She was trying to help someone with an identity theft issue and had traced the thief to my island. Naturally she turned to me, aghast that no one in a position of law enforcement power was willing to do anything. I listened to her story, and had her re-tell me certain parts of it.

I tried to explain how it is here, how non-punitive. As the story kept unfolding, it seemed to me that the issues were not about the thief – he had no idea who her friend was. And she had not lost money, only the time she had spent involving her friends in uncovering the fraud and unmasking the offender. All this because her bank wouldn’t bother to chase after him either. Because the bank wasn’t out the money either – they were insured.

Beside me at the bar, on the other side from the swapped name guys, someone was talking about his work in safety and loss prevention on construction sites. He was saying that all the fatalities he had known of could have been prevented.

Annie picked up my empty drink glass and carried it back around the bar.

Everything about the afternoon was feeling slippery like leaves decaying on concrete after the rain. Maybe the alcohol level in the Eclipse had been over my limit. I was feeling useless and overheated, but when I began to stand up to do something about it, Makiki jumped up and put her feet in my lap. There was nothing to be done but sit at the bar and order another drink.

I asked for soda. Annie handed me a tiki mug with a lot of ice and soda. I put the straw in my mouth just as Makiki jumped away from my lap and took off toward the street, chasing after a squat red car with a glass roof and four exhaust pipes.