Suspect #2.

The Coworker.

Tio sits quietly, contemplating things. At least that's what he looks like he's doing. After the crappy revelations with Kenny, I want to see what beheld me with my trusted coworker. I spent the majority of my time with him after all. Hours upon hours sitting in our cubicles right next to each other. 

He touches the screen of his laptop so I got as close to him as I could. An email. An email from me. He lets his index finger linger over my name at the top. This was curious. I look at his face, he appears to be sad. 

I know he would be, if he had died instead I would have been beside myself. 

"I miss you."

I miss you too...

Too bad he can't hear me. I want to help him, somehow. 

Tio is a very good looking guy. He is a shy type though, the kind who never invites you to go do anything because he won't put himself out there. He never asked me out on a real date. But we did go to lunch all the time, and we got breakfast a few times too, when we had to work early. 

He isn't dating anyone that I know of. At least he never said he was. I know he lived with his grandma in the Diamond Head neighborhood. It was within walking distance to work and he usually took his bike. His grandma had raised him and she was wealthy. Wealthy but kind of clingy. 

He opens more emails and begins to work. I wasn't sure what I expect to see him do, but working is like him. He works much harder than I did even. 

"Tio!"

Kenny  finally opens his office door and comes out. 

"Yeah boss?"

"I think you can take the day off if you'd like. But only if you want. I don't mind either way. We can get back into the grind of things tomorrow. Higher ups want us to have a mental health day if we need it. Because of what happened."

Tio looks pained for a brief moment. Was he going to actually take the day off? I wait anxiously to see. 

"Oh."

He sits still for what seems like minutes then finally gets up. 

"Ok. I'll go then. See you tomorrow morning."

Kenny nods and goes back into his office, shutting the door behind him. 

I feel compelled to follow Tio so I float after him as he rides the elevator down into the stone floored lobby. He waves to a beautiful front desk clerk who also waves back at him. I know her, she is a nice young girl still in college. He keeps walking through to the gardens outside where his bike was chained up. 

I always loved this hotel. It was gorgeous. They decorated it in deep mahogany wood tones and used the prettiest sea glass type decorations for the walls as well as prints. Out of all the Waikiki hotels I had put resumes in for, this one was my favorite. 

I thought he was going to get on the bike but he doesn't. He answers his phone instead.

"This is Tio."

🩸

The Honolulu Police precinct is dirty and smells like urine outside.

I can smell!! 

This is an entirely new sensation. Why haven't I smelled anything before this? 

Tio chains up his bike next to what I thought was water but has the strongest ammonia odor. It was pee alright. Probably from a homeless person. How fitting too. Right outside the very precinct that housed their jailors. Urinating in public was a misdemeanor in Honolulu. 

He enters slowly, tentatively. Poor guy was most likely terrified to be coming here. Why hadn't they just gone in to the office and interviewed him? They were just there for gods sake, with Kenny. 

"I'm here to see Detective Keele."

 Detective Keele huh...good to finally know the name of one of them. 

Tio stops at the front desk to check in. The female police officer smacks her gum in a loud fashion and waves him in, buzzing the heavy entrance door open. It is just like in the movies. And I can still smell urine, even in here. 

"Tio. Thank you for coming by. Follow me."

Detective Keele emerged quickly from a door beyond the ratty sitting area. He is clearly waiting for Tio's arrival. I still wanted to know why they had asked him to come in. 

"Tell us how you knew Leilani."

"We know you were her coworker."

Ok now this was odd. They knew how he knew me. What more was there to it? 

"Well, I was her coworker. As you said. That's all."

"Were you friends?"

"Yes. We were friends."

"Outside of work friends?"

Tio shifts in his seat. He is acting like Kenny had earlier. 

"I guess. Yes. She and I would hang out sometimes." He says.

I wonder what he means by 'hang out'. We had lunch on our break but that was during work hours. I had never hung out with him in the traditional sense. 

"What would you do together?" Detective Keele asks.

I sense that the police knew things I didn't, by the line of questioning. 

"Go to movies, to the beach....you know.....normal stuff."

Lies. 

He was lying! 

"Ok. You'd go to the movies and to the beach, how often?"

"Once a week or so."

Tio is clearly agitated now. He knows they know something. I feel the agitation build up inside of me, I don't like what I am hearing. We hadn't gone to a movie or to the beach. 

"I see."

Detective Keele clears his throat and then the second Detective comes in.

"This is detective Jones. He has some questions to ask you as well, then you can go."

Tio nods curtly and shifts in his chair some more. 

"Tio, how old is your grandmother?" Detective Jones asks.

"She's...90. Why are you asking me about her?"

"She has always taken care of you, is that correct?"

"Yes."

Detective Jones stacks papers on the edge of the desk and looks up at Tio.

"Does she ever go into your room?"

🩸

I am the most confused I have been so far, since dying. 

Tio is lying about spending time with me. He is lying....but why?!

I follow him out and towards the beach. He is on his bike and pedaling fast. I float effortlessly behind him, slightly above. It doesn't feel like I am flying though. More of a weird 'transporting'. There is no sensation of suspension or moving even. It just, is.

Sidewalks are crowded with tourists and locals, all going towards the sand or store fronts. Tio stays in the road and weaves in between cars. Not the safest thing for him to do, but I understand because he left the precinct very upset. Distraught even.

We pass quickly by the banyan tree and the Duke statue. Tio was a madman, racing as if his life depended on it. I am confused. Why the anger? Why the secretiveness? 

Still further he rides. Down past the Honolulu zoo on the left and the throngs of tourists sprinkled with a healthy dose of homeless. I used to like surfing here in this section of Waikiki. It was nice and you could always get a set in before anyone else in the early morning hours. Finally it hits me...I'd never surf again. 

The aquarium comes into view and Tio slows down. He hops off his bike and walks it awkwardly along the sidewalk. His shoulders are slumping. I swoop down closer to inspect. He is crying softly. 

Suddenly he turns off the sidewalk and across the grass towards the conservation outdoor stadium of sorts. It's a crumbling building with scant parking. He chains his bike up and walks hastily towards the rocky wall separating the ocean from the delipidated structure. 

He settles onto the concrete where waves will occasionally lap at his feet. Was he just going to sit here?

"Leilani.."

He appears to be talking to me. If only he knew I am right next to him. 

"Why did you have to die? You shouldn't have..."

I get a rush of what feels like goosebumps, but I have no body. There is no physical aspect left to me. But the sensation is there alright. 

He takes out his cell phone and opens up something. Wanting to see what he was looking at, I get as close to him as I can. 

Me. 

He is looking at me. Lots of pictures of me in fact. He slowly scrolls through them, stopping to let his fingers linger on my chest or my face. They are closeups of me at the beach, on my balcony at my condo and me out walking around. 

Tio has been following me! For a very long time apparently too. 

The pictures keep coming. Over a years worth in total. Once he reaches the end he starts crying. Not softly either. Racking sobs take him over. The goosebumps feeling persists as I watch him heave. 

I put some distance between us, and I hover over the water directly in front of him. This is a much more shocking discovery compared to Kenny's infidelity. I had a stalker. One who was nice, and one who I liked. 

Tio tucks his phone back into his pocket and lets the tears flow from his eyes without bothering to wipe them.

"I loved you Leilani."

~ This book is Copyrighted by K E Jennings and only available on Wattpad. if you are reading this on another site, it has been stolen without permission or monetary payment to the said author. ~

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Fun Hawaii Fact: Pidgin often leaves off the letter 'd' in words such as saying "shave ice" instead of "shaved ice"