Neil Plakcy - Mahu Vice

“We’ll see if we can help,” I said, and passed the news to Mike and Ray.

“I hope he has a painful recovery,” Ray said.

A little later, Steve Hart and Lee Kawika showed up. They had gotten a search warrant for Stan’s house in Hawai’i Kai, where they found enough incendiary materials to burn all the way down to the Pacific.

“I’ve never seen so much stuff,” Steve said. “It’s a wonder the whole place didn’t just spontaneously combust.”

“What about the dog?” Ray asked.

“Had to call the Hawaiian Humane Society,” Lee said. “Beautiful dog, that husky. They’ll take care of him until the bastard makes arrangements for him.”

“You know we have a mountain of paperwork ahead of us,” Ray said. “Tracking down everything about Richard and Stan, about their businesses, and then finding all those illegal immigrants.”

“Frank O’Connor can handle the Mahalo Manpower stuff,” I said. By ten o’clock, we were all ready to call it quits. Steve and Lee were finished with their inventory of Stan’s house, and Ray wanted to head home to Julie. There was still a lot more paperwork to do, but that would take time. I called Brian Izumigawa and let him know he was off the hook, and suggested he find himself another closeted guy, maybe another banker, rather than meeting strangers online. I’m not sure he appreciated the thought.

I e-mailed Fouad Khan and let him know that Stan wouldn’t be contacting him anymore. After the cool response I got from Brian, I didn’t make any suggestions to Fouad. Though I did think for a minute or two about hooking the two of them up.

Mike and I agreed to stop at Raimundo’s for a late dinner. We were surprised as we walked in to see Doc Takayama and Lidia Portuondo, sharing an intimate table.

“So, you guys have discovered our little romantic hideaway,” I said.

Lidia blushed. She had her hair down around her shoulders, instead of up in her regular French braid, and she looked pretty in the candlelight.

“Officer Portuondo and I were just discussing a case,” Doc said.

Mike and I both laughed. “Come on, Doc, you’re busted,” I said. “Though I can’t say I see what a lovely young woman like Lidia sees in a ghoul like you.”

“Paul is not a ghoul,” Lidia said. She reached over and took Doc’s hand, and I realized I’d never known the medical examiner’s first name until then.

“Enjoy your dinner,” I said, smiling, and Mike and I sat down at our own table, still wearing our scrubs and pink slippas.

We didn’t talk much; the day had taken a lot out of both of us, and we’d already talked through everything about the case at the station. Instead, we just sat back and enjoyed the antipasto salad and the restorative powers of pasta, chicken, and tomato sauce in various combinations.

When we got back to the Halekulani, we pulled a couple of Big Wave Pale Ales out of the minibar and sat out on the lanai together, drinking and staring at the view of Diamond Head. I felt ready to tackle the unspoken issues between us.

“That was a pretty ballsy thing you did today,” I said, sipping my beer.

“Which thing was that?”

“Running up to me, hugging and kissing me. All those firemen watching you. Pretty dramatic way to out yourself.”

“It was going to happen sooner or later. You know what they say, go big or go home.”

“So we’re going to give this a try again?”

“That is my intention.”

He looked at me and took my hand. “I went out to Tripler at lunch, and my dad and I had a talk,” he said. “I think it was the first time in a long time that we actually communicated, you know? Not him lecturing and me arguing. We talked. I was pretty surprised to hear that stuff my mom said last night.”

He looked out toward Diamond Head. “He said that I was a lot more like him than either of us wanted to admit. He did go nuts when he thought my mom wouldn’t marry him. And he recognized I was doing the same thing, and he just wanted to make things easier for me.”

“He cares about you.”

“I know. Like your folks care about you.” He smiled. “I was jealous, you know? Seeing you with your parents. How much they love you and accept you. I didn’t think I had that.” He squeezed my hand. “But now I know that I do. And knowing that, I can get on with things. I’m sure I’m still going to have some issues. But you can help me out.”

“It is handy having somebody around who’s been through it before.”

“So we’re back on? Together?”

“Just try and get rid of me.” We leaned across and kissed, and then I yawned.

He said, “Am I boring you?” But then he yawned himself.

I stood up. “What do you say we go to bed?” I asked.

“Those are words I hope I never get tired of hearing,” he said, standing up beside me.

We stood together for a moment, staring out at Diamond Head. In the distance we could hear car horns, late-night revelers on Kalakaua, a far-off siren. I was in the city I called home, within sight and sound of the ocean. My family and friends were safe out there in the darkness, and the man I loved was beside me.

It didn’t get better than that.