Mystery of Turtle Cove - Chapter 1

Chapter 1_ Deadly Paradise .pdf

Chapter 1: Deadly Paradise

Sunday, late February

Leilani Drew inhaled the sweet scent of plumeria and surveyed the sweeping ocean view as she made her way down a concrete path lined with coconut palms, flaming red ti and green and white striped Star of India. Bird song filled the crisp morning air and the last slivers of a waxing moon dove into the ocean as the sun began its blazing trek across a cloudless sky. Unfolding before her lay the tranquil aquamarine waters of

Honokono Bay, known as Turtle Cove, and beyond, a deep ocean channel and the mysterious island of Moloka’i. A light warm breeze played with long ribbons of Leilani’s dark hair, and she raised her face to absorb the sun’s radiance, smiling contentedly.

Juggling two bags of groceries in one arm and the keys to her condo in the other, Leilani maneuvered toward her front door. She kicked her sandals across the tiled entryway.

Fumbling with the key, she finally slipped it in the lock and opened the door, breathing deeply, relief and satisfaction settling into her bones. She placed the groceries on the dining table and she walked through the living room, opening the sliding glass door to the lanai. The murmur of ocean waves gently licking the rock-lined cove filled the room.

Leilani scanned her victory, appreciating again the view out the floor to ceiling windows facing the sea. Sunlight glittered off blue-green waves, like a million diamonds thrown in devotional offering to Kanaloa, Hawaiian god of the ocean and wind.

She stuck the groceries in the fridge without taking them out of the bags. In the bedroom, she dumped the contents of a large leather overnight bag onto the bed and rummaged through her clothing until she found a blue and orange bikini. She hurriedly changed, tying a light blue sarong around her waist, then pulled her thick hair into a ponytail and headed out of the condo towards the coastal trail leading to the beach.

Jagged black lava rocks lined the coastline and stood in stark contrast to a moving canvas of peacock blue ocean. Across that watery expanse, the shadowed valleys and emerald colored slopes of Moloka’i dazzled the eye. Dark clouds bruised the beauty, shrouding the towering summits like ancient whispers of restless spirits breathing a message of foreboding.

With the two-hour drive from her family home in the jungle on Maui’s east side behind her, she felt tension and stress melt away as she stretched her legs and breathed in the sea air. Heavy tourist traffic had choked the roads leaving her feeling edgy. Ever since her mother’s accident, she hated driving. She knew a walk and a swim would help calm her. Staying at her condo for a few weeks would give her time to paint and fix it up before renting it out to vacationers next month. She planned to meet some members of the HomeOwners Association, the HOA, that evening. First, she sought solace in the beauty surrounding her.She looked back at the condo complex nestled around the cove. The low rise concrete buildings stacked three levels high were built in a tiered formation along a sweeping curve of the cove, taking up almost three acres of gently sloping hillside. A lanai overlooking the bay adorned the condos, allowing each unit a privileged view of paradise. The ground floor units bordered a verdant carpet of manicured lawn that rolled out to terraced rock ledges guarding the entrance to the cove.

Passing through a small gate, Leilani left the grounds of the condo resort and stepped onto a narrow sand and rock trail. A mix of hau and jade plum trees grew along both sides of the path, creating a screen of leaves and branches. The trail led down towards the ocean and opened onto a wide rocky beach dotted with tidepools. The sound of ocean surf crashing onto the rocks spurred her forward. Water flew high into the blue sky, the wind misting her with salt spray. She stopped and gazed at the ocean. The waves rose and fell back in a hypnotic rhythm, like a rocking cradle that gently soothed her jangled nerves. The scent of the ocean smelled wild and free and its salty mist clung to her lips.

Hopping over a mosaic of ancient volcanic rocks and glittering tidepools, she rounded a corner. As she got closer to a wide expanse of beach, she passed a local man standing on the outer point of a rock jetty. He climbed barefoot out of the water, and held a long cylindrical speargun in the air, like an ancient samurai with his killing sword. Dressed in board shorts and shirtless, she noticed ornate tattoos decorating his arms and legs. The way he stood seemed vaguely familiar to her. Goggles covered his eyes, and his long hair and beard dripped beads of water that glistened like tiny shards of glass. At the end of the spear dangled a puffer fish, its body inflated like a spiky balloon.

Nice catch.

In a relaxed state, their innocuous small bodies belied this unusual reflex to blow up like a medieval mace when sensing danger. Common to these waters, puffer fish were highly poisonous to eat if not handled with experience and care.

It was such a classic Maui scene that she raised her smartphone and snapped a quick photo. The man lowered the speargun and glared at her. As he turned away, the sun glinted off his muscular back, revealing a large, crescent-shaped scar practically bisecting his torso, a raw gash that hid violent secrets. She shivered involuntarily and fumbled with her phone, tucking it into her sarong, hoping he hadn’t seen her take the shot. Just then, her foot caught on a rock and she tumbled head first, face planting into the sand, letting out a yelp as she went down.

“Oh shit,” she said to the rock. She desperately hoped the man hadn’t seen her fall and wasn't making his way over to her. Heaving herself out of the sand, she peered over to where the man had been standing. He was gone.

A manic giggle erupted behind her. Standing on the other side of the path was a bespectacled pubescent onlooker, capturing her clumsy display on his cellphone and laughing like a mini mad scientist.

Ah, paradise.

So beautiful.

So deadly.

And, at times, so humiliating.