Unknown Victim by Kay Hadashi (classic books for 11 year olds .TXT) 📕

the car, and it was dark by then. I got a better look at his hind end with his pants down than I did with his face. He was fighting back, so I didn’t get a clear look at either end. But if you go pick him up, I might be able to pick him out in a lineup.”

“Before we talk about that, I want to know what you wanted to talk to him about?” Kona asked.

“There’s something going on at that bar, I know it. I just can’t put my finger on what. I thought they were running a prostitution ring from behind the bar, but since I saw him smoking some meth in the car last night, it might be drugs.” Gina gave something some thought. “Actually, while driving Holly around, he stopped at Pinoy Boy’s for beer and something else. Maybe he got the meth there? I don’t know.”

“You’re sure it was meth?” he asked.

“Yeah, the usual foil pipe and white cloud. He only git a couple of puffs before he tried forcing himself on Holly. When she fought him off, he belted her but good.” She watched him make notes in some sort of special shorthand on his pad. “Honestly, Detective, I only wanted to have a quick drink with him, asked a few leading questions, and then get out.”

“I’m glad you didn’t,” he said.

“Yeah, I know, I’m interfering in your investigation to the point of being obstructive.”

“No, you’re not interfering. You’ve been helpful, actually. The problem is with Hughes.”

“What about him? Hopefully Holly filed a complaint and you picked him up?”

“We picked him up, but not because of a complaint. Hughes was found floating face down in the Ala Wai Marina early this morning. He’d been in the water for several hours.”

“There goes that lead,” she said. “How’d he get it?”

“Bullet to the forehead. That’s why I’m glad someone else got in his car instead of you.”

“Me, too. Where’s this marina? What’s it called again?”

“Ala Wai. It’s at one end of Waikiki. Don’t you go anywhere else besides bars?”

“Hardware stores. Kinda wished I’d gone to church this morning. Do I need to make some sort of formal statement for my alibi for last night? Because I don’t have one.”

“Where were you between ten PM and four AM?”

“Here, and no, I don’t have anyone for you to call to verify that.”

“I seriously doubt you offed Hughes,” he said.

“Why?”

“You’ve told me a couple of times that you’d never touch a gun again. Otherwise, you’re not the type to off some dude.”

“You sure about that?” she asked.

“I can see you roughing up a perp in an alley, but not wasting him.”

“Maybe, as long as my dad never heard about it.” All Gina wanted to do was go back to her sketchpad. “Did Hughes have anything to do with Danny?”

“Directly? I’m not sure. But once I started to follow the leads you’ve given me about Bunzo’s, my investigation took a new direction. Danny had something to do with Bunzo’s, or vice-versa, that much I’m convinced about.”

“Well, count me out. I’m sticking to being a gardener.”

“I thought you were a landscape horticulture something or other?” he asked.

“I might not be any better at that than I was as a cop.”

“Why?”

She waved her arm in a grand gesture in the direction of the estate in front of them. “My job is to turn Hawaii’s biggest weed patch into a beautiful horticultural garden that residents would be proud to pay their hard-earned money to visit.”

“So?”

“I’m utterly clueless of what to do. I have a crew of a dozen that comes to work five days a week, and all they’ve done is prune a few branches and dig a hole in the ground.”

“It looks different now than it did on Monday. What are those sketches?” he asked.

Gina handed them to him. “This is what it’s supposed to look like when I’m done.”

“What are these places?”

She explained the drawings of the individual gardens on her map. “This area is the Japanese garden, and here’s the koi pond that goes with it. In the middle of the grounds will be the vegetable gardens. Through our digging this week, we’ve discovered an old diversion ditch from the pond to the pea patch for irrigation. I’ll need to talk to the Tanizawas to see if they want that included in the final development. Honestly, this is turning into an archeological dig more than it is a garden restoration.”

“Walk me around the place. I’d like to see it again.”

“Again?”

“My school had field trips here when I was a kid. I think I’ve seen it only once since then.”

Instead of pushing through weeds and vines, she took Kona along the double track. Gina felt quite satisfied with herself, knowing the differences between the various fruit trees that had been pruned. She picked up a papaya that had fallen since the day before.

“All this fruit, and nobody is eating it except for the rats. I have plenty of them around here.”

“So I’ve heard. But nobody eats fruit from off the ground. It has to be harvested. Once it falls, it's bruised on one side, and then like you said, the rats get to it.”

“I still haven’t learned how to know if something is ripe. The crew picked a few things the other day, but I didn’t get the chance to see what.”

“Have someone show you how to determine if fruit is ripe for picking. Tropical fruit is a little different from fruit you grow on the mainland.”

“I don’t know much about those, either. Not much of a farmer, I guess.”

“You will be soon enough, if you ask the right questions.”

“I’m not sure of what to do with all these different things. Seriously, what’s the difference between a papaya and a mango?”

“Not much, if you’re eating it fresh for breakfast.” He took the papaya from her hand and set it on a rock. Using a knife he got from his pocket, he sliced it in half lengthwise. “Papaya have all these