Maui Madness (Zoe Donovan Mysteries Book 7) (8 page)

“But you ha
dn’t seen any of the four speaking to Anton?”

“No, I ha
dn’t.”

“And who else was on the island
at that time?” I asked.

Palani frowned. “You seem to have a lot of questions. Are you working with the police?”

“No,” I answered. “My friends and I are just trying to help figure out what might have happened. It seems Pono is the only suspect at this point. It will help his case if we can give the police someone else to look at.”

“Keoke and Pono wer
e at the pit tending to the pig when I arrived,” Palani said. “Keoke’s grandmother was in the garden picking flowers for an arrangement she was working on, and his grandfather was watching television in the study. I know Leia and Anton were there, as well as their friends, Jeffrey and Cora. I never did run into Anton or Leia. I assumed they were getting ready for the big day. Jeffrey and Cora joined the guests in the yard once they began to arrive at around two, but I don’t know where they were prior to that.”

“Keoke mentioned household staff?”

“There is a live-in housekeeper as well as a gardener and a cook on the estate. I believe all three were on-site, although the only staff I spoke to was the cook. Her name is Gretchen. She has been with the family for a long time and wanted to keep an eye on her kitchen while my people and I were preparing the feast Keoke ordered.”

“Please don’t take this the wrong way,” I began. “The food you prepared is some of the best I’ve ever had, but why did Keoke hire you to cate
r the party if his grandparents have their own cook?”

Palani looked surprised by the question. “I’m not sure. Keoke approached me about the job several weeks ago. We discussed a menu and other specifics
, such as the time commitment and transportation to and from the island. Luana and I do well, but there is little profit margin in a restaurant such as ours, so when I heard the price Keoke was offering for a day’s work, I jumped at it. I didn’t really stop to wonder why he would ask me to provide the food rather than having his grandparents’ cook do it.”

“Do you think Gretchen was capable of handling such a large party?”

Palani shrugged. “Keoke’s grandparents have parties all the time. Perhaps Keoke wanted her to have a day off to enjoy the festivities, although she didn’t seem very happy to be left out of the food preparation.”

“
Is there anyone you can think of who might want Anton dead?” I wondered.

“Besides me and Pono? Yes. The man was
n’t popular. There are a lot of people who will rejoice at his passing.” Palani looked at Malie. “I’m sorry, Mal. I know how you felt about him, but you know what I say is true.”

“
It’s okay. I understand,” Malie said, although she looked sad all the same.

Palani looked back
at me and continued. “If what you’re really asking is whether there was someone on the island during the morning hours who would want him dead, then the answer is, other than Pono and me, not really. I promise you, however, that I didn’t do it. Now, I really should get back to the kitchen.”

“
Thank you for speaking to us,” I offered.

After Palani walked away,
I looked at the other people sitting with me at the table. “Well?”

“This is not going to be an easy murder to solve,” Malie guessed.

“Probably not,” I agreed. “Do we continue to try?”

I looked around the table. I don’t think any of us
had planned to use our vacation to track down the killer of a man we’d never even met. I felt bad for Malie, who
did
know him, and for Pono, even though I’d yet to meet him. Keoke had been so nice to us that part of me really wanted to help him figure out what had happened the morning of the luau. But I also wanted to go diving and try surfing and spend a day reading next to the pool.

“Let’s talk to Pono and then decide,” Levi s
aid.

After breakfast, Zak suggested that we take a walk to the edge of town, where Lahaina’s famous banyan tree was located. The 137-year-old tree towers over almost an acre and is said to be the largest such tree in the United States. Thanks to its aerial roots, which grow into trunks when they touch the ground, the shady tree is now supported by at least sixteen trunks in addition to the original.

“The shade from this tree feels like a slice of heaven
.” I sighed.

I love Hawaii
, but I had to admit that after living in Ashton Falls my entire life, I was having a hard time getting used to the heat and humidity.

“We should check out the old courthouse,” Zak s
aid.

I could tell that Levi and Ellie were as bored as I was by the suggestion
, but Malie’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree at Zak’s suggestion.

“The courthouse
houses the only U.S. flag to have flown over a kingdom, a republic, a territory, and a state,” Malie shared.

I
’m a bit embarrassed to say I mostly tuned out as Malie explained that the flag was designed in 1812, during the reign of King Kamehameha I. She told us that the eight red, blue, and white stripes represent the eight major islands of Hawaii, while the canton consists of the British Union Jack, representing Hawaii's original ties with Great Britain. I was trying to decide between a sundress I’d seen in one of the windows in town or the cute shorts I’d probably get more use out of as she informed Zak that in 1893, the Kingdom of Hawai'i was overthrown, and Hawaii was a republic until 1898, when Congress officially annexed it, making it a territory and eventually a state in 1959.

“As interesting as this all sounds
, I’d really like to get in a couple of hours of surfing,” Levi interrupted.

“Of course. I’m sorry for going on and on,” Malie apologized. “I
have a habit of getting caught up in Hawaiian history.”

“Which I found fascinating,” Zak assured her. “Why don’t you come to the house for dinner
?” he invited her. “Bring Pono as well, if he gets out of jail.”

“I’d like that
.” Malie smiled.

“Down
, girl,” Ellie whispered, in anticipation of the predictable arrival of Zoe the Jealous.

By the time the gang and I had settled in to grill some steaks and watch the sun set, it felt like we had been on Maui for months. Could it have been only two and a half days? I felt bad about leaving Charlie for so long while we were in Lahaina, so I’d taken him for a long walk down the beach while the men surfed and Ellie took a nap. Malie had left in order to pick up Pono from the police station once he’d called to inform her that he’d been released. She promised to bring him over for dinner if he was willing to come so that we could all talk about what, if anything, to do next.

Our time in Lah
aina had been somewhat productive. Not only had I bought three new outfits for my new baby sister, Harper, but I’d picked up a couple for myself as well. Ellie had treated herself to a new pair of flip-flops and Levi bought a couple of T-shirts. Zak claimed he didn’t need anything but ended up sneaking away to buy me a pair of earrings with gold sea turtles dangling from gold posts that went with the necklace he’d bought me in Whalers Village.

Za
k came over to sit down on the lounge behind me, positioning me between his legs and pulling me back so that I was leaning against his chest. I felt myself relax as his arms encircled my body and we both sat quietly watching the gentle surf roll toward shore. I love everything about Hawaii, but the evenings when the four of us relax and watch the sun set are turning out to be my favorite time of the day.

“Penny for your thought
s,” Zak said after several minutes of communal silence.

“I was just thinking about what a good time I had shopping today,”
I responded. “Thank you again for the earrings.” I touched the one on the left and twisted it between my fingers. “How was surfing?”

“It was fun. The
waves were pretty mellow, but it’s been a while since I’ve surfed, so that was probably just as well. I’d really like to go diving tomorrow if you’re up for it.”

“Always. I thought we could talk to Pono about the wreck Malie mentioned when he gets here. If they
’re still up for it, I’d love to go on a treasure hunt.”

“Ellie said Malie called
, and she and Pono will be here in a half hour or so. We can talk to them about it then. Did you ever call your mom?”

“I did.”

“What?” Zak asked.

I turned and
looked at him. How could he possibly know something was going on from my simple answer to his question?

“I can tell by your tone of voice that s
omething is up,” he said, as if he’d read my mind.

“It’s probably nothing,” I hedged.

Zak raised a single brow.

I repositioned my body so I was facing
him. “Mom told me my dad was moving back into the guesthouse.”

For those of you who don’t know
, my mom and dad aren’t married, in spite of the fact that they have two daughters born twenty-five years apart. In fact, up until a few months ago, they’d never lived together. When my dad found out that my mom was pregnant with Harper, they’d decided to buy a property with both a main and a guesthouse so they could raise her together yet each have their own space. They insisted they weren’t a couple, but I knew it was only a matter of time.

“Wasn’t that the original plan?”
Zak reminded me.

“Yeah, but after he moved into the main house toward the end of
Mom’s pregnancy and then stayed there for over two months after Harper was born, I thought he might make the main house his permanent residence.”

“He probably just wanted to be around to help your mom with Harper during those first difficult months,” Zak pointed out.

“I guess.” I sighed. “I don’t know what’s wrong with those two. Everyone else can see that they love each other. Why don’t they just get married and do away with the whole two-houses thing?”

Zak looked like he wanted to say something and then changed his mind. I watched as a myriad of emotions crossed his face before he finally spoke. “I guess
people have their own timing when it comes to that type of thing. It’ll happen. You just have to be patient, even when every day that you’re patient eats away a bit of your soul.”

“
Eats away a bit of my soul? What’s with the drama?” I teased.

“It’s nothing
.” Zak shrugged. “So did you find out about the cat?”

“
It turns out that the woman who lost her cat lives within a quarter mile of the campground where the dead squirrels have been turning up. My guess is that someone has left out poison for the animals. Jeremy is going to take Tank and Gunner there tomorrow and do a thorough search of the area.”

“Who would do something like that?” Zak wondered.

“People can be pretty clueless. We had an incident a couple of years back. A homeowner had squirrels in his attic, so he mixed rat poison with sunflower seeds and left it out for them to eat. Not only did we find at least a dozen dead squirrels but two dogs in the area died as well. My guess is that something similar is going on now. I just hope we can find out who’s responsible before any more animals turn up dead.”

Zak pulled me back against his chest
. “You’re frustrated at being here when something like that is going on there.”

Zak knew me so well. “A little,” I admitted. “But I think it’s important that we
’re here, and I really am having a good time in spite of the dead man in the pig pit.”

Zak laughed. “One of the things I love about you is your ability to adapt to any situation.”

“You know me; I’m the bendy type.”

“Yes
, you are,” Zak growled. He leaned forward and kissed me on the neck.

“Zak,” I scolded. “Malie and Pono will be here any minute. What will they think?”

“They’ll think I want to make love to my hot girlfriend and they’ll be right.”

“Later
,” I promised.

The steaks were grilled to perfection, the Mai Tais delicious, and the salad fresh from the farmers market. The sun set over the water as we ate, lending an air of relaxation to an otherwise hectic day. No one had wanted to breach the subject of Pono’s arrest until after the sky grew black and the fire in the pit on the deck was the only light in an otherwise dark night.

“The police are pretty sure I’m guilty,” Pono
said after Malie got the ball rolling by urging him to discuss the interview with the others. “I guess I get it. Everyone knows Anton and I didn’t get along, and I’m sure someone must have seen us arguing. I suppose there are those who knew that I was alone at the pit after Keoke returned to the house.”

Everyone sat very quietly.

“It would have been easy to do,” Pono emphasized, “but I didn’t do it,” he clarified.