Chapter 2
618 Words
Chapter 2
"A retreat for inspiration?" Campbell Vaughn asked. "Pardon me, but it sounds like a psychedelic, drug-fueled hippie gathering."
Pari Malik laughed. "No, I doubt it."
"Or one of those solstice celebrations where everyone's naked and running around the mountains and banging their fists on their chests as they scream at the moon."
"Nope, not likely. But thank you for preparing me for every possibility."
"I could go on and on, Pari."
"There's no need. I'll be ready for anything."
Campbell shrugged. "I'm sure it will be a fascinating, perhaps other-worldly experience. Even if you don't enjoy it, you will learn quite a bit."
Campbell Vaughn, Pari's friend and neighbor, had listened to her assignment accompanying the Spectacular Spectaculaire troop with good-natured skepticism. They had met for lunch on the patio terrace of a small cafe in Haleiwa, a community in Oahu's North Shore.
Pari adjusted the canvas umbrella, tilting it so that the midday sun did not strike directly into Campbell's eyes. "Thank you," he said, ready to indulge in a plate of desserts that included a poi glazed donut and haupia, a treat made from coconut milk.
Campbell, a retired military officer who now served in a volunteer capacity as one of the Moe'uhane nature preserve's board members, had expressed his opposition to the glass spheres remaining from the movie set. During lunch, Pari listened to the reasoning behind his strong beliefs without agreeing or disagreeing. While she wanted to update Campbell on her upcoming adventure, it was not the purpose for their meeting.
"Let's talk about the possibility of the agency," Pari said. She and Campbell had been in discussions about opening a private investigative business together, an arrangement that would allow Pari to continue her part-time employment at the nature preserve while Campbell assisted her with research and assigned sleuthing tasks. Campbell had recently assisted Pari with catching the murderer of two people, one of who was the legendary photographer Antoine Talon. He had no qualms about taking orders from a young woman only a third of his age. Taking the lead on solving previous crimes on the island, each one complex, Pari had earned Campbell's utmost respect for her exceptional abilities.
"I've made my decision," Campbell said. "I want to do it." Rigid in posture, which was typical for him, as he generally carried himself in a poised and formal manner, Campbell set his fork down and pushed his plate away. He had a flat top crew cut and heterochromatic eyes, the left one blue and the right one tan. "What about you?"
"I'm getting closer to deciding," Pari said. "I want to discuss it with Nathan first, but that talk should wait at least a week. I don't think springing this on him during my first week on the job would incline him to approve."
"You know he will agree to any reasonable request of yours." What Campbell did not have to say was that Nathan not only shared Campbell's admiration for Pari, he also was profoundly grateful to her. Pari had saved Nathan's life two years ago after he had been the victim of an attempted murder on Diamond Head, the volcanic tuff cone that soared beside the ocean, south and east of Waikiki.
"That might be so. At the same time, I don't want push the boundaries and force him into a corner. He doesn't owe me anything, except fairness and professionalism as my new boss, and kindness as a longtime friend."
"You're right. I shouldn't rush you. Just know I am ready to launch the agency whenever you feel you're ready." Campbell piled their disposable lunch plates and napkins into the recycling bin positioned on the outer edge of the patio. As they parted, Campbell joked, "Expect a pretty freaky group of people on your trip. Don't go losing yourself up there in the mountains."
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