It was an easy drive to Kahului, and I arrived just moments before the jury came out. Guy’s eyes lit up when he saw me, apparently believing that I’d found an innocent sap to pin the crime on.
“Hello, Guy. I guess I was wrong before when I said I wouldn’t be rushing to the courtroom with last-minute proof.”
“What did you find?” Henry Mitchell asked.
I removed my phone from my pocket and opened the photos application. Then I handed the phone to the attorney.
“Looks like you were wrong when you said your client wasn’t lying about his innocence,” I said.
Henry Mitchell looked at the phone. Then he looked at Guy Livingston.
“What the hell is this?” Mitchell asked, and he showed the phone to Guy.
“I can explain,” Guy said.
“You’re done, Mr. Livingston. Enjoy your time in prison. You’ve more than earned it,” I said.
I retrieved my phone and then walked to the back of the courtroom. I hung around long enough to hear the jury’s verdict: Guilty.
28
The Warehouse
The rest of the morning and early afternoon was spent in a funk. I couldn’t shake how I’d allowed myself to get talked into helping Guy Livingston and I wondered if I was making the same mistake with Mele Akamu and her sidekick Samson. It certainly wasn’t the first time I’d questioned my involvement with her, and I made a promise to myself that I’d walk away from the investigation if my conversation with Stan Cross didn’t amount to much.
I was so depressed that I thought about going upstairs to take a long nap and try to forget I’d ever encountered Guy Livingston and Mele Akamu. Fortunately, Foxx called and offered a welcome distraction. He told me that he’d tracked down Stan Cross and he wanted to know when I was available to interview our last known suspect. I told him I was available immediately, which is how I ended up in the Harry’s parking lot shortly thereafter.
Foxx must have been on the lookout for me since he came out of the bar as I pulled into the parking lot. He unlocked his SUV’s door with the key fob. As I climbed onto the passenger seat, I saw Foxx pull a Glock out from the back of his pants and place it in the side pocket of the driver’s side door.
“You’re bringing a gun?” I asked.
“You’re not?”
“No, I never bring one.”
“Maybe you should start, especially after deciding to meet with a guy like Stan Cross.”
Foxx started the vehicle and then backed out of the parking space. We exited the Harry’s lot and made our way over to Honoapiilani Highway for the drive to the center of the island.
Foxx had learned that Stan Cross operated out of an old sugarcane plantation warehouse. Of course, that wasn’t his actual business. He had a diversified portfolio of illegal activities. Check that, alleged illegal activities since the police had been unable to make anything stick. The only person who seemed to have any kind of edge over him was Mele Akamu, and that advantage was quickly eroding, if it hadn’t completely vanished by now.
“How do you want to handle this? I doubt he’s going to admit to anything,” Foxx said.
“You never know. He probably didn’t reach his level of success by being modest and withdrawn. He may want to talk freely and rub our noses in it.”
“Rub our noses in it? You mean that we’re working for Mele Akamu and he wants us to know he’s beaten us?”
“Something like that. But it won’t just be about us paying attention to his answers. We also need to observe how he talks. Obvious lies can be just as revealing as someone telling you the truth.”
“Good point. Kind of like when a girl I was dating recently asked if I was still seeing other people. I said no, which wasn’t exactly accurate,” Foxx said.
“What did she do?”
“She picked her purse up off the table and walked out of my house without saying another word.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t be. I wasn’t that into her. Maybe that’s why my little white lie was so unconvincing.”
I laughed.
“Are you ever going to settle down, Foxx?”
“That’s funny. I’m surprised you’d ask me that, especially after this Hani-Yuto mess. Marriage isn’t for me. Too much drama.”
“I don’t know about that. My good moments with Alana are way more frequent than any fights we might have.”
“Yeah, but most of your fights are about her family. You don’t just marry the woman, Poe. You marry the whole clan.”
“There’s a lot of truth to that.”
“I know there is. But I’ve got Ava. I’ve got friends. I’ve got a successful business. What more do I really need?” Foxx asked.
I didn’t respond since the answer was obvious. Foxx was a happy man. He didn’t really need anything else. He’d always been that way, though, at least as far back as I could remember. Foxx is the ultimate optimist and I didn’t see that ever changing.
“You know we never got much of a chance to talk about Yuto’s bombshell since we went right into drinking mode after he left,” Foxx continued.
“Don’t remind me. I may have to swear off Manhattans for a while. My head still hurts.”
“What did Alana say when you told her the news?”
“I didn’t have to. Hani and her mother were already at the house when I got back,” I said.
Foxx laughed.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“I’m glad I can amuse you so easily.”
“What did I say, pal? You don’t just marry the woman. You marry the family.”
“Hani seemed more upset that she was the one who got dumped. My dear
