Wedding Day Dead: A Murder on Maui Mystery Page 13

  My cell phone vibrated on the bar as the bartender placed a second beer in front of Foxx. It was Alana.

  “Hello,” I said.

  “Can you be at the station in a few hours? We’ll get a chance to speak with Hani.”

  “No problem. I’ll be there.”

  “Thanks,” Alana said.

  She ended the call. Foxx took a long pull from his beer.

  “Told yah,” he said, without turning to me or even asking who was on the phone.

  Foxx and I hung out at the bar another hour or so, and then he decided he better get home to Michelle. I had at least another hour to kill before leaving for the police station, so I paid the bar tab and walked around Front Street again. The tourist count had doubled. I eventually made my way over to the View restaurant. There were only a few cars in the parking lot, but it was on the tail end of the lunch rush. Nevertheless, it didn’t seem promising for Wes and his business.

  I decided to leave early for my meeting with Alana and Hani. The traffic in Maui could be unpredictable, that, and the fact I had literally walked up and down Front Street several times and had nowhere else to go. The traffic was heavy, but I still arrived at the station early. I found a parking space and headed toward the front doors just in time to run into Detective Adcock as he was walking out. He smiled when he saw me.

  “Look who it is,” he said.

  “I’m surprised to find you outside,” I said.

  We both stopped on the sidewalk.

  “I was certain you’d be in Hani’s cell beating her with a rubber hose and demanding she confess,” I said.

  “You’re a world-class smartass. You know that, don’t you?” he asked.

  “I have a question for you, Detective,” I said. “What’s more embarrassing, telling your chief you arrested the wrong person or admitting to the media you did?”

  Adcock smiled.

  “It must be fun living in fantasy land,” he said. “Hani is guilty. The sooner you admit that to yourself, the sooner you can move on.”

  “Have a nice day, detective.”

  I smiled and headed toward the front door. I didn’t turn around to see Adcock’s reaction, but I did hear him make some sort of grunting sound. I went inside and immediately saw Alana in the lobby. Foxx was wrong. She wasn’t hiding the pain. I knew her facial expressions well enough to know she was hurting badly.

  “We’ll go to room three,” she said.

  Alana led me into the back of the station. We walked past a few small rooms and then went inside the last room on the right. There was a table tucked against one of the walls. A pair of handcuffs was attached to the surface.

  “My boss isn’t happy about you being here, but I think he’s cutting me some slack considering the circumstances,” she said.

  “Have you talked to Hani yet,” I asked.

  Alana shook her head.

  “Not since at her house. I shouldn’t even being talking to her now. Like I said, though, they’re giving me a break.”

  “No thanks to Adcock I’m sure.”

  “I’ll deal with him later,” she said.

  A police officer arrived with Hani. She started crying when she saw Alana and ran over to her. I was a little surprised the officer didn’t do anything to stop her, but I could tell by the look of concern on his face that he understood the connection between the two women.

  “Anything else, Detective?” the officer asked.

  “No, thank you.”

  Alana led Hani over to one of the chairs. Alana sat in the opposite one, and I stayed standing.

  “Your attorney should be here soon, but I wanted a chance to talk to you first,” Alana said.

  “Can she get me out of here?”

  “They have to set bail first. The DA will probably try to persuade the judge you’re a flight risk. The judge may deny you bail.”

  “Do you think that will happen?” Hani asked.

  “I don’t know, but the attorney I called is very good. She’ll do everything she can to get you out of here.”

  “Have they had a chance to analyze the flashlight yet?” I asked Alana.

  “There are no fingerprints on it. We’re still waiting for the blood and hair analysis.”

  “I swear I’ve never seen that flashlight before in my life,” Hani said.

  “The killer takes their time to clean the flashlight of fingerprints but doesn’t think to wipe off the blood and hair?” I asked.

  “I know. It makes no sense,” Alana said.

  “Your lawyer will have a field day with it, Hani. It’s clearly a setup,” I said.

  I turned to Alana.

  “What other evidence do they have?”

  “All circumstantial.”

  The police officer returned.

  “Detective Hu, her lawyer is here.”

  “Bring her back please.”

  The officer nodded and walked away. Alana turned to Hani.

  “I need to have a quick conversation with Poe. I’ll be right back.”

  Alana stood and led me back to the lobby. It was crowded, and probably full of people wanting to eavesdrop on our conversation, so we walked outside.

  “I need you to do something for me,” Alana said. “They won’t let me touch this case with a ten-foot pole, and the chief has already denied me leave to handle this off-the-clock.”

  “What do you need?” I asked.

  “I want you to keep up with your investigation. Adcock already thinks he’s got the right person. He’s not going to do any more digging.”

  “I already intended to keep at it.”

  “Thanks,” she said.

  “Do you think this can make it to trial?” I asked.

  “If we don’t find out who really did this, then yeah, I think it’s going to trial.”

  “You said yourself they just have circumstantial evidence and a bullshit flashlight.”

  “That may be all they need. A man was murdered. People want someone to pay.”

  She was right, of course. Unfortunately, I knew I was in serious jeopardy of failing her and Hani. I had already made my way through Daphne’s short list of suspects. Sure, anyone of them might have wanted to kill Panos, but I lacked any kind of proof and no gut instinct. I decided an additional perspective was needed.

  “Who knew Panos the best other than his sister?” I asked.

  “I guess Hani.” Alana paused for a moment. “And Aaron. He followed Panos to the island. I’m pretty sure they were friends since childhood.”

  “Does he still live on Maui?”

  “I’m sure. He and Daphne dated. They probably still do. His last name is Tench. He lives about ten minutes from Panos’ house. I’ll look up his address and text it to you.”

  Aaron Tench. I memorized the name. Alana looked back at the front door to the police station.

  “I better get back. I want to hear what the lawyer has to say.”

  “I’ll call you later once I have something to report.”

  “I’m sorry to drag you into this,” she said.

  “You didn’t. I was already working it. Remember?”

  “Please figure this out, Poe. She won’t make it in there.”

  Alana went back inside.

  I walked back to my car and decided to drive to home while I waited for Alana to send me Aaron Tench’s address.

  My cell phone vibrated. It was Daphne.

  “Detective Adcock just called and told me the news,” she said.

  “I’m sure he’ll hold a press conference soon. Wouldn’t be surprised if he started signing autographs,” I said.

  “Is it possible for you to come over here?”

  “I thought you and Kalena were in California.”

  “We were, but we got back late last night. I’d really like to see you,” she said.

  “Actually, I was just about to head somewhere else.”

  “It’s important, Poe.”

  “All right. I’ll see you shortly.”

  I didn�
�t really want to see Daphne just now, but a trip to see her wouldn’t be a major delay in time, especially if Aaron Tench lived only a few minutes away from her.

  The traffic had gotten even heavier, so it took me almost an hour to get to Daphne. Who knew I’d drive so much on an island?

  Kalena, Daphne’s assistant, must have been looking for me because she opened the door before I even got out of my car. She led me into the living room where Daphne was sitting on a comfortable-looking sofa.

  “May I get you anything to drink, Mr. Rutherford?” Kalena asked.

  “No, thank you,” I said.

  Kalena turned to Daphne, but before she could ask, Daphne waved her off. I found it a bit rude. Kalena turned and left the room. I sat on a chair just off to the side of the sofa.

  “I know it won’t bring Panos back, but I’m just glad they caught her. I still can’t believe Hani would do this,” Daphne said.

  “That’s because she didn’t,” I said.

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  I told Daphne about the flashlight and my theory about it having been planted in the garage.

  “Maybe she was just careless. I’m sure she was panicked after what she did.”

  “I don’t buy that. If she knows enough to wipe her prints clean, she’d certainly take the two seconds it would’ve required to remove the hair and blood. And there’s another thing that bothers me. Why was the flashlight even there to begin with? The knife wasn’t there. She thinks to ditch the knife but not the flashlight? This is such an obvious setup that it’s not even funny.”

  Daphne didn’t have a response. I really didn’t expect her too. I imagined it was somewhat of a relief to hear about Hani’s arrest, but I didn’t think it was the right thing to let her believe the guilty person was brought to justice.

  “You know, I am kind of thirsty. Do you mind asking Kalena for a lemonade?” I asked.

  “Of course. I don’t think she has any made, but it won’t be a problem.”

  “Water will be fine then,” I said.

  Daphne stood.

  “Maybe you should try to go see Hani at some point,” I said.

  “Why would I want to do that?” she asked.

  “I’m sure once you talk to her, you’ll realize she couldn’t have done it,” I said.

  “Do you know Hani well?” she asked.

  “Not really.”

  “I didn’t think so,” she said.

  Daphne walked across the room and pressed a button on the intercom mounted to the wall. She looked at it like something was wrong, and then she pressed the button again.

  “Kalena,” Daphne said into the intercom.

  A second later, Kalena’s voice came over the small speaker.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Can you make our guest a glass of lemonade?’

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Daphne walked back toward me and sat on the sofa.

  “Do you know a guy named Aaron Tench?” I asked.

  “Of course.”

  “Does he still live on Maui?”

  “Yes, he lives on the other side of the island.”

  “I thought he was just ten minutes from here.”

  “No, he recently moved.”

  “You and he used to date?”

  “Why are you asking me about Tench?”

  “I have some questions for him.”

  “About what?”

  “Just background on Panos. Maybe he can give us some new leads.”

  Daphne was silent and looked away. A second later, Kalena entered with my glass of lemonade on a small tray. She walked over to me and handed me the glass.

  “That was fast,” I said. “Thanks.”

  Kalena nodded and exited the room. I turned back to Daphne.

  “Is something wrong?” I asked.

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” she said. “I don’t want you to continue the investigation. The detective is convinced Hani is guilty. I think she is too. There’s no reason for you to go on interviewing people.”

  I was stunned.

  “I never trusted her anyway,” Daphne said.

  “Why?”

  “I always thought she was after his money.”

  “Did Panos change his will to make her the beneficiary of his estate?” I asked.

  “Not that I know of.”

  “Then what does she gain by killing him, especially if she only cared about the money? And why would she kill him before the wedding? Now she has no legal claim to anything of his.”

  “I don’t know. But I know she didn’t love him,” Daphne said.

  I didn’t see the point in arguing with her anymore, so I said nothing. Daphne leaned forward and picked up an envelope from the table in front of the sofa.

  “My mother wanted you to have this,” she said.

  She stood, walked the few feet to me, and handed me the envelope.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “Your payment for the work you did. I know you told her your fee was zero, but she insisted.”

  “There’s no need,” I said.

  “Please take it. She’ll get upset with me if she finds out I couldn’t convince you to accept it.”

  I hesitated a moment and then slid the envelope in my back pocket.

  “I appreciate all your help. I am sorry how it turned out,” Daphne said.

  “What about you? Have you thought more about what you want to do?” I asked.

  “I haven’t fully decided on anything, but I’m leaning on going back to California.”

  “I’m sure your mother would like that,” I said and stood. “If you do decide to move, please call me before you leave. I’d like the chance to say goodbye,” I said.

  I followed Daphne out of the living room and toward the front door where I saw Kalena waiting for us. Kalena opened the door as I approached it.

  “Thanks for the lemonade,” I said.

  Kalena smiled and nodded. I turned to Daphne again.

  “If you need me for anything else, please call me,” I said.

  “Thank you.”

  I exited the house and headed down the sidewalk to my car. I tossed the envelope onto the passenger seat and drove away. Once I got clear of the house, I pulled over and opened the envelope. It was ten thousand dollars in cash. I couldn’t believe she paid me so much for what amounted to a few days of interviews.

  I didn’t feel good about keeping the money, so I swung by the animal shelter on the way home. The lady at the front desk remembered me from when I picked up Maui the dog just a week or so ago. I told her I wanted to make a donation to the shelter and handed her the envelope of cash. I did ask for a receipt so I could write it off on my taxes. The government already takes enough of our money.

  After I got back into the car, I checked my phone to see if Alana had texted me the address for Aaron Tench. She obviously hadn’t heard he’d moved. She hadn’t even texted me yet, so I decided to head home. Foxx wasn’t there, so I took the dog for a walk. Alana still hadn’t texted me by the time I got back to the house. I called her and was a little surprised when she answered. I told her about my conversation with Daphne. I left out the part about the cash payment.

  “How did the meeting with the attorney go?” I asked.

  “Not great. She also suspects the DA will push for Hani to be viewed as a flight risk. Even if the judge grants bail, it will probably be a huge amount, which my family can’t afford.”

  “Have you learned anymore about the case against her? What are they saying about the lack of a murder weapon?”

  “It’s all garbage. You know that. All Adcock has is that flashlight, but nobody will listen to me.”

  “What about Aaron Tench’s address?” I asked.

  “I just found it in the system. He’s moved to Wailua. I’ll send it to you shortly.”

  “Good. I’ll go see him tonight.”

  “Do you mind if I tag along? I really need to get out of here, and if I g
o home, I’ll just end up bouncing off the walls.”

  “I thought you had to stay away from this case.”

  “I do, but the way I see it, I’m just going to visit an old friend. I must have seen Tench twenty times. I just lost touch of him when Panos and I ended things.”

  “Okay, do you want me to pick you up at the station?”

  “No, let’s meet in the K-Mart parking lot. I’ll leave my car there, and we can ride to Wailua in yours.”

  “See you there shortly,” I said.

  I ended the call and looked down at Maui the dog.

  “What do you think of that?” I asked.

  XIV

  Aaron Tench

  I wasn’t really surprised by Alana’s sudden change of heart. I never thought she was going to stay out of the investigation to begin with. I saw her car as I pulled into the parking lot. She’d parked in the section of the lot that was closest to Dairy Road. She climbed out of her car as I drove up. The top was down on my convertible, as was usually the case. The sun was almost down, and the temperature was ideal.

  “Hey, there,” she said.

  I reached over and opened the door for her. It’s was one of the advantages of owning such a small car. She got in, and I drove out of the lot and back onto Dairy Road. I knew it was going to be a long drive to Wailua, and I wondered if the time in the car was going to be awkward between us.

  “So tell me about this Aaron Tench,” I said.

  “He’s a nice guy. Probably Panos’ best friend. They grew up together in California and Tench followed Panos and Daphne out here.”

  “What does he do for a living? Is he independently wealthy like Panos was?”

  “No, he owns a landscape architecture business. I think he specializes in stone patios and walkways. Real beautiful stuff.”

  “Maybe he moved to Wailua after Panos moved to California,” I said.

  “I don’t know,” Alana admitted. “I never saw Tench unless I was with Panos. I don’t even have his phone number. It’s been over a year since I’ve seen him.”

  We drove in silence for the next thirty minutes or so. The road twisted and turned with the coastline, so we could hear the waves in the distance. By then, the sun was down, and it was completely dark other than the convertible’s headlights. I looked over at Alana and saw she’d fallen asleep. I never knew how people could fall asleep in cars, especially one as small as mine. She’s a lot smaller than me, though, so I guess it wouldn’t be as difficult to get comfortable. Plus, I had no doubt she was beyond exhausted. I remembered how upset I’d been when Foxx was arrested. I couldn’t imagine what it was like to have a sister taken away to jail. The sheer adrenaline that had rushed through Alana’s body all day was enough to make anyone feel spent. I took one of the road’s curves too fast, and the movement woke Alana up.