Poe's First Law: A Murder on Maui Mystery

by Robert W. Stephens

“Yes, the same apartment complex as our mysterious dog owner,” I said, cutting him off.

  “You got time to head there now?”

  “I certainly do.”

  Foxx reversed course and we headed back toward the northern part of Maui.

  “You think she still lives there after all this time?”

  “I do,” I said, and I told Foxx my theory that Gracie may have driven out there after our previous meeting.

  “You think she already confronted her about Eric?” Foxx asked.

  “No, but I think she intended to. She probably chickened out again like she did when she went to confront Eric and Tiana over their affair.”

  We made good time to Paia and before we knew it, we were pulling back into the small parking lot for the apartment complex. There were several cars already there, which was a good sign that Tiana Wise was home.

  Gracie had even provided us with the apartment number, and she’d done so without referring to any notes, further bolstering my theory that she’d gone there within the last week. We walked the stairs to the second floor of the complex and knocked on the apartment door for Tiana, which was a few units down from Daniel’s.

  A woman with short, dirty-blonde hair opened the door. She had hazel eyes, an athlete’s physique, and she was dressed similarly to Gracie in a tank top and shorts. They were both beautiful women. Eric Ellis certainly had a way with the female gender.

  “Good afternoon, ma’am. My name is Edgar Rutherford. This is my partner, Doug Foxx. We’re investigating the death of Eric Ellis.”

  I waited for a response but didn’t get one.

  “May we come in, Ms. Wise?” Foxx asked.

  “Yes,” she said.

  We walked into the tiny apartment, which was an exact duplicate of Daniel Davis’ place. While Daniel’s home had been sparse and uninviting, Tiana’s was painted in warm colors. The coffee table in front of the sofa was covered with small stones, crystals, and other supplies used to make necklaces and bracelets.

  “Sorry, but the place is a bit of a mess. I’m getting ready for an art show this weekend,” she said.

  “You sell jewelry?” Foxx asked.

  “Among other things. I’m a little surprised to find you here. I didn’t think anyone was going to interview me about Eric,” she said.

  “The police haven’t been by?” I asked.

  “No, I don’t think they know about Eric and me. Gracie must have told you.”

  “That’s right,” Foxx said.

  “Does she think I killed him?” Tiana asked.

  “She didn’t say that,” Foxx said.

  “Ms. Wise, before we get into your relationship with Eric, can you tell me what you know about Daniel Davis?” I asked.

  “Who?” she asked a bit too quickly.

  “He used to live a few units down from you. He drowned recently.”

  “I heard something about that. Terrible news, but I didn’t know him very well. We’d say hello when we passed on the stairway. I didn’t even know his name.”

  “There’s only a handful of apartments here. You really didn’t know his name?” Foxx asked.

  “People here tend to keep to themselves. What can I say?”

  I would have believed that if this were in an apartment complex in New York, Chicago, or some other large metropolitan area. On Maui? Not a chance. The Aloha spirit wouldn’t have allowed it. Still, there was no point in arguing with her. As I said to Foxx a while back, obvious lies are just as helpful as the truth, sometimes even more so.

  “We’re not here to judge you, Ms. Wise, but we’re assisting the police in their investigation,” I said.

  It was a lie of my own since we weren’t technically helping Detective Parrish, which you already know. But I wanted to put her at some ease since we were about to dive into her romantic dealings. Was I worried that she’d call the police to verify my claim? I wasn’t. If she’d wanted to talk to them, she would have called them days ago. And she obviously knew about Eric Ellis’ remains being found since she’d told us that she was surprised that no one had come to speak with her before.

  “You were in a relationship with Eric Ellis when he disappeared five years ago. Is that correct?” I asked.

  “I was.”

  “How long had you been with Eric?” I asked.

  “A few months. We met at the Paia Fish Market. It was a long line that day. Well, it’s almost always a long line in that place. Eric was standing behind me. We got to talking. Then he asked if he could sit at the table with me since it was so crowded. We went out that night.”

  “Were you aware that he was also dating Gracie Ito?” Foxx asked.

  “Not at first, but he eventually told me. He said he was going to leave her,” she said.

  Yes, she felt the need to repeat that tired, old line. They always promise to leave, and they rarely do.

  “Did Eric ever talk about his job?” I asked.

  “All the time. I was the one who convinced him to leave that Akamu woman. She didn’t appreciate him. I told him he could do better,” Tiana said.

  “Were you aware that he tried to blackmail Mele Akamu?” Foxx asked.

  “It wasn’t blackmail. He was getting what he deserved.”

  Yes, it was a loaded statement, but I didn’t point out the irony.

  “Gracie told us that he left their home to see Mele Akamu, only Gracie followed him to your apartment. She said she waited outside for a while, but she didn’t see him leave. Do you remember when he left your place that night?” I asked.

  “Yes, it was around three in the morning. I remember because we were both asleep in bed when he got a phone call. He seemed upset and he said he had to leave. I thought it was his girlfriend, but it wasn’t.”

  “Who was it?” Foxx asked.

  “That Akamu woman. She said she wanted to meet with him immediately. I told him to wait until the morning, but he wouldn’t.”

  “Are you positive it was Mele Akamu who called him that night?” Foxx asked.

  “I’m sure. He said it was her. We argued a little about it. I told him he shouldn’t jump whenever she told him to. It made him upset that I’d say something like that. He should have listened to me, though. He might still be alive.”

  “Why didn’t you go to the police about your suspicions after Eric disappeared?” I asked.

  “Because I was scared. Wouldn’t you be?” she asked.

  “One more question, I know you weren’t friends with Daniel Davis, but did you ever see him with anyone?” I asked.

  “No, he was always by himself.”

  “Thank you for your time, Ms. Wise,” I said.

  “I heard they arrested Mele Akamu. Do you think she’ll get convicted? Is that why you’re here? To gather more evidence?”

  “Exactly,” Foxx said.

  She didn’t respond. Perhaps she was trying to figure out if we had ulterior 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 st
ill 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 she was considerably smaller than Tiana, maybe only five foot tall at most. We introduced ourselves to Brianna and then walked to the employee break area outside the back of the store since everything was so cramped inside.

  We found a shady spot under an avocado tree to get out of the hot sun.

  “Thank you for speaking with us, Ms. Marks. How long did you work with Daniel?” Alana asked.

  “A little over two years.”

  “Did you have a friendship outside of work?” Alana asked.

  “We did. I’d go to his apartment from time to time to hang out,” she said.

  “Were you romantically involved with him?” Alana asked.

  “No, we were just friends.”

  “Can you tell us if Daniel was under any kind of stress in the last few weeks?” Alana asked.

  “Stress?”

  “Yes, was he upset about anything?” Alana asked.

  “I don’t understand why you’re asking me these questions. I thought Daniel drowned. Are you saying he might have taken his own life?”

  “That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Alana said.

  “Yes, he was under pressure, but he never would have hurt himself.”

  “Why was he under pressure?” I asked.

  “He owed some guy money.”

  “A friend?” Alana asked.

  “No, a loan shark.”

  “How much did he owe?” Alana asked.

  “Five thousand.”

  “What was the money for?” I asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Did Daniel take drugs?” Alana asked.

  “He smoked pot, but who doesn’t?” she asked.

  I could think of a few people, myself included, but I decided not to say anything.

  “Did he ever say the name of the loan shark?” Alana asked.

  “Yes, but I think he was just making up the name. It didn’t make sense,” Brianna said.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “Daniel said the guy’s name is Popcorn.”

  I caught Alana’s expression out of the corner of my eye.

  “Do you know the guy?” I asked.

  “Unfortunately, yes,” Alana said, and she turned back to Brianna. “Ms. Marks, did Daniel ever mention the names Eric Ellis or Mele Akamu?”

  “No, I never heard of either of those names.”

  “What about the name Tiana Wise?” I asked.

  “The name Tiana sounds really familiar.”

  “She lives in the same apartment complex as Daniel did. Short blonde hair like you,” I said.

  “Oh yeah, she was at his place once when I came over. She didn’t stay long,” Brianna said.

  “She was inside his apartment?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Did Daniel say anything about her after she left?” Alana asked.

  “Just that they were neighbors and old friends.”

  “Thank you, Ms. Marks. You’ve been very helpful,” Alana said.

  “You really think Daniel killed himself?”

  “No, but we have to follow up on things like this,” Alana said. />
  Brianna nodded, but I wasn’t sure she’d accepted Alana’s explanation. The truth is that I wasn’t watching Brianna very closely at that point. I was concentrating too much on the revelation that Tiana Wise had lied to me about her relationship with Daniel Davis.

  We decided not to talk to any other co-workers after Brianna. Alana and I walked back to the front of the store. We headed down the sidewalk to where we’d parked our cars. If you’ve ever been to Paia, then you know how difficult it can be to find parking. I didn’t mind, though. The walk gave us time to talk about the interview with Brianna Marks.

  “Surprised that Daniel and Tiana Wise were apparently friends?” Alana asked.

  “I shouldn’t be, but I can’t figure out how the whole thing is connected. What’s the deal with this Popcorn guy? How did he get that name?”

  “I don’t know. I asked him a few times, but he’d never tell me.”

  “Do you think he might have murdered Daniel Davis over the five-thousand-dollar loan?” I asked.

  “Not likely. Popcorn isn’t the murdering type. He’s a low-level guy, which is why we’ve never gone out of our way to bust him. Maybe that’s changed, though.”

  We reached our cars and I followed Alana to nearby Kahului. Alana told me that Popcorn worked out of a bar there. It was still morning, though, so I didn’t know how likely it was that we’d find him. Alana assured me it wouldn’t be an issue. She wasn’t wrong. We spotted the diminutive loan shark seated on a stool at the end of the bar. He was of Japanese descent and I guessed his age at around fifty.

  “Hello, Popcorn,” Alana said, and she sat on the stool beside his.

  I stood beside her.

  “Who’s the tall guy?” Popcorn asked after taking a long look at me.

  “My husband.”

  “That guy?” Popcorn asked in a tone that indicated he didn’t believe her.

  “Don’t worry, Mr. Corn, I get that a lot,” I said.

  “I’m sure you do.”

  “Don’t get smart. We just have a few questions and then we’ll be out of your hair,” Alana said.

  “Ask away, Detective,” Popcorn said.

  “Did you lend Daniel Davis five thousand dollars?” Alana asked.

  “I certainly did.”

  “You know he’s dead, don’t you?” she asked.