Wedding Day Dead: A Murder on Maui Mystery Read online

  “She can think whatever the hell she wants. It’s not true,” Hani said.

  I didn’t believe that for a second. I’m sure Hani didn’t believe it either, or maybe she was just self-deluded enough to think that.

  “Did Panos ask you to sign a prenup?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Did you sign it?”

  “Not at first. I was really offended.”

  Most people would be, I thought. Marriage was a legal contract, though, so shouldn’t the financial aspects be worked out too? Wouldn’t it be more prudent to do that before the wedding? But I understood the emotional aspect of it to. It doesn’t seem like a good omen to already be planning your potential divorce before you even walk down the aisle.

  “What made your eventually sign it?” I asked.

  “He refused to get married without it.”

  “Did you have a lawyer look over it?”

  “Yes, one I found in Los Angeles.”

  “There’s something else I need to ask, and it’s a pretty sensitive subject, so please forgive me. Aaron Tench said you were pregnant but lost the baby.”

  Hani paused a moment, and then nodded.

  “Now you’re going to ask me if that’s why Panos agreed to marry me,” she said.

  I said nothing.

  “He wasn’t happy when I told him, but he came around. He even became pretty excited after a while. Then I lost the baby.”

  “Did you guys talk about cancelling the wedding after that?”

  “Once. Panos was drunk. He became depressed when I’d lost the baby. He told me there was no reason to get married anymore. The next morning, I told him I was leaving him. We were separated for a couple of weeks, and then he asked me to marry him again. He said he didn’t want to lose me.”

  So far everything she’d told me backed up Tench’s story.

  “How well do you know Daphne?” I asked.

  “I barely spent any time with her.”

  “Did she ever visit you two?” I asked.

  “Never. I saw her a couple of times when we got back, but she wasn’t interested in helping with the wedding, which was fine by me.”

  “Back to Aaron Tench for a minute. How is it possible he and Panos were best friends when you hardly know him?”

  “I kind of got the impression he and Panos had a falling out.”

  “Do you know what it was over?” I asked.

  “Not really. Panos made a comment once that he thought Aaron was jealous of him.”

  “Aaron told me he spoke to Panos a few times a week, even after he moved away.”

  “I don’t remember him calling at all, but I wasn’t around Panos twenty-four hours a day.”

  “What about Jim, the chef who worked at Panos’ restaurant. Did Panos mention him when you two came back to Maui?”

  “No, Panos said he needed to talk to Wes at some point, but he didn’t say anything about Jim.”

  “Did you know Jim attacked Panos in the kitchen because of an argument over Shae?”

  Hani looked away, and I took that as a confirmation.

  “You said Panos mentioned he needed to talk to Wes. Did he say anything specific about the meeting?”

  “Not really. I figured it was about the business.”

  “Why do you think Panos ignored Wes? Did he not care about the business?”

  “When you get millions every year for doing nothing, why would you care about a tiny restaurant in Maui? I don’t know why Panos invested in that thing to begin with. He got bored so easily. I knew his interest in the restaurant would never last. Wes was a fool to think it would.”

  “Did you hear about Wes ever threatening to harm Panos?”

  “No, Panos never said anything about it. We hardly ever talked about Wes at all.”

  “So Panos never mentioned anything about anyone threatening him?”

  Hani turned back to me.

  “Don’t you think I would have told you or Alana if he did?” she asked.

  It was a stupid question, but I was grasping at straws. I still had a long list of suspects but no solid evidence against anyone, except Hani.

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “There’s no reason to be,” I said.

  “Makani came to see me yesterday,” she said.

  Now that was a surprise, I thought.

  “What did he say?”

  “He asked me how I was doing. Said he was sorry.”

  “Sorry for what?” I asked.

  “That I was in here.”

  “Why did you leave him?”

  “I really loved him, but when I looked at our future, I could tell you exactly how our life would play out. There would be no surprises. It would be a life without stress but also one with no adventure. I knew Panos was cheating on me, but he offered me something I could never get on my own.”

  I was now more convinced than ever Hani was innocent. Panos was her meal ticket. I just couldn’t picture her hurting that golden goose.

  “How are things with you and my sister,” Hani asked.

  “I don’t know. Okay, I guess.”

  “Are you guys back together?”

  I shook my head.

  “Why not?” she asked.

  “She says she needs time to think. Once you got arrested, we’ve pretty much spent all our time trying to get you out of here.”

  Hani rolled her eyes.

  “It’s typical Alana. She’s terrified of being happy,” she said.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen Alana sabotage herself because she’s convinced the universe is about to ruin things for her. She’d rather end things on her own terms.”

  It was an interesting comment. I thought I knew so much about Alana, but here was a person who knew her a million times better. Maybe Hani was right. Maybe things were going so well for Alana and me that she convinced herself it couldn’t be for real. Maybe that’s the main reason Alana said she thought we were moving too fast. Even if this new information was true, I wasn’t sure how I could make use of it. I didn’t know what to do other than give Alana her space.

  Hani and I spoke for a few more minutes before visitation hours came to an end. I promised to come see her later in the week and give her an update on my progress. I hoped I’d have something positive to report by then.

  I was about half-way back to my house when my phone rang. It was Alana.

  “Hey, I waited for-”

  Alana cut me off. “Where are you now?” she asked.

  “Heading home,” I said.

  “I’m going to send you Peter Bell’s home address. You need to get over here, now,” she said.

  She abruptly ended the call.

  XVII

  Tag Watches and Other Things

  Peter’s house wasn’t far from the marina where he worked. When I turned the last corner in his neighborhood, I saw several police cars and an ambulance parked in front of his place. Fortunately, the media hadn’t caught wind yet. I parked at a respectable distance and sent Alana a text message indicating I was there. I then walked slowly toward the house so I wouldn’t startle any police officers and give them a reason to shoot me. I half assumed Adcock had ordered a hit on me. I wondered if Adcock was there with Alana and how I would respond if he made another cutting remark. I didn’t think I’d be able to control myself around him after my morning visit with Hani.

  By the time I was in front of the next door neighbor’s yard, I saw two EMTs remove a body from Peter’s house. It was on a gurney and was covered with a blue sheet. I assumed it was Peter Bell but couldn’t tell for sure since the blue sheet also hid the face. The EMTs carted the body down the driveway and lifted the gurney into the back of the ambulance.

  I looked around the area. Several of Peter’s neighbors stood in their driveways. They all look horrified. I didn’t blame them. It was an act of violence that would shake this neighborhood for months, maybe even years.

 
; Alana came out a couple of minutes later. I waved to her, and she motioned to a police officer to come get me. I was pretty sure it was the same police officer who had read Hani her Miranda rights just a few days ago. The officer said nothing when he approached me, and he had a scowl on his face. I didn’t know if it was directed at me, but he escorted me to the front door anyway.

  I looked back at the ambulance just as one of the EMT’s shut the back doors to the ambulance.

  “That was Peter?” I asked.

  Alana nodded.

  “Come on in,” she said.

  Alana led me into the house. We walked past a few other police officers and two forensics techs who were snapping photographs.

  “Don’t touch anything,” Alana said, as if I needed to be reminded.

  We walked into the living room, and I saw a large pool of blood on the tan carpet. There was a broken glass coffee table a few feet from the blood.

  “He cut himself on the glass?” I asked.

  “Probably broke during the fight, but he was killed by a gunshot to the chest.”

  I looked around the room. There was a small bookshelf against one wall. Most of the books had been pulled off the shelf and were lying on the floor. The kitchen was connected to the living room, and I could easily see into it. All of the drawers were open.

  “So he interrupted a robbery?” I asked.

  “Seems like it,” Alana said. “But follow me.”

  Alana led me down the back hallway. I looked in each room as we passed. One bedroom was converted into a home gym. Nothing looked out of the ordinary or out of place. The second bedroom was an office. The drawers on the desk were pulled out, and papers littered the floor. The last bedroom was the master. The mattress was pushed off the bed frame. The single drawer of the nightstand was open. Personal items were on the floor. I looked over to a cabinet where he stored his clothes. Those drawers were also open, and the contents tossed.

  “The thief was thorough,” I said, and I continued to look around the master bedroom.

  “Think so?” she asked.

  Then I saw it, a silver watch on the top of the cabinet. I walked over to it.

  “Don’t touch it,” Alana said.

  “I know,” I said.

  I got as close to the watch as I could without disturbing it. Fortunately, the face of the watch was up.

  “It’s a Tag Heuer,” I said.

  “Know anything about them?” Alana asked.

  I held up my wrist.

  “I’ve worn one for years. Paid a few thousand dollars for mine. I don’t know what they cost now. Probably more.”

  Alana nodded.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” I said. “Two possibilities. The thief either doesn’t know the value of the watch, which would probably be incredibly easy to pawn, or this wasn’t a robbery at all. It was just staged to look like one.”

  “Exactly, or the killer was searching for something specific and the watch wasn’t it,” Alana said.

  “Peter was already here when the thief entered,” I said.

  “Why?”

  “These watches have self-winding mechanisms. The movement of your arm activates it, so they stay running as long as you wear them each day.”

  I looked at the watch again.

  “The time is accurate. The fact it’s in here means Peter had been wearing it regularly. So he must have already been in the house instead of coming home after being gone all day.”

  I turned to Alana.

  “The question is, ‘why kill Peter Bell?’” I asked.

  “Any theories jump out?” she asked.

  “Nothing immediate, but this has to be connected to Panos in some way. It can’t be a coincidence.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” she said.

  Alana escorted me out of the house, and we stood on the front lawn.

  “Sorry I missed your visit,” she said. “I’ve been here the last couple of hours.”

  “Understandable,” I said. “Who found him?”

  “The maid service.”

  “Any idea on time of death?” I asked.

  “Nothing solid yet, but I’m guessing he was killed at least twelve hours ago.”

  “So sometime during the night. Was he dressed in clothes you would sleep in?”

  “He was. You’re getting good at this,” she said.

  “Foxx watches a lot of crime television. It’s hard not to pick up stuff. What do you do now?”

  “I need to contact the family.”

  “They don’t know yet?” I asked.

  “Peter wasn’t living with anyone. We need to track down his relatives. I don’t even know if they live on the island.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked.

  “Just keep pushing on the investigation. If you think of anything I need to know about Peter Bell, let me know. How did the meeting with Hani go?”

  I told her about the conversation, including Hani’s confirmation of the pregnancy.

  Alana shook her head.

  “She never tells me anything. You’d think I’d be the first one she’d call with news of a pregnancy.”

  “I thought you two weren’t on speaking terms at that point,” I said.

  “She still should have called.”

  “Agreed.”

  We spoke for a few more minutes about Hani and her obvious pattern of either not telling important information or downright lying about it. Nothing new or earth-shattering was said. Alana just needed to vent about her sister.

  I wished her luck with the Peter Bell investigation and walked back to my car. I felt kind of guilty for not telling Alana exactly what I was thinking. I did have an idea, and I was about to explore it.

  I drove to the marina and parked close to the main office building. I found the receptionist I had spoken to on previous visits sitting behind her desk in the lobby. I didn’t want to mention Peter Bell’s murder, and judging by her calm demeanor, she hadn’t heard the terrible news yet.

  “Hi, you may remember me from earlier visits with Peter,” I said.

  The receptionist said nothing. She didn’t even smile. This lady clearly hated her job.

  “I’m helping the police with the murder investigation concerning Panos Laskaris. Did you know him?”

  “Yes.”

  “I was wondering if you could help me with something. Peter told me your security system was down during the time frame when Panos was killed. Do you know anything about that?”

  “No.”

  “Does Peter normally deal with the security system, or is that something you work with too?” I asked.

  “I don’t think that’s something I should talk to you about. Perhaps you can talk to Peter about that. He should be in any time now.”

  “It’s okay. Like I said, I’m working with the police.”

  “Maybe I should call them and verify that,” she said.

  “Of course. I could give you the number for Detective Alana Hu, if you like.”

  I hoped she would accept my bluff, but I couldn’t tell. She just stared at me.

  “Can you just tell me the name of your security company?” I asked.

  The receptionist didn’t answer me, but she picked up the phone. I assumed she intended to call 911 since I hadn’t given her Alana’s number. I decided this lady needed an emotional punch to the head to get her to cooperate.

  “I just came from Peter’s house,” I said.

  She hesitated before dialing the phone.

  “He’s been killed,” I continued.

  The receptionist dropped the phone and covered her mouth with her hands.

  “I’m sorry to tell you that, but we could really use your help to figure out who did this.”

  I hoped the word “we” further implied I was working with the police. She still said nothing, and I didn’t know if I had miscalculated and ruined any chance I had to get information out of her by overwhelming her with the bad news.

  “I don’t think t
hat security system was ever down. I just need you to verify that,” I said.

  “Peter normally handled it. He never told me if it was down,” she said.

  “Had it ever gone down before?” I asked.

  “Not that I know of.”

  “Do you know the name of the security company?”

  “It’s in Peter’s office. I can get it for you.”

  “Please.”

  She stood and walked toward Peter’s office. I was glad my strategy worked, but I felt guilty for using Peter’s death to get her to cooperate.

  “Do you mind if I come with you?” I asked.

  I hoped I wasn’t pushing my luck. She didn’t reply, so I followed her into Peter’s office. She quickly found a business card tacked to a small bulletin board near his desk. She handed me the card. It had the name and phone number of the security company.

  “Can I use his phone?” I asked.

  She nodded. I wanted to use the office phone because I thought the number would show up on the security company’s caller ID as a customer of theirs. The phone started to ring, and I turned to the receptionist.

  “Could I please bother you for a glass of water?” I asked.

  She turned without saying a word and left the office. I couldn’t believe I had gotten this far. I just needed to press my luck a little more. A woman on the other end of the call answered.

  “Hello, this is Day Security. How may I help you?”

  “Yes, this is Detective Glen Adcock with the Maui police department. I’m calling in reference to the Lahaina marina, a client of yours,” I said.

  “Yes, Detective, can I have your badge number please for the record?”

  Ordinarily I would have panicked at this point and hung up the phone. But I had seen Alana’s badge enough times to know how many numbers it had. I gave the person a random series of numbers. I hoped they didn’t have some computer system that could instantly verify Adcock’s name to his number. It was highly doubtful, though.

  “Thank you, Detective. How may I be of service?”

  “Can you verify for me if the security system here was ever reported as malfunctioning?”

  “Stand by. Let me check their records.”

  I heard her typing on the other end.

  “No reports here. As far as we know, the system has been working fine.”

  “What type of system do they have here exactly?”