“Lihue is Kauai’s county seat — the town that sugar built, as you can tell from the twin stacks of the Lihue Sugar Company in the distance there. Four thousand residents and two traffic lights. It might take us a while to get through morning traffic, so sit back and enjoy the sights, folks. It’s only a short ride to Wailua from here.”
I stared straight ahead at the line of cars backed up behind one of Lihue’s two traffic lights, suspecting that Basil and Percy had indeed attended Professor Smoker’s lecture. Is that why Smoker had looked so alarmed? Had he spotted the two Englishman sitting in the back of the lecture room? Had he sensed they spelled trouble?
Poor Professor Smoker. I doubted he had predicted how much trouble.
Chapter 6
A small company of outfitters awaited us as we arrived at the parking area for the Wailua River State Park. I was first off the bus, followed by Percy and Basil, who practically mowed me down in their rush toward the kayaks stacked up near the boat ramp. A scattering of solitary palm trees and a manicured lawn flanked the river on this side, while a Jurassic Park kind of wildness ran amok on the opposite shore complete with dense foliage, tangled brambles, and spiny mountain ridges. The river was as wide as the Los Angeles freeway here, but up ahead, it looked as winding and narrow as an old country road.
I watched the two Brits drag a giant red chile pepper of a kayak toward the river and worried that if they got too much of a head start, they’d disappear behind that first bend in the river and I’d lose sight of them completely. Not a good way to tail men you suspected of committing a heinous crime.
I shot a look back at the bus, willing Nana and Tilly to appear amid the crowd pouring out of both exit doors. Nuts. What was the holdup? They were usually the first people on and off every —
I did a sudden double take as I regarded an unexpected face exiting the bus. Eh! What was
he
doing here?
Nils’s huge body filled the rear doorway as he lumbered down the stairs like a conquering warlord, ducking his head beneath the door so he wouldn’t knock himself out. He paused outside the bus, hitching up his cargo shorts and kicking dust off his hiking boots as he took visual inventory of the area. His eyes flickered with surprise as they locked on mine, then slowly crinkled with amusement, as if he couldn’t believe I had the
cojones
to navigate the same river he was about to navigate. He nodded, maybe a little smugly, then turned his attention to Ansgar and Gjurd, who were having a tug-of-war with an eight - inch - by - ten - inch sheet of paper that looked as though it might rip down the middle at any moment. Ansgar bellowed something unintelligible. Gjurd bellowed something back. Nils shook his head and seized the paper, then growled something at the two that sent them sprinting toward the kayaks at a dead run, hair flying, gravel crunching beneath their boots. Nils put a bead on me again and strode directly toward me, a man on a mission.
“I see we are of like minds today. There is no better day than one spent on the water.”
I craned my neck to look up at his bearded face, suspicion creeping into my voice. “I thought you and the boys were signed up to visit the place where Captain Cook made landfall on Kauai?”
“As you predicted last night, the Cook excursions have been canceled. It’s most unfortunate that no one could convince his assistant to take his place, yah? Did you read her credentials in the brochure? They were most impressive. With her knowledge, I see no reason why she could not have stepped into the professor’s shoes. It is most disappointing. In the meantime, this seemed an acceptable second choice.” He gestured toward our surroundings. “A navigable river. Rented watercraft. Tropical vegetation. A secret waterfall. The only things lacking are a keg of beer and a more detailed topographical map. This one is poorly drawn.”
He flashed
I stared straight ahead at the line of cars backed up behind one of Lihue’s two traffic lights, suspecting that Basil and Percy had indeed attended Professor Smoker’s lecture. Is that why Smoker had looked so alarmed? Had he spotted the two Englishman sitting in the back of the lecture room? Had he sensed they spelled trouble?
Poor Professor Smoker. I doubted he had predicted how much trouble.
Chapter 6
A small company of outfitters awaited us as we arrived at the parking area for the Wailua River State Park. I was first off the bus, followed by Percy and Basil, who practically mowed me down in their rush toward the kayaks stacked up near the boat ramp. A scattering of solitary palm trees and a manicured lawn flanked the river on this side, while a Jurassic Park kind of wildness ran amok on the opposite shore complete with dense foliage, tangled brambles, and spiny mountain ridges. The river was as wide as the Los Angeles freeway here, but up ahead, it looked as winding and narrow as an old country road.
I watched the two Brits drag a giant red chile pepper of a kayak toward the river and worried that if they got too much of a head start, they’d disappear behind that first bend in the river and I’d lose sight of them completely. Not a good way to tail men you suspected of committing a heinous crime.
I shot a look back at the bus, willing Nana and Tilly to appear amid the crowd pouring out of both exit doors. Nuts. What was the holdup? They were usually the first people on and off every —
I did a sudden double take as I regarded an unexpected face exiting the bus. Eh! What was
he
doing here?
Nils’s huge body filled the rear doorway as he lumbered down the stairs like a conquering warlord, ducking his head beneath the door so he wouldn’t knock himself out. He paused outside the bus, hitching up his cargo shorts and kicking dust off his hiking boots as he took visual inventory of the area. His eyes flickered with surprise as they locked on mine, then slowly crinkled with amusement, as if he couldn’t believe I had the
cojones
to navigate the same river he was about to navigate. He nodded, maybe a little smugly, then turned his attention to Ansgar and Gjurd, who were having a tug-of-war with an eight - inch - by - ten - inch sheet of paper that looked as though it might rip down the middle at any moment. Ansgar bellowed something unintelligible. Gjurd bellowed something back. Nils shook his head and seized the paper, then growled something at the two that sent them sprinting toward the kayaks at a dead run, hair flying, gravel crunching beneath their boots. Nils put a bead on me again and strode directly toward me, a man on a mission.
“I see we are of like minds today. There is no better day than one spent on the water.”
I craned my neck to look up at his bearded face, suspicion creeping into my voice. “I thought you and the boys were signed up to visit the place where Captain Cook made landfall on Kauai?”
“As you predicted last night, the Cook excursions have been canceled. It’s most unfortunate that no one could convince his assistant to take his place, yah? Did you read her credentials in the brochure? They were most impressive. With her knowledge, I see no reason why she could not have stepped into the professor’s shoes. It is most disappointing. In the meantime, this seemed an acceptable second choice.” He gestured toward our surroundings. “A navigable river. Rented watercraft. Tropical vegetation. A secret waterfall. The only things lacking are a keg of beer and a more detailed topographical map. This one is poorly drawn.”
He flashed
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