Murder on Easter Island (11 page)

“Perhaps so,” José said, “or maybe if you’re gone he’ll just leave her alone.”

“José, I can’t take that chance. I’m going to hang around for a while longer just to be sure. And maybe, just maybe, when the killings start again, I can find a way to catch him.”

“I wouldn’t count on it. Our suspect is craftier than all of us put together. So far he’s avoided the entire Chilean police department and the best the United States has to offer. Somehow I don’t believe that’s going to change.”

Daniel claimed, “In my experience, every killer — no matter how smart he or she is — will at some point make a mistake. And when our killer does, I will be on him like a fly on crap.”

“I wish I had your confidence,” said José

“After what he did to Tiare, I promise you, I
will
find him, one way or another. Right now, though, I’m headed over to the Englert Museum. Would you like to join me?”

“No, I’ve been in that dusty old place too many times to count over the years, and there’s nothing there that draws my interest anymore. But since you’ve never been, I believe you’ll find it intriguing. I’ll check back with you later.”

“Sounds good,” Daniel replied. He was starting to get the feeling that before too much longer he would have some answers to this seemingly unsolvable mystery.

But where would the answers come from?

His instincts quickly spoke to his own question:

Somewhere I’d rather not go.

Daniel climbed into his car and was en route to the museum when his phone rang. A familiar voice spoke:

“Hawk! You ol’ son of a bitch! I hear you’ve solved another case and are headed back soon to your favorite city in the world.”

“Chief Kelly! How did you know? I left the press conference only a few minutes ago.”

“Seems your new boss, Diaz, had his secretary call my office this morning with the news. What the fuck, Hawk? You’ve never taken more than a day or two to figure out who done it.”

“Well,” Daniel said, “there’s a little problem you don’t know about. You see, the case has not been solved.”

“What do you mean?

“Let’s just say the Chilean police needed to make an arrest, and they did.”

“Are you telling me this is a frame-up?” Kelly asked.

“That’s what I’m saying. I’m sure once the tourists come back, the murders will start again. I need to hang around here until we get the real killer nailed.”

“But that’s impossible. They don’t want you around any longer. In fact, Diaz’s secretary tells me your flight out has already been booked for tomorrow. Whatever, I need you back here. I’ve got a backlog of unsolved murders I want you to sort out.”

“Chief,” Daniel insisted, “I need to stay here — even if it’s in an unofficial capacity.”

“Hawk, listen up! The Chilean police don’t want you there — period! I don’t like doing this, but I must order you to return.”

“I don’t like doing this either, but you’ve backed me into a corner.”

“What are you saying?”

“I quit,” said Daniel

There was a long pause at the other end of the phone. “Damn it, Hawk, are you sure? I’ll throw in a big raise and an extra week of vacation just to sweeten the pot. What do you say?”

“Sorry — can’t do it.”

“Well, shit,” Kelly said, “I think you’re making a big fucking mistake, but if you change your mind, let me know. I’ve always got room for you with the
NYPD
.”

Daniel then heard a loud
click
.

Daniel parked his vehicle in front of the museum. It was a bright, sunny day, and the royal blue ocean next to the museum was calm and serene. As he got out of his SUV and strolled up to the front door, he heard the echoing sounds of seabirds.
He entered, paid his admission fee and began to look at some of the objects on display.

The first exhibit to catch his eye was one that contained the hand tools used to carve the moai. He had previously learned that it would take six men around twelve to fifteen months to complete a sixteen-foot-tall moai. Considering the large number constructed, the amount of labor involved for such a feat was astronomical.

He then saw a female moai in the museum, obvious because of its breasts. He wandered over to couple of large wooden planks with symbols on them, one in the shape of a fish, and discovered the inscriptions were representative of Rapa Nui’s own unique rongorongo script. Granted, these were not originals. A plaque explained that all those were on exhibit in other museums across the world, but none were here.

Daniel walked over to another case, which from a distance looked to contain five wooden figures propped up on wooden braces. As Daniel got closer he caught his breath.

Hitirau! They look like Hitirau!

All were skin and bones with prominent ribs, goatees and hooked noses. He read the explanation below them, and discovered they were all representations of akuaku called moai kavakava. Daniel found it hard to look at them. They appeared darkly sinister and angry.

He left quickly. Just being in the same area as the carvings brought up memories he would just as soon forget.

It was a busy afternoon. Daniel turned in his car and cell phone and rented another of each — on his own nickel. For the time being, he decided to stay at the Te Manutara Hotel and foot the bill himself, at least until he could make other arrangements.

The only good news about the day was that apparently Gomez had not told anyone about the loaning of the Beretta to Daniel, so he was not asked to return it. Daniel felt better knowing Tiare still had it in her possession. Now, whether or not she knew how to use it properly was an entirely different matter, an issue he would have to address in the near future. But not now. His immediate priority was to encourage Tiare in her recovery.

Daniel entered the hospital and made his way to her room. When he walked through the unguarded door, he discovered two couples, who appeared to be in their sixties, sitting around the bedside. The two men stood up to greet him.

“Daniel!” Tiare exclaimed. “I’m so glad to see you!”

“I’m glad to see you as well. This is your family?”

The closest man smiled and extended his hand, and Daniel shook it. He said, “My name is Eduardo Rapu. I am Tiare’s son.” He motioned to an attractive, dark-haired woman sitting next to him. “This is my wife, Carla, and on the other side of the bed are my sister, Sofia, and her husband, Pablo.”

Pablo reached across the bed to also shake Daniel’s hand.

They all smiled and nodded at Daniel.

“Please sit down,” Daniel said to the men.

As Eduardo and Pablo took a seat, Eduardo spoke, “As you may know, mother far outlived her husband, our father Ernesto, who died about twenty years ago.”

Daniel glanced over at Tiare and thought he saw tears form in the corners of her eyes.

Eduardo didn’t seem to notice. “Mother also has eight grandchildren, twenty-eight great-grandchildren, and seven great-great grandchildren. All of them live in Chile, but we can’t talk her into moving away from here.”

“Why does that not surprise me?” Daniel said with a grin. “Anyway, I don’t want to take away from your family time, but I wanted to check in and make sure your mother was doing well.”

Eduardo replied, “My mother, as I’m sure you’ve already discovered, is extremely strong-willed and has told us that when you arrive, we need to leave. I hear you are a student of hers?”

“Yes, she is teaching me Rapanui and the history of the island.”

Eduardo said, “We understand that you were one of the investigators for the murders that have occurred here?”

“Yes.”

Eduardo added, “Mother has told us that the wrong man has been accused of the crimes. Is that true?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

Sofia then stood and said with a look of concern on her face, “We are worried about Mother’s safety. Are you planning to stay until the real man is caught?”

“I am.”

Sofia said, “We in the family have talked about this, and we have decided to hire a guard to protect her. We have chosen Felipe Nahoe, who is an old friend of the family and a retired police officer. He has agreed to keep watch mainly during the night, which seems to be the riskiest time. As additional protection, we were hopeful that you would agree to stay at her house.”

Tiare blushed. “Children, I know you are concerned about me, but Daniel may have made other arrangements. Anyway, I only have one bedroom.”

Daniel said, “I’d be honored to stay with you and keep an eye out. I can sleep on the couch.”

“Then it’s settled,” concluded Eduardo as he stood with all the others. “We’ll be here for around two weeks to make sure she’s doing well, but you can move in now. Mother had invited us to stay at her home, but it’s too small for all of us. We’re staying at a local hotel.”

Sofia walked around the bed and took Daniel’s hand. “We also want to thank you for saving Mother’s life. If you hadn’t been there when she was attacked, we don’t believe she would have lived.”

“I’m glad I was able to help,” Daniel replied.

With that the four filed out the door of the hospital room.

As they left, a wave of guilt hit Daniel:

Tiare had nearly died — because of me.

A
s Tiare propped herself up in the hospital bed, she asked, “Daniel, what did you think of the museum?”

“It was interesting to say the least. Did you send me there to see the moai kavakava?”

“That was one of the reasons,” Tiare said. “What are your thoughts about them?”

“After my experience with Hitirau, it was hard to look in their direction. I have to admit they had an uncanny resemblance to him.”

“There’s a reason for that,” she explained. “In legend, the original carvings of the moai kavakava were based on an early sighting of Hitirau. These carvings were made of toromiro wood —”

Daniel interrupted, “Toromiro?”

Tiare said, “Toromiro is a species of tree native to Rapa Nui. It is now extinct — gone with the rest of our native trees.”

Daniel asked, “What about the symbols I saw on the wooden planks?”

“That is called rongorongo — Rapa Nui’s own unique script. As you saw, many different symbols are engraved in the wood. Rather than represent a true language, these designs stand for concepts or ideas. While researchers have made progress in trying to crack the code, the exact meaning remains a mystery.”

“Why wasn’t the way to interpret rongorongo passed on from your ancestors?”

“Rongorongo could be read only by the ‘ariki mau and the elite members of our society,” Tiare said. “Remember me telling you about the period that started in eighteen sixty-two, when many of my people were killed?”

“I do.”

“Everyone who knew how to translate rongorongo died over those seventeen years.”

Tears began to roll down Tiare’s face, and Daniel handed her a tissue.

She wiped her eyes. “We not only lost much of our heritage during that time, but also many of our basic human rights. In eighteen sixty-nine the Frenchman Dutrou-Bornier negotiated a contract that converted the whole of Rapa Nui into one big sheep ranch. He brutally ruled the island and treated us as if we were his slaves.

“The final straw was reached in eighteen seventy-six, when he began kidnapping young girls for his own personal pleasure. He was killed by islanders who had reached their breaking point. One year after he died, the population dwindled to an all-time low of one hundred and ten.”

“What?”

“It is true,” Tiare grimly said. “As I have told you, disease, blackbirding and emigration took their toll. Considering the population was estimated to be five to twelve thousand in eighteen sixty-two, it was a catastrophic drop.”

Daniel sat in stunned silence.

“The next landmark event for Rapa Nui was the annexation by Chile in eighteen eighty-eight —”

“Why Chile?” Daniel interrupted, recalling his question from long ago.

“Because the French, who had occupied the Leeward Islands the previous year, seemed content to allow Chile to have possession of Rapa Nui. As you might have guessed, we weren’t allowed to choose our conquerors.”

“I see,” Daniel replied.

“Anyway, in eighteen ninety-seven,” Tiare continued, “the Chilean government leased out our island — you guessed it — as a sheep ranch, and all of my people were confined behind a wall around Hanga Roa, much like human livestock.

“In nineteen hundred, when protestors demonstrated about the subhuman conditions, they were rounded up and taken on a boat to be exiled to Chile. They never arrived because they were thrown overboard at sea, and none survived. This reign of terror finally ended in nineteen sixty-six, when we were released from our prison of Hanga Roa and were allowed at long last to roam our own island. Finally, we were granted Chilean citizenship.”

Daniel said, “How can you not hate the Chileans for what they have done to you?”

“Hate is a strong word,” she said, “though there are many who feel that way, and some in the indigenous rights movement have called for autonomy. But, in fairness and especially over the recent years, Chile has done much for our island. They have helped develop the infrastructure and have promoted cultural tourism. While this is good financially, it is challenging ecologically, with the increase in cars, waste, and demands on our power and water supplies.”

Daniel said, “I can’t help but wonder if these murders have something to do with those who wish to secede from Chile.”

“It’s possible, but there is more to it than that. I have had a lot of time to think while I’ve been lying in this bed. So, let’s put our heads together for a moment.”

Seeing Daniel’s nod, she continued, “First of all, I think we have both agreed that the killer wishes to stop the tourist industry on Rapa Nui. The motivation for this is uncertain.

“And since your experience on Puna Pau and the note left by Gomez, we believe the killer has been influenced by Hitirau. And you have also told me there are no fingerprints which match those of the killer on Rapa Nui, or, for that matter, anywhere in the world. Correct?”

“Correct.”

“Now,” Tiare said, “two more facts make this even more interesting: One is the cannibalism that is occurring with these murders and the second is the obsidian-pointed spear I was impaled with. Both of these are from Rapa Nui’s distant past. Why have these suddenly reappeared in modern times?”