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The following is a bonus excerpt from R. Barri Flowers' bestselling mystery series
DEAD IN PUKALANI: An Eddie Naku Maui Mystery
Prologue
Hawaiian music filtered through the speakers on this humid August evening as Suzette Higuchi-Bordeau sat in the Great Room of her contemporary home on Hololani Street in Pukalani, a census-designated region in Maui County, Hawaii. Located on the slopes of the East Maui Volcano, Haleakalā, in an area that natives of the island refer to as Upcountry, the upscale residence was bordered by swaying palm trees and close to the Pukalani Golf Course and Country Club.
Suzette sipped a Mai Tai beneath the swirling ceiling fan as a cool breeze brought forth the aroma of eucalyptus. She brushed away a strand of curly brunette hair from her face, barely listening to the conversation in progress. In truth, her mind was elsewhere. There were many things going on in her life at once, some of which she had never meant to happen, others that were beyond her control. Nonetheless, she had resigned herself to make the best of both worlds, just as her husband Patrick had.
"Can I get you another drink, Suzette?" asked one of the three men she had allowed into their home. He was white, bald, and stocky, with a deep tan, having helped himself to the wet bar, as had the other two men.
"No, I don't think so," she told him. She'd never been able to handle her alcohol very well, and now was not the time to test it, as she'd already had one drink before the men arrived. "But feel free to help yourself to another," she offered. "Patrick should be home any time now."
Her husband, Patrick Bordeau, the successful lawyer. Right. What a joke, Suzette thought. He'd called earlier and said he was at the office and would be a bit late, even though he was expecting the visit from his associates. She had no doubt he was busy, but it was not with work. She'd learned long ago to accept his infidelity, along with everything else that was wrong with their marriage. It was all part of the total package she'd become caught up in, mostly due to circumstances. Suzette wasn't sure if she still loved Patrick, or even if she ever truly had, but she was no longer committed to staying with him and pretending to be the dutiful wife who would always look the other way. Not when she now finally had another choice that gave her hope for something that had eluded her for a long time: happiness in a relationship. Or was that even possible? Maybe she was only deluding herself that there really could be a happy ending for two people who loved each other, no matter the obstacles standing in their way.
The ringing of her cell phone jarred Suzette from her thoughts. She pulled out the phone, looked at it for a moment, then glanced toward her visitors. The bald, stocky one had just come back with two drinks in hand, passing one to a white, tall, thinner man with sandy hair. The other man was Asian and small with a short black ponytail, still holding a drink. All three were in their thirties and chattering amongst themselves as though she were invisible. They barely seemed to notice her phone ringing.
"I need to get this," she said anyway, as if she needed an excuse to step away from the men. She moved toward the gourmet kitchen, out of their line of vision. She could hear her Rottweiler named Cherry whimpering behind the door of a spare room, anxious to get out. As soon as her guests were gone, she would let the dog out to roam freely throughout the house.
She engaged in a short conversation with the caller, while peeking out at the men, who were still huddled together, before disconnecting and rejoining them.
The Asian man gazed at her. "Everything all right?"
"I have to go out," she said tersely.
"Where?" asked the tall, thin one.
"To see someone," she responded.
"Tucker Matsumoto?" the bald one asked perceptively.
Suzette cocked a thin brow. How could he have known that? But then she quickly realized they were probably familiar with some of their other business associates through Patrick.
"Yes," she responded, knowing that their interests were indirectly represented here.
"I think we should follow you," he said, "just in case you need back up."
She swallowed thickly. "That really won't be necessary."
"We insist." The bald man's dark eyes narrowed. "Matsumoto's not to be trusted. We wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you."
Reluctantly, Suzette relented, feeling she didn't have much choice. Nor was there time to wait for Patrick to return home from his latest tryst.
Or course, their presence would change the nature of the meeting a bit. But if she was able to accomplish her primary goal, other things could wait till later.
* * *
Suzette drove her gray Lexus through the streets of Pukalani, glancing in the rear view mirror at the three men following her in a red F-150 pickup. She was a bit tense, under the circumstances, but tried to remain calm.
Soon she pulled into a shopping center parking lot on Old Haleakala Highway, well away from the stores, and parked near a light. It was seven fifty-five p.m. She had been told the meeting would take place at eight.
She watched as the pickup truck pulled into a spot a few feet away from her. The men remained inside.
Suzette hoped their presence didn't scare off Matsumoto. Or was that their plan?
She took out her cell phone and called Patrick. It went straight to voicemail. Frustrated, she didn't bother to leave a message.
"Damn you, Patrick," she muttered irritably, jealous that he was likely bedding another woman at that exact moment. She couldn't help herself, in spite of the fact that her own romantic feelings and sexual yearnings lay elsewhere. She took comfort in knowing that soon her life would change for the better and she would no longer need to tolerate the pain Patrick had caused her.
The knock on the partially open driver's side window caused Suzette's heart to skip a beat. She turned and saw Tucker Matsumoto's face. He was Hawaiian and had a thin mustache.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he snapped.
She caught her breath. "I think you know."
Matsumoto cocked a brow. "He sent you to bring the money?"
She almost hated to disappoint him. "No, I'm here to collect money—from you."
He frowned. "I owe you nothing."
"The merchandise you have says otherwise, Matsumoto," she said boldly. "If you think you can screw us out of payment—"
"You'll do what?" he said, cutting her off. "Go to the cops?" He laughed derisively. "I don't think so."
Suzette was furious at his arrogance and clear intention to stiff them. Just as she contemplated her next move, a shot rang out, striking Matsumoto, who doubled over. Another shot hit him and he went down.
Fearful that she might be next, Suzette reached in her purse for her gun, which she kept for protection. But it was too late. The crackling sound of gunfire, seemingly louder than ever, rang through her ears. The sudden realization that she'd been shot left her numb, then she felt her head spinning, and suddenly everything was pitch black.
Chapter One
The vibrancy of laughter echoed throughout the bedroom as Eddie Naku playfully nibbled on the neck of his current romantic interest, Gayle Luciano, a flight attendant. They were naked in bed making love on a steamy night. It was one of those on again, off again relationships, where neither was ready to make a real commitment and both were the better for it. Instead, they got together when their conflicting schedules allowed and their bodies lusted for one another.
Now was one of those times as Naku pushed aside his life as a private investigator in favor of a good romp in the sack.
The ringing of his cell phone put a crimp in that. He tried to ignore it, as did his lover.
"Don't answer it," Gayle pleaded. "Remember, this is your day off—and mine."
For a moment, Naku found her incredible powers of persuasion too much to ignore as she claimed his lips with her own.
But the damned phone ringing persisted. Against his better judgment, he decided he better answer it. He pried their mouths apart and hoisted his muscular si
x-foot-three-inch body from the bed. Seeing the disappointment in Gayle's face, he said, "Don't worry. Whoever it is, I'll get rid of them."
"You better," she said, pouting.
He dug the cell phone out of his jeans that had ended up on the floor. The caller was his secretary, Vanna.
"I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time," she said.
Naku gazed at his lover, ready and waiting. "As a matter of fact, you did."
"Sorry, but there's a lady here, a Ms. Higuchi, who—"
He cut her off. "It's my day off. She can come back tomorrow."
"Well, the thing is, she insisted on seeing you today," Vanna told him. "She said it can't wait."
Higuchi. The name had a ring of familiarity to it, and not because it was common on the Hawaiian Islands. He remembered now. A week ago, a Suzette Higuchi-Bordeau was shot to death in Pukalani. The shooter was still at large. Coincidence?
"She says she was referred to you," Vanna said. "She seems really desperate."
He glanced at Gayle, who seemed a bit desperate herself to finish where they left off. But since he was in the business of private detective work and prided himself on never turning down a paying customer, he felt he should at least see what this potential one wanted of him.
"I'll be there as soon as I can," he told Vanna.
"I'll pass that along," she said happily.
Naku disconnected and turned to his bed mate. "I have to go," he said regrettably.
She frowned. "Why am I not surprised?"
"It's work." He ran a hand through his long dark hair. "I'll make it up to you. I promise."
She sprang out of bed, her large breasts bouncing, and her tight ass barely moving. "Don't bother!"
He watched as she started to get dressed. "Where are you going?"
"To work!"
"But I thought you had the day off..."
Gayle sneered. "Yeah, and I thought you did too."
Naku was speechless, but understood that their little tit for tat was pretty much par for the course in their relationship. She was pissed at him now, but by the time she got back in town, that would likely pass and they could resume whatever it was they had going on.
For now, he had to take things for what they were between them and get to his office.
* * *
He beat Gayle out the door of her small plantation house in Napilihau, located in West Maui, and got into his Subaru Forester for the short drive to Lahaina, the most populated area of Maui County during the peak tourist season. As a third generation Native Hawaiian, Eddie Naku was happy to carry the torch of his ancestors in being a free spirit and respecting the land. At thirty-six, he had given up a career as a homicide detective for the Maui Police Department two years ago in favor of being his own boss and solving cases that sometimes required working the edges of the law.
Though Maui wasn't exactly New York City or Honolulu for that matter, when it came to criminal activity, there were still enough lawbreakers and other types of investigative work to keep him busy. When that failed, he was more than happy to indulge in his other passions, which included drinking, working out, riding horses, reading thriller fiction, and women. Gayle flew the international routes, mostly to and from Japan, Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia. He had no idea when she'd be back and she was probably in no hurry to see him, but neither of them made any promises to one another, so they could go whichever way the wind guided them.
His thoughts turned to the woman who had taken him away from Gayle at the worst possible time. What was her story? Who referred her to him and why was she so damned intent on seeing him this afternoon?
He'd find out soon enough. He pulled onto Keawe Street and parked in his customary spot in front of his office. Painted on the window were the words: Eddie Naku Investigations.
Naku stepped inside the dusty, beige-carpeted, white walled place that was divided into three sections: a small waiting area; the office of his dependable secretary, Vanna Dandridge; and his own office. He observed the attractive, slim, long blonde-haired Hawaiian woman in her mid-thirties sitting in the waiting area. She was nicely dressed in a blue dress with high-heeled sandals.
As he met her bold, brown eyes, she stood up.
"I'm Eddie Naku," he introduced himself.
Before she could speak, Vanna bounded out of her office. "You're finally here," she said. "Good."
He grinned while giving her the once over. Vanna was forty, twice divorced, and not bad on the eyes. She was petite and wore her crimson hair in a bob. She had just moved to Maui from Honolulu at the same time he opened up his private investigation business. The timing had worked out well for both of them.
He looked back at the other woman.
"This is—" Vanna started to say.
"Kathryn Higuchi," the woman finished.
Naku extended his arm to shake her hand. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Higuchi."
She proffered a small hand with perfectly manicured nails and they shook. He tried to read her, as he'd done so many other potential clients, but failed miserably.
"Why don't we step into my office so you can tell me why you're here?"
She nodded and he waved Vanna off with eye contact, as if to say he'd take it from there.
His office was pretty nondescript: wooden desk, leather chair, laptop, printer, flat panel television, two stacking guest chairs, and a window with a view of the street.
He invited her to have a seat and he did the same, opting to sit beside her rather than at his desk.
"So how can I help you?" he asked evenly.
"I'd like to hire you."
"To do what?"
"Find out who murdered my sister—" She paused. "Suzette Higuchi-Bordeau. She was shot to death last Friday."
He nodded. "I heard about that and I'm sorry for your loss. But it's an ongoing police investigation."
She frowned. "I don't want to wait until the police get around to solving the crime, if they ever do."
"I can appreciate that you want answers quickly," he told her, "but it doesn't always work that way."
Kathryn frowned. "My sister and I were very close. She didn't deserve to die that way. I need answers. And I think you can give them to me. Money is no object. Please..."
Naku had always had a hard time turning down a pretty face where money was not an issue in paying his fees. It was even more difficult when she was as striking as this one. However, he usually refrained from working on active police cases, so as not to bump heads with his former colleagues.
Of course, there were always exceptions to the rule. Maybe this would be one.
"Tell me about your sister and what you know, if anything, about her death."
He listened as she described Suzette Higuchi-Bordeau as the unhappy wife of a prominent Maui attorney, Patrick Bordeau, and the shooting that took her life and seriously wounded a man named Tucker Matsumoto. Three men were taken into custody briefly in connection with the crime, but were released for lack of evidence.
"There's not much else I can tell you, other than I believe my sister was set up the night she was murdered," Kathryn finished.
Naku regarded her with curiosity. "I take it you have someone in mind who set your sister up?"
She met his eyes sharply. "Yes, her husband, Patrick—"
Naku recalled reading that the husband lawyer had previously represented two of the men who were taken into custody, and he was also the current attorney for Tucker Matsumoto. Though it was strange for sure, it hardly meant that Bordeau was behind his wife's murder. At the same time, the spouse was often the first suspect in such cases, which surely the police were looking into.
"What makes you think Bordeau had anything to do with this?" Naku asked.
Kathryn sighed. "He may not have been the one to pull the trigger, and even that's suspect, but he certainly had a very good motive for wanting her dead. Suzette often confided in me about what was going on in her life. Patrick's been involved in a gunrunning scheme, which brought in
a good deal of money and just as much debt. He had a life insurance policy on Suzette for half a million dollars—an amount that would probably cover his obligations, and then some, if she were out of the picture. I also know that Patrick was having an affair with another woman and Suzette wanted out of the marriage. She was prepared to blow his whole arms trafficking operation wide open, ruining his career and likely sending him to prison."
"Those are certainly some compelling reasons for killing one's spouse," Naku acknowledged, having seen intimates murdered for far less. "Have you told the police any of this?"
"Yes, of course I did. They basically dismissed it as insufficient or hearsay."
He agreed, but also understood that such things would not likely be made public, even to family, until the case could be made one way or the other. Still, something told him that there was more to the story.
"So I take it there's no love lost between you and Bordeau."
She wrinkled her nose. "Why would you say that?"
"Call it instincts."
She paused. "I never thought he was good enough for my sister," she admitted. "Patrick is a control freak and never treated Suzette right. I think he's more than capable of killing her, if he thought he could get away with it."
"We'll see about that," Naku said, keeping an open mind.
"Does that mean you'll take the case?" Kathryn pressed. "I don't want my sister's death to end up as another unsolved homicide while her killer runs free."
Naku didn't have to give it much thought at this point. Since the police hadn't made any arrests yet, and the case was still open, why not look into it. Also, there was something about Kathryn Higuchi that piqued his interest and made him want to keep the connection alive.
"My fee is five hundred dollars an hour, plus any unusual expenses I incur in the course of the investigation," he told her, in the event she had any second thoughts. "I typically require a five thousand dollar retainer to take on a case that looks like it could take a while."
Death by Trial and Error (A Legal Suspense Short) Page 5