Chapter Twenty Three - How Stupid Do I Look?

When the Cessna was safely off the ground, Charlie looked at his passenger. It was an especially dark night with no moon whatsoever but Charlie could see the shivering figure next to him in the glow from the instrument panel.

“You’re a lucky man,” Charlie said. John looked at him with irritation but said nothing. He didn’t feel lucky. “You could just as easily be dead right now, you know that don’t ya, pard?”

“I wish I was dead right now.”

“No you don’t. You wouldn’t be here if you did. In a few days you’ll be past the hard part.”

“What do you know about it, Tex?”

“I know enough not to blame addicts for everything they do. I know that they’re someone else until that white powder gets ahold of them, which is why I’m cutting you slack right now. Who did this to you?”

“I’m not going to tell you that. How stupid do I look?”

“Ha!” Charlie laughed until tears rolled down his cheeks. “You’re sitting here with a bullet hole that woulda killed ya if it had been a couple of inches in another direction. You’re shaking with the DT’s because you’ve been sticking needles full of poison in your arms and you’re stranded in the middle of the fucking Pacific Ocean.”

“The only person you can think of to help you is the man whose ex girlfriend you were doin’ all this with and you ask me how stupid do you look? I know it was one of them rhetorical questions but I’m gonna answer it. Son, I’ve rarely met anyone who looked stupider’n you do right now. That’s how Goddamn stupid you look.”

The chuckle left Charlie’s voice as quickly as it had come. “Now, what I need to know, is who did this to you.”

“Piss off, Tex. What’s it to you?”

“That’s not your business. You're gonna tell me so you might as well make it easy yerself.”

“Like I said Tex, piss off.”

Charlie was tempted to lose his temper with this ungrateful prick but he knew, better than most, that sometimes acting like a hardass is all a man has left.

He pushed the wheel forward and the little plane went into a dive so quickly that it felt like someone had kicked the bottom out from under it. John had been fighting his nausea for a while now and he quickly lost the battle, puking all over himself. Charlie pulled the wheel back and the plane began to climb again.

“Well, wasn’t that fun?” Charlie asked. “Say, you’re really stinking up my plane. When this is over, I’m sending you the cleaning bill. Shall we do it again?”

“Jesus Christ,” John said, “What is your major malfunction?”

“I want to know who you were doing your drug deal with, that’s my malfunction.”

“What makes you think I was doing a drug deal?”

Charlie pushed the wheel forward again and then pulled back a little quicker this time. John didn’t have much left to throw up but his body gave it a try anyway.

“Don’t piss on my head and tell me it's rainin', you little shit. I’m gonna ask you one more time, who was it?”

“You wouldn’t know him anyway.” John answered.

“You’d be surprised who I know.”

“Okay, it was a guy called Tiny, big Hawaiian guy. Don’t know his real name, don’t know who he works for, okay?”

“Okay with me.” Charlie said. “There are some towels behind you, clean yourself up. You’re stinking up my plane.”


The sun had yet to rise over Kaunakakai but Soon-Li was already up. She dialed Rudy’s number in a panic. There was still no answer and now the answering machine wasn’t even on. She didn’t know what, but something was dreadfully wrong. Her bad vibes had become an earthquake.

She stood at the picture window in their little cottage and watched the darkness dissipate over the ocean. The horizon wasn’t yet light enough for the stars to fade. She could hear Wally’s asthmatic snoring from the bedroom and its familiarity comforted her some. She pushed the redial button and listened again to the endless ringing. Damn.

She tried Charlie’s number on Oahu but there was no answer there either. Then she tried his Condo on Maui. On the second ring, Jenny answered.

“Sorry to call so early, Jenny, is Charlie there?”

“No, he left a few hours ago. He got a call from Rudy and said he had to go to Oahu right away. Why? What’s up?”

“Not sure, bad vibe, you know? Something up with Rudy.”

“Soon-Li, you’re scaring me.” Jenny said.

“Sorry, probably I imagine things. Don’t worry; sometime I get too worked up. No big deal, I sure. Just have Charlie or Rudy call me if you hear from either of them, Okay?”

Soon-Li hung up the phone and stared out the window. She felt very alone.

After the Doctor left and Charlie and John headed for the plane, Rudy unplugged his phone and went back to bed. The sun would be up soon and he was so tired he could hardly see straight.

He’d been waiting a long time for some decent sleep and nothing would get in his way now. He would sleep all day if he felt like it and sort out the details of this strange night later.

Charlie would get John to the Rehab Center and Rudy would be done with the whole affair. Whatever trouble John was in wasn’t Rudy’s concern and he intended to keep it that way. He’d done his good deed for the day and his conscience was clear. He’d never been much of a Boy Scout anyway.

In a matter of minutes, he was sound asleep.


Circe passed the day driving around Honolulu in a daze. She changed rental cars twice just to muddy the trail. Every unknown face, every rental car, every limousine that she passed looked suspicious to her. She was used to the admiring gazes of strangers and usually enjoyed knowing that she was so attractive that most men and a lot of women couldn’t keep their eyes off of her. Today she did not feel attractive and every glance her way was a threat.

When the sun dropped back into the ocean she headed down the Kamehameha Highway to the North Shore in her third rental car of the day. She pulled into one of the Beach Parks on Sunset Beach, home of the famous Bonsai pipeline, renowned for its incredible surfing.
She sat on a picnic table watching the most die-hard surfers carry their boards back to the little crash pads they shared across the street from the beach. She smiled when she noticed that all of the brown-bodied surfers had blond hair in shaggy curls, as if that were some mandatory uniform for entrance into this silly fraternity.

She considered picking one up and spending the night safely in the arms of a stranger, then remembered the half million dollars of cash and contraband in the car and decided against leaving it unattended.

A hotel was out of the question, she was sure the goons were keeping a close eye on most of the hotels on the island. True, there ware way too many Hotels for them to watch every one but how could she know which ones were safe? She reluctantly spent another night asleep in the reclined bucket seat of a rental car.

When the first rays of morning pierced Circe’s eyelids she rubbed the sleep from her oily face and squinted into the stern daylight. She nearly jumped though the sunroof when the tan young surfer knocked on her window. When she saw him peering through the window and clutching his surfboard, she turned the key and rolled the window down. The fresh sea breeze was a welcome relief from the warm, stagnant air in the car.

“Miss, are you okay?” the surfer asked.

“Yes, fine, thank you.”

“Did you spend the night in there?” he asked? She hadn’t had a shower or a change of clothes in two days.

“Oh no, just resting for a bit.” She lied, sure that her stringy hair and oily face gave her away.

“Well, okay, you’re sure everything’s alright? You’re not in some kind of trouble or anything?"

“No, I’m fine, thank you.”

“Okay, sorry to have bothered you.”

She watched him saunter to the shower building and felt like an idiot for not realizing that she could have showered here.

The surfer dug what looked to be his only quarter out of his trunks, dropped it in the payphone and dialed, looking nervously around while Circe watched him from the car.

“Yeah, I think I saw that girl you were asking about. She’s in a white Sunbird, looks like she slept in it.” He kept his back to her as he talked.

“Yeah, the Sunset Beach Park on the North Shore. He listened for a minute then turned around to look at her and their eyes locked. He quickly turned away when he realized that he was being watched. “Yeah, she’s still here.”

“Keep her there until someone gets there.” The voice on the phone instructed.

“I’ll try.”

“You’ll do more than try if you want the money.”

The surfer hung up the phone, left his surf board leaning against the wall and ambled as casually as he could toward the car.

Circe started the car and backed out of the parking space.

“Hey, wait!” the surfer shouted. She turned onto Kamehameha and gunned the engine in a beeline toward Honolulu.

“Shit!” the surfer muttered, kicking the ground as he watched her speed away. The money sure would have helped prolong his endless summer.

Circe followed the highway for about five miles and then turned onto a dirt road that led away from the shore, into the mountains. She followed the road until it became too rugged, then parked in the shade as far from the road as she could get. She sat in the car and tried to collect herself.

When her breathing returned to normal, she got her kit from the glove box and fixed herself a hit. She struggled to stick the needle in her arm with her shaky hands. In a few seconds the tingling sensation filled her veins and she knew, once again, that she could conquer the world. She just needed to calm down and come up with a plan.

Rudy! Why didn’t she think of that sooner? She’d heard through the grapevine that Rudy was living on the island. Sure he’d be pissed at her but she could always turn on the tears, flaunt her body and get her way. He was a man, after all, and what man couldn’t she manipulate? All she had to do was find him.


It wasn’t yet noon in Salt Lake City and Pete was relaxing with a cup of tea before opening The Prankster, when the phone rang.

“Hi, Pete, how are ya?” The voice was a bit too chirpy but familiar, though he couldn’t place it.

“I’m fine. Who is this?”

“Who is it!? It’s Circe. Did you forget me already?”

“Trying to. Right up to this very minute, actually. What do you want?”

Pete made no effort to hide his disdain for her. He could have gone a lifetime without hearing from Circe.

“Well, don’t sound so hostile.” Circe said in her sexiest voice.

“Cut the crap, Circe, what do you want?”

“I’m in Hawaii and I thought I’d look Rudy up. Do you have his address?”

“What makes you think Rudy wants to see you?”

“We have a lot to talk about.” Circe said.

She was quickly growing weary of being nice to this prick. The pay phone at the 7-11 was dirty and stunk like tobacco and the guys playing basketball across the street were making a lot of racket. Her three minutes would be up any second. Damn that Rudy, why couldn’t he just be listed in the book like everyone else?

“I doubt that, Circe.” Pete was saying, “I really doubt that.”

“Come on, Petey, don’t be like that. Do you have his address?”

“Yes.”

“Can you give it to me?”

“No.” Click.

Pete went back to his tea. What kind of trouble was his friend in? Pete had been half-asleep when John had called and he’d almost forgotten that he’d given up Rudy’s address. He’d never have done such a stupid thing if he’d been awake. The more he thought about the bizarre calls, the more troubled he became.

He dialed Rudy’s number and let it ring 15 times. It wasn’t like Rudy not to at least have his machine on. He set about preparing the bar for opening but his mind was miles away. About 5000 miles away.


The phone went dead and Circe slammed it down. She leaned against the wall and let herself slide down until she was sitting on the cold, filthy, cement.

The basketball game across the street was breaking up and she watched admiringly as a dark, muscular man crossed the street. He was smaller than the Hawaiians he’d been playing with and he was carrying his shirt in his left hand. He entered the parking lot and wiped his sweaty face with the shirt. When he pulled the shirt away from his face, Circe’s eyes all but exploded. He was nearly as tanned as the Hawaiians now but there was no mistaking Rudy’s face.

She remained seated, partially shielded by the parked car and turned her head away. He entered the store without even a glance her direction. A few minutes later he emerged with a bottle of Perrier and crossed the highway again, climbed into an immaculate old BMW and drove away. She jumped into the Sunbird and followed just close enough to keep him in sight.

Less than a mile down the road, he parked behind a little beachfront duplex and entered through the back door. She continued past the duplex for another mile and turned around, smiling to herself. Things were looking up. What incredible Karma. She laughed when she realized that she had passed this house at least five times in the last two days.


Rudy slept much of the day after John and Charlie departed, wrote for a while and then retired early. He had a lot of sleep to catch up on. He thought about trying to call Raven but he knew that she was busy and on the move and it would be hard to catch up with her. She would call when she had a chance but he forgot that the phone and answering machine were unplugged.

The following day he woke early and had a leisurely cup of coffee and a bagel. After breakfast he drove over to the Beach Park to see if he could find a basketball game. All the sleep he’d had in the last day and a half had done him a world of good and he now he had energy to burn.

It was a little before 9 AM when he got home from playing basketball. He stripped and headed straight for the shower. When he emerged he walked naked into the living room, rubbing his hair with a towel.

“My, you’re looking good.” a familiar voice said. “I’ve never seen you so tan.”

Rudy quickly pulled the towel from his head and wrapped it around his waist. A couple of days ago he’d have been shocked to see Circe sitting in his living room but he was quickly losing his capacity for surprise.

“You ever hear of knocking?” he asked.

“I knocked, but there was no answer. The door was unlocked so I came in. You really should be more careful.”

“Uh-huh. What do you want?”

“I was on the island so I thought I’d stop by. You’re not still mad at me are you?” She got up from the couch and moved toward him.

“You look terrible.” Rudy said.

“Thanks a lot. You look great. You're so tan.” She said as she reached toward his crotch.

“Yeah, you mentioned that.” he said, backing away.

“What’s the matter, don’t I excite you anymore?”

“A lot of things have changed, Circe. You left me, remember?”

“I remember,” she said. Tears were streaking her dirty face and her voice cracked as she talked. “I’m so, so sorry for that. I was confused, but I’ve sorted things out now and I realize how much I love you.” She said between sobs. “Oh, God, I just love you so much.”

“Oh, this is rich,” he said with a wry grin. “You always could turn on the tears when it suited your purpose. You should get an Oscar for that performance. How stupid do I look?”

“Rudy, I miss you so much.” She approached again, laid her head on his shoulder and touched him through the towel. “Don’t you want me?”

It took a little longer this time but he pulled away again.

“It seems like you still want me.” she said. She slid her hand under the towel and took hold of his manhood.

His maleness betrayed him and he thought of all the juicy rationalizations he could come up with for just one more little tumble. She was still beautiful. She was dirty and pale as could be and she was still beautiful.

He thought of Raven and his new life and everything that was at stake and pushed her away, ashamed of himself for taking so long to do so, for enjoying the feel of her hand on his erection, for even having an erection.

“Like I said, Circe, a lot of things have changed. What do you really want?”

“Oh Rudy, why won’t you believe me? I want us. I want us back.” The tears were really flowing now. She took another step toward him and he took two back, until he was against the wall.

“Look, Circe, I’m not as stupid as I used to be. You obviously are in some sort of trouble, now what do you want? You’ve got three seconds to spill your guts before I throw you out onto Kamehameha face first.

“Okay, okay,” she said. The tears stopped instantly and the quiver had left her voice.

“You’re right, I’m in trouble. I just need a place to lay low for a while, until I can get off the island. It’s all John’s fault, he got mixed up in a drug deal and now some very bad people are after me. They’ve already killed him and now they want me. They think I’m involved by I’m not, I swear it. He must have tried to burn them and now it’s all bad. Surely you don’t hate me so much that you’d let me die?”

“Why don’t you call the police?”

“You don’t know these people, they own the police. Just let me stay here for a few days, and then maybe you could help me get off the island when things cool off a bit. Please, Rudy, I’m desperate, there is nowhere on this island that they won’t find me and you’re my only hope. I know you won’t just let me die, I know you won’t.” The tears were back and in high gear.

“I don’t know, Circe. I don’t need this. I have a new life here and it doesn’t include you. I don’t need you jeopardizing it.”

“Okay, look, just let me take a shower and clean myself up. You can think about it in the meantime.”

“Fine. You take a shower and I’ll think about it.”

Circe headed for the shower and Rudy sat on the sofa.

Shit. Why me. Why always me? I don’t need this, why should I care if she got herself in some trouble, it was bound to happen. She IS trouble. Why is this my problem? His brain was dizzy. Still, her story did make some sense, considering what he know about John. She was obviously lying about John, but then again, she could actually believe that he was dead.

Circe emerged naked from the shower and the sight of her tempted him again for just an instant.

“Do you have something I can wear? I don’t have any clothes besides the ones I had on.”

Rudy grabbed some shorts and a tee shirt from his bedroom and threw them to her.

“Okay, here’s the deal. "You can stay here for a day or two until I can get you off the island. Meanwhile, you sleep on the couch and you keep your clothes on and your hands off. Once you’re off the island, you’re on your own. I don’t ever want to see you again. I don’t want to hear from you. I don’t want to hear about you. Ever. Not ever again. You’re trouble that I don’t need. I have too much to lose now, understood?”

“Understood.”

He thought for an instant that maybe he could get her off the island before Raven got back and she'd never need to know but he quickly realized that he couldn't keep if from her. So, how would he explain this to Raven?


“Hello?”

“Hey Pete, it’s Tiny, man, how’s it going, brah?”

Silence.

“Pete?”

“What?”

“You don’t have Rudy’s address do you?”

“I can’t give you that, Tiny.”

“Why’ not, brudda?”

“Because he’s dead.”

“What?”

“Yeah, he’s dead. He was killed in a car wreck, yesterday.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“But I heard that he was in Utah skiing just a few days ago.”

“Yeah, car slid off the road coming down the mountain. It was tragic.”

“Hey just like that chick you used to hang around with, huh?”

“Yeah, just like that. Amazing coincidence, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, well, Okay.” Click.

“Ken.” Pete called to the bartender.

“Yeah?” Ken replied, emerging from the store room.

“You have anything important planned for the next few weeks?”

“Not really” Ken said, “Why?”

“I need a vacation. Can you watch the place until I get back?”

“Sure, boss. No problem. How long you gonna be gone?”

“As long as it takes. Um, I dunno, could be a while, okay?”

“Don’t worry about a thing boss, me and Snake will take real good care of the place."

“Snake? Who’s snake?”

“Just kidding, boss. Don’t know anyone named Snake. Don’t worry; I’ll look after things till you get back. When you leaving?”

“Next flight out. Listen, if anyone asks about me, tell them I’m visiting my Dad in St. Louis.”

“You got it.”


Things were going from bad to worse for Tiny. The boss had tried to make it sound like everything was okay, like he was just having Tony and Tiny work together but Tiny knew better. The boss was good, though. He’d sounded so calm and reassuring on the phone that Tiny had actually believed him for a while but it only took a few minutes for the real picture to sink in. He’d seen this scenario more than once in his years with Mr. Azeri.

Tiny had been with Azeri longer than anyone; anyone still alive, at least. He had once believed that he was immune from something like this, and to an extent, he was right. He’d have been okay with the blown exchange because it wasn’t his fault and because he’d earned a little leeway. But getting crossed by that bitch was something else. That was just plain stupid and uncharacteristic for Tiny.

It wasn’t the first time a broad had tried to work him but this girl was different. She just had a way of overwhelming you. He couldn’t believe that he’d been stupid enough to believe her when she said that she wanted to be his woman but it’s easy to believe what you want to be true. Having her on his arm would have been instant status for a guy like Tiny, a sure sign that he was moving up in the world, that he was somebody.

At any rate, being stupid enough to put himself in a situation where he could be handcuffed to a bed was bad enough. Mr. Azeri surely realized that the only way Tiny would have been in that room with that tramp after the blown exchange, was because he was crossing someone.

Yeah, Tony was on his way to kill Tiny; that was obvious.


“Shut the door.” Tiny said. He was in the car already, Tony surprised that a guy Tiny’s size could move that quick. “Start the car and drive.”

It wasn’t easy reaching for the ignition with the hard steel poking him in the head.

“Tiny, what are you doing, brah?”

“Shut up and drive.” He directed Tony to Makapuu Point and had him park in the scenic overlook. This was to be Tony’s last view. Tiny had been watching as they entered the parking area and was satisfied that no one was around. Good choice of locations, he told himself. Not much tourist traffic here.

“Okay, what now?” Tony asked, and then his brains splattered on the window.

See, you want to kill somebody, you don’t screw around. You don’t discuss it with 'em and give em a chance to wiggle away like on TV. Just do it, before they know it’s coming.

Tiny had broken plenty of fingers and other bones and administered many beatings over the years. His street cred said that he’d done a few hits too but this was the first person he’d ever actually killed. It felt pretty damn good.