Wedding Day Dead: A Murder on Maui Mystery Page 14

  “Where are we?” she asked.

  I looked at the tiny GPS on my windshield.

  “We’ll be there in another ten minutes,” I said.

  Alana looked at the trees as the car raced by them. She turned back to me.

  “Thanks for doing this,” she said.

  For a moment, I thought she might bring up the relationship problems we’d been having, but she didn’t. She just turned away from me and stared straight ahead. The GPS alerted me to the right-hand turn into Aaron Tench’s neighborhood. We pulled into his driveway a few minutes after that. The lights were on inside his house, and I could hear the TV through the open windows. Good sign.

  I turned off the engine, and we got out of the car. We walked to the front door, and Alana rang the doorbell. I heard the TV mute and then heard footsteps on what I assumed were wooden floors. Before the door opened, I looked around the front yard. It was a mess, tall grass, and overgrown flowerbeds. There were two large planters on either side of the door, but they were both filled with dead plants. I can’t say I was surprised. I’m sure the last thing he wanted to do when he got home was work on another yard.

  The door opened, and I saw Aaron Tench for the first time. He was about my height and the same age as Panos, which made sense since they were childhood friends. He was deeply tanned and lean, but also muscled, if that makes any sense. I guessed it was from all the labor he did for his landscaping business. Those stones couldn’t be light. He smiled when he saw Alana.

  “What do I owe the pleasure?” he asked.

  “Hello, Tench,” Alana said. “It’s been a long time.”

  Tench turned to me.

  “This is Poe,” Alana said.

  I had wondered how she was going to introduce me. Boyfriend? Ex-boyfriend? Friend? But she kept it entirely neutral. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or upset.

  “Come on in,” Tench said.

  He stepped back and held the door open with an outstretched arm. Alana and I went inside. It was a lot neater in there than outside. The furniture was modern with bold colors. There were several large photographs of Maui’s gorgeous coastline on the walls. Overall, it seemed like a very tasteful and comfortable space.

  “Have a seat,” he said.

  Tench indicated a red sofa. Alana and I sat on it, and Tench sat in a matching chair just off to the side. There was a small table in front of the sofa, and I noticed several large landscaping books on it.

  “So what brings the beautiful Alana Hu to my home?” he asked.

  I must admit that I found the guy charming.

  “I guess you heard about Panos,” Alana said.

  Tench nodded, and his mood instantly went dark.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t call after they found Panos’s body. I got caught up in the investigation,” Alana continued.

  “I heard about Hani on the news today. Is it true?” Tench asked.

  “No, it’s not true. She didn’t do it,” Alana said.

  Tench said nothing, and his expression was neutral. I couldn’t tell if he believed Alana or not.

  “Just because Hani’s been arrested, doesn’t mean the investigation’s over. That’s why we’re here,” Alana said.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “There are some in the department who think she’s guilty, but some of us don’t believe that.”

  “You mean you,” he said.

  “You know Hani, too. You know she would never hurt Panos,” Alana said.

  “We’re wondering if Panos got in touch with you when he came back to Maui. Did he say anything that might have led you to believe he thought he was in danger?” I asked.

  Tench thought for a moment.

  “No. I mean he seemed stressed about other stuff, but he never said anything about someone wanting to hurt him.”

  “What was he stressed about?” I asked.

  Tench immediately looked at Alana and then looked away.

  “Was it about Hani?” Alana asked.

  Tench nodded.

  “He said they were constantly fighting.”

  “About what?” I asked.

  “About everything.”

  “There must have been something specific,” Alana suggested.

  “Hani didn’t tell you any of this?” Tench asked.

  “No, but you know Hani would never admit something was wrong.”

  Tench hesitated some more.

  “This would really help us with the investigation,” Alana said.

  “Panos said after they lost the baby, everything changed.”

  “Baby? What baby?” Alana asked.

  “You didn’t know?” Tench asked.

  Alana said nothing.

  “Hani got pregnant while they were in L.A. That’s why they decided to get married, but she had a miscarriage.”

  Alana looked to the ground. There was silence for several uncomfortable moments. Finally, Alana spoke.

  “Panos must have wanted to call off the wedding.”

  Tench nodded.

  “According to Panos, he made the suggestion, and Hani completely lost it. She’d been pushing for Panos to marry her for a while. He accused her of trapping him by getting pregnant. She demanded that he still marry her, or she was going to leave him.”

  Alana and I both said nothing.

  “Panos did love her. He told me that several times,” Tench said.

  “So why did he cheat on her?” I asked.

  “Come on, man. You know some guys are just like that. It has nothing to do with the girl. The guys just always stray.”

  I wondered if Alana was going to jump off the sofa and punch him in the nose on behalf of all the women Panos wronged over the years, but she did nothing.

  “So the fights were all about the wedding?” I asked.

  “Yeah, Panos changed his mind and was committed to marrying her. He didn’t want to lose her, but then they started arguing about other stuff too. Where to live. Money.”

  “What about money?” Alana asked.

  “Panos gave her a prenup, but she refused to sign it.”

  “When did she sign it then?” I asked.

  “I don’t know that she did.”

  I remembered Panos declaring his love for Hani at the rehearsal party. I also remembered him saying how he was looking forward to marrying her. Had Panos gotten her to sign it before then, or was that potentially a source of conflict after the party?

  “Do you think she could have signed it, and Panos didn’t mention it to you?” I asked.

  “Maybe,” Tench admitted. “We talked maybe once or twice a week. He was so busy when he got back that I didn’t even get a chance to see him.”

  “Why didn’t you come to the party?” Alana asked. “I don’t remember seeing you there.”

  “I had a job in Hana. By the time I got home, I was beat.”

  I remembered going to Hana on my first trip to Maui. It takes forever and a day to get there. I believed his excuse, but it did seem odd that he and Panos hadn’t found some time to see each other, especially if they were such good friends.

  “I should have seen him,” Tench said, as if he was reading my mind. “I can’t believe I didn’t see him before he was gone.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Alana said.

  “If you don’t think Hani did this, then who did?” Tench asked.

  “You said Panos never mentioned being fearful of anyone, but do you know of anyone who was angry with him?” I asked.

  Tench laughed.

  “The line of people who were pissed at him would stretch from here to California. Look, I loved Panos like a brother, but even I knew he could be a pretty self-centered guy. It didn’t exactly endear him to a lot of people.”

  “No name jumps out at you?” Alana asked.

  Tench shook his head.

  “Not really. No one who would be angry enough to kill him,” he said.

  “Okay, we appreciate your time,” Alana said.

  She stood, and I follow
ed her cue.

  “It was a pleasure meeting you,” I said. “I’m deeply sorry about the loss of your good friend.”

  Tench shook my hand and nodded. Alana then walked up to him and hugged him goodbye.

  “If you think of anything that might help us, please call me,” she said.

  “I will,” he said.

  Tench opened the door for us, and Alana and I walked out into the night. We climbed into my car and backed out of the driveway. Tench stayed in the open doorway until we drove down the street and lost view of him. I wanted to ask Alana about Tench’s news about the baby, but I didn’t want to be the first one to bring it up. I turned left out of the neighborhood and put us back on the main road toward Paia and Kahului. Alana still said nothing, and it took every ounce of my strength to keep quiet. Finally she turned to me.

  “I’m starving. Want to grab dinner at Eddie’s?” she asked.

  I thought it an interesting choice. Eddie’s was the site of our first date. As I am prone to do, I immediately started to overanalyze her suggestion. Was this supposed to mean something? Of course, Eddie’s was the best restaurant between our current position and Alana’s car, so maybe her choice didn’t mean anything beyond a guarantee of good food.

  “Sure,” I said. “Eddie’s sounds good.”

  We drove for another twenty minutes before we arrived at the restaurant. It was late, and the parking lot was mostly empty. We snagged the booth in the back where we normally sat. We both ordered pancakes, which was our food of choice at this restaurant. I know what you’re asking yourself. Pancakes? At night? But hey, don’t judge us until you try them for yourself. I guarantee that you’d order the exact same thing.

  “Do you believe him?” Alana asked.

  “About the baby?”

  Alana nodded.

  “Yeah, I’m not sure why he or Panos would lie about that.”

  “I believe him too,” she said.

  “It’s terrible news, but it doesn’t mean anything regarding this case.”

  “It goes toward establishing Hani’s state of mind. She was a wreck. She’d just lost a baby and then Panos backs out of the wedding. So she threatens to leave him. Next thing you know, they’re arguing over Panos’ money and the prenup.”

  “So you think she did it?” I asked.

  “I don’t know what to think,” she admitted.

  “How much was Panos worth anyway?” I asked.

  “I don’t know, but it was a lot. His parents moved to Northern California from Santorini. They were from a long line of winemakers. Panos said there was some sort of rift between his father and his uncles, which is why they moved to America. His father started a vineyard in California, and it just took off from there.”

  “Did Panos help run the business?” I asked.

  “No, I don’t think Panos ever worked a day in his life. His parents set him up with a trust fund that paid out millions every year.”

  “Who gets that money now?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe Daphne. I think she and Panos were the only children. I guess everything might go to her.”

  Our pancakes came, and they were as good as I remembered them.

  “Do you need me to drive you home? I don’t mind taking you back to your car in the morning.”

  “No, thanks. I’ll be okay. I was going to stop by and check on Hani anyway. What is your plan for tomorrow?”

  “Not sure. I may try to interview the people on Daphne’s list again.”

  “They’ll see you coming. It’ll be hard to get anything out of them.”

  “Have faith in me. I have a way of weaseling information out of people.”

  Alana smiled for the first time in a long time.

  XV

  Temptations and Trials

  I slept late the next morning because I was exhausted from the long day before. I went for a run after dragging myself out of bed, and then I walked the dog for my cool-down. I found Foxx sitting by the pool when I got back to the house. I brought him up to date on everything that had happened, including my meeting with Aaron Tench and my late dinner with Alana.

  “That’s terrible news about the miscarriage,” Foxx said. “I’m surprised she didn’t tell Alana about it.”

  “Me too, but Alana said it was typical behavior for Hani. Have you ever met Aaron Tench?” I asked.

  “No, I’ve never even heard of him.”

  “He seemed like a nice guy,” I said.

  “Seems kind of weird though that we wouldn’t have seen him before since he was supposedly Panos’ best friend,” Foxx said.

  “I thought the same thing.”

  “Maybe they had a falling out or something.”

  “Maybe, but this Tench guy didn’t mention it.”

  “What are you going to do now?” Foxx asked.

  “I thought about going to see Wes again.”

  “The guy that owns the restaurant?”

  “Yeah, he’s still a solid lead.”

  “Good luck,” Foxx said.

  I walked into the house and took a long shower.

  It didn’t take long to drive to the View. I was hoping I would have some groundbreaking revelation on the way over, something that would steer my conversation with Wes, but nothing came to me. I pulled into the restaurant parking lot with absolutely no idea what I was going to do or say once I got inside.

  There was no one at the hostess stand, so I walked past it and entered the dining room. A few diners were scattered here and there. A waiter walked by me and said nothing. So much for Wes turning the place around.

  I headed over to the bar and slid onto one of the high-backed chairs. A bartender approached me. Her name tag read Dolly. She was the first Dolly I had ever met in person.

  “Can I get you anything?” Dolly asked.

  “Yes, I was wondering if Wes was in.”

  “He took the day off.”

  “What about Shae?”

  Dolly’s expression immediately changed. She looked uncomfortable, maybe even a little intimidated.

  “She no longer works here,” Dolly said.

  “Really? When did that happen?” I asked.

  “This morning. She left right before the lunch shift started.”

  I didn’t know Shae all that well, but I had a hard time believing she would just skip out on her shift. I remembered something Shae told me during our last conversation.

  “Jim’s working here again. Is that why?” I asked.

  “He came back this morning. Wes didn’t tell any of us. Jim fired Shae. It was the first thing he did,” Dolly said.

  So Wes didn’t even have the guts to be here when Shae got fired, I thought.

  “That’s bad news, but Shae’s a smart girl. I know she’ll land on her feet,” I said.

  “I hope so,” Dolly said.

  I decided to change the subject because I eventually needed a reason to get Jim out of the kitchen.

  “I assume you guys have a burger and fries on the lunch menu,” I said.

  “Of course.”

  “I’ll take that, please. Cooked medium rare. And a Diet Coke.”

  Dolly nodded and walked to the computer to punch in my order. She then poured me a Diet Coke and placed it in front of me.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  My lunch came out a short while later. The burger could be described as ‘okay’ at best. It was a little overcooked and needed more seasoning. The fries were a bit better.

  “Is Jim still here by any chance? I’d really like to meet him.”

  “I’ll see if he’s still in the back,” Dolly said.

  Dolly left the bar and disappeared into the kitchen. A guy in a white jacket and black pants came out a few minutes later. He was a decent-looking guy, but his neck was covered in tattoos from the top of his jacket to the bottom of his jawline. It was hard to tell what the tattoo was exactly. It looked like some kind of tribal pattern. I assumed his arms and chest were covered as well. He walked behind the bar and approached m
e.

  “I’m Jim,” he said.

  He extended his hand, and I shook it.

  “I’m Poe.”

  “Nice to meet you. Did you enjoy the burger?” he asked.

  “Delicious,” I said.

  “Is this your first time to the View?” Jim asked.

  “No, I had dinner here the other night, and then I was back for Panos’ rehearsal dinner.”

  His mode immediately darkened.

  “So you were friends with Panos?” he asked.

  “Not exactly. More of a friend of a friend. I hardly knew him to tell the truth. How did you know Panos?”

  “He used to be one of the owners of the restaurant here.”

  “You know. I think I remember Wes maybe mentioning you. Are you the chef who had a run-in with Panos?”

  “You could say that.”

  “Yeah, he could be a tough guy to be around. He tried to get with my girlfriend, and he did it at his own wedding rehearsal dinner. Can you believe that?” I asked.

  “Doesn’t surprise me,” he said.

  “I hate to be so morbid, but his being out of the picture kind of helps you, doesn’t it?”

  “Wes has offered to sell me half the restaurant,” he said.

  “You going to go for it?” I asked.

  “Thinking about it.”

  “It’s a big step, especially with the restaurant struggling,” I said.

  “We’ll turn it around,” Jim said. “I better get back to the kitchen. It was nice meeting you.”

  Jim shook my hand again and left.

  Dolly came back out.

  “Can I get you a refill?” she asked.

  I looked down at my empty Diet Coke.

  “No, trying to cut back on the caffeine.”

  I looked toward the kitchen.

  “Jim seems like a nice guy,” I said.

  “Think so?” Dolly asked.

  “He’s not?”

  “Let’s just say I don’t expect to be here in another week. I think most of us will be gone.”