Koji takes his time getting out of his truck. Usually by now he’s already making his way toward the porch. I watch him sitting there, wondering if I should walk down to see if everything’s all right, when the door to his truck finally swings open. I already know something’s wrong, seeing his slow, deliberate movements. I hurry down the steps to meet him, and that’s when I see the angry greenish-yellow bruise on his cheek, the stiff and awkward way he’s walking, his bandaged hand hovering over his stomach.

“What happened?” I ask, reaching out to touch his cheek. “Are you okay?”

“Razor’s dead,” he says softly.

“What?” I see his eyes tearing. He suddenly looks older, tired. “How?” I ask.

“He was run down last Monday night. They’ve been trying to keep it hush-hush, yeah. No one was allowed to leave the plantation until today.”

My stomach drops. No wonder I hadn’t heard anything. “After a meeting?” I ask.

How many times did Nori and I warn him to be careful? “You’re not invincible,” I’d said, the last time he came to visit. Razor smiled, flexed his muscles. “Am, yeah,” he said, ever endearing before adding, “Promise I’ll watch out.” I can’t imagine no longer hearing his easy laughter and his bad jokes that filled any room he walked into.

Koji’s face is pale with grief and he nods and winces in pain.

“Were you there?” I ask, seeing how hurt he is.

Koji shakes his head. “I ran into an old friend.”

All of this makes no sense. Razor, dear Razor is dead, and Koji wasn’t there, but he shows up looking as if he’s been on the losing end of a fight. “I don’t understand. Did you get into a fight with this friend?” I ask.

I look up and see Koji hesitate before he says, “It was Franklin.”

It takes me a moment to register what he says, and when I do, just the sound of his name is like a punch that knocks the air from me. I stop in the middle of the walkway, my mouth suddenly dry, my stomach churning, and I feel like I want to throw up. Then I remember the voice I heard last week. It was Franklin’s. “Where is he now?” I ask.

I look up to see a flicker of sadness in Koji’s eyes. I suddenly realize he must think I want to see Franklin, that I might want him back. “Why did he come back?” I quickly add. “I know he wants something.” I feel my anger rising, hard and complicated. He wasn’t even man enough to see me.

“Found trouble in Honolulu, yeah. He needed money.”

“You gave it to him?”

Koji nods. “He didn’t get it easy.”

“How badly did he hurt you?”