I nudged her. “Maybe you should drink them more often. Dreams are everything. You wouldn’t be running a hotel without having the aspiration to do so in the first place.”
“It took dedication, planning, and time,” said Maya firmly. The creases near her eyes crinkled. “And maybe the help of a friend who’s never afraid to shoot for the stars.”
There was a sudden commotion at the opposite end of the bar. “Not again!” Kimo was exclaiming.
I looked up to see Kimo grabbing a mop. Dark liquid was spilling over an overfilled glass and his sleeves were wet from the spill.
I didn’t mind Kimo’s frequent messes. He always cleaned them up right away.
It wasn’t germs or things out place that bothered me as much as people’s lack of initiative to do something about it. I understood if someone was sick.
Please, cover your cough with your elbow! Not with your hand.
It was simple common courtesy—something Bentley Barber didn’t have.
That made me think of Madison Walker. Bentley had been sick the last day he was alive—and so had Madison.
They both were uncontrollably coughing, with red noses and watery eyes. What if Bentley had passed on his germs to Madison?
I shook my head. These were two unconnected people. They didn’t know each other.
Right?
I couldn’t get the thought out of my head, though. Madison’s coughing and her owning a noose was too close of a connection to Bentley to write it off as a coincidence.
And I had seen them in the same place on the same night.
It definitely appeared suspicious.
I had to find Madison.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
I wiped down the bar counter as I thought about Madison. Maya was trying to figure out where Madison was at that moment. There was a connection between Madison and Maya’s party tonight. But what that connection was alluded me…
Madison looked up from her phone. “Shawn says that she’s still at the party.”
“The speaker!” I snapped my fingers. “The speaker you borrowed from Madison is working great.”
“Madison must have fixed it,” said Maya.
“Unless it was never broken in the first place,” I said. “I thought it was the speaker that was malfunctioning. What if it was the song itself? We need to check her phone. Madison was playing the music said it. She’s got to still have the song.”
“Unless she deleted it,” said Maya.
I snapped my fingers. “Which would point towards a guilty conscience.”
“Or getting rid of a song that doesn’t work to make more space on her device,” said Maya.
“No, I’m going with the guilty conscience,” I insisted.
“How are we going to get her phone? If Madison’s the killer, then she’s not going to willingly let you search it for evidence. That’s insane.”
“You’re going to distract her,” I said.
“Oh, no. What are you planning?”
“You’re the planner. I’m improvising,” I said, grabbing two phone cases out of the lost and found. “Madison’s at the party, right?”
“Yeah, I saw her come in as I was leaving. Speaking of which, I really need to head back there. What kind of hostess would I be if I didn’t show up?”
“Perfect. Here’s what you’ll do.” I proceeded to tell her my idea as I taped the hard phone cases together.
“I have no idea if this will work, but I’ll give it my best shot,” she said gamely.
We rejoined the party. I was wearing my hook hand, with the phone cases hidden inside.
Madison was debating the merits of piracy with Shawn. When I spotted her phone conveniently sticking out of her back pocket, I nodded to Maya.
Maya and I split up, with Maya walking in front of Madison and me heading behind her. Maya accidentally bumped into Madison and immediately apologized.
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you.” Maya arched her eyebrow. “Did I hear you say that a sword is a pirate’s best weapon? That can’t be right. It’s got to be their fearsome reputation. Having enemies think twice about attacking saves you so much time and effort.”
As Maya distracted Madison, I covertly swapped out Madison’s phone with the phone cases that had the same shape and almost the same weight as her actual phone. I hurried into the lobby, out of sight from Madison.
My efforts were thwarted as soon as I realized that her phone had a number lock on it. What would she have used for her code?
I texted Maya to find out her birthday as I tried punching in “0” four times. The phone stayed locked, but Maya soon texted back with the information. Would Madison use something as predictable as her birthday? I crossed my fingers, hoping she would.
She did!
The digits unlocked her phone with ease. Madison needed some lessons on security if she was going to be a criminal mastermind.
I scrolled through the contents of her phone to find her music. Once I did, I pressed play on the song that Sophia walked the runway to. The noise level of the party was loud enough that no one would hear me playing the song in the quiet lobby.
It started out as I remembered—upbeat and lively. Then, about thirty seconds in, it abruptly stopped, before starting again with a crackling noise.
Just like it had the night of the costume contest.
The song intermittently kept crackling for the rest of the song and I realized that it was part of the recording. The original song must have been recorded and messed with, so that whenever it was played, it would appear to be a broken file.
That proved that it wasn’t the wireless speaker’s fault. The rain had nothing to do with it.
Sophia’s performance had been sabotaged on purpose—and planned ahead.
I quickly went back to the party, slipping Madison’s phone into my hook hand.
“How do you think pirate tales got passed down? They got stretched and twisted into legends. Some of it’s true and some of it isn’t, but word got around. Everyone knows not to mess with a pirate. They don’t need swords to be threatening,” Maya was saying. I nodded to her and Maya suddenly wrapped Madison in a big hug, thanking her for organizing the event. “It’s been a blast,” she said.
At the same time, I replaced Madison’s phone back into her pocket, tucking the phone cases into my hook hand.
“I don’t know,” I said. “If someone came at me with a sword—pirate or not—I’d think twice about making an offensive move.”
Shawn shook his head. “Maya’s right. A pirate’s reputation is everything.”
“But the sword!” exclaimed Madison.
I could tell she was getting ready for another round of debate, so I quickly whisked Maya away before we got sucked into it.
“Did you find anything?” Maya whispered as we walked away.
“Madison sabotaged the costume contest,” I confirmed as soon as we were out of earshot.
Maya’s eyes widened. “She must have really wanted Sophia not to win.”
“Or Madison was trying to send a message,” I said.
“Why Sophia? Did Madison think she was on to her?” asked Maya.
“It would make the most sense,” I said. “As Bentley’s sister, she would be most likely to want to find his killer. Madison wouldn’t have wanted Sophia to get too close to the truth.”
Maya glanced at Madison, who was animatedly talking to Shawn. “What do we do now?”
I gave Maya a sideways glance. “Madison’s staying at Sandy Turtle.”
Maya’s eyes widened. “No. No, no no.”
“We’d need access to her room for a minute. Just to see what we can find.”
“I can’t go searching my guests rooms!” Maya exclaimed.
“Not even a murderer’s?” I asked slyly.
“There’s got to be another way. Oh, hi, Aaliyah,” said Maya as Aaliyah came by us.
“Hello, ladies. Maya, the party is fantastic. The shrimp? Delicious,” said Aaliyah.
“That was a good treasure hunt, wasn’t it? My opinion of Madison is improving. At least she knows what she’s doing,” said Aaliyah. “I thought I had a good shot at the contest when we were making rope bracelets. I’m handy with rope. I even made all the nooses for everybody. But the other clues slowed me down. Oh, well. Next time, right?”
I narrowed my eyes. “You made all the nooses?”
“Yeah, I had made enough for all the pirates who signed up for the convention. They were supposed to return them to me so I could sew in a small medal, commemorating the event.” Aaliyah frowned. “Everyone’s returned them, except for one person. Maybe she doesn’t want the medal. I don’t understand why she wouldn’t, but that’s her business.”
“She?” Maya asked.
“Madison,” said Aaliyah. “Hers is the only noose I’m missing.”
“Madison lost her noose,” I said slowly.
“She must not have found it,” Maya offered.
“Or, maybe, she knows exactly where it is. Maybe she can’t get to it. Maya, get Henry over here.” My serious eyes met her concerned gaze. “I know who killed Bentley Barber.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“Is Henry on his way?” I asked Maya.
She nodded, checking her phone. “He’ll be here soon. Is this it? Are we about to interrogate the murderer?”
“I hope so,” I said grimly.
We entered the dining area of Sandy Turtle, where I had arranged for someone to meet us. But when Maya saw Evan Clay fidgeting with his watch as he waited for us, she pulled me aside.
“You’re seriously still not on Evan being a killer, are you?” Maya asked indignantly. “We don’t need Henry for this. He’d be wasting his time. He’s almost here, I can tell him to turn around.”
“No,” I said. “Evan’s definitely hiding something, though. Plus, we have time to kill before Henry arrives and I can get a confession out of the actual killer.”
“Okay, fine,” said Maya. “But who cares if Evan’s hiding something? That’s his own business.”
I brushed my chocolate hair back, undoing a knot that I’d missed when brushing it that morning. “There’s the tiniest chance that they’re connected to the murder. I can’t walk away without knowing the whole story. What if Evan and Natasha are in on it together? They could have set up their alibis and pretended not to know each other. They’ve made it convincing that they’re not murderers. Is it convincing because that’s true or because they want us to think that it’s true?”
“Natasha?” asked Maya blankly. “Where does she come into play?”
“Evan’s file in Bentley’s house connected him to Natasha. Bentley had scribbled Natasha’s name on his file. That was all. Aren’t you curious to find out why?” I asked.
“Of course I’m curious! But couldn’t this wait until after we find the real killer?”
“It’ll only take a minute,” I said confidently.
I had no idea where Madison was to question her. If I wasn’t going to get answers from her, then I’d at least get some answers elsewhere.
I convinced Maya to join me at the same table we had questioned Evan at earlier. This time, it wasn’t at a ridiculously late hour. Maya was wearing gray pants and a crisp white shirt, with no bathrobe in sight. The place wasn’t empty, either. A few people were milling around, grabbing snacks, and chatting.
I dove right into it, without wasting time. I didn’t want a repeat of Evan running away.
“So, you and Natasha,” I said. “What’s your deal? Are you secret lovers? Maybe your love affair went sour and now you’re bitter enemies?”
Evan’s shirt was buttoned correctly today, but strands of his hair were askew and there were holes at the bottom of his pants. “What are you talking about?” he asked, his bushy eyebrows connecting in confusion.
I twisted his arm, showing the bottom side of his watch strap. The golden leather had a painting of a butterfly on it. It was no masterpiece, but it was obviously painted with good intentions.
“I thought you were just clumsy, but then I realized that maybe you hadn’t accidentally dipped your watch in paint. Natasha and her daughter often spend time being creative together. I’m thinking that you’ve joined them in their creative time before.”
Evan stared at his watch. “All right, you got me. Abigail painted this for me—but it’s not what you think.” He looked at me in earnest. “I met Natasha through Bentley. Sort of. He had nothing to do with it, other than the fact that we met when I was leaving his place and she was arriving.
“I’ve been friends with Micah for years. One day I meet him at Blue Hawaii for drinks. I don’t remember you, maybe you weren’t working that night. Anyway, I ran into Natasha again as we left the bar. We started hanging out, just casually. It was nice spending time with her.
“I’m not great with people,” said Evan gruffly. “Maybe it was because we were in similar predicaments, but Natasha didn’t look at me differently for being broke and in debt. More importantly, she looked past my rough exterior. I don’t give good first impressions.”
I recalled my first time seeing him at the bar. Evan’s dour expression definitely didn’t make a good impression on me.
“Natasha had to work late a few times and I offered to babysit her kid,” Evan continued. “I’m an insomniac, so I would have been awake anyway. It was easy. Abigail’s a good kid and she’s no trouble. Both of them treated me like I’m worth something. They gave me something to look forward to.
I thought of something Micah said the night of Bentley’s murder.
I narrowed my eyes. “Micah said you were on vacation. I thought you didn’t live here.”
“I don’t.” Evan’s face fell. “Not anymore. I got to know Natasha last year. Then, six months ago, I got a job offer on the mainland. Natasha convinced me to take it. She said it was my second chance.”
“You regret moving,” I stated.
“Completely. I wanted to stay here. I told Natasha that my life was richer with her and Abigail in it. I didn’t care about the money.”
“If you and Natasha got along so well, then why are you blaming each other? Why are neither of you telling the whole story?” I asked.
Evan sighed. “After moving, I saved up and paid off my debts. I decided to come here on vacation to surprise Natasha. I wanted to see if we could take things to the next level. I saw her when I left the hotel to meet Micah at the bar. I didn’t stop and talk because I didn’t want to interrupt her at work.
“On my way to Blue Hawaii, I ran into Bentley Barber. I had no beef with him. Our business arrangement was over, or so I thought. He informed me that I still had ten thousand dollars left to pay. I argued with him because that wasn’t true.”
Evan rubbed his forehead. “Bentley must have told Sophia the fake amount I owe him before he died. Now, I have Sophia trying to collect from me and Natasha won’t talk to me. I can’t figure out why. It doesn’t make sense and I don’t know what to do.”
“Did you try talking to her?” I asked.
Nodding, Evan said, “She’s not returning my calls and she disappears after work. I respect her space, but I want to know why she’s acting this way. I don’t get it.”
Maya touched her chin thoughtfully. “Let’s say I believe you about Natasha. I’m more concerned about Bentley Barber right now. What about your boat? What can you tell us about that? How did that connect you to Bentley?”
“I put up my boat as collateral. I managed to get it back and pay everything back, but I ended up selling the boat.” Evan shrugged. “I didn’t need it on the mainland and I didn’t know if I’d ever be back here permanently. When I came back here, I was looking at boat to see if I wanted to purchase a new one. Well, a new one to me. I couldn’t afford it, so I didn’t buy it.”
“Bentley was following you, hoping to coerce you into getting another loan from him,” I guessed.
“Yeah, Bentley was
hoping for a repeat client, but I knew better than that. I wasn’t going to use his services for something that I wanted. I can live without a boat. I can’t live with Bentley hanging over my head again.”
Evan placed his head in his hands. “My life is a mess. Don’t ever become like me. I was all right with being alone for a long time, but once you’ve tasted happiness in such a pure form, you don’t want to go back to being by yourself. Natasha and Abigail are the best things that ever happened to me.” He smiled sadly. “Even if it was only for a short while, it was worth being in their lives.”
“Wait here,” I said. “We’re going to sort this out.”
Evan’s dour face turned hopeful. “I don’t want to inconvenience her. If she doesn’t want to see me, then I want to respect that.”
“I’ll take care of it,” I promised.
Maya wasn’t convinced. After we left Evan sitting at the table, she lowered her voice. “How do you know that Natasha wants to see him? You’re sticking your nose where you don’t belong.”
“She wears the rope bracelet that Evan made for her all the time. I’ve never seen her without it. Would you wear a bracelet from a past lover if you were over him?”
“I guess not,” Maya conceded. “That was a waste of time, though.”
She backtracked when she saw my raised eyebrows. “In regards to the mystery. Not for the happiness of Evan and Natasha. I just mean that we’re no closer to finding the killer. Madison’s our top suspect. How was interviewing Evan getting us closer to figuring out if she did it?”
I covertly pointed out Madison to Maya. “Look. She came in halfway through our conversation. I’m hoping that she saw us talking to Evan and thinks that we’re on to him, instead of her. I’m trying to throw her off guard. I don’t want her escaping.”
Maya unfolded her crossed arms with a wry smile. “You’d think I’d catch on to your schemes by now. That was a good move.”
I took a small bow then quickly remembered I was being watched by Madison. “Thank you.”
“Okay, let’s go through this. Madison’s phone proved that she tampered with the music at the costume contest,” said Maya.
Murder and a Blue Hawaii (A Blue Hawaii Mystery Book 1) Page 14
