The view from the top of Wilhelmina Rise had always impressed Chan. Before he rang the doorbell, he stood on the upper terrace overlooking Honolulu. From this height, you could see Hawai‘i Kai in the east all the way out to the Waianae mountains in the west.
When the door swung open, Chan was pleased to see his godmother, Alice Apana, looking the picture of health. At just about 70, she could have passed for 50. That Hawaiian, Chinese, and Portuguese mix had melded together into a stunningly statuesque beauty Chan was sure had swept his godfather off his feet at first sight. What had attracted her to his Uncle Snuffy, he was not so sure about.
“David Chan! How nice to see you, Love. Come in, come in,” she encouraged with great enthusiasm.
“Hey, Auntie Alice, it’s good to see you too. I tried calling but no one answered. So I thought I’d stop by just in case someone might be here anyway.”
“Oh that’s good,” she said, guiding Chan to the dining room. “I just got home from practice.”
“Hula, Auntie?”
“Yes, David. Uncle George in Hilo invited my halau to that Merrie Monarch Festival he’s organizing. We have to pull out all the stops. I’m sure one day it will become the premiere hula competition in the world. It’s in its infancy now, but more and more halau are participating each year. One day, there will be more halau who want to perform than there will be space for them. It’s such an honor to be asked.”
David admired his godmother’s enthusiasm. He knew she took her hula seriously, and her halau was well respected in the Hawaiian community. This radiant Hawaiian woman, so full of life energy, again he had to wonder what it was about his godfather that had attracted her to him.
“That’s wonderful, Auntie, I’m sure you’ll do well over there. Is Uncle Snuff here with you?”
Mrs. Apana placed a steaming laulau and a bowl of poi in front of him.
“Oh man, Auntie, you’re always too kind with all the food. You know I can’t resist your cooking.”
Now there was a bowl of squid luau and another of lomi salmon. Chan couldn’t hold back and dug in.
“So Auntie, is Uncle Snuffy around?”
“Oh, sorry, no, David. He’s out of town.”
Chan rested his fork and spoon, one in each hand. “Out of town? Where’d he go?”
“He went to visit his brother.”
“In Shanghai?”
“Yes, he left yesterday. He should be there by now.”
This caught Chan off guard. “How long’s he there for?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Sometimes he goes for a week, sometimes much longer. He never really knows until he gets there. It all depends.”
Chan’s appetite had fallen off. “So did he say anything about why he was going?”
“No no. Those two. They can get into all kinds of things when they get together. Mostly trouble, yeah?” She laughed as she sat down with a plate of kūlolo and haupia for her godson.
Chan’s tone changed. “Auntie, I need to know if he got there safely. Can you give me his brother’s phone number?”
“Sure, David, that’s no problem. But,” she hesitated because of the change in Chan’s demeanor, “what do you think might have happened?”
“Oh, probably nothing, but I’m just concerned. You know,” Chan fumbled for something, “his age and all. I just want to make sure he had no problems with the flight.”
Alice nodded, but she had the distinct impression Chan was not telling her everything. She got up, went over the phone, and copied down Apana’s brother’s phone number in Shanghai.
“Here you go, David.”
Chan stared at the number. “Auntie, I hate to impose, but can I call him from your phone?”
She nodded, trying to hide her mounting concern.
Going to the phone, Chan dialed the overseas operator. He waited for the connection and listened to the phone ring.
“Yes, hello, is this Mr. Apana?”
There was a pause.
“Yes, hi, Mr. Apana, this is David Chan calling from Honolulu, Hawai‘i.”
Another pause.
“Yes, yes, that’s right, I’m Wilbur’s godson. Ah, Mr. Apana, I understand that Wilbur just flew over to visit you, is that correct?”
This pause was longer.
“Oh, I see, ah, according to Alice, he left yesterday to come see you. She says she thinks he should be there already.”
A long silence again.
“Okay, thank you. If you hear from him, can you please ask him to call Auntie Alice as soon as possible? Thank you.”
Hanging up, Chan looked at his aunt. She had been able to figure out from what she heard that her husband had not arrived in Shanghai, or, if he had, he’d not yet contacted his brother.
“What do you think might have happened to him, David? What is it you know? Are you not telling me something?”
Shaking his head, Chan said, “No, Auntie, I don’t really know anything specific. I’m just concerned, that’s all. As I say, at his age – ”
She interrupted him. “David, please we’re not that old. You don’t have to worry about that. Please, if that’s all this is, please don’t worry.”
“Well, I am worried that he should have been there already but he isn’t.”
Nodding in agreement, Alice said nothing. Chan could read the alarm in her face.
“I’m sorry to have upset you, Auntie. I’m sure, like you say, that Uncle Snuffy’s okay. Sure, sure, he’s fine.”
Chan rose to leave. Although he’d barely touched his food, his aunt didn’t comment about this unusual behavior. She stood too and came around the table. Grabbing Chan, she hugged him so tightly he could barely breathe. Hula and daily swimming at Ala Moana had kept her in prime physical condition.
Finally letting him go, she said, “David, I can forgive you for not eating all my food, but I’ll never forgive you if you’re hiding something from me about Snuffy being in some kind of trouble.”
Shaking his head, Chan said, “Auntie, it’s really and truly nothing. I’m so sorry for upsetting you. Please believe me, if I knew that Uncle was in some kind of trouble, I would tell you. But I don’t know anything like that.”
Auntie Alice hugged Chan again, then waited and waved goodbye as he drove off.
On the way down to Kaimukī, Chan puzzled again over this warm, beautiful woman being married to his godfather. In truth, his once warm attitude toward Apana had cooled a good deal with his frustration over what he believed was Apana’s lack of intensity when he’d investigated Chan’s father’s death.
But, he thought, even putting that aside, there was still great wonderment at Auntie Alice’s love for Wilbur Apana.
As he drove to the department, Chan’s attention returned to Apana’s welfare. The vision of him being killed on Kelso’s lānai came back to him, and he felt strongly that there was something very bad going on with his godfather.
Lanning Lee 