“As you progressed with your case, did you start to form a theory regarding Mr. Cross?”
“Yes, for a while I thought that Mr. Cross might have killed Eric Ellis and then tried to frame Mrs. Akamu.”
“Do you still believe that?”
“No, I don’t. I think Mr. Cross became aware of the murder and he tried to take advantage of Mrs. Akamu’s legal predicament.”
“Why do you believe this to be the case?” Mara asked.
“Because Mr. Cross told me that when I eventually met with him.”
“Mr. Rutherford, was there anything else you learned during your interview with Mr. Cross?” Mara asked.
“Yes, he provided two big breaks in the investigation.”
“Let’s get back to those in a minute. Let’s talk about the gun that the police found in Mrs. Akamu’s safe. The prosecution has stated that it’s definitive proof that my client killed Eric Ellis. Do you believe that?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Why not?”
“For a couple of reasons. The first is the knowledge of the existence of the safe.”
“What do you mean by that?” Mara asked.
“The safe was well-hidden behind a bookshelf. It would take a wild stroke of luck to locate it.”
“Yet the police still found it.”
“Yes, but that’s because they were told about it,” I said.
“How do you know this?”
“Well, I’m going to get accused of hearsay, but Oleen Akamu told me that she had informed the police.”
“Objection. Hearsay, your honor,” Piper Lane said.
“See,” I said, and I smiled at Mara.
“Sustained. And Mr. Rutherford, don’t get cute in my courtroom,” the judge said.
“My apologies, your Honor.”
“Oleen Akamu’s statement aside, was there another reason you believed the police already knew where the safe was hidden?” Mara asked.
“Yes, when I went to Mrs. Akamu’s house, I noticed that the place had been trashed during the police’s search. The study was not. All of the books were on the shelves. The switch that caused the bookcase to move and reveal the safe was behind a copy of the book Treasure Island. It was my belief the police knew exactly where to look.”
“If that’s the case, then why was the rest of the house trashed?”
“You’d have to ask the police that question.”
“Regardless of how the hidden safe was located, the gun that killed Eric Ellis was still found inside the locked safe. Why is that not damning to my client?” Mara asked.
“Someone else put it there.”
“How? The safe is state-of-the-art. How could they get in?”
“Because I figured out the combination in less than ten minutes,” I said.
“How did you do that?”
“Most people use numbers they can easily remember, like a birthday or an anniversary. The code for Mrs. Akamu’s safe was the year of her birth followed by the year of her late husband’s birth.”
“Why didn’t you just ask Mrs. Akamu for the correct code?”
“Because I wanted to see if I could break it myself. I assumed that if I could do it, then someone else could too. It’s my belief that the gun was planted in the safe before the locksmith opened the safe in the presence of the police,” I said.
“Mr. Rutherford, who is Daniel Davis?”
“He’s the man who found the skeletal remains of Eric Ellis in a field near the north shore.”
“Did you interview Mr. Davis during the course of your investigation?”
“I did. I went to his apartment in Paia.”
“And what did you learn during this interview?” Mara asked.
“Mr. Davis had told the police that his dog had found human bones during their walk. However, I saw no evidence of a dog in the apartment. I went to the Maui Animal Center and learned that Mr. Davis had adopted the dog, only to return it the next day.”
“So, on this one and only day that Mr. Davis owned a dog, the dog found the remains of Eric Ellis?” Mara asked.
“That’s correct.”
“Did you conduct a follow-up interview with Mr. Davis?”
“I wanted to, but I didn’t get the chance.”
“Why not?”
“He drowned while surfing, at least that was the official cause of death.”
“You don’t think he died that way?”
“No, he drowned, but I believe he was helped. I saw the body after it was recovered on the beach, and Mr. Davis had substantial bruising on the neck and shoulders.”
“You believe he was forcibly held under the waves?” Mara asked.
“That’s right.”
“Objection, your Honor. Mr. Rutherford is not a licensed medical examiner,” Piper Lane said.
“You don’t have to be a medical examiner to see bruises on a body,” Mara said.
“Overruled, Ms. Lane. Mr. Rutherford is entitled to his opinion,” the judge said.
“Since you were suspicious of Mr. Davis’ death, did you look into it more?” Mara asked.
“I did. I learned that Mr. Davis was five thousand dollars in debt to a loan shark. He had a gambling problem.”
“Let’s get back to Stan Cross’ interview. Earlier you said that he provided you two breaks. What was the first one?” Mara asked.
“He informed me that Eric Ellis was having an affair with a woman named Tiana Wise. This was at the same time that he was in a long-term relationship with another woman.”
“Why is this significant to this case?”
“Because Tiana Wise may have been the last person to see Eric Ellis before he was killed. He was at her apartment the night he died.”
“Walk us through that night if you can,” Mara said.
“Eric Ellis left his girlfriend under the guise of going to see Mele Akamu. Instead, he went to see his lover. In the middle of the night, he received a phone call from Stan Cross.”
“Stan Cross and not my client?”
“That’s correct,” I said.
“How do you know this?”
“Phone records. Eric Ellis got the call from Mr. Cross at three ten in the morning, not from Mele Akamu.”
Mara walked over to the defense table and picked up two copies of the phone records.
“Your Honor, I move to have Defense Exhibit A admitted into evidence.”
The judge looked at Piper Lane.
“Any objections, counselor?”
“No, your Honor,” Piper Lane said.
“The clerk will admit Exhibit A into evidence,” the judge said.
Mara handed one copy of the phone records to Piper Lane and the other to the judge.
Mara walked back to me.
“Did you learn anything else from looking at the phone records?”
“Yes, ten minutes after the call from Stan Cross, Tiana Wise made a call on her own phone,” I said.
“Who did she call?”
I looked into the crowd and made eye contact with Detective Parrish. Then I turned back to Mara.
“She phoned Detective Josh Parrish.”
“This is the same Detective Josh Parrish who arrested Mele Akamu for the murder of Eric Ellis?”
“The one and the same.”
“Why would Tiana Wise call Detective Parrish five years ago in the middle of the night?” Mara asked.
“A point of clarification, Ms. Winters. He wasn’t a detective five years ago. He’d just joined the police department and he was working as a cop.”
“Thank you for the clarification, Mr. Rutherford. Why do you think Tiana Wise called Officer Josh Parrish after Mr. Ellis left her home?”
“Because Josh Parrish and Tiana Wise are old friends,” I said.
“What are you basing this on?”
“Photographs I later found.”
Mara walked back to the defense table. She picked up three identical high school yearbooks.
“Your Honor, I move to h
ave Defense Exhibit B admitted into evidence.”
“Any objections, counselor?” the judge asked.
“No, your Honor,” Piper Lane said.
“The clerk will admit Exhibit B into evidence,” the judge said.
Mara handed one of books to Piper Lane. She handed a second copy to the judge, and she handed the third copy to me.
“Mr. Rutherford, this is a copy of Tiana Wise’s high school yearbook. Would you please turn to the marked page?”
“Of course,” I said, and I opened the book.
“That’s a photograph of three students. Do you recognize them?” Mara asked.
“Yes, the man on the right side is Daniel Davis. The woman in the middle is Tiana Wise.”
“And who is the man on the left?”
“Detective Josh Parrish.”
“Your Honor, I would like to publish the exhibit to the jury,” Mara said.
“Granted,” the judge said.
Mara took the yearbook from me and walked closer to the jury. She held it up so they could see the photograph. I caught a few of the jurors looking at Detective Parrish in the gallery.
Mara put the yearbook back on the defense table and then turned back to me.
“Just to clarify, Detective Parrish was old friends with both Eric Ellis’ lover and the man who would eventually find Mr. Ellis’ body five years after he was murdered?” Mara asked.
“It would seem so,” I said.
Mara walked back to the defense table and grabbed three identical eight-by-ten color photographs of a blue Honda Accord.
“Your Honor, I move to have Defense Exhibit C admitted into evidence,” Mara said.
“Any objections?” the judge asked.
“No, your Honor,” Piper Lane said.
“The clerk will admit Exhibit C into evidence,” the judge said.
As before, she handed one of the copies to Piper Lane and the other to the judge.
Mara held the third copy up so that I could see it.
“Do you recognize this photograph, Mr. Rutherford?”
“I do.”
“Whose car is this?”
“It belonged to Detective Josh Parrish,” I said.
“Belonged? As in past tense?”
“Yes, he sold it about eight months ago.”
“Objection, your Honor. How is Detective Parrish’s automobile relevant?” Piper Lane asked.
“I’m about to get to that, your Honor,” Mara said.
“Overruled,” the judge said.
“Mr. Rutherford, why is this Honda Accord important to this case?” Mara asked.
“Detective Parrish sold it after he got a car from the Maui Police Department. They provide sedans for the detectives.”
“How much did he sell it for?”
“Five thousand dollars,” I said.
“That’s interesting. The same amount of money that his old friend, Daniel Davis, owed to a loan shark. This is the same Daniel Davis who found Eric Ellis’ body with his non-existent dog.”
“Objection, your Honor. Ms. Winters and Mr. Rutherford are trying to besmirch the good name of a member of our law enforcement community,” Piper Lane said.
“Sustained. Tread carefully, Ms. Winters,” the judge said.
“Yes, your Honor,” Mara said, and she turned back to me. “Mr. Rutherford, earlier you mentioned that Stan Cross provided you two breakthroughs. The first was the revelation of Eric Ellis’ affair with Tiana Wise. What was the second?”
“He alluded to karma coming back to bite Mele Akamu,” I said.
“Why is that significant?” Mara asked.
“Yes, I think we’d all like to know,” Piper Lane said, and there was no hiding the sarcasm in her voice.
“Is there an objection coming, counselor?” the judge asked.
“No, your Honor. My apologies,” Piper Lane said.
“Let’s get back to my question, Mr. Rutherford. Why did you believe Mr. Cross’ comment about karma was significant?” Mara asked.
“I believed he was referring to a man who disappeared twenty years ago. That man’s name was Ronan Huff,” I said.
“Why is this important to the murder of Eric Ellis?”
“I believe they’re connected. Ronan Huff was working for Mele Akamu around the time he disappeared. His body was never found.”
“Was my client suspected in Mr. Huff’s disappearance?”
“Yes, according to the detective who originally looked into it twenty years ago.”
“Twenty years is a long time. Were you able to talk to any of Mr. Huff’s family about the case?” Mara asked.
“Mr. Huff had one young son at the time he disappeared. It took a bit of an effort to find the man because he changed his last name after he was adopted by his foster family. I haven’t had a chance to talk to the man yet.”
“Who is that man?”
“Detective Josh Parrish,” I said.
“No further questions, your Honor.”
34
Karma
Here’s an interesting piece of legal history for you. In Ramos versus Louisiana, the Supreme Court ruled that a jury must be unanimous in its decision to convict a person in a criminal case. A man named Evangelisto Ramos had been convicted of murder in the state of Louisiana by a ten to two jury vote.
He appealed his conviction and said that the non-unanimous verdict was the result of a Jim Crow law that allowed for racial discrimination by juries. The Louisiana Court of Appeals disagreed with him, and they upheld his conviction. The Supreme Court did not. They said it violated his Sixth Amendment rights, which gives someone the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury.
So, how does this relate to Mele Akamu? It meant that Mara only needed to convince one juror of her client’s innocence. Actually, let’s not even take it that far. Mara just needed one juror to feel the prosecution hadn’t proven the charge of murder beyond a reasonable doubt.
Mara convinced all twelve.
About a week after my courtroom appearance, Mele Akamu was pronounced “Not Guilty” and released from jail. Samson Opunui had the charges against him dropped a few days later. Mara had assured Piper Lane that she could expect a repeat performance by yours truly and there was no reason for Ms. Lane to suffer another public defeat. In fairness to Piper Lane, I don’t think she dropped the charges against Samson because she didn’t want to lose the case and embarrass herself. I think she realized the real killer was hiding behind a badge.
Shortly after both Mele Akamu and her butler were freed, I was summoned to the Akamu estate. My jazz phase was starting to ease up, so I made a switch in musical styles and listened to the Pet Shop Boys, the English duo formed in the early 80s. I got through their songs, “It’s a Sin,” “Always on My Mind,” “Love Comes Quickly,” and their smash hit, “West End Girls,” during the drive to Maui’s upcountry.
Mount Haleakala was covered in clouds as it often is, but the temperature was nice, and there was a cool breeze blowing in my face for most of the drive. It was the official conclusion of the Mele Akamu case, at least I thought it was, and I was anxious to put it behind me and move on to less urgent matters.
There were tropical drinks to be drunk. Dogs to be walked. Pools to be swam in, and waves to be surfed. Granted, Alana would have to handle that last activity on her own. I would be content to sit in the sand and snap photos of her surfing prowess with my Canon camera.
I pushed down harder on the accelerator as I hit the upcountry’s curvy roads. The little car was quite adept at handling the hairpin turns, and it was always a thrill to push the roadster to its limits. I know, I know. That doesn’t sound very safe, but one must have a little bit of danger in one’s life.
I eventually parked my BMW convertible in the turnaround in front of the Akamu house and Samson Opunui opened the front door as I approached.
“Good morning, Samson. I’m glad to hear the charges were dropped,” I said.
“Thanks to you. I am in you
r debt, Mr. Rutherford.”
“You’re more than welcome, but you’re not in my debt.”
Samson nodded.
“Mrs. Akamu is in the back. I’ll take you to her.”
I followed Samson through the house. Everything was back in its proper place, unlike my last trip there. The elderly butler led me out the rear sliding glass door where I saw Mele Akamu sitting in her normal seat beside the fire pit. I thought she might rise to greet me after everything I’d done for her. I thought wrong.
“Mr. Rutherford is here to see you, ma’am,” Samson said.
“Thank you, Samson. You may leave us.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Mele Akamu waited for Samson to walk away. Why? I’m not sure.
“How may I be of service, Mrs. Akamu?” I asked.
“I want to continue your questioning. Ms. Winters is a good attorney, but there were a great number of questions she left unasked in the courtroom.”
“I disagree. She asked the appropriate number. You are free, after all.”
“Tell me, when did you realize it was Josh Parrish who’d murdered Eric Ellis and framed me?”
“It was something Stan Cross said. I didn’t really catch it at first, but it came to me later. He told me that no one in his line of work would have the patience to play such a long game against you. But it was the comment that he made about karma that did it. He mentioned something about you paying for your sins, even if it had been decades. I finally realized that he was talking about a specific event and then I remembered the conversation we had earlier about a hypothetical killing at sea. There was also the mystery as to why Detective Parrish came at me so hard in the beginning.”
“Perhaps he’s simply a man who likes to maintain the illusion that he’s in control,” Mrs. Akamu said.
“I thought so at first, but then he shifted gears and tried a different tactic. I realized he was playing a game, so I played one of my own.”
“Which was?”
“I pretended to back off and concede the race.”
“It worked.”
“I have something for you,” I said, and I handed Mele Akamu an eight-by-ten envelope I’d brought with me from the car.
She opened the envelope and looked at several incriminating photographs of Detective Parrish in bed with Tiana Wise.
Poe's First Law: A Murder on Maui Mystery Page 25