Wedding Day Dead: A Murder on Maui Mystery Read online

  “None of that’s true,” Makani said.

  He said it so calmly, like he was simply talking about the weather.

  “You don’t sound passionate about that. If my family had just been accused of committing a crime we didn’t commit, I’d be pretty upset.”

  “You’ve got no evidence of any of this,” he said.

  “Maybe not today, but I’ll get it, especially now that I know who to concentrate on. I’ve been spreading myself too thin since Panos had so many enemies. Now I’m just going to look at you and Kai. You’ll have made a mistake, if not during Panos’ murder, then during Peter Bell’s.”

  I left the surf shop. I thought about immediately calling Alana and telling her I figured it out, but I wanted more time to think things through. I wanted to wrap everything up in a nice little package for her.

  The traffic was just as heavy leaving Kihei as it was getting there. I finally got home and took Maui the dog for another walk. I thought about the case as I walked, and I realized I’d made a colossal mistake by letting them know I had figured it out. My ego had gotten the better of me. I saw Makani as a weakling. I thought there was a good chance I could have shaken and intimidated him. I expected him to confess, but he’d remained pretty reserved and in control throughout the meeting at the surf shop.

  I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to nail these guys for the crimes. The police never found the murder weapon. The camera footage from the marina security system was gone for good, or at least stolen by Kai and/ or Makani. I had no doubt they’d destroyed the computer drive by now. It was probably in a million pieces at the bottom of some random dumpster.

  There was also the problem of whether or not I’d even be alive to keep investigating the case. Why? Well, there was the little thing of Kai and his burly friend standing in my driveway when I got back to my house. It was pretty obvious why they were there. They’d wasted no time in heading my way once Makani called them.

  “I told you to stay the hell away,” Kai said.

  He charged me. His bodyguard friend was only a few steps behind. I waited until the last moment, and then I slammed my fist into Kai’s throat. He gasped for air and immediately lost interest in me.

  His friend was another story. The burly friend hit me in the exact same spot that Kai had hit me. I felt the cut split open again. This guy had a lot more force behind his punch as well. The dizziness and wooziness were immediate.

  I balled up my fist to strike back, but he punched me a second time. This one was aimed at my nose. I assumed he was getting back at me for the damage I caused to his. I turned my head right as his fist connected. His punch glanced off the side of my nose and landed solidly under my eye. He was much faster than I thought possible for a guy his size. He hit me a third time in my stomach, and I doubled over. I heard him laugh as he swept his leg behind my legs, and I fell hard on the ground. I was on my back, and I saw his ugly face as he leaned over me.

  “No cop to rescue you this time.”

  He lifted his leg and stomped down on my stomach. Every ounce of air left my body. He stomped on my stomach a second time. I tried desperately to catch my breath but couldn’t. I heard Maui the dog bark in the background, and then I heard my arm snap as the big guy stomped on it. I don’t remember exactly what happened next, but I think he kicked me in the side of the head.

  I saw Foxx’s face when I woke up.

  “Was it those two guys from the bar?” he asked.

  I tried to answer him but couldn’t. My brain was too clouded.

  “Hold on, buddy,” he said.

  I don’t know what happened next because I passed out again. The next time I woke, both Foxx and Alana were looking at me.

  “Where am I?” I asked.

  “Emergency room,” Foxx said.

  “You’re gonna be okay,” Alana said.

  “I’ll go tell the doc you’re awake,” Foxx said.

  Foxx stood and left my bedside. Alana moved her chair closer to me.

  “Who did this to you?” Alana asked.

  “You have to ask?”

  “Kai,” Alana said.

  I didn’t answer her because the emergency room doctor pulled the curtain back. Foxx was right behind him.

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Rutherford.”

  “I wouldn’t exactly call it good,” I said.

  “You’re alive. That qualifies as good in my book,” he said.

  “I see your point.”

  I tried to sit up by pressing my arms against the bed. A sharp pain raced through my left arm, so I didn’t get very far.

  “I wouldn’t advise that. The radius and ulna, which are the two bones in your lower arm, were snapped in half. You’re going to need surgery.”

  “Great,” I said. “Any other damage. My head feels like it was run over by a truck?”

  “I suspect you have a concussion as well. They really did a number on you. We’ll keep you in here a few more hours for observation. I can give you the name of an orthopedist if you don’t have one already.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  The doctor left my area to attend other patients. Foxx turned to Alana.

  “Can you do me a favor and take him home? I’ve got a couple of things I need to take care of ?”

  “Sure thing,” Alana said.

  “Take care, buddy. I’ll see you later tonight,” he said.

  Foxx left, and I had the pleasure of hanging out in the emergency room much longer than a few more hours. A nurse appeared at some point and put my arm in a splint and wrapped it tightly with an Ace bandage. It hurt like hell going on, but the pressure of the bandage eventually made the pain subside somewhat.

  They eventually let me leave, and Alana drove me home. It wasn’t until we pulled in the driveway that I thought about Maui the dog.

  “Holy shit, where’s my dog? He was with me when those guys jumped me.”

  “Foxx found him when he got home. He was sitting by your side,” Alana said.

  “Really? He didn’t run off ?”

  “He was right there.”

  I walked into the house, and Maui the dog ran to greet me.

  “Hey, buddy. Thanks for sticking with me.”

  Alana stayed with me until Foxx came home, which was a few hours later. They had a brief conversation in the other room, but I couldn’t hear what they said. Alana came back into my room and asked me if I needed anything before she left. I told her I was fine.

  Foxx poked his head into my room after she left.

  “Feeling any better?” he asked.

  “Yeah. A little. Thanks for taking me to the ER.”

  “No problem. Holler if you need anything.”

  Foxx left the room. I looked down at Maui the dog, who was sleeping on the floor beside my bed. There’s something to be said for loyalty.

  XX

  The Video

  The next day I went to the orthopedist. He, too, recommended surgery since the break was so bad. My left arm ended up with a few pins and plates, and I wondered if I would end up permanently setting off the metal detector every time I went to the airport.

  The few days after the surgery were a haze of painkillers and frequent naps. My head started hurting worse than before. At first, I was worried it was complications from my possible concussion. The throbbing in my head was so bad I actually vomited a few times. I stopped taking the pain medication, thinking that might be the real culprit in causing the headaches. Within a few hours, the pain subsided in my head. Of course, the pain immediately returned in my arm. I say all this to explain why I was so distracted and didn’t think to look for my cell phone in those initial days after the fight with Kai.

  Foxx had gone to the grocery store the third morning after my surgery, and I wanted to call him to bring me back a few things. That’s when I realized I hadn’t used my phone in a while, and I really didn’t know where it was. I slowly remembered having it on my walk with Maui the dog, so I assumed it might be somewhere in the front yard. It could h
ave easily fallen off me when Kai’s friend was beating the living hell out of me. I went outside and searched for the phone, but I couldn’t find it. Alana drove up while I was on my knees combing through the grass.

  “What are you doing out here?” she asked.

  “Searching for my phone.”

  “Why would it be in the grass?”

  “I think Kai’s friend knocked it off me when he knocked me out.”

  “Let me call it.”

  Alana pulled out her phone and called my number. She quickly hung up.

  “Went straight to voice mail,” she said. “Let’s get you back in the house. We’ll find the phone later.”

  “I’m fine,” I protested.

  “You need to be resting and not crawling around in the yard.”

  Alana and I went back inside. Maui the dog ran up to her. He did his usual thing of collapsing on his back in dramatic fashion so she could bend down and scratch his belly.

  “Hello, Maui,” she said.

  Alana stood after tickling Maui’s stomach.

  “Did the headaches go away yet?” she asked.

  “Much better since I quit taking those painkillers.”

  “So what are you doing for the pain?”

  “Pretending it doesn’t exist,” I said.

  “Is it working?”

  “Not well. You know, I never followed up with you about Kai and his friend. When did they get arrested?”

  “They didn’t,” she said.

  “How’s that possible?”

  “I went looking for them and found them in the hospital.”

  “The hospital?”

  “Apparently they checked in just after you checked out. They claimed a certain retired football player paid them a visit.”

  “Foxx?” I asked.

  “He broke both their arms, meaning both arms on each guy. So that’s four broken arms to your one.”

  “Really?”

  “You’re surprised? I’m pretty sure that’s why Foxx asked me to drive you home from the hospital. He went looking for them.”

  “I guess he found them. I can’t believe he didn’t tell me.”

  “They wanted to file an assault charge against Foxx when I reminded them you could easily file one against them.”

  “So you cut a deal.”

  “I didn’t think you’d want Foxx going back to jail, even if it meant keeping Kai and his friend out.”

  “I see your point.”

  “I don’t think they’re going to bother you anymore,” she said. “Here’s another interesting development. Makani’s mother called in a missing person’s report on Makani. His family hasn’t seen him for a few days.”

  “Think he fled the island?” I asked.

  “Maybe. I’ve got a guy checking the flight schedules as we speak. Certainly lends credence to your theory,” Alana said.

  I already felt bad for confronting Makani before I had gathered the evidence. Now I felt even worse, but why would he leave when I was convinced Kai was the killer? Was Makani there too when the murder occurred? Probably. I couldn’t think of another theory that fit.

  “I better get back to the office. I just wanted to see how you were doing,” she said.

  “You coming back after work?” I asked.

  “Absolutely.”

  I walked Alana to the front door.

  “Do me a favor and stay off the grass. You need to rest,” she said.

  I smiled and promised I would stay in bed. A few minutes after Alana left, though, I took Maui the dog outside so he could do his thing. He roamed around the yard for a while and then disappeared into the bushes.

  “What are you doing in there, Maui? You find a bird or something?”

  Maui the dog came out of the bushes with a black object in his mouth. I bent over to examine it. It was the plastic case for my phone.

  How did it get all the way in there? I thought. I got down on my knees and felt under the bush for my phone. I found it against the base of the bush. I pressed the button on the bottom of the phone, but the phone was completely dead. I guessed that was why it went straight to voice mail when Alana called.

  I took Maui the dog back inside and plugged my cell phone into the charger. It powered up after charging for another ten minutes or so. A few minutes after that, a text message appeared on the display.

  “Meet me at the marina. M.”

  I assumed M stood for Makani. I wondered when he sent the text, though, because it registered as having just been sent. I thought that was because the phone had just been turned on. I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Alana said Makani had gone missing. What if he’d been at the marina all this time? I called Alana but only got her voicemail. Foxx still wasn’t back from the store. I called Makani’s number back. It went to voicemail after several rings.

  I knew I should wait for one of them, but my impatience got the better of me. I grabbed my car keys from the kitchen counter and headed out to the car. The BMW Z3 is an automatic, so it wasn’t that hard to drive with one hand.

  I got to the marina in no time. I walked down to the dock where Panos’ boat was. I didn’t notice the smell until I hopped on the boat. I opened the door to the cabin, and then the smell became overwhelming. The scene was difficult to describe, but I’ll give you the somewhat censored version because I doubt you’d want to hear the true horrific details. Makani’s body was slumped on the sofa. His blood and brain matter were spread across the cabin wall behind him. I looked down and saw a handgun on the floor, just off to the side of his body. There was a small table bolted to the floor in front of the sofa. A cell phone was on the table, along with a note that said “play.”

  I pressed the home button on the phone and immediately saw my phone number listed as a missed call. There were a several other missed calls listed but only from a couple of different phone numbers. I didn’t recognize the numbers, but they probably belonged to Kai and his mother. I tapped the video icon on the display. There was only one video shown on the phone’s drive, so I played it. Makani’s image appeared. The video was somewhat dark, but it was clear enough to tell it was shot in the boat cabin. Makani spoke directly to the phone’s camera. His voice cracked as he spoke, and he did so in a slow cadence as if he were searching for the right words to say.

  “I can’t allow my brother or Hani to be blamed for something I did. The flashlight belonged to me. I took it out of my glove box when I got to the marina. I found Panos sleeping. I hit him in the back of the head so he wouldn’t wake up. I pulled his head back and cut his throat. I threw the knife in the ocean. You’ll never find it.”

  Makani looked down. He mumbled into his chest, and I couldn’t tell if he was talking to the camera or to himself.

  “He wasn’t a good person. He shouldn’t have done the things he did to Hani,” Makani said.

  He looked back at the camera.

  “Hani is innocent. Please let her go.”

  Makani reached toward the phone, and the video ended. I tapped on his text icon and confirmed he had sent me the text message a few days ago. He must have come here shortly after our conversation at the surf shop. I felt sick to my stomach for multiple reasons. The site was gruesome for sure, but I also felt somewhat responsible for driving Makani to suicide.

  I put his phone back on the table and pulled mine out. I called Alana, but it went to voice mail again. I left her a message to get to the marina as quickly as possible. I then hung up and called 911.

  I left the cabin and stood on the dock beside the boat and waited. The sky was beautiful, and the waters were calm. Makani was gone. I had such a hard time processing that.

  The first police car arrived about twenty minutes later. It was a single police officer. He looked like he was in his early twenties. I wondered if he’d just joined the force. He was about to see something he’d never be able to purge from his mind. I knew I wouldn’t be able to no matter how hard I tried. I told him where the body was. I told him to prepare himself fo
r the smell.

  Detective Adcock and Alana showed up a few minutes after the initial officer. They were in two different cars, but they got to the marina around the same time. The police officer came out of the cabin. He walked to the stern and hopped onto the dock. He stood still and sucked in the fresh air. I tried not to look at him. I wanted to give him his space, but it was easy to notice the sweat rolling down his face as he walked by me. The police officer headed up the dock and greeted Adcock and Alana who were walking toward him.

  “Body inside, Detective,” the police officer told Adcock.

  Adcock walked past the officer without stopping and headed over to me.

  “What’s going on?” he demanded.

  “There’s a cell phone on the table in the cabin. Play the video. Everything will be clear.”

  Adcock stepped onto the boat and disappeared into the cabin.

  “Makani?” Alana asked.

  I nodded.

  She followed Adcock into the cabin. They both came out a couple of minutes later. In that short time, another police car and an ambulance had arrived.

  Adcock walked up to the original police officer. He pointed at me.

  “Arrest him,” Adcock said.

  “Arrest me?” I asked.

  “For murder,” Adcock said.

  “You’re going to pin this on me?”

  “You found the body. How did you know it was here?” he asked.

  “Check the text messages on his phone. He told me to meet him here.”

  The officer approached me.

  “Put your hands behind your back,” he said.

  “I don’t think you’re going to get cuffs around this thing,” I said, and I held up my arm with the cast.

  “This is bullshit, Glen, and you know it,” Alana said.

  “Don’t interfere. This is my case,” he said.

  “You saw the video. The guy confessed,” Alana said.

  “And why wouldn’t he with your boyfriend pointing a gun at his head?”