Murder and a Blue Hawaii (A Blue Hawaii Mystery Book 1)

by Elizabeth Autumn

  As I made myself eggs and rice on my hotplate and rice cooker, I heard a knock on the door.

  I opened it, thinking that Colton was coming by to ask about the dead body. When I saw a woman with a crooked nose standing on my doorstep, I promptly shut and locked the door.

  Was it a coincidence that this was the second time I’d encountered a person with a crooked nose?

  No.

  I wished it was.

  The nose was genetically acquired, not because of a bar fight. The Barber siblings were known for their off-center noses and dogged persistence.

  The death of a loved one would cause some people to reevaluate their life choices. Sophia Barber was the type of person to use her brother’s death as motivation for revenge.

  Sophia Barber ran a cleaner, tighter version of Bentley’s racket. She loaned secrets instead of money.

  Sophia pounded on the door. “Alana Park, I know you’re in there!”

  Of course she knew I was in here. My lights were on. The only reason that I wouldn’t forget to turn them off when I went out was to save on electricity costs.

  Sophia knew that because I’d confided in her when she was cutting my hair a few years ago. That was how I met Bentley.

  I needed to get my hair cut by someone more trustworthy.

  Unfortunately, Sophia was a fantastic hairdresser and her rates were unbeatable. I couldn’t deprive my hair of her excellent work.

  Besides, she was my next-door neighbor. Yeah, the one with the full-volume ambient sounds.

  “I appreciate the house call, but I don’t need your services today. I’m growing my bangs out!” I shouted above the laugh track and screeching bird.

  “You don’t have bangs!” Sophia shouted back.

  The bird quieted and thunder came rolling in.

  “I’ll call you to make an appointment. I appreciate the house call, but I’m good,” I said.

  “Open the door. I want to talk to you,” said Sophia.

  My blinds were halfway open. Same with my window. The flimsy screen wasn’t going to protect me from Sophia’s wrath if she decided to punch a hole in it.

  She stared at me through the window with her hands on her hips.

  Sophia’s hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail—and not a stylish one. Deep, dark circles stained the skin under her eyes. She kept blinking, like the sunlight was too strong for her.

  I held up my hands. “Listen, I know I found your brother taking his last swim last night, but I didn’t tighten the noose.”

  “I know that,” Sophia scoffed. “No one would be idiotic enough to stick around after killing someone.”

  “Then what do you want?”

  The laugh track died out and Colton suddenly tapped my window. “Good seeing you, Alana. Is Sophia bothering you?”

  “Yes!” I exclaimed.

  He nodded. Colton Bradley was about ten years older than me and in peak physical form. Lifting the water jugs at lunch five days a week gave him his soft belly and thick neck.

  Colton took the logical next step and meandered back into his apartment.

  Sophia blinked. “Colton’s bringing out a chair.”

  Colton dragged his kitchen table chair in front of my window, bringing his lunch with him. “You two have got to be more entertaining than the rerun I’m watching.”

  He took a big bite of his Spam sandwich.

  “What do you want?” I repeated.

  “Bentley’s gone. He can’t cover his debts.” Sophia nose twitched. “But you can.”

  “I’m sure he won’t miss you taking his belongings and stealing his cash,” I said.

  “With the cops all over his place? My brother just had to make a scene with his death, didn’t he? I can’t go in there unnoticed.”

  The bird shrieked again. “Sophia, I didn’t realize you had a bird,” said Colton conversationally.

  She gritted her teeth. “I don’t.”

  “Could have fooled me,” I muttered.

  Sophia tapped the glass. “What was that? Alana, come out here. Let’s talk about this.”

  I reluctantly left my cozy apartment and met my neighbors in the outdoor hallway. I crossed my arms. “I don’t owe you anything.”

  Sophia rolled her eyes. “You do owe me. If you choose not to pay me, then I’ll circulate the alarming news of rats and other vermin contaminating your bar.”

  “Hmm,” said Colton. “Threats. Interesting tactic.”

  “I don’t need your commentary,” Sophia snapped.

  “But you’ve got it all the same,” said Colton cheerfully, as he took a big bite of his sandwich. Crumbs dropped to the floor, much to my dismay.

  “You’re littering,” I said.

  “I’m feeding Sophia’s bird,” Colton countered as Sophia made a face.

  “So, are you going after everyone who owed Bentley money?” I asked. “Or is it just me?”

  “What does it matter?” asked Sophia defensively.

  I inspected my fingernails nonchalantly. “I hear Evan Clay is avoiding you. It is you, right? I know he owed Bentley money. What can you tell me about him?”

  “Evan Clay,” Sophia mused. “I’ve got some interesting dirt on him. It’s definitely stuff you wouldn’t expect.”

  “You want to tell me what that is?” I asked.

  “No,” said Sophia simply.

  “What will it cost? Every secret has got to have a price,” said Colton.

  “Evan’s secrets are worth much more than yours are,” said Sophia.

  Colton grinned. “I’m an open book. I don’t have secrets.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “How’s your weight training going?”

  Colton flexed his arms. “Excellently, thank you for asking.”

  Colton’s watch beeped and he quickly swallowed the last of his sandwich. “Ladies, it’s been a pleasure. I’ve got to go back to tricking good people into lowering their standards and settling into a subpar new home.”

  Sophia frowned. “You’re a leasing agent. For this apartment complex.”

  Colton picked up his chair and put it back inside. “And you’re hiding a bird in your place. We all do things we don’t like to get ahead. Although, I haven’t figured out what the bird’s for yet.”

  “I don’t have a bird!” Sophia shouted as Colton headed down the hall to get back to work. She turned to me. “You believe me, don’t you?”

  I brushed a lonely seed off her shoulder. “Now that you don’t have birdseed on your shoulder, I can say I have no proof.” I looked her in the eyes. “Why do you need the money so badly?”

  Sophia sighed. “Let’s just say it’s not me who needs it. I support myself just fine. I’m a successful hairdresser! You’ve seen my work. It’s fabulous!”

  She was a great hairdresser, but looking at the bedraggled person before me was a far cry from her normal, put-together self. Dark roots were conspicuously showing through and it looked like she hadn’t taken a brush through her hair in days.

  “Does shadiness run in your family?” I asked. “I know you trade secrets. Bentley trades money. It’s not a big stretch to connect you two. You’re taking over for Bentley, aren’t you? You’re going to get the money people owe him for your own profits.”

  Sophia shook her head. “It’s not like that. Yeah, Bentley’s business moves aren’t on the up and up. But mine are.”

  “I don’t know that,” I said.

  “Yeah? You think you know me?” Sophia threw her hands up. “I just lost my brother. You’d think you could offer some condolences or something.”

  “I hope you find the peace you’re looking for,” I said. I couldn’t say I was sorry Bentley was dead.

  “I don’t care about your fake condolences. I’m here to get what I’m owed. I want my money by the end of the week.”

  “I’ll tell you what I told Bentley—that’s not possible. I can’t do that.”

  Sophia went still. “One week. Get me my money or you’ll wake up with your head shave
d down the middle.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  A couple hours later, I headed to work. I supposed I could have taken the day off, considering everything that happened last night, but work seemed like a good distraction. Plus, I didn’t want to be anywhere near Sophia and her cutting shears. I liked having a head full of hair.

  I was cleaning the bar counter when Maya strode in and slapped a receipt on the table.

  Glancing at it, my eyes widened. “Seriously? You’re charging me for the robe?”

  “Unless you’d like to return it,” said Maya, grinning.

  I folded the receipt. “How about a few free drinks instead?”

  Maya held out her hand. “It’s a deal.”

  We shook and I turned to my other bartender on duty. “Kimo, make this fine woman a mojito.”

  Kimo Momoa, an energetic man in his early twenties, nodded emphatically. “Coming right up.”

  “We can talk to Natasha at her next shift,” said Maya.

  “Okay,” I said thoughtfully. “I can’t get Evan out of my head. I think he’s involved somehow.”

  “He definitely seems guilty,” said Maya. “Even if he didn’t kill Bentley, there’s something else that he’s hiding.”

  Finished with the mojito, Kimo swiftly slid it down the bar counter to Maya. The drink curved and skidded past Maya’s outstretched hand at the last second, smashing onto the wood floor.

  “Kimo!” I exclaimed. “You can’t throw a glass like you would a baseball. We’ve been over this!”

  “Sorry!” Kimo called out as he grabbed his broom.

  And yes, I did mean his broom.

  Okay, so it was technically the bar’s broom, but seeing as Kimo was the main person to use it, it might as well have been his broom.

  He finished cleaning up the broken glass as Landon Stone came strolling into Blue Hawaii a few minutes later.

  “How’d your meeting go?” I asked him.

  Landon gave me two thumbs up. “I stayed up until the meeting and then passed out immediately after. Having no sleep really takes away your worries. When you’re focusing on keeping your eyes open, you don’t have much time to think of anything else.”

  I laughed. “That’s good, then.”

  Landon gave me a wry smile. “I came by to thank you for your help. Without you discovering that dead body, I wouldn’t have had a successful meeting.”

  I took a bow. “My pleasure.”

  Then I shivered, thinking of Bentley’s expressionless staring eyes and the noose tangled around his neck. It had taken me an hour in a toasty bubble bath before I felt clean again.

  “My company set me up for the week here,” Landon continued.

  “That’s generous of them,” I said.

  “I’ve got a few more meetings and such to do. Plus, they’re trying to sell me on Hawaii. I got off the phone with my boss an hour ago and she said the job here is mine if I want it.”

  I smiled. “Congratulations.”

  “Yeah.” Landon’s gloomy response was not what I expected.

  “Aren’t you excited?”

  “I keep thinking it’s too good to be true. I mean, you and I stumbled upon a dead body last night. That can’t be a good omen.”

  I shrugged. “But if we hadn’t, you wouldn’t have nailed your meeting.”

  “That’s true.” Landon suddenly spotted Micah Robinson, who was sitting at one of the small tables by himself. Micah had been there for about half an hour and barely touched his drink. “That guy’s here again.”

  “He’s a regular,” I said.

  Landon couldn’t tear his intense blue eyes away from Micah. “I know him from somewhere. I can’t figure out where, though.”

  “Is he in the kitchen supply business?” I asked. “Sometimes he doesn’t come by for a week and I assume he’s on a business trip.”

  Landon frowned. “I don’t think so…”

  Maya glanced at me. “You’ve never asked Micah how he makes his living?”

  I shrugged. “I respect my customer’s privacy. Coming here seems to be his way of winding down after a long day. I wouldn’t want to disrupt that peace.”

  It looked like someone else was making life difficult for him, judging by the hardened tone he was using on his phone call.

  “I can’t do that,” Micah was quietly saying. “I can’t get the money that fast. These things take time. You know how it is… No, I… Okay. I’ll do what I can.”

  Setting down his phone, Micah briefly closed his eyes before taking a long gulp of his beer.

  I went over to him. “Is everything all right?” I asked him lightly.

  Micah looked at me like he was viewing me from a great distance. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve got a business complication that… complicates things.”

  “Anything I can do to help?”

  A tiny wave of sadness flashed over Micah. “You’re doing enough as it is.” He finished his beer in one long gulp.

  Built like a teddy bear and wearing a sad puppy dog expression, Micah was the kind of guy I just wanted to hug and say that everything would be all right.

  Micah unclipped his scratched sunglasses from his shirt pocket. “How are you?” he asked with concern. “Finding his body must have been horrible.”

  I grimaced. “It wasn’t like finding a piece of sea glass, that’s for sure. I’m doing all right, though.”

  Micah’s phone vibrated on the table, making a loud buzzing sound. He tucked it into his pocket, ignoring the call.

  “It’s crazy,” he said. “It’s surreal to know someone who was murdered.”

  “How did you know Bentley?” I asked.

  Micah paused. “This island’s not that big. You get to know all sorts of people.”

  That was a great way of not answering my question.

  I tried a new approach. “Do you know anyone who would want to hurt Bentley?”

  Micah’s expression darkened. “My guess would be a lot of people. He wasn’t the friendliest guy and Bentley wasn’t afraid of making enemies in order to get results.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. It was still vibrating. “Excuse me, I have to take this.”

  And that was a convenient way of stopping any further questions.

  “Yes?” he asked brusquely into his phone.

  I returned behind the bar.

  “He knows something,” I murmured to Maya, who was scribbling something on a napkin.

  “What does he know?” she asked absentmindedly.

  “I have no idea,” I muttered.

  Maya laid her head on her napkin like a pillow and closed her eyes, clearly still tired from last night. She jumped when Micah’s loud voice carried over to us.

  “No!” Micah was shouting into his phone. “I’m not doing that! I’m settled with him and that’s that. I don’t owe you anything. What?… Fine! Come after me, see if I care. I’ll tell you what, you need to—hello? Hello?”

  He stormed off before I could ask him what was wrong.

  “I wonder what that was about,” said Landon as he glanced at Maya’s drawing of a long knife with a serrated edge. “Why are you drawing a bread knife?”

  Maya looked up. “Is that what it is?”

  “Yeah, I sell those all the time.”

  Maya stared at her sketch. “I can’t get it out of my head. I feel like I’m forgetting something important. Something that has to do with a bread knife—but I’m too tired to remember what it is.” Maya yawned. “I don’t do well on no sleep. I thought I could power through, but I can barely keep my eyes open.”

  “Go home,” I said firmly.

  “I’ll sleep in tomorrow,” she said. “I can’t leave you to solve this case alone.”

  “Go home,” I repeated as Kimo came over.

  Curiosity was written all over his face. “Did I see Micah Robinson leave, all angry and upset?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  Kimo’s eyes widened. “That’s so cool.”

  “What, now?” asked Maya shar
ply.

  Kimo gaped at us. “You don’t know who Micah Robinson is?”

  “Who?” asked Landon.

  “Should I?” I asked.

  Maya’s face was completely blank, which I found kind of funny. Normally she was a wealth of knowledge. Seeing her sleep-deprived and still willing to stay awake to help me was endearing.

  “It’s all right Maya,” I said to her. “There’s bound to be some things you don’t know.”

  Maya frowned. “I thought I knew all the local celebrities.”

  “Micah Robinson was poised for greatness.” Kimo got a dreamy look in his eyes. “Micah would have been the next great baseball legend if he didn’t get injured.”

  Kimo shrugged. “But he is known for having anger issues. He’d throw a fit every time something happened that he didn’t like. He rose quickly, but he fell just as fast.”

  “Like a shooting star,” I said.

  “Sure,” said Kimo. “I assumed he moved to Waikiki to escape his past.” Kimo lowered his voice. “Rumor has it that he used to be a big gambler. That’s fine when he was rolling in dough, but I think it must have caught up with him. Have you ever noticed how all his shorts have holes in them? I don’t think he can afford his current lifestyle.”

  “Right,” I said. “Why regularly come to a bar when you can get cheaper drinks at home?”

  “He could come to relieve stress,” Maya pointed out.

  Landon suddenly slapped his hand on the counter. “That’s where I know Micah from! Back home in Vegas, I used to work as a card dealer at a hotel casino. Micah would come in all the time.”

  My eyes widened. “That would confirm the gambling. Did he lose a lot?”

  “Everyone lost a lot,” said Landon. “That’s the point. The casinos can’t have people constantly winning.”

  “I get that, but did Micah go for the fun of it or was he a habitual gambler who didn’t know when to quit?”

  “Oh, definitely the second. He won a lot at first, but things started to go downhill for him and he never regained his winning streak.”

  I snapped my fingers. “Micah owes Bentley for his gambling debts. He could be in over his head and needed a way to get Bentley off his back.”

  “Bad enough to kill for?” asked Maya.

  “We need to find out,” I said grimly.