I spent the rest of the day thinking about the Eric Ellis case and going over my notes from the various interviews I’d conducted with Foxx. Speaking of Foxx, I’d texted him after my meeting with Apikalia and informed him of both Daniel Davis’ alleged drowning, as well as his one-day adoption of the black lab.
I received a call shortly after lunch from a surprise source. Care to take a guess? It was Detective Josh Parrish. He requested a meeting with me and suggested Harry’s as the location. I called Alana after getting off the phone with Detective Parrish.
She told me that she’d informed him of Daniel Davis’ death and my suspicions that he’d been paid to find Eric Ellis’ body. She said that he didn’t have much of a response, including any perceived anger at the fact I’d ignored his orders to stop my investigation.
I left the house around three in the afternoon for the short drive to my bar. Foxx was there, but I asked him not to take part in the meeting with Detective Parrish. I didn’t want him to know that I had help with my investigation so Foxx’s further movements could hopefully go unnoticed.
Detective Parrish arrived at Harry’s around half past three. He spotted me in one of the back booths and walked over.
“Mind if I have a seat?” he asked in a neutral tone.
“Not at all. Can I get you something to drink?”
“No, I’m good,” he said, and he sat down. “Let me get right to the point. Detective Hu told me about Daniel Davis. She also told me about your suspicions regarding him.”
“What are your thoughts on that?”
“It’s basically in line with your way of working, isn’t it?”
“I’m not sure what you mean,” I said.
“I’ve heard things about you. You see conspiracies everywhere.”
“I disagree. I’ve never blown an investigation. Not one.”
“That’s the thing, though. This isn’t your investigation. It’s mine, but we’ve already had this conversation a couple of times.”
“Is this where you arrest me again?” I asked.
“No. I’ll admit that I crossed the line before. This case is a big deal for me, though. It can make or break my career. Put yourself in my shoes for once. How would you feel if some unpredictable investigator were running around the island trying to undo everything you’ve done?”
“That’s not what I’m doing.”
“It’s not? I have Mele Akamu and Samson Opunui nailed for this crime and you’re doing your best to prove they didn’t do it. How do you think that’s not undermining me?” he asked.
“You do realize your eyewitness is lying, don’t you? She admitted it to me.”
“I always knew she wasn’t enough. The soon-to-be ex-wife of Mele’s grandson? No, she’s too weak of a witness, but I don’t really need her.”
He paused, which I assumed was for dramatic effect.
Then he continued, “We found the gun that shot Eric Ellis late yesterday. Detective Hu doesn’t even know that yet.”
“Where did you find it?” I asked.
“I don’t have to share that information with you, but I will. We found it inside a wall safe hidden behind a bookcase in Mele Akamu’s house. I had to search the house three times before I found it. There was also a stack of cash and a fake passport for both her and Samson Opunui. So you see, Oleen Akamu can fall apart on the witness stand for all I care. I have the gun and the ballistics report to match it to the bullet we found in Eric Ellis’ skull. It’s game over. Do yourself a favor and bow out before your perfect record goes bye-bye. No one will blame you one bit. Everyone on this island knows Mele Akamu is a criminal, and soon they’ll know she’s a murderer.”
Detective Parrish slid out of the booth and stood. He looked around the bar and then turned back to me.
“You and your partner have a nice place here. If I was you, I’d stick to slinging cocktails and leave the criminal investigations to the police. You’ll probably be a happier man.”
He walked away and exited the bar before I had a chance to respond, not that I wanted to say anything anyway.
Foxx approached me a few moments later.
“I didn’t expect him to say that.”
“No, I didn’t either,” I said.
Foxx slid onto the seat opposite me. I picked my phone up off my seat and placed it on the table between us. I’d dialed Foxx’s number right after seeing Detective Parrish enter Harry’s. I could have simply repeated everything the detective had told me, but I wanted to get another opinion on the tone of the conversation. Foxx had listened to it while in the back office.
“A safe hidden behind a bookcase. What made him look there?” Foxx asked.
“I’m guessing Gracie Ito told Detective Parrish the same thing she told us. That Eric had stolen records of Mele Akamu’s business dealings. Parrish is obviously an ambitious guy. He’s not content to arrest her for murder. He wants to take down her entire business empire.”
“Which is why he assumed there had to be a safe somewhere in the house.”
“There’s one thing that’s really bothering me about all of this,” I said.
“I know what you’re going to say. Why would Mele Akamu be so foolish as to keep the gun? I think I have an answer for that.”
“Which is?”
“You heard how long it took Parrish to find the safe. Maybe she thought there was no way anyone would ever locate it, so she didn’t see the need to throw away the weapon,” Foxx said.
“It’s possible. But guns are relatively inexpensive. She could have easily replaced it.”
“Maybe there was some sentimental value to it.”
“To a gun?”
“You know what we should do? We need to find out who knew about the safe. This could still be a set-up.”
I didn’t reply.
“I hope you’re not letting that guy get to you. Don’t let him tell you what to do,” Foxx continued.
“It’s not Detective Parrish. I’m just doubting my theory.”
“That’s understandable. Want
