Chapter 23: More Clues

Thursday Morning

Mike Dahl was sipping from a cup of black coffee when Cutie and Halee walked into the kitchen. They both wore cute pink pajamas, and Mike felt as if he suddenly had two daughters. Cutie, as usual, gave her Dad a hug and then offered to get him more coffee.

Halee watched while Cutie hugged her Dad, then shyly gave him one, too. "Thanks, Uncle Mike, for everything you did." From the stark, white pallor on her face, everyone could tell that she was remembering the near-rape.

"Anytime, Halee." A grin shone from his eyes and barely managed to stay out of his mouth as he changed the subject. "So, why did Janelle sometimes call you Pele?"

Cutie knew her Dad was changing the subject, but wanted to know where he heard that name; as far as she knew, only Janelle had used it and then only when she was irked at something Halee had done. A raised eyebrow silently asked the question, and then Halee asked it out loud. "Where did you hear that?"

"I heard it once or twice when Janelle was mad at you and came over to vent to Cutie. The bedroom door was not quite closed, and she was very loud." Mike looked directly at his daughter. "I was not listening to your conversations, but even in my room, I could hear her complaining 'Pele did this' and 'Pele did that' and 'The temper of that girl makes her exactly like Pele' and other things. Since my own sister made me angry once or twice, I knew it had to be Halee she was talking about. But she eventually cooled off, and I know she loved you. So who is Pele?"

The name did not seem to bother Halee. "My full name is Haleakala. My Mom is full Hawaiian and liked the name, but it is too long and hard to pronounce. And when I was in first grade, I had to put it on my papers and that took almost forever." She giggled at the memory.

Cutie and Mike smiled that Halee could giggle after everything that had happened to her.

"Anyway, Haleakala is a volcanic crater on one of the Hawaiian islands -- Maui -- where Pele, the goddess of fire and volcanos, is supposed to live. Since I have red hair and a temper, just like her, Janelle would call me Pele when I was throwing a temper tantrum. And I know she loved me, she told me often."

Before the conversation could produce tears, Cutie changed the subject again. "What does everybody want for breakfast?"

"I only have time for a bagel and coffee; I need to get to work soon." Her Dad was first.

"Do you have cereal? I usually have corn flakes for breakfast." Came from Halee.

"Sure, Halee. But wouldn't you rather have some hot lava?" That made both girls giggle. As she was getting the bagels out and handing bowls and cereal boxes down, Cutie asked her Dad, "Any more interesting information about Jeannie's accident?"

Both of Mike's eyebrows went up at this question, wondering if they should talk in front of Janelle's little sister about someone murdering her.

There was no question in Halee's mind. "Look, Uncle Mike, I know someone fixed her car and that killed her. I think I want to know about what you found, too."

If he was surprised, Mike Dahl did not show it. Calmly, he laid out what information he had for the sister of the murdered girl. "I can tell you that it definitely was not an accident. There was some quick setting epoxy inside the doors which stopped the locks and windows from working. Some of it had also been placed inside the seatbelt buckle. It was triggered wirelessly so the chemicals would release and mix, and stop her from getting out. I found the tank of some gas, probably sleeping gas, which was released the same way. Another control turned off all electrical systems in her car. With Janelle asleep and unable to get out anyway, all the person had to do was wait for a train. On Friday nights, there is one almost every hour through there, and most are high speed, express runs. But even a slow train would have wrecked the car."