Wedding Day Dead: A Murder on Maui Mystery (17 page)

“How did the meeting with the attorney go?” I asked.

“Not great. She also suspects the DA will push for Hani to be viewed as a flight risk. Even if the judge grants bail, it will probably be a huge amount, which my family can’t afford.”

“Have you learned anymore about the case against her? What are they saying about the lack of a murder weapon?”

“It’s all garbage. You know that. All Adcock has is that flashlight, but nobody will listen to me.”

“What about Aaron Tench’s address?” I asked.

“I just found it in the system. He’s moved to Wailua. I’ll send it to you shortly.”

“Good. I’ll go see him tonight.”

“Do you mind if I tag along? I really need to get out of here, and if I go home, I’ll just end up bouncing off the walls.”

“I thought you had to stay away from this case.”

“I do, but the way I see it, I’m just going to visit an old friend. I must have seen Tench twenty times. I just lost touch of him when Panos and I ended things.”

“Okay, do you want me to pick you up at the station?”

“No, let’s meet in the K-Mart parking lot. I’ll leave my car there, and we can ride to Wailua in yours.”

“See you there shortly,” I said.

I ended the call and looked down at Maui the dog.

“What do you think of that?” I asked.

XIV

Aaron Tench

I
wasn’t really surprised by Alana’s sudden change of heart. I never thought she was going to stay out of the investigation to begin with. I saw her car as I pulled into the parking lot. She’d parked in the section of the lot that was closest to Dairy Road. She climbed out of her car as I drove up. The top was down on my convertible, as was usually the case. The sun was almost down, and the temperature was ideal.

“Hey, there,” she said.

I reached over and opened the door for her. It’s was one of the advantages of owning such a small car. She got in, and I drove out of the lot and back onto Dairy Road. I knew it was going to be a long drive to Wailua, and I wondered if the time in the car was going to be awkward between us.

“So tell me about this Aaron Tench,” I said.

“He’s a nice guy. Probably Panos’ best friend. They grew up together in California and Tench followed Panos and Daphne out here.”

“What does he do for a living? Is he independently wealthy like Panos was?”

“No, he owns a landscape architecture business. I think he specializes in stone patios and walkways. Real beautiful stuff.”

“Maybe he moved to Wailua after Panos moved to California,” I said.

“I don’t know,” Alana admitted. “I never saw Tench unless I was with Panos. I don’t even have his phone number. It’s been over a year since I’ve seen him.”

We drove in silence for the next thirty minutes or so. The road twisted and turned with the coastline, so we could hear the waves in the distance. By
then, the sun was down, and it was completely dark other than the convertible’s headlights. I looked over at Alana and saw she’d fallen asleep. I never knew how people could fall asleep in cars, especially one as small as mine. She’s a lot smaller than me, though, so I guess it wouldn’t be as difficult to get comfortable. Plus, I had no doubt she was beyond exhausted. I remembered how upset I’d been when Foxx was arrested. I couldn’t imagine what it was like to have a sister taken away to jail. The sheer adrenaline that had rushed through Alana’s body all day was enough to make anyone feel spent. I took one of the road’s curves too fast, and the movement woke Alana up.

“Where are we?” she asked.

I looked at the tiny GPS on my windshield.

“We’ll be there in another ten minutes,” I said.

Alana looked at the trees as the car raced by them. She turned back to me.

“Thanks for doing this,” she said.

For a moment, I thought she might bring up the relationship problems we’d been having, but she didn’t. She just turned away from me and stared straight ahead. The GPS alerted me to the right-hand turn into Aaron Tench’s neighborhood. We pulled into his driveway a few minutes after that. The lights were on inside his house, and I could hear the TV through the open windows. Good sign.

I turned off the engine, and we got out of the car. We walked to the front door, and Alana rang the doorbell. I heard the TV mute and then heard footsteps on what I assumed were wooden floors. Before the door opened, I looked around the front yard. It was a mess, tall grass, and overgrown flowerbeds. There were two large planters on either side of the door, but they were both filled with dead plants. I can’t say I was surprised. I’m sure the last thing he wanted to do when he got home was work on another yard.

The door opened, and I saw Aaron Tench for the first time. He was about my height and the same age as Panos, which made sense since they were childhood friends. He was deeply tanned and lean, but also muscled, if that makes any sense. I guessed it was from all the labor he did for his landscaping business. Those stones couldn’t be light. He smiled when he saw Alana.

“What do I owe the pleasure?” he asked.

“Hello, Tench,” Alana said. “It’s been a long time.”

Tench turned to me.

“This is Poe,” Alana said.

I had wondered how she was going to introduce me. Boyfriend? Ex-boyfriend? Friend? But she kept it entirely neutral. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or upset.

“Come on in,” Tench said.

He stepped back and held the door open with an outstretched arm. Alana and I went inside. It was a lot neater in there than outside. The furniture was modern with bold colors. There were several large photographs of Maui’s gorgeous coastline on the walls. Overall, it seemed like a very tasteful and comfortable space.

“Have a seat,” he said.

Tench indicated a red sofa. Alana and I sat on it, and Tench sat in a matching chair just off to the side. There was a small table in front of the sofa, and I noticed several large landscaping books on it.

“So what brings the beautiful Alana Hu to my home?” he asked.

I must admit that I found the guy charming.

“I guess you heard about Panos,” Alana said.

Tench nodded, and his mood instantly went dark.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call after they found Panos’s body. I got caught up in the investigation,” Alana continued.

“I heard about Hani on the news today. Is it true?” Tench asked.

“No, it’s not true. She didn’t do it,” Alana said.

Tench said nothing, and his expression was neutral. I couldn’t tell if he believed Alana or not.

“Just because Hani’s been arrested, doesn’t mean the investigation’s over. That’s why we’re here,” Alana said.

“I don’t understand.”

“There are some in the department who think she’s guilty, but some of us don’t believe that.”

“You mean you,” he said.

“You know Hani, too. You know she would never hurt Panos,” Alana said.

“We’re wondering if Panos got in touch with you when he came back to Maui. Did he say anything that might have led you to believe he thought he was in danger?” I asked.

Tench thought for a moment.

“No. I mean he seemed stressed about other stuff, but he never said anything about someone wanting to hurt him.”

“What was he stressed about?” I asked.

Tench immediately looked at Alana and then looked away.

“Was it about Hani?” Alana asked.

Tench nodded.

“He said they were constantly fighting.”

“About what?” I asked.

“About everything.”

“There must have been something specific,” Alana suggested.

“Hani didn’t tell you any of this?” Tench asked.

“No, but you know Hani would never admit something was wrong.”

Tench hesitated some more.

“This would really help us with the investigation,” Alana said.

“Panos said after they lost the baby, everything changed.”

“Baby? What baby?” Alana asked.

“You didn’t know?” Tench asked.

Alana said nothing.

“Hani got pregnant while they were in L.A. That’s why they decided to get married, but she had a miscarriage.”

Alana looked to the ground. There was silence for several uncomfortable moments. Finally, Alana spoke.

“Panos must have wanted to call off the wedding.”

Tench nodded.

“According to Panos, he made the suggestion, and Hani completely lost it. She’d been pushing for Panos to marry her for a while. He accused her of trapping him by getting pregnant. She demanded that he still marry her, or she was going to leave him.”

Alana and I both said nothing.

“Panos did love her. He told me that several times,” Tench said.

“So why did he cheat on her?” I asked.

“Come on, man. You know some guys are just like that. It has nothing to do with the girl. The guys just always stray.”

I wondered if Alana was going to jump off the sofa and punch him in the nose on behalf of all the women Panos wronged over the years, but she did nothing.

“So the fights were all about the wedding?” I asked.

“Yeah, Panos changed his mind and was committed to marrying her. He didn’t want to lose her, but then they started arguing about other stuff too. Where to live. Money.”

“What about money?” Alana asked.

“Panos gave her a prenup, but she refused to sign it.”

“When did she sign it then?” I asked.

“I don’t know that she did.”

I remembered Panos declaring his love for Hani at the rehearsal party. I also remembered him saying how he was looking forward to marrying her. Had Panos gotten her to sign it before then, or was that potentially a source of conflict after the party?

“Do you think she could have signed it, and Panos didn’t mention it to you?” I asked.

“Maybe,” Tench admitted. “We talked maybe once or twice a week. He was so busy when he got back that I didn’t even get a chance to see him.”

“Why didn’t you come to the party?” Alana asked. “I don’t remember seeing you there.”

“I had a job in Hana. By the time I got home, I was beat.”

I remembered going to Hana on my first trip to Maui. It takes forever and a day to get there. I believed his excuse, but it did seem odd that he and Panos hadn’t found some time to see each other, especially if they were such good friends.

“I should have seen him,” Tench said, as if he was reading my mind. “I can’t believe I didn’t see him before he was gone.”

“It’s not your fault,” Alana said.

“If you don’t think Hani did this, then who did?” Tench asked.

“You said Panos never mentioned being fearful of anyone, but do you know of anyone who was angry with him?” I asked.

Tench laughed.

“The line of people who were pissed at him would stretch from here to California. Look, I loved Panos like a brother, but even I knew he could be a pretty self-centered guy. It didn’t exactly endear him to a lot of people.”

“No name jumps out at you?” Alana asked.

Tench shook his head.

“Not really. No one who would be angry enough to kill him,” he said.

“Okay, we appreciate your time,” Alana said.

She stood, and I followed her cue.

“It was a pleasure meeting you,” I said. “I’m deeply sorry about the loss of your good friend.”

Tench shook my hand and nodded. Alana then walked up to him and hugged him goodbye.

“If you think of anything that might help us, please call me,” she said.

“I will,” he said.

Tench opened the door for us, and Alana and I walked out into the night. We climbed into my car and backed out of the driveway. Tench stayed in the open doorway until we drove down the street and lost view of him. I wanted to ask Alana about Tench’s news about the baby, but I didn’t want to be the first one to bring it up. I turned left out of the neighborhood and put us back on the main road toward Paia and Kahului. Alana still said nothing, and it took every ounce of my strength to keep quiet. Finally she turned to me.

“I’m starving. Want to grab dinner at Eddie’s?” she asked.

I thought it an interesting choice. Eddie’s was the site of our first date. As I am prone to do, I immediately started to overanalyze her suggestion. Was this supposed to mean something? Of course, Eddie’s was the best restaurant between our current position and Alana’s car, so maybe her choice didn’t mean anything beyond a guarantee of good food.

“Sure,” I said. “Eddie’s sounds good.”

We drove for another twenty minutes before we arrived at the restaurant. It was late, and the parking lot was mostly empty. We snagged the booth in the back where we normally sat. We both ordered pancakes, which was our food of choice at this restaurant. I know what you’re asking yourself. Pancakes? At night? But hey, don’t judge us until you try them for yourself. I guarantee that you’d order the exact same thing.

“Do you believe him?” Alana asked.

“About the baby?”

Alana nodded.

“Yeah, I’m not sure why he or Panos would lie about that.”

“I believe him too,” she said.

“It’s terrible news, but it doesn’t mean anything regarding this case.”

“It goes toward establishing Hani’s state of mind. She was a wreck. She’d just lost a baby and then Panos backs out of the wedding. So she threatens to leave him. Next thing you know, they’re arguing over Panos’ money and the prenup.”

“So you think she did it?” I asked.

“I don’t know what to think,” she admitted.

“How much was Panos worth anyway?” I asked.

“I don’t know, but it was a lot. His parents moved to Northern California from Santorini. They were from a long line of winemakers. Panos said there was some sort of rift between his father and his uncles, which is why they moved to America. His father started a vineyard in California, and it just took off from there.”

“Did Panos help run the business?” I asked.

“No, I don’t think Panos ever worked a day in his life. His parents set him up with a trust fund that paid out millions every year.”

“Who gets that money now?”

“I don’t know. Maybe Daphne. I think she and Panos were the only children. I guess everything might go to her.”

Our pancakes came, and they were as good as I remembered them.

“Do you need me to drive you home? I don’t mind taking you back to your car in the morning.”