Homicide in Hawaii

by Susan Harper

  “No,” Johnny said. “She hit her head… It looks bad…”

  Pauline passed Kendell, evidently wanting to get a look for herself. Kendell followed, walking alongside Johnny. Johnny was dressed in just his swim trunks, his hair pulled back tight in a soaking wet man-bun. He too had been planning to head out into the waves that morning, but everyone’s plans seemed to have been cut short.

  The paramedics were still attempting to revive her, and the police were starting to push everyone back. One of them pulled Nick and his siblings aside after seeing how distraught Nick had gotten. Trixie had her arms around her distraught older brother, and Brandon had placed a hand on both of their shoulders.

  Kendell got her first good look at Makani. She was in her suit, and her hair was wet—she had clearly been in the water. There was a serious hole-like gash on her right temple. One paramedic was attempting to apply gauze to her head; the other was trying to revive her. The woman was pale; it looked like she had been in the water for a while before someone had pulled her out. The paramedics just stopped suddenly, shaking their heads.

  “What are you doing!” Nick yelped. “Help her! Do something! Help her!”

  Brandon came and stood between Nick and the horrendous scene; he along with one of the officers slowly ushered Nick back up the beach toward the parking lot. One of the paramedics put a blanket over Makani while the remaining officers pushed everyone away. A coroner was called.

  Kendell and Pauline hurried back to the lot where Brandon had taken Nick. Trixie was standing there waiting for them; she looked traumatized. “She’s dead, they said,” Trixie muttered, and Kendell gave the poor girl a hug. She glanced over at Brandon and Nick who were sitting on the tailgate of Nick’s truck while speaking with one of the officers.

  “I don’t get it,” Nick said under his breath. “She knew better than to go out surfing by herself so early in the morning. The waves are rough. If she had come down to the beach and no one else was here, she would have waited.”

  The officer nodded. “I know. I know Makani well,” the officer said. “The paramedics just told me that they spotted some sort of metal fragments in her skull. Makani didn’t fall off her board, Nick. Someone hit her in the head and dumped her in the water.”

  Kendell felt her stomach tighten. This hadn’t been an accident. Makani had been murdered.

  4

  Kendell stood near Nick’s truck. The man was positively stunned; he had cried his eyes out for a moment, but now he was numb. Trixie sat beside him, her head resting on her brother’s shoulder while Brandon stood nearby. Pauline abruptly plopped Dot into Nick’s lap, and he glanced at her curiously. “She’s a good therapy dog,” Pauline said, and Nick actually managed to smile ever so slightly.

  “Thanks,” he said and pet the little dog’s head. The white ball of fluff curled up near him, and Nick seemed to want to just hug the little thing.

  “I’m so sorry, Nick,” Kendell said. “Makani seemed like such a great woman. I can’t imagine that someone would want to hurt her.”

  “But someone did,” Nick said and gritted his teeth. “And there’s a surfing competition this weekend. She was a sure win. Everyone knew it. A five thousand-dollar grand prize.”

  “You think someone killed Makani over five thousand dollars?” Pauline asked, mortified.

  “It’s not just the money,” Nick said. “This competition is a big deal locally. It’s not one of those highly advertised ones a bunch of tourists and east coast surfers come to. It’s the local big-show. The winner almost always gets signed for local advertisements for the next year at big companies. The grand prize is nothing compared to the publicity. A lot of the winners get legitimate sponsors. There were going to be Olympic scouts there this year! Surfing is going to be in the 2020 Summer Olympics and Makani was hoping to book herself a serious trainer. She has one now, but he’s not Olympic material.”

  “Whoa,” Brandon said. “So, this could be about a lot more than five grand, then?”

  “Exactly,” Nick said. “There are hundreds of surfers in the competition, and every last one of them knew that Makani was the one to beat.”

  “That is not going to help the police narrow down a suspect, now is it?” Pauline grumbled. “Well, Kendell and I will see what we can do.”

  “I’m sorry?” Kendell piped up, and she shot Pauline a knowing glance. “What do you expect us to do?”

  “We helped your friend Lil out in Nairobi,” Pauline reminded her.

  “Oh, you must be joking,” Kendell said. “That was luck!”

  “And London?” Pauline reminded her.

  “I almost got my head lopped off by some crazy women with an axe!” Kendell yelped.

  “Oh, but you and I do have so much fun,” Pauline said. “And that Makani darling was just too kind of a soul! Whoever did this deserves to have justice served, wouldn’t you agree?”

  “I think the police can handle this one,” Kendell muttered.

  “Many eyes make a search seem smaller,” Pauline sang. “There is nothing wrong with offering them a little assistance.”

  “Wait, are you two detectives or something?” Trixie questioned. “Kendell, I thought you were a flight attendant.”

  “I am, and so was this old broad,” Kendell said. “No, we are not detectives. But for some reason, Pauline seems to think that we are.”

  “Your friend needs help,” Pauline said, nodding toward Nick.

  Kendell looked at Nick; he was a mess. “I just want to go home,” he grumbled.

  “We’ll take you home,” Brandon said. “Let me double-check with the police and make sure they don’t need anything else from us. Go ahead and get in the truck. I’ll drive.” Trixie walked Nick to the passenger’s seat before climbing into the back while Brandon walked back down to the beach toward where some of the officers were still standing. Nick was still holding Dot as he watched his brother from the truck.

  Kendell and Pauline remained standing outside. Kendell, despite her initial refusal to get involved, was already making mental notes of everyone present. There were five people on the beach apart from the police and themselves: Johnny and four others whom Kendell recognized from the luau. There was a woman named Bonnie, two brothers who went by Yoyo and Bump, and a man named Eddie. They had all seemed stunned about Makani. Out of all of them, Johnny seemed to be the only one who knew her personally while the others probably only thought of her as an acquaintance. She told Pauline to wait and headed down to the beach, nabbing the man who went by Yoyo. She asked if he was part of the surfing competition coming up, and he said he wasn’t, and neither were any of the others, including Johnny. If any of them had killed Makani, it was unlikely because of the competition.

  After Brandon was finished speaking with the officers, Kendell walked with him back to the truck. Close behind them, the coroner was having the paramedics place Makani’s body on a gurney to be taken away in the hearse. Kendell shuddered slightly. She had just partied and hung out with Makani the night before, and she had been such a sweet woman. She doesn’t deserve this, Kendell growled inwardly.

  “Let’s get Nick back home,” Brandon said, starting to get into the truck.

  Kendell hesitated, and Pauline stood by her with a slight smile starting to appear. “We’ll catch up with you guys later,” Kendell said. “We’ll take a bus back to the resort.”

  “Where are you two going?” Nick asked.

  “I’m not sure yet,” Kendell admitted. “But I feel like I’ve got to do something.”

  “Why don’t you take Dot with you, honey?” Pauline suggested to Nick, reaching through the window to give Dot one last pat on the head. “I’m sure Brandon wouldn’t mind bringing her back to the resort for me when he goes?”

  “Of course,” Brandon said, and Pauline and Kendell remained behind as Brandon drove his younger siblings off.

  “So, we’re going to investigate?” Pauline asked giddily.

  “Maybe,” Kendell said, eyeing the beach.
Johnny and the other surfers were standing around, none of them seemingly in the mood to surf after what had just happened.

  “Yay!” Pauline said. “Let’s figure out who hurt that poor girl. You and I have a winning streak going.”

  “You could say that,” Kendell said, and she proceeded to wave Johnny down as he made his way back toward the parking area.

  The man trudged over, his shoulders hanging low and a sad expression on his face. “Can I help you?” he asked.

  “Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt Makani?” Kendell asked.

  “No,” Johnny said. “Everyone liked her. She is…was…the local sweetheart, you know? She got along with everyone. Friendly to tourists. A little bit of an activist. She cared about Hawaii and the people here. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to hurt her, you know?”

  “Thanks,” Kendell said, and Johnny dragged his feet toward his vehicle before peeling out. The other surfers soon followed suit. “I’m not sure what to do from here,” Kendell said.

  “I think I know where we could go to dig up some dirt on Makani’s group of friends,” Pauline said. “Maybe then we could at least get ourselves pointed in the right direction.”

  “Where to?” Kendell asked.

  “There are exactly three professional workers whom people are comfortable telling just about anything to,” Pauline said.

  “Oh?”

  “Therapists, hairdressers, and bartenders,” Pauline said. “They always know everything about everybody. Problem with therapists is they don’t tend to give up information—patient confidentiality sort of thing.”

  “I don’t think Makani was going to a therapist,” Kendell said.

  “No, I don’t think so either,” Pauline said. “But I know a local hangout where she and her friends would go. One that has a bar.”

  “Ikaika,” Kendell said and grinned. “Okay, let’s see if we can catch a bus to his bar.”

  The two women began their walk, realizing they hadn’t thought this through too well. They had to walk a considerable distance before finding a bus stop, and that bus did not take them all the way to Ikaika’s luau location. They had to walk to another bus stop and finally just call for a cab since the buses were obviously not going to go off-route. The cab would not take them down to the beach, so they had to walk through the tree line before finally arriving on the beach where the outdoor bar sat. The little shed behind it had smoke coming from its makeshift chimney, and they could smell food.

  “After all that walking, I need to put my feet up,” Pauline groaned; the poor old woman was out of breath. “And I need food!”

  “I agree,” Kendell said. “Let’s just eat here.” They walked toward the smoking hut, and Ikaika spotted them and told one of his workers, a young woman in beachwear, to go take their heavy beach bags from them.

  Ikaiaka was an outright gentleman, meeting the women on the beach and walking them back up to the hut. “Have trouble getting here?” he asked, laughing because the answer to his question was incredibly obvious. “Most tourists, if they ever come here, only come once because of that trek.”

  Kendell smiled. “Well, the food was just that good.”

  Ikaiaka nodded and forced a laugh, but Kendell could already tell that he knew about Makani. He was not as chipper as he had been the night before, and in fact, everyone working at the little bar that day seemed incredibly distraught. Word traveled fast in these parts, apparently. Ikaika got them a seat at a covered table and pointed to the chalkboard behind the bar. “That would be our menu,” he said. “Let me get you ladies some water. You look a little parched.” He brought them back some ice water, and Pauline thanked him profusely.

  “I’m guessing you all heard about Makani?” Kendell asked.

  “Johnny stopped by before you ladies to get himself a bite before heading into his other job,” Ikaiaka said. “Makani was our local angel.”

  “We were hoping you could tell us a little more about her and her friends,” Kendell said.

  “How about you ladies get some food, and I’ll fix it up for you, and then we can talk. It’s slow today,” he said, and the two women didn’t hesitate to order some local cuisine.

  Ikaiaka brought them their fish and pineapple-scented dishes before sitting down. The chair creaked under his weight as he leaned back and sighed. “Not much to say,” he said. “I suppose not, at least. Makani was well-liked. I can’t imagine someone wanting to kill her. You saw her last night, how she bought food for Mikey.”

  “So, what’s his story?” Kendell asked.

  “Got hooked on some bad drugs. Lost his job. Lost his wife. Lost his home. He slums around, but Makani had pushed him into rehab. She buys him food from time to time, and she was working on helping him to get a job now that he’s clean,” Ikaiaka explained. “That’s just the type of woman she was. Couldn’t just see someone who was in trouble and not help. She thought she could fix anything. Mikey’s been doing good. I’m worried he might relapse when he hears what happened to her. Makani’s been with him through two relapses, making sure he got clean. This time, he’s been sober for over a year—the longest he’s gone.”

  “What about her relationship with Johnny?” Pauline asked.

  “Old friends,” Ikaiaka said. “Johnny’s surfing is amateurish, even though he’s been on a board his whole life. Even Nick has bested him from time to time, and Nick’s a Jersey kid…although Nick did have the best of the best training him, but Johnny’s taken a lesson from her from time to time too. The two of them are friendly, but they like to pick fun at each other a lot. Almost like a brother-sister relationship.”

  While Ikaiaka had been talking, Kendell had been looking at the bar. She pointed. “Is that a picture of Makani?” she asked, nodding to where a number of pictures were pinned to the back of the bar.

  Ikaiaka hopped up and walked over, removing the photograph and bringing it back to the women. “Forgot this was back there,” he said.

  It was a picture of Makani and Bane, obviously several years old. The two looked very happy in the photograph; she was holding a giant carnival teddy bear that he had probably won for her. “What happened to those two?” Kendell asked, handing the picture back to Ikaiaka. “I mean, Makani kind of told me last night. Something about a surfing competition?”

  “Bane was just always really competitive. He didn’t care about them combining the men and women’s competition too much…until Makani bested him at everything,” Ikaiaka said, smirking. “The competitions caused too much friction in the relationship. Bane wanted her to stop surfing, said she embarrassed him. Bane just didn’t know how to be proud of his girl the way Nick was. He was too worried about being in her shadow.”

  “Where is Bane?” Kendell asked accusingly, and it caused Ikaiaka to raise a brow.

  “Bane wouldn’t hurt Makani,” Ikaiaka said sternly. “He loved her too much. Still does.”

  “I was just asking if you had seen him since last night,” Kendell said.

  “No,” Ikaiaka said and then looked a bit pale. “Actually, he normally is here by now… I wonder where he has gotten off to.”

  Pauline glanced in Kendell’s direction. It looked like they had their first suspect.

  5

  Kendell continued nibbling on her lunch. It was deliciously authentic—getting local cuisine on their adventures seemed to have become a theme of theirs. Kendell stared at Pauline curiously; the old woman had not looked up from her phone since Ikaika had scurried off to help some other customers, locals he greeted with a formal Hawaiian expression that Kendell was beginning to pick up on as customary. “You know,” Kendell said, scooping up the last little bit of food on her plate. “For an old lady, you sure do spend a lot of time on that phone of yours.”

  “I’m investigating!” Pauline said defensively. “I’m not one of you technology-obsessed millennials.”

  “What exactly are you doing on your phone?” Kendell asked curiously.

  “Looking up our suspects,”
Pauline said. “Makani had been talking about going for an early morning surf last night at the luau. From what Nick was saying, Makani wouldn’t normally do early morning surfs like that this close to competition. She liked to take it easy to conserve her energy. So, that means her choice to go surfing this morning was not part of her usual routine. Which means that if this murder was premeditated, someone would have had to have known that she was going. And since she was telling everyone at the luau about her plans for an early morning surf—”

  “You think the killer was someone from the luau?” Kendell completed the woman’s thought.

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Pauline said. “And, after rummaging through Makani’s social media pages, I’ve been able to see who she talks to online and which ones of those were at the party.”

  “And what have you deduced from that, detective?” Kendell asked.

  “A suspect list,” Pauline said. “We have Mikey, the former druggie. As someone with obviously questionable morals, having someone like Makani constantly barging in on his lifestyle might not be super appreciated. I found an old post from over a year ago of him ranting about her and a few others for burning a stash of his drugs.”

  “Whoa, go Makani,” Kendell said. “When she intervenes, she intervenes. You think he might have fallen off the wagon, and she did it again?”

  “Maybe,” Pauline said. “But he’s staying quiet about it. And, from what I found, Makani reported him to the police once for drugs—the same time she threw his drugs into a bonfire on the beach. He might feel resentful for losing what, from his old online rants, was some very expensive drugs. But since then, he has had nothing but good to say about her. She helped get him clean, so there doesn’t seem to be any resentment, but you never know. Not everyone posts the whole truth about their emotions and attitudes online.”

  “Okay, so, suspect number one: the former druggie,” Kendell said. “Should I be writing a list?”