Murder at Dolphin Bay (Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mystery Book 1) (11 page)

“To Lani, who didn’t solve the crime but did manage to snag the prince.” Cam held up his glass in a toast.

“Bite me.”

“Come on, Lani. You have to admit the whole thing was romantic,” Kekoa encouraged. “I can’t believe you still won’t talk to Luke.”

“If I’m ever going to be taken seriously as a prospective cop I can’t have some knight in freakin’ armor showing up to rescue me every time I get into a tiny bit of trouble.”

“I know Sean and I just arrived home,” Kevin commented, “but it sounds like you were in more than just a little trouble.”

“I had it handled.”

“Really?” Sean laughed. “What exactly were you going to do?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t have a chance to think things through.”

“The Interpol agent you were talking to had just been shot. You were most likely next. Sure you ran, but even you have to admit you were running out of steam. If you ask me, Luke saved your life and you should be thanking him, not punishing him for bruising your huge ego.”

Deep down I knew Sean had a point, but my ego
was
bruised, and blaming Luke was the only way I could see to save face. Okay, I know that doesn’t make sense. Give me a break. It’s been a tough week.

“Did Jason get the case wrapped up?” Carina asked.

“He did. I guess the agent—whose name is Mallari Baldini, by the way—had been investigating Helena Devlin all along. It seems I was right in my assertion that there was some funny business going on with the investments. Cole and Anderson were both totally innocent and honestly believed they were going to build a resort. Devlin was making just enough progress to keep everyone happy while she skimmed a large percentage of the income Cole secured from his investors for herself. Apparently this isn’t the first time she’s done something like this. She’s run similar scams in other parts of the world, which is how Interpol got involved.”

“So why did she kill Cole?”

“I guess he noticed some discrepancies in the accounting and called her on it. She realized he’d become a liability and killed him. Anderson’s role in the development didn’t involve the financial side of things, so he had no idea what was going on.”

“Is this Agent Baldini going to be okay?” Elva asked.

I nodded. “The bullet that went into her chest missed her major organs. Luke called 911 as soon as we were safely away and Agent Baldini was airlifted to the hospital.”

“And Devlin and her partner?”

“In jail, thanks to Jason, who figured this all out days before I did and had been tracking her. She took off after I got away, but Jason had already planted a bug on her car.”

“I guess all’s well that ends well.” Elva clasped her hands together. “Mary and Malia will be here any minute, so no more talk of murder.”

Everyone agreed to a G-rated discussion while Cam and Kevin finished making the dinner we all planned to share and Carina and Kekoa chatted with Elva. Usually I loved the times when the condo family came together, but tonight I somehow felt empty inside. Not only had I failed to solve the murder before Jason, but my antics in Cole’s room pretty much served as the final nail in the coffin that would prevent me from ever being a cop. I supposed that fact alone could account for my melancholy mood, but the truth of the matter was that I did feel bad about the way I’d treated Luke. Everyone was right; my problem was that my ego was bigger than my ability to carry it, and that usually ended up with my hurting the people I loved. Not that I loved Luke. Because I didn’t. But you get what I mean.

“I think I’m going to take Sandy out for a walk.”

“Dinner is almost ready,” Sean reminded me.

“I know, but I’m not hungry. Catch you guys later.”

No one tried to stop me, mostly I’m sure, because everyone knew where Sandy and I were really going. I did owe Luke an apology, and while I could certainly call him, somehow I knew this was one groveling that deserved to be delivered in person.

Besides, now that I knew Mr. B was really Agent Baldini, it made spending time with Sean and Kevin awkward. I’d stopped by the hospital to make certain for myself that she had survived, and she’d informed me that not only was she fine but she would be staying in the area for the time being. When I asked why she shared in strictest confidence that she was on the island not only to keep an eye on Devlin but to investigate Sean and Kevin for international smuggling.

I guess I could see how the men, as flight attendants, would be in a positon to smuggle goods between countries, but there was no way I was ever going to believe the men I’d grown to consider family would ever be involved in such a thing.

Still, I was sworn to secrecy, so I’d just have to bide my time and not do something stupid like blurt out what I knew until the investigation could be completed and my friends cleared of all suspicion.

I pulled up in front of Luke’s house and turned off the car. Now that I was there I found my resolve was wavering. Sure, I owed Luke an apology, but did I really have the clarity of mind to offer it now? It really was fortunate that he’d been riding nearby on the day I unwisely decided to follow Helena Devlin. He’d just paused for a break and decided to check his messages when he heard the shot. He could simply have called 911 and let the authorities handle it, but instead he’d ridden toward the sound of the gunshot as fast as his horse would take him. Maybe I wasn’t the only impulsive person in the relationship.

I decided, after several minutes of agonizing self-evaluation, that I needed to apologize, and there was no time like the present. I got out of the car, walked up to the front door with Sandy, and knocked.

“Lani?” Luke was genuinely surprised to find me standing on his stoop when he opened the door.

“I come bearing gifts.” I held out a bag.

Luke took the bag and looked inside. “Cheetos?”

“That’s all I could find on short notice. I’m really here to apologize.” A damn tear rolled down my cheek. I hated it when my emotions betrayed me, but I was there to apologize, and apologize was what I was going to do. “You saved my life and I jumped down your throat. There really is no excuse for that except that I was scared, and I get overly cranky when I’m scared. I really am sorry. Can you ever forgive the way I’ve treated you these past few days?”

Luke didn’t say anything right away. That made me nervous. Surely he’d forgive me. I don’t know what I was going to do if he didn’t.

“You’re a complicated woman.”

“I am.”

“And you seem to have a tendency to get yourself into dicey situations.”

“I do.”

“But you don’t like to be rescued?”

“I don’t.”

Luke stood silently, studying my face. It appeared he was trying to make up his mind about something. I just hoped I hadn’t damaged our friendship beyond repair. Luke was someone I could count on, and I needed more friends like that in my life.

“You know that if we remain friends I’m going to continue to rescue you whether you want me to or not. I’m a Texan. Rescuing women in distress is part of the cowboy code.”

“I know. And if you’re the one to get into trouble I will likewise rescue you.”

Luke smiled.

“So we’re good?”

“We’re good. I was thinking of going for a ride under the full moon. Would you like to join me?”

Hell no. I took a deep breath. “Sure. I’d love to.”

Murder at Sunrise – Book 2 in the Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mystery Series

http://amzn.to/1ThjfjG

1¼ cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large)

½ cup sugar

¼ cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted

¼ cup milk

1 large egg

1½ cups flour

1½ tsps. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

½ tsp. cinnamon

2 cups macadamia nuts, toasted, chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease twelve muffin cups or line with muffin papers. Combine bananas, both sugars, butter, milk, and egg in large bowl. Mix in flour, baking soda, and spices. Fold in half of nuts. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle tops of muffins with remaining macadamia nuts. Bake until muffins are golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.

A traditional loco moco:

Sticky rice

Hamburger patty

Eggs, any style

Brown gravy

This easy sausage variation makes 8 servings:

Minute rice (4 cups rice/4 cups water)

8 precooked sausage patties 

8 eggs, any style (I scramble)

*Sausage gravy:

1 pkg. (16 oz.) ground sausage, browned

6 tbs. flour, shaken into 4 cups water

(I put water and flour into a plastic container with a lid and shake until flour is dissolved. Add to browned sausage. Simmer and stir until it thickens.)

Salt, pepper, and chili powder to taste

Place ⅛ rice on a plate. Layer on sausage patty over rice. Layer on 2 eggs. Cover with ⅛ sausage gravy.

(I sometimes garnish with chopped green onions.)

2 large bananas

1 ready-made graham cracker crust (or make your own)

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 large box vanilla instant pudding

3 cups milk

1 small container Cool Whip

1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

Slice bananas into pie crust. Mix cream cheese, pudding, and milk together and let set for 5 minutes. Pour over bananas in piecrust. Spread Cool Whip on top and garnish with macadamia nuts.

1 can crushed pineapple, undrained (20 oz.)

1 box instant vanilla pudding mix (6 servings)

8 oz. sour cream

1 9-inch graham cracker crust

1 small container Cool Whip

I can sliced pineapple

8 maraschino cherries

½ cup flaked coconut

In a large bowl, combine crushed pineapple with its syrup, dry pudding mix, and sour cream. Mix until well combined. Spoon into pie crust. Frost with Cool Whip and decorate top with pineapple slices and cherries. Sprinkle with coconut.

Cover and chill at least 2 hours before serving.

A special breakfast dish. My mom made something similar with Spam. I use lean ham as a healthy alternative. My children definitely prefer the dish made using ham and eliminating the olives.
 

1 8-oz. can refrigerated crescent roll dough
5 large eggs
¼ cup milk

¼ tsp. Italian seasoning

⅛ tsp. pepper
2 cups cubed ham, sautéed (or substitute one can cubed Spam)

¼ cup ripe tomato, diced

¼ cup sliced ripe olives (optional)
¼ cup mild onion, chopped
½ cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Heat oven to 375°F.
 

To make crust, unroll dough; separate into triangles. In cast-iron skillet or 12-inch deep dish pizza pan, place dough triangles with points toward center. Press together to cover bottom and ½ inch up side of skillet. Bake 10 minutes.
 

Meanwhile, in bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, Italian seasoning, and pepper; carefully pour mixture over crust. Bake 10 minutes or until egg mixture is almost set.

Sprinkle egg mixture with cubed ham (or cubed Spam Classic), tomato, olives, onion, and cheese. Bake 4 to 6 minutes or until cheese melts. Cut into wedges and enjoy.

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