Paradise Wild (Wild At Heart Book 2)

by Christine Hartmann

  Ellie dropped onto the bed. “Who was it?”

  “The boyfriend of Noa’s ex-girlfriend. Noa’s the prime suspect. But they can’t find him.”

  Ellie lay back, stunned. A muffled meow issued from beneath her and Viv scuttled out from under the comforter.

  “Sorry, Viv.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing. The cat.” She screwed her eyes shut.

  This can’t be happening.

  “The boyfriend apparently went out night fishing, alone. Was supposed to go with his buddy, but the guy got sick or something. Anyway, it looks like Noa swam up to the boat and ambushed him. They found his body and the boat two days ago. It was on the news before, but I don’t always watch.”

  “I don’t get it. How do they know it was Noa?”

  “Beats me. But the ex-girlfriend had a restraining order out against him.”

  Ellie slid off the bed and sat with her back against the wall.

  “Is there some kind of seedy underworld here on the island I didn’t know about?”

  “Honey, I don’t know. I got all this from the local evening news. Nightline it ain’t. We’re seriously lacking for in-depth reporting.”

  Viv crouched on his stomach and wiggled his behind, preparing to pounce on the window curtain.

  “I can’t really wrap my head around this.”

  “Have you talked to Olivia?”

  “I talked to her on my drive home. She didn’t say anything.”

  “Drive home? Oh, right. Your date. How’d it go?”

  Ellie’s face relaxed as she thought of Denver’s arms around her. “Okay.”

  “Ha. Your mouth says okay but your voice says awesome.”

  “I could use some motherly advice, actually.”

  “Motherly? Hear that noise? That’s me hanging up on you.”

  Ellie threw a sock at Viv, who was considering climbing up the curtain. “I just mean advice from someone older.”

  “Click.”

  “More…enlightened?”

  “Keep talking.”

  “I really like him.”

  “And that’s a problem because?”

  “Because I don’t really trust myself.” Ellie wiggled her toes. Viv ignored her in favor of batting the sock across the wooden floor. “Or maybe I don’t trust him.”

  “I think those two are related.”

  “Oh. I never thought about it that way.”

  “Come to yoga class tomorrow. It’ll clear your mind.”

  “Don’t you mean it’ll wear me out?”

  “Once again, those two things are related.”

  That evening before going to sleep, Ellie moved Viv’s water bowl and litter box to her bathroom. She pushed a white armchair from the living room into her bedroom. Then she turned on every light in the house. Once she and Viv were ready for bed, she shoved the armchair against the closed bedroom door and sat in it.

  “This is as close to a safe room as we’re getting, buddy.”

  Viv tromped across her pillows, kneading them into his desired consistency.

  She dialed Denver.

  “Hope I’m not calling too late.”

  “Nope.” His voice sounded exhausted. “Just working.”

  “In the guest cottage?”

  “Um. No. Actually…”

  Ellie grinned to herself. “Phew. Glad your neighbors are finally giving you some peace and quiet. What’s the point of owning a house on Maui if you can never use it, right?”

  “Well….”

  “I mean, you’re running a company and making lots of money. You deserve to enjoy your own house.”

  “I guess. But let me…”

  Take the plunge, Ellie.

  “I’m looking forward to seeing your place on Thursday.”

  Her stomach tensed as seconds passed without a response.

  “I mean, if you want me to.”

  “Ellie…”

  “Look, never mind. I just like thinking of you nearby. It’s…”

  Comforting.

  “Comforting.”

  “I like thinking of you too. Now look, I’m really sorry, but I have to get some stuff done before I go to bed.”

  A strange feeling rose in her chest.

  “Everything okay?”

  “It’s fine, Ellie. I’ll text you in the morning before you pick up Celine. Sleep tight.”

  She curled into a ball next to Viv and looked at the phone’s dark screen.

  Everything went so well today. Why do I feel like disaster’s right around the corner?

  ***

  She noticed an unusual rattling the next morning as she lay in bed stretching after the alarm. It resembled the rustling of palm fronds, but more intense. She drew the phone to her.

  Is someone out there?

  She lifted a corner of the curtain.

  Rain?

  By the time she pulled on her Giants windbreaker and donned the new floppy hat, the rain shower had moved out to sea, hovering over Molokini in the distance. Ellie tiptoed in bare feet along the wet grass, leaving a dark trail. She shivered in the uncharacteristically cool air.

  A movement by the house caught the corner of her eye and she spun around. The garden didn’t stir.

  Is somebody here?

  Phone in hand, she roamed the perimeter, looking for something out of place.

  I’m just freaked because of that murder.

  The guesthouse stood lonely and dark, like an unwanted stepchild.

  Maybe somebody’s in there?

  She grabbed a lava rock from the pile near the fountain and crept to the door, ready to defend herself but preferring the thought that the stone might buy her time to flee. Heart beating, she tried the door.

  It’s locked.

  She rattled the handle and laughed at herself.

  Okay, Ellie. Get a grip.

  On the way back in, she texted Devora.

  Ellie: What’s up with the ohana?

  Devora: House not big enough for u?

  Ellie: Very funny. Just tried door. It’s locked.

  Devora: Should be same key as house.

  Oh, great.

  Ellie: Got Vivyenne’s new doors installed yesterday. Threw old keys in trash so I wouldn’t get confused.

  Devora: Dumpster dive?

  Ellie: Garbage picked up this morning.

  Devora: Right. Locksmith. But if u can’t get in, nobody else can either. Just leave it.

  Ellie: K. U hear about the murder?

  Devora: Fifty per day in the US. Which one?

  Ellie flung herself on the white living room sofa and jumped off again as though she’d been shocked. She wiped furiously at the stain her grassy feet had left. The bright green spread across the material like a film of algae.

  Ellie: Never mind. Got a cleaning emergency.

  Devora: Don’t want to know what’s no longer white. Say hi to Viv.

  Chapter 13

  Later that morning, Ellie left an hour early in case of traffic problems and spent forty minutes waiting in her car in the Kahului airport lot. She rolled down the windows and put her feet on the dash.

  In San Francisco I’d have been late. Here I’m way too mainland.

  She re-read her morning exchange with Denver.

  Denver: Thinking of u. Have fun w Celine. Lots to do on my end before Thurs. Drowning in work. Can’t wait to see u.

  Ellie: Don’t work too hard. It’d take my whole life to do half of what u’ve accomplished already. Ur amazing.

  Denver: I may not be all u think I am.

  Ellie: No. Ur more!

  She appended a smiley face.

  Poor guy. So busy. Serious cheering up in order Thursday. She smiled at thoughts of what cheering Denver up might entail.

  Ellie: At least we’re both on Maui. Maybe Celine & I will see u.

  Denver: I’d love that. But don’t count on it.

  When re-reading texts grew boring, she re-read everything she could find about Denver and his family on
the Internet, scrolling through open tabs from prior searches and adding ones about Denver and Maui. But the new efforts only resulted in a record of a house sale his parents had made in the early 2000s.

  Probably bought his own house in a company name.

  After that, she switched to collecting screen shots of Denver’s online photos and saving them in a folder. She signed up for his company newsletter and looked at RED’s Twitter feed and Facebook profile.

  When Celine finally texted that her plane had landed, she had fallen asleep with her legs on the dash. She walked across the small parking area to the open-air baggage claim. Birds fluttered here and there and picked crumbs left near the coffee shop. Tourists in suits and long pants, blinking in the strong light and sweating in the warm, moist air, tugged massive suitcases from conveyor belts and rolled them over the bumpy pavement.

  A pink orchid lei hung over Ellie’s arm. She scanned the clumps of new visitors entering from both sides of the lobby. Celine’s tall, slim figure stood out among the families with small children tromping in.

  Ellie gave her a one-armed hug and draped the lei over her head.

  Celine sniffed the flowers. “What’s good, Miss Snorkel Queen 2016? Thanks for letting me bust in on your romantic getaway.”

  A corner of Ellie’s mouth twitched upward.

  “I see I’m right.” Celine grinned.

  “I cyberstalked him while I was waiting for you.”

  “Ah. Now I know you’re in love.”

  Ellie pulled the carry-on from her friend’s grasp. “Is this all you brought?”

  “Lift it. Then you won’t be so impressed.”

  Ellie pulled the lurching roller bag across the sidewalk. Celine jerked to a stop and squinted at the West Maui mountains. She shielded her eyes while she fished a pair of sunglasses from her purse. “That’s what you have to put up with every day? Must be rough, girlfriend.”

  Ellie laughed. “Remember, I work every day.”

  “Sure. Hard work. Like taking care of a nine-pound cat. I feel you.”

  Ellie threw the suitcase in the trunk and they got in the car.

  “Like locking up the house at night and pushing a chair in front of my bedroom door.”

  Celine stared at her as the car joined the short exit line.

  “You serious?”

  Ellie shrugged. “I did it last night.” She handed the aloha-shirted attendant her credit card. “I woke up feeling totally paranoid. But it’s worn off. I looked around the yard. No one’s out there.”

  “Who, exactly, would be out there in the first place?”

  “Don’t exactly know.” Ellie pulled into the lane of slow moving cars across from Costco. At the light she glanced at Celine. “But the police think Noa killed someone.”

  “Your snorkeling instructor? A murderer? You got some luck.”

  The cars edged their way toward the left turn. “They think he killed the boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend.”

  “Ex-girlfriend because she’s dead too?”

  Ellie laughed. “No. At least that’s a bright side. She was together with another guy and had a restraining order out against Noa. They found that other guy dead in his boat. The police suspect Noa did it.”

  Two surf shops flitted past Celine’s window in rapid succession. Celine looked around as though lost. “Another murder? Where am I again? Downtown L.A.?”

  “Right?”

  “You got bolts on the doors?”

  Weeds in the former cane fields swayed on either side of the highway as they drove past. “Better. Vivyenne had me order new doors and they were put in yesterday. Get this. They have a steel core. I got to love Vivyenne sometimes. She’s crazy. But she’s thorough.”

  Celine bent for a better glimpse of the Haleakala volcano out Ellie’s window. “Still safer here than Hunters Point, San Francisco. And prettier.”

  A few hours later, Celine bobbed in the ocean at Polo Beach, her arms wrapped around a long blue Styrofoam noodle. Ellie floated next to her on an inflatable ring with a mask in her lap.

  “Remind me again why I didn’t shove you out of the way for this ‘job’ of yours?” Celine’s fingers drew quotation marks in the air.

  Ellie splashed her. “You thought Viv looked like a leopard.”

  “I take it all back. That cat’s your fairy godfather.”

  At the shore, children built elaborate sand castles using buckets and upside down Frisbees. Serious swimmers stroked from the northern rocks to the southern shore, their hand paddles sending arcs of droplets into the air. Umbrellas and tents dotted the beach, vying for space with beach chairs positioned to enable their occupants to take maximum advantage of the sun.

  “Imagine having so much money that you’d pay someone to take your place in paradise. Vivyenne must have some wicked other houses.”

  Ellie pulled the mask on her face and flipped over. Almost immediately she ripped it off and threw it at Celine.

  “Quick. Put it on. There’s a turtle swimming by.”

  Celine drew her legs in. “They bite?”

  “No. Hurry.”

  Celine pulled the mask over her tight curls and paddled backward toward the shore as she put her head under the water. After a few seconds, she reversed direction, kicking to keep up with the shadow just visible below the surface. Ellie propelled herself alongside. Celine surfaced and submerged repeatedly. Her full head finally reappeared as they approached the south side of the beach.

  “Awesome. That thing was almost as big as me. And so graceful.” She flapped her arms lazily in imitation. “Like gliding.”

  “Told you.”

  “To think I was freezing my butt off in computer class Friday afternoon.”

  Ellie slid off the ring into the water to cool off.

  “Am I missing a lot?”

  “That hot young professor who used to work for HubSpot? Monday there was some kind of total electrical failure. They brought in this big easel for him to use, but the guy couldn’t spell. His handwriting sucked. He cancelled class halfway through.”

  “Maybe he shouldn’t have switched careers. There are no big bucks in academia.”

  “Not always big bucks in tech either. You should ask Mr. Drone how he makes his millions.”

  “I don’t know if I’d want to be in his shoes. He’s working, like, all the time.”

  Celine scrutinized Ellie’s face.

  “Trouble in paradise?”

  “Not really. He’s amazing. And I want to be supportive.”

  The tide tugged them gently toward the ocean. They kicked against it to stay in place.

  “What’s he think about your murderer snorkeling instructor?”

  “Haven’t told him.”

  “Got it. Too busy playing tonsil hockey.”

  Ellie jumped off her ring, yanked Celine’s noodle from under her arms, and dunked her in the waist-high water.

  ***

  Late that night, Ellie stood over Celine’s bed. She tapped her friend’s shoulder and stood back.

  “Did you hear that?” She tapped Celine again, and then tugged on the hem of her new black and white Hello Kitty tank. Light streamed into the darkened guest room from the hall.

  Celine rubbed her eyes. “What?”

  “I heard something.”

  Celine mimed throwing a pillow at her. “If I’d known you were going to wake me in two hours, I wouldn’t have had that third Mai Tai.”

  Ellie plucked nervously at Celine’s comforter. “Something woke me up,” she said. “I went to the window. I saw someone in the garden.”

  “You’re hearing things.” Celine rolled over.

  “No.” Ellie sat on the bed. “I was thinking about it. Noa’s girlfriend breaks up with him. He goes after her. She gets a restraining order.”

  “Go back to bed.” Celine pulled a pillow over her head, but Ellie tugged it back.

  “Listen. He can’t go after her, so he goes after the boyfriend.”

  “Whatever.”


  “Remember how Noa texted me and then came over? I think he had some crazy idea he and I were a couple. Then he saw me with Brandon and went ballistic. He went after his girlfriend when she was with someone else. Maybe he tried to come after me. Remember the note on my car?”

  Celine rolled over and looked at Ellie. “Go on.”

  “He couldn’t get me. So he went after Brandon. And now he’s coming after me again.”

  Celine sat up.

  “You call the police?”

  “No.”

  Celine pushed herself up on her elbows. “You got your priorities backwards, girl. With a theory like that, you call the cops before you wake up your friend.”

  Ellie stood.

  “Go. Call.”

  “I’ve never called 9-1-1 before.”

  Celine yawned. “You push 9-1-1.”

  Tears welled in Ellie’s eyes.

  “Shoot. Get your phone. We’ll put it on speaker. But I didn’t see anything, so you’ll have to do the talking.”

  The Maui Police officer who arrived twenty minutes later struck Ellie as the kind of person you’d want around in an emergency. The band on his cap reflected the lights that shone under the lanai and his eyes blazed with trustworthiness and energy. He was no taller than Celine but built like a tree trunk, with biceps that filled his short-sleeved shirt and thigh muscles that stretched his dark pants. His round face was inquisitive, intelligent, and inviting.

  The officer, who introduced himself as Sergeant Rao, focused immediately on Celine. She stood in a pink cardigan and gray sweat pants with crossed arms, defiant yet compliant, daring him to question the authenticity of Ellie’s night prowler. Ellie marveled how Celine could project fierce protectiveness while simultaneously maintaining a respectful demeanor, even sexy, demeanor. Ellie rested against the wall, shaken and quiet. Celine explained the situation. The officer listened, maintaining constant eye contact and nodding at intervals.

  When he returned from a patrol of the garden, Celine and Ellie sat on the living room sofa. The room was a contrast of light and dark, furniture and floor, inside and outside, Ellie’s frightened, pale face and Celine’s composed one.