Tuesday’s Child

Chapter 6

SOPHIE LEE WAS IN A DAZE AS SHE STEPPED OUT OF JAY’S SUV. She looked to the right and saw Jay’s wife, Linda, with her arms held out. She ran to her, tears trickling down her cheeks. “Jay said you two got married. I wish I could have been there,” she said tearfully.

“I wish you could have been there, too. I brought my wedding album to show you,” Linda said, pointing to the bag at her feet. “I’m going with you all the way to Hawaii. When Kala made the deal with the charter flight company, the pilot said he wanted three days in Hawaii before he made the return flight. Kala said okay. That means I have the same three days as he does before I have to head home. Jay and I were supposed to go to Hawaii for our honeymoon, but there was this case… so, we never made it.”

“I’m glad for the company. I was sort of dreading it until Kala said you were going with me. I’ve never been outside the state of Georgia,” Sophie confessed.

“Things are going to change very quickly now for you, Sophie. I want you to trust us. What we’re doing for you is best.”

Sophie smiled. “I trusted all of you with my life once before, so why wouldn’t I trust you now? I think I’m going to be black and blue because all I’ve done is pinch myself since I walked out of those prison doors.”

Her eyes misty with tears, Kala reached for Sophie to hug her one more time. “Time to go, kiddo. I’ll see you when my trip is over. I wish I was going with you, but I made a commitment to Ben, and I have to honor it. It’s best this way. When the news hits tomorrow, you, Linda, and I will all be gone. Jay can be totally invisible and completely incommunicado when he wants to be. When you get to Hawaii, I want you to keep a low profile. Linda will get you all set up, then my family will take over. Just promise me you’ll do what they say.”

“Of course. I don’t know how to thank you, Kala, all of you. And you all worked for free all these years. Well, I can pay you back now. That’s the first thing I’m going to do. Honor comes first. Most important, Kala, thank you for believing in me.”

Kala didn’t trust herself to speak. It looked to her like Jay was having the same problem. Another round of hugs, then Kala and Linda were tripping up the portable steps of the plane that would take Sophie to her new temporary home. Both attorneys waved so hard they thought their arms would fall off. They watched as the private jet taxied down the runway, then, like the sleek silver bird that it was, rose into the sky. When it was no more than a speck on the horizon, Kala linked her arm with Jay’s. “We did good, Jay. She’s going to be all right. I feel it here,” Kala said, thumping her breast.

As they headed back to Jay’s SUV, he said, “Call Ben now and get your plans under way for tomorrow. I don’t want to see you again for six months. You hear me, Kala?”

“Of course I can hear you-the whole world can hear you. But it’s six months minus three weeks,” Kala shot back. “Today is Tuesday! It’s a miracle, Jay, it really is!”

“I know. Don’t go technical on me, now. Six months! I’m changing the locks on the office door, so if you come back before the six months are up, you can’t get in.”

Back on the road, Kala leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. “What do you think will happen tomorrow, Jay?”

“Well, for starters, the media will have a field day. This news will be fodder for at least a week. The tabloids love this kind of stuff, so they’ll put their bloodhounds on it and try to ferret out where everyone has gone. I think we did a good job of covering our butts with Sophie, but you never know. They’ll be able to track you easily enough, and they will. Whatever port of call you end up in, someone will be there. Count on it.”

“The Star fortune! Wall Street! That’s going to be a zoo. You sure you can handle all of this? Linda won’t be here for the first three days, and that is the crucial time. One other thing to bear in mind, Jay, is the five-hour time difference between here and Hawaii as well as the time difference wherever I’ll be.”

Jay was so outraged at Kala’s words, Kala burst out laughing. “I’m not an idiot, Kala. I can handle it,” he blustered. He felt sheepish because, as a matter of fact, he had forgotten the time difference. Not that he would ever admit having done so to Kala.

“Yeah, but can you handle Ryan Spenser?” Kala said as she hit the number two on her speed dial. Ben answered right away.

As Kala listened to Jay’s mumbling that he could handle Spenser with both hands tied behind his back, she tried to talk over him to Ben. “Get the earliest flight you can get in the morning, and we’re outta here. Uh-huh. Of course I’m serious, and no, six o’clock is not too early for me. Sophie is airborne, and Jay and I are on the way home. I never unpacked my bags, so just load them into the car. Why don’t you cook dinner tonight; we’ll eat out on the terrace, and we’ll be having a guest. Jay doesn’t know how to cook. Okay, I’ll see you at my place around six.”

They rode for a while in silence, each busy with his or her own thoughts. Back in town on their way to the office, Jay finally broke the silence. “Kala, exactly how do you want me to handle Ryan Spenser? By the way, you never said what he gave you for a going-away present. Someone said it was gorgeously wrapped.”

Kala burst out laughing. “It was a picture of the both of us taken at some symposium where we were both guest speakers. I think the man has extra teeth in his mouth. Anyway, I threw it in the trash. I was going to keep the frame, but then I changed my mind. Handle him however you want, Jay, but don’t let him walk roughshod over you. He’ll try. He’s going to go nuclear when he hears the news. I’m glad I won’t be here to see it. I detest that man. I just wonder how many of the other people he prosecuted are innocent like Sophie. In short, he scares me, Jay. And don’t for one minute underestimate him. He’s a slimy devil.”

“Thanks for the warning,” Jay said as he waited for the gate at the underground parking garage to swing open. “You coming up?”

“No. I want some time for myself, and I have to stop at the store to buy dinner so Ben can cook it for us. I’ll see you at home later. Don’t be late. Ben likes to eat on time.”

Outside the car, Jay walked Kala to her own vehicle and waited till she was inside and the motor was running. He gave off a sloppy salute and waited for her to drive down the ramp before he headed for the elevator to take him up to the office. He felt emotionally exhausted and physically drained, and he already missed his wife.

The single hostess aboard the private jet gently touched Sophie’s shoulder. Sophie opened her eyes and stared up at the smiling woman. “The captain asks that you buckle up as we’re preparing our descent to Kahului Airport.” Expecting to see a smile from the nameless passenger, the hostess was stunned to see a panicked expression just as Linda came instantly awake.

“How much time before we land? What time is it?” Sophie demanded. The hostess blinked at the panic that had invaded the young woman’s voice.

Linda worked at her lips, which felt dry and cracked for some reason. She looked down at her watch. She’d forgotten to turn her watch backward to allow for the time change. Her mind raced. She knew exactly why Sophie was panicking. She mentally calculated the time change, the flight time. They were down to the wire. In thirty-seven minutes, it would be Wednesday morning.

The hostess smiled again. “We had excellent tailwinds. Actually, we’re early. That’s the good news.”

“What’s the bad news?” Linda barked. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Sophie kneading her hands. “We need a definite time for wheels on the ground. If you don’t know, ask the pilot. Tell him we have to be on the ground before midnight. I don’t care what he has to do, but we have to be on the ground before midnight. Nothing else is acceptable. Go, now!”

Sophie’s knuckles were white as she rubbed and twisted her hands. “You don’t think I’m crazy, do you, Linda?”

“Not one little bit. This just might be one of those things that are beyond the pilot’s control, Sophie. I’m so sorry, wheels on the ground before midnight was something none of us thought about. There shouldn’t be much air traffic at this hour, so the pilot should get clearance to land with no problem. I don’t know, Sophie, let’s just hope for the best.”

The hostess was back, the smile still on her face. Linda took the smile as a good sign. “Captain Ortega said we’ll be wheels on the ground at eleven fifty-one. If not, you get your money back.” At the stricken look on both women’s faces, she quickly added, “That was a joke. If Captain Ortega said wheels on the ground at eleven fifty-one, then it’s wheels on the ground at eleven fifty-one.”

Linda reached for Sophie’s hand and squeezed it. “We’ll make it,” she whispered.

Sophie nodded.

The private Learjet’s wheels kissed the ground at exactly 11:50 local time. It took another three minutes to taxi to the slot assigned to private planes, another two minutes to come to a complete stop, then a minute for the hostess to open the hatch and drop the portable set of steps. The moment the hostess motioned for the two women to come forward and disembark, Sophie barreled up the aisle, was out the door and galloping down the steps to the tarmac, Linda right on her heels.

“What time is it, Linda?” Sophie shouted.

“Two minutes to midnight! We made it, Sophie! We made it!” She reached for Sophie’s arms and hugged her as they danced around in a circle like two lunatics.

The pilot and hostess stood in the open doorway staring at their two passengers. “Hey, we just fly and deliver them. We got them here on time, so maybe we’ll each get a bonus, and if that doesn’t happen, we made two people really happy tonight. Wanna go for a drink somewhere? First, we have to lock this baby down, then we can take in some nightlife.” But neither moved as they watched the two women make their way to where a crowd of locals waited for them behind the gates, leis in hand.

“You think those women are VIPs or something?” the hostess asked the captain.

“Or something. Not our business. All we need to think about for the next few days is warm sand, gentle breezes, and golden sun. We are in Hawaii! What’s not to love?”

“You’re right, it’s none of our business,” the hostess said, flashing a winning smile that Captain Ortega thought was beautiful.

Across the tarmac under the lights, the entire Aulani family waited for one of the maintenance crews to unlock the gate that would allow Sophie and Linda to walk through, where they were immediately showered with deliciously scented leis, one after the other. And then everyone started to jabber at once. A baby in a front papoose sling started to cry while other children held out additional leis that Sophie and Linda accepted with smiling faces.

An older man, deeply tanned, with snow white hair, came forward. He held out a beautiful white orchid lei. “It means welcome and the love of our family. I am Sam, Kala’s oldest brother. She has entrusted you to my care. These people gathered here are our family. We came here to make you welcome. The hour is late; tomorrow, today actually, we will gather at the house and make a luau for you and your friend. Welcome to Hawaii, Miss Sophie, and welcome to you, too, Miss Linda. We have a car waiting to take you to the house. My grandson Kiki will drive you.”

The baby started to cry again as the group urged Sophie and Linda forward.

The two-hour trip was made in silence for no good reason. Later, Linda said it was the jet lag that had tired them out even though they’d slept for most of the trip.

When the car came to a stop in the driveway of crushed shells, Sophie got out and looked up at the stars. “This is real, isn’t it, Linda? I’m not dreaming, am I? Tell me I am not going to wake up back in prison. I want to hear the words, Linda, so please humor me, and say them, okay?”

“This is so real, it’s scary. You are not dreaming. You are not going to wake up back in prison. This is the beginning of your new life, Sophie, so start enjoying it right now!”

“In that case, I’m walking down to that beach right now, and I’m going to sleep under the stars. Kala said I could do that. I’m going to keep all these sweet-smelling leis and use them as a pillow. Want to join me?”

“Try keeping me away. Just you try,” Linda said, sprinting through the yard and down to the sandy beach, Sophie right behind her.

Linda stopped right at the water’s edge. “Tell me something, Tuesday’s Child-that’s what Kala always called you, by the way. Tell me exactly what you feel right this moment in time.”

“I feel like… I feel like I could fly if I flapped my arms. I feel safe, happy, and blessed that I’m here. I want to shout it to the world and to thank… everyone, even Adam Star.”

“Then do it!” Linda challenged her.

Sophie screamed until she was hoarse, her screams muffled by the roar of the ocean. The only one who could hear her was Linda.