Maui Murders

by Kathy Callahan

  “I’ll have him charge everything to my account, then I’ll bill you. No charge for my services, one friend to another.”

  “How sweet of you, Fiona.” Layla knew Fiona would be making a killing on her decorating, so she wasn’t surprised at this gesture. “Well, I’ll let you get back to your elimination of the color gray, and thanks for your help.”

  Within four days, Layla was sitting on the cliff where the services for the Okamotos had been held. She sketched the rolling waves as they made their way below the cliffs. Cotton-ball clouds drifted lazily on an azure sky. She felt relaxed and peaceful, the restlessness leaving her once she started her sketching. Soon she knew she would be involved in the remodeling of her new home, but at this particular moment in time, she felt a peacefulness she had not felt in such a long time. Maybe this meant she was healed, no, she decided she still wasn’t ready to commit herself to a relationship with Dewey. Not commit in a way that he wanted, but she knew she was in love with him and hoped he would continue to be patient with her.

  They had talked for almost an hour last Sunday; she had told him about her plans to start working in charcoal again, he telling her about the latest in the digital process.

  When Dewey returned from Maui, Agnes could not believe the change that had come over him. He seemed happier than she had seen him in years. His first night home, he sat down with Agnes and Don and told them all the latest on Layla, Mr. Soo, George, and Annie. They were surprised that Layla had purchased a home on the island but happy she was with George and Annie. They didn’t personally know Mr. Soo but knew he had captured Dewey’s heart in a grandfatherly way.

  Agnes recalled the silly grin on Dewey’s face when he told them about giving Layla a big romantic smooch just before he left. Then he smiled broadly, saying, “And she liked it!” He predicted that within a year, they would be married. Dewey told them Layla was finding herself again.

  He said he wasn’t going back for a visit until he was invited to see her remodeled home, then explained all she was going to have to do in order to make it livable. He said, “She is experiencing the new freedom of being totally on her own, away from her kind and in a totally new environment. She asked me to wait for her, to give her time to heal totally, to be able to return my love, which she knows she already has. I told her I would be there when she was ready. I believe once her home is finished, once she moves in and realizes what she can do on her own, she will be able to let love again into her heart.”

  Agnes and Don looked at one another, not knowing what to say. Finally Agnes told Dewey she was amazed at his patience, proving he must be truly in love. He assured them he was from the moment he laid eyes on her.

  Then he said he was going to work hard in the next few months, and he was also going to be taking a close look at his staff in order to find who could ultimately be in charge of the digital process and be more involved in the development of the video games. He told them he knew he was still young in years, but he wanted a future of more freedom once he and Layla were married.

  Layla had done two charcoals since her last meeting with Donnie. It was the next Friday afternoon, and she went to the Visitors Center to show him what she had done and see if this was what he had in mind.

  When she showed him the first drawing on the bluff, Donnie looked at it for a long moment, then turned away. She noticed he pulled out his handkerchief, dabbed at his eyes, and blew his nose.

  “I’m sorry for this display of emotion, but it seems like the view from that bluff is etched in my mind from the terrible day of the funeral. Your drawing has brought back the beauty of that bluff.”

  “Donnie, may I give this drawing to you in appreciation for you getting me started again on my sketching?”

  “Oh, I couldn’t accept it, although it’s so beautiful.”

  “I thought it was a Hawaiian tradition about not turning down a gift given from the heart. Therefore, you must let me give this to you.”

  “Thank you, Layla, this will hang in a prominent area in our home. Now this place can be remembered for its beauty.”

  “What do you think of this one? I tried to capture the windsurfers as they caught air? One of the reasons I do landscapes is that I’m not good at faces, so mostly, I’m just showing body language.”

  Donnie studied the sketch for some time, finally saying, “You have made me think I can hear the surf and feel the wind. This is amazing work, and if we put works like this for sale in the store, the center will realize a terrific profit. Plus, the purchaser will have a prize possession.”

  “Thank you, Donnie, for your kind words of encouragement. I hope I will be able to have five or six more before I have to start work on the remodeling. Any word yet?”

  “It seems like the title search is taking longer than anticipated. Now I’m hoping for closure by the end of next week. I’m sure sorry for the delay. Mr. Soo stopped by the bank the other day also checking on the sale, and he said thanks to you, he is eating like a king.”

  “I cook dinner for us each night, and we’ve been over to Annie and George’s once for some of George’s magic grill work. He never had exposure to casseroles, and I’m an expert on making many different ones, so he’s experiencing a new eating dimension. You know Mr. Soo and his love of food. Having had Dewey there for a while and now I’m staying with him, it’s helping him recover from the loss of Mrs. Soo. A couple of evenings after dinner when we sat on the lanai, he told me stories about their marriage in the early years. I told him he should record them for his children and grandchildren, but I don’t know if he wants to share all he told me with them.”

  “Yes, sometimes it’s easier to tell something to a relative stranger than to your family,” Donnie said, laughing.

  They discussed the work that had been done on the center during the past week, and Donnie promised he would be in touch as soon as he got a date for the final signing. Layla made her way back to Mr. Soo’s, trying to think of a different casserole to prepare for their evening meal.

  CHAPTER 38

  As Layla and Mr. Soo set foot on the back lanai, George popped the cork on a bottle of fine champagne, and Annie stood ready with flutes. She passed a flute to Mr. Soo and Layla, and then George raised his glass in a toast. “To Layla, officially our new neighbor.”

  They raised their glasses and drank, with Mr. Soo saying, “We welcome you as a permanent resident of Paia and hope you will find peace and happiness here as we have.”

  “Thank you, everyone. You’ve been so kind and understanding. How could I not be happy?” With that said, Layla burst into tears.

  George and Mr. Soo looked at each other in surprise. Annie rushed to Layla’s side. “Honey, what wrong?”

  “Nothing. It’s been so long since I’ve felt this happy, and I had begun to doubt I ever would again. I was so excited to sign the final papers today.”

  Annie put her arm around Layla. “That’s OK, dear. Crying for happiness is always a good thing.”

  “Mr. Soo, what do you say we get the grill fired up and start the steaks? Tonight is a special meal. We have filet mignon steaks wrapped with a strip of bacon, twice-baked potatoes, fresh broccoli, and a special Annie dessert treat.”

  Layla composed herself, and then she and Annie started setting the table and getting potatoes and vegetables ready to serve. Everyone enjoyed an excellent meal topped off by Annie’s chocolate cream pie.

  It was Friday, and Layla would have a couple of days before Fiona and her team of workers began work on the remodeling. “George and Annie, I thought maybe you would like a ‘before’ tour. You’re welcome too, Mr. Soo.”

  “No, thank you, I’m not ready to visit my former home yet.”

  “I would love to see the ‘before.’ How about you, George?” Annie asked.

  “Count me in. We’ll see the ‘before,’ then ‘after’ old Fiona does her magic.”

  The n
ext day Layla met George and Annie at the agreed time and welcomed them into her new home. They entered through the kitchen door off the back lanai, exactly like their back entryway. Annie caught her breath as she made her way through the kitchen so chopped up with the Shoji screens. They continued on through the front of the house into the bedrooms.

  “Layla, I hope you’ve left a trail of bread crumbs or we’ll never find our way out of this maze. What in the world was Mrs. Soo thinking when she partitioned off this beautiful space?” George asked.

  “Mr. Soo said in the China of Mrs. Soo’s youth, their house, although large, was partitioned off into small rooms. Every room had some purpose: a sleeping space, an eating space, a prayer place, a place to meditate, and so on. She could not leave these old ways behind and made this house into her own China world. I find it so sad. She must have been a very lonely lady.”

  “I knew her, sort of. She was very shy and gently pleasant. I brought her some flowers once to thank her and Mr. Soo for something. She was so surprised, and her small face lit up with a glorious smile. I don’t think anyone called on her. She was like a forgotten woman. I know Mr. Soo made every effort to bring her forward, but she just couldn’t move forward.”

  When they got to the master bedroom, Annie spied the new bathroom Mr. Soo had put in. “George can we do this? Honey, look at that shower.”

  “What a great shower. I would love to be able to stand straight up and take a shower, not possible in our old bathtub shower. I don’t think we could do this without losing a lot of bedroom space, although we could take out that linen closet. What do you think?”

  “Take the linen closet. For a bathroom like this, you can have it!”

  “I’ll have to ask Mr. Soo who his contractor was because I’m serious about having a shower like this. I do believe there’s room enough for two.”

  “Oh, George,” Annie said with a blushing smile.

  They finished their tour, and both told Layla she was undertaking a big job, but they had to admit, if anyone could do it, it was Fiona.

  Monday morning, Layla went over to open up her home and let the fresh air in through the sliders, hoping to dispel some of the lingering cooking odors.

  At eight, Fiona arrived in denim shorts, T-shirt, and tennis shoes. She sniffed the air, saying, “I know why Mr. Soo was always outside. Having to be inside this place, one would want all the fresh air they could get. Let me tell you about the crew I have coming.

  “When we worked on Oahu, my main focus was on decorating. It wasn’t long before I needed an expert carpenter, and the owner of the paint store I bought from recommended Martin Elwood. I met with Marty, and we hit it off right away. He was only seventeen and was stationed in Italy in World War II. He knew the town I’m from, and we both had even frequented some of the same pastarias. He’s a charming man, and he turned out to be a master carpenter. After using him on several jobs, I actually had a three-year waiting list of people willing to pay considerably for his craftsmanship. When he retired, I never found anyone that compared to the work he crafted.

  “Imagine my surprise about two years ago when I ran into him at the local market. He was here visiting his son who had just had his second child, and Marty was thinking of moving to the area to be near his family. About the same time, his son, Chris, found himself out of a job. He had worked for years making some of the best surfboards on the islands. He was well sought after for surfboards and made an excellent living. Then one day, making surfboards on the islands was no longer possible because of environmental issues, and they are now being made in Thailand. Chris did not want to move the family to Thailand.

  “A couple of weeks later, he found himself restaining lanais, and he built a reputation for excellent and swift work. You can imagine in this tropical weather, lanais and decks need restaining frequently. Ned and I used him a couple of years ago, and about that time, I had a client who needed some work done inside her home, restaining the floors and shelving in her library/office. I contacted Chris, and once again, his work proved outstanding. He does both inside and outside work and has an assistant, a local Hawaiian girl, Josie, who has lovely petite hands that are excellent for getting to small areas for staining. They are a great team, and I’m sure they will do excellent work on your home once you have trained them on the proper wood restoration procedures.”

  CHAPTER 39

  Marty, Chris, and Josie made their way up the stairs where they were greeted by Fiona.

  “I’m so happy you could meet with us today. Let me introduce you to Layla Richfield, who has purchased Mr. Soo’s former home. As you will see, it will need a great deal of restoration to bring it back to what it once was.”

  Layla greeted everyone. “I work in art restoration, and I will train you in the restoration process. The supplies will be costly, and it will take some time, but I’m ready to spend the time and money because I believe, when finished, this will be a fabulous home. Why don’t we all go inside, and you can see what I’m talking about?”

  Slowly, they made their way through the home. Several times, Marty, Chris, or Josie commented about the damage done to the home.

  “I’ve seen my share of Shoji screens but never anything like this. What a shame to put those runners into this wood floor,” declared Marty.

  They walked back into the kitchen where Chris and Marty began making notes, while Josie discussed cleaning the wood frames of the Shoji screens with Layla.

  “Fiona, because of our long friendship and because you are the loveliest lady on Maui, I will be working with Chris and Josie on this restoration. I will make the dowels necessary to repair the holes left by the removal of the Shoji screens. Josie will clean the wood we salvage from the screen frames, which I believe should be quite ample. Chris will work on the remaining wood restoration. Of course, all restoration and cleaning will need Mrs. Richfield’s supervision at first. But Chris and Josie are good learners.”

  “We can start tomorrow. First off, we’ll get rid of all the screens and dividers. We will carefully remove the screens from their wood frames and try to save as much of that fabulous wood as possible. Then we’ll start to clean the wood on the walls and ceiling. That will be a real chore, smoke rises, and we will have to be very careful not to do any damage. Finally, we’ll refinish all the floors. I don’t think they’ve ever been refinished in all these years, if they have, only certain sections. Most of this wood is no longer legal to harvest, so you will have a fabulous home.”

  “If that meets with everyone’s approval, we’ll see you at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. Fiona, here is a very rough estimate of our fee. We will leave the purchase of the restoration supplies to you or Layla,” said Chris.

  “That will be perfect. I’ll come over early and open up so we can get some fresh air in here, and I’ll work on getting the restoration supplies right away. I imagine the first few days will be taken up removing the screens.

  “Marty, Chris, everything you proposed sounds right. Of course, we realize a lot of different things can and probably will happen, so we realize your estimate is flexible. I’m so glad you will be able to start tomorrow,” said Fiona.

  The crew left, and Fiona suggested Layla lock up and they go over to her place and work on the restoration supplies, a possible timetable, and review cost figures.

  Over fresh coffee, Fiona laid out an updated cost estimate along with an estimated timetable for completion of each phase. “Layla, I will need a check from you for $25,000, and I will give you a complete itemized breakdown of all expenses.”

  “Let me give you a check for $50,000. That way, I won’t have to write another one so soon. I see the timetable, but how does that work with getting appliances and furniture?”

  “I would say no later than two weeks from now, we will have to start shopping for appliances and furniture. I’m not too worried about the appliances. I think we can find all those at the Pacific Sales Store
inside Best Buy in Honolulu. In case you find some furniture you want that has to come from the mainland, we need to get that order placed right away, sometimes it takes three or four months to get here. I once had a client that ordered a specific fabric from Italy to go on a sofa made in South Carolina. Twenty months later, the sofa finally arrived, and we were thrilled it got here that soon. So you can understand my insistence on finding things right away.”

  “Lord, I had no idea it was going to be so complicated. When you live in New York, shopping for furniture is a snap.”

  “Yes, I’m sure it is. However, you are now living on an exotic tropical island, and the rules have changed.”

  “Let’s see how things go the rest of this week, then schedule a shopping day for late the second week. How does that sound?”

  “You will need to give me several days’ notice. I’ll have to make round-trip airline reservations, rent a car, and set up appointments with my contacts on Oahu.”

  “I’m thinking Wednesday of next week. Things should be going pretty well on the remodeling, and then we both will be here on Friday to finish up the week with the crew.”

  “Wednesday of next week is perfect.”

  “Is there anything I should take or will need to have with me?”

  “No, just bring your patience and rest up. It will be a busy day. Ned and I have rolled up those wonderful Oriental rugs, and I’m taking them to a trustworthy cleaning facility. They do excellent restoration work. Those rugs are worth a fortune. You will want them displayed prominently once we have all your new furniture.”

  “Fiona, I’m not into Oriental furniture. I lean more to contemporary or modern.”

  “These rugs will make a huge impact mixed with any type of furniture. Personally, I like one piece of antique furniture mixed in with ultramodern. Makes a conversation piece in the room.”

  Layla finished her coffee, thanked Fiona for her valuable insight, then left to go back to Mr. Soo’s.