Maui Madness (Zoe Donovan Mysteries Book 7) (10 page)

“I co
uld do that.”

“Can we bring anything else?” Malie asked. “Maybe something to contribute to the meal?”

“I think I have everything we need,” Ellie said. “Although I’d love to learn to make some traditional Hawaiian dishes while I’m here.”

“I have some recipes
that were handed down by my grandmother. I’m not much of a cook myself, but I’d be happy to share them. I’ll bring them tonight, and you can look through them and copy any you find interesting. Zoe said you are famous for your appetizers. We have a local favorite called a musubi.”

“
What’s in it?”

“It’s basically s
pam and sticky rice wrapped in nori, a seaweed wrap used for sushi. It sounds strange, I’m sure, but it’s really good.”

“Spam? As in the stuff you get in
a can?” Ellie asked.

Malie laughed. “Spam is a staple in Hawaii. Don’t knock it until you
’ve tried it.”

“I’ll try anything once. Maybe when we get back we can have a luau at Zak’s and invite all our friends. I can try out some of the traditional Hawaiian dishes I plan to learn to make,” Ellie suggested.

“No pig,” I insisted.

“I think we can do without the pig. At least a whole pig. But maybe we can serve some pork dishes instead.”

“We have a dish called Kalua pork that is really good. I’m pretty sure I have a recipe for it. You can also do pork and pineapple kabobs. They would be fun to make, and to try some of my grandmother’s recipes while you are here. My mom died a long time ago, and there are many dishes I haven’t had since my grandma died over eight years ago.”

“We’ll plan a day,” Ellie promised.

“Not to interrupt, but do either of you recognize that boat?” I asked Malie and Pono. “It’s been following us for the past ten minutes.”

Malie squinted. “It’s pretty far away
, but it sort of looks like the yacht that was in the harbor a while back.”

Pono got out a pair of binoculars and took a closer l
ook. “I think it
is
the yacht that was in the harbor. I thought they’d left the area.”

“Do you think it
’s the drug runners Anton warned you about?” Malie sounded nervous.

“If these guys are drug runners
, they’re a different breed of drug runner than any I’ve ever seen before. Take a look.”

Pono handed the binoculars to Malie
, who then handed them to me. The men were all dressed in expensive suits. They looked like mobsters rather than drug runners and seemed to be arguing about something, although they were much too far away to hear what they were saying. One of the men raised his arm to point at something in the distance. I could see the sun reflect off something that looked a whole lot like a gun strapped to his chest.

“Let’s get out of here,” I s
aid.

I suddenly began to wonder if taking Anton’s warning
about the danger involved in our treasure hunt might not be a good idea after all.

“You know what I find odd?” I asked as the six of us dined on tri-tip, fresh corn on the cob, avocado and tomato salad, and flaky French bread.

“What do you find odd?” Ellie asked.

“The timing of Anton’s murder. If I had a grudge against him and wanted to kill him, why would I do it on an island with limited access and a finite number of guests? Why not do it the day before or the day after the party, when the number of potential suspects would be greatly increased?”

“Maybe Anton’s death wasn’t premeditated,” Zak pointed out. “Maybe the murder was a crime of passion.”

“Or maybe the killer saw Anton and Pono arguing and realized they had the perfect opportunity to kill Anton and frame Pono,” Malie presented.

“Or maybe the killer d
idn’t have access to Anton during the course of his everyday life but knew he’d have an opportunity at the luau. He was a busy man with a layer of people who served as watchdogs that protected him from the general public,” Pono added.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Say the killer was one of the caterers or plantation workers, or the gardener at the estate. Unless this person knew Anton personally, the chance of gaining access to him was remote. There’s a security guard at the building where he worked. If you got past him—and few people ever did—you still needed to get past his secretary . . . who, I might add, is a barracuda in a sensible skirt. Anton lived in a secure building with a metal detector and a security guard. His apartment is in the penthouse, which requires a special key to access. It’d be easier to get to the Pope.”

“So I want to kill Anton and find out that he will be on the island and recognize that as my chance?” I put together.

“Makes sense,” Levi agreed.

“Okay
, but why dispose of the body in such a public way?” I asked. “If the murder was a crime of opportunity, why not just bury the body or dump it in the ocean? Why the pig pit?”

“You think the public display is significant,” Malie said to me.

“It makes sense that it is. Who would not only want to kill him but send a statement as well?”

Everyone sat quietly as we pondered the question. The surf was gentle tonight. The moon had risen and the trail of light that reflected off the water held my gaze. There was a warm breeze flutter
ing through the palm trees, creating a primal rhythm that reminded me of the call of the native drums I’d heard coming from the distance at night.

“Anton was stabbed in the back,” I pointed out. “Stabbing someone in the back could just be opportunistic
, but it could have been ritualistic as well. Is there anyone who might feel that Anton stabbed them in the back? Someone he might have betrayed?”

“James Pope,” Malie and Pono said in
unison.

“James Pope?” I asked.

“James and Anton used to be partners,” Malie began. “They did several deals together and planned to work on a development on the southeast coast, near Hana. The area is environmentally sensitive, so they were faced with a series of roadblocks that pretty much killed the project. I’m not sure what happened exactly, but the next thing I knew, Anton had partnered up with a local businessman named Noa Rees, who is well regarded and has a lot of pull with the local government. The men planned a project in almost the same exact area where Anton and James were shot down, but this time it looked like the permit was going to be approved. James took Anton to court, but Anton somehow managed to convince the judge that the project he was developing with Noa was a completely different project from the one he’d planned with James, even though everyone knew he’d simply repackaged the original plans.”

“So Anton symbolically stabbed James in the back. Was he at the party?” I
asked.

“No,” Pono
said.

“Is Noa still working with Anton?”

“No. Anton had a new partner named Kingsley Portman,” Pono told them.

“Actually
, I think Kingsley and Anton have worked together for a long time,” Malie corrected him. “Kingsley lives on the mainland and so is more of a silent partner, but it seems like he’s been around a lot lately, so I’m guessing he’s more involved in the current project.”

“Can you think of any reason Kingsley would want Anton out of the way?” I asked.

Malie and Pono both shook their heads.

“So we
’re back to square one,” Ellie decided. “Anyone want dessert?”

I helped Zak clear the table while Levi and Pono built a fire in the pit and Ellie and Malie prepared the dessert. The complex murder mystery we faced was giving me a headache
, and I found myself agreeing with Pono that we should drop the whole thing and focus on the treasure hunt. I didn’t know the players in the murder well enough to offer anything beyond what the local police were likely to turn up, so why should I put myself through the mental exercise?

By the time Zak and I had finished the dishes, Pono was playing the ukulele next to the fire while Levi, Ell
ie, and Malie sipped wine and nibbled on Ellie’s pineapple coconut cake.

“How about you and I sneak out and go for a walk?” Zak
whispered.

A walk did sound nice
, and we really hadn’t had much alone time since we’d been on Maui.

“I should tell Ellie,” I s
aid. “If she realizes we’re gone, she might worry, given her mental state and the events of the past few days.”

“I’ll grab our sweatshirts,” Zak offered. “Do you want your red one?”

“Yeah, that’s fine, and get Charlie’s leash. We might as well take him out for his evening constitutional.”

After I explained to the others what we were
going to do, Zak, Charlie, and I headed down the beach. We let the dog run free since the beach was mostly deserted at that time of night. As we walked along the sand, Pono’s ukulele faded into the background.

“It sure is beautiful tonight.” I linked my hand with Zak’s.

“Most nights on the island are pretty spectacular.”

“And I had fun diving
today. I hope we can figure out what ship the debris field is from. Not that I care about the treasure per se, but finding it would make for a good story to tell when we get back home.”

“I have to say this trip ha
s been a lot more eventful than I’d imagined it would be. I’m enjoying myself, but I do miss having
us
time.”

“Yeah,” I agreed.

“Maybe we can go to dinner tomorrow? Just the two of us. I know a great seafood place on the other side of the island. They have an extensive wine list and the deck is right on the water.”

“I’m going with Malie to the south shore tomorrow
,” Zoe reminded him. “Maybe later in the week?”

“It’s
Fourth of July weekend. I know you and Ellie have been making plans for the four of us. I guess we can try to sneak away next week.”

“Wow, I can’t believe it
’s already the Fourth of July. I should call Jeremy to remind him to run our annual pets and fireworks article in the paper.”

“I’m sure Jeremy will remember.”

“I know, but I should remind him. Jeremy’s a night owl, so I’m sure he’s still up. I could call his cell so he can do it first thing in the morning. Besides, I wanted to talk to him some more about the poisonings near the campground. I’ve been thinking . . .”

Zak stopped walking. He turned me so that we were standing face
-to-face. I stopped talking as he looked deeply into my eyes. I was certain he was going to kiss me, but then he simply pulled me close and held me tight. We stood that way for several minutes, his arms around my body, my ear pressed to his chest. I could hear the rhythm of his heart beat as I relaxed into his embrace. The longer we stood perfectly still, the calmer and less cluttered my mind became. I know that Zak loves me for who I am, but I also realize that more often than not, I’m a mental and emotional mess. I seem to be the type of person who’s involved in everything and with everybody, all of the time. Zak deserves to have his own special Zoe time.

I let myself concentrate on Zak’s beating heart as thoughts of sunken treasure, dead bodies, poisoned animals, and Fourth of July plans faded into the recess
es of my mind. I could feel the warm water swirl around my ankles as the tide came in. I lifted my head and kissed Zak’s neck as the outgoing tide pulled the sand around my toes into the sea.

“It’s a nice night for a swim,” I whispered into Zak’s ear.

“I thought we might stay out a while longer.”

“I wasn’t thinking about a swim in the pool,” I said as I pulled both my sweatshirt and
T-shirt over my head.

I woke up at first light the next morning. Zak was still snoring softly and there was no movement in the rest of the house to indicate that anyone else was up yet either. I decided to take Charlie for a walk down the beach to clear my mind. The walk with Zak the previous evening had been nice. Okay, better than nice. The problem was that one thing had led to another, and I’d barely gotten any sleep. Some people do fine on a couple of hours a night, but I’m not one of them. I had a feeling it was going to be a long day.

I watched as Charlie trotted along, chasing waves.
I wasn’t sure how he would do with the waves crashing onto the shore, but he seemed to be having the time of his life. Zak had even put him on the front of his stand-up paddleboard yesterday and taken him for a short ride near the shore. Charlie had sat perfectly still, not seeming to mind being confined to the small board at all. He was good for Zak. I know he can’t replace Lambda in Zak’s heart, but it was evident that Charlie’s loyalty and devotion to him was helping him heal.

I thought about my relationship with Zak during the past
few months. I realized that Charlie had been much more conscientious when it came to the whole devotion thing than me. I’d been so busy since the Zoo reopened and with all the murders and friends in crisis. . . . The more I thought about it, the more certain I was that Zak had been there all along, waiting in the sidelines for me to finally have a moment to devote entirely to him.