Murder on Easter Island
Read Murder on Easter Island Online
Authors: Gary Conrad
Praise for
Murder on Easter Island
—
“This engaging novel held my complete attention from start to finish. Daniel Fishinghawk is a terrific detective—rich, complex and real. I particularly enjoyed the historical information woven into the mystery and the exotic location. Highly recommended.”
—William Bernhardt, author of
Primary Justice
“In
Murder on Easter Island
, Gary Conrad creates a mystery of the rarest order when Detective Daniel “Hawk” Fishinghawk is sent to Easter Island to investigate a series of cannibalistic killings. Conrad’s writing is never more powerful or his imagination more sweeping than when he delves into the dark mysteries of the universe in this way, and it is the readers’ delight to be invited along for the journey.”
—Sheldon Russell, author of
The Hanging of Samuel Ash
“In
Murder on Easter Island
, Gary Conrad blends suspense, a love story, history and a keen understanding of the human soul in a masterfully told story that grabbed me from page one.”
—Joan Korenblit, Executive Director, Respect Diversity Foundation
“This Who-Done-It takes some unusual, daring and even glorious twists across time, cultures and ethnicities. Conrad’s story evokes feeling as well as inspiring you to figure it out.”
—Ken Hada, author of
Spare Parts
and
Margaritas and Redfish
“Gary Conrad has done it again. Much like
The Lhasa Trilogy
, he takes us on another quirky adventure through a wonderfully exotic landscape.
Murder on Easter Island
is a gruesomely delightful journey through the culture and history of Easter Island. His research, visits and descriptions of the scenes in his book are like a travelogue to a time and a place to which few of us ever get access. Well worth the read!”
—D. Franklin Schultz, author of A
Language of the Heart
“Of the numerous novels set on Easter Island, Gary D. Conrad’s book is the first to effectively weave both history and fact into fiction. A highly engaging murder mystery that aims to educate.”
—Associate Professor Ian Conrich, University of South Australia,
curator of the exhibition “Easter Island, Myths and Popular Culture”
“This book is an engrossing combination of the history of Easter Island/Rapa Nui and a contemporary murder mystery. The author’s use of an engaging literary device . . . allows the reader to enter the world of ancient Rapa Nui and explore this society’s culture, myths and spirituality. As such it works well as both an introduction to the world of the Rapanui, both past and present, and yet is also a gripping page-turner as we follow ‘Hawk’ in his pursuit of a gruesome and prolific serial killer.”
—Roy Smith, Ph.D., Programme Leader,
MA in International Development,
Nottingham Trent University, UK
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Conrad, Gary D., 1952-
Murder on Easter Island / Gary D. Conrad.
1 online resource.
Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.
ISBN 978-1-56825-181-3 (epub) -- ISBN 978-1-56825-179-0 (hardcover with jacket : alk. paper)
1. Easter Island--Fiction. 2. Mystery fiction. I. Title.
PS3603.O5555
813’.6--dc23
2014021691
Murder on Easter Island: A Daniel “Hawk” Fishinghawk Mystery
© 2015 by Gary D. Conrad
Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-56825-179-0
Softcover
ISBN: 978-1-56825-180-6
EPUB ISBN: 978-1-56825-181-3
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to individuals living or dead is coincidental.
Cover image of the Ahu Ature Huki by Murray Foote (
MurrayFoote.com
).
Author photo taken in a grotto, high in the Wichita Mountains, by Chris Corbett.
Book divider page images by the author:
Book One:
Moai on Rano Raraku, a dormant volcano and the site of the quarry from where the moai were carved.
Book Two:
Cave en route to Mount Terevaka.
Book Three:
Rano Kau.
Published by:
Rainbow Books, Inc.
P. O. Box
430
, Highland City, FL,
33846-0430
Telephone:
(863) 648-4420
•
[email protected]
•
RainbowBooksInc.com
Author’s Website:
Individuals’ Orders:
Amazon.com
•
AllBookStores.com
•
BN.com
Permissions:
Metraux, Alfred. “The Woman with the Long Arm” & “The Child Changed into Nanue.” In
Ethnology of Easter Island.
Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1940.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical (except as follows for photocopying for review purposes). Permission for photocopying can be obtained for internal or personal use, the internal or personal use of specific clients, and for educational use, by paying the appropriate fee to: Copyright Clearance Center,
222
Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA,
01923, USA
Produced and printed in the United States of America.
To Betty Wright
1924–2013
My editor, mentor and friend
Murder on
EASTER
ISLAND
Circa 700 CE, Mangareva, Polynesia
P
iercing screams echoed through the village.
The old shaman Haumaka covered his ears with his hands in vain as he sat on the ground outside his thatched hut. Five of his clan’s best warriors lay dead, stretched out on the island beach, punctured many times over by spears and beaten with clubs nearly beyond recognition.
As the naked corpses awaited being wrapped in barkcloth and placed in a nearby cave, a large group of women and children writhed in agony around them. Between wails they swatted at the flying insects that buzzed around and onto the soon-to-be-rotten flesh.
Haumaka was saddened because, as an elder, he had known all of the dead since they were little boys, when they played and frolicked in the sand of their small beachside community. He had seen them grow to be strong young men, the best of the best.
And now they were dead.
The youth should never die before the elderly, he bitterly thought. But that’s the way life is. There are no guarantees — ever.
He shook his head. This was the third battle over the past fourteen days with a neighboring tribe, and they had lost each clash in spite of the bravery of their warriors. The others had simply overwhelmed them with numbers.
This location was no longer safe.
So it came as no surprise when only a short while ago the chief of his clan, Hotu Matu‘a, had asked him to dream and find a new island to move to. The thought of moving dampened his spirits even more; he loved his home. He was born and raised here and knew every special place — and there were many.
Tired of listening to the persistent screams and knowing there was work to be done, he stuffed some taro root and baked chicken in his bag, stood and walked barefoot deep into the island forest. The thick calluses on his feet warded away injury from rocks or thorns.
When Haumaka chose to dream, he often went to the base of a hidden waterfall, deep in the jungle — and he headed there now. Only a few knew of its location, as its secret was well kept by the shamans who preceded him. Only when he had advanced far enough in his learning was he taken there.
And there was a reason for that.
It was a place of visions and only for ones whose minds were prepared. He knew of those who had stumbled onto this location, meandered for a while and, upon returning, were stark raving mad, wild-eyed, screaming and seeing things no one else could. The only choice the villagers had was to tie them to a palm tree. After a day or two of wallowing in their excrement, they invariably came to their senses.
Following a half day of hard walking, Haumaka smiled as he heard the roar of the waterfall. He parted the foliage that stood in his way and knelt by the edge of a small lagoon at the cascade’s base, inhaling deeply of the mist that gathered around his face.
He bent over, scooped crystal-clear water into his mouth and looked up to see his favorite place for dreaming: a large, flat, moss-covered rock. He sat down on it, realized he was hungry and pulled the food from his bag.
While he ate, he began to listen to the sounds around him: the waterfall, the soft breeze blowing through the trees and the chatter of jungle birds.
The taro root and chicken devoured, he focused on his breath and moved his consciousness inside himself. The noises around him began to fade, and before long the part of him that was spirit left his body and flew into the air and out over the ocean.
While Haumaka had done this many times in the past, he now directed his mind to focus on finding their next island home. He looked at the sun and measured carefully the direction he took.
He accelerated over the water and, using his spiritual sight, saw a lush green isle far in the distance. He covered the span within the blink of an eye. As his consciousness hovered over the small island, he liked what he discovered. It was densely
forested, thick with palm trees, and streams of fresh water spilled from the high grounds to eventually empty into the ocean below.
As he looked in all directions, there was no other land to be seen.
This place is isolated, far from the eyes of anyone else, but it is not inaccessible, he thought, pleased with his find.
He was not a seaman by any stretch of the imagination, but guessed the distance between his home island and this one could be sailed in under a month.
And most important of all, it was uninhabited.
Perfect.
When he returned to the village, he would report to Chief Hotu Matu‘a, who would send a scouting party to explore the island before he made the decision to move there. While he trusted his shaman, the chief was not one to take chances.