Wedding Day Dead: A Murder on Maui Mystery Read online

  “There was a motion detector installed in the main office building. We also set up a surveillance system around the marina.”

  “Is there a computer drive or DVDs that record the video images from the cameras?”

  “Of course. All the video feeds are automatically backed up to the hard drive.”

  “Do those video feeds also go to your company?”

  “No, just the hard drive.”

  “So if someone erased it from the drive here, it would be gone for good.”

  “Unfortunately, yes.”

  “Thank you for your help.”

  “My pleasure, Detective.”

  I hung up just as the receptionist returned with a small bottle of water.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  I unscrewed the cap and downed it in a couple of gulps. I looked at the computer on Peter’s desk.

  “Is this the computer that stored the video images from the security system?” I asked.

  “I think so,” she said.

  “Do you mind pulling up the video files?”

  The receptionist walked over to the desk and sat in Peter’s chair.

  “I’ll see if I can find them.”

  The monitor came alive when she moved the computer mouse. We both looked at the desktop icons.

  “There,” I said.

  I pointed to the folder that I thought was for the security system. She double-clicked it. There were several other folders inside the main system folder. Each sub-folder was labeled with a date.

  “Can you open one of those?” I asked.

  She double-clicked on the folder with yesterday’s date. This new folder had several QuickTime video files.

  “Now click on one of those files,” I said.

  She clicked on a video file labeled Dock 1. The video took a second to load, and then we saw an image of one part of the dock. The video clip was during the day, and a person was walking down the dock toward the camera. It looked like the camera was only recording a few frames per second because the person’s movement was leaping forward on the dock as opposed to a smooth walk. I assumed this was done to keep the video files as small as possible.

  “Let’s go back to the main folder,” I said.

  She closed the video file and the sub-folder labeled with yesterday’s date.

  I searched for the folder labeled with the date Panos was killed. It wasn’t there. The date before and the date after his murder was.

  “Thank you,” I said. “You’ve been a tremendous help.”

  The receptionist turned to me.

  “What do I do now?” she asked.

  “A detective named Alana Hu is going to call you. You’ll eventually want to show her everything you showed me. In the meantime, I would call the owner of the marina and tell them about Peter. Do you know the owner’s name and contact information?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. We’ll find out who did this. I promise.”

  “Do you think I’m in any danger?” she asked.

  “No, you’ll be fine.”

  I left her sitting in Peter’s office chair. I didn’t think she believed me about not being in any danger. There was a miniscule chance the killer might think Peter had shared a copy of the video file with her, but I didn’t think that was the case. I went outside and called Alana. I told her about my visit to the marina and how I discovered Peter Bell lied to me and everyone else about the security system.

  “I don’t suppose you found a laptop or a thumb drive at his house?” I asked.

  “I don’t remember the officers finding one, but I’ll follow up on that.”

  “Looks like Peter knew from the start who killed Panos,” I said.

  “How long do you think it took him to blackmail them?” Alana asked.

  “I doubt he did it right away. He probably waited a bit to see if the police were going to catch the person. When he saw in the news that Hani was arrested, he knew the police had the wrong person.”

  “So he contacts the real killer and demands payment in exchange for the video,” Alana said.

  “We know he had a gambling problem. Maybe he got in way over his head again and thought this was the only way to score some quick cash.”

  “Dangerous game to play,” Alana said.

  “Does this get Hani out of prison? Seems to me it’s pretty clear proof she didn’t do it.”

  “I’ll share it with Adcock and Hani’s attorney, but I don’t think the prosecutor will rush to do anything about Hani. By the way, don’t think I don’t know you kept this marina thing from me. You probably drove straight there after leaving Bell’s house.”

  “It was a wild hunch. I didn’t want to waste your time,” I said.

  “Sure it was. So what’s your next wild hunch? Who was Peter Bell blackmailing?”

  “That’s the million-dollar question,” I said.

  We ended the call, and I looked back at the marina office. I assumed the receptionist was having a breakdown right about now. I didn’t blame her. I was on the verge myself. I had confirmed the killer was still out there. I just didn’t know who they were.

  XVIII

  But Officer, It Was Self-Defense

  Alana stayed busy with the Peter Bell murder investigation for the next few days. I wish I could say I was as productive as she was. She spoke with the security company and confirmed there was no report from Peter Bell or any other staff member at the marina that the security system was down. The security company even visited the marina and did a thorough check of the system. It was fine. They checked the files on Peter’s computer and confirmed the only flies that were missing were from the day Panos was murdered. Alana had a computer expert from her department look over the marina office computer as well. They hoped they could recover the deleted video files, but Peter did an excellent job of removing them from the system. Alana had a team go over Peter’s house again. They searched for a laptop or some other storage device. Nothing was found, which was highly unusual in my book. Do you know anyone these days without a laptop, iPad, or smart-phone lying around the house?

  Our theory about Peter being in financial trouble again was correct. Alana learned Peter was in significant credit card debt. He owed over $50,000 to various credit card companies. He had missed his last three mortgage payments and his last three car payments. The police found a letter from the mortgage company saying his house was about to enter foreclosure.

  Foxx got in on the investigation too. After I told him about Peter’s debt, Foxx spoke with a friend of a friend, who claimed Peter was part of an underground card game. Peter’s game was poker, and he apparently wasn’t very good at it because he owed another $40,000 to a few different players. On a side note, I asked Foxx if he was part of this game. He said he wasn’t, but I was pretty sure he was. I understood why he didn’t tell me. He probably wanted me to have plausible deniability should Alana ever ask me.

  All of this new information indicated a desperate Peter Bell who would probably do anything to pay off those debts, including blackmailing the killer of Panos. Alana pointed this out to her chief and the prosecutor as proof that the real killer was still out there. Unfortunately, she got nowhere. They both argued that Peter’s killer could have easily been one of the poker guys he owed money to. I disagreed, but I understood their stance. Hani stayed in jail.

  I know exactly what you’re asking yourself right now. What of Detective Adcock? After all, he was the one who thoroughly blew it when he failed to check Peter’s office computer to confirm Peter was telling the truth. Well, nothing happened to him. According to Alana, Adcock got a mild talking to. So much for accountability from our government representatives.

  A lot of information came out, but I wasn’t excited about any of it. I had already guessed most of it, so all this really did was confirm what I already knew. I didn’t see Alana at all during those few days, but she called me several times each day to give me an update. You might suspect our relationship was on the mend. I wished I coul
d say that was the case, but it wasn’t. She never brought up our relationship, and I didn’t either. I really didn’t know what to say.

  I was frustrated on so many levels. I needed a new lead desperately if I was to solve this case. Sometimes if I write stuff down, I have a better time of sorting through my thoughts, so I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down everything I knew about Panos’ death.

  Wes: He was the co-owner of the restaurant. He was angry with Panos for abandoning their business and leaving him on the verge of bankruptcy. Did I think him capable of killing Panos? Absolutely. Did I think he could drive over to Peter’s house and gun him down? Probably not.

  Jim: He hated Panos because Panos was sleeping with his girlfriend, Shae, and Panos forced him out of the restaurant. Dolly the bartender told me Jim had attacked Panos with a knife in the restaurant kitchen. Interesting connection considering the fact Panos was murdered with a knife, but a knife isn’t exactly an uncommon murder weapon. There was also nothing to make me think Jim even knew Panos was back on the island. He might have heard it, but I wasn’t sure if Jim’s anger was still strong enough to make him drive to the marina late at night and slit Panos’ throat.

  Makani and Kai. I lumped these two together since they were brothers. I still didn’t think Makani was capable of confronting Panos, let alone killing him, but I could easily see Kai doing it, especially after Makani told him how Panos humiliated him at the party.

  Aaron Tench: He definitely wasn’t the killer, but had the two best friends fallen out? Hani said Panos told her Aaron was jealous of him, but jealous over what? On the other hand, they couldn’t have had too much of a falling out if he knew Hani had gotten pregnant and then lost the baby. So why did he avoid Panos once he’d come back to the island if he was still on speaking terms? Or was he really just busy at work like he said he was?

  Detective Glen Adcock: Why was he such an asshole? Was he simply compensating for a small penis?

  Now that you know exactly what was going on in my head, you’ll understand why I decided to go to Harry’s for an early evening drink. I asked Foxx if he wanted to join me, but he said he was on his way out the door to join Michelle for dinner.

  I hopped in the convertible and headed for the bar. I love driving around the island at night with the top down on the car. There’s something about the night air that clears my head. When I got to the bar, I saw the parking lot was full. I parked in a dirt lot that was right next to the paved one and was used for spillover. I walked inside. It was jammed, but I was lucky to find an open spot at the bar. All the televisions were tuned to a football game, and people were cheering and booing, depending on what team was doing well at that moment. I ordered a beer and went over the list of suspects you just read. I felt like I was banging my head against the wall. I knew the answer was somewhere in there, but nothing came out.

  I ordered a second beer when I heard a voice that made me cringe.

  “We meet again.”

  I recognized the voice instantly. I looked over my shoulder to see Kai and his burly friend approaching.

  “Where’s your bodyguard?” Kai asked.

  I gave him no response except to turn back around and pretend to go back to watching the game on the television. I had no doubt what was about to happen.

  One of them put his hand on my left shoulder. I could feel the placement of his thumb on my back, so I knew the person grabbed me with his right hand. That meant he was off to my left side versus standing directly behind me. I spun my elbow back as hard and as fast as I could. I heard the cartilage of his nose break under the impact of my arm. I didn’t waste any time. I spun my body fully around and slammed my fist into the nose again. The burly friend howled in pain. At least I had the good fortune to take the big one out first.

  I turned to go after Kai next, but he hit me above the eye before I could square up against him. I felt my skin tear, and the blood immediately began to flow into my eye. He hit me again in the same spot and then dove on me. The air burst out of my lungs as I collapsed on the ground with all of Kai’s weight on top of me.

  Kai smashed his fist into my rib cage again and again. I felt my vision go blurry from the pain he was inflicting on me and the blood flowing down my face. I don’t remember consciously deciding to do this, but I jammed my thumb into his eye. He screamed and rolled off me. I tried to stand up to grab a beer bottle or something else to hit him with.

  “Freeze!”

  I turned to see a guy pointing his gun at my head, at least I thought it was a gun. It was difficult to tell with all the blood in my eyes. It turned out there was an off-duty cop in the bar. Apparently, he stopped by to watch the game with one of his neighbors.

  He handcuffed all three of us and dumped us on the curb in front of the bar. He then walked to his car and called in the report. About twenty minutes later, an unmarked police car pulled up. Alana climbed out of the car. She walked over to the cop, and they spoke for a few minutes. I saw him nod a couple of times, and then she shook his hand. They both walked over to me, and the cop removed my handcuffs, only to have Alana slap her handcuffs on me. She pulled me to my feet and then dragged me to her car. She didn’t say anything as we walked across the parking lot. She opened the back door, pushed my head down with the palm of her hand, and then shoved me hard into the backseat.

  She slammed the door and climbed into the front seat. As she pulled away, I looked over my shoulder as best as I could and saw the cop talking to Kai and his friend. They both looked seriously pissed off. I hate to admit this, lest you think ill of me, but I had a certain amount of pride at having inflicted so much damage on them even if I did take a beating myself.

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “To jail. Where did you think we were going?”

  “In that case, aren’t you going to read me my rights or give me my phone call?”

  “No, and you can take any complaints up with the chief of police.”

  “I thought you were off-duty,” I said.

  “I am, but I still have a radio in the car and heard Kai’s name mentioned along with the phrase ‘fight at Harry’s Bar.’ Something told me you were involved. Lucky for you, that officer owes me a favor. He’s going to convince them not to press charges. He already talked to the bar owner. You three maniacs didn’t do any damage to the bar. The owner did request that you return later and pay your tab.”

  “Sorry to make you cash in your favor.”

  “You should be.”

  “It was self-defense,” I said.

  “Well, the officer backs you up on that front. He saw the whole thing. Did you really take those guys out on your own?” she asked.

  “You sound surprised.”

  “Let’s face it. You’re not exactly a fighter.”

  “I’m offended. I can take care of myself.”

  “Apparently.”

  I thought Alana was going to take me to Foxx’s house, but instead she drove me to hers. She pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine. She opened the car door.

  “Turn around,” she said.

  I turned away from her, and she undid the handcuffs. I slowly started to feel the blood flow back into my wrists and arms as I clinched my fists open and closed.

  “Let’s get that cut cleaned up,” she said.

  I followed Alana into her house.

  “Come into the kitchen. I don’t want you bleeding all over my carpet.”

  Alana walked over to the sink and placed a kitchen towel under the faucet. She turned on the cold water and soaked the towel thoroughly, and then she cleaned the blood off my forehead and face.

  “It’s a nasty cut,” she said.

  “I think he must have been wearing a ring or something.”

  “I should take you to the emergency room. I think you’re going to need stiches.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “You don’t want it to scar.”

  “I could use a good scar on my face. Maybe people won’t mess w
ith me then.”

  “You’re crazy. You know that, don’t you?”

  I smiled and then winced. The movement of my face from the smile went right up to the cut on my head.

  “If you won’t go to the emergency room, at least let me bandage it up.”

  Alana left and came back a minute later with a first aid kit. She opened the small box and removed a tube of ointment and a box of bandages. She spread the ointment on the cut, and then placed the bandage on my head just above my eye.

  “All patched up,” she said while balling up the paper wrapper of the bandage.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  She walked over to the kitchen island and leaned her back against the counter top.

  “So, what’s next for tomorrow? Do you want to re-interview anyone?” she asked.

  I looked out the window of her kitchen into her backyard. I’d always liked the landscaping she’d done. There was a nice round patio that was surrounded by several planters, all filled with colorful red and yellow flowers. The grass was neatly manicured, as usual. Tall trees blocked her neighbor’s view into her yard.

  I thought back to the first time I’d exchanged more than one or two words with her. It was at Foxx’s house, and she’d shown up to arrest Foxx. I’d defended him, spouting out ridiculous words and phrases like I was some know-it-all television lawyer. She called me on my bullshit, but I deserved it. I didn’t know what I was talking about. I’d just wanted to help a friend in the middle of a serious crisis.

  We exchanged flirtations with each other over the next few weeks, even though we were on opposing missions, and then there was our first date. I couldn’t believe how beautiful she looked. My nervousness was hard to control that evening, but an excitement and thrill also ran through my body.

  Now, I was here again in her home, a bandage plastered across my head. She and I stood at a crossroads, all because of a kiss, and fear. When you broke everything down, it was always about fear. We protect all or part of ourselves because we’re always so damn afraid of getting hurt. I realized then and there that if it doesn’t kill you, then what’s the point of being afraid? And if it does kill you, well, we all have to go sometime, anyway.