“Nice job tracking down Lee, by the way,” I said.
“Not a problem. I have a pretty good network on the island. I figured it was only a matter of time before I came across someone who knew him. Hey, you never told me what Alana’s reaction was when you told her about your meeting with that new detective. What’s his name? Parrish something?”
“Josh Parrish, and I didn’t tell you anything because I didn’t mention it to Alana.”
“Why not?”
“Because she’s been overwhelmed with the upcoming wedding and that party we’re having for Hani. The last thing I want to do is drop another distraction on her and there’s really nothing she can do about it,” I said.
“Good point. Should we be worried about this guy?”
“In what way?”
“He might try to shut us down.”
“True, but I think it was just an idle threat. My bet is that he’ll come back to us for help. He wanted to establish dominance, that’s all.”
“Maybe. At least you got some information out of him. Gunshot to the back of the head. What a way to go. You sure it’s not Mele Akamu?”
“I’m not sure of anything at the moment.”
“Any more ideas as to what Hani’s surprise tomorrow night is?” Foxx asked, shifting the focus of our conversation.
“Nothing, but I stopped trying to guess. Yuto’s lips are glued shut.”
“It’s probably some fancy trip somewhere.”
“I doubt it. We already bought them one.”
During our last investigation, I had to deceive Hani and Yuto for my own safety, as well as Foxx’s. In the process, I said some hurtful things to them that were part of the cover story. Even though I eventually came clean with them, I still felt horrible about the situation.
Foxx, Alana, and I decided to give the new couple an extravagant wedding gift, namely an all-expenses paid honeymoon to Paris. Alana tried to convince me that we should tag along, but the last thing I wanted to do was go on a vacation with Hani since she’d almost certainly want to call the shots, from where we went during the day to where we ate every meal.
“That’s true,” Foxx said. “Why couldn’t they have picked Disney World or something like that?”
“Disney World? That might have cost more than Paris,” I said.
“Any word on where they’re going to live after the wedding?”
“I don’t know. I heard that Yuto was going to move in with Hani and Ava, but I also heard that they’re looking to buy a bigger place. Yuto said he was thinking of renting out his home versus selling it.”
“Isn’t that what Alana did when you guys moved in together?”
“Yeah. She still owns the place, although she was talking about selling it recently.”
“Tired of dealing with renters?” Foxx asked.
“How did you guess?”
“I’ve heard it’s a nightmare. Of course, I’ve only rented space to one person before and that was you. You always paid the rent on time. You know, I should have charged extra once you bought that dog.”
“He more than covered his rent with the added security he provided.”
“Security? That little guy?”
“I’ll have you know that Maui has the heart of a lion,” I said.
“Yeah, I’ll grant you that.”
Our conversation continued to bounce back and forth between making guesses on Yuto’s surprise for Hani and whether or not Detective Josh Parrish was going to be a problem. Our consensus by the end of the drive to Kahului was that Yuto had bought a new sportscar for Hani. There was no agreement on Detective Parrish.
We found the jewelry store where Lee Walters worked. It was in a small section of shops and eating establishments. Foxx parked the SUV in the back of the lot, and we climbed outside.
“How do you want to handle this?” Foxx asked.
“Let’s just be upfront about it. He may not even know yet that Eric Ellis’ remains were found.”
The body’s discovery had made the local news, but the police hadn’t released Eric’s name.
We entered the shop and saw an elderly couple being helped by a female salesperson. Before we made it to the middle of the store, a short, thin man with long black hair pulled back in a ponytail approached us. He was dressed in a tan silk shirt and dark pants.
“Hello, gentlemen. Can I help you find anything in particular?”
“Yes, we’re looking for Lee Walters,” I said.
“You found him.”
“Mr. Walters, we’d like to talk to you about Eric Ellis,” I said.
His warm salesman’s smile vanished.
“I don’t know anyone by that name,” he said.
“Sure, you do,” Foxx said. “Is there somewhere we can talk?”
“I have nothing to say. I just told you that I don’t know him.”
“Mr. Walters, are you aware that the police found Eric Ellis’ remains recently?” I asked.
Lee said nothing, and I could tell from the look in his eyes that he hadn’t heard the news.
“We understand you were good friends with him. We want your help in finding who killed him,” Foxx said.
“Are you guys cops?”
“No, we’re private investigators,” I said.
“Who hired you? Gracie?”
“No, we were hired by Mele Akamu,” I said.
“Mele Akamu? Now I know you’re lying.”
“Why would that make us liars?” Foxx asked.
“Because Mele Akamu would be the last person who’d want to be looking into Eric’s death. She’s the one who killed him.”
He’d said the phrase, “She’s the one who killed him,” much louder than he’d probably realized. The elderly couple at the other end of the store turned and stared at us.
“Perhaps we should have this conversation outside,” I suggested.
“No, let’s go back to my office. More privacy there,” he said.
We followed Lee Walters through the store and into an office behind the sales counter. We had a seat in front of his desk. Lee shut the door and then walked to the other side of the desk and sat down.
“You said the cops found Eric’s body. Where was it?” Lee asked.
“North Maui. A dog walker found it in a shallow grave,” I said.
“How was he killed?”
“Gunshot to the back of the head,” Foxx said.
“Poor bastard. He didn’t even have a chance.”
“What was your relationship with Eric?” I asked.
“We were best friends since childhood. We both grew up dirt poor, but we didn’t know any better.”
“How did you end up working for Mele Akamu?” Foxx asked.
“She hired us when we were kids. We’d deliver things for her on our bikes. No one stops to think two poor kids are carrying anything valuable. As we got older, she started giving us more and more responsibility.”
“Mele Akamu told me that Eric knew a lot of details about her business, things she wouldn’t want to get out,” I said.
“Sure, he did. I did too.”
“Can you tell us what changed? What made Eric turn on her?” Foxx asked.
“She paid us peanuts when we were kids, but it didn’t matter to us. We had nothing in our pockets before, so to have some money, even if it was just a little, was a big deal for us. Here’s the thing, though, when you start out at the bottom of an organization, it’s damn near impossible to get to the top of it, especially if your last name isn’t Akamu.”
“It’s a family business and she made it clear you weren’t going anywhere,” I guessed.
“She didn’t have to. It was obvious. Eric got tired of it. He approached me about getting out. He tried to convince me that we should do our own thing.”
“When you say, ‘do your own thing,’ does that mean you’d have been in direct competition with Mele Akamu?” Foxx asked.
“Yeah, and that’s why I told Eric I wasn’t interested. That’s a sure
fire way to end up dead.”
“Only he didn’t listen to you,” I said.
“No, he didn’t. Word eventually got back to Mele. I don’t know how Eric thought it wouldn’t. So, she did what she always did, and she sent Samson to find him.”
“What happened then?” Foxx asked.
“Samson sent the message. He beat Eric so badly that he should have been in the hospital.”
“You saw this?” I asked.
“Yeah, I was the one who found him on his living room floor. I started to dial 911 but then Eric told me not to. He said he didn’t want the ER doctors contacting the police. I stayed with him the rest of the day until Gracie came back. Then I left. That was the last time I ever saw Eric.”
“You’ve mentioned the name Gracie twice. Was that his girlfriend or wife?” I asked.
“Her full name is Gracie Ito. She was his girlfriend.”
“Is she still on Maui?” Foxx asked.
“Yeah, I talk to her from time to time.”
“What did Gracie think when Eric disappeared?” I asked.
“The same thing that I did. She thought he fled the island after his beating. She was upset that he didn’t take her with him. Then she became convinced that Mele Akamu had him killed. I didn’t believe it, not at first.”
“Why not?” Foxx asked.
“Because why would Mele Akamu have Eric worked over by Samson, only to go back and kill him later,” I answered for Lee.
“That’s exactly what I thought, but then I figured out what it was. It was Tavii.”
“Why Tavii?” Foxx asked.
“Because Eric couldn’t stand him and Tavii knew that. He lobbied his grandmother for years to get rid of Eric.”
“Why didn’t Eric like him?” I asked.
“Because Tavii is lazy and worthless, but he was still going to be handed the keys to the kingdom. That’s what really pushed Eric over the edge. Tavii had what Eric wanted and no amount of hard work was going to ever pay off, no matter how long we stayed there.”
“Did Mele Akamu suspect that you were in on it with Eric?” Foxx asked.
“If she did, I wouldn’t be alive today. But it wasn’t like she was ever going to let me close to her business again. She got rid of me and that’s how I ended up in this BLANKING place.”
For new readers, I usually omit the offending words so as not to upset delicate people. I once had a man threaten to sue me because he almost died while reading one of my mystery tales, which is ironic since they’re always about death. Apparently, he was eating a ham sandwich when he came across a naughty word that made him gulp. This also had the unfortunate result of him getting a piece of ham lodged in his throat. Fortunately for him, his wife was nearby, and she applied the Heimlich maneuver. He did mention in the bottom of his threatening email that he enjoyed the story, but he only gave me one star on Amazon since I’d almost gotten him killed.
“If Tavii was the one to convince his grandmother to get rid of Eric, do you think he might have been the one to kill him?” Foxx asked.
“No chance. Tavii would never have the balls to do it himself.”
“Would he have gone behind his grandmother’s back and hired someone else to do it?” I asked.
“Doubtful. Again, he’s terrified of her. I don’t think he’d risk it, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t help change her mind about Eric.”
“Hypothetically speaking, if Mele didn’t kill Eric, who did?” Foxx asked.
“There’s no one I can think of. Eric didn’t have a beef with anyone but the Akamu family.”
“Is there any chance we can get Gracie’s contact information from you?” I asked.
“Yeah, sure. I know she’ll be willing to help you catch Eric’s killer any way she can.”
Lee wrote Gracie’s information on a notepad with his jewelry store’s name and logo at the top. He tore off the piece of paper and handed it to Foxx. We both thanked him for his time and exited the store.
Foxx turned to me as we climbed into his SUV.
“I don’t know, pal. He made a convincing argument as to why it was Mele Akamu who did this.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t explain why she’d hire me to find Eric’s killer if she was behind it,” I said.
“What about that comment he made about finding Eric on the living room floor after that Samson guy beat the hell out of him? Didn’t you tell me that Mele Akamu said that Samson couldn’t find him?”
“She obviously lied about that,” I said.
“In your experience, if a client lies about one thing, do they lie about everything else?”
“Not necessarily.”
“Did you buy his argument that Tavii might have had something to do with it?”
“It’s possible. Tavii does seem like a sniveling weasel. But Lee also said that Tavii would be too scared to go behind his grandmother’s back.”
“Only we know that’s not true from our own experiences with Tavii.”
“Sure, it’s not true now, but it might have been true back then,” I said.
“When do you want to see this Gracie person?”
“I need to be getting home now. Alana wants me to help prep for this party, so maybe we can try to see Gracie tomorrow.”
“Sounds good. Hey, you want to put any money down on whether or not Hani likes this surprise gift?” Foxx asked.
“She’ll like it. I feel pretty confident about that.”
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
8
The Party
My dog, Maui, is usually a happy-go-lucky fellow, content to lounge in the sun, go on long walks, and eat treats whenever they’re offered. Nevertheless, he shows a different personality whenever someone he doesn’t know comes to the house. Long story made short, there was no way I could have him in the house for Yuto’s party since I had no desire to pay off any lawsuits when he inevitably latched onto someone’s ankle.
The morning of the big event, I hooked him up to his harness and walked him down to Foxx’s house. Maui lived in that house for the first few years we were together, so he knew the lay of the land and felt comfortable there. Foxx was home since he’d decided to take the day off from Harry’s, so he kept Maui company while I helped Alana prep for the party. Is it weird that I’d want someone to keep my dog company? If you’re a dog person, then you’ll understand.
Our house was designed for entertaining, which was kind of ironic since we rarely did it. The first floor has a large, open layout, and the back wall is basically one giant window looking out to the ocean.
The company Hani hired to provide the food and drinks for the event installed a temporary bar on the patio, not far from the swimming pool. They also set up a tent in the yard, under which two long tables of food would be available to the guests. The final touch was a three-piece jazz band for live music. I’m sure you can guess that was my contribution to the party.
Alana’s best friend, Raine, was the first to arrive, which was by design. Alana wanted her help making sure everything was exactly in the right place. You may be wondering why she didn’t rely on me for that. There’s an easy answer to that question. She doesn’t trust my style when it comes to entertaining, not that she should. I’m not exactly a sophisticated guy. If I’d been placed in charge, I would have put a couple of coolers on the patio and filled them with beer. Of course, there was the jazz band I just mentioned, so I’m not a completely hopeless case.
Alana’s mother was the next person to arrive, which for some reason surprised me. I walked down the stairs and almost bumped into her when I rounded the corner. I’d been preoccupied with searching songs on my phone that I wanted to see if the band could play.
“Excuse me, Ms. Hu. I didn’t see you there,” I said.
“Am I that insignificant?”
“Not at all. I was caught up in something else. May I offer you a drink? The bar is open.”
“I’d love a bourbon. Jack Daniels if you have it,” Ms. Hu said.
“I’ll give it a try.”
We walked outside and I ordered two glasses of 1792 Kentucky Straight Bourbon. I handed Ms. Hu her glass and held up mine in a toast.
“To your youngest daughter and her upcoming wedding. May she have a long and wonderful marriage to Yuto.”
“Hopefully this one will go better than the last,” Ms. Hu groaned, and she took a sip of her bourbon.
I knew what she’d meant. Hani’s first engagement had ended with the groom being murdered the night before their wedding. If you’ve read my tale Wedding Day Dead, then you’ll know all the details.
“How do you like the bourbon?” I asked.
“It’s good. Where’s Alana?”
“Upstairs getting dressed.”
Ms. Hu turned from me and walked back into the house, presumably to go to Alana. So much for small talk with my mother-in-law.
“What in the world did you say to her?” Foxx asked, and he laughed.
I turned and saw him walking toward me.
“Nothing. She just jumped at the first opportunity to ditch me.”
“Consider yourself lucky. What’s that you’re drinking?” Foxx asked.
“The 1792 bourbon you introduced me to.”
“Good choice. I think I’ll get myself one.”
Foxx walked over to the bar and returned a moment later with a drink in his hand.
“Is Hani here yet?” he asked.
“Not that I know of.”
I looked through the sliding glass door and saw that several people had arrived since I’d been on the patio. Yuto and Hani had invited close to fifty people. Of course, who knew how many would actually show. On the other hand, people have a tendency to come out of the woodwork when free food and good booze are involved.
“Edgar, this all looks incredible.”
Both Foxx and I turned to see Yuto standing several feet away.
“You and Alana have really outdone yourself,” he continued.
“The big day is just a week away. You ready for it?” I asked as Yuto walked up to us.
Poe's First Law: A Murder on Maui Mystery Page 6