motives.

We thanked her again and she walked us to the door. I wished Tiana Wise good luck with her art show and we walked back to Foxx’s vehicle.

“So, Eric Ellis got two calls the day he disappeared. One from Stan Cross and one from Mele Akamu,” Foxx said

“Unless either Gracie or Tiana was lying.”

“Maybe both. Maybe Eric just told them that so he’d have an excuse to leave.”

“Maybe,” I said.

“Do you think Mele Akamu would really want to see him in the middle of the night? I can only think of one reason she’d want to do that.”

I already knew what Foxx was thinking. She’d only want to see Eric at three in the morning if she’d wanted to kill him. But Eric must have known that too. So, why did he go, especially since it had been such a foolish decision to do so? On the other hand, he had tried to blackmail her. The guy couldn’t have been all that smart.

30

Popcorn

Foxx and I continued to debate the facts of the case when we got back to Harry’s. We didn’t make any progress since everything was still so unclear. After a couple of Negra Modelos, I decided to head for home since I was mentally exhausted. I thought a few laps in the pool might cheer me up, which they did.

I’d just climbed out of the pool when I saw Maui racing past me. I turned and saw Alana walking out of the sliding glass door. Maui did one of his world-famous rolls onto his back, despite having been running at full speed. It was impossible to ignore the skill level of his acrobatics, which I supposed was a part of his master plan for attention.

Alana kneeled and scratched his belly.

“Good evening to you too, Maui,” she said.

The dog wagged his tail even more at the sound of his name.

“How did everything go with you today?” I asked, and I must have hit the words, “with you,” a touch harder than I realized.

“Rough day?”

“Are you asking me or are you saying you had a rough day?”

“I’m asking you. I can hear the stress in your voice,” she said.

“And here I thought my time in the pool helped calm me down.”

“Then you must have been really worked up before. What happened?”

I told Alana about my meetings with Stan Cross, Gracie Ito, and Tiana Wise. I left out the part about Foxx bringing a gun to the interview with Stan. I also intentionally forgot to mention that Foxx took two of Stan’s guys out.

“You two actually went to see Stan Cross?” she asked.

“It was a friendly conversation.”

“I’m sure. You still think he did it?”

“If I had to make the call tonight, then yes, I think he did it,” I said.

“What about this Tiana woman’s claim that Mele Akamu called Eric in the middle of the night? Do you believe it?”

“He left for some reason. It might as well have been because of her phone call. I think the more interesting revelation is that she lived three apartments down from Daniel Davis.”

“Yes, it does seem that Mr. Davis was up to his eyeballs in this case,” Alana said.

“Are you still investigating his death, or have you officially ruled it an accidental drowning?”

“I’m still looking into it.”

“What does Detective Parrish have to say?” I asked.

“Not much.”

“Are you going to tell him the connection between Daniel Davis and Tiana Wise?”

“Not sure there would be a point to that. He already thinks he has his man – or his man and woman in this case. He may not be wrong. Tiana Wise did tell you that Eric Ellis left in the middle of the night after a call from Mele Akamu. Maybe it’s time you accept the fact that she probably did it,” Alana said.

I didn’t respond.

“I’m going to the food mart in Paia tomorrow morning to talk to some of Daniel’s co-workers. Let me know if you want to follow me out there,” she continued.

“Sounds good. Any updates on Hani?”

“Only that my mother still isn’t talking to her, and don’t ask me how long that’s going to last because I have no idea.”

“Does Hani seeing your father change your mind about anything?”

“If that’s your way of asking if I’m going to see him, then the answer is still no. Tell me something, Poe. Why are you so convinced Mele Akamu didn’t do it?”

“If I told you that, you’d never trust my instincts again,” I said.

“I seriously doubt that. What is it?”

“She reminds me of my grandmother, and before you start laughing, yes I know how sad that sounds.”

“You must really miss your grandmother.”

“Of course. Outside of you, I don’t really have any family left. I was an only child, but you already know that.”

“I’m sorry I never got to meet your parents. I would have very much liked to get to know them.”

“They would have loved you. What I wouldn’t give to talk to them for just one more day.”

“Come on inside. I bought some tuna steaks on the way home.”

I followed Alana into the house. We made ourselves a fantastic dinner, which was followed by an evening of trashy television.

I got up early the next morning to complete my swim and jog around the neighborhood. Then I hopped into the convertible and followed Alana to Paia. If you’ve been to the town before, then I’m sure you’re familiar with the grocery mart where Daniel Davis worked. The small store is jampacked with organic fruits and vegetables, which made me realize I’d forgotten to bring my canvas bags to do some shopping after the interviews.

We entered the store and found the manager. Alana flashed him her badge and asked to speak to any of the employees who knew Daniel best. The answer was a stocker named Brianna Marks. He led us to the storage rooms in the back where we met the young woman.

I guessed her age to be in her late twenties. She had short, blonde hair like Tiana Wise, but

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