I looked at Mara.
“Have a good day, Mara. Sorry I can’t stay.”
“Hold on a second. I’ll go with you,” Mara said.
“You’re quitting too? Good. I never wanted you on this case,” Ruben said.
“You’re right. It was a mistake for me to join your team, but it’s one I’m correcting now,” Mara said.
I was tempted to offer the man some departing advice, mainly that I thought he should buy a better hair piece. But I didn’t say it.
Instead, I waited for Mara to catch up with me and then we exited the law office together.
“Sorry I helped get you removed from the case,” I said as we walked over to her car.
“No need to apologize. I was looking for a way to bow out anyway. You opened the door for me. What kind of blowback do you think this will get?”
“What is Mele Akamu going to do? She and her enforcer are in jail.”
“What made you think to ask Ruben Dalton to tear up the prenuptial agreement?” Mara asked.
“Not here. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to head back to your office. I know he can’t hear us out here, but I don’t want him seeing just how much information I have to tell you. I’d rather keep him guessing,” I said.
“Of course.”
We climbed into our cars and I followed Mara back to her office. It was late in the day and her assistant had already left. We went into the back and sat on the sofa I mentioned a moment ago.
I told Mara about my various meetings with Lee Walters, Gracie Ito, Tavii Akamu, and Samson Opunui, as well as a detailed account of my conversation with Oleen Akamu and her acknowledgement that she’d lied to the police.
“You even got her on audio?” Mara asked.
“Yes, but Ruben obviously doesn’t know that, and I have no intention of telling him.”
“I sensed you were holding something back.”
“Was it that obvious?”
“No, but I’ve worked with you enough to know that’s how you operate. There’s something else I know.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“You’re not really going to quit the case, are you?”
“No, but I finally realized something today after I met with Oleen.”
“Which is?”
“I need to disentangle myself from Mele Akamu. This case is way more complex than I originally thought, and it’s time that I renew my partnership with the Maui police, at least one detective in particular.”
“The lovely Detective Hu.”
“Exactly.”
“Just curious. What made you think that Oleen had conspired with Stan Cross?” Mara asked.
“It was something that Samson said. He told me that he was surprised that Oleen would walk away from money. So I assumed she might have had another source of cash lined up. I also assumed she couldn’t get money from anyone unless she had something to sell.”
“Her false testimony.”
“Exactly.”
“That leads us to one conclusion. Stan Cross killed him,” Mara said.
“I thought about that, but I’m not sure it’s correct. Stan Cross could just be an opportunist. I’m sure word got out fast in their circles that Eric’s body had been found. It would be easy for him to discover that Oleen was unhappy in her marriage and make her an offer.”
“You said this case is more complex than you originally thought. What makes you believe that?”
“A feeling I have and it’s all because of a non-existent dog.”
“A non-existent dog?”
“Check that. I’m sure the dog is real, but the guy who claimed to own it was never his actual owner. I need to find who convinced him to lie to the police and then I’ll find the killer.”
“It could still all point back to Stan Cross,” Mara said.
“Yes, I expect it does, but I’ve been wrong before.”
“I can’t believe you called Ruben Dalton an obnoxious, little man. You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to say something like that to him.”
“I wanted to think of a more original insult, but nothing came to me.”
“I wish someone would tell him to stop wearing that God-awful toupee.”
“Ah, you noticed it too,” I said.
“It’s impossible not to. It looks like an old bird’s nest on top of his head.”
“We’ll have to tell him that the next time we run into him.”
Mara smiled.
“Yes, we will. Have a good evening, Mr. Rutherford. It was memorable, as always.”
21
A Turn of Events
The sun was starting to set on the drive back to Kaanapali. It was its usual brilliant mix of reds, oranges, and yellows. There was something spectacular about the way the light looked as it dipped behind the nearby island of Lanai. I didn’t think I’d ever grow tired of it.
When I finally arrived at the house, I spotted Alana and Maui on the back patio. The dog had his head buried in a new toy Alana had bought him. It’s a bit difficult to describe, but it’s a round patch of fake grass. The grass is made of strips of green cloth and the basic premise is to hide treats in it. The dog is supposed to have fun hunting for the treats, which Maui certainly does.
Alana turned when she heard me open the sliding glass door.
“I was wondering when you were getting back. How did the day of interviews go?”
“How can talking to people make you so exhausted?” I asked, and I made the decision to leave out the part of the day where I was attacked with a two-by-four. I would save that story for a later date.
“Happens to me all the time. Learn anything of value?”
“Yes, I’m even more convinced that Mele Akamu didn’t kill Eric Ellis,” I said.
“Any idea who did?”
“A guy named Stan Cross.”
“You picked a good one. He’s one nasty piece of work.”
“There’s something else that happened today. I quit the case. So did Mara.”
“You did what?”
I told Alana about my run-in with Ruben Dalton.
“I heard about his reputation. I’m not surprised you two didn’t get along,” Alana
