Wedding Day Dead: A Murder on Maui Mystery (9 page)

“What can I do for you, Detective?”

“You may or may not know this, but I’m heading up the investigation into the death of Panos Laskaris.”

“Alana told me you were the lead on the case.”

“So you still talk to Detective Hu?”

“I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

“Word is that you two are on the outs.”

“Excuse me, Detective, but I’m not sure what business that is of yours.”

“So you’re denying it?” he asked.

“I’m not denying or confirming. I’m simply saying it’s none of your business.”

“Oh, but it is very much my business. I’ve been told by multiple witnesses that you and the deceased had a disagreement at the rehearsal party the night he was killed.”

“I really don’t know why anyone would say that. There was no disagreement.”

“So you were okay with him kissing your ex-girlfriend?” he asked.

I knew what he was trying to do. Despite knowing this rather obvious interrogation tactic, I still found myself highly annoyed by the guy.

“I’m not sure I understand what you’re getting at. Why don’t you make things a lot easier for both of us and just tell me what you want to know. I have somewhere I need to be.”

“And where is that?”

“Again, it’s none of your business.”

Pissing off a police detective probably wasn’t the best course of action, but I didn’t see what good it would do to tell him I was going to see Daphne and start a second investigation that would be competing with his. I also didn’t want to lie to him and have it come back on me at a later date.

“Why are you being hostile with me?” he asked.

“I apologize, Detective, but please, tell me what you would like to know.”

“Very well. Where were you the night Panos was killed?”

“I was here. I left the party and came directly back here.”

“And was there someone here who can vouch for you?”

“Just the dog.”

“You think this is cute, Mr. Rutherford?”

“No, I don’t think it’s cute. A man has been murdered, and judging from your presence here, you’ve made zero progress on the case.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because if you’re questioning me as a potential killer, then you don’t have the slightest idea who murdered Panos. I would never hurt anyone. I’ve certainly never killed anyone. This lead is a complete dead end for you.”

“So you wouldn’t want to hurt Mr. Laskaris even if he was banging your girlfriend?”

Detective Adcock smiled. I smiled right back.

“Is there anything else, Detective?” I asked.

“Not at the moment, but I’ll probably be back in the near future.”

“Of course. But please call first and make an appointment to waste my time. I have a very busy schedule and most likely won’t be here.”

“Of course.”

We both stood, and I walked him to the door. He turned to me before he left the house.

“Shame about you and Alana. She’s quite beautiful,” he said.

“Yes, but ‘stunning’ is the more appropriate word to describe her.”

He turned and exited the house. I watched him all the way to his car, and then I shut the door as calmly as I could.

His last comment gave it all away. He wanted Alana for himself, and he resented me for dating her, or having dated her, whatever the status of our relationship was at that moment.

Alana was right. The guy was a first-class asshole. This was his case, so I had no doubt I’d eventually run into him again, especially since I was about to start my own investigation. He would tell me to back off, maybe even threaten me. I didn’t care. I was even more determined at that moment to find the killer myself just so I could shove it in his face.

VIII

Peter Bell

I
drove over to Daphne’s house and rang the doorbell. I was greeted by Kalena again.

“Hello,” I said. “I have an appointment with Daphne.”

“Yes, she told me you’d be coming by this morning. She’s in her mother’s sitting room.”

Kalena escorted me to the back of the house even though I remembered the way from my previous visit. When we entered the room, I saw Daphne standing by the window and looking out at the ocean.

“May I get either of you something to drink?” Kalena asked.

“No, thank you,” I said.

“Ms. Laskaris?” Kalena asked.

Daphne shook her head. Kalena smiled and left the room.

Daphne motioned to one of the chairs, and I sat down. She sat opposite me in the same seat her mother had been in before.

“How’s your mother this morning?” I asked.

“She’s already left for California.”

“Already?”

“She just came here to get Panos’ body. His funeral will be in a few days.”

“Have you made the list for us?” I asked.

Daphne picked up a small piece of paper on the table beside her chair and handed it to me. There were several names on the list, two of which I immediately recognized, Wes and Makina, the co-owner of the overpriced restaurant and the ex-boyfriend of Hani who wanted her back. There were a few other
names I didn’t know, but the last name on the list was the most intriguing one of all. Mine. I guess she could tell by the look on my face that I’d read to the bottom of the list.

“You asked me to write down everyone I thought might want to harm Panos,” she said.

“Yes, you were right to put my name down, so let’s get this out of the way before we proceed with our investigation.”

I laid the list down on my lap.

“Ask me any question you want to?” I said.

She asked me nothing, but I already knew what her questions were.

“I left the party after I saw your brother kissing Alana. I didn’t leave the house for a few days because I couldn’t stop feeling sorry for myself.”

“I want you to know I was against my mother’s suggestion that we hire you for this job.”

“Then why did you mention my involvement in a murder investigation?” I asked. “It sounds to me like you encouraged your mother to hire me. I didn’t ask for this assignment. I did everything I could to talk her out of it.”

“As you know, my mother can be very insistent. She kept asking me to find her the name of someone who could do an independent investigation. I think it should be left up to the police, though,” she said.

“Your mother told me you didn’t have confidence in Detective Adcock,” I said.

“I don’t, but I don’t see how we can do much better. We don’t have the authority to investigate anyone.”

“That’s exactly why we may succeed. They’ll never see us coming. The badge is bound to make people nervous, whereas you’re the grieving sister. There’s a good chance people will let their guards down around you. Our job is to pay attention closely and listen for inconsistencies in their stories. Sooner or later, the lies will be revealed.”

Daphne said nothing. I could sense the wheels in her head turning. She wasn’t sure if she could trust me. I understood. We didn’t know each other well at all, but at the same time, I knew she’d probably rather be out there trying to solve her brother’s murder than sitting in this house waiting for an incompetent detective to catch a lucky break. And let’s face it - that was the only way Adcock would be able to solve this thing. The killer would have to walk into the police
station, confess to Adcock directly, and then lock him or herself up because the detective would probably still not comprehend what was going on.

“I don’t mind working alone, if you’d prefer not to come with me,” I said.

“No, I’ll be fine. Who would you like to interview first?”

I looked at her list again. I read the first name on the list.

“Peter Bell works at the marina. Is that correct?” I asked.

“Yes, he’s the one who found Panos’ body.”

“Then he’s our first interview.”

Daphne and I left her house and took my convertible to the marina in Lahaina where Panos’ boat was docked. The traffic was fortunately light, and we made good time. We entered the marina manager’s office and asked the young woman behind the counter for Peter Bell, only to be informed that he was touring the marina with a customer. We were told we could wait for him, so we decided to walk the docks until he returned.

“What made you add Peter to the list?” I asked.

“Panos’ boat used to belong to Peter. He has a gambling problem and came to Panos, asking for a loan. Panos took advantage of the situation and instead made him an offer on his boat.”

“Let me guess. He got it for substantially less than it was worth,” I said.

“Peter was understandably reluctant to sell it to him for that price. Panos told him he could buy it back for the same price once he got back on his feet, but when he tried to buy it back a year later, Panos refused to sell it to him.”

Great guy,
I thought.

“I assume Peter was pretty upset.”

“He was furious. He threatened Panos, but Panos only laughed.”

“What exactly do you mean when you say ‘threatened him?’ Did he tell him he would hurt him?”

“No, nothing like that. I was there when it happened. He came by the house and demanded the boat back. When Panos refused, Peter told him he would tell all of our friends that Panos had taken advantage of him. Panos told him to go ahead. Panos said that Peter would only be exposing himself as a gambler. Peter dropped it. Maybe he was worried that he would lose his job if the truth about his finances came out.”

Daphne looked past me toward the gate near the front of the dock.

“There he is now,” she said.

I turned and saw a tall, blond man about the same age as Panos talking to an older gentleman. The two shook hands, and then the blond guy turned and walked toward us. I could see his expression change once he noticed Daphne. His wide smile vanished and was replaced by a decidedly depressed look. I couldn’t tell if he was upset because he didn’t like Daphne or if he just didn’t want to be reminded of Panos again.

“Hello, Peter,” Daphne said.

“Hello,” he responded.

Peter looked at me suspiciously.

“This is my friend, Poe,” Daphne said.

“Hello,” I said, extending my hand.

He hesitated a moment and then shook my hand.

“We wanted to ask you a few questions,” she said.

“Actually, I’m late for my next appointment.”

“It will just take a couple of minutes,” I said.

“It would really help us out,” Daphne said.

“Okay.”

“Where did you first meet Panos?” I asked.

“At his restaurant in Lahaina. I would go there a few times a month, and we’d talk at the bar. One day I invited him out on the boat.”

“How did you find Panos’ body?” I asked.

“I already went over this with the police,” he said.

“I’m sure, but it would help us if you could go over it again.”

“Why? Are you a private investigator or something?”

“Or something,” I said.

“Maybe I should call my lawyer.”

“We don’t think you had anything to do with this, Peter. We’re just trying to get some information that might help us,” Daphne said.

Peter looked past us, perhaps searching for his next client. Finally, he turned back to us.

“I was walking the dock that night when I saw blood. It was on the dock boards right below his boat. I thought someone might have been hurt, so I climbed onboard.”

“What were you doing on the dock that night?” I asked.

“I have a friend who lets me use his boat sometimes. I planned to take it out the next morning, and I was taking some supplies down to it.”

“And it’s docked near Panos’ boat?”

“That’s right. Just a few slips down from his.”

“It must get pretty dark down there. How did you notice the blood?”

“There’s a dock light just a few feet from Panos’ boat. The blood wasn’t hard to see.”

I looked around the marina for security cameras.

“What about a security system? Are there cameras placed throughout?”

“Like I told the police, we have a security system, but it was down. It should have been fixed before that night, but the repair guy from the security company was on vacation.”

“Did anyone know that other than the staff here?” I asked.

“No, just us and the security company. We wanted to keep it quiet. Figured the boat owners might get upset if they knew the system was down.”

So the killer either somehow knew the system was down,
I thought,
or they just got incredibly lucky.

“Daphne says the boat used to belong to you and that you sold it to Panos,” I said.

“That’s right.”

“She also said that he refused to sell it back as promised.”

“What’s your point?” he asked.

“It seems like a pretty shitty thing to do to a guy,” I said. “I’m just wondering who else he screwed over.”

Peter glanced at Daphne. I assumed he wondered what her reaction would be to my comment regarding Panos’ character.

“I’m not suggesting you had anything to do with his death, but you must have been pretty mad at how he took advantage of you,” I continued.

Peter shrugged.

“It’s my own damn fault. I never should have allowed myself to get into that situation in the first place.”

“Sounds like you took it pretty well,” I said.

“What else was I supposed to do?”

“That’s not true, Peter. I was there when you confronted Panos. You were screaming at him,” Daphne said. “You threatened him.”

“What do you want me to say, Daphne? Panos ripped me off when I was at my lowest. That boat was worth four times what he paid for it. I’ve done my best to get my life back on track. Do you know how hard it’s been to come here every day and see the boat that should have been mine? I worked for years to buy that thing. He paid extra each month for us to maintain it while he was in California. I had to clean and maintain my own boat for him. Now who’s going to want it after what happened inside? I don’t.”

“That’s what you’re worried about? A damn boat? Panos is dead,” Daphne said.

Peter looked away. He turned back to Daphne.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just a boat.”

“You’re not sorry. You didn’t give a damn about him. I know that wasn’t the only money he loaned you. Why don’t you tell Poe about that?”