Blood like the Setting Sun: A Murder on Maui Mystery

by Robert W. Stephens

“Aren’t you sort of telling the world you’ve made a commitment to each other?” I asked.

  “Yeah, but who cares what the world thinks? Marriage started out as more of a legal contract. It was all about money and inheriting land. What does she have to offer you? Have you had a look at her dowry?”

  Foxx paused a moment, and then he laughed. “Whatever happened to dowries? We desperately need to get back to that,” he said.

  “What about you? You ever see yourself getting married?” I asked.

  “I thought about it once, but you already know that.”

  Foxx was referring to his girlfriend Lauren. He’d admitted that he’d seriously considered proposing to her before she was murdered.

  “I did. I guess I was just thinking more long-term. Is it something you see yourself doing sometime in the future?” I asked.

  Foxx took another long pull from his beer. Then he put the empty bottle down on the table.

  “Nope. I honestly can’t see that happening.”

  Alana came by a couple of hours later. We sat by the pool and watched the sunset. I told her about Foxx’s theory on Joe Chambers being the guilty party. She said all of those thoughts had crossed her mind, too, especially after I phoned her about my conversations with Candi and Dick Halverson.

  “Does that mean you want to interview Joe again in the morning?” I asked.

  “Actually, I’d rather start with Mill and Bethany. I want to hear their take on all this. I think there’s more going on than Joe’s drug habit.”

  I understood exactly what Alana was saying. There was a part of me that thought Joe was too obvious. It couldn’t be that easy, could it? A guy desperate for money to fuel his drug and alcohol problems murders his mother and forges a will to guarantee he gets her estate. On the other hand, I did have a habit of overthinking things. Maybe I was looking for a complex answer when the problem was two plus two equals Joe did it. I thought about Occam’s razor – the simplest explanation tends to be the correct one. I decided to give my brain a break and radically changed the subject.

  “Not that Maui isn’t an awesome place…but we should go somewhere when this is all over,” I said.

  “Where do you want to go?”

  “I didn’t have a specific place in mind. Just somewhere else. You said you never traveled much. Let’s change that.”

  “Okay, I’ll start thinking of places.”

  “Pick any place, any place at all,” I said.

  “And who’s paying for this trip?”

  I looked back to the house.

  “We’ll get Foxx to pay for it. He’s got the money.”

  Chapter 9

  Jen Chambers

  Alana hadn’t spent the night at Foxx’s, so I drove over to her house early the next morning. She invited me inside and led me back into her kitchen.

  “You want anything to eat or drink?” she asked.

  “just a glass of water, but I’ll get it.”

  I walked over to one of the cabinets and removed a tall glass. I filled it under the faucet.

  “You don’t want some of the cold water in the fridge?” she asked.

  “Actually, I’m more of a room-temperature guy.”

  Alana made herself a cup of coffee, and we sat outside on her patio.

  “Who do we interview first? Mill or Bethany?” Alana asked.

  “I say Jen.”

  “Jen? Mill’s wife?”

  “We know Mrs. Chambers didn’t like her based on the comment she made in the notes to me. Maybe the feeling was mutual.”

  “And you’re guessing she might be more forthcoming.”

  “At least she might give us a different perspective on the Chambers family dynamic,” I said.

  “If Mill is the guilty party, do you think he brought Jen in on it?” Alana asked.

  “I don’t know, but judging by the close relationship they showed at the party, I bet she at least suspects something is up, if he’s guilty that is.”

  Alana and I drove to Mill and Jen Chambers’ house. They lived in Kihei, not far from Joe Chambers. The neighborhood was about the same as Joe’s. In fact, the house was also about the same size, which was a bit surprising considering Mill and Jen had a family of four, and Joe was by himself. Of course, they might have downsized once their kids left for college. There was also the fact Maui was a very expensive place to live. You were bound to be in a small house unless you had big bucks.

  We parked on the street and climbed out of the car. There was a blue Ford Explorer parked in the driveway. It was a considerable notch below the Mercedes I saw at Joe’s house. I wasn’t sure if this meant Mill and Jen were more conservative with their money or if Charlotte Chambers had been feeding Joe a lot more money. We rang the doorbell, and Jen answered.

  “Good morning, Jen,” I said.

  “Mill’s already left for work. If you need to talk to him, your best bet would be to go to the hotel,” she said.

  “Actually, we wanted to speak with you. Do you mind if we come in and ask you a few questions?” Alana asked.

  Jen looked surprised, and I wondered if the lady had spent most of her life living in the shadow of Mill Chambers. I found the thought depressing.

  “No problem,” she said.

  We walked inside and Jen led us to a lanai at the back of the house.

  “Can I get you anything to drink?” she asked.

  “No, thank you. I’m fine,” Alana said.

  “I’m fine, too,” I said.

  We sat on a comfortable sofa that allowed us a good look at the backyard. It might have been better described as an oasis. Large palm trees, colorful flowers, and thick tropical plants were everywhere. Everything looked beautiful and well cared for. Jen sat in a matching chair directly across from us.

  “What a gorgeous yard,” Alana said.

  Jen smiled.

  “Do you maintain this all yourself ?” I asked.

  “Yes. It started out as a little side project when the kids went off to school. Then I just kept expanding it over the years. I’m afraid it’s a little out of control at the moment.”

  “I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s spectacular,” I said.

  “You really think so?” Jen asked.

  “I agree with Poe. It’s perfect,” Alana said.

  “You obviously have a gift for this. Have you thought about doing something like this at the Chambers Hotel?” I asked.

  Jen’s smile vanished.

  “I’ve made the offer a few times. They’re not interested.”

  “Who’s not interested? Mill?”

  “No, Mill’s all for it. Charlotte wasn’t,” Jen said.

  “How is Mill? I know he’s been through a lot this week,” I said.

  “He’s holding up. Mill’s a lot stronger than people give him credit for.”

  I wasn’t sure what people she was referring to or why they might not think Mill was strong.

  “What questions did you want to ask me?”

  “Jen, did you know that Charlotte suspected one of her children of wanting to kill her because she received threatening letters?” Alana asked.

  Alana’s timing was impeccable, and her delivery was smooth and without emotion. We had debated on the way over whether to drop that little bomb on Jen. Ultimately, we decided it was the right move since it would undoubtedly throw her off balance. That was always the condition we wanted people to be in during interviews. Furthermore, Jen might be willing to spill family secrets in an effort to deflect suspicion from Mill and put the attention on Bethany and Joe. Judging by the look of shock we got, I’d say we succeeded.

  “She actually told you that?” Jen asked.

  “I was hired by Mrs. Chambers through her attorney Mara Winters. She came to Ms. Winters after getting the second letter. It’s why she threw the birthday party for her late husband. It was a chance for me to interact with the family.”

  “Then a third note appeared that night, which is when we hired the security team,” Alana sai
d.

  “Only Mrs. Chambers dismissed the team in the morning and pulled a vanishing act,” I said.

  “That doesn’t surprise me. Charlotte didn’t like anyone telling her what to do.” Jen shook her head. “I can’t believe she actually thought one of her own children would be behind this - the nerve of that woman.”

  I’d kept my eyes on Jen’s the entire conversation. Only an accomplished liar could prevent the truth from showing up in his or her eyes. I sensed she’d been telling the truth so far, and I saw her emotions change from confusion to bewilderment to anger. I wasn’t sure if she was angry at Alana and me or Mrs. Chambers. It was probably a little of both. I didn’t blame her if she was innocent. That’s one of the problems with these investigations. You end up accusing, or at least suggesting accusation, a lot of innocent people of doing really bad things.

  “That’s why you’re here?” Jen continued. “You think Mill had something to do with her death. You think he drowned his own mother in that pool?”

  “That’s not it at all, and I apologize if we gave you that impression. We’re trying to get a better understanding of Mrs. Chambers and who might have wanted to hurt her. The family would know her better than anyone,” Alana said.

  I didn’t think Jen believed her, but she didn’t immediately accuse Alana of lying to her, nor did she demand we leave the house. She just sat there, staring at the ground. I assumed she was asking herself how much she should tell us.

  She looked up at us, and all I saw was sorrow in her eyes.

  “Mill loved her despite all the garbage she put him through,” Jen said.

  “What would she do to him?” I asked.

  “She never made him feel like he was good enough. He could never live up to the Millard Chambers name.”

  “Was his father hard on him too?” I asked.

  “Mill started at the bottom of that hotel. His father had him cleaning rooms, vacuuming the pool, and doing the landscaping. People assume Mill just stepped into the manager’s role, but he worked his tail off for it. And you know what he got? He’s paid a good 10 percent less than other managers on the island. Can you believe that? His own mother paid him less than the competition would.”

  “Did he ever think of going somewhere else?” I asked.

  “I begged him to, but he would never consider it. He said the hotel would be his one day. I never believed it.”

  “Why’s that?” Alana asked.

  “Joe was always the favorite. He could do no wrong in Charlotte’s eyes, but the guy’s a train wreck. It still didn’t surprise me, though, that she’d leave him everything.”

  “What about Mill? Did it surprise him?” I asked.

  “He’s heartbroken. He still doesn’t believe it.”

  “And Bethany? How did she take it?” Alana asked.

  “I didn’t speak with her or Barry. Mill did. He said it was bad.”

  “I’m sorry to bring this up,” I said, “but Mrs. Chambers gave me the impression that you two didn’t get along.”

  Jen laughed. “She did, did she?”

  “Can we take that as confirmation that you two weren’t exactly best friends?” Alana asked.

  “She hated me from the first moment she laid eyes on me, but I’d never been anything but nice to her.”

  “What do you think it was then?” I asked.

  “At first I thought it was just a mother and her son thing. Some mothers don’t think anyone is good enough for their son, but I eventually came to believe something else. Charlotte could be a very cruel person when she wanted to be.”

  The statement floored me. I’d gotten no indications of that during my interactions with Mrs. Chambers, brief as they were. Was she entirely innocent? I didn’t know anymore.

  “She accused me on more than one occasion of being after Mill’s money, which was a joke. He didn’t have a penny to his name when I met him. People assume we have a lot of money because Mill’s family owns a successful hotel, but all Mill gets is his manager’s salary. Charlotte kept all the company’s profits for herself.”

  That stunned me, and it made me realize just how deeply Mill and Jen must have been cut when the new will emerged. They’d spent a lifetime at that hotel and now had nothing to show for it.

  “I know Mill is the general manager and Bethany and Barry run the marketing department,” Alana said.

  “If you can call it that. The only reason those two have a job is because they’re family members. Barry doesn’t even show up for work half the time. He practically lives on the golf course.”

  This was coming from a woman who Mrs. Chambers claimed had never worked a day in her life, but was that true? Again, I didn’t know. I was now questioning everything Mrs. Chambers had told me.

  “What does Joe do at the hotel?” I asked.

  “He manages the bar, at least that’s what he tells people. Mill oversees most of those responsibilities, though. Joe really just bartends at night. He drinks half the inventory himself.”

  I thought about Joe’s Mercedes. I doubted he’d make the kind of tips at the Chambers Hotel that he’d need to buy a vehicle like that. When I made my short walk around the hotel pool, I saw mostly families with young kids. They’re notoriously bad tippers, so Joe was either the highest paid bartender on the island or Mama Chambers was slipping him serious bucks on the side. It looked like Joe was the favored child after all, but I knew that already after having seen the new will. Furthermore, Mill and Bethany would have had to come to the same conclusion about their mother sharing some or a lot of the profits with Joe and not them. It had to have really gotten under their skin. I didn’t know if that was enough reason in one of their minds to commit murder, especially of their own mother.

  “Mrs. Chambers said she’d recently received an offer to sell the hotel. Did you know anything about that?” Alana asked.

  “Marriott offered to buy it. They have several time shares on the islands. I think they wanted to tear down the hotel and build more of those.”

  “Was Mill in favor of selling?” I asked.

  “No, he wanted her to keep the hotel.”

  “Was he worried he wouldn’t receive any of the proceeds? You just said Mrs. Chambers never shared in the profits,” Alana said.

  “That wasn’t it. Mill loves his job. He’s never missed a day of work. He goes in early every day and stays late. He loves the people he meets. It’s his dream job. He wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he wasn’t there anymore.”

  “Do you know if Mrs. Chambers knew he felt that way?” I asked.

  “I don’t see how she couldn’t. He didn’t have any reason to hide that from her.”

  “What about Bethany and Joe? Did they want her to sell?” Alana asked.

  “Absolutely. They both pushed her to. They even came to Mill and tried to get him on their side, but he refused.”

  “Were they upset enough to try to scare her with those letters?” I asked.

  “Certainly not enough to kill her,” Jen said.

  “Who would be? You said she could be cruel. Who are we not looking at?” Alana asked.

  “Mill said there was a man who came to him after news got out about the potential deal with Marriott. He said his father used to be Millard Senior’s business partner.”

  “A partner in the hotel?” I asked.

  Jen nodded. “Mill said his father actually bought the property with the help from his partner. They built the hotel together. They had a falling out of some kind, and Millard Senior bought him out. Mill said the man came to him and demanded half the money from the sale of the property. Mill had never even met the guy before, and he told him to leave.”

  “What was his name?” Alana asked.

  “I don’t know his first name, but the last name is Edelman. I didn’t even know Millard had a partner until this incident. Charlotte made it seem like her husband did everything on his own.”

  “Did Mill say whether this Edelman guy ever visited Mrs. Chambers?” I aske
d.

  “He never said anything about it. I can ask, though.”

  “Please do,” Alana said.

  Alana turned to me. “Anything else?”

  I shook my head, and Alana turned back to Jen.

  “You’ve been a tremendous help. Thank you,” Alana said.

  “You should go to the hotel if you want to speak with Mill. He has nothing to hide. He’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

  Alana and I thanked her again and walked back to the car. Alana started the engine and cranked up the air conditioner.

  “She was pretty forthcoming. You think she was playing us?” Alana asked.

  “Maybe. But I doubt it. She couldn’t stand Charlotte. It was probably fantastic for her to have a captive audience like us where she could really unload on the lady. Who else was she going to talk to other than us and Mill, and I’m sure he’s sick of hearing her tell him how lousy his mother was. It’s not like he can do anything about it since he worked for the lady and their livelihood depended on him staying on her good side.”

  “I can’t even imagine what that must have been like for him, and especially Jen. It must have been hard being reliant on a woman who you know doesn’t like you,” Alana said.

  Alana put the car in drive and pulled away from the curb.

  “Do we go see this Edelman? It shouldn’t be hard to find out who Millard’s partner was, and how many Edelman’s can there be on this island?” I asked.

  “You just read my mind.”

  Chapter 10

  Trevor Edelman

  As it turned out, there was only one Edelman on the island. His name was Trevor Edelman, and he owned a small boat-building business in Lahaina. It wasn’t hard to find the tiny warehouse that housed his company. The structure looked fairly worn out. The white paint was faded and pealing in numerous places. The parking lot was covered with deep potholes. There really wasn’t a path you could navigate to avoid hitting at least a few of them on your way in and out. Alana parked the car near the entrance to the warehouse. It didn’t appear to have an office attached to it. It was really just a large metal box.

  We heard rock music blaring through the open warehouse door the moment we climbed out of the car. It wasn’t hard to mistake the sounds of Pink Floyd.