My Kind of Town
>> State Capitol Totally whacked
The press conference in Sen. Donovan Matsuda-Yee-Dela Cruz-Bishop-Kamaka's office was breaking up in record time, the print guys dashing back to get the story into the afternoon edition, the TV guys to prepare for the 5 o'clock news and feed footage to their respective networks. The story of the senator -- on the eve of the primary election explaining to the media how he'd been detained against his will by a group of Native Hawaiian terrorists for three days -- being arrested by HPD Detective Sherlock Gomes on various drug charges would be the top story throughout the state and beyond. Seldom has an arrest received more thorough coverage.
Star-Bulletin reporter Cruz MacKenzie lingered behind, the last to go, waiting for a private moment with Gomes. MacKenzie and photographer Johnny B. Goo had been outside a Makiki Heights cottage two nights ago hoping to talk with the senator when Gomes arrived -- just as the senator chucked a half-full bottle of beer at Johnny B.
"Why didn't you bust the senator then?" MacKenzie said.
"Sorry, Cruz, no comment, pending charges being filed."
"And what about his campaign guru Machiavelli Wang? Attempted murder charges? Who'd he try to kill? Lenny Klompus?"
Gomes shrugged. "No commento."
MacKenzie knew not to push Gomes. It only pushed him away.
For his part, Gomes respected MacKenzie -- he was both fair and professional, something he couldn't say for all of MacKenzie's media brethren and sistern. If that was a word. "Eh, I got another case, though, you might be interested in, Cruz. Craziest thing I've seen in a while."
MacKenzie waited, notepad at the ready.
"Woman in Pearl City, Sheila Fernandez, somebody broke into her house and the only thing they took was family photos, framed ones."
"That's totally whacked!"
"You got it."
Grace Ah Sun, the senator's secretary, returned from the inner office just in time to hear about the family photo burglar.
"Same thing happened last week to my friend Lois Toyama."
"Where does she live?"
"Aina Haina." Grace gave them Lois and her husband Tom's number, and Gomes was gone.
MacKenzie lingered. "So what are you going to do now, Grace?" Now that her boss was in jail and his political career was make die dead.
"I'm sure something will come along," Grace said. She was too well connected in the Democratic Party and too respected by both parties to be unemployed for long.
The phone rang as MacKenzie left. Grace answered, expecting a media call. "What a nice, surprise, Mr. President! I heard you might be visiting!"
Don Chapman is editor of MidWeek.
His serialized novel runs daily in the Star-Bulletin
with weekly summaries on Sunday.
He can be e-mailed at dchapman@midweek.com