Death Inside Diamond Head

by Randolph Mase

  Tanaka shook his head. “No. But if the point of the trip was to save their marriage, I’d think she would have come with him. Don’t you?”

  “That’s what I would think,” Hogan responded, looking at Kathy, who nodded her agreement. “There’s no sign that she was here with him? Any prints, did anyone see her?”

  “We’re checking for prints, but so many people come through here every day, so I doubt we’ll be able to get anything. And this must have happened late yesterday, so it’s likely that nobody was around. The body was discovered by a few early morning hikers. They left about 15 minutes ago.”

  “Don’t visitors pay an entrance fee at the toll booth?” Kathy asked.

  “Yes. We’re trying to locate the employees who were on duty in the booth yesterday.”

  Hogan resumed, “What was the cause of death?”

  “Well, it appears that he hit his temple against the metal railing of the staircase. But the coroner will be here shortly to examine the body.”

  “So it could have been an accident.”

  Tanaka was silent for several seconds. “The coroner will shed light on that possibility. But I don’t think so.”

  “Why?”

  “Two reasons.” Tanaka held up a plastic bag containing two smaller plastic bags, each filled with white powder. “First, because of these. We’ll have them analyzed, but it looks to me like cocaine and heroin.”

  “Could they have been his?”

  “I guess they could have been. The stress of being a cop drives different people to do different things.” Tanaka looked at Hogan, then Kathy. “But Walker knew the victim, and he insists that he would never have taken drugs.”

  “Did you check the bags for prints?”

  Tanaka nodded his head. “I’ll get them to headquarters when we’re done. We should have all the results in a couple of hours.”

  “And what’s the second reason?”

  “As you can see, this section of the staircase is not open to the public.” Hogan nodded, looking at a chain across the staircase at the bottom step. “So unless he was drunk, showing off, or wanted to do some more exploring, he wouldn’t have been up there.”

  “That does make sense, Matt,” Kathy said.

  “It does.” He turned back to Tanaka. “Do you know where the victim was staying on the island?” Tanaka shook his head. “I’ll call Walker; maybe he can find out.” Hogan thought for several seconds. “How can I best help?”

  “We’ll check out the scene and the evidence. Can you see what you can find out about Fisher? Hotel, when he got here, was his wife with him, things like that?”

  “Sure, that’s a good start.” He and Tanaka exchanged cell phone numbers, and Tanaka handed two thin leather cases to Hogan. “Those are HPD badges. You can show that as you’re seeking info. You should be able to get information easier and quicker. The first time you can come to my office, we’ll take photos of both of you and add them and your names.”

  “That’s great, Keoki – thanks.” Hogan turned to leave, then stopped and turned back to Tanaka. “Is it okay if we take a quick look around up here? Just to see if there’s anything else, and of course to catch the view we’ve heard so much about.”

  “Help yourself. But be careful,”

  “We will,” Kathy said, taking two pairs of latex gloves from her backpack, handed one to Hogan and walked toward a horizontal opening beyond the spiral staircase. On the other side, she simply said “Wow!” at the view. Hogan soon joined her, and they stood there, just looking, for about five minutes.

  “This makes it worth the climb, doesn’t it?”

  Kathy broke the peaceful silence. “We’d better take that look around.” She walked back toward the opening, putting her gloves on.

  “If Justin was out here, he walked this way and climbed back through the opening. But I don’t think we’ll be able to find any prints. There have been thousands of people up here, I’m sure.”

  “I’m afraid you’re right,” Kathy said, “but maybe we’ll see something after we climb back through. She did that, with Hogan close behind.

  “It would be pretty easy for someone to hide in this area, then hit Justin from behind once he had passed,” Hogan said.

  “Right, and the force may have pushed him forward toward the railing over here.” They both looked closely at the metal railing, using flashlights to help, but saw nothing out of the ordinary, just weather-tarnished metal. “And forget trying to find prints on this.”

  They returned to the spiral staircase. “Great view, but we didn’t find anything new.” Hogan left with Kathy, saying to Tanaka, “I’ll let you know when I get anything.”

  “Same here, Matt. Talk to you later.”

  Chapter Three

  The Moana Surfrider

  “Hogan.” He watched Kathy in the pool as he spoke into his cellphone.

  “Matt, this is Keoki Tanaka.”

  “That was quick. What have you got?”

  “Some info on Fisher. He and his wife came here last Saturday from JFK. They were scheduled to return a week from today. I don’t have the flight info, but I do know that they were staying at the Moana Surfrider, but I don’t have a room number.”

  “I should be able to get that info. In fact, the Surfrider is right next door to our hotel.”

  “And Tom Walker said he’s sending you a picture of Fisher and his wife; her name is Lena.”

  Hogan heard his phone chime, and he looked at the screen. “I just got it,” He told Tanaka. “Anything else?”

  “Yes, I spoke with the toll collector who was on duty yesterday, but I couldn’t describe Fisher and his wife. Now that you have the photo, you may want to speak with him.” Tanaka gave Hogan the man’s name, address, and phone number. “In fact, he may be on the job right now.”

  “That’ll keep me busy for a while, thanks. I’ll let you know what I find.”

  Hogan put his phone in the bag on his chair and waded into the pool, standing next to Kathy. “I just got some things from Tanaka that I want to follow up on. Do you want to join me?”

  “What kinds of things?”

  “The dates of their vacation, their hotel, a picture of them, and the name of the toll collector at Diamond Head.”

  “Sure, I’ll go with you.”

  “Okay. It’s a little after one now. Why don’t we shower and grab some lunch before we get started?”

  * * *

  A little more than an hour later, they finished their lunch at Duke’s.

  “So what’s first?” Kathy asked.

  “I should print a few copies of the photo Tom sent me, so let’s first go to the Business Center. Then we can decide what to do from there.”

  They went to the lobby, where they found that the Business Center was really just a few computers and a printer near the escalator. Hogan was able to access his e-mail, and printed three copies of the photo, handing them to Kathy. “Can you keep these in your purse?”

  “Sure. A good-looking couple,” she remarked. Hogan nodded his agreement. “So where do we start?”

  “Let’s try Diamond Head first,” Hogan suggested. “Keoki thinks the same toll collector is on duty.”

  They got their rental car from the valet and drove the 2 miles to Diamond Head, entering the crater through the tunnel. Hogan pulled the car off to the side of the road at the toll booth, and they both got out of the car and walked to the small building. As they approached, a short stocky man came out to greet them.

  “Good afternoon, folks. Do you want to climb the crater?”

  “No thanks. We did that earlier today. Are you Kepano?”

  The man nodded, smiling. “That’s me, all day.”

  Hogan grasped the man’s extended hand. “I’m Matthew Hogan, and this is my partner Kathy Russell. We’re working on a case with HPD.” He showed his badge to the man.

  “Is this about the death yesterday?”

  Hogan nodded. “So you heard about it.”

  “Heard i
t on the radio. It’s all over the news.”

  “Were you working here yesterday?”

  The man nodded. “I worked the second shift, 11:30 to 6:00.”

  Kathy showed the picture to the man. “Do you remember seeing these two people?”

  Kepano looked at the photo for several seconds. “Yes. They walked in at about 3:30.”

  “I didn’t know you could walk in,” Hogan said. Do many people do that?”

  Kepano shook his head. “Occasionally, some people do walk in here, but most of them just look around then leave. Hardly any pay the toll to climb the crater. That’s why yesterday was so unusual. We had three walk-in hikers.”

  “Three?”

  He nodded. “Yes. Those two at 3:30, and there was another man who came in earlier, maybe a little after one.”

  “Did you see any of them leave?”

  “No, I didn’t. And I’m here and pretty aware of what happens all the time, except when I have to use the restroom. I even eat lunch in here.”

  “When does the park close?”

  “I lock the main gate when I leave a few minutes after 6. We ask people to not begin a hike after 4:30, because they won’t make it back down before 6:00. In fact, I mention that to anyone who comes in after 4:30.”

  “Did anyone come in after 4:30 yesterday?”

  “One car. But they left after 15 minutes or so.”

  “Were there any cars in the parking lot when you left yesterday?”

  “No, the lot was empty.”

  “How many came in this morning?”

  “I only got here at 11:30, but the guy on first shift told me that one car came in just after 6:00. Three men were in it. Less than an hour later, the police showed up.”

  “Could somebody come in after you leave and climb the crater?”

  “I suppose so. But it would be tricky getting past the locked gate.”

  “Is there any other way to get in?”

  “Or out?” added Kathy.

  Kepano shook his head, then looked at the rim of the crater. “Unless it’s a very experienced climber.”

  Hogan and Kathy also looked at the crater rim. “That would be tough. But not impossible.” Looking back at Kepano, Hogan asked, “What did the man who walked in about one look like?”

  “He was about your height, but a little heavier and muscular. He had blonde hair and a mustache. That’s all I remember.”

  Hogan wrote the details in his pad. He handed his card to Kepano. “Thank you very much, you’ve been very helpful. Please call me if you remember anything else.”

  As they walked from the booth, Kathy asked, “What next?”

  “First, let’s remember to ask Keoki if there were any cars in the lot this morning, other than those of today’s hikers.” She nodded. “Why don’t we try the hotel?” Hogan suggested.

  * * *

  They walked into the lobby of the Moana Surfrider shortly before 4, going directly to the front desk, where they were greeted promptly by a young woman in a colorful muumuu.

  “Aloha. Checking in?”

  “No,” Hogan replied, showing his new identification badge to the woman. “My name is Matthew Hogan, and this is my partner Kathy Russell. We’re working with HPD on an investigation.”

  “Certainly, Mr. Hogan. How may I help you?” she asked, still smiling.

  “We’d like to speak with the hotel manager on duty.”

  “I’ll let him know that you’re here.” She disappeared through a doorway behind the front desk, returning thirty seconds later, followed by an Asian-looking man who Hogan estimated to be in his 40s. The man extended his hand to Hogan.

  “Hello, Mr. Hogan. I’m Bryan Yamashita, day manager of the Surfrider.”

  “Please call me Matt. And this is my partner Kathy.” Yamashita shook her hand as well.

  “What’s the nature of the investigation?”

  “The death of a hotel guest yesterday.”

  The manager looked around uneasily. “Perhaps we should discuss this in private. Please come into my office.” He led them through the door from which he had emerged and into a small but well-appointed office. “Please have a seat,” he said, motioning to a couple of chairs as he sat behind the desk. “May I see some identification, please?”

  Hogan and Kathy handed their HPD badges to the manager, who looked at them for several moments. “I think I’ll need more than this,” he said, looking at Hogan, who nodded.

  “Those were last minute.” He handed Tanaka’s card to Yamashita. “Detective Tanaka is our contact in HPD. You can give him a call to verify.”

  Yamashita dialed the number on the card and spoke with Tanaka, who verified their story and described Hogan and Kathy to the manager. Yamashita thanked Tanaka, hung up the phone, and turned to face Hogan, handing the badges back to him. “I’m sorry about that, I just needed to be certain.”

  “I understand.”

  “Now, where were we?”

  “The death of a hotel guest yesterday.”

  “Right. What was the death?”

  “A policeman from New York who was staying in your hotel was found dead inside Diamond Head this morning.” Kathy showed the photo of the couple to the manager.

  “I recognize them. In fact, I was at the front desk yesterday when they asked me for information about Diamond Head and the best way to get there.”

  “What did you tell them?”

  “I gave them one of these brochures.” He took one from his desk and handed it to Hogan, who recognized the green brochure as the same one they had received that morning. “When they told me they did not have a rental car, I suggested that The Bus is a cheap and convenient way to get there and back.”

  “Where does The Bus go?”

  The manager pulled another sheet from his desk and placed it in the desk facing Hogan and Kathy. “This is the map for Route 22, which passes right by the hotel on Kalakaua and stops near the entrance to the crater,” he told them, tracing the route with his finger.

  “How frequently do they run?”

  The manager seemed to be a nonstop source of information, taking another sheet from his desk. “This is the schedule for Route 22. As you can see, it runs about every hour from early morning until late afternoon. And it takes less than ten minutes to get to the crater.”

  “Thank you, this is great,” said Hogan. “May we take these with us?”

  “Certainly,” replied the manager.

  “Can we take a look in their room?”

  “Certainly,’ Yamashita replied. “Come with me.” They stopped at the front desk where the manager verified the room number and got a key. “They’re in room 1896. The elevators are over here.”

  A few minutes later, the three walked into the room. Hogan whispered to Kathy, “I have some gloves in case we need to touch anything.” She nodded.

  The first thing Hogan noticed was that the room had been cleaned and the bed was made. He turned to Yamashita. “Housekeeping already cleaned the room?”

  “I’m not sure. Let me check.” He spoke briefly on his cell phone, then turned back to Hogan. “No, they didn’t. When the housekeeper came to the room about two hours ago, she saw that the bed had not been slept in and the bathroom towels had not been used. So she left it alone. That’s standard procedure when that situation arises.”

  “I see.” They continued their visual scan of the room, seeing nothing noteworthy. Hogan put gloves on and opened the closet door. There were ten or so men’s shirts on hangers, and a woman’s blouse and long tropical dress next to them. On the floor were one pair of men’s sandals, a pair of women’s sandals, and two large suitcases and one small suitcase. Hogan checked the luggage tags, and the two large ones indicated Justin and the smaller one indicated Lena. He looked at Kathy with a questioning frown, and she nodded, writing notes in a pad. He closed the closet doors and went to the dresser, keeping the gloves on. In the drawers they saw a dozen or so men’s briefs and pairs of socks, a couple of women’s underwe
ar and socks, a man’s and a woman’s swimsuit.

  Hogan closed the drawers and they proceeded to the bathroom, where they saw two toiletry cases on the vanity and several bottles of shampoo and conditioner in the shower.

  Hogan removed his gloves as they returned to the bedroom. “Thank you, Mr. Yamashita, that should do it for now. Can you please communicate to your staff that nobody should enter this room? We may need to see it again.”

  “Certainly,” replied the manager, leading them out of the room and closing the door.

  Looking at Hogan, he asked, “Was the death accidental?”

  “We’re not sure yet but should know soon.” Hogan shook the manager’s hand. “Thank you very much for your time and the information. You’ve been most helpful.”

  As they walked out of the hotel, Hogan checked the time on his cell phone. 4:45. “That’s probably enough for today. How about some Mai-Tais?”

  * * *

  As they took their first sips of the delicious tropical rum drinks, Hogan placed two clean sheets of paper on the table. “Time to start my lists.” Kathy smiled at his methodical approach, which he used in every case. It worked for him, so he saw no reason to change.

  But before he started writing, he asked, “Is it just me? Wasn’t there very little women’s clothing in the room for a two-week vacation?”

  “I was thinking the same thing, Matt. I certainly would have had much more than that.”

  At the top of one sheet of paper, he printed WHAT WE KNOW. Speaking with Kathy, he started to list the facts they knew:

  Victim (Justin Fisher) was found hanging upside down from a spiral staircase inside of Diamond Head, his foot stuck on one of the steps.

  He was a cop in New Rochelle for 10 years.

  Two small bags of drugs were found in his pocket, - possibly cocaine and heroin.

  Tom says Justin didn’t do drugs – he knew him well, as they went to the Academy together.

  Justin and his wife Lena were evidently having marital problems and were one week into a two-week vacation to revive it.

  They flew to Honolulu from JFK last Saturday and were scheduled to return to JFK a week from today.