Burning up the Rain (Hawaiian Heroes) (23 page)

Having exhausted his own suitcase, Jack wore a new pair of dark slacks and a turquoise Tommy Bahama shirt. Lalei had chosen the shirt for him the day before in Kona. She sat beside him, cool and lovely in her brown pearls and a new little coral flowered dress he’d bought her. He happened to know that underneath she wore a pair of barely there panties that he’d chosen as well.

She hadn’t wanted him to buy her clothes, but he’d surprised himself and her by being stubborn, and insisting. Maybe it was the memory of what had remained of her white dress after that weird lightning strike. Maybe just that she was beautiful and she was—okay, not his, because he wasn’t in a position to ask any woman to share his messed-up life—but he was fucking her, wasn’t he? So if he wanted to buy her a few pretty things, he damn well would. And her jealousy over him kissing Sondra had done wonders for his ego—pathetic but true.

He put his hand on her thigh, needing to touch her. She laid her hand over his but leaned across him to speak to Bella.

“I didn’t think we’d get inside,” she said to her cousin over the noise. “All those protesters.”

Bella beamed proudly. “Joel did good, huh?”

“He did,” Jack agreed, nodding to the man on Bella’s other side.

The courtyard outside, dominated by a native metal sculpture, was crowded with representatives of local and west coast conservation groups, waving signs and chanting, “No mo’ resorts.” A lot of them were young.

Jack was impressed with Joel’s charisma. “How the heck did you get them all here?”

Joel grinned. “The power of social media, brah. Twitter, Facebook and the local news channel.”

“Damn,” Jack said in simple admiration. “Fans, huh?”

Tyler had been after him to get on social media for the realty, but of course they’d never have the pull that a TV outdoor survival hero had. Realtors just weren’t that cool—but then they didn’t hang off cliffs either. He’d heard of a couple reality shows on TV where the cameras followed Realtors around as they posed and sniped at each other for the camera, but there were things Jack was not willing to do for success, and that was definitely one of them. If others were, more power to them.

“We had to get here hours ago, though,” Bella complained.

“So Joel could sign autographs?”

Bella giggled. “He actually did. Even some of the older people wanted him to autograph their signs.”

When Jack and Lalei arrived with the rest of the family, Joel had been holding court on the steps, alongside a slim, tanned man in shorts and T-shirt, his silver hair in a ponytail, as well as a small, fiery Hawaiian woman in a flowered dress, members of a local conservation group, according to Bella. Homu, Hilo and Tina had joined them on the steps, and the crowd responded vociferously to the family who was leading the fight against another mega-resort on their island.

Here in the courtroom, the Ho’omalus were arrayed in the front row like a Hawaiian bulwark—Hilo, Tina, and Daniel, with Claire beside him in blonde counterpoint. Melia was at home with Leilani and under strict instructions to be lazy.

Homu and David, both in suits, sat at the table with the lawyers. Jack and Lalei had been introduced to Ned and Timothy Pa’aku on the way in. The father and son, were both small, slim and intense, and Jack was impressed with their obvious respect for their clients.

Jack scanned the other side of the courtroom. At the table sat the TropicSun team of lawyers, three suits who were laughing amongst themselves while a beefy man with silver hair sat beside them, his arms crossed and a bored scowl on his face. He looked vaguely familiar.

Behind them sat a short, wiry man with glossy hair—Mike Harland—and a weathered, bald man. Jack stiffened as he saw Benton Choy sitting in the row behind the two. They exchanged a glare of mutual dislike, and then Jack turned away. But the back of his neck prickled—the guy was watching him and Lalei, and he was not happy.

The doors in back of the courtroom opened, and a stocky Hawaiian in robes bustled in.

“All rise,” the bailiff intoned.

Jack stood with relief. The legal portion of the battle was beginning.

The Ho’omalus lawyers went first. Ned Pa’aku took the lead. “Your Honor, people of Hawaii, we intend to show beyond a shadow of a doubt that this corporation, TropicSun has violated the laws of Hawaii in three major areas. They have no right to the land they have supposedly purchased. They have violated a number of laws in beginning work prematurely. Finally, and perhaps most damning of all…” He paused, looking at the audience packed into the room. “Much, indeed most of the backing for this development has come from illicit sources—the trafficking of one of the scourges of Hawaii—illegal drugs.”

The courtroom, mainly full of locals, erupted at that.

“Geev ’um!” urged a booming Hawaiian voice from the back of the courtroom. “No drug money.”

“No mo’ resorts,” added a woman behind Jack. He grinned at her over his shoulder, recognizing the Hawaiian woman who’d shared the steps with Joel. Beside her sat the silver-haired Caucasian. He was watching Bella, his head tipped to one side. His gaze flicked to Jack’s, and he nodded.

At a loud bang, Jack turned. The judge slammed his gavel again, scowling at the crowd.

“This is a court of law. Any more heckling outbursts and I will clear this courtroom of all but the plaintiffs and the defendants.”

The TropicSun lawyers were up next. One of the lawyers, a fit, sleek man in a hand-tailored suit, rose, a confident smile on his tanned face.

“He’s had work done on his face,” Lalei whispered. Jack shrugged. She was probably right; plastic surgery was as common as dental work now.

The suit began to speak, his voice as modulated and mellow as if he were on the deck of a friend’s yacht. “Your Honor, before investing millions of dollars in a project of this size, this partnership spent months doing painstaking research. We made sure of all property boundaries before making our legal purchase of land from the Apalas in December of 2009. Furthermore, we will show, through maps, historical documents and testimony, that this is the case. We will also bring witnesses to refute any claims that we are in violation of local laws. Finally”—he looked contemptuously at the Ho’omalus—“we are under no legal obligation to present any financial documentation, as it has all been cleared by California financial institutions, which I assure you do not take lightly transactions of this size.”

Bella snorted. “Camille Helman’s bank.”

Joel patted her knee, relaxed in his suit and silk shirt. “We’re just getting started, princess.”

The morning went quickly. The Pa’akus presented some preliminary material and then set up a large chart so the audience could see the boundaries of the section of land TropicSun had purchased. They asked Harland to corroborate that this was the land his company had purchased. He agreed cockily that it was.

Ned Pa’aku then called Jack to the stand. Lalei squeezed his hand, her eyes intent with excited encouragement. He winked at her before he rose, but he had to work at remaining relaxed as he walked to the front of the courtroom and took his seat facing the room.

Under Ned’s lead, Jack explained his search of the historical property boundaries with his colleague from WorldWide Kona. When Tim Pa’aku held up a chart of the Ho’omalu ahupua’a, the audience watched with intense interest. Jack verified it as correct, and then Tim peeled off the clear overlay and laid it over the TropicSun section. With a decisive movement, he took a piece of transparent yellow plastic and slapped in onto the triangle of land that overlapped.

For a moment, the courtroom was so still Jack swore everyone was holding their breath. He watched eyes widen, mouths drop open, and then the courtroom exploded in sound.

The judge scowled, but he gave everyone a moment before banging his gavel adamantly. The audience quieted, but it was a tense, expectant pause full of whispers.

The suit from TropicSun was on his feet, looking disgusted. The judge held up his hand to keep him quiet.

Ned turned back to Jack. “So is it your expert opinion, Mr. Nord, that the traditional boundaries of the Ho’omalu property conflict with that of the property claimed by the Apalas?”

Jack nodded. “Yes, it is.”

Ned nodded politely. “Thank you. That will be all.”

Jack walked back to his seat, accompanied by smiles from the Ho’omalus and many of the crowd. But he saw frowns in the ranks of those watching too. A well-dressed couple seated behind the opposition’s lawyers glared at him accusingly. Mike Harland was glowering suspiciously, as if he couldn’t quite place Jack. Benton Choy leaned over and said something to him. Jack winked at them and looked away.

The TropicSun lawyer handed the judge and the Pa’akus paperwork and proceeded through it, refuting the Ho’omalus’ historical land as improperly registered, stating that it, along with much of the other land around it, had been handed down through a simplistic and sloppy system of oral tradition that did not hold up under modern legal scrutiny.

The judge frowned at the lawyer over the top of the papers. “Mr. Sharpe. You seem to be claiming that boundaries here. We are not here to overturn Hawaii’s traditional land grant system.”
none
of the Ho’omalus’ land belongs to them. I think you are overstepping your

The lawyer bowed ironically. “No, Your Honor, but when that oral tradition conflicts with the work of your state’s own surveyors, working with modern instruments…”

The judge nodded. “You may proceed.”

The lawyer made his case and then sat down. Jack heard a low chorus of agreement from segments of the crowd.

Next, the Pa’akus called Homu to the stand. He spoke about the family’s land holdings, and Ned Pa’aku asked if the family had documentation of all their holdings.

Homu nodded majestically. “The grants of Kona lands to our family were signed by Kamehameha himself, and witnessed by his chiefs.” He paused to let his words roll out across the courtroom.

Jack nodded with satisfaction. Let the lawyers try to say it was all Hawaiian oral tradition now. Ned presented the court with copies of the documents. The TropicSun lawyers conferred, and Homu walked back to his seat.

The rest of the morning was spent with the lawyers going back and forth, presenting opposing viewpoints. Finally, the judge looked at the clock hanging on the wall and picked up his gavel.

“Counsels, you have presented some weighty issues for my consideration. I would like time to go over it. This court is adjourned until two o’clock this afternoon.”

Twelve o’clock already. Jack leaned back, arching his back to stretch, and then looked at Lalei. She was frowning, a line between her brows. “What do you think? Do we have enough evidence?”

He pulled her with him as he rose, standing in the narrow row. “I don’t know, babe. The judge will certainly call for more testimony. These things are slow.”

Lalei leaned over to say something to Daniel ahead of them. People were on their feet, some moving toward the doors, many stopping to visit in the aisles. The Ho’omalu lawyers looked calm and confident; the TropicSun group was laughing amongst themselves again. Harland watched the Ho’omalus and sneered. Little prick, Jack thought, and then forgot about him.

Joel was introducing Bella to the man and woman in the row behind them. “Honey, this is Darren Smith and Kay Iolani from the Wild Islands Conservation Group.”

“Nice to meet you,” Bella murmured. She was gazing at Smith, frowning. “Have we…met before?” she asked him.

“No, I think I would have remembered.” He smiled at her, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

Lalei tugged on Jack’s arm. He turned back to her. “We’re meeting for lunch at the Hilo Bay. Are you ready to go?”

“More than ready.” Ready for lunch and for a beer or two. He followed her out of the courtroom, surrounded by her family, his friends.

Benton Choy watched them go, murder in his gaze.

Jack and Lalei lunched with the younger Ho’omalus at a sleek, modern restaurant tucked in a shopping center. They crowded around two tables pulled together in the rear of the small café. Jack beckoned the waitress.

“Drinks?” he asked the others. “Anyone having a beer with me?”

“I’ll have one,” Daniel said. The rest of them ordered iced tea or sodas.

“What do you think so far?” Lalei asked Daniel when the waitress had gone.

He shrugged. “This judge has a history of being pro-business, but I don’t know.”

Claire scowled, her bare arms propped on the table. “Business, hell—those TropicSun people are more like pirates.”

“I don’t see how the judge can rule against us,” Bella put in. “I mean, a land grant signed by Kamehameha himself.” She shivered. “Am I the only one who got goose bumps when Homu talked about that?”

Joel nodded. “That was very cool. Got to admit, though, I’m a little worried by how confident the TropicSun lawyer is.”

“That’s not confidence, that’s partial facial paralysis,” Jack said with a straight face. “Lalei informs me he’s had plastic surgery.” He snickered as her cousins stared at Lalei as if she’d suggested the man was an alien. She elbowed him in the ribs.

Claire leaned forward, her eyes wide. “Really? How can you tell?” she asked Lalei.