Maui Mysteries - The Characters - Drs. Brad Carvell and Martin Hasselbach

Maui has one dormant volcano, Haleakala, which contains the highest point on the island, the site of a major observatory complex. In Eyes of the Beholder, Dr. Martin Hasselbach is in charge of the facility, and one of his Post-doctoral researchers, Dr. Bradley Carvell is exceptionally interested in the theory of colliding universes. Late one night a call comes in to Maui PD Headquarters from the observatory:

Lindsay Kalani braced herself. When a call came in this late on a Saturday anyone might be on the other end of the line. “Maui Police Department, Criminal Investigation Division, Detective Kalani speaking, how may I help you.”

“Hello, Detective.” The voice on the other end of the line paused for a moment before continuing.

“My name is Dr. Martin Hasselbach. I oversee all scientific research at the Haleakala Observatories for the University of Hawaii Institute of Astronomy. I assume you’ve heard of me.”

“Yes, Dr. Hasselbach. I’ve read about your work in the Maui News. How can I help you, tonight?”

“One of our scientists, a Dr. Bradley Carvell, has been measuring certain field variations here on Maui for us and has found an unusual coincidence between a surge in a particularly rare field and the time and physical location of a traffic accident.”

“Could you tell me the specific time, date, and location?”

“Four-forty-nine p.m. on March fifteenth near Maʻalaea Harbor,” the voice replied.

“A colleague of mine has been working on that case. Could I have him call you back to discuss this with you?”

“I hate to take his time. I know how busy you people are. If you could just answer one question for me, I can have Dr. Carvell take it from there. We would like the name and telephone number of the wrong way driver that caused the accident.”

Now it was Lindsay’s turn to pause. “Dr. Hasselbach, I would really like to help you. But this is an ongoing investigation. The information you requested is not available for release to the public.”

Another, longer pause before the man on the other end of the line said, “I understand. I’ll let Dr. Carvell know about this policy and direct him to follow up with the person in charge of the case directly.”

“The person in charge of the case is Detective Sergeant Boyd. Let me give you his direct number.”

After she provided Boyd’s contact information--which she guessed he would never use, the voice said, “Thank you very much for your help, Detective. I’m afraid I must get back to my own research now. Aloha.”

“Aloha.” If that was Hasselbach, she’d eat her badge.

About the pictures:

The picture at the top is the best shot I could get of the observatories on Haleakala during one of our earliest visits there in 2001. The facility has grown significantly since then.

The lower picture gives a better idea of what the crater looks like from the rim.