Yuletide Stalker

Linc filled the two glasses before he turned to greet the Kingsburys. Why was Ahonui taking such an interest in Maddie? He and Roselina entertained the Kingsburys occasionally, but Ahonui had never just dropped in like this before. Today’s visit irritated him, and since he wasn’t always able to keep his emotions from showing on his face, there was a tense moment in the kitchen.

Linc resented the appraising way Steve looked at Maddie, but he forced himself to say amiably, “Hello, Steve.”

Ahonui put her purse on one of the kitchen chairs. “I’ll make our sandwiches,” she said. She took the bread and lunch meat from Maddie’s hands and started fashioning more sandwiches.

Controlling his temper, Linc said, “You’re welcome to have lunch with us, but Maddie and I are leaving in an hour.”

“Any place we can tag along?” Ahonui asked.

“No,” Linc answered and reached into the cabinet for two more place settings. “Steve, we’re eating on the patio. Why don’t you carry these out?”

Maddie could sense tension during the meal. She tried to determine the relationship between Linc and Ahonui. She had thought Linc was irritated when the Kingsburys showed up, but he was civil to them, so perhaps she had imagined that. Once again she wondered if he was romantically involved with her.

Much of the conversation around the table was between Linc and Ahonui concerning business matters that had come up during the two days he’d been away from the office. But after they’d finished their sandwiches, Steve turned to Maddie.

“Are you enjoying your visit?” he asked.

“Very much. It seems like a wonderful place to live.”

“It has its drawbacks,” he said. “Most people who come here from mainland U.S.A. like it at first, but they soon get tired of it. It’s very confining, you know. People who are used to driving hundreds of miles in any direction don’t stay here very long. I’m thinking about moving—perhaps to Japan.”

Steve was a chunky, swarthy man. His face was darker than Ahonui’s, and he didn’t have his sister’s handsome features. He had a habit of looking over Maddie’s left shoulder as he talked to her, a mannerism she found disconcerting. She kept wanting to look behind her. She noticed that although Linc seemed intent on what Ahonui was saying, he often glanced toward her and Steve, as if he was monitoring their conversation.

“Do you work in Honolulu, Mr. Kingsbury?”

“Yes, and please, call me Steve. I have a boat rental on Waikiki.”

“Linc and I were there yesterday. Did you see us?”

“No. I played golf yesterday.”

They tarried over their luncheon until Linc looked at his watch. “Maddie, we should get started. If you want to go to the cottage and change, I’ll clear away the dishes. We’ll leave in thirty minutes.”

“It won’t take that long for me to get out of this dress and into something more casual,” she said. “I’ll help put the things in the dishwasher. You and Roselina are spoiling me.”

Picking up her own plate and silverware, Ahonui cast a speculative glance at Maddie. “So you’re staying in the guesthouse.”

“Yes, and it’s a perfect place. I love hearing the ocean waves when I wake up in the morning.”

“When are you coming back to work, Linc?” Ahonui asked.

“I have appointments on Friday, so I’ll be back by then. Maybe Thursday. We’re going to Kauai tomorrow and on to Hawaii before we come home. I don’t have a set itinerary.”

“You mean to skip Maui?” Steve said.

“We’ll go there after Christmas,” Linc said.

“Well, I can contact you on your cell phone if I need you,” Ahonui said.

“If you do, leave a message. I’ll keep it turned off and check mail once a day. Too many people have my phone number, and I don’t want to be bothered all the time we’re traveling.”

Maddie hurried to the guesthouse and changed into a pair of shorts and a knit shirt, unable to comprehend that it could be snowing at home. She picked up her camera and locked the door behind her. Linc waited for her by the garage. The Kingsburys were already in their car.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” she said.

“You didn’t—we just came from the house.”

Ahonui and Steve followed them out of the driveway, and Linc said, “I’ll be surprised if they don’t follow us.”

“I don’t want to cause any trouble. If there’s work you need to do, don’t bother with me. I can entertain myself.”

Turning left on the highway, Linc looked in the rearview to see which way Steve headed. To his surprise, and relief, the Kingsburys turned to the right.

“Ahonui knew I planned to take at least a week to show you around the islands. Sometimes she takes her work position too seriously. I do appreciate her loyalty, but I am the boss and I don’t let her dictate my personal life. Relax and enjoy yourself.”

Linc drove across the mountains to the northern side of Oahu. He was amused and pleased at Maddie’s childlike enjoyment of the scenery. She exclaimed over the spectacular rugged views on their left, as well as the broad, flat areas that led down to the Pacific.

“We’re going to the Polynesian Cultural Center,” Linc explained. “The center is probably the favorite tourist attraction in the islands. I’ll explain a bit about it as we drive. I see you brought your camera, so let me know if you want to stop and take pictures. You’ll see some pretty sights.”

“I did a little research before I left home, so I know that Hawaii is part of a large group of islands collectively known as the Polynesian Islands.”

He glanced at her approvingly. “That’s true. The center is a nonprofit organization to preserve Polynesian cultural heritage. Most of the people you’ll see today are students at a nearby university. Fees at the center provide scholarships for many of the students.”

They were greeted at the gateway to the center by two women, who put shell leis around their necks. Judging by their clothing, Linc told Maddie that they were from Tahiti. Although there were many exhibits to view, Linc chose only three, the ones he thought would most interest Maddie.

“We’ll go to the exhibits of Fiji, Samoa and New Zealand,” he said. “We’ll come here again before you go home, and you can see what we miss today.”

They watched the students demonstrate the culture respective to their native islands through song, dance, display of musical instruments and samples of their craft and food. After walking from one site to another, Maddie was ready for the restful canoe ride around the whole area. Although the center was crowded with hundreds of tourists, she and Linc didn’t know any of them. She felt as if they were in a world of their own.

For dinner, Linc bought tickets to attend Ali’i Luau.

“You won’t think much of Everyday Luau after you attend this,” he joked. “This is reportedly Hawaii’s largest and most authentic luau. I don’t want you to miss it.”

And Maddie was glad she hadn’t. When they walked through the gates, she felt as if she’d been plunged into the past. The attendant gave her an orchid lei, which Linc placed over the shell lei she’d received at the gate. People representing King Kamehameha, the king who unified Hawaii in the late eighteenth century, and his court entertained the guests with ceremonial songs and dances.

Flickering tiki lamps and waterfalls contributed to Maddie’s sensation that she had boarded a time-travel rocket that had catapulted Linc and her back two hundred years. The food didn’t differ much from the food served in Linc’s restaurants, but the ancient atmosphere appealed to Maddie. But she told Linc loyally that his reproduction of the luau was as good as the real thing.

After Maddie remained silent for half the return drive, Linc said, “Are you sleepy?”

“No, not much. I’ve enjoyed today very much, but I thought some of the rituals were very frightening. They brought to mind some unpleasant things I read about the early history of the islands. As we watched the ancient rites, I could almost believe that some of the traditions have carried over to the present.”

“There is a lot of superstition among the people,” Linc agreed, “but being an outsider, I’ve never paid any attention to it. What did you read?”

“About the custom of sacrificing prisoners taken in battle. The priest slaughtered them outside the temple walls, and the bodies were left to decay on the altars. The left eye of a victim was often given to the king.”

“But those things happened hundreds of years ago.”

His words did little to reassure her. “Sometimes to celebrate a victory in battle, or even the construction of an altar or temple, the altars were heaped with human bodies. One account indicated that a few tribes carry on these traditions.”