The Memory of Eva Ryker Read Free Page A

grabbed blindly and clenched the wrist, which swung free in my hand.
    â€œâ€¦ Eke-o-na-o-na-no-ho-i-ka-li-po. …”
    Another arm brushed my cheek. The weight forced me back. I clung to the dress carrier. It snapped off the hook, landing on me.
    â€œâ€¦ A fond embrace …”
    Pushing off the floor, I felt slimy pulp underneath my palm. My tongue lolled around the inside of my mouth. I spit out a bile taste.
    â€œâ€¦ before I …”
    Blood. Blinding me. Thick and dark between my lashes, gumming them shut.
    My hands patted the wet carpet, stopping when I found a sphere about the weight of a medicine ball.
    Cradling it in one arm, I wiped my eyes. Shiny blood spread over the carpet. A foot. But not mine. Attached to a leg.
    It wasn’t real. Some goddam nightmare. A monstrous practical joke!
    â€œâ€¦ now depart …”
    What a gag! Just dye and arms and legs and rubber tripe you buy in a joke shop. One hell of a stunt!
    â€œâ€¦ until we …”
    My face grew red and puffy with laughter and I held the ball to my chest. As my fingers ran over its surface, I felt a nose. And lips.
    â€œâ€¦ meet again …”
    I pushed aside mousy brown curls. Two eyes glared through the red matted strands.
    â€œThat was Bing Crosby on KGMB,” the voice said. “Now, for the six o’clock news …”
    The six o’clock news. Six o’clock. The words circled around my head. Six o’clock. I should be home! Dinner’s waiting.
    The Philco was brisk and all-knowing. “Secretary of State Cordell Hull announed today …”
    I’d never heard anything like the scream coming from my throat.
    Flung across the room, the head hit the window, cracking the pane and rolling along the bed sheets.
    The announcer cleared his throat. “… remains hopeful concerning the current negotiations with Japanese ambassadors Nomura and Kurusu. However …”
    I ran. Leaving an open door. Trailing red footprints. Past the shut-up rooms. Ignoring the screaming and shouting behind me. Down the stairs. Tripping over steps. Through the lobby. Tearing from gaping faces and grabbing hands. Into the night. Dodging the red pulsing light and squawking radio of my patrol car. Stumbling through the black sand. Fleeing the following voices and footsteps. Away from the Force and my future.
    Running from the salt-brine smell of blood.
    From the Honolulu Star-Bulletin
    December 6, 1941
    HPD FINDS KLEIN POISON VICTIM
    An autopsy by the Honolulu Police Department of Albert Klein, the late husband of murder victim Martha Klein, has revealed the cause of death as deliberate poisoning.
    â€œNicotine sulfate was the substance we found in Mr. Klein’s bloodstream,” explained Coroner Ralph Krumins in a joint press conference with Police Commissioner John Davis late Friday night. “It’s a very rare poison that’s difficult to detect if you’re not looking for it.”
    Krumins explained that there were no recent marks or punctures on the body.
    â€œWe must assume that the poison was administered orally. It would have taken effect very quickly after swallowing. Fifteen minutes at most.”
    Commissioner Davis had harsh words for Patrolman Norman Hall, who first talked with Martha Klein after her husband’s death and later discovered Mrs. Klein’s body at the Moana Hotel. He termed Hall’s fleeing from the murder scene as “cowardly.”
    â€œWhen we finally found Hall,” Davis said, “he confessed that Martha Klein had claimed that her husband was murdered. His excuse was that Mrs. Klein was distraught and had no evidence to back up her accusations. Thus he refused to pass on Martha Klein’s testimony either to Inspector Frank Galbraith, who was immediately at the accident site, or to any other superior officer.”
    Davis admitted that Hall found Martha Klein’s body under “distressing circumstances,”