Veils and Vengeance

2. Wedding Card Recipe

2

Wedding Card Recipe

1. Fold 4 ¼” x 11” piece of brown cardstock in half to make 4 ¼” x 5 ½” card base.

2. Stamp heart images randomly across card base.

3. Now stamp desired image (flower, bird, etc.) on white or other colored cardstock scrap. Punch with medium oval punch or cut using decorative edged scissors. Adhere to center of card front with glue.

4. Utilize a favorite quote, printed on cardstock for the inside message of the card.

Example: Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness.

-- Betrand Russell

Courtesy of www.mashedpotatoesandcrafts.com

Malia returned before Kyle, holding a cell phone tight to her ear. I had spotted the Connellys out in the gentle swells of the ocean. Jon waved at us—he must’ve seen Malia approaching.

“They’re right there,” I said. Malia stopped next to me and looked toward the water. Their gestures indicated they had found the body and were staying put until help came.

“Hold on a minute.” Malia moved the phone and crouched next to me. “Kyle should be back soon.” She turned around and squinted down the beach. “I see him. He’s with someone—must be the lifeguard.” She motioned to her phone. “They’re contacting the Coast Guard.”

Ha’ena Beach park adjoined Tunnels so that was quick thinking on Kyle’s part, although a lifeguard wouldn’t be much help to someone already dead.

“I can see Jon out there.” I pointed to his rhythmic waving. “They must have found her.”

Malia straightened and waved back at Jon. Kyle and the lifeguard drove up on an ATV.

“How are you holding up?” Kyle asked me as he pulled his mask and flippers back on.

“I’m okay. Warming up.” I didn’t want to say more because my lip trembled with the effort of holding in a sob.

“I’m heading out with the lifeguard, but more help is on the way.” Kyle stared at me for a second. “It’s okay. Everything will be fine.”

I wrapped my arms around my legs and rested my chin on my knees. I wanted to believe him, but I didn’t know if I was strong enough. Not even a year ago, I’d been through more trauma than I could have imagined. My life was threatened multiple times, and I had a scar on my chest to prove it. Broken pieces of Adri were held together by a thin coating of glue that threatened to disintegrate. I was supposed to be improving by going to therapy and sorting out my issues. And now this. I tried not to think about the police, the questions, the taste of fear in the back of my throat.

I refocused on my surroundings. Tunnels Beach was extraordinary because the reef was so large that the surf didn’t break for at least a quarter of a mile out from the beach. The roaring of the waves was subdued by the distance which was probably why I heard the sirens approaching a few minutes later.

Men in scuba gear swam out to the Connellys. I watched Heather, Neil, and Jon approach a few minutes later, accompanied by one of the Coast Guard officers in a wetsuit. The officers wrapped towels around them—the Connelly family had been in the water too long. Another officer asked them questions and took notes.

“Miss, are you the one who found the body?”

The deep voice startled me, and I looked up to see a Polynesian man, his gold badge glinting in the sunlight. His black hair receded above his high forehead.

“Yes.” My voice cracked, and I coughed to clear my throat, but I couldn’t hold the tears back. “She’s dead.”

He crouched beside me on the sand. “It’s fortunate you found the body before something else did. We don’t know who she is yet, but I’m sure her family will be grateful to know what happened to her.”

My shoulders shook with sobs, but I concentrated on his words. It was true. Although the woman had most likely been murdered, at least her body hadn’t been washed out to sea or eaten by crabs. “But someone killed her,” I whispered. The impact of the crime stole my breath. Refilling my lungs with air, I looked at the officer. “I saw the chains.”

“That’s what I heard, but we won’t know for certain until we investigate further.” He held out his hand. “I’m Officer Kinau. Can I ask you a few questions?”

I nodded and swallowed hard. My hand was limp in his firm grasp. There wasn’t much I could tell him. Some part of me realized that I was experiencing shock, and I kept trying to tell myself to calm down.

“Why don’t you take a few deep breaths?” The officer tapped my hand. “Look at the patterns of sand on your fingers. Focus on that for a minute, and see if you can feel your breaths slowing.”

“Okay.” I stared at the sand and recognized the fragments of sea shells and black flecks Neil had shown me earlier. The granules blurred before me, and I took a deep breath. It hadn’t been long ago that I had faced a situation much more dangerous than this one. My fingers traced the raised line on my chest where the knife blade had entered. I was stronger than these bits of sand on my fingers.

My breath slowed and I closed my eyes. Immediately, the image of the dead woman came to mind. I forced it out, searching for something good to pull to the front of my consciousness. Luke Stetson’s face. That dimple in his chin. His broad shoulders and that concerned look on his face when he’d sat next to me in the hospital. He had saved me and then he asked me on a date. In between breaths, I thought about the past several months. I’d been too busy with my wedding planning business and with healing emotionally and physically to worry about dating. Luke knew that and he hadn’t asked again after I turned him down the first time, but I wondered when he might get the nerve to ask me again.

Wait. I didn’t want to think about Luke either. I opened my eyes.

“That’s better.” Officer Kinau crouched next to me. “Now tell me what happened.”

I told him how I followed the rainbow fish and noticed the flipper—and the body. “And her arm. It was loose, moving through the water.” I stopped. There was something else—something about her arm. What was it? Or was it her mask?

“Anything else that you noticed?”

I squeezed my eyes tight, allowing the image of the woman to fill my thoughts. Focusing on the memory of her arm moving through the water, I struggled to recall whatever was tickling the back of my brain, but there was nothing. With a frown, I opened my eyes. “I don’t know. I kind of freaked out. It was my first time snorkeling here.”

“I’m sorry about that.” He handed me a notebook. “I need a signed statement from you—this is standard procedure. Would you mind taking a few minutes to write things down now, while they’re fresh?”

“Sure.” I took the pen he handed me along with the notebook.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes. Thanks for doing this.” Officer Kinau stood and brushed sand from his pants. He headed over to join the other officer questioning the Connelly family.

I tried to keep the lines of the paper from blurring as I began to write. Rehashing the same conversation I’d just had with Officer Kinau made it a little easier to know what to write. The page was nearly filled by the time a shadow blocked out the glare of the sun. I glanced at Officer Kinau and finished my last sentence.

“I hope this helps.” I handed the notebook and pen back to him.

“It will. Thank you.” He pulled out a card. “Take this. If you think of anything else significant, let me know. I’d also like to take down your contact info in case we have more questions.”

“Okay.” I gave him my number and told him I was staying at the Grand Hyatt Resort in Poipu. Shivering in the sunlight, I took another ragged breath.

“Thanks again for your help. Try to enjoy the rest of your vacation.”

“I will.” I tried to appear like that was a possibility and gave him a weak smile.

After he left, I squeezed the card and noticed the red and brown sand falling from my fingertips. A few minutes later, the officers finished up their questions with the Connellys and Jon hurried to my side. “How are you holding up?”

“I don’t know. I’m trying to relax.” The calm I sought had eluded me. It was work just to swallow the shudders from my frightened sobs earlier.

“Why don’t we get you someplace where you can rest?” Jon held out his hand and helped me up.

Kyle and Malia had gathered all of our stuff along with the snorkeling gear. Malia gave me a hug. “I’m sorry, Adri. You did great, though.”

Everyone looked out to the reef where several men were diving. A small crowd had gathered on the other end of the beach to gawk and the officers held them back.

“Come on, we don’t need to stay to see this.” Heather took Neil’s hand. He appeared to be torn for a moment, but then he glanced at me and nodded.

“She’s right, guys. That officer said we’re free to go.” He turned to Heather. “It’s a good thing, since he didn’t seem too happy that we had touched the body.”

“I was checking for a pulse,” Heather replied.

“I still don’t understand why you guys bothered checking,” Jon said. “It was obvious she was dead.”

“She could have had a tank and been stuck down there,” Neil said. “We needed to make sure.”

“I wonder who she was. The poor girl,” Heather murmured.

With one glance back at the ocean, I turned and followed Jon to the road. I had been so excited to see the waves and colorful fish, but now all I could think about was the woman with green eyes and how there was something I should remember, but I couldn’t.