The Gentleman from Indiana

"That is correct. Let's say that some exceptions have been made concerning Sonja Heard."

"Okay. You have my attention. What does Sonja Heard and the Island of Niihau have to do with me?"

"Things are not going well concerning the trial. It is messy and it is getting messier. Malcolm's family is spending every cent they have to see to it that Sonja is crucified. She is concerned about the impact that all of this is going to have on her children, and she wants to shelter them from it."

"And how does this concern me?"

"Sonja is sending her children to Niihau until this mess blows over. It is the only place that she feels that they will be free of it. She wants you to go with them."

"You have to be kidding! I am the one that threatened to kill them. I am the last person on earth that those children should be entrusted to."

"It doesn't seem to make sense to us either. We don't know why she choose you."

I was not expecting this. It didn't make sense. Of course, there was no way that I would ever do anything to hurt the kids, but I didn't even know them that well. I only saw them at occasional gatherings and never really bonded with them.

"What about Sonja's parents?"

"Her father has Alzheimzers and it is all her mother can do to take care of him. Besides that, the children would still be exposed to the media, if they stayed with them."

"Why Niihau? There is no electricity, no running water, and they don't even have a school or a grocery store."

"Exactly."

"I am sorry Mister Malik, but I have absolutely no experience in taking care of children. You definitely have the wrong guy."

"You won't actually be taking care of the children as such. Their nanny will be going with you to see to things."

"What things?"

"She will do all the cooking, cleaning, and housekeeping."

"Okay. What will I be doing?"

Mister Malik seemed a little bewildered at the question.

"I don't have a good answer for that. Sonja said that she wanted you there, and refused to elaborate much more than that. I am not sure, but I believe she will want you to home-school them so that they do not have to go to a school on one of the other islands. I also think that she feels it is important that they have a male influence. She seems to think highly of you, for some reason."

"What does that mean?"

"What?"

"You said that 'she seems to think highly of me, for some reason.' What did you mean by that?"

"We were a little baffled by her choice in this matter. All we know about you Mister Sorensen, is what we read in the paper and a little research into your background. We, by that I mean the company, never really understood why she selected you. I wasn't trying to offend you in any way. Please don't misconstrue my words."

"Can I have some coffee?"

Wilfred got up and left the room. It gave me a little time to think. Sonja must have been out of her head, or else she was extremely clever. She had always been a calm and collected person. I had to believe that she knew exactly what she was doing when she selected me. I didn't know why, but it didn't really matter: yet.

The coffee smelled better than it tasted.

"What is in this for me? Why would I ever agree to such a preposterous thing?"

"She was hoping that you would feel guilty about what you did, and openly stated that she wanted to take advantage of that."

"She really said that?"

"Yep. She also offered two thousand dollars a week, to be automatically deposited into your Cayman account."

"You know about my Cayman account?"

"We know everything? Actually, there is not very much to know about you. You are a very ordinary man, Mister Sorensen."

"If I agree, when would I have to leave?"

"A private plane will be leaving tomorrow at noon from Dulles. Our people will help you get ready and take care of your home and personal affairs while you are gone."

I didn't know much about airplanes. All I knew for sure was that it was a jet and it was not a 747. I assumed that it was big enough to cross the Pacific to Hawaii, or else they would not have used it. My escort loaded my bags for me as I stood around trying to look as if I knew what I was doing, which of course was totally wrong.

I had tried to pack what I thought I would be needing. It would have been nice to have had some sort of guide. The biggest concern was the fact that there was no electricity on the island. I am not sure how current the information was that I picked off the computer, but it didn't look encouraging. Just in case, I took my cell phone and charger. I also packed my laptop. I had no idea how to charge batteries or used electronic equipment without electricity. I was kicking myself for not learning more about solar energy. I was wondering about my satellite cell phone service. By the time I had myself completely confused, the limo arrived with the primary passengers.

There were two boys and a girl. The oldest boy, Bryan, looked to be about sixteen years old. The girl, Glenna, was at least a year older, and the last of all was Chaz, who couldn't have been more than twelve years old. I introduced myself and was surprised that they all seemed to be pleasant and well-mannered. As a rule, I don't typically like children.

Things were looking fine, until it came to the nanny. I couldn't be sure, but she appeared to be from some part of Central America. Maya was barely five foot tall. I guessed that she was not yet thirty, but looked older. I was an extremely poor judge of women. She passed by me, as if I had leprosy. The stare that she gave me, haunted me for the entire trip. It was easy to see that I would not have been her choice for this trip. I still could not figure out what ever possessed Sonja to think that I was her best option. Maya handled the children like a drill instructor. They listened to her and did what she said, not out of fear or obedience, but because they seemed to want to. I was impressed.

After the novelty of the takeoff, I took the time to create some rapport with each of the kids. It would make things easier if I knew what their likes and dislikes were. I quickly discovered that they knew everything about the threat that I had made, and why I had made it. Yet they did not seem to be afraid of me. There was no doubt that Maya knew, because she never took her eyes off of me.

Bryan was interested in computers and anything related to them. He was disappointed when he found out that Niihau did not have electricity. His eyes lit up a little when I told him that I had smuggled my laptop aboard, and he seemed responsive when I asked him if he knew anything about solar power or satellite communications. Bryan and I were going to get along fine.

Glenna was looking forward to swimming and learning to surf. Her biggest worry was that we would not be near a beach, or if there was one, it would be too rough to swim in. I promised to help her figure out a way to get to the water, but I couldn't help her surf. We had a little laugh about that. She was hoping to be able to go horseback riding also.

Chaz was upset because there were no snakes on the islands. He was looking forward to collecting all the critters that he could. After he said that, I told him that I was relieved that St. Patrick had chased away all of the snakes. He took great pleasure in straightening me out.

I knew that I would not get a chance to talk with Maya. She made it perfectly clear by her facial expressions and gestures that she wanted nothing to do with me. I could tell that she did not appreciate my associating with the children. I found myself staring at her as she slept. Her skin was a bronze color with a slight sheen. Her lips and nose were both a little flatter and broader than average. Her eyebrows were dark and heavy. I had no trouble at all remembering that her eyes were also dark and deep. She was sexy, exotic, and very intriguing.

We stopped in Seattle and had supper at the airport while the plane refueled. I was surprised to discover that Maya spoke perfect English, without a trace of an accent. She hadn't spoken to me, but I paid attention when she was with the children. She was becoming more interesting as the flight went on.

The children slept the entire way from Seattle to the islands. Maya was asleep for part of the time. When she wasn't sleeping, she was watching me. It was obvious that she knew about the letter, and was more worried about it than the children were.

The next leg of our journey was in a seaplane, which the kids thought was really cool. That was surpassed by a helicopter ride directly to Niihau. There was a small group of people ready to meet us, and I tried my best to stay in the background. It was evident that they were trying to keep everything completely low key.

Two hours later, a jitney-like jeep dropped us off at our new home. It was a typical island bungalow with a few upgrades. As the kids and Myra rushed into the new place, I walked around the whole building. It had a tin or metal roof, with large, enclosed gutters for collecting rain water. I had checked beforehand and all my information seemed to indicate that it was a relatively dry island. I was sure that nobody would have gone to all the trouble of installing a system like this unless it was cost-effective. The collected water was all channeled into three, quite large, fiberglass tanks mounted high, under the roof on the West side of the building.

The whole South side of the roof was covered with solar panels. There appeared to be three different types of panels, but all had the same tilt angle. I was curious to see exactly how the solar energy was being used.

Chaz was fascinated by the small flock of free-range chickens clustered around a small, raised coop in the backyard. There might not be any bacon, but it looked like we would be having a lot of eggs.

I was still trying to stay inconspicuous. The guy who dropped us off had just finished explaining things to Maya as I entered the house. He would be delivering the groceries and other supplies to us every Tuesday morning. He gave Maya some forms that she could use for ordering for the following week. I decided to keep my nose out of it. Maya was the professional, and I was just going along for the ride. I still had no idea why I was here. There was a propane tank out back that would be checked and filled monthly. In addition to the stove, there was an antique, propane-powered, refrigerator. I hadn't seen one of those since I was a kid. There appeared to be plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Bryan announced that he had claimed the small bedroom on the South side of the house. It had a door leading to the battery storage area for the solar collectors. I was initially concerned, until I noticed that the area was fully ventilated. In addition to the batteries, there was a hodge-podge of wiring and switches. It scared the bejesus out of me, but it fascinated Bryan. He could not wait to get his hands dirty.

I ended up having to share a room with Chaz. He thought that this was cool. Maya wasn't crazy about it, but there was no place else for me to sleep. She most certainly didn't offer to share and I didn't expect her to.

Maya prepared a small buffet of fresh fruit for supper. She did not appear to be in the mood to cook a meal and I understood why. Ten minutes after we finished eating, Chaz was fast asleep on the sofa, and the rest of us were ready for bed. About a half-hour later, I heard a small scream. Maya was the first to try out the unheated shower. I was relieved to find out that this was all it was about. It also made me snicker a little.

By the time I got up, Maya had put breakfast on the table. It was, of course, fruit and eggs, with fresh juice. Chaz was strutting around with a big grin on his face, because he was the one who had collected the eggs. Maya had no trouble assigning him this same task for every morning.

I discovered that I didn't enjoy shaving with cold water and I was not thrilled with the chilly shower either. The water wasn't actually freezing cold, but it just wasn't warm. I also realized that I would need new clothes if I was going to stay here for any length of time. When I got done with my morning grooming ritual, I found myself tobe alone in ther house.

I stood on the porch and looked out over the valley in front of me. The ocean was closer than I had originally believed it to be. At the bottom of the hill, I could make out Maya with Glenna and Chaz. Bryan was not with them. I watched as they left the road and walked across the rocks and sand to the water. Chaz was wandering all over the place. Glenna walked directly into the surf and just stood there while being quite still. They were almost a mile away, so I could not see much more than their basic movements. Maya sat down on one of the rock outcroppings and watched them. I turned my attention towards the house when I heard some noises from the back. I noticed that Bryan was sitting in the middle of the battery room, with a clipboard. He was concentrating so deeply, that I didn't believe that he never heard me enter the room. A quick glance indicated that he was making a schematic drawing of all of the wiring and equipment in the house. I felt a little relieved that he found something to occupy himself with so quickly.

"Mister Sorensen, what type of cellphone service do you have?" I guess I wasn't as quiet as I thought I had been.

"It's Verizon. I brought it along because I was hoping that we could get satellite reception."

"Is it internet capable?"

"Internet, e-mail, GPS, as well as texting. I don't use most of that stuff, but the phone does just about everything."

"Do you mind if I use it for a while?"

"I was only going to use it for emergencies because we don't have any way to recharge it."

Bryan gave me a big smile. "No problem. It looks like we will be able to recharge anything by the end of the day."

"Do you need the laptop also?"

"Not until tomorrow. I should be able to connect the laptop to the internet through the cellphone. I assume that you have an unlimited service plan?"

I went to get the laptop and cell phone. When I returned, Bryan had moved into his room where he had a desk set up along the wall that connected to the battery room. I didn't know where he got the desk from. He placed both of the items on the back of the desk and continued to work on his drawings.

"I have to order a bunch of stuff so that I can get us set up. I have my own Paypal account so don't worry about it. The mail won't be here till next Tuesday, but I have a lot to do until then."

I didn't have an answer for him or a comment. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing and there was nothing that I could contribute. As I turned to leave, I heard him say; "By the way, that third section of solar panels is not for power collection, it is a solar-based hot water system. It should be Okay as soon as I can get a DC pump with enough lift. Do you want to work on that?"

Crafty little bugger. He took control of the situation and was already delegating. I just smiled and nodded, as I left him to his work. I needed something to do and getting the hot water system working seemed interesting.

Maya, Glenna, and Chaz were still down by the water. It was only a ten minute walk, or maybe slightly longer. Chaz located a few tidal pools and was busy checking them for living creatures. Glenna had walked further down the beach, but was still within sight. I sat by Maya and was rewarded with a look that indicated that my presence was not appreciated. I was going to try and strike up some sort of conversation with her, but then decided against it. This was not something that could be forced. Maya seemed to hate me and had no trouble letting me know it. We sat quietly until Glenna wandered back and then we all left to return to the bungalow. Chaz would have stayed all day, but reacted immediately when Maya called him.

Chaz chatted all the way back to the house. Maya said nothing. Glenna only had one comment; "I have to find a surf board someplace."

Things seemed to normalize from then on. Chaz would be up early everyday and off to somewhere unknown. At first, he spent most of his time at the tidal pools. As he got more familiar with the surroundings he got a little more adventurous. He would lose himself in the jungle-like areas around the house. There were no poisonous snakes on the islands and no other dangerous animals. I wasn't worried about his well being at all. Amazingly, Maya didn't seem to be concerned either.

Maya was still not getting any friendlier, but at least she was now communicating. There were things that had to be done and in order for them to happen, she had to talk to me. I accepted the situation and didn't push it. Her skin seemed to glisten in the sunlight.

Bryan was living in a world of his own. I stayed out of his way as much as I could. I was not smart enough to offer him any suggestions. His desk looked like a rat's nest of wires and home-made boxes. The cell phone was no longer a portable device. It was permanently wired into the solar electrical system somehow and the laptop computer was hardwired to it. We had phone service to anywhere in the world. In addition, we had internet service through the phone.

Glenna was able to sweet talk Bryan into making a call for her, and by the next morning she had her own surf board. Her days were now spent at the beach trying to teach herself how to surf. In the evenings, Bryan showed her web videos that he found during the day. The downside here was for Maya. She refused to let Glenna go to the water alone. After three days, Maya finally felt the need to have a conversation with me that was other than functional.

"Mister Sorensen. It is difficult for me to say this, but I need your help." She had my attention, so I sat down waiting for the other shoe to fall. I swear that she was getting prettier, every day.

"I have washing, cleaning, cooking, and other housework that has to be done. I cannot continue to sit by the beach with Glenna all day, but I must not leave her alone."

"You want me to start doing the housework?"

That got me a frustrated smirk. "No. I need you to watch Glenna while I do what has to be done at the house. I am not happy about leaving you alone with any of them, but it cannot be helped."

"What is your problem with me? Can I explain anything that will make you feel better about the whole situation?"

"I read the letter Mister Sorensen. The last thing I want is to leave you with them. Mrs. Heard seems to believe that you are no threat. She told me to trust you. I don't know why she said that, but then I don't really know you. I have a job to do. I am forced to do this even though I don't want to."

She was right. I tried my best to look sincere. "Maya. I would never do anything to hurt the children. When I wrote that letter, I was hurting. I know it was a terrible thing to do, but I was desperate. I was bitter because my marriage had just broken up. Sonja asked me to come here for a reason. It must have something to do with the kids. I'll figure it out. In the meantime, I will be willing to do anything that I can to help you and try to earn your trust."

"Good. You start tomorrow, right after the delivery."

"What delivery?"

"We have a truck load of mail, food, supplies, and things that Bryan has ordered, coming. Next week, we are going to be getting a larger shipment of clothing and personal items that we could not bring on the plane. Some of that will be from your apartment."

"How do you know all of this?"

"I talk to the island supervisor every day as well as Mister Malik. Bryan has everything set up so that I can keep track of what is going on. Things will be better next week, in case there is anything that you you need or have to look into."