Wedding Day Dead: A Murder on Maui Mystery Read online

  “Did you tell the police this information?” I asked.

  “No, I was afraid Hani would find out. I didn’t want her to know what I did.”

  “It’s important to help establish where and when Panos was that night.”

  “Do you think I could ask the police not to tell Hani?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve only met this Detective Adcock once. I don’t know how willing he is to be discreet,” I said.

  “There’s something else,” she said. “I watched Panos drive away, and a few seconds later, another car followed him out.”

  “Are you sure they were following him?”

  “It was so late. It kind of surprised me that another car would be leaving around the same time as Panos.”

  “Was it one of your neighbors?” I asked.

  “No, I’d never seen the car before. We all kind of know each other’s cars by now.”

  “What kind of car was it?” I asked.

  “It was a sedan. Four doors. White. I could definitely tell it was white.”

  “I don’t suppose you saw the driver.”

  “No, it was dark inside the car. I can’t even tell you if it was a man or a woman.”

  “Do you remember which way Panos turned when he went out of the parking lot?”

  “He turned left. I remember thinking it odd because he usually turned right to go home.”

  Not really that odd, I thought. The marina was to the left. He probably drove straight there, but I still had no idea why he went there versus his home.

  “So you think I should call the police?” she asked.

  “I do. This could be important for them.”

  “All right. I’ll call them in the morning.”

  Her delayed call was fine by me. It might be good to have some insider knowledge that Detective Adcock didn’t have, at least for the time being. I rose from the squeaky sofa and thanked Shae for the information and the glass of water. The sound of the squeak must have alerted Butterscotch there was movement in the apartment, and the dog started to yelp again.

  “Please let me know if you think of anything else,” I said.

  I walked to the door.

  “How are things at the restaurant? Is Wes handling everything okay?” I asked.

  “No. I’ve never seen him this upset. He almost seems paranoid.”

  “Do you think Wes can turn the business around?”

  “I don’t know. We’ve lost so much traffic since Jim left.”

  Shae opened the door for me.

  “Please don’t tell Hani any of this. I don’t want her to hate me,” she said.

  I nodded, but did that constitute me agreeing to her request? Probably. But I certainly didn’t intend to keep this to myself. I said goodbye to Shae and walked down the steps to my convertible. I climbed inside and drove out of the apartment complex so Shae couldn’t see me use my cell phone. I pulled into a convenience store parking lot down the street and called Alana. Her phone rang several times before she answered.

  “Hello,” she said.

  “Hey, it’s me. I was wondering if you could answer a question for me.”

  “Is it safe to say you’re still investigating Panos’ murder?” she asked.

  “Maybe,” I admitted.

  I heard her sigh on the other end.

  “What’s your question?” she asked.

  “Do you know if Peter or Wes own a white sedan?”

  “I know Wes has a black SUV. I think it’s an Explorer. I have no idea what kind of car Peter drives. Why do you want to know?”

  “I’m looking for a white sedan that may belong to someone Panos knew.”

  “Hani drives a Honda Civic. It’s white.”

  I suddenly felt sick to my stomach.

  “Is her car on Maui or did she ship it to Los Angeles?”

  “Poe, what’s going on? Why are you asking about a white car?”

  “Please just tell me. Where is that car now?”

  “Probably at Hani’s house. She went home this morning. I assume she’s still there.”

  “The night you went to the rehearsal and the party afterward, did you take your car or Hani’s? I know all three of you couldn’t fit into Panos’ vehicle.”

  “We took hers.”

  “I remember Foxx telling me he drove you home, and I know Panos left on his own, so that means Hani was probably in her car by herself.”

  “Damn it, Poe. Tell me what’s going on,” she demanded.

  “Send me Hani’s address, please. I have some questions for her.”

  I hung up before she could keep arguing with me. I drove to Hani’s house and found Alana standing beside her car, which was parked in the driveway. I knew I didn’t have to invite her to meet me at Hani’s. She would do it regardless. She has that irrepressible sense of curiosity that all detectives have.

  “I think I have a right to know what’s happening,” she said.

  “I just have a few questions for Hani.”

  “I don’t want you upsetting her.”

  “That’s the last thing I want,” I said. “But I got a new lead, and I think you should hear it too.”

  We rang the doorbell, and a few moments later, Hani opened the door. Unfortunately, she looked as bad as Alana described her. Her hair and clothes were a mess, and she had dark circles under her eyes. She sort of looked like I did the day after I saw Alana kissing Panos.

  “Poe has a few questions for you. Is that all right?” Alana asked.

  “Okay, I guess.”

  Hani led us into the house. It was about the same size as Alana’s, but not as nice. There were clothes scattered on the floor, and the kitchen sink was filled with dirty dishes. She definitely lacked her sister’s neat gene. We walked into the kitchen and sat around a table covered with gossip magazines, dirty plates, and an empty bag of chips.

  “What did you want to know?” Hani asked.

  “The last time I saw you at the restaurant, we were standing outside Wes’ office. What did you do after that?”

  “Panos left the restaurant. I followed him into the parking lot, and we had an argument.”

  “What happened after that?”

  “I told him I didn’t want to marry him anymore,” she said.

  “You called off the wedding?” Alana asked, clearly surprised.

  I was a little taken aback that Hani hadn’t told Alana that little piece of information. Unfortunately, it made the other lies of omission I was about to accuse her of more believable.

  “Not exactly,” Hani said. “After I told Panos that, he just laughed and said we were still getting married. He said you two just shared a simple kiss, and it meant nothing. He told me I would forget about it in the morning.”

  “So you didn’t call off the wedding?” I asked.

  “I guess not. I expected him to be there at the ceremony. He never said anything that would make me think he wasn’t going to show up.”

  Hani turned to Alana.

  “You called me that morning and told me you weren’t going to make it, but you were the only person I spoke to between the rehearsal party and arriving at the wedding.”

  “What did you do after the argument in the parking lot?” I asked.

  “I went home.”

  “You didn’t go back into the restaurant and speak with Alana?” I asked.

  “No, I didn’t want to talk to her after what she’d done.”

  “So you drove directly from the parking lot of the restaurant to your home?” I asked.

  “That’s right.”

  “You didn’t follow Panos to Shae’s apartment?”

  “No,” Hani said.

  “What does any of this have to do with Shae?” Alana asked.

  “Panos went from the restaurant to Shae’s apartment. He stayed there for about an hour or so, and then left. My guess is he went to the marina from there.”

  “What was he doing at Shae’s apartment?” Alana asked.

  “They were having an aff
air, or maybe I should say Panos was starting the affair over again. It ended once Panos and Hani moved to California.”

  “Why do you think Hani went over there?” Alana asked.

  Hani remained quiet during these last several moments. Not a good sign for her.

  “Shae saw a white sedan follow Panos out of the parking lot of her apartment complex.”

  I turned to Hani.

  “Shae told me you confronted her in the restaurant parking lot. You saw Panos flirting with her earlier that evening. After your argument with Panos, I’m guessing you thought he might run straight to Shae, which is exactly what he did.”

  “Did you go over there?” Alana asked.

  Hani said nothing.

  “You told me you went straight here,” Alana said.

  “After Panos left Shae’s apartment, where did he go?” I asked Hani.

  Hani said nothing.

  “Where did he go?” Alana repeated the question.

  “I followed him to the marina. He got out of his car, and I saw him walk toward his boat,” Hani finally admitted.

  “Why didn’t you tell me any of this? Do you know how bad this looks?” Alana asked.

  “That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want the cops thinking I did it.”

  “Did you follow him down to the boat?” I asked.

  “No. I never got out of my car. I sat in the marina parking lot for a while. I didn’t know what to do, so I drove back here.”

  “Why did you even follow him to the marina?” Alana asked.

  “I did come home directly after the restaurant. I was so angry with him. I didn’t know what to do about the wedding. Then I thought he might go to see Shae, so I got back in my car and drove over to her apartment. I saw his car there. I debated whether to bang on her door and catch him in the act, but I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to see it. A few minutes later, I saw him come out of the apartment and go back to his car. I decided to follow him to his house, but he went to the marina instead.”

  “Why do you think he went there?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. Sometimes he would sleep on the boat, but usually when he’d been partying there and had too much to drink. I have no idea why he went there that night.”

  “What time did he get to the marina?” Alana asked.

  “I’m not sure. It was sometime after four but probably before five.”

  “This is bad. This puts you at the marina close to the time Panos was killed,” Alana said.

  “I didn’t do it,” Hani said pleadingly.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Alana said.

  “What do you mean it doesn’t matter? How can it not matter?”

  “Adcock is going to zero in on you. You just became his number one suspect if you weren’t already.”

  “He doesn’t have to know any of this,” Hani said.

  “He will, Hani. Shae is going to tell him,” I said. “She feels guilty as hell for not coming forward.”

  Hani turned on me.

  “She should feel guilty for screwing my fiancé. You convinced her to go to the police, didn’t you? Why would you do that to me?” Hani asked.

  “Don’t blame him. If Shae doesn’t tell the police, I will,” Alana said.

  “You’re both turning on me,” Hani said.

  “He’s gonna find out. It’s better if you tell him,” Alana said.

  “But I already told him I went straight back here. Now he’ll know I lied to him.”

  “I’ll be here with you. We’ll figure it out,” Alana said.

  I left Alana and Hani and went outside. I suddenly felt like a jerk for putting her in this predicament. It was obvious Hani lied to Alana and Detective Adcock about her whereabouts after the party, but I didn’t think she actually killed Panos. Panos wasn’t drunk at the party, and we know he had other things than drinking on his mind when he went to see Shae at her apartment. That meant he was probably still sober when he got to the boat. Panos was killed with a knife. It would take a strong person to overpower him. Hani was way too small.

  Alana joined me outside after a few minutes.

  “I gave her Glen Adcock’s cell phone number. She said she’s going to call him tomorrow morning,” Alana said.

  “Are you going to call him before that? Try to explain why she didn’t say anything before?”

  “I can’t. I’m already crossing the line by not calling him immediately. I could get fired for not coming forward.”

  “You didn’t know,” I said.

  “But I should have. She’s my sister. I probably know her better than anyone. I should have known she was lying about coming back here. How many days have you been on this investigation? Two or three? And you already figured that out.”

  “For what it’s worth, I’m sure she didn’t kill Panos,” I said.

  “Why?”

  I explained my theory on the killer being a large person in order to overpower Panos. As I spoke, Alana broke eye contact with me. It was subtle, but I definitely noticed it.

  “What aren’t you telling me?” I asked.

  “I saw the coroner’s report this morning. Panos had significant swelling and an abrasion on the back of his head,” she said.

  “You mean someone hit him from behind?”

  “Either that or he fell backward in the attack and hit his head on the way down,” she said.

  “So Hani could have struck him from behind to render him helpless and then cut his throat while he was down?”

  Alana didn’t respond.

  “Do you think she could do that?” I asked.

  “Hani’s not a killer. She doesn’t have it in her, but she hasn’t always been the most honest person. I’m not surprised to find out she followed him to Shae’s apartment and then to the marina.”

  “Did you even know about Shae’s affair with Panos?” I asked.

  “No, but it’s typical Panos.”

  I told Alana about Jim the chef attacking Panos in the restaurant once he discovered Shae’s involvement with him.

  “Jim wasn’t anywhere near the party,” Alana said.

  “I know, but he or Wes or Kai could have easily gone to the boat after Hani left.”

  “It’s unlikely,” Alana said. “How would they even know he was there unless they followed him from place to place that night? Hani would have seen them too, especially since she was already following Panos.”

  Alana looked back at the house.

  “I better get back inside. She’s probably having a major freak-out session right now.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “For what?”

  “For complicating things for Hani.”

  “It’s not your fault. She did that to herself. Thanks for coming here first and not going straight to Adcock.”

  “Are you kidding me? I wouldn’t go to that guy if my life depended on it.”

  “Still, I appreciate it,” she said.

  Alana turned and walked back to the house. She opened the door without knocking and disappeared inside.

  I didn’t immediately get into my car because Peter Bell suddenly popped into my head and distracted me. Alana was right. It didn’t make sense that Wes or Kai would follow Panos around, only to jump him at the marina. It also didn’t make sense that they would know the boat was Panos’ destination at the end of a very long evening.

  Peter Bell obviously worked at the marina, though. He might have been there when Panos arrived. Alana told me Panos was killed sometime after five in the morning. I thought it likely the murder took place at dark. The killer wouldn’t want to risk being seen leaving Panos’ boat, and the daylight would certainly make that more likely.

  Five in the morning was early, but not so early that it couldn’t be someone’s start time for work. My father often went to work even earlier than that when I was a child. He was always an early riser, even on his days off. Hell, he kept getting up early even after he retired.

  Maybe Peter Bell was the same w
ay. It wasn’t unreasonable to assume he could have been in his office when Panos arrived that morning. The sound of a car pulling into the gravel parking lot would have surely gotten Peter’s attention. Maybe he waited for Panos to climb onboard and then gave him time to go to sleep. It would be easy to kill a sleeping man. Or maybe he immediately confronted Panos at the dock, and they got into a fight. Peter was certainly big enough to fight Panos. Then there was the security system. Peter was bound to know the cameras were broken. I needed to figure out a way to discover when Peter reported for work that morning.

  I climbed into my car but looked back to the house before I started the engine. I thought about telling Alana immediately about my new theory on Peter Bell but decided against it. The selfish side of me also wanted to go back inside and talk to Alana about our relationship. Foxx’s pep talk had sunk in. Maybe Alana was waiting for me to make the decision. Then again, maybe she wasn’t. Maybe she had decided to move on. Instead, I did nothing but stay in my car. Alana wasn’t the only one afraid to get hurt. This certainly wasn’t the time or place for that discussion. At least that was the excuse I gave myself when I started the car and drove home.

  XIII

  The Flashlight

  I got up early the next morning and drove to the marina to explore my Peter Bell theory. I got there just before eight o’clock. The marina office wasn’t open yet, so I walked around the building and looked into the windows. I hoped to see Peter in his office, which would confirm he got to work early, but I didn’t see anyone inside.

  I thought he might be walking the dock, checking on the condition of the boats under his watch, so I walked down to the dock. I saw a couple of guys cleaning their boat, but neither man was Peter Bell. I decided to ask them a few questions.

  “Hey guys,” I said. “I don’t suppose you knew Panos Laskaris.”

  “Hell of a thing that happened to him,” one guy said.

  “Were you here the morning they found him?” I asked.

  “No, but we heard about it later that day. It’s all anyone’s been talking about,” the other guy said.

  “Know if they caught the guy yet?” the first guy asked.

  “No, the marina’s security camera system was broken that week. Did you know that?”

  “No, hadn’t heard that,” guy two said.