Sheriff Hartman and Rafferty took turns telling Paula Grayson what happened to her sister and her family. She was horrified and anguished.
Paula disbelieved. "All of them?"
Hartman said, "Yes.
Paula wept and told the heavens above, "God help me!"
Hartman told Paula, "We need somebody to identify the bodies."
Paula wept and hugged herself.
Tomo Oteas lay in Nora's bed in her bedroom, pale and sweating, his body shuddering. Nora sat on the edge of the bed reading a thermometer. Henry Oteas stood near, not knowing what he could do, but waiting to help out.
Nora said, "He needs blood, Henry. Antibiotics, too."
"I give him my blood, " Henry said.
Nora was skeptical. "What's your blood type?"
Henry dug out his wallet and a dog-eared Red Cross card. Nora read the card, then shook her head.
"You're not his blood type," Nora said. "Neither am I."
Tomo stirred and whimpered. His eyes opened; he saw Henry and Nora hovering. Tomo said with great difficulty, "Peacocks—"
Henry was horrified. He told Nora, "I heard about the raid in jail. Jeremiah Quint's whole family got wiped out. Massacred. Even the children." With great difficulty, he said, "They had peacocks for watchdogs."
Nora didn’t understand what Henry was saying.
"I didn't connect it—" Henry said.
Tomo opened his eyes again. He was conscious and more aware. Seeing Nora, he said, "Nora?" And smiled as best as he could.
Nora said, "Tomo, were you at Jeremiah Quint's this morning?"
Tomo couldn’t hear her through with the pain. "I got shot—shot by that haole Quint."
"Tomo, did you shot anybody?"
Tomo shook his head.
Henry said, "Tomo, did you see anybody shoot anybody?"
Tomo shook his head. He whispered, "I'm sorry, honey. I got drunk and stupid."
Henry and Nora caught on; they were horrified.
Nora howled: "No! No!"
Yee’s Place was a roadside restaurant specializing in family style Chinese food. Sheriff Hartman and Rafferty ate Chinese lunch together.
Hartman said, "Jimmy Quint's no longer in Wild Banana Gulch.
Rafferty said, "How many other gulches are there?
"What made him go native?"
"About six months ago he met a woman in Washington and they fell in love. Three days later they got married," Rafferty said. "So off they went on their honeymoon. Off to the South of France. One morning they got up early, felt like going for a swim. A rip tide took her. He tried to save her, but she drowned. Jimmy's life crashed around him. He came here to hide out."
Sheriff Hartman was abruptly cold and distant. "A heart-breaker. Am I s'posed to believe it?"
"She was my ex-wife."
Hartman believed Rafferty, then grunted. "Now I feel stupid."
"Jimmy thinks I blame him for it," Rafferty said. "That he failed to save her. But I don't. And that's why I have to help him. To prove that to him. Any word on Eddie Ka’aina yet?"
"He's better. But he still has a long way to go.
"And his assailant?"
"Lester Rahler. He's still out there somewhere." Hartman was pensive.
"His father they call the Mad Dog."
"Nobody calls themselves Mad Dog unless they expect to be shot dead in the streets."
"Mad Dog got his name in the Oahu State Penitentiary. One of those classic hand-to-hand combat stories in the laundry room. He was separated from his homies, fought a duel to the death with some wacko. Mad Dog won by clenching his teeth on the other man's windpipe until he was dead."
"Christ!"
"Mad Dog himself was nearly dead by this time. It was a toss-up whether to carry him out or leave him for the scavengers. And it wasn't long before the legends started filtering out of the cellblock about the asshole who kills like a mad dog."
"And Lester's his son?"
Hartman remembered. "When I was just a deputy starting here, the Sheriff once had Lester Rahler arrested for biting an attack dog."
"Seriously—,"
Hartman said, "Seriously. " His voice was like ice. "Lester is a lunatic. When the heat came over him, you will have to kill him to stop him."
"Do you think Lester and Mad Dog could have whacked Jeremiah and his family?"
"They could have done it, yes."
"How is your search going for the killers?"