Poe’s First Law
A Murder on Maui Mystery
Robert W. Stephens
Copyright © 2020 by Robert W. Stephens
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
For Felicia Dames
Contents
1. Your Honor – Part 1
2. Counter Points
3. A New Friend
4. The Philanthropist
5. The Mayor
6. The Detective
7. The Best Friend
8. The Party
9. Jailhouse Interviews
10. There’s Always Two Sides
11. The Girlfriend
12. The Father-In-Law
13. I Didn’t See That Coming
14. My Protector
15. Dog Days
16. The Wedding Planner
17. The Butler
18. The Blame Game
19. The Art of the Bluff
20. You Give Lawyers a Bad Name
21. A Turn of Events
22. Maui Animal Center
23. The Photographer
24. The Safe
25. The Photos
26. Three Manhattans and a Shot of Tequila
27. Surf’s Up
28. The Warehouse
29. The Affair
30. Popcorn
31. The Rule of Three
32. Tough Cases
33. Your Honor – Part 2
34. Karma
35. The First Law
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Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Robert W. Stephens
1
Your Honor – Part 1
I thought about calling this tale, Unintended Consequences, for never have I seen so many well-intentioned gestures go so spectacularly wrong. I was guilty of some of them but not all.
I have a rule, although it’s certainly not my main rule, to never get involved with crumbling marriages. Unfortunately, as an occasional private investigator, that is often unavoidable. Many criminal acts have their beginnings in adultery, which always spins into a web of lies and can even lead to murder.
Before I go much further with this mystery tale, please allow me a moment to introduce myself and tell you how I got into this mess. My name is Edgar Allan “Poe” Rutherford. I put “Poe” in quotation marks since it’s a nickname of mine. My parents, God rest their souls, were huge fans of the legendary mystery writer, and they assumed that naming their only child after him would be a great honor.
It was a challenging name to have, as I’m sure you can imagine. Fortunately, my best friend started calling me Poe in the high school years and the name stuck. Most people still call me Poe these days. However, you may call me Edgar if you wish. I’m no longer embarrassed by the name. It’s purely your decision and I will answer to either.
After graduating from the University of Virginia, I went to work as an architect until that career was stalled during the Great Recession. I was summarily dismissed from my job, but I really didn’t mind. The architecture gig wasn’t what I imagined it would be. Unfortunately, I was at a loss as to what new path I wanted to forge.
There was also my failing romantic relationship with a woman named Dorothy, who I caught cheating on me with a BMW car salesman. As I look back on those days, it’s obvious to me that Dorothy was mainly motivated by money, and she assumed that a man peddling used Beamers had more of a future than an unemployed and unenthusiastic architect.
What she didn’t know, mainly because I never told her, was that I am loaded. Forgive me if that sounds obnoxious. Actually, I know it sounds obnoxious, but I don’t mean it to, nor do I take credit for my wealth. Much of that money came from my grandfather, who passed it to my mother, and then it made its way to me. I will take credit for some sound investments I’ve made over the years, but the seed money for that certainly didn’t come from my hard work.
After the loss of my job and my girl, I was lured to the tropical island of Maui by my friend, Doug Foxx, the same friend I mentioned above who’d given me the name of Poe. Foxx was a professional football player with the Washington Redskins until a nasty knee injury ended his career after two short seasons.
Foxx came to Maui to heal his injured body and mind. He never left. After a good deal of badgering by him, I finally accepted his invitation to hop on a plane and fly six thousand miles to the island. I’d hoped that after the trip I’d figure out a new direction for my life. That actually happened, but I would have never guessed that direction in a million years.
During my first night on Maui, Foxx was arrested for the murder of his girlfriend, a successful artist who he’d planned on proposing to during my trip. I was in Foxx’s house when a beautiful half-Hawaiian, half-Japanese detective slapped the handcuffs on him. The Maui detective’s name is Alana Hu and I spent the next several days trying to prove Foxx’s innocence, while at the same time convincing the good detective to help me search for another suspect.
In fairness to the Maui Police Department, Foxx looked guilty as hell, but I finally managed to wear Detective Hu down and together we caught the true culprit. I wouldn’t dream of giving you more details of my first island adventure, a tale I dubbed Aloha Means Goodbye, but it’s all there for the reading.
After wrapping up that case, I made the decision to stay on the island and continue to pursue the Maui goddess called Alana. Today, we are married, and we live in an oceanfront home with our dog, Maui, a ten-pound mix of a Maltese and Yorkshire Terrier.
The new dog breed is called a Morkie. I’ve had a few readers write me and accuse me of making that up. To those suspicious ones who think I bend the truth from time to time, I encourage you to google the term Morkie. You’ll find dozens of images of cute dogs, although none of them are as handsome as my Maui.
Now, let’s get back to my introduction and the use of
