Wedding Day Dead: A Murder on Maui Mystery Page 22

  Daphne said nothing.

  “You also told him he promised you something. What was it? I’m guessing he promised he wouldn’t marry Hani,” I said.

  “You came all the way here to repeat some lie the maid and my bitter ex-boyfriend told you. Kind of sad, Poe.”

  “I really don’t care that you were sleeping with Panos. It’s none of my business, but I do care that you tried to frame Alana’s sister. The police report said there was no sign of forced entry at Hani’s house, but someone had to have gotten in that house to plant the flashlight. I was pretty mad at myself for not figuring that out sooner. You had a key, or it might be better to say Panos had a key. Since you two lived together, it wasn’t hard to get your hands on it. Maybe you even secretly made a copy. You simply drove over to her house when she was staying with Alana, let yourself in, and then left the flashlight in the garage for the police to find. It was overkill, though, wasn’t it? The flashlight was so obviously planted, and it made me realize someone other than Makani was also involved. He never would have framed Hani. He loved her too much, but you couldn’t resist the urge to take out an enemy. Why didn’t you just toss the flashlight in the ocean with the knife? Did you really hate Hani that much?”

  “I think the pressure of this case has gotten to you. You’re creating these bizarre theories that no one in their right mind would believe.”

  “Maybe, but here’s what the police will believe. Makani didn’t just confess the crime on video. He also told his brother Kai. Except his confession to Kai was much more elaborate. He said you helped him.”

  “Nothing but Kai’s word against mine.”

  “Not really. There’s that payment to Kai you made to keep his mouth shut. I assume he wasn’t as greedy as Peter Bell. His tastes aren’t quite as large. He closed his surf shop after you left. Word was there just was not enough business, which makes sense to me. Had you ever been to his shop? It’s tucked in the back of this depressing little strip mall. No one could see it from the road. Here’s the interesting thing, though. Kai bought a new car despite having just closed his struggling shop. So Kai gets a car. Kalena gets a car. Where’s all this money coming from? I imagine you considered killing Kai too. You knew you couldn’t trust him. He’s too much of a hothead, but it wouldn’t make sense to anyone to pin that death on Makani. He wouldn’t kill his own brother. The guy was practically his full-time bodyguard. Peter Bell is another story, though. You weren’t about to give him anything, especially since you knew he had a gambling problem. It would only be a matter of time before he came back demanding another payment. He’d be like an albatross hanging around your neck for the rest of your life.”

  “It’s my understanding Peter Bell was killed during a robbery,” she said. “It had nothing to do with Panos’ death.”

  “A robbery where a three-thousand-dollar watch is left out in the open? No, the only thing that was stolen from Peter was the laptop where he had the security footage of your car driving Makani to the marina to kill Panos.”

  Daphne laughed.

  “I drove Makani to the marina? And how would I even know he was there?”

  “Because that’s where he always went after you two fought. He knew you were furious with him, so after he left Shae’s apartment, he drove straight to the marina.”

  I saw the look of confusion on Daphne’s face.

  “That’s right. While you were talking Makani into killing Panos, Panos was having sex with Shae at her apartment. Did you even know about Shae?” I asked.

  Daphne said nothing.

  “It was easy to get Makani riled up. Panos had just humiliated him at the party, and you probably convinced Makani he could be with Hani again after Panos was gone. The guy was desperate to get her back. He’d do anything, especially kill the guy she was about to marry.”

  “You have no proof of anything,” she said.

  “No proof ? I have video of your car at the marina. I recognized it, and I barely know you. Peter Bell surely knew your car too. It must have been fairly easy for him to put it all together. Did you actually think Peter Bell made only one copy of the security footage? He might have had a serious gambling problem, but he wasn’t stupid. He made a second copy that he mailed to his sister. She lives in Seattle by the way. It was fairly easy for me to track her down. She was out of the country for several weeks on a business trip. That’s why she was late opening the package he mailed. He specifically mentions you in a note.”

  I wondered if this would be the time Daphne jumped out of her chair and attacked me, but to her credit, she remained calm.

  “I’m not wearing a wire,” I said.

  I stood and lifted up my shirt.

  “I also turned off my phone. You can see for yourself.”

  I reached into my pocket and removed my phone. I placed it on the table in front of us. Daphne hesitated a moment, and then leaned forward and pressed the button on the bottom of the phone to confirm it was off. I sat back down.

  Daphne stood and walked over to the door. At first, I thought she was leaving the room, but she simply closed the door and walked back to her chair.

  “So what now?” she asked.

  She sat down and crossed her legs like she was some high-powered executive in a business negotiation.

  “I go to the police, and you get arrested,” I said. “By the way, why not pay Kai to kill Peter Bell? Why do it yourself ?”

  “It wasn’t my intention to bring Kai in at all. But I should have realized that little shit Makani would blab.”

  “Do you feel no remorse for killing Peter?”

  “Why should I? He tried to blackmail me.”

  Daphne laughed.

  “You should have seen the look on his face. I opened the briefcase, and he expected to see stacks of money. Instead, he saw a gun.”

  “Clever. You have a flair for the dramatic,” I said.

  “Let’s cut to the chase. Name your price.”

  “My price?” I asked.

  “You just said you haven’t gone to the police. I assume that’s because you’re following in the footsteps of Peter Bell. How much do you want?”

  “Funny you should mention Peter Bell. I take it that’s your not-so-subtle hint of how I’ll end up should I cross you.”

  “I would never threaten you, Poe. I actually like you. I just wish you’d taken me up on my offer of having a little fun on Maui. Why didn’t you? Was it your commitment to Alana?”

  “Something like that,” I said. “Did you actually love Panos?”

  “My feelings for him are none of your business,” she said.

  “Understandable. It’s just my curiosity getting the better of me. I really was wondering what he promised you.”

  I turned to the wall behind me.

  “Did you get enough?” I yelled.

  Daphne was confused by me yelling toward the intercom in the room, but a second later, the door opened, and Alana walked in with two California police officers. I apologize for not mentioning Alana was on the flight with me, as well as the drive to the winery, but I didn’t want to spoil the surprise.

  “Arrest her,” Alana said.

  The two police officers walked over to Daphne. They hauled her to her feet.

  “By the way, Daphne, there was no other video. Peter Bell was an only child,” I said.

  I could see the fury building behind Daphne’s eyes.

  “I wasn’t wired, but I employed a little trick Kalena taught me. She maneuvered the talk button on the intercom so it would stay depressed. Alana and these two police officers were in the other room recording our entire conversation.”

  “It came through loud and clear,” Alana said.

  “You son of a bitch,” Daphne said.

  She struggled to get to me.

  “Don’t feel that bad. They had enough to arrest you on the payment to Kai. I just wanted to make sure you went down for the murder of Peter Bell too.”

  Panos’ mother entered the room.

&nbs
p; “I think your trust fund just got canceled, Daphne” I said.

  “It’s all lies,” Daphne told her aunt.

  Mrs. Laskaris said nothing. She just turned away from Daphne and walked out of the room. In full disclosure, I’d already called Mrs. Laskaris before my arrival. I told her everything, including the sexual affair between Panos and Daphne. It gave me no pleasure to reveal these secrets about her beloved son, but I didn’t know how else to justify Daphne’s jealousy of the other women, especially Hani, and how that jealousy and anger eventually led to her arranging the murder of Panos. Mrs. Laskaris was also integral in catching her niece’s potential confession on audio. She arranged for the butler to bring me to the sitting room, and she rigged the intercom to permanently broadcast to the other room where Alana and the police were hiding. Mrs. Laskaris also suggested we hide a second recording device under the table in the sitting room in case the audio didn’t come in clear over the intercom. I appreciated her willingness to help, as well as her ability to not immediately confront Daphne before I had an opportunity to try to drag a confession out of her.

  Alana and I watched the two police officers escort Daphne away in handcuffs.

  “Nice work,” Alana said.

  “Thanks. I didn’t think I was going to get it out of her.”

  “She was dying to tell you. She’s too arrogant not to.”

  “Want to change our flight? Stay a few days in wine country?” I asked.

  “Love to. Let’s do it. What was that about you and her having a little fun by the way?”

  “That? That was nothing.”

  Alana looked at me like she didn’t believe me, and then decided to drop it.

  Before we left the winery, we walked about a hundred yards behind the house where Panos and his father were buried side by side. There were several large trees around the small family cemetery. Mrs. Laskaris was there.

  “I asked you to find my son’s killer. You did that. Thank you,” she said.

  “For what it’s worth, she didn’t kill him,” I said.

  “No, but she lured the one who did there. It’s the same thing in my book. I always knew she loved him.”

  “I’m sorry you had to hear all of that.”

  “Daphne came to live with us when she was just fourteen years old. Panos was fifteen. It was the first time they had met because their fathers had been feuding for so long. A couple of years after she moved here, I caught her and Panos together. I was furious, of course, and I forbade them to be together that way. But I thought it was mostly teenagers experimenting. I had no idea it was still going on. Panos had many flaws, but I loved him.”

  “We know,” Alana said.

  “What will happen now?” Mrs. Laskaris asked.

  “Daphne will be extradited back to Maui where she’ll stand trial for killing Peter Bell and being an accessory to the murder of Panos.”

  Mrs. Laskaris nodded.

  We stayed by the gravesite for several more minutes, and then we said goodbye to her.

  XXIV

  Job Offers and Sailing Lessons

  Alana and I spent our limited time in wine country touring two or three wineries per day. We did wine tastings and had picnics outside. We changed our flight a second time and hung out in San Francisco for a few days after that. We did the usual tourist thing, including walking around Fisherman’s Wharf, driving down Lombard Street, and touring Alcatraz. We even walked across the Golden Gate Bridge. I thought the strong winds might blow us away, but you couldn’t beat the view. It was a nice last-minute vacation, and I was more than grateful that Alana’s department gave her the time off.

  I got my cast removed a few days after my return to Maui. My arm still felt weak. I could have sworn it was a bit smaller than the other, but I was glad to have that annoying hunk of plastic removed.

  As I was leaving the doctor’s office, I got a call from Mara Winters, Hani’s attorney. She invited me to join her for lunch. Ironically enough, it was the same sushi restaurant in Kahului I ate at with Alana on my last return trip to Maui.

  I entered the restaurant and was pleasantly surprised to see Detective Glen Adcock in a direct line between myself and Mara, who was in the back of the room. I approached Adcock as he wolfed down a spicy tuna roll.

  “Hello, Detective,” I said.

  “So what smartass comment do I get to hear today?” he asked.

  “No rude comments. Just wanted to say hello.”

  “I suppose you expect an apology from me or something. Well you’re not going to get one,” he said.

  “You were just doing your job, and we all make mistakes, maybe just not as often and as monumental as you do. Good day, Detective. Enjoy your lunch.”

  Adcock gave me a two word response that I shall not repeat here so I don’t offend those readers who are easily offended. But for those of you who have to know, it started with an f and ended with a u.

  I continued my journey to Mara’s table. She stood, and we shook hands. The waitress approached, and Mara ordered first. I then ordered my usual and a glass of water.

  “Thank you again for representing Hani,” I said.

  “I should be thanking you,” she said.

  “Well, I like to think if she had gone to trial, you would have displayed your talent for the courtroom and gotten her free.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “Alana filled me in on what happened in California. Very impressive.”

  It was now my turn to say “thank you.”

  “What did you want to see me about?” I asked.

  “Have you heard the phrase ‘the poor are crazy, but the rich are eccentric’?”

  I nodded.

  “My firm represents a wide variety of clients, many of whom are eccentric. Sometimes they have certain issues that need services more than I can currently provide. Many of these services should probably be brought to the attention of the local police, but the department has a few problems officers, like Glen Adcock over there, who love to leak embarrassing details about the rich to the media. I assume jealousy has a lot of do with it. Unfortunately, I can’t stop the leaks. I was thinking, though, it would be a good idea if I could offer you as an alternative.”

  “I’m not sure I’m following you,” I said.

  “From time to time, I’d like to hire you to investigate certain issues my clients may be having. You would, of course, have to keep everything strictly confidential, but if you did have to go to the police, I like the fact you have an inside source who would respect our request for handling these matters in a delicate fashion.”

  “You’re referring to Alana.”

  “Of course. I certainly wouldn’t expect her to do anything illegal. I just like the fact that you could keep a member of the police informed without the whole department knowing about it.”

  “Your offer sounds interesting,” I admitted.

  “Good. We’ll take it on a case-by-case basis. You can base your fee on the complexity of the investigation. We’ll mark it up and pass the expenses onto the client. I’ll let you know when something pops up that could use your expertise. You’re free to say no at any time.”

  A few days after my lunch with Mara, I signed up for sailing lessons. It was a pretty intensive course, but I felt pretty confident by the end, and it gave me the certification I needed to be able to rent a boat from the marina staff.

  I invited Alana to sail with me the weekend after I completed the course. She was a bit hesitant, which I can understand, but she agreed in the end. I didn’t rent a huge sailboat, but it was big enough for Alana and me and Maui the dog. It also had a motor should I get us in a tough spot.

  I didn’t tell Alana my planned course, but she laughed when we rounded the coast and came upon the secluded beach Panos had brought us to last time. I dropped the anchor and lowered the ladder over the side.

  “Care for a swim?’ I asked.

  I removed my swimsuit, grabbed Maui the dog, and hopped overboard.

  “He doesn’t need
a life jacket?” she joked.

  “I think all dogs just know how to swim,” I said.

  Maui is small, though, so I helped him get to shore. He took off running up and down the beach the moment his paws hit the sand.

  I watched Alana remove her swimsuit and dive overboard. We spent a few hours on the beach, alternating between sunbathing and wading into the water to cool down. Maui found a patch of shade under a palm tree. He spent most of his time sleeping on his back.

  Once the sun got lower in the sky, we swam back to the boat and motored back to the marina. It was a glorious afternoon, and I was convinced I’d discovered my next hobby beyond photography. Unfortunately, this was a much more expensive hobby, but I had no plans to purchase a boat. As they say, the two greatest days in a person’s life are the day they buy their boat and the day they sell it.

  Alana had an early start scheduled for the next morning, so I drove her home from the marina. When I got back to the house, I found Foxx lying on the sofa, watching another one of those murder shows on the Discovery Channel.

  “What is it with you and these shows?” I asked.

  “They’re candy for the brain. You don’t have to think that hard,” he said.

  “Apparently. Where’s Michelle?”

  “Ah, I don’t know. We’ve been kind of cooling things off,” he said.

  “Really, why’s that?” I asked.

  “More me than her. I just don’t want to settle down. She was talking about moving in here. I’ve got you and the dog here. Where was she going to go?”

  “Don’t let me get in the way. If you want her here, I can easily find another place,” I said. “Unless you were just using us as an excuse.”