Poe's First Law: A Murder on Maui Mystery

by Robert W. Stephens

  “Partially. If she was eavesdropping enough to hear the name, then she must have heard something else.”

  “Especially if Eric raised his voice. She said he hardly did that.”

  “Whatever she heard, it was important enough for her to remember that phone conversation and that name five years later,” I said.

  “What do we do now? How in the world do we track down this Stan guy?”

  “There might be one person who knows.”

  “Mele Akamu?”

  “I think it’s time I see her again. She wanted an update. Perhaps I should give it to her in person,” I said.

  “Are you going to confront her about her lies?”

  “Why not?”

  “What about this Samson guy? You want me to come along?”

  “I appreciate the offer, but she won’t hurt me.”

  “How are you so sure?”

  “For whatever reason, she’s decided that I entertain her.”

  “Okay, but what if she grows tired of the show?” Foxx asked.

  “That’s a possibility. We’re still only in act one, though. We have a long way to go.”

  Foxx said nothing.

  “What did you think of her statement when she said that Eric had changed and that he wanted out of the game?” I asked.

  “It contradicted what Lee Walters told us. He said Eric wanted them to go into business for themselves. Sounds to me like Eric was still very much going to be in the game if he got his way.”

  “Do you think people are capable of change?”

  “You don’t?” Foxx asked.

  “No, I don’t.”

  “I’m surprised to hear you say that.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you of all people should know people can change. Look at you. The guy I knew in Virginia would never go back to someone like Mele Akamu and call her a liar.”

  “Does that mean the new me is reckless?” I asked.

  “Not reckless. Definitely more daring, but not reckless. I have a theory about that.”

  I laughed.

  “I’d love to hear this.”

  “The way I see it, once you landed a woman who looked like Alana, you realized anything was possible,” Foxx said.

  “I can’t argue with that.”

  “No, buddy boy, you can’t argue with the truth. And just think, you owe all that confidence to me.”

  “How do you figure?”

  “Because you never would have stepped foot on this island if I hadn’t practically dragged you out here.”

  I didn’t reply. Why? Because Foxx was right again.

  12

  The Father-In-Law

  After getting back to Harry’s, Foxx invited me inside to talk more about the case and our interview with Gracie Ito. It felt good to be able to bounce thoughts off of someone else since I usually worked alone.

  We’d been at the bar for about thirty minutes when an elderly Japanese man entered. You guessed it. It was Sora Hu. He spotted us in the back-corner booth a few seconds later and walked over.

  “Good afternoon.”

  “Mr. Hu,” Foxx said.

  I nodded.

  “Might I have a seat?” he asked.

  “Actually, Mr. Hu, I made a promise to Alana that I wouldn’t get involved,” I said.

  “I understand, but I was actually here to see Mr. Foxx.”

  That was interesting, I thought, and I chided myself for assuming he’d come to Harry’s for me. One could have interpreted his comment as a request for me to leave. I decided to contradict myself for the hundredth time in the past few days, and I slid over so he could sit beside me.

  Sora Hu paused a moment. Then he sat down.

  “Yuto told me you both owned this bar. He also said Mr. Foxx is here most days,” Sora said.

  “You wanted to see the father of your granddaughter,” I guessed.

  “That’s right. Yuto never sent me a photo of Ava. I think he believed that should be left to her mother to send,” Sora said.

  “That’s admirable. As Ava’s father, I think I also have that right,” Foxx said, and he slipped his phone out of his pocket.

  He found a photo of Ava and handed Sora the phone.

  “That’s a photo of us taken last Halloween,” Foxx continued.

  “She’s adorable,” Sora said.

  “Thank you,” Foxx said.

  “She looks just like Hani at that age. They could be twins.”

  “Poe frequently reminds me of how lucky I am that Ava doesn’t look like me,” Foxx said.

  “She got Hani’s looks but Foxx’s personality,” I said.

  “You think so?” Foxx asked.

  “You don’t?” I asked.

  Sora smiled and he handed Foxx his phone back.

  “Yuto told me you two were good friends.”

  “What else did he say?’ Foxx asked.

  “That you and he didn’t get along for a while but that your relationship had taken a positive turn recently,” Sora said.

  “That’s right. I guess it has,” Foxx said.

  Sora turned to me.

  “So, Alana asked you not to see me.”

  “You have to admit your sudden appearance has caught everyone off-guard,” I said.

  “As I was afraid it might. I thought there was a better way to handle it, but Yuto insisted. I’m certainly not blaming him. He’s done so much for me.”

  “He also said you’re leaving earlier than expected for Japan,” I said.

  “I’ve decided against that in the hope that Alana and Hani may change their minds.”

  “I hope you’re not here to ask one of us to help with that,” I said.

  “No, I wanted to meet Ava’s father and thank him for taking care of her. I already got the chance to thank you for doing the same with Alana.”

  “Why did you leave them? I can’t imagine ever doing that to Ava,” Foxx said.

  “I’m not the same man I was. That’s not an excuse. What I did can never be forgiven. Luana and I got married way too young and Alana was born before we knew it. My family was against the marriage. They didn’t approve of Luana because she isn’t Japanese.”

  It was an ironic statement, I thought, mainly because Ms. Hu had expressed to me recently that she didn’t approve of me because I wasn’t Japanese or Hawaiian.

  “You were still together for several years. You must have loved her,” I said.

  “I did, but I started drinking because of the pressure my family was putting on me. My drinking got worse, which only made things more difficult between Luana and me.”

  “She started to resent you because your family didn’t like her,” Foxx guessed.

  “Yes, which was more than understandable. She felt I didn’t do enough to stand up for her. The fighting got worse between us.”

  “And that’s when it got physical?” I asked.

  “Luana told you about that?”

  “A while back. I was surprised she confided in me,” I said.

  “You don’t have a good relationship with Luana?” Sora asked.

  Foxx laughed.

  “You could say that,” he said.

  “That’s unfortunate. I would have thought she’d understand the importance of the parents supporting the marriage.”

  “She must have been absent the day that lesson was taught,” Foxx said.

  “To answer your question, Mr. Rutherford, I struck Luana once when I was intoxicated. The truth is that I don’t even remember doing it. She told me about it the next morning and asked me to leave. I did. I went back to Japan with the intention of returning to Maui once I got myself clean. It took several months, but when I thought that I was ready to reestablish contact with my family, I felt too ashamed. As the years went by, it became harder and harder.”

  I didn’t respond, nor did Foxx. What were we going to say? The man had just admitted to striking his wife or at least being told that he’d done so. There was no excuse for that in my book.
/>   Sora reached into his shirt pocket and removed a business card, which he handed to me.

  “This has my personal contact information. Yuto already has one. He said he would give it to Hani. Perhaps you can give this card to Alana should she change her mind.”

  Sora slid out of the booth and stood.

  “You both seem like fine young men.”

  “Not so young anymore,” Foxx said.

  Sora smiled.

  “It was a pleasure to speak with you both. If we don’t see each other again, I wish you tremendous happiness.”

  He turned and walked out of the bar.

  “What do you think of that?” Foxx asked.

  “I don’t know what to think.”

  “He doesn’t seem the type to have done what he did.”

  “I know.”

  “So, he’s either a changed man or he’s pulling the wool over our eyes.”

  “What was that you said earlier today? You believe people can change?” I asked.

  “Yeah, but how do you know the guy really did? It would be a hell of a thing for Hani and Alana to open up to their father again, only for him to hurt them a second time.”

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  “Are you going to tell Alana he came by, especially after she told you to stay out of it?” Foxx asked.

  “I have to tell her. I can’t keep something like that a secret.”

  “Good luck, buddy. Let me know when you do that so I can stay here at Harry’s.”

  “I don’t blame you one bit.”

  I said goodbye to Foxx and made the short drive back to Kaanapali. I’d been at home for about an hour when Alana got back. As soon as she walked through the door, I could tell she was in a foul mood.

  “Keeping secrets from me again?” she asked, and she tossed her car keys on the kitchen counter.

  I searched my mind for how she might have learned about her father’s meeting with me. I didn’t think Foxx would have told her, so my brain turned up an empty list of tattletales.

  “I’m not sure what to say. Who told you?” I asked.

  Alana got this confused look on her face.

  Then she asked, “What are you talking about? Josh Parrish told me.”

  “Josh?”

  “You know, about your little meeting with him at the coffee shop. Why didn’t you say anything about it?” she asked, and she walked into the living room and sat on the sofa beside me.

  “It was when you were deep into the wedding planning. I didn’t want to be a distraction. Besides, it didn’t seem that big of a deal.”

  “Not a big deal? He said he told you to butt out of his case.”

  “If I had a dollar for every time someone told me to butt out,” I said.

  “It was a bit of a surprise that he’d act like that.”

  “How so?”

  “I’ve known Josh for a long time. He didn’t strike me as the type to get all territorial like that.”

  “Maybe it’s born out of insecurity. He’s just starting out as a detective. I was nothing but polite to him. I didn’t do my usual pushing back out of respect to your working relationship with him.”

  “When has that ever stopped you before?” she asked.

  “A true statement, but in this case, I am without guilt.”

  Alana paused a moment.

  Then she said, “You didn’t think I was going to mention the meeting with Josh. You thought I was talking about something else.”

  “Not much gets by you, does it?”

  I reached into my pocket and produced the business card that Sora had given me. I handed Alana the card.

  “I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t see him,” Alana said.

  “Not my fault. He showed up at Harry’s to meet Ava’s father.”

  “He wanted to talk to Foxx?”

  “Yes, and to thank him for helping to take care of Ava. I happened to be there with Foxx discussing the Eric Ellis case. Your father insisted on telling us why he left. Check that, he explained his shame and embarrassment about his past behavior. He asked me to give you the card. I told him I couldn’t be involved.”

  “But you took the card anyway.”

  “Yes, I did.”

  Alana stood and walked back into the kitchen where she deposited the business card into the garbage can. Then she opened the refrigerator and removed a bottle of wine.

  “Would you like a glass?” she asked.

  “No, thank you.”

  She poured herself a glass, then put the wine bottle back into the refrigerator and returned to the sofa.

  “Any more news on Hani and Yuto?” I asked.

  “No, nothing. I don’t know how to interpret that other than Hani’s still trying to make up her mind.”

  “Are you going to call her later?”

  “Probably. I’ll let you know what she says.”

  Alana stood again.

  “I’m going to change out of these work clothes,” she continued.

  “Sounds good. I was just about to head outside to the pool.”

  “Maybe I’ll join you later.”

  Alana turned and headed upstairs to the master bedroom.

  “Maui, come on boy,” I called.

  He appeared from under the sofa a moment later.

  “Want to get in the pool?”

  The dog wagged his tail and he followed me outside. I jumped in the swimming pool and pushed his raft to the edge. The dog took a flying leap and landed on the middle of the raft. His momentum carried the raft across the pool and the dog barked three times, a sure sign of his delight.

  We stayed outside for at least two hours, but Alana never joined us. I assumed she was passing the time either speaking with Hani or watching television. When I finally walked inside, I didn’t see Alana in the living room or the kitchen. I walked upstairs and found her asleep on the bed. Stress does many things to the body. It can certainly leave you feeling exhausted.

  I walked back downstairs and went into the kitchen. I grabbed a Negra Modelo from the refrigerator. I popped the top and opened the trash can to throw it away. The trash bag was full, and I knew I needed to empty it.

  There was one thing odd, though, that I noticed. Sora’s business card should have been on top of the trash pile. It wasn’t. Alana must have retrieved it before going upstairs. I thought her actions, if I was even right about the card, spoke volumes about the turmoil inside her. I wished I could help, but I didn’t know what to say or do.

  13

  I Didn’t See That Coming

  The next morning, I sent Mara a text and asked her to set up a meeting with Mele Akamu. Mrs. Akamu had demanded updates every few days. I figured I might as well give her one in person. It would also allow me to view her reaction when I confronted her about Eric Ellis being beaten half to death by Samson. I was upfront with Mara and told her things could get heated, but she said she still wanted to be there.

  You may be wondering if Alana brought up her father in the morning. She didn’t, mainly because she didn’t get a chance to. She’d gotten up earlier than usual again and had already left for work by the time I climbed out of bed. I did something that I’m not proud of, but I try to always be honest in these tales. I opened the drawer to Alana’s nightstand and saw Sora’s business card inside, confirming my suspicions that Alana had removed it from the trash.

  I completed my morning swim and jog, running an extra mile in an attempt to distract myself from my problems. It didn’t work. Mara phoned me right as I was climbing out of the shower and informed me that we had a meeting with Mele Akamu at eleven, the same time as our previous encounter.

  As I’m sure you expected, I played more jazz on the drive across Maui. Sonny Rollins was the artist of choice, and I got through his songs, “St. Thomas,” “Namely You,” “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” “Blues for Philly Joe,” and “I Want to Be Happy.”

  I arrived at the Akamu home about ten minutes early. Mara was already there. Anxious, were we?
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br />   “Good morning. Sonny Rollins by any chance?” she asked as she climbed out of her car.

  “Good morning, Mara. How do you always know what I’m playing?”

  I hopped out of my BMW and shut the door.

  “I guess I listen to more music than I realized.”

  “I shall make it my new mission to stump you one of these times. Anything new to report?”

  “I was hoping you were going to tell me something new,” she said.

  “Nothing that helps Mrs. Akamu.”

  “Do you have the feeling we’re working for another guilty client?”

  “How have you dealt with that in the past? You’ve been a lawyer longer than I’ve been doing this investigative thing. How do you handle it?”

  “Everyone deserves the right to the best defense possible.”

  Yes, it was a cliched answer and I was hoping for something a bit more helpful from Mara. But in hindsight, what else was she going to say?

  We walked to the front door and rang the bell. Samson answered a few moments later.

  “Good morning, Ms. Winters, Mr. Rutherford. Mrs. Akamu is expecting you.”

  He led us to the back of the house where we found Mele Akamu in her normal seat by the fire pit. This time Samson stayed within earshot. Was there a reason for that? I didn’t know.

  “Well, Mr. Rutherford, what do you have to report?” Mrs. Akamu asked in her calm and measured voice.

  I could have danced around for a while and told her about my interviews with Lee Walters and Gracie Ito, but what would have been the point? A picture is worth a thousand words, as they like to say.

  I removed my phone from my pocket and pulled up the photo Gracie had emailed me. I stepped closer to Mele Akamu and handed her the phone.

  “You specifically told me that Samson didn’t locate Eric Ellis. It seems that you were wrong. Either Samson lied to you or you lied to me,” I said.

  Mele Akamu glanced at the phone a moment. Then she handed it back to me. Her expression never altered one bit.

  “Would you have taken my case if I’d told you what Samson did to Eric?” Mrs. Akamu asked.

  “Probably not.”

  “Then why are you asking me an insignificant question? I told you what I needed to tell you.”