“If that’s the case, then why was the rest of the house trashed?”
“You’d have to ask the police that question.”
“Regardless of how the hidden safe was located, the gun that killed Eric Ellis was still found inside the locked safe. Why is that not damning to my client?” Mara asked.
“Someone else put it there.”
“How? The safe is state-of-the-art. How could they get in?”
“Because I figured out the combination in less than ten minutes,” I said.
“How did you do that?”
“Most people use numbers they can easily remember, like a birthday or an anniversary. The code for Mrs. Akamu’s safe was the year of her birth followed by the year of her late husband’s birth.”
“Why didn’t you just ask Mrs. Akamu for the correct code?”
“Because I wanted to see if I could break it myself. I assumed that if I could do it, then someone else could too. It’s my belief that the gun was planted in the safe before the locksmith opened the safe in the presence of the police,” I said.
“Mr. Rutherford, who is Daniel Davis?”
“He’s the man who found the skeletal remains of Eric Ellis in a field near the north shore.”
“Did you interview Mr. Davis during the course of your investigation?”
“I did. I went to his apartment in Paia.”
“And what did you learn during this interview?” Mara asked.
“Mr. Davis had told the police that his dog had found human bones during their walk. However, I saw no evidence of a dog in the apartment. I went to the Maui Animal Center and learned that Mr. Davis had adopted the dog, only to return it the next day.”
“So, on this one and only day that Mr. Davis owned a dog, the dog found the remains of Eric Ellis?” Mara asked.
“That’s correct.”
“Did you conduct a follow-up interview with Mr. Davis?”
“I wanted to, but I didn’t get the chance.”
“Why not?”
“He drowned while surfing, at least that was the official cause of death.”
“You don’t think he died that way?”
“No, he drowned, but I believe he was helped. I saw the body after it was recovered on the beach, and Mr. Davis had substantial bruising on the neck and shoulders.”
“You believe he was forcibly held under the waves?” Mara asked.
“That’s right.”
“Objection, your Honor. Mr. Rutherford is not a licensed medical examiner,” Piper Lane said.
“You don’t have to be a medical examiner to see bruises on a body,” Mara said.
“Overruled, Ms. Lane. Mr. Rutherford is entitled to his opinion,” the judge said.
“Since you were suspicious of Mr. Davis’ death, did you look into it more?” Mara asked.
“I did. I learned that Mr. Davis was five thousand dollars in debt to a loan shark. He had a gambling problem.”
“Let’s get back to Stan Cross’ interview. Earlier you said that he provided you two breaks. What was the first one?” Mara asked.
“He informed me that Eric Ellis was having an affair with a woman named Tiana Wise. This was at the same time that he was in a long-term relationship with another woman.”
“Why is this significant to this case?”
“Because Tiana Wise may have been the last person to see Eric Ellis before he was killed. He was at her apartment the night he died.”
“Walk us through that night if you can,” Mara said.
“Eric Ellis left his girlfriend under the guise of going to see Mele Akamu. Instead, he went to see his lover. In the middle of the night, he received a phone call from Stan Cross.”
“Stan Cross and not my client?”
“That’s correct,” I said.
“How do you know this?”
“Phone records. Eric Ellis got the call from Mr. Cross at three ten in the morning, not from Mele Akamu.”
Mara walked over to the defense table and picked up two copies of the phone records.
“Your Honor, I move to have Defense Exhibit A admitted into evidence.”
The judge looked at Piper Lane.
“Any objections, counselor?”
“No, your Honor,” Piper Lane said.
“The clerk will admit Exhibit A into evidence,” the judge said.
Mara handed one copy of the phone records to Piper Lane and the other to the judge.
Mara walked back to me.
“Did you learn anything else from looking at the phone records?”
“Yes, ten minutes after the call from Stan Cross, Tiana Wise made a call on her own phone,” I said.
“Who did she call?”
I looked into the crowd and made eye contact with Detective Parrish. Then I turned back to Mara.
“She phoned Detective Josh Parrish.”
“This is the same Detective Josh Parrish who arrested Mele Akamu for the murder of Eric Ellis?”
“The one and the same.”
“Why would Tiana Wise call Detective Parrish five years ago in the middle of the night?” Mara asked.
“A point of clarification, Ms. Winters. He wasn’t a detective five years ago. He’d just joined the police department and he was working as a cop.”
“Thank you for the clarification, Mr. Rutherford. Why do you think Tiana Wise called Officer Josh Parrish after Mr. Ellis left her home?”
“Because Josh Parrish and Tiana Wise are old friends,” I said.
“What are you basing this on?”
“Photographs I later found.”
Mara walked back to the defense table. She picked up three identical high school yearbooks.
“Your Honor, I move to have Defense Exhibit B admitted into evidence.”
“Any objections, counselor?” the judge asked.
“No, your Honor,” Piper Lane said.
“The clerk will admit Exhibit B into evidence,” the judge said.
Mara handed one of books to Piper Lane. She handed a second copy to the judge, and she handed the third copy to me.
“Mr. Rutherford, this is a copy of Tiana Wise’s high school yearbook. Would you please turn to the marked page?”
“Of course,” I said, and I opened the book.
“That’s a photograph of three students. Do you recognize them?” Mara asked.
“Yes, the man on the right side is Daniel Davis. The woman in the middle is Tiana Wise.”
“And who is the man on the left?”
“Detective Josh Parrish.”
“Your Honor, I would like to
