Murder at the Luau

by Sandi Scott

  Chapter 7

  “Who is it?” Aleta mouthed.

  “Uhm, yes, Pam?” Georgie said, as she opened the door two inches, leaving the security bar in place so Pam couldn’t force herself inside. Georgie wasn’t sure why she felt so threatened around the woman. But alcohol affected people differently and kept things unpredictable. Georgie would have never expected to see Pam, still wearing her halter top and barely-there denim shorts with no shoes. She was swaying as if she were standing on the deck of a boat.

  “Hi, Kaye.” Pam’s voice was heavy with alcohol. “Can I come in for a second?”

  “I’m sorry Pam, but my sister and I are going to bed, Georgie said firmly.

  “I just need to talk to someone,” she replied, not deterred by the door or the lock. “I’m so sad. I’m just so sad.”

  “What are you sad about, Pam?” Georgie asked the woman who was looking at her through narrowed, bloodshot eyes. Black smudges of mascara were beneath her eyes and her hair was flattened on one side. In her drunken stupor, Pam was also nervously picking at what looked like a rash on her wrist. “What is that? Do you need some calamine lotion? I’m sure I packed some.”

  “No.” Pam wrapped her hands behind her back and smiled like a guilty child. “It won’t make me feel any better.”

  “Tell me what’s eating you, Pam.” Georgie held her ground, still unwilling to open the door any wider.

  “How? How can you ask that?” She stuttered and slurred her words. “How can you even ask that? A man died. He died today. Herb. He died.”

  “Yes, Pam. We know,” Georgie said.

  “She finally did it.” Pam pouted her lips.

  “Who?” Georgie was tempted to let Pam in, put on a pot of coffee and let the woman ramble on until all hours of the night.

  “Dottie.” Pam replied easily. “She finally killed him. If she couldn’t have him, no one would. That’s what Herb said she said. He said if anything happened to him, find out where Dottie was at the time.”

  “How do you know this?” Georgie asked.

  “Oh, I know all about it.” Pam smiled as if she knew the answer to some trivia question that would earn her a free round of drinks. “I know what kind of woman Dottie is, and I know for a fact that she—”

  “Pam!” Hector called from down the hall carrying a bucket of ice. “What is wrong with you? Get back in the room!” His voice was harsh as he shouted in a loud whisper.

  “I’m talking with Kaye.”

  “Her name is Georgie. Jeez, Pam.” Hector’s cheeks burned red as he reached for his girlfriend. “I’m so sorry, Georgie. She doesn’t know when to say no.”

  “Her name is Kaye and I do so know when to say no. I’m saying no to you right now.” She pulled her hand away from his.

  “Hector is going to take you back to your room. Look, he’s got ice and you can lie down. Why wouldn’t you want to go with him?” Georgie soothed through the crack in her door.

  Pam looked at Georgie like she was crazy.

  “I know if a man like that was asking me to go with him I wouldn’t hesitate.” Georgie tried reverse psychology. It worked with all three of her children when they were acting up. And it worked with the intoxicated Pam, who suddenly turned on Georgie.

  “You would, wouldn’t you?” Pam sneered, as the alcohol twisted and turned her emotions with the slightest breeze.

  “Come on, Pam.” Hector mouthed an apology in Georgie’s direction as he took Pam’s hand and pulled her down the hallway. Georgie smiled and waved her hand like she was swiping at a cobweb.

  Once Pam and Hector were behind closed doors, Georgie shut their door, snapped the deadbolt in place and looked at Aleta. “Did you get all that?”

  “No. What was she saying?”

  Georgie repeated Pam’s drunken confession and waited for a response.

  “So maybe Mr. FBI was right all along,” Aleta said. “Dottie is the first and best suspect. We should see what Pam has to say tomorrow, after she gets a little coffee in her.”

  “That sounds like a great idea,” Georgie replied. “I hope she’ll be as talkative as she was just now.”

  THE NEXT MORNING GEORGIE and Aleta were down in the hotel restaurant enjoying sweet rolls and coffee when the other guests in their group started to show up. Forrester and June looked well rested.

  “What a lot of excitement last night,” June said, as they passed the Kaye sisters on their way to another table.

  “To say the least. How are we going to top that?” Georgie asked lightly.

  Other guests of the hotel came and went but after three pineapple sweet rolls and two cups of coffee there was still no sign of Hector or Pam.

  “Maybe they aren’t coming down to breakfast.” Aleta said, before wiping her lips on a napkin.

  Georgie scanned the tables on the off chance she’d missed them, when suddenly, standing in the doorway was that same person she’d forgotten about last night.

  “Maybe. But being questioned by the police can work up an appetite,” Georgie nodded her head towards the door. Aleta looked and saw Dottie standing there at the hostess station.

  “Table for one,” Aleta said.

  “This will probably be the most peaceful breakfast the woman has ever had.”

  “Georgie, you do have a way of looking on the bright side of things. Hey, your husband just fell off Germaine’s Cliff of Death, but we’re sure you’ll enjoy a nice quiet breakfast.”

  Georgie watched as they led her to a quiet table in the corner.

  “Now, that’s just pitiful.” Georgie scowled. “Tell me, Aleta, am I wrong for thinking she shouldn’t sit alone in the corner like that?”

  “If she killed her husband, maybe that’s the least she should do,” Aleta replied before taking a sip of coffee.

  “I don’t know. Something about it doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t look right. Like a paint-by-number where someone painted a spot green that should have been blue. Your eye just goes to that one part insisting it doesn’t look right.”

  “Go talk to her.” Aleta suggested.

  “I’m going to do just that.” Georgie got up from the table, tugged at the hem of her loose, white blouse and walked over to Dottie. As she got closer and saw the puffy eyes and no make-up she felt like a heel.

  This poor woman doesn’t need you prying. Her gut told her. Unless she killed her husband and this is all an act. But something in Georgie didn’t think Dottie was acting.

  “Morning, Dottie.” Georgie said quietly.

  Dottie nodded, still maintaining some of the attitude she had while her husband was around.

  “My sister and I wondered if you wanted to sit with us. You don’t have to say a word. Just maybe not be by yourself.” Georgie managed a grin, but Dottie’s face didn’t change at all.

  “I don’t need your pity,” Dottie said.

  “I didn’t say you did,” Georgie replied.

  “I know what you really think of Herb and me. It’s what everyone thought. Well, you didn’t know him.”

  “You’re right, Dottie. I didn’t. And I don’t know you. All I know is sometimes when things are bad, just a bit of kindness can make all the difference.”

  Dottie’s shoulders sagged. “I’m sorry. I was with the police for hours. I had to tell them everything. Do you know how humiliating that is? To tell strangers that this was a last ditch effort to save our marriage? That he’d wanted out of our marriage and this was a last ditch effort to save it.

  “Oh dear!” Georgie put her hand to her chest and didn’t know what to say. Now she really felt bad.

  “If you can believe it, Herb had quite a few female admirers. So many I lost count. They were attracted to the way he always took charge. His money didn’t hurt, either. Little did they know that most of it was mine.” She grinned bitterly. “Won’t they be devastated to hear the news?”

  “I’m so sorry, Dottie.”

  “I’m only crying because the tears keep coming. I don’t know why. I gues
s I feel bad that I don’t really feel bad.” Dottie shrugged. “He was determined to leave me. I think he just wanted to go to Hawaii and figured the divorce could wait another week or two.”

  “What did the police tell you?” Georgie asked. It was crude and intrusive but, as with a lot of words, they just sort of darted out of her mouth.

  “They said it looked like he lost his balance, slipped, tried to claw his way back up but wasn’t able. I am not to go anywhere. The police will be questioning me again when the coroner is finished with his report.” Dottie took a deep breath. “I know Herb. He was taking note of every flaw at that place and got too close to the edge. In his never-ending quest for lawsuits, he bit off more than he could chew. I guess if I wanted to I could demand a healthy settlement from Germaine’s Luau.”

  “Would you like to sit with us?” Georgie pointed to Aleta. “We’ve got room.”

  “No,” Dottie said firmly. “Actually, I’d like to be alone.”

  Georgie nodded and without saying anything else turned to leave.

  “But—thank you for the kind gesture.” Dottie had no expression on her face when she said this. Georgie smiled at her anyway before turning to head back to Aleta who had stopped to talk to Forrester and June to keep from staring at Georgie while she collected her information. In the few steps it took to get back to her seat, Georgie had decided that Dottie didn’t kill Herb. It just didn’t seem to fit. Dottie was not a nice lady. However, cold-blooded killer didn’t fit either. She gave Georgie the impression that she’d stay with Herb for spite rather than out of love. And she wouldn’t kill him because as selfish as she said Herb was, she was selfish too. And punishment for his indiscretions wasn’t going to be a simple parting of ways.

  “I’m sure she was ready to make every step they took together a living hell.” Georgie finished up her theory of how Dottie planned to get even with Herb.

  Chapter 8

  “I don’t agree with your theory about Dottie and how she was getting even with Herb.” Aleta made the statement later as she and Georgie enjoyed a stroll around the pool.

  “Really? Do tell.” Georgie pointed to two chaise lounges in the shade. They stretched out, inhaling the fresh, flowery air and continued their discussion.

  “Forrester and June said that they had travelled with Herb and Dottie a couple of times before.” Aleta shaded her eyes with her hand as if they were discussing something off in the distance. “They insisted that Dottie gave as good as she got. She isn’t some shrinking violet who had a cheating husband. According to them she’d had a few go arounds herself.”

  “Is that so?” Georgie wasn’t buying it.

  “That’s what Forrester said. He told me that Dottie had approached him on one of the vacations. I took a few minutes while you were talking to Dottie to get to know Forrester and June a little bit. They are your typical average couple. Like Herb and Dottie, they’re coming up to their twentieth wedding anniversary. Travelling together was something they enjoyed, especially through the Midhostel group. They were happy to spill a little gossip to me.”

  “While I was waiting for you to come back to the table, June told me that Herb and Dottie had been on the trip to New Orleans she and Forrester took last year as well as the trip to New Mexico they took at the beginning of this year.” Aleta continued. “That was when Dottie made her intentions towards Forrester known. Forrester really rolled his eyes when June said that. I like both Forrester and Jane, they are just plain nice.

  “When I asked Forrester what he said back to her, he said he told her he didn’t think his wife would appreciate it.” Aleta grinned before adding that June had pointed out that he hadn’t actually said no. “She really knows how to make her husband blush, that lady.”

  “Funny. I don’t see Dottie as a pursuer.” Georgie said, thoughtfully.

  “That’s what I said to Forrester and June,” Aleta agreed. “But don’t let that fool you. She probably didn’t have anything to do with what happened to Herb, but Forrester and June don’t think she’s the babe in the woods she pretends to be, either. Forrester figures she really likes to shop for big ticket items as well.”

  “Dottie likes to spend money?” Georgie was curious now.

  “June wasn’t sure if she really liked to shop or if she just really liked that it aggravated Herb. They played off each other like that. According to June it was really annoying.”

  “Did June and Forrester think Dottie had anything to do with Herb’s death?” Georgie asked idly.

  “I asked them that,” Aleta admitted. “June thinks he slipped and fell all by himself. After all, he nearly drowned at the beach. When they were in New Mexico he apparently almost stepped in front of a train. The guy was an accident just waiting to happen. On the other hand, Forrester figured that Dottie just snapped and pushed his ass off the cliff.”

  “Does Forrester really think it happened that way? That’s crazy talk,” Georgie said as she settled further back in the chaise lounge, folding her arms.

  “Forrester admitted that he couldn’t say such a thought hadn’t crossed his own mind. Herb was hard to take. He didn’t seem to think she did it on purpose, though. He figured it was likely an accident. But he was convinced that Dottie did it.”

  “What did June have to say about all that?” Georgie was frowning thoughtfully as she looked out over the ocean.

  “June wasn’t buying it,” Aleta said firmly. “She said Dottie didn’t do anything but make Herb mad by going to the souvenir stand. He stomped off in the wrong direction and over the edge he went. End of story.”

  Once Aleta had finished telling Georgie about her conversation with their travelling companions over breakfast, Georgie couldn’t help but wonder if she’d read Dottie correctly.

  “I don’t know, Aleta. It still seems a little too easy,” Georgie said. “If the police thought she was really involved I don’t think they would have let her come back to the hotel. She’s not from here. She could have easily hopped the next plane back to the mainland.”

  “True. But, maybe she’s in shock. Maybe she can’t believe it is actually over and done with.” Aleta waved for a waitress.

  “You can’t still be hungry after those sweet rolls?” Georgie asked.

  “No. I’m thirsty. Care for a lemonade?”

  “Yes. Especially if it’s a pink lemonade.”

  The waitress, a tiny tanned creature that smiled a wide, white grin, assured them they did have pink lemonade, as well as limeade with a hint of cilantro and mint.

  “I’ll take a limeade,” Georgie said, after Aleta asked for pink lemonade. “What is the plan for today? Has Daniel made any effort to tell the group what’s happening today? The itinerary says shopping.”

  “I’m not sure. After last night maybe he’s the one who hit the airport and headed off to the mainland.”

  The ladies sipped their drinks and watched as the pool area started to fill up with guests. The sky was clear and sparkled across the water. Soothing ukulele played over the speakers.

  “If I’m not careful I’m going to fall asleep on this chaise lounge. It’s so soft and comfortable,” Georgie said.

  “I was just thinking the same thing. Maybe we should sleep out here tonight.”

  “I’m game if you are. Nothing like a little harmless rule breaking to liven things up.” Georgie started to laugh. “Because the suspicious death of one of our fellow travelers isn’t enough.”

  “Georgie! You’re terrible.” Aleta smothered a smile, trying not to laugh out loud.

  “You know what I mean. It just came out wrong. We really don’t need any more excitement.”

  “Then why are you still laughing?” Aleta scolded.

  “Because it is kind of funny. Of all the trips in the world we could have taken, we end up on the one where a guy fell off a cliff.” Georgie continued laughing. “And a guy who’s a complete jerk, at that. Throw a dart and you’ll hit someone who could have been the one who pushed him.”

  �
��Georgie, sometimes you really are tacky.”

  “Aleta, aside from you and me, anyone in the whole group could have killed Herb. That’s quite an accomplishment for one man.” Georgie wiped the tear from her right eye as she finally got her laughter under control, just as Aleta started to chuckle.

  “You don’t think June or Forrester had anything to do with it, do you?”

  “Well, only if I thought June was the jealous type,” Georgie said. “She doesn’t seem to be but maybe that’s because she pushed Herb off the cliff to prove to Dottie what she’s capable of. Now June is confident Dottie won’t mess with her man.”

  “Wow. That’s a bit of a stretch, Georgie.”

  “It is. But, you can’t rule anyone out. Except us.”

  “And Pam and Hector,” Aleta reminded her sister. “They don’t have any motive.”

  “None that we know of. Not yet anyway.”

  Just as the ladies were deciding that a day by the pool was as good a plan as any, Daniel appeared at the far end of the long patio. He spotted them and strolled the length of the pool in their direction.

  “Ladies,” he said, in his usual charming southern drawl. “Y’all ready to go shopping?”

  “We are,” Georgie replied. She looked at Aleta who was studying Daniel’s face and body as if she were looking for a sign or something that made it clear he pushed Herb from the cliff. But there was nothing. In fact, Daniel looked as fresh as a daisy. Maybe that was because he’d been drinking. When Georgie stood from the chase lounge she noticed a hint of whiskey on his breath.

  “All right. It’s going to be a hoot, I guarantee.” Daniel smiled.

  “Where are we going?” Aleta asked, still studying Daniel as if he was about to spill some valuable information, like a confession.

  “The Aloha Stadium,” Daniel said proudly. “Be in the lobby in one hour.”

  The ladies did as they were told. Georgie stayed in her white blouse and slipped into a boldly printed Hawaiian wrap around skirt with comfortable flip-flops and a couple dozen silk flowers in her hair and dangling from her ears.