Booktree.ng_Forgotten-Witness

other and confirmed the pitiful excuse for a vehicle belonged
to Amelia. Stephen looked at his phone. The little bars were
nonexistent. He would like to talk to Molokai’s fire chief. He
wanted to know who the men collecting ash and bones and
teeth at Ha Kuna House were. He wanted to know why the
local fire patrol was not assisting. Mostly, Stephen wanted to
know where Amelia and Josie had gotten themselves off to.
More to the point: why hadn’t they shown themselves when
the cavalry rode in?
Knowing he could not get the answers to these questions
while he looked at the lovely, sad faces of his girls, Stephen
bundled them on to the ferry and sent them home. They
begged him to come with, but he pleaded a need to mourn
privately – as well as to see if there were any Keoloko goods
to be salvaged. When they were gone, he treated himself to a
cocktail or two. Finally, judging that the men in white were
gone, he went back to the Ha Kuna House property. Sure
enough, the men were gone and they had left the place as clean
as mum’s kitchen after Christmas dinner.
Stephen walked the perimeter as he punched a number into
his phone, kicked with his sandals at the graded earth, and
thought it odd that not even a piece of one of the hospital beds,
a porcelain toilette, or the behemoth refrigerator he had known
to be in the kitchen was left.
“Ah,” he said when the phone was answered. “Chief.
Stephen Kyle here. Fine, thank you. But you have had quite a
night. The fire–”
He was interrupted, listened, and then took it upon himself
to interrupt back.
“Of course. Federal land. I didn’t realize the feds had fire
marshals at the ready. Quite a team? Oh yes, I think so.
Certainly professional. I saw them at work until I was sent on
my way. Spic and span here.”
Stephen listened again and then laughed from the belly,
talking as he walked toward the caretaker’s cottage.