly for help, but there was no one to be seen. Not even the gardeners were out today.
Where did Barbie go?
I hoped she was getting the police who were on guard up by the main road.
Geoffrey must have hiked along the coast to avoid running into them.

“No one is coming to help you,” he sneered. “Why would they? You're a liar.”

“I'm sorry you feel that way, Geoffrey.” I couldn't deny it—I
had
lied to him when I told him I was dating Liko.

“I loved you,” he said, his voice breaking. Suddenly he shook his head violently. “But not anymore! Now that I see who you really are, I can't believe I ever loved you!”

Without warning, he pushed me backward, toward the edge of the lava rock that fell away to the ocean that was relentlessly dashing itself on the rocks below. I fell back, scraping my elbows and back on the black shards of the ancient lava. I had to play for time. My only hope was to distract him so that I could run to safety. He took a step toward me, his hands outstretched, as I twisted slowly onto my hands and knees.

“Geoffrey! Wait!” I was surprised to hear my own voice. “You can't do this. Barbie saw you. You'll be caught and in jail by tomorrow. The police are nearby—it won't take them long to get here.”

He looked behind him, and I saw my chance. I was still on my knees, so I lunged forward and pushed his legs. He buckled and fell to the ground, but was quick enough to reach out and grab my ankle as I tried to scramble past him toward the house.

I fell again, this time slicing my arm and side on the lava rock. He still held my ankle, so I tried kicking him. When a roar erupted from his throat, I knew I had hit him. I didn't know where my strength was coming from, but I was grateful for it and hoped it would last until I could get away from him.

Suddenly I heard a voice yelling my name. I looked up and saw Lars crashing through the brush, making his way toward me and Geoffrey. Barbie was hurrying behind him, threading a path more carefully through the bushes and tropical growth.

Lars reached the rocky outcropping where I was still lying, breathless and hurting; Geoffrey was struggling to his knees. As Lars took another step closer, Geoffrey reached into his pocket and pulled out a switchblade. His thumb twitched for a split second and a gleaming knife sprang from the handle. I watched with horror as Lars continued toward Geoffrey.

“Get away from her,” Lars warned.

“I'll kill her first,” Geoffrey replied.

“Don't, Lars,” I pleaded. Barbie had reached the three of us on the rocks and screamed. I heard—rather than saw—Liko running toward us, his long black hair flying behind him.

Geoffrey brought the switchblade close to his body, then suddenly slashed out toward Lars, cutting him across the back of his hand. Blood oozing from his wound, Lars tried to grab the switchblade with his other hand. Geoffrey laughed at him, then lunged forward, missing him with the knife. I had pushed myself to a standing position, and Geoffrey headed toward me, hatred flashing in his eyes.

Lars grabbed Geoffrey by the tail of his shirt. He whipped Geoffrey around and planted both hands firmly on his chest. Before I could react, Lars had pushed him toward the edge of the lava rock. Barbie was still screaming.

Liko ran past her, yelling out to me, “You all right, K?” He dashed to the spot where Lars was struggling. Geoffrey reached out to grasp Lars's arm, but Lars yanked it out of reach.

My world was spinning in slow motion. I watched, speechless, as Lars gave one tremendous push against Geoffrey's chest and sent him tumbling backward over the edge of the lava
pali
. Geoffrey's scream died away as the wind carried it off over the Pacific.

So many things were happening at once. The police were making their way quickly down the slope to the
pali
. Liko was running toward Barbie as she slid to the ground, apparently unconscious. Lars was standing, bent over at the edge of the
pali
, his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. I stood there, stunned, by what I had just seen. Lars straightened up and turned toward me just as I started walking toward him.

“You'd better not look,” he advised me. “He didn't survive. He's down on the rocks.”

I slumped against his chest as he held me to him. I didn't care who saw and I don't think he did, either. When I turned around to walk back toward the house, Liko had revived Barbie and he and one of the officers were helping her to stand up. Blood trickled from a wound on her forehead where she had bumped it when she fainted.

“Is she all right?” Lars called to Liko.

“Yeah, I think so. She should probably get checked out at the hospital, though.”

The other officers were standing on the edge of the
pali
, looking down at Geoffrey. One took out his radio and called for two ambulances. I had to fight the urge to go see Geoffrey's body for myself, just to make sure he was dead.

One of the officers accompanied us up to the house, where Barbie lay down on the lanai. When the ambulances arrived, three paramedics took care of her, swiftly checking her out and lifting her onto a gurney. They wheeled her out of the house and into the waiting ambulance while Lars and I spoke to the police. Lars asked Liko to accompany Barbie to the hospital.

The officer who had come up to the house questioned me and Lars while the crew from the other ambulance carefully wheeled a second gurney across the lawn in front of the lanai. I didn't want to watch Geoffrey's body being brought up from the shoreline, so I retreated to the kitchen, where I distracted myself by preparing lunch for myself and anyone else who might be hungry.

Finally, once the police had asked all their questions and the paramedics had left, I lay back against the cushions of the daybed. I closed my eyes, listening to the ocean that had so recently witnessed the violent death of a violent man. I was relieved for myself, for the kids, and even for Geoffrey, who was no longer a prisoner of his pain and anger. Tears trickled down my cheeks, but whether they were for me or for Marcus and Justine or for Geoffrey—or for all of us—I didn't know. I was startled when someone touched me.

I opened my eyes. Lars stood looking down at me, a gentle smile on his face. “How are you doing?” he asked.

I shook my head, unable to speak, the tears now falling more freely. He sat down next to me on the daybed and put his arm around me. I leaned my head into the warmth and strength of his shoulder. “It's over,” he said quietly. “You don't have to worry about him anymore.” I nodded, overcome with everything that had happened and longing for someone to take care of me. Lars seemed to understand just what I needed, and we sat in silence for a long time. The kids were still at school, so with just the two of us in the house we didn't have to worry about anyone else watching or wondering about the nature of our relationship.

We sat like that for a long time, until Lars got a text from Liko.

He sighed. “Thank God the kids missed all of this. Poor Justine wouldn't know how to handle it.”

“What about Marcus?”

Lars considered for a moment. “I don't know. Sometimes he's strong, but other times he surprises me. He feels things more deeply than I give him credit for.”

He offered me his hand and helped me stand up, walking back to the kitchen with me, then returning to his office. It wasn't long before I heard the front door open and Liko's voice in the hallway. He was helping Barbie up the stairs. Lars came out of his office and took one of her arms. Together, the two men maneuvered her up to the master bedroom. When they came back downstairs, Liko told me that Barbie had asked for something to drink. I fixed a tray with iced tea and a light lunch and took it up to her.

When I had situated the tray near her bed and checked to make sure she didn't need anything else, she asked me to sit down on a long ottoman that had been placed under one of the huge windows overlooking the ocean.

She didn't waste any time before getting right to the point. “Is there something going on between you and Lars?”

I must have looked shocked, because she laughed lightly. “I knew from the way he reacted in his office this morning when I told him you were in trouble down by the water. He practically flew to help you. That's not typical employer behavior.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but she stopped me. “It's okay. I'm not jealous and I'm not going to fire you. But I obviously don't want you working for me after the divorce is final.”

“I know,” I answered quietly.

“This makes us even,” she noted, a conspiratorial tone in her voice. “Liko told me you know about him and me. So you don't tell Lars my secret and I won't make a fuss about your relationship with my husband.”

I hesitated. The relationship between Barbie and Liko—it was possible that he was even the father of her baby—had moved along much further than the one between Lars and me. I couldn't start out a relationship with Lars by lying to him about Liko and Barbie.

Barbie sensed my hesitation. “You wouldn't want the kids to know you've been carrying on with their father right in their own home.”

“Barbie, we haven't been carrying on. That's not fair.”

“If I think you've said one word to him, I won't hesitate to tell the kids that you and Lars have been seeing each other.”
And what about you, sleeping with the tutor?
I wanted to scream.

I was trapped. I didn't want the kids to know about my feelings for their father—not yet—but if Lars asked what I knew about Liko and Barbie I couldn't lie to him. I stood up and turned my back to her, leaving her room with as much dignity and confidence as my bruised body and spirit could muster.

I was fixing a tray of snacks in the kitchen when Marcus and Justine came home from school. Justine immediately noticed the bandages on my knees. “What happened?” she asked.

“Oh, nothing,” I answered breezily. “I just fell and scraped my knees.”

Marcus looked at me askance. “Your arm is scraped too.”

“Well, I stumbled out on the lava rocks and landed on my knees, then rolled over onto my shoulder.”

“I hope you feel better,” Justine called over her shoulder as she skipped from the room.

“What really happened?” Marcus asked.

Lars appeared in the doorway. “Kailani was attacked by Geoffrey today and that's why she's scraped up.”

Marcus turned to his father. “Where did it happen?”

“Out on the lava rocks, just like I said,” I answered.

“Where's Geoffrey?”

Lars looked at me for a moment, then said quietly, “Geoffrey is dead. We don't have to worry about him anymore.”

Marcus's eyes widened. “How'd he die?”

“I pushed him over the edge of the rocks and he was killed when he hit the rocks at the bottom. That's enough of the gory details. I don't want to discuss it any further and I'm sure Kailani doesn't want to relive the experience.”