BROKEN BOARDS, CHAPTER 7

A Jake Jansen Mystery.

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CHAPTER SEVEN - DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

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Jake pulled into the driveway at Rabbit’s aunt’s house. There were no lights on inside or any signs of activity. He picked up his phone, sent a quick text, and waited. He watched the time on his phone tick by and thought something seemed odd about Rabbit’s total silence. “It’s not like Rabbit to not be ready for Pipe Masters,” Jake thought. He waited another minute only to receive no reply to his text.

“Dude, get up! Let’s go, honu!” Jake said as he was calling Rabbit. There was no answer. “Straight to voicemail. What the heck, man?”

Jake was caught somewhere between getting impatient and getting worried. He glanced at his phone, checked the time, and decided, against his better judgment, to knock on the door. Jake headed up the sidewalk, peeking through the living room window into the house. It was dark inside, with no signs of anyone being awake. Jake opened the screen door and quietly knocked on the door. He waited a moment and knocked a little louder. There was still no answer.

“Maybe there was some sort of emergency,” Jake thought. He quietly closed the screen door and walked around the side of the house to the garage. Taking out his phone and turning on his flashlight, he glanced through the window to see the car belonging to Rabbit’s aunt.

“Buzzy?”

Jake was startled at first but recognized the voice. Turning around, he saw Reyna Palakiko, Rabbit’s widowed aunt, standing in her robe. She had known Jake since he was a boy and was still one of a few who referred to him by the nickname.

“Sorry, I didn’t get to the door fast enough. I’m not used to a 4:30 wake-up call. Is everything okay? Is Rabbit with you?” she asked.

“No, I’m afraid not, ma’am. I apologize for the early morning intrusion or if I startled you. I was checking to see if your vehicle was here,” he said, motioning toward the garage. “I thought maybe there might have been an emergency, but I see you’re here, obviously.” Jake paused a moment as he studied her body language. She was understandably showing signs of sudden stress, not unlike a worried mother. He had to try to think of a way to reassure her.

“I haven’t heard from him since last night when he went to the surf shop, but I’m sure he’s okay. He texted me several times while I was at the theater with my Dad. I replied but haven’t heard from him. He’s probably just chasing after a girl.”

“I’m worried, Buzzy. I didn’t think to call you, but he hasn’t been home since last night. This isn’t like him to not return, not call, leave a message, or anything. And he hasn’t replied to you.” A look of concern swept over her. “My sister would kill me if something happened to him.”

“I’ll sort it out, ma’am. Rabbit can take care of himself. Probably hanging out with Leilani, the girl we met on the North Shore yesterday, and lost track of time. Probably couldn’t get his phone charged or something. Wouldn’t be the first time,” Jake replied with a chuckle. Reyna didn’t laugh.

“I will whip that boy’s butt when I see him,” she said with tired anger. She was worried and wouldn’t feel better until she knew what was happening and that Rabbit was safe. Reyna hugged Jake and told him to let her know as soon as he had any information.

“I’ll do everything I can to find him and let you know as soon as I can,” Jake told her.

Jake climbed into the Blazer. He watched as she waved and slipped back into the house. He had an odd feeling about Rabbit but wasn’t sure what it was. Jake felt uneasy about lying to Mrs. Palakiko. He didn’t want her to worry any more than she already was. It was an attempt to reassure her, though possibly one that had fallen short. Rabbit had never blown Jake off before and had always been where he said he would be. Maybe Reyna knew he was lying, but he couldn’t say for sure.

Jake had a hollow feeling in his stomach that was starting to become knots. Something was wrong, but he didn’t know what it was. But he was going to find out. Jake powered up the rig, backed out of the driveway, and set his sights on the North Shore.

***

About 10 miles away, Aloha 24-hour Self-service Car Wash was empty except for two people and a rental car in a single stall. They had the trunk propped open, power-spraying the interior. A light pink fluid ran out from underneath the car and washed down the carwash drain.

“They won’t care as long as we clean, yes. For all they know, we forget to close the lid during the rain while we had the car at the beach. We throw a tourist blanket in there to cover it with fresh smell.”

“But you really think trading the car back in is a good idea, Jose? Does that not seem strange, no?” the shorter man asked.

“Just clean it. We tell them that car does not run good, yes. They’ll give us our next vehicle, and we leave with new car,” Jose replied. He continued cleaning the trunk of the vehicle while his partner continued wiping down as much of the vehicle as possible.

“Once we get cleaned, we go to breakfast, yes, then drop off the vehicle at the car place, no problem.”

His partner just nodded in agreement.

They finished cleaning, closed the trunk, set out for a gas station to fuel the car, and grabbed some tourist supplies to intentionally forget inside the trunk.

***

Jake was quiet in his thoughts the entire drive toward the North Shore. He wasn’t sure what to think. He’d start with the obvious and see if the girls knew anything and then go from there. He was hoping, praying, that there would be something to go on. The sun was starting to break as Jake rolled closer to town, but he no comfort in the weather today. He wasn’t excited about the surf contest. He only wanted to find his longtime friend. It was still early, though traffic congestion was starting to become its familiar North Shore parking lot. Jake was getting antsy. He didn’t like any of this. He didn’t like what he was feeling. He certainly didn’t like what he was thinking. Jake was holding onto the hope that Liz and Leilani would be the saving grace that he needed and that they would know about Rabbit’s whereabouts.

They had arranged to meet in the same area. Jake parked the Blazer to ensure that nobody could block in the vehicle. If he had to, he wanted to make sure that traffic wouldn’t hinder a potential getaway if one would be necessary. Jake patiently made his way through the increasing traffic and navigated to an available parking spot. Jake climbed out of his rig, grabbed his phone, locked up the vehicle, and started for the place where they had agreed to meet the day before.

Jake walked up and looked around the area where he was meeting the girls. Usually, he probably wouldn’t think anything of his friends being late. But under the current circumstances, Jake couldn’t help but feel nervous. Pulling out his phone, he sat down and waited, hoping they would arrive soon. In his brain, he danced around the possibility that they might not show up. He considered the possibility that they all had been together when they disappeared. That wouldn’t make sense, he thought, because Rabbit would have had to return all the way out to the North Shore from the mall. He surveyed the crowd, looking to the far edges and down toward the beach, but saw no familiar faces.

Jake watched the surfers out in the water but felt nothing.

“Hey, Buzzy,” Liz’s voice exclaimed. Sorry, we’re late! Strugg..” Jake jumped to his feet.

“Is Rabbit with you guys?” he asked with anxious and inquisitive fear in his voice, looking around.

“Well, no. What’s wr...”

“Nobody’s seen or heard from him since last night. I was hoping he might be with L,” Jake said, motioning toward Liz’s friend. “Hi, L,” he said with a nervous wave.

“I haven’t heard from him since yesterday, Jake. Just figured I’d talk to him today,” Leilani replied.

Jake stood there for a moment. He wiped his brow, glancing around the area. He scanned the souvenir stands, the food stands, the water’s edge, and the parking lot and saw nothing. Jake was genuinely worried and wasn’t sure what to do. He ran feverishly through his ideas of where to look and who might have information. Jake felt a sense of dread sweep over his body.

“Buzzy, what do you think?”

“I don’t know, Liz. He didn’t reply to my text last night. And I stopped to pick him up this morning, and his aunt hadn’t seen or heard from him since yesterday. I have feelings, and they’re not good, Liz. He’s never done this. I’ve known him my whole life.”

Jake pulled out his phone and called Rabbit.

“Straight to voicemail.” He scrolled through his text message conversation for any clues. It was just pictures of surfboards. Jake felt like he was at a dead end. “All I can think of right now is comb through the crowd and see if I can find some of the guys and if they’ve seen him. That’s all I can think of right now. I have no other ide….” But then Jake suddenly realized that he knew someone who could help.

Jake snapped his fingers, shaking his head with a smile.

“What is it,” Liz asked.

“I know someone who might be able to help,” he replied with sudden realization.

“Who?” Leilani asked.

Liz had the same realization.

“Jack Jansen,” Liz and Jake replied in unison.

“Who’s that?” Leilani continued.

“My Dad,” Jake replied. “He’s a retired Naval investigator. These days, he helps both the government and HPD with any cases that might require his expertise.”

Leilani looked at Jake blankly.

“He’s a glorified private detective,” Jake said with a nervous laugh.

Jake pulled out his phone and called his Dad. He explained the seriousness of the situation and begged him to provide any help he could. Jake understood a lot of the information that came from his Dad. Having grown up in the home of a person with significant law enforcement experience and now going down the same path at the university, Jake knew that specific criteria applied to calling the police regarding a missing person. But that didn’t mean his Dad couldn’t ask around and see if there were any rumblings about anything that may not have made it to the news yet. Jack reassured Jake that he would call if he found anything before Jake returned home in the evening.

“He’s going to help any way he can. In the meantime, let’s look around the beach and ask around. I’m hoping maybe one of the guys might have seen or heard something.” They started for the beach and, when Jake suddenly realized, stopped and looked at Liz. “Rabbit bought a new surfboard last night. There’s no sign of it anywhere. Doesn’t that seem odd?”

“Are you sure he purchased it?”

Jake pulled out his phone and showed her the conversation with the picture of the final board he purchased. Jake noted the time of the message.

“He sent that while I was still in the movie with my Dad. I replied later and got no reply. So, sometime after this, something happened.”

“Maybe he tried it out, and something happened in the water, like a shark or …,” her voice trailed off in dread, thinking of the possibilities.

“No way. He’s a former lifeguard, and he knows better. No way Rabbit would go surfing at eight o’clock at night. Too dark. Too dangerous, even for an experienced surfer who knows all the breaks the way he does. Something is wrong. I just don’t know what it is.”

Jake, Liz, and Leilani spent the entire morning questioning people in the crowd. Jake talked to all the familiar surfers, fifty-five people from the islands in total, and nobody had seen or heard anything. Many didn’t even know that Rabbit was on the island to visit. Jake wasn’t sure what to make of it. He honestly wasn’t surprised that nobody had heard anything, given that most didn’t know he had been visiting for Pipe Masters. Many of the surfers claimed to have not seen him for a year, maybe two. Some claimed to not know that he had even left the island to begin with. Others hadn’t seen him since the morning surf session the morning before. Jake was getting nowhere.

“What if we asked some of the stores or shops around town?” Leilani asked.

“I had a similar thought earlier, but that wouldn’t make sense. I dropped him off at the mall. He lives not far from there. He wouldn’t have come all the way back out here.”

“What about in Honolulu? Where he bought the board?” Leilani questioned.

“Of course! Great idea, L!” Jake exclaimed. “Why didn’t I think of that? I can stop there on the way home. Come on! Let’s get going! I’ll walk you guys to your car and head to the surf shop.”

“Want us to come, Buzzy?” Liz asked.

“No way. I can’t say for certain, but it could be dangerous, Liz. For now, I’ll stop at the shop, then head home and see what Dad has come up with. I’ll let you know if I hear anything,” Jake said as he walked them to her car. Liz reached over and took Jake by the hand. Jake glanced over to see Liz smiling at him.

“Please be careful.” Jake smiled. He wasn’t sure what to think right now. He was a mix of raw emotions with a missing best friend and a beautiful woman trying to enter his life. He was caught somewhere in the middle of a bittersweet confusion. As they passed by Jake’s vehicle, Liz stopped him.

“Buzzy, you go ahead. Just stay in contact. This will save you about an hour by not walking us to my car. We’ll be fine, I promise,” she said as she moved up to kiss him on the cheek. Jake didn’t say a word, only smiled. He smiled and waved at Leilani. Liz turned and caught up to Leilani as they started their short hike to Liz’s car.

Jake climbed into the Blazer and started on the two-hour drive to Island Vintage Surf Shop. He was hoping for answers, clues, anything that might head him in the right direction. Jake tried not to think about the various outcomes because almost all of them were bad. There had to be some explanation for all of this. Hopefully, just a misunderstanding. Maybe he forgot his phone at the surf shop. “That can’t be it,” Jake thought, “he would have still gone home or contacted me from his aunt’s house.” Jake was determined to do whatever was necessary to discover what had happened to his friend.

After a lengthy drive filled with scatterbrained thoughts, Jake walked into Island Vintage Surf Shop, made his way up to the counter and asked to speak with the manager, and waited. After a few frustrating minutes discussing the situation with the shop’s assistant manager, Jake realized he wasn’t going to get any answers he wanted let alone needed. The manager explained that if Jake required more help, he’d have to come back later in the week and speak with the owner. Jake, though frustrated, explained that he understood and thanked them for their time.

“Just another dead end,” Jake said to himself. “It’s like he vanished into thin air.” Jake was quick to text Liz and explained that he had no luck at the surf shop and that any further investigation down that path, if necessary, would have to wait until more details were available. Jake was angry, confused, frustrated, and scared. He resigned himself to the fact that it was time to head home. Having not heard anything from his father all day, he assumed no progress had been made.

Jake returned home to find an empty house. He headed straight for his room, throwing himself onto his bed. He pulled out his phone and texted his Dad - ANY LEADS? ANY LUCK AT ALL? WENT TO SURF SHOP AND THEY DIDN’T KNOW ANYTHING. Jake set the phone on his stomach, waiting for it to buzz, but it never did. As he waited to hear from his dad, Jake’s energy waned, and the ability to keeps eyes open quickly disappeared. After two restless hours, he woke in a daze and glanced around his room. In the darkness of his room, he searched to find his phone on the bed. He picked it up and glanced at the time. He checked to find that there had been no reply from his Dad nor any missed calls.

Jake sat up for a moment and waited, clearing his head, before stopping to listen. He heard voices coming from the living room before realizing the TV was on. He wandered down the hall to find his Dad sitting on the couch, fast asleep with the news on. Jake grabbed the remote, turned off the TV, then covered up his Dad with the blanket his mother had made years ago. It was faded and somewhat worn out but soft and comfortable. For now, Jake was going to let him sleep. He made his way out into the kitchen, opened the fridge, grabbed a protein drink, chugged it, and headed back to the bedroom.

Jake decided he would wait and speak to his Dad tomorrow about what little he knew regarding Rabbit. He was going to provide the timeline and details, let him know whom he had talked to, and see what they might be able to agree on before proceeding any further. For now, the emotional exhaustion was catching up with him, and Jake just needed to get some sleep.

Jake hadn’t been asleep long before his Dad came in to wake him up.

“Jake, Jake, wake up. You need to come out in the living room.” Jake was groggy as he tried to gather his thoughts and stir himself awake.

“Huh?”

“Come out in the living room, son. It’s important.”

“What, okay,” and it hit Jake that his Dad must know something. He hurried to the living room, still trying to wake up.

“Jake, sit down,” Jack said as he motioned for the chair. “I have bad news, Jake. And there’s no easy way, but I’m just going to say it. Mike Kalama called from HPD a while ago. Robert’s body was found in the industrial harbor by some of the workers.”

“WHAT? NO WAY! ARE THEY SURE IT WAS HIM?!?” as he hopped to his feet.

“They found his wallet on him in the pocket of his sweatshirt. Driver’s license, debit card, everything. Looks like they found a receipt in his wallet too. They found his phone nearby as well. Once they powered it on, found you were the last person he had contacted. They matched his fingerprints, Jake. Mike knows you’re my son, so he gave me a call first.”

There was a long uncomfortable silence.

“I’m sorry, son.”

Jake collapsed on the chair like someone had sucker-punched him in the chest as he slumped back and went ghost white. It was only a moment before reality set in. He covered his face and started to sob uncontrollably.

Laird hopped up into his lap to comfort him. His Dad was wandering about the house, trying to contact people on the phone, asking every question that came to mind to get more details, and disappearing down the hallway for some time. Roughly 20 minutes passed before Jake started to regain his composure. His eyes were red and puffy as he stared vacantly at the floor, overcome with shock and grief. His mind was running in so many directions with intense thoughts of anger, confusion, and sadness. Those emotions were quickly followed by thoughts of revenge. Jake heard his father in the kitchen, followed by the sound of running water before Jack returned to the living room.

“Here, take a couple of these. They’ll calm you down and help you sleep. I still have these from after your mom passed. Doc Miller took good care of me for a while. Here,” Jack said, handing him a couple of the capsules and the glass of water. Jake took the pills and chewed them as if in a daze.

“Jake, drink some water.”

Jake sat there chewing on the dry, bitter capsules acting as if he didn’t even hear his father.

“Jake?”

“What?” Jake replied, snapping out of his trance and looking up at his father.

“Drink some water, son. Please. Then head off to bed. It’s late, but I’ll try to find out anything I can tonight and let you know in the morning. But you need your sleep.” Jake stood up, holding Laird, and wandered slowly down the hallway. He passed into his bedroom and over to his bed, failing to even turn off the light. He laid down on the bed without even removing his clothes. Laird crawled over onto Jake’s pillow. Jake lay there for a moment. His face felt heavy and fatigued, and his muscles hurt from crying. His eyes were sore and starting to sag. Moments later, Jake was sinking into his bed with Laird curled up alongside him.

Approximately 30 minutes had passed before his Dad came down the hall, saw the light in Jake’s room, and stuck his head in through the doorway. Jake was sound asleep with Laird curled up next to his head. Jack entered the room, hands in his pockets, and stood there for a moment. The light blue walls were covered with surf posters of Kelly Slater, Laird Hamilton, Stephanie Gilmore, and others. A poster for the University of Hawai’i football team covered his door.

Jack looked around the room and realized he hadn’t been in this room in years. A feeling of emptiness washed over him for a moment. He walked over to the chair in the room, grabbed the fleece blanket, and then moved over to the bed and laid it over Jake. He looked down at his son, and his heart hurt. He glanced at Laird and smiled, patting him on the head, before glancing back at his son.

“I love you, son. I’m sorry.”

Jack switched off the light, walked out of the room, and quietly closed the door.

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Chapter Seven Breakdown