Wedding Day Dead: A Murder on Maui Mystery Read online

  “Hey, you two,” Foxx yelled.

  Alana and I turned to see Foxx walking down the dock with Michelle. I had only seen her once before, and it was only a partial view at that. As was usually the case, though, Foxx had found another looker. Her hair was as black as Alana’s, but her skin was pale. She was maybe a few inches taller than Alana. She had a small waist that seemed to accentuate her large breasts. I tried not to stare, but it was difficult. What did I tell you before? Foxx had a way with women.

  “She’s pretty,” Alana said. She turned to me.

  “She’s okay, a solid five,” I said.

  “Really?” Alana replied.

  “No real comparison to you,” I said.

  “Good boy,” she said. She sounded like she was talking to Maui the dog. I halfway expected her to pat me on the head.

  Alana and I stood as Foxx and Michelle walked up to us.

  “This is his boat?” Foxx asked.

  “We think so,” Alana said.

  Foxx looked over the boat’s smooth lines.

  He whistled. “Hell of a beauty.”

  “Hi, I’m Alana.” Alana extended her hand to Michelle.

  “I’m Michelle.”

  “Sorry,” Fox said. “This is my best friend, Poe, and his girlfriend, Alana. This is Michelle. She just moved to Maui.”

  I shook hands with Michelle.

  “How do you know the owner?” Michelle asked.

  “Alana used to date the guy,” Foxx blurted out.

  I could have killed him, and Foxx caught the meaning of my glare.

  “What? Better to get it all out in the open,” Foxx said.

  “It’s okay. His name is Panos,” Alana said.

  As if on cue, Panos and Hani drove up.

  “You weren’t kidding about the Lamborghini,” Foxx said. “Gorgeous car.”

  Panos and Hani made their way down to the dock, and we introduced them to Foxx and Michelle. Foxx and I helped Panos cast off the lines while Alana, Hani, and Michelle made their way to the bow of the boat. Within a few minutes, we pulled away from the dock.

  We sailed for a couple of hours. The views were spectacular as expected. I did my best to avoid Panos, but it was difficult. The guy had a huge personality, and I couldn’t help but constantly compare myself to him. It was easy to see why everyone liked him. He was funny, good-looking, and he had charm to spare. He was the type of person you just notice when he walked in the room. I didn’t want to admit it, but I understood why Alana would want to date him. I also couldn’t stop wondering what he and I had in common that would make Alana interested in us both. It wasn’t that he made me feel bad about myself. We were just so different.

  Alana seemed okay during the initial part of the trip. She spent most of the time speaking with Foxx and Michelle. Hani seemed to prefer not leaving Panos’ side. It was almost like she expected us to try to steal the guy, even though we were on a boat.

  We eventually made our way into a small, secluded cove. Panos dropped the anchor.

  “My sister and I used to come here to swim,” Panos said. “There’s no way to get to this beach except by boat. We have the whole place to ourselves.”

  Panos walked to the bow where the women were sunbathing. He turned to Foxx and me.

  “Poe, Foxx, join me for a swim?” he asked.

  “I didn’t bring my swimsuit,” I said.

  “Neither did I,” Panos said.

  Then he dropped his shorts in front of the women. I’m pretty sure I heard Michelle gasp. Foxx and I were wrong about the Lamborghini. Panos was not compensating for anything. He was hung like a porn star. Either that or he had a sea serpent trapped between his legs. Panos turned to the women.

  “Anyone is welcome to join me,” he said.

  Then Panos dove overboard. He had the grace of an Olympic diver. I decided then and there that I hated him with every fiber in my body. I watched him swim to the shore. He actually had the arrogance to do the backstroke.

  “What the hell,” Foxx said. “Let’s do it.”

  Foxx walked to the bow, tossed his pants near Panos,’ and dove overboard.

  Alana looked at me. I wasn’t sure if she wanted me to join Foxx and Panos. I’m not embarrassed about myself, and I want to make it abundantly clear that I am above average when it comes to that department, but there was no way I could compare my equipment to his Loch Ness Monster.

  I looked back to the shore. Panos climbed out of the water and walked naked onto the beach. Foxx wasn’t that far behind.

  “Are you going to join them?” Hani asked.

  She smiled at me, and I couldn’t tell if she was making fun of me or not.

  “You don’t have to go if you don’t feel like it,” Alana said.

  “Why wouldn’t he?” Hani asked. “The water’s spectacular.”

  Hani then took off her clothes and jumped into the water.

  “Wait for me,” Michelle said.

  She removed her clothes too and leaped overboard. Alana and I were the only ones left on the boat. We were also the only ones with clothes on. Panos had beaten me again.

  “Do you want to join them?” Alana whispered.

  “No, what I want to do is fire up this boat’s engine and leave their bare asses here on that beach. But I can’t very well do that, can I?”

  “Don’t get snippy with me,” Alana said.

  “Sorry. You just failed to mention you dated a porn star.”

  “Now you’re being vulgar,” she said.

  “If the shoe fits. Or in this case, if the dick fits…” I said.

  I pulled off my shirt and started on my shorts.

  “You’re going in?” she asked.

  “I can’t stay on this boat,” I said.

  I tossed my shorts near the pile of discarded clothing and jumped overboard. I swam to the beach, walked onto the sand, and plopped down on my back. Within a few minutes, a naked Alana sat down beside me.

  “You might want to lay on your stomach,” she suggested.

  “And why would I want to do that,” I replied.

  “I’m guessing there are parts of you that haven’t seen the sunlight in years. You don’t want to get burned.”

  “Nonsense. I’ll be fine,” I said.

  But Alana was right as usual, and within thirty minutes, I was feeling rather toasty. I stood and walked back into the water to cool off my sensitive areas. Alana was already in, so I swam over to her. We looked back to the beach and saw Panos and Hani in a full make-out session on the sand. They got up and disappeared behind some trees, but not before I got another glimpse of Panos in all his glory. I waited for Michelle to let out another loud gasp, but she didn’t, at least not one that I could hear.

  “I guess they’re going for it,” I said.

  “I guess so,” Alana said. “I’m sorry about this. It’s not how I imagined the day would go.”

  “Really? You didn’t think we’d all end up naked on a beach?” I asked.

  I don’t know how long we stayed on that beach, maybe an hour, maybe two hours, but it felt like all day. Never in my wildest dreams did I see this coming. We eventually returned to the boat and retrieved our clothing. Panos elected to use the boat’s motor instead of the sails to get back to the dock. That was fine by me, whatever got us there the fastest.

  “So where do you see your relationship with Alana going?” he asked me.

  “Sorry, I don’t see how that’s your concern,” I said.

  “I don’t mean to be forward. I was just curious. She’s a great lady,” he said.

  “Yes, she is,” I said.

  “I’m glad I was able to talk her into coming out today,” Panos said. “I didn’t think she was going to accept my invitation when I visited her at her home last night.”

  “You went by her home?” I asked. I immediately regretted my question.

  “She didn’t tell you?” he asked.

  I left Panos without answering him and joined Foxx near the bow.

&nb
sp; “Don’t let the guy get to you,” Foxx said.

  “He’s not getting to me.”

  “Of course he is. How could he not?”

  He must have noticed his words didn’t help me much because he followed up with, “Alana’s with you. Don’t forget that.”

  We finally got back to the dock after what felt like an eternity. Foxx and I helped Panos with the boat lines even though I just wanted to walk straight to my car and leave everything behind. We all walked up the dock toward the parking lot together, and then went our separate ways. I was beyond grateful no one suggested we all do dinner.

  I wish I could say Alana and I spent the evening on her sofa, watching an old Bogart film and eating a bag of barbeque potato chips. But we didn’t. We said nothing to each other on the drive back to her house. It was just like the previous night on the return drive from the restaurant. The boat ride had been the disaster I thought it would be, but it didn’t take a genius to predict that. I still wasn’t sure why Alana agreed to do it in the first place.

  I pulled into her driveway, and she got out of the car without saying a word.

  “Panos said something interesting to me today,” I said.

  Alana stopped and turned to me.

  “He said he was the one who invited you on the boat. He also said he did so in person at your house.”

  Alana said nothing.

  “You told me Hani invited you. Why did you lie to me?”

  “Because I assumed you would get upset if you knew he came by the house.”

  “Why would I be upset?” I asked.

  “I should have told you,” she said.

  She took a few steps toward her house and then stopped.

  “I’m sorry that Panos embarrassed you,” she said.

  “He didn’t embarrass me,” I said, but we both knew that was a lie.

  Alana said nothing more and walked into her house. I didn’t see her for the next few days because of her work schedule. I talked to her a few times each day by phone. Everything seemed to be okay between us, but I did find it rather odd that she didn’t once bring up her sister or Panos. Part of me wanted to know what Alana was thinking. The other part of me was glad I didn’t know. I couldn’t stop thinking about Alana not telling me about dating Panos or him visiting her at her home. They weren’t really huge lies, but don’t some people refer to omissions as a form of lying? Maybe. Maybe not. In those few days after the boat ride, I reflected on my time with Alana. The truth was that we really hadn’t been together that long. I thought I knew her well, but I probably didn’t. The intensity of a new relationship can often give us a misperception of how well we really know someone, especially when physical intimacy is involved. It can sometimes give us a false sense of emotional intimacy too. Yes, we spent a lot of time together, but probably not a lot compared to someone who had known her for almost thirty years like Hani? I tried my best to push the doubts about us out of my mind, but this was really the first crisis of our relationship. I hoped we could weather it.

  V

  Everything Changes

  The week went by quickly. On Thursday evening, Alana stopped by the house and told me she had to attend the wedding rehearsal on Friday. I assumed earlier in the week that she had agreed to be Hani’s maid of honor, but she never officially told me. After the rehearsal, there was going to be a party at Panos’ restaurant. Alana asked if I would meet her there. I told her I would and asked if I could invite Foxx and Michelle as well. Alana said she didn’t think Hani would object since she and Michelle had really hit if off on the sailboat.

  I went for a swim and a run on Friday morning. I don’t think I realized how much I had upped my workouts since meeting Panos. In hindsight, it’s easy to see I had. I spent the afternoon playing with Maui the dog. I was pleased to see he had really taken to his new home, and he had also finally made friends with Foxx. I found him a couple of times sleeping on Foxx’s legs when Foxx had fallen asleep while watching television.

  Alana told me she was getting a ride to the rehearsal with Hani and Panos. I wasn’t sure how the three of them were going to all fit in the Lamborghini, but maybe they had another, larger car.

  That night, I hopped in my convertible and drove to Lahaina to meet Alana at the restaurant. The party had already gotten started by the time I arrived. I was a little surprised to see Foxx and Michelle already there since he told me earlier in the day that he thought they would be late.

  “We ended up going to the wedding rehearsal,” Foxx said. “Hani asked Michelle to be in the wedding party.”

  “Really. They barely know each other.”

  “Yeah, I’m just as surprised as you. You’d think Hani would have plenty of friends or relatives on the island.”

  “Have you seen Alana?” I asked.

  “I think I saw her in the back.”

  I told Foxx I’d catch up with him later, and I walked to the back of the restaurant to find Alana. I saw her talking to an attractive woman with dark hair. Alana smiled when she saw me approach. She had a martini in her hand, and she already appeared a bit tipsy.

  “Poe, I want you to meet Daphne. She’s Panos’ sister.”

  Daphne extended her hand, and I shook it. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, about the same age as Panos. She was around the same height as Alana, and her frame was just as delicate. Good looks definitely ran in their family.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I said.

  “Alana was just telling me about you. She said the two of you met on a murder investigation.”

  “Something like that.”

  “She also told me that the first time she met you, you stepped on her toes at an art show,” Daphne said.

  “It wasn’t one of my best moments,” I admitted.

  “But those always make for the most interesting stories. Much more fun than saying you met at work.”

  “Do you live here on the island or did you fly in from California?” I asked.

  “I moved here with Panos several years ago. We share a house,” she said.

  I thought that was a bit odd considering they were both adults and would probably want their own space, but then I remembered I lived with my best friend. Chalk that snap judgment up to hypocrisy on my part.

  “So you stayed here when Panos moved to Los Angeles?” I asked.

  “Maui’s my home now, and I couldn’t see myself living in such a large city.”

  “Will Panos and Hani go back there after the wedding?” I asked, trying not to sound anxious for them to leave.

  “I think so, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they moved back soon. I think Hani wants to be back on Maui.”

  “That’s surprising. She hasn’t told me anything. Then again, she didn’t tell me about the wedding until a week ago,” Alana said.

  “They didn’t tell anyone. I still don’t know if it was meant to be a surprise, or if they just decided at the last minute to do it.”

  “Knowing Panos, they probably decided at the last minute,” Alana said, laughing.

  I must admit it really bugged me that Alana used the phrase “knowing Panos.” I couldn’t stand the fact she had dated the guy, and my jealousy was getting out of control. I hated being at this rehearsal party, even though it was for Panos’ wedding to Hani. I couldn’t stop picturing Alana in Hani’s position if things had gone a different way.

  Alana finished her martini.

  “Excuse me while I get another drink. Can I get you two anything?” Alana asked.

  “No, thank you,” Daphne said.

  I shook my head and watched Alana disappear. Daphne turned to me.

  “So, how do you like living on Maui?”

  “I like it a lot. It’s so different from Virginia, but I guess that’s the point.”

  “Were you not happy there?” she asked.

  “It’s not that. It was just time for a change. Meeting Alana here sort of sealed the deal.”

  “She’s a great person. I thought for a while she might b
e my sister-in-law,” Daphne said.

  Now that is surprising, I thought. Alana never mentioned she was that close to Panos. There’s certainly a difference between dating someone for six months and someone’s sister thinking you are well on your way to getting married. I guess the look on my face was obvious.

  “Sorry. I don’t mean to bring up a sore subject,” she said.

  “It’s fine. Really.”

  “Panos can be difficult. Always the life of the party. It can be a bit much. Trust me. I know,” she admitted.

  “Yet you still live with him,” I said, instantly wishing I’d kept my mouth shut.

  “I know. But it can be equally difficult not to be around him. There’s never a dull moment when he’s near.”

  “Are you also in the wedding party?” I asked.

  “No. I wasn’t asked,” she said.

  There I went, sticking my foot in my mouth again, but you have to admit that I’d just discovered an interesting piece of information. His own sister wasn’t a bridesmaid, but some lady Hani had met less than a week ago was. That couldn’t sit well with Daphne. Part of me was now surprised that she was even here at the party.

  “Well, I’m not in the wedding either, so maybe we can sit together at the ceremony,” I said.

  “Yes, let’s do that.”

  “Are there other family members coming to the wedding?” I asked.

  “No, just me. Most of our family is still on Santorini. Our mother is actually there now taking care of some business. There wasn’t enough notice for them to make a flight. Maybe that was one of the reasons Panos planned the wedding like that,” she said.

  Daphne and I talked for several more minutes. Overall, I found her to be rather likable and easy to be around. It’s strange how siblings can be so different from each other. Then again, I wasn’t competing with her for Alana’s affection.

  Daphne and I drifted apart to talk to other people. I was going to look for Alana, but Wes, the guy who co-owned the restaurant with Panos, intercepted me.

  “So how do you know Panos?” he asked.

  “Alana is my girlfriend.”

  “You know she and Panos used to date,” he said.

  Of course I knew.

  “How are things in the restaurant business?” I asked.