Wedding Day Dead: A Murder on Maui Mystery (23 page)

“He’s the smaller one who gave me this yesterday.”

“Got yah. Yeah, this Makani fella kept telling me how sorry he was. You’d think my bar had gotten blown up or something.”

I walked over to Bart and extended my hand.

“Either way, I appreciate your understanding. It won’t happen again,” I said.

Bart shook my hand.

“I’ll catch you later,” I said.

“Sure thing. Thanks for stopping by.”

I left the bar and walked back to my car. I wondered how much apologizing Makani did for his hothead brother. I got into my car and drove home.

I decided to test Alana’s theory that anyone could pick a lock. I logged onto YouTube, and sure enough, there were several videos that showed you how to
pick a deadbolt. They made it sound like any first grader could do it, but it was actually trickier than it looked. It took me about twenty minutes to get the lock on Foxx’s house to open. I figured I could probably get that time down to a couple of minutes if I practiced more. Still, my brief experiment on lock picking taught me it might not be the easiest thing for an amateur to do, especially if that amateur was in the process of trying to frame Hani. He or she had to be nervous. They would have been in possession of the flashlight with Panos’ hair and blood.

I didn’t know what else to do at this point, so I drove to Hani’s house. When I got there, I noticed she had a privacy fence around her backyard. It was something I hadn’t really paid attention to on my previous visit. That time, I had concentrated solely on the actions of the police. Both her neighbors had one-story houses, so it would have been relatively easy to play with the lock without anyone noticing. I walked into the backyard and examined the lock. I didn’t notice anything weird. It had been a wasted trip, but sometimes you feel compelled to do something.

I got home and decided to take the dog for a walk when my phone rang.

“Hello.”

“This is Mara Winters, Hani’s attorney. I just got out of a meeting with her. She asked me to call you and pass on some information. She said she remembered Makani had a house key once. He would cat sit for her when she was out of town, but she got the key back.”

“Okay, thanks for the information.”

“Does this make sense to you?” she asked.

“Perfect sense. Thanks.”

I ended the call. He might have given the key back, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t copy the key beforehand. There was something else.
I’m sorry.
Makani said that to Hani and the bar owner.

Was that the answer?

I drove straight to Kihei. The traffic was heavy, as usual, but it gave me time to work out my theory. It made sense, and I was completely convinced I was right by the time I arrived.

I parked in the lot of the strip mall where Makani’s surf shop was located. This time I parked in a slot near the road versus the back of the mall in case I found him behind the store like before. I had no idea what Kai’s car looked like,
so there was no point in scanning the parking lot. I really hoped he wasn’t there, for multiple reasons, but it wasn’t going to stop me from exploring my new theory. Before I entered the store, I took out my phone and turned the video recorder on. I didn’t think there was much chance I would get a confession this morning, but it was better to be safe than sorry, as the old saying goes. I slipped the phone back in my pocket. Hopefully it could pick up the audio between us.

I opened the door and saw Makani sitting behind the sales counter. Kai was nowhere to be seen, neither was his Hulk Hogan-sized friend or the young guy with the magazine I saw on my last visit. It was just Makani and me. I expected more of a reaction from him when he saw me, but he seemed pretty calm.

I walked across the store and stopped in front of the counter. We were only a few feet away from each other. He didn’t stand. He didn’t say anything. He just stared at me.

“Thanks for paying my bill at Harry’s,” I said.

Makani still said nothing.

“Thanks also for visiting Hani this morning. I know she gets really lonely in there. You feel bad about that, don’t you?”

“Who wouldn’t?” he asked.

“She told me you kept telling her you were sorry,” I said.

I waited for a reaction from Makani, but I got none.

“When she told me you said you were sorry on your first visit, I didn’t think much of it. That’s kind of the thing to say, isn’t it?”

I waited a moment for Makani to answer me. He didn’t.

“I’m a little mad at myself. I should have caught it then, but it wasn’t until after the bar owner told me you had said you were sorry that I figured it out.”

I watched Makani for a reaction, but he gave me nothing. I wondered if he had a really good poker face, or if my new theory was total garbage.

“When you told Hani you were sorry, you weren’t saying it in a generic sense, like telling a widow you’re sorry for her husband dying. Your sorry was more specific. You actually feel responsible for her being in jail. I never seriously considered you for killing Panos. I knew you hated the guy, but I thought you were too mild-mannered to pull off slitting his throat. It would take some serious fury to do that. Your brother is another story. You told him what happened after the rehearsal party. He lost his cool and went to the marina. Did you follow Panos there? Is that how you guys knew he was there?”

Makani said nothing.

“Here’s why else I know Kai did it. The flashlight. I know you love Hani. You’re probably mad at her too for leaving you, but I don’t think you’d actually frame her. Kai, on the other hand, wouldn’t have an issue with doing that. He’s the one who put the flashlight in her garage. He got the key from you, but Kai didn’t have to frame her. As far as he knew, he’d gotten away with it. Or maybe it was Peter Bell. Maybe once Peter contacted you guys after the murder, Kai felt he needed some extra insurance so someone else would take the fall. It’s kind of killing two birds with one stone. He gets back at Panos for humiliating you, and he frames the girl who broke your heart. He’s an asshole, but he really cares about his brother. I’ll give him that.”

“None of that’s true,” Makani said.

He said it so calmly, like he was simply talking about the weather.

“You don’t sound passionate about that. If my family had just been accused of committing a crime we didn’t commit, I’d be pretty upset.”

“You’ve got no evidence of any of this,” he said.

“Maybe not today, but I’ll get it, especially now that I know who to concentrate on. I’ve been spreading myself too thin since Panos had so many enemies. Now I’m just going to look at you and Kai. You’ll have made a mistake, if not during Panos’ murder, then during Peter Bell’s.”

I left the surf shop. I thought about immediately calling Alana and telling her I figured it out, but I wanted more time to think things through. I wanted to wrap everything up in a nice little package for her.

The traffic was just as heavy leaving Kihei as it was getting there. I finally got home and took Maui the dog for another walk. I thought about the case as I walked, and I realized I’d made a colossal mistake by letting them know I had figured it out. My ego had gotten the better of me. I saw Makani as a weakling. I thought there was a good chance I could have shaken and intimidated him. I expected him to confess, but he’d remained pretty reserved and in control throughout the meeting at the surf shop.

I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to nail these guys for the crimes. The police never found the murder weapon. The camera footage from the marina security system was gone for good, or at least stolen by Kai and/ or Makani. I had no doubt they’d destroyed the computer drive by now. It was probably in a million pieces at the bottom of some random dumpster.

There was also the problem of whether or not I’d even be alive to keep investigating the case. Why? Well, there was the little thing of Kai and his burly friend standing in my driveway when I got back to my house. It was pretty obvious why they were there. They’d wasted no time in heading my way once Makani called them.

“I told you to stay the hell away,” Kai said.

He charged me. His bodyguard friend was only a few steps behind. I waited until the last moment, and then I slammed my fist into Kai’s throat. He gasped for air and immediately lost interest in me.

His friend was another story. The burly friend hit me in the exact same spot that Kai had hit me. I felt the cut split open again. This guy had a lot more force behind his punch as well. The dizziness and wooziness were immediate.

I balled up my fist to strike back, but he punched me a second time. This one was aimed at my nose. I assumed he was getting back at me for the damage I caused to his. I turned my head right as his fist connected. His punch glanced off the side of my nose and landed solidly under my eye. He was much faster than I thought possible for a guy his size. He hit me a third time in my stomach, and I doubled over. I heard him laugh as he swept his leg behind my legs, and I fell hard on the ground. I was on my back, and I saw his ugly face as he leaned over me.

“No cop to rescue you this time.”

He lifted his leg and stomped down on my stomach. Every ounce of air left my body. He stomped on my stomach a second time. I tried desperately to catch my breath but couldn’t. I heard Maui the dog bark in the background, and then I heard my arm snap as the big guy stomped on it. I don’t remember exactly what happened next, but I think he kicked me in the side of the head.

I saw Foxx’s face when I woke up.

“Was it those two guys from the bar?” he asked.

I tried to answer him but couldn’t. My brain was too clouded.

“Hold on, buddy,” he said.

I don’t know what happened next because I passed out again. The next time I woke, both Foxx and Alana were looking at me.

“Where am I?” I asked.

“Emergency room,” Foxx said.

“You’re gonna be okay,” Alana said.

“I’ll go tell the doc you’re awake,” Foxx said.

Foxx stood and left my bedside. Alana moved her chair closer to me.

“Who did this to you?” Alana asked.

“You have to ask?”

“Kai,” Alana said.

I didn’t answer her because the emergency room doctor pulled the curtain back. Foxx was right behind him.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Rutherford.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call it good,” I said.

“You’re alive. That qualifies as good in my book,” he said.

“I see your point.”

I tried to sit up by pressing my arms against the bed. A sharp pain raced through my left arm, so I didn’t get very far.

“I wouldn’t advise that. The radius and ulna, which are the two bones in your lower arm, were snapped in half. You’re going to need surgery.”

“Great,” I said. “Any other damage. My head feels like it was run over by a truck?”

“I suspect you have a concussion as well. They really did a number on you. We’ll keep you in here a few more hours for observation. I can give you the name of an orthopedist if you don’t have one already.”

“Thanks,” I said.

The doctor left my area to attend other patients. Foxx turned to Alana.

“Can you do me a favor and take him home? I’ve got a couple of things I need to take care of ?”

“Sure thing,” Alana said.

“Take care, buddy. I’ll see you later tonight,” he said.

Foxx left, and I had the pleasure of hanging out in the emergency room much longer than a few more hours. A nurse appeared at some point and put my arm in a splint and wrapped it tightly with an Ace bandage. It hurt like hell going on, but the pressure of the bandage eventually made the pain subside somewhat.

They eventually let me leave, and Alana drove me home. It wasn’t until we pulled in the driveway that I thought about Maui the dog.

“Holy shit, where’s my dog? He was with me when those guys jumped me.”

“Foxx found him when he got home. He was sitting by your side,” Alana said.

“Really? He didn’t run off ?”

“He was right there.”

I walked into the house, and Maui the dog ran to greet me.

“Hey, buddy. Thanks for sticking with me.”

Alana stayed with me until Foxx came home, which was a few hours later. They had a brief conversation in the other room, but I couldn’t hear what they said. Alana came back into my room and asked me if I needed anything before she left. I told her I was fine.

Foxx poked his head into my room after she left.

“Feeling any better?” he asked.

“Yeah. A little. Thanks for taking me to the ER.”

“No problem. Holler if you need anything.”

Foxx left the room. I looked down at Maui the dog, who was sleeping on the floor beside my bed. There’s something to be said for loyalty.

XX

The Video

T
he next day I went to the orthopedist. He, too, recommended surgery since the break was so bad. My left arm ended up with a few pins and plates, and I wondered if I would end up permanently setting off the metal detector every time I went to the airport.

The few days after the surgery were a haze of painkillers and frequent naps. My head started hurting worse than before. At first, I was worried it was complications from my possible concussion. The throbbing in my head was so bad I actually vomited a few times. I stopped taking the pain medication, thinking that might be the real culprit in causing the headaches. Within a few hours, the pain subsided in my head. Of course, the pain immediately returned in my arm. I say all this to explain why I was so distracted and didn’t think to look for my cell phone in those initial days after the fight with Kai.

Foxx had gone to the grocery store the third morning after my surgery, and I wanted to call him to bring me back a few things. That’s when I realized I hadn’t used my phone in a while, and I really didn’t know where it was. I slowly remembered having it on my walk with Maui the dog, so I assumed it might be somewhere in the front yard. It could have easily fallen off me when Kai’s friend was beating the living hell out of me. I went outside and searched for the phone, but I couldn’t find it. Alana drove up while I was on my knees combing through the grass.

“What are you doing out here?” she asked.