Murder at Turtle Cove

by Kathi Daley

  Murder at Turtle Cove

  by

  Kathi Daley

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2017 by Katherine Daley

  Version 1.0

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  Books by Kathi Daley

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Recipes

  Banana Cheese Pie

  Supereasy Hawaiian Pie

  Easy Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

  Margarita Pie

  Aggression Cookies

  Vanilla Cream Pie

  Pecan Turtle Candy

  Books by Kathi Daley

  Giveaway:

  This book is dedicated to Linda Murray, a wonderful woman who maintained a positive attitude and inspired those around her in spite of her daily struggle with cancer. Linda, I want to take this opportunity to wish you one final good night.

  I want to thank the very talented Jessica Fischer for the cover art.

  I so appreciate Bruce Curran, who is always ready and willing to answer my cyber questions, and Peggy Hyndman for helping sleuth out those pesky typos.

  And, of course, thanks to the readers and bloggers in my life, who make doing what I do possible.

  Thank you to Randy Ladenheim-Gil for the editing.

  Special thanks to Jeannie Daniel, Vivian Shane, Connie Correll, and Joanne Kocourek for submitting recipes.

  And finally I want to thank my sister Christy for always lending an ear and my husband Ken for allowing me time to write by taking care of everything else.

  Books by Kathi Daley

  Come for the murder, stay for the romance.

  Zoe Donovan Cozy Mystery: Halloween Hijinks

  The Trouble With Turkeys Christmas Crazy

  Cupid’s Curse

  Big Bunny Bump-off

  Beach Blanket Barbie

  Maui Madness

  Derby Divas

  Haunted Hamlet

  Turkeys, Tuxes, and Tabbies Christmas Cozy

  Alaskan Alliance

  Matrimony Meltdown

  Soul Surrender

  Heavenly Honeymoon

  Hopscotch Homicide

  Ghostly Graveyard

  Santa Sleuth

  Shamrock Shenanigans

  Kitten Kaboodle

  Costume Catastrophe

  Candy Cane Caper

  Holiday Hangover

  Easter Escapade – April 2017

  Zimmerman Academy The New Normal Ashton Falls Cozy Cookbook

  Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries by Henery Press Pumpkins in Paradise

  Snowmen in Paradise

  Bikinis in Paradise

  Christmas in Paradise

  Puppies in Paradise

  Halloween in Paradise

  Treasure in Paradise – April 2017

  Fireworks in Paradise – October 2017

  Whales and Tails Cozy Mystery: Romeow and Juliet

  The Mad Catter

  Grimm’s Furry Tail

  Much Ado About Felines

  Legend of Tabby Hollow

  Cat of Christmas Past

  A Tale of Two Tabbies

  The Great Catsby

  Count Catula

  The Cat of Christmas Present A Winter’s Tail

  The Taming of the Tabby – June 2017

  Seacliff High Mystery:

  The Secret

  The Curse

  The Relic

  The Conspiracy

  The Grudge

  Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mystery: Murder at Dolphin Bay

  Murder at Sunrise Beach

  Murder at the Witching Hour Murder at Christmas

  Murder at Turtle Cove

  Murder at Water’s Edge – May 2017

  Road to Christmas Romance: Road to Christmas Past

  Writer’s Retreat Southern Mystery: First Case – May 2017

  Second Look – July 2017

  Chapter 1

  Tuesday, March 21

  I sat on my surfboard, perfectly still, watching, waiting. The sun had just begun its ascent into the sky, creating a canvas of orange and red as it reflected off the clouds left from the overnight rain. I felt my body tense as I glanced toward the beach. Fins circled in a tight pattern coming increasingly closer to my dog, Sandy, who waited at the water’s edge. I hoped and prayed Sandy would stay on the beach as he’d been trained to do. So far he’d been content to pace beyond the waterline, barking aggressively as the sharks enjoyed an early meal, but I suspected it was only a matter of time before he gave in to the urge to attack the intruders in order to remove the danger I was certain he could sense. My mind screamed no as he paced closer and closer to the waterline. I knew if I called out he would be more likely to attempt to swim out to me, so I just waited and prayed, then prayed and waited some more.

  When I’d arrived that morning the beach and the water had been deserted, which wasn’t all that unusual because the sun had yet to complete its climb over the horizon. Turtle Cove was isolated on the far northwestern corner of the island, known only to the locals who lived in the area. It wasn’t likely to attract the casual surfer on holiday, which was why it was one of my favorite places to surf. I’d been enjoying some of the best waves I’d ever experienced in my life when I noticed the first of what would grow to be at least a half-dozen fins. Being a surfer living in the islands, I knew it was best to just hang back until the sharks had finished their meal, but hanging back and waiting had become an increasingly terrifying experience each time Sandy approached the water.

  After several minutes the feeding frenzy came to an end and the sharks began to disperse. My heart beat just a bit faster as several of the sharks swam within arm’s length of my surfboard on their way out of the cove. I lay flat on the fiberglass and tried not to move as two sharks approached the spot where I waited. They circled several times, inching closer with each pass, before moving on and continuing out to sea. It felt as if they could sense my presence and were curious but weren’t sure what to make of me.

  I had, on occasion, dove with the tiger sharks that populate the area. They’re not only beautiful and graceful creatures but large predators, ranging from twelve to thirteen feet in length. Although tiger sharks can be dangerous and are responsible for attacks on swimmers and surfers each year, in Hawaii they’re more than just ferocious predators. Here the shark, or mano, is woven into the fabric of Hawaiian culture and history. They’re revered and even worshipped in many native traditions.

  As soon as it looked as if the water was clear, I began to swim toward shore, quickly yet quietly. I paused between each stroke, listening for the return of my early morning friends. I scanned the water’s surface as I tried to move silently through the sea. As I approached the beach, Sandy swam out and retrieved something floating on the surface. He dragged it back to the sand, and once I landed on the shore, he laid the prize at my feet. My hand flew to my mouth when I realized what it was he’d brought me. I gasped and turned away as I willed the nausea that had overtaken me to subside. I wasn’t certain what I’d expected to find, but I certainly hadn’t imagined Sandy’s offering to be a who rather than a what. Or at least part of a who. I took several deep breaths, which seemed to quell my racin
g heart, before I ran to my bag, where I’d left my phone.

  I called the Honolulu Police Department, then sat down on my towel and waited. The sun had peaked over the horizon and was climbing high into the sky. I knew it would be another perfect day in paradise, but somehow I couldn’t quite find the focus to enjoy the day’s awakening.

  I bowed my head and tried to ignore the reality of what had just occurred. I knew these things happened. Shark attacks weren’t common, but they certainly weren’t unheard of. Still, as I glanced at the arm laying on the sand, I had a feeling something human rather than something from the sea had been behind this death. I wondered how it had ended up in the water, although I knew that wasn’t my concern. The HPD was more than capable of taking care of things when they arrived. I just needed to wait for them. In the meantime I’d simply think happy thoughts.

  The day had started off well enough. I’d woken early to find the surf outside the window of my oceanfront condo just about as perfect as it ever had been. I knew that if the surf there was raging, it must be off the charts just down the beach at Turtle Cove. I had a late start that day at my job as a WSO—water safety officer—for the Dolphin Bay Resort on the North Shore of Oahu, so I decided to grab Sandy and head down the coast to get in a few runs before I needed to be back to get ready for work.

  The waves had been awesome, just as I’d predicted. I’d enjoyed several runs before the first of the fins appeared on the horizon. I hoped the shark was alone and would quickly be on its way, but within a few minutes a dozen of his friends had arrived to feed on something between where I was floating on the water and the beach.

  I glanced at the waterproof sports watch I had spent a week’s pay on so I would be less likely to lose track of time while riding the waves. There was no doubt about it; I was going to be late for work and I just knew that regardless of the reason for my late arrival, Drake Longboard, my immediate supervisor at the resort, was going to use my tardiness as a reason to stick me with the family pool. I supposed there wasn’t much I could do about that at this point, so I put the matter out of my mind as I watched as a lone HPD vehicle pulled into the parking area. I stood up as Colin Reynolds, my brother Detective Jason Pope’s partner, approached.

  “Mornin’, Lani,” Colin greeted me. “I see you found another one.”

  “If an arm counts as a body then yeah, I guess I did.”

  Colin bent over and looked at the arm, which was really only part of one.

  “Where’s Jason?” I asked.

  “I called him at home. He’s on his way.”

  It was still early, so I should have realized Jason probably hadn’t even been at work yet when I initially called. Jason is one of my five brothers, the second oldest and a detective for the HPD, married with two adorable children. Colin, who had been Jason’s partner for a decade, lived close to the beach, whereas Jason and his family lived in a neighborhood located on the interior of the island, making his travel time to the crime scene that much further.

  “I wonder who this belonged to,” Colin mused.

  I glanced at the arm, which was still laying on the sand, and felt my stomach begin to churn once again. “Blaze Whitmore,” I answered.

  “You know the guy?”

  “Sort of. He’s new to the island. He runs a food truck over on Aloha Beach.”

  “The burger-for-a-buck guy?”

  “That would be him.” I pointed to the tattoo on the forearm, which was incomplete because the upper arm was missing. “The partial tattoo you see was the lower half of a vine coiled around a cross.”

  “Seems like a vine wrapped around a cross is a fairly common tattoo.”

  “True, but this cross was different.” I pointed to the arm. “See how the bottom is pointed? It almost looks like a knife. All four edges of the cross have that pointed shape and the cross was gray rather than brown or black.”

  “Was that it? Just a cross with a vine?”

  I paused while I tried to picture the full tattoo. The cross had been drawn to appear cold and harsh, like the crossed steel of blades sans handles. The vine was thorny, with dark red accents that looked like blood. “No. There were words, or maybe it was just letters or even numbers, across the top.” I remembered the letters, written in a bold yet fancy script that reminded me of roman numerals. “I can’t remember what it said, but Blaze had become fairly well known in the short time he’d been on the island, so I’m sure someone—maybe Komo—can tell you.” Komo Kamaka was a rival food truck vendor who had been born on the island and was known to pretty much everyone who had been around for any significant amount of time.

  “I heard Komo and some of the others weren’t real happy when this guy showed up and started selling his burgers for a buck.”

  “Can you blame them? Komo and the others had established a peaceful coexistence that worked for years. Each food truck had an agreed-upon territory and all the trucks kept their prices within a certain range. No one was getting rich, but they all made a living doing what they loved, and then this guy came on the scene a few months ago and started putting sandwich boards all over the North Shore offering a burger for a buck. Talk about upsetting the proverbial apple cart.”

  “I’m aware of the food truck war. I wonder if one of his rivals decided they’d had enough and killed him.”

  I glanced at the section of arm. Feeding a man to the sharks seemed an extreme way of dealing with competition, even if that competition had been in the process of destroying your way of life. “I know this guy was really hurting the bottom line for Komo and many of the others, but I don’t think any of Blaze’s rivals would kill him. How do you think he got in the water anyway?”

  “Probably dumped from a boat within the past hour or two. The tide is strong this morning, which I would guess would account for him ending up here. Chances are the guy was either strangled or drowned. If there weren’t any open wounds, the sharks might not have been attracted right away.” Colin looked around. “My guess is, when the body washed into the cove the skin was torn on the sharp coral on the reef, alerting the sharks that breakfast was ready and waiting.”

  “I guess that makes sense. I’d been surfing for a good twenty minutes before the scavengers showed up.”

  I paused and looked toward the parking lot, where Jason had just pulled up. Like the rest of my brothers, he was a native Hawaiian of average height and build with dark hair, dark eyes, and brown skin. He wore his hair short and his uniform perfectly pressed.

  “Lani,” he greeted me as I watched him approach.

  “Jason.”

  Jason turned to Colin. “What do we have?”

  Colin filled him in.

  Jason turned to me. “What time would you say you arrived?”

  “I guess a little after six. Maybe as late as six-twenty. It was light enough to see what I was doing, but the sun hadn’t risen yet.”

  “And how long were you here before the sharks arrived?”

  “About twenty minutes. I have to work today, so I was planning to get in a few runs and then return home. I was waiting at the lineup when I noticed the first fin heading toward me.”

  “Was there anyone else in the water or on the beach?”

  “No. Both the beach and the water were deserted except for Sandy.”

  Jason looked out over the sea toward the horizon. “The body can’t have been in the water long. Did you notice any boats in the distance?”

  “No. Do you think he was dumped this morning?”

  “Probably within the past hour. I doubt we’ll be able to identify an exact time of death, though, without the rest of the body.”

  Jason bent down to take a closer look at the arm. He pulled on a pair of latex gloves and turned it from side to side, studying both the intact hand and the tattoo on the forearm.

  “I’m pretty sure it belonged to Blaze Whitmore,” I provided.

  “I thought I recognized the tat. I wish I could say I’m surprised to find the guy was most likely murdered, but
based on everything that’s been going on I figured it was only a matter of time before someone put some brawn behind their words.”

  “So you think one of the food truck vendors killed him?”

  “Don’t you? The guy has been stirring up a hornet’s nest since he’s been on the island.”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess everyone was mad enough to want him gone, and I doubt his death will be mourned by many locally, but I’m having a hard time believing anyone from the food truck group would follow through with their threats and actually off the guy.”

  Jason stood up. He pulled off his gloves and once again looked out over the horizon. “Maybe it wasn’t one of the truck owners. I’ve spoken to the man on several occasions and he had a way about him that made you want to punch him. While the competition angle is one I plan to investigate, I plan to look into the other areas of his life. Do you happen to know if he was married?”

  “I’m not sure. I didn’t have a lot of direct contact with him. He seemed to have a lot of money; more than you’d expect a food truck vendor to have. I guess he might have brought money with him when he came to the island. Oh, and I remember Komo saying Blaze was new to the industry. I think he mentioned he was some sort of businessman before moving to Oahu.” I looked toward the parking lot. Several cars had pulled up while we chatted. “It looks like we have company.”

  “I’ll send them on their way and put up a barrier at the entrance of the lot,” Colin offered.

  Jason turned and looked toward the parking area. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. You may as well put out a sign letting folks know the beach will be closed for the day. I have divers on the way. If there are any other remains we need to find them before the tide shifts. My theory is the body was dumped from a boat, but I’m going to have the crime scene guys search the sand just in case there’s something there.”