Murder in Honolulu: A Skye Delaney Mystery

by Flowers, R. Barri

  What did she know about any of this? I wondered. Was Trevor Baldwin Natsuko's boyfriend, in spite of her supposedly strong anti male sentiments? I refused to believe that she could possibly have had anything to do with Carter's death.

  At least not until I heard it from her. Natsuko's apartment was not far. I preferred to discuss this face to face with her, while hoping that Liam was way off base.

  "And what was it you called to talk to me about, Skye?" he asked, snapping me out of my trance.

  I told him, which amounted to the same reason he had called me. But now there were new players involved in what had become an increasingly complicated and potentially dangerous game of life and death.

  I finished with: "I'll meet you at Natsuko's..."

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

  Natsuko lived in a one-bedroom apartment on Hibiscus Drive. Her eyes betrayed astonishment as I stood at her door. I had apparently beaten Liam there and saw no reason to wait for him.

  "Can I come in?" I asked. This was my first visit there, though I'd taken Natsuko home once when her car broke down.

  She stepped aside without uttering a word.

  From where I stood, I took a quick scan at the sparse furnishings that included a small wooden desk with papers and an open textbook on it.

  I refocused on Natsuko, deciding that she was alone. She wore no makeup and had on a print dress and thongs. She flashed me a befuddled look.

  "What are you doing here?" she asked. "And please don't tell me you just happened to be in the neighborhood—"

  Not quite, I thought. "I need to talk to you, Natsuko," I said with a catch to my voice.

  "What about?" she asked.

  "Why don't we sit down?" I suggested for some reason, though I was eager to get this over with.

  "Okay," she said uneasily. "Do you want something to drink?"

  I passed, and sat down next to her on a worn out couch.

  "You caught me in the middle of studying for my psychology exam," Natsuko told me. "But it's okay. I needed a break anyway."

  I faced her and asked candidly: "Do you know a man named Trevor Baldwin?"

  Her face betrayed her surprise. "Yes, I know him. Why?"

  I hesitated, not wanting to accuse her of anything if she was innocent. But I sure as hell was not leaving there till I got some answers about Baldwin.

  I told her: "I think it's possible he might know something about Carter's death."

  Natsuko's eyes widened. "Trevor...?"

  I nodded and said: "I have it on very good authority that Baldwin was once employed by Carter and fired for stealing." I waited a beat before continuing. "He's also been in trouble with the law—"

  I wondered just how much she knew, or didn't know, about Trevor Baldwin.

  "I know Trevor has had some problems," Natsuko said. "But what does that have to do with Carter's death? I thought the police already decided it was that man—Antonio Ramirez—who killed him and some others..."

  "The police may be wrong, Natsuko," I said sharply, while trying not to point fingers—at least not at her. "I need you to tell me everything you know about Trevor Baldwin and if you told him anything that he could have used to break into my house."

  She rolled her eyes and sneered. "So you think I helped him get inside your house to kill your ex and..."

  I sighed. "To tell you the truth I don't know what to think," I responded. "I only know that this is not going to go away. Please help me out here..." And maybe help yourself at the same time, I thought, assuming she was somehow caught in the middle of a murder plot.

  Natsuko seemed to gather her composure before saying: "I am not dating Trevor, if that's what you're thinking. We just hang out together sometimes. He's actually dating my girlfriend Akiko."

  "Did she or Trevor ever ask you who were you working for or anything in specific about me?" I pressed her.

  Natsuko's face twitched before she responded. "Come to think of it, there might have been a couple of times when your name came up. But it was nothing important. Just little things..."

  Little things have a way of becoming big things, I thought, beginning to see a disturbing pattern emerging here.

  "Did they ever ask you anything about my security system?" I asked.

  She shook her head. "Never," she insisted. "I'm not that dumb. I would never give anyone your security codes, Skye. You have to believe that."

  I did. But something told me that they might have wormed as much information as they could out of Natsuko for reasons she would never have suspected.

  "Was Carter's name ever brought up in relation to me, before he was killed?" I asked.

  "No, not that I recall," Natsuko said. "Like I said, Akiko and I only talked about small stuff regarding my work. Mostly questions like if you were easy to get along with, or did I mind taking care of Ollie. I usually only talked to Trevor when Akiko was around, and not much then."

  "Did either of them ask anything in specific about Ollie?" I wondered, knowing he had encountered an assailant twice, but attacked only once.

  "I think one time Akiko asked me if he bites," Natsuko replied. "That's about it."

  I contemplated that for a moment or two, speculating that if Baldwin had been in the house with Antonio Ramirez when Carter was killed, he could have purposely instigated the dog into attacking Ramirez to either set him up or keep Ollie at bay while Baldwin murdered Carter. It could have also been practice for how to deal with Ollie if Baldwin had accompanied Ramirez to the house the second time around.

  I looked into Natsuko's eyes and asked: "Where can I find Trevor Baldwin?"

  She didn't hesitate. "I don't know where he lives. But Akiko lives in this complex. We met here and it's the only place I've ever seen Trevor."

  That was a step in the right direction, I thought.

  Just as I was leaving the apartment, Liam Pratt showed up with a frown on his face.

  "What happened to you?" I asked, not bothering to speculate.

  "There was an accident," he moaned. "Traffic was backed up for miles. Guess I picked the wrong way to go." He paused. "Did you talk to her yet?"

  "Yes, I did," I told him.

  Liam looked perturbed that I had beaten him to it.

  "So what did she say?" he asked anxiously.

  "More than I expected," I said. "Let's take a walk and I'll fill you in—"

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

  A few minutes later, we were at the door of Akiko Higashi. According to Natsuko, she lived with her three-month-old daughter Eva, and Trevor Baldwin was reportedly the father. Liam and I were both eager to talk to Akiko, each having our own agenda with a common goal of getting to the truth, which increasingly seemed to center around Trevor Baldwin.

  We knocked on the door several times before it was finally opened. It took me maybe two seconds to recognize the face before me. She was the receptionist at the Manoa Aloha Clinic on Punahou Street that I visited as a possible place where Carter's killer might have gone for treatment after being bitten by Ollie.

  Immediately I began speculating... Could Trevor Baldwin have shown up at the clinic to get medicine or bandages from his girlfriend so he could treat Ramirez's wounds from Ollie's bite? If so, Akiko could have easily made sure there was no record of it. And it likely would have gone unnoticed by the busy doctor on duty.

  Akiko stood there in her bare feet wearing a blue tank top and cut-off jeans. It was clear from her expression that the recognition was mutual. She was cradling a baby, who looked at me with mild curiosity.

  Akiko stared, but waited for me to speak first. I glanced at Liam, who was still clueless, and back again.

  "Are you Akiko?" I asked, though I had little doubt.

  "Yes," she confirmed.

  "My name's Skye Delaney," I told her. "I think we met once before at the Manoa Aloha Clinic."

  She gave a slow nod of acknowledgement, and Liam raised a brow.

  "I'm a private investigator. And this is Liam Pratt, a reporter with the Honolulu Press. W
e're looking for Trevor Baldwin."

  Akiko assessed us uneasily, then said: "He isn't here."

  I took her at her word, taking the opportunity to find out what we could before confronting Baldwin.

  "Do you mind if we come in for a few minutes?" I asked.

  She fluttered her lashes. "What for?"

  "Baldwin might be in a lot of trouble," Liam told her. "And you could be, too. The police will likely be coming your way next. I think the smart thing would be to talk to us first—"

  I could see why Liam had gone into reporting. He had a way of getting his point across and making you feel as though he was on your side.

  It worked, as Akiko Higashi invited us in.

  Her apartment was a carbon copy of Natsuko's. Only it was less tidy, more furnished, and reeked of marijuana.

  "You want to sit down?" Akiko asked nervously.

  We sat on an old sofa, while Akiko, still holding her baby, remained standing.

  I sighed and then got right to the point. "Natsuko's my housekeeper. But I'm sure you know that—"

  "Yes," Akiko admitted. "What did she tell you?"

  "Enough to know that you and your boyfriend—Trevor Baldwin—may have used Natsuko to get information about me, my dog, and my house that could have led to multiple murders starting with the murder of Carter Delaney."

  Akiko's eyes grew with fear. "I didn't have anything to do with any murders—"

  I wasn't so sure about that. "You might have to prove your innocence to the police," I told her.

  She kissed her baby fretfully. "I never expected any trouble. Trevor told me he worked for Carter Delaney and that it was Carter who wanted him to learn some basic stuff about you. No one was supposed to get hurt—"

  "But more than a few people did get hurt," I said. "And not just the dead." I glanced over at Liam and he took the lead.

  He asked Akiko: "Did you know that Baldwin spent time in prison for attempted murder?"

  "No," she said. "He never told me that."

  "Yeah, there are probably a lot of things he didn't tell you," Liam said, "like the fact that he was fired by Carter Delaney for stealing and was once a cellmate of Adam Ramirez."

  The baby started to wail. "You made her cry," Akiko said, rocking her gently.

  I gave Liam a "cool it" look, though he was only trying to clue her in as to the type of man she had let into her life and what he was capable of. The reality was that there was still no proof that Trevor Baldwin was a brutal killer or that Antonio Ramirez had not acted alone in Carter's murder and the others. Right now, Akiko was the one person who could make the pieces of the puzzle fit for the police to take it seriously.

  I tried a different angle with her once the baby was quiet again. "Did Trevor ever come to you at the clinic for medicine or dressing to treat an injury or a dog bite?"

  The question seemed to throw her for a moment. Holding her daughter close to her chest, Akiko answered slowly: "Yes, he said a dog had bitten his friend and he needed my help. I gave him what he wanted."

  I couldn't help but think again of Akiko's words: "No one was supposed to get hurt." If Baldwin was behind the deaths, I thought, then he clearly had every intention of hurting certain people and didn't give a damn who he had to walk over to achieve his lethal objectives.

  I gave Akiko the weight of my stare, and demanded: "Where can we find Trevor Baldwin now?"

  "I don't know," she said in a shaky voice. "We stopped seeing each other right after—"

  "Get smart for once in your life, Akiko," barked Liam. "We both know that Baldwin still comes to you whenever he wants some action. If this man's who I think he is, he's already killed at least three people and certainly won't have any qualms about killing another, especially if he feels threatened by someone who may know too much about him—"

  Realizing that she had no other options as Liam's harsh message hit home, Akiko gave us an address for Trevor Baldwin. I wasn't really interested in seeing her go down with him. Like me, she had no doubt been taken in by a smooth talking man whose charms would come back to haunt her.

  "One other thing," I told her, "if you hear from Baldwin, be smart and don't mention our little conversation or otherwise tip him off. It could be a matter of life and death—yours."

  We left her on that note and now had to hope we could find Trevor Baldwin before he either skipped town or decided to target someone else for death.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

  Trevor Baldwin lived in a cottage three blocks from Akiko's apartment complex. While Liam knocked on the door, I kept a hand in my purse in case I needed to go for my gun in self-defense.

  It never came to that. Either Baldwin wasn't answering or he wasn't home.

  "My guess is that he's onto us and has fled to parts unknown," Liam said, leaning against my car.

  I wasn't so sure about that, but kept it to myself. "Well, at least we know who we're after."

  "Yeah, Baldwin can run, but he can't hide," Liam said, "as cliché as it sounds."

  I nodded while still trying to process the connection between Carter, Trevor Baldwin, Edwin Axelrod, and Antonio Ramirez.

  Liam's cell phone rang. "It's my editor," he said. "I need to get this."

  "Don't let me stop you," I told him and glanced up at Trevor Baldwin's house.

  Liam was off the phone in a minute. "I've gotta go," he said, frowning as if we were in the middle of a date. "My editor wants me back now. He wants a story with everything I've got so far, which is plenty."

  "Wouldn't it be better if you waited till Baldwin was under lock and key?" I asked.

  He shrugged. "Maybe. But since neither of us knows how long that will take, the news can't wait."

  I was inclined to agree to some extent. Maybe writing about Trevor Baldwin as a murder suspect would help flush him out in the open.

  Liam and I went our separate ways with a promise to keep in touch on this recent turn of events and maybe even work together again in the future, should our paths cross. I had gained a whole new respect for the man, but was happy to keep it on a professional friendship level at this point, though he seemed to want more. I wasn't ready to give up the good thing I had going with Ridge anytime soon.

  * * *

  In my car, I phoned Ridge and gave him the run down on what we'd learned. I hated to break it to him that the case he thought was solved might not be after all.

  "You and Liam have been busy," Ridge said unkindly, "doing police work."

  "It's what we do, more or less," I told him. "Besides, I couldn't exactly come to you until I had something to go on."

  "I'm not sure you do," he said. "It may be a bit of a stretch to think that Baldwin was the puppeteer for this string of murders, especially when the solid and circumstantial evidence points toward Antonio Ramirez."

  "It fits," I said tersely. "I was never totally comfortable with Ramirez's suicide note or some of the other aspects of this case. I think Trevor Baldwin can fill in the blanks, assuming we find him."

  Ridge sighed loudly into the phone. "If he really is responsible for killing Delaney and others, why don't you leave it to the police to handle from this point on," Ridge said firmly.

  I was sure he already knew the answer, but told him anyway. "Because it's something I need to see through to the end."

  Ridge didn't try to pull rank on me as a police detective or boyfriend. Nor did he back away from something that could reopen his case and tie up loose ends.

  For my part and for Carter's sake, I hoped that having the man I believed to be a killer—Trevor Baldwin—in custody could give us both a little more peace and a resolution to the case that went beyond Antonio Ramirez.

  * * *

  "I've seen Trevor Baldwin before," I told Ridge while looking at the suspect's mug shot.

  "Where?" he asked, peering at me as we stood by his desk.

  "He was at my house the day Carter was killed, posing as a journalist," I said. "The bastard asked me what happened, as though he didn't have
a clue. I never gave him much thought at the time, because I had other issues on my mind." Suddenly my mouth became a perfect O, as another memory surfaced. "I also saw him at the Whaler's Club when I had lunch with Liam Pratt. I thought then that he was kind of creepy, staring at me from the bar. But I ignored it, focusing instead on getting whatever info I could from Liam..."

  "Damn," Ridge muttered, shaking his head. "The asshole's been stalking you as part of his sick game."

  Kawakami approached us and said: "That's all interesting, Skye, but I still think it's pointless to try to tie him to our multiple murders." Kawakami frowned as he looked at Ridge and then me before continuing. "There's nothing that positively places Baldwin at your house at the time of Delaney's or Ramirez's deaths. No DNA, no fingerprints, no living witnesses. For all we know, everything else you dug up or think you did on Baldwin is purely coincidence."

  I wasn't going to backpedal on this one. Not with the stakes so high. "Will you listen to yourself, Kawakami?" I said harshly. "It sounds like you're more interested in keeping this case closed for good than finding out the truth. How the hell much more information do you need in that thick skull of yours before you open up to the very real likelihood that Trevor Baldwin is the man responsible for Carter's death, among others?"

  "A confession would be nice," Kawakami said.

  "So maybe we can get a confession when we find him," I told him.

  "Hold that thought," Ridge broke in. "As far as I'm concerned, there's clearly enough probable cause here to get a search warrant for Baldwin's residence. Hopefully, a judge will agree and we can pay the suspect's house an official visit. Who knows? Maybe we'll even find him there."

  Half an hour later, equipped with the search warrant, Ridge, Kawakami, and I headed over to the home where we believed Trevor Baldwin lived.

  With the very real possibility that he was armed and dangerous and possibly still on a mission to kill, Ridge requested a police backup unit, which had yet to arrive.

  As with my prior visit with Liam, there was no indication anyone was home. I thought about Liam's belief that Baldwin was on the run. My gut instincts told me that he was still in Honolulu and no less a threat.