Maui Murders

by Kathy Callahan

  “Whew,” Fiona said, writing like crazy, “are you going to need televisions for any of the other rooms?”

  “Yes, a medium to large for the master bedroom, medium for the guest bedrooms and kitchen.”

  “With that many, you will get a great deal from Pacific Sales, and we can get them all shipped at once.”

  “I’ll need furniture for two guest bedrooms: one queen bed and two twin beds and nightstands, a chest of drawers, and for the larger of the two guest bedrooms, I would like a small secretary desk and chair.”

  “What about your fourth bedroom?”

  “I’m going to leave that empty for now. I’m pondering a combination art room and workout room, but right now, that’s the last thing I want to put much thought into.”

  “I also want you to think about some type of breakfront for the dining room wall. You will need something there. Your table and chairs will not take up enough space, and the room will look empty. Also, there is the matter of lamps and wall pieces to consider.”

  “Let’s get through the contractor for the air-conditioning and bathrooms first. Then we’ll work on the furniture. How will I pick out the flooring and other items needed for the bathrooms? Will the contractor bring samples?”

  “You and I can go to a home store and select what you want, get a sample, and then the contractor will make the purchase. I’ll make it easy for you. Don’t worry, dear. This will go smoother than you think,” Fiona said with a reassuring smile. “I’m free on Saturdays, Ned always has an early morning golf game and lunch, so if you want to shop on Saturday mornings here in Maui, that will work out quite well.”

  “Maybe this coming Saturday, we can start at some of the home stores. Are there any lamp stores or places where I can purchase quality lighting items here on Maui? I really hate the idea of shipping lamps and shades from Oahu.”

  “There are several stores I can take you to. I don’t know if we can cover everything in one day, but we sure can get a good start. I’m glad you are thinking about all these things now because the time will come when everything will be finished and you will be ready to move in and it will come upon you in a flash. Being prepared will make it all go so much easier.”

  “Thanks, Fiona. I’m sure you’re correct. My initial idea of having several rooms finished first is not going to work. It will all have to be finished at once before I can make the move. I’m glad Mr. Soo and I get along so well, he’ll be putting up with me longer than I anticipated.”

  “Having you around is just what he needs at this time in his life. Losing Mrs. Soo, no matter what he says or how he seems, has to have left a big emptiness in his life. You are doing him a lovely service by filling that empty house with your presence.”

  “That’s kind of you to put it that way. We both are filling an empty space for each other.”

  Fiona and Layla agreed to meet early the following Saturday morning and shop for bathroom items and possibly lamps. Fiona went back home, and Layla sat about making a list of all the appointments she had made in the past couple of hours.

  Ned walked to the bank and spotted Donnie in his office. Donnie waved him back. “Ned, good to see you. How can we be of assistance?”

  “Actually, Donnie, I came here to see if I can be of assistance to you. Damn, you’ve lost a lot of weight,” Ned said, eyeing Donnie as he came from behind his desk to shake Ned’s hand.

  “I’m afraid it’s not something I’ve worked at. It’s been the stress of working on the Visitors Center, plus the strain of seeing people foreclosed on, and in too many cases, their loans can’t be readjusted. Breaks my heart. We’ve never had this happen to this degree before.”

  “I came to see if I can lend an experienced hand in working with the building inspectors and contractor at the Visitors Center. Layla told me you seemed so stressed, and I’ve done this type of thing for years being in the real estate business, so if you think I can be of assistance, I’m willing to help.”

  Donnie’s mouth fell open. “Ned, if you could help, it would be a godsent. I’m so lost and over my head working on this project. I sure could use your experienced guidance.”

  “Just let me know when we can go and look things over.”

  “Let me check out front and we can go now. I have nothing on my calendar for the remainder of the day.” Donnie checked with the head cashier, and she told him to go ahead; she would call him on his cell phone if anything came up that needed his attention.

  Donnie and Ned walked the few blocks to the Visitors Center. Ned greeted his old contractor friend and then spied another old friend who was doing an inspection on recently installed plumbing. The three men chatted about old times, and the inspector signed off on everything and was on his way, quicker than anticipated.

  “Ned, how can I ever thank you? You made a difference today, and I feel like a ton of bricks has been lifted from my shoulders.”

  “I can be here any day an inspection is due or any day your contractor needs me. I’ll give him my cell number, and he can call me if there is a problem. Is there a set of plans I can take home with me and familiarize myself with?”

  Donnie went inside the center and got an extra set of plans for Ned while Ned and the contactor conferred on various upcoming details. Donnie kept thanking Ned, and finally, Ned was able to leave and head back down the hill to his home.

  Ned rapped on the front screen, and Fiona came and unlocked the screen, letting him in. “Well, how did it go with Donnie? You were gone a long time.”

  “Went to the bank, talked to him, and then we went to the Visitors Center. I knew both the contractor and the inspector that was inspecting the latest plumbing installation. We caught up on what is happening in the real estate market, the inspector signed off without looking too closely, and I thought Donnie was going to faint. He thanked me several times, and I told him I can be there any day and also got a set of plans from him that I intend to review to see if I can catch anything that maybe a future problem.”

  “Ned, you are so sweet. I wish one of us had thought of you helping out before this, don’t you?”

  “Yep, but at least now I can help. By the way, my dear, you look particularly fetching, actually, you look almost naked.”

  Fiona looked down at herself; she was wearing a pair of very short shorts and a small tube top, her hair in a ponytail. “I was going out on the lanai and repot some plants and thought I would get some sun while there. You don’t like the way I look?” she said with a pout.

  Ned put his arms round her and pulled her into him, saying, “Actually, you look very sexy, and I’m thinking we need to do a little potting ourselves.”

  “Ned, are you suggesting what I think you are suggesting?” Fiona said in a quiet husky voice.

  “Yes, I can’t resist you. You’re still the hottest thing on the island. Hell, if you don’t believe me, just ask Marty!”

  “Ned, is that a backhanded compliment?”

  Ned locked the door and then headed her toward the bedroom. “Come on, you lusty Italian.”

  Layla had given Chris an extra set of keys at the end of last week and asked him if he would lock up today; she had a killer headache. She headed to Mr. Soo’s, took a quick shower, then lay down, falling asleep for almost an hour.

  She woke up when Mr. Soo arrived. “Ms. Layla, are you here?”

  “Yes, Mr. Soo, I came home early today. I had a headache. I took a nap, and I’m feeling a lot better now. How was your day?”

  “Interesting. I met Donnie coming back from the Visitors Center, and he was whistling. I have not seen him that happy since he started plans for the Visitors Center. I asked him why he was whistling, and he told me Ned Keller offered to assist with the Visitors Center and would be helping with the contractor and inspectors. He said now he feels he has someone that is knowable that will be able oversee things and help him make sure no costly mistake
s are made.”

  “Ned and Fiona were over at the house today, and when Ned left, he said he was going to find Donnie and offer him his assistance. I’m so glad Donnie got some help. I was getting worried about his health. Did you notice he has lost a lot of weight?”

  “Although he will be healthier now that he has lost weight, but losing it because of stress is never a good diet plan.”

  “I spoke with Fiona about having the air-conditioning people start work and also about having the two guest bathrooms remodeled. Ned has arranged to have the air-conditioning company come out tomorrow morning for an estimate, then tomorrow afternoon, the bathroom contractor will come out and give me an estimate. Friday, I’m going to Lahaina with MayLee Munson and Annie to Hilo Hattie’s to pick out material for the Visitors Center’s docents’ shirts, which Hilo Hattie’s is donating. Saturday, Fiona and I are going to a home store to pick out flooring and countertops for the bathrooms, and if we have time, we’ll look for lamps. I also discussed with Fiona other furniture I will need, and we have to make another trip to Oahu. Mr. Soo, my mind is so full, I’m not sure I should have undertaken all this remodeling by myself.”

  “Layla, you will do fine. You have the excellent guidance of Fiona and Ned, and you know Annie, George, and I will lend you all the support we can. I think on Sunday, you should gather your charcoals and do some sketching. That always relaxes you and you can sketch something for your new home.”

  “Mr. Soo, thank you for your support and your excellent idea. I will do some sketching. You’re right. That always relaxes me. Let’s go down to one of the beach shacks and have dinner there tonight. We can catch the sunset.”

  When they returned from their dinner by the shore, Layla phoned Annie to ask if she had heard from MayLee.

  “MayLee phoned Hilo Hattie’s, and we have an appointment at ten Friday morning, so she will pick us up at nine. We thought we would have lunch at Hamburger Heaven, that’s such a fun place to people watch. How does that sound to you?”

  “Great, I especially like the people watching,” Layla said, laughing. “I’m going to have both my guest bathrooms remodeled. They are in pretty bad shape. Once they are finished, could you take me to a store that sells nice bathroom things? I need to furnish my master bathroom and the two others with towels, wastepaper baskets, etc. All the things we pick up here and there, I will need to get all at once.”

  “I would love to help you with that shopping chore. There are some great stores that sell bed and bath linens and a couple are very upscale. Have you got your mattresses and frames?”

  “No, I guess Fiona and I will have to hunt them down on our next trip to Oahu, more things to ship over,” Layla said with a sigh.

  “Layla, don’t buy them on Oahu. A good friend of ours is the brother of the man that makes most of the mattresses for the hotels here on Maui, and we’ve always gotten our mattresses from him. His quality is excellent, and prices are less than half of Oahu retail. Plus, if you are going to buy several, they will deliver and set up for you at no extra charge. You will also want to buy your mattress pads from his store. They are the best, and he’ll sell them to you at wholesale.”

  “That’s such good news since I don’t have any idea when I’ll be ready to get furniture. How soon should I give him the order?”

  “We could stop by on Friday and ask him, and you might want to pick out what you want, then just phone him a couple of weeks before you’ll need delivery and he can make them up at that time.”

  “Do you think it will be OK with MayLee if we stop by the store?”

  “Yes, she wanted me to ask you if you need to do any shopping while we were on that side of the island, as we would have plenty of time to go places.”

  “Any chance we could shop for bed linens tomorrow?”

  “Probably, but you may want to put that off a bit until you decide your colors, or have you decided on that all ready?” Annie asked, knowing Layla was beginning to get ahead of herself.

  “You’re right, getting too excited about all this. We will have to go back because hopefully, I can also find items for the kitchen too. I will need both cooking and eating items. I think I should call my trust officer and get more money sent my way,” Layla said with a laugh.

  They talked for a time longer then said their goodbyes, both excited about their upcoming excursion.

  CHAPTER 44

  Layla was up early the next morning to phone Dewey and tell him what all had transpired yesterday. She told him of her upcoming visit to Lahaina and the mattress store, the news of Ned helping out Donnie, and that on Sunday, she was going to do some sketching to relieve stress. Then on Monday, she would start work on restoring the kitchen cabinets.

  “You’re just full of news!” exclaimed Dewey. “I’m glad you are getting started on the kitchen. I can hardly wait for your whole project to be finished. I want us to be together so badly. I think of you all the time,” Dewey said wistfully.

  “I think of how nice it would be to feel loved and to feel someone beside me to see me through life, and, Dewey, you are the only person I want to be with,” Layla said softly. “You’ve been there for me for close to a year now, and you have been so patient and understanding. There aren’t many men, especially in your circumstance, that would stick with someone while they get their life back together.”

  “This may sound silly, but the minute I laid eyes on you, I saw you as my angel, and I fell in love instantly. Didn’t know such a thing was possible, certainly didn’t expect it would happen to me, but it did, and I will wait for our time together so that it’s the absolute right time.”

  “Dewey, that’s so beautifully romantic. I’m deeply touched, and my feelings for you have grown so that I envision us making a future with each other. I hope you don’t think that’s silly of me,” Layla said.

  “Honey, that’s what I want too. We’ll take it slow. We’ll get to know each other intimately, to know how each of us can make the other happy. We’ll each give, and we each will take, and we will make an awesome couple.”

  “I believe we will,” Layla said softly, touched by Dewey’s words.

  Their conversation continued on lighter subjects, and then they said their goodbyes, with Layla promising to phone him Sunday after returning from her sketching to let him know about her shopping adventures.

  The next morning Layla explained to Chris about the two estimators that would be coming and that she would be gone on Friday. She also told him that he was doing such a great job; she was going to start work on cleaning the kitchen cabinets.

  Chris was pleased with her compliments and told her that Josie was almost finished cleaning the Shoji frames and would she help with the ceiling restoration.

  Layla went to the cleaning supplies, found a spare bucket, put on gloves, and started to work on cabinet cleaning. After cleaning one door, she realized she had made a mistake and should have cleaned out the inside of the cabinets first. To her dismay, inside the cabinets and drawers, she found many full of assorted items. She sighed and thought, More sorting to do.

  At ten o’clock, Ned and the first contractor arrived. Layla told Ned to handle the walkthrough; she would wait in the kitchen for the appraisal. Layla had set out the contents of four cabinets and two drawers. She was unsure if she should discuss them with Mr. Soo or Fiona first. She decided on Fiona, as the items seemed old and unused. There were only a couple of things she would want to keep for her own use and nothing of any value. After she had a cabinet cleaned out, she washed the shelves several times to get the accumulated dust and dirt out, then dried them off. The shelves inside were pure wood and had never been lined or covered in any way. After a good cleaning, they were in great shape and would not need any more work, unlike the outside of the cabinets and drawers, which had received the brunt of the cooking smoke.

  Thirty minutes later, Ned and the contractor came into the kitchen a
nd gave Layla the estimate for air-conditioning. The contractor told Layla the cost, which was a bit under what she thought it would be, and said he could order the supplies right away and start a week from this coming Monday.

  Layla looked over at Ned, who gave her a nod of approval.

  “Do you have a contract for me to sign, and how much of a down payment will you require?”

  The contractor said he would bring by a formal contract later this afternoon and told her how much her first payment would be. They agreed on a time, and Layla thanked Ned for his time, knowing it would be on Fiona’s final bill but happy that Ned’s expertise was available to look out for her own interests.

  After lunch, Layla had time to get two more shelves cleared out and cleaned. She had all the items lined up on the countertop and would wait for Fiona’s review. When Fiona and her contractor arrived, she gave a puzzled look at the items.

  After greeting the contractor, Herb, everyone preceded to the guest bathrooms. Layla let Fiona do all the talking and explaining as Herb made notes. He suggested using recessed lighting in the ceiling with decorative lighting on the sides of a new modern mirror over the sink area. In the larger of the two bathrooms, he carefully measured and said it would be a property upgrade to make the vanity cabinet a his and hers with double sinks. He showed Fiona there was plenty of room, then sketched the type of mirror and lighting he envisioned. Layla approved the plan, thinking it would make a smart-looking bathroom. They went on to the smaller bathroom, and except for recessed ceiling lights and a different light over the mirror, everything else stayed as Fiona and Layla had discussed earlier. They went back to the kitchen table, and Layla got her estimate, which turned out to be considerably more than she had planned. Herb said it did not include the price of any of the fixtures, permits, plumbing, etc. He said a lot of the labor cost was the removal of the flooring and tiles and disposal of everything. There were environmental rules on disposal for the sinks, tubs, and toilets. Layla smiled politely and said to go ahead and write the contract, and she would sign and give him a check for the start-up.