"She is your girlfriend, right?"
"Leave her out of this!"
I pushed harder. "I need to meet her face-to-face. She's your partner. I want to know how much she knows about all this. We get together soon, understand?
"No way."
"Does she know about it?"
"She knows I'm having it done."
"Did she ask you to do it for her?"
"No!"
"What does she get out of this? You and half of everything you own?"
"Yes."
"Love or money? Which one is it?"
Corky bit the bullet. "Both."
"When the shooting starts, you two gonna be holding hands together?"
"We don't hold hands in public."
"Never? Not even over in Waikiki? Or did you two meet in a church camp?"
Corky was furious. "You son-of-a-bitch!"
"Is she going to need an alibi, too? Something iron-clad and fool-proof?"
"You've made your point," Corky said stiffly.
I stepped back. "I'm forgetting my manners. Hey, we can postpone murdering your wife for a month, two months, five months, whatever. Don't you want to spend some time with your new old lady?"
Corky was outraged. He took a sudden step towards me, threw his chest out, made a fist as if he would strike me, but he hesitated, because he was afraid.
"Corky, once we get started, you won't be able to get together for a long time. At least until the body's cold and forgotten. And if your scheme goes bust, it's even a longer separation for you two lovebirds. You may never see it again, not at least before it's gone all gray and wrinkly with age, and it cracks like old leather because it hasn't been used in ages--"
"Keep getting on my case, okay," Corky snarled, "and maybe you'll find yourself out of a job!"
I smacked Corky with the back of my hand hard enough to send the older man to the sand. "It's my ass on the line if you or her screw up!" I growled.
Corky realized his mistake. "Okay, okay--"
"Nobody gets whacked until I'm satisfied! You got that?"
"Okay. Okay."
I could be very cold. "If it looks like a set-up, or a frame-up, or a screw-up, anything other than an easy hit ... " I waited a heartbeat. "I hit you."
Corky was stunned. "What?"
I made a menacing hiss. "And if something happens to me, the word goes down. Somebody will get paid to hit you. You and your girlfriend both."
"Let me explain--!"
But I was already stalking away, heading back to the Club Ilima.
Corky stayed behind, afraid.
Inside the club, I ordered a drink for myself. I turned and saw Ivy talking with Saundra Collins. The two women were staring at me.
Then I saw Saundra Collins shoot from her stool and come straight at me. She spoke loudly, very belligerently. "Mister Bishop, my name is Saundra Collins, and I represent a lot of the local property owners and residents. We bought this land and built homes here, and our families and our future is here, and none of us is going to be thrown off our land!"
Very quickly, everyone around us stopped whatever else they were doing to eavesdrop upon this one-sided argument.
I was confused. "Who wants to throw you off?"
"You and Uncle Sam." She turned to the rest of the drinkers and spoke loudly. "The Federal government is planning to get rid of all the East Maui people!"
I backed away from the battle. "Lady, I just got here ... "
Over her shoulder, I saw Corky came into the Club Ilima. He saw his wife's outburst, was horrified but powerless to move. I wanted to leave myself.
Saundra pressed her attack onward. "If you turn this coast into a national park, we'll get more tourists, more traffic, more congestion, and that means more crime and higher taxes and more problems."
I was desperate. "I have to leave now--"
Saundra spoke up very loudly. "Washington should just leave us alone!"
Ivy and I left in a hurry.
I started the Mustang. "Where did she come from?"
"Michael, I'm sorry," Ivy said. "That was my fault. I told her you worked for the National Park Service."
"You sicced her on me? Jesus, Ivy!"
"I know how I'll make it up to you." She snuggled up against me. "I'm going to bite your face, rip your hair, and fuck you as hard as I can."
I was surprised. "Oh! Okay."
I slipped the Mustang into gear.