Death by Trial and Error (A Legal Suspense Short)
Page 7
"I'm saying that in his line of work as a licensed gun dealer, he could have come across some people who didn't want to play by the rules."
"Maybe it was Matsumoto who didn't play by the rules," Naku tossed at him, while thinking: Or your wife.
Bordeau wrinkled his nose. "I'll leave it up to the police to figure out." He paused. "Or perhaps you..."
"I guess I won't take up any more of your time," Naku said amusingly. When he got to the door, he turned around and asked, "By the way, do you know who your wife might have been talking to on the phone the night of her death? Apparently, that's what sent her out to meet with Matsumoto."
Bordeau flashed him a pensive stare. "I wish I did know. My wife had many friends—some of whom she didn't share with me. Could be the call had nothing to do with her death."
"Or it could have had everything to do with it," Naku said, "since this person made sure to use a virtually untraceable burner phone. What do you make of that?"
Bordeau shrugged. "Not much. Many people use that kind of phone for different reasons." He paused. "If the caller turns out to be involved in my wife's murder, I hope the authorities can prove it."
"You and me both," Naku muttered, "whoever it happens to be..."
Bordeau's brows bridged. "If you're suggesting it was me, you're way off base. I have an iPhone that I use regularly and have no reason to hide that fact."
Naku didn't believe for one second that meant he was above using a disposable phone on the side for any conversations he wanted to keep off the grid. Including one in which he could have been setting up his own wife to be killed.
"Thanks for talking with me," he said kindly.
"You didn't exactly give me much choice," Bordeau said. "Next time, you should make an appointment."
"Yeah, I'll try to remember that."
He walked out of the office, but Bordeau didn't follow him.
Naku turned toward the attorney's secretary as he heard her saying on the phone, "You have a delivery, Mr. Bordeau." She listened to his response as Naku took note of the large envelope. "I'll bring it right in." She listened again and replied in a low tone, "He's still here—"
Naku realized she was talking about him. He gave a little grin while caught eavesdropping, and said, "I was just leaving..."
She smiled and said, "Aloha."
Naku wondered if Bordeau had played any role in his wife's death.
* * *
In his car, Naku checked in with Vanna, took a few messages, and gave her the rest of the day off. He headed for the hospital to pay Matsumoto a visit. He had been shot twice, once in the chest and once in the shoulder. Neither wound had been life threatening, leaving Naku to believe he likely wasn't the primary target. Either that or he was damned lucky, which was something that couldn't be said for Suzette Higuchi-Bordeau.
Matsumoto was a patient at Maui General Medical Center in Wailuku. Naku stepped into his room and saw him sitting up in bed, eating, and watching television, clearly not the worse for wear, in spite of being shot twice.
"Do I know you?" he asked, putting his sandwich down.
"Not yet. Name's Eddie Naku. I'm a private investigator looking into the death of Suzette Higuchi-Bordeau."
He furrowed his brow. "Sorry. Can't help you."
"Can't or won't?" Naku asked sharply.
"Same thing. We were both shot by an unknown assailant. End of story."
"Actually, it's only the beginning of the story," Naku said. "Why were you there?"
"I already told the police—I was shopping and came upon her by chance."
"We both know that's a boatload of crap," Naku said, "considering you didn't have anything on your person that was purchased from the shopping center. You were there to see Higuchi-Bordeau or someone else and got shot, but lived to talk about it. Same thing can't be said for her."
Matsumoto looked at him suspiciously. "Who hired you? Or were you banging Suzette and doing this because you miss her so much?"
Naku wondered if Patrick Bordeau would take kindly to his client speaking ill of the dead. Or was he too busy with his own alleged adultery to give a damn?
"Never mind who hired me," he told him. "I can assure you that I wasn't involved with Suzette. However, I am determined to honor her memory by seeing to it that her killer is brought to justice."
Matsumoto sipped his drink. "Good luck with that."
Naku narrowed his eyes. "So what was it—an illegal gun deal gone bad?"
"I'm a legal gun dealer," he said with a straight face.
"And that's why you've retained Bordeau as your lawyer?" Naku asked skeptically.
"I'm just trying to protect myself."
"Or maybe you're trying to protect yourself and Bordeau," Naku suggested.
"I don't know what you're talking about, man."
"Whatever you say." Naku furrowed his brow. "Whoever killed Suzette is still out there," he warned. "Just because you're still alive, doesn't mean you don't have an X on your back."
"Yeah, well, I think I'll take my chances," Matsumoto said defiantly. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to my meal, even if it is terrible."
Naku took out one of his business cards and set it on his tray. "If you change your mind and want to talk, let me know."
He left on that note, and was pretty sure that Matsumoto knew a hell of a lot more than he was letting on. But did he see the shooter? And was the person gunning for him too?
* * *
Naku went to see Brett Kawachi, the deputy prosecuting attorney of Maui County. He had done some work for Kawachi when he first started his private investigation business so he was hoping to get some insight into Patrick Bordeau from him.
The Department of the Prosecuting Attorney was located in Wailuku. Naku took the elevator to Kawachi's third floor office, sure to find him there. After all, the man he'd worked with hardly ever took a day off, as if trying to prove something to someone, if not himself.
Kawachi greeted Naku at the door to his office as if they were old friends, after the deputy PA's secretary had sent him in.
"Eddie Naku," Kawachi said in a husky voice, "Aloha 'auinalā."
Naku smiled, repeating the words back to him, which meant good afternoon. He looked up at the shorter, wider deputy prosecuting attorney with receding gray hair.
"Does this mean you're ready to work full-time for the Prosecuting Attorney's office?" Kawachi asked, gazing at him.
"Afraid not," Naku told him. He preferred being his own boss as an investigator.
Kawachi frowned. "That's too bad. So what brings you to my office?"
"I've been hired to look into the death of Suzette Higuchi-Bordeau. I'm sure you're familiar with the case..."
Kawachi nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I'm familiar with it. Terrible thing that happened to her. The police are working the case."
"Yes, but not fast enough for Ms. Higuchi-Bordeau's sister," Naku told him. "She's my client and we're looking for answers."
"Well, you have to make a living somehow," Kawachi said. "Not sure I can be much help to you, as this case hasn't reached us yet."
"What can you tell me about Patrick Bordeau?" Naku asked. "I take it you've crossed paths from time to time?"
Kawachi nodded. "We have, both in and out of the courtroom." He glanced over at some chairs around a small table and pointed in that direction. "Let's sit."
"Okay." Naku sat down, while wondering if Kawachi could provide anything useful in his quest to get more information on the man his client held responsible for her sister's death.
Kawachi leaned back in the chair. "So what do you want to know about him?"
"What type of guy is he?"
"Well, he's a damn good lawyer, a gun enthusiast, charming, and someone who can look you in the eye without blinking."
Naku sneered. "Why would he defend a crook that might have had something to do with his wife's murder?"
"The pat answer to that is everyone deserves a defense, no matter their pos
ition in life," Kawachi responded. "Having previously been a defense attorney, I've taken on clients who were less than ideal in their particular circumstances, but asked for my help. I assume the same is true for Patrick Bordeau, especially with no charges being filed yet implicating anyone in his wife's death."
"My client believes Bordeau is involved in an arms trafficking operation," Naku told him.
Kawachi cocked a brow. "That's a serious charge."
"Yeah, it is," Naku said. "Problem is she only has her sister's word on that and, of course, her sister is no longer around to corroborate it."
"So she thinks Bordeau was involved in his wife's murder?"
"That's right," Naku said. "My client believes her sister was about to blow this operation out of the water, but was killed before she could do so. It wouldn't be the first time a man offed his wife to keep her quiet."
"And why would the wife try to ruin Bordeau?" Kawachi asked. "Is there something I'm missing here?"
"He was cheating on her," Naku said, though it hadn't been proven yet. "Maybe this was her payback, big time."
"Infidelity is a good motive," Kawachi said as he smoothed his jaw line. "Bordeau has a reputation for being a womanizer, marriage aside. But that doesn't make him a killer, much less an arms trafficker. Besides, I understand that he had an alibi."
"As a lawyer, Bordeau's smart enough to get someone else to do his dirty work for him, if needed," Naku suggested.
"True enough. But I need a lot more than innuendoes and possibilities to go after Patrick Bordeau."
"I understand." In fact, Naku felt the same way. He wasn't about to pin a murder and an attempted murder on Bordeau without solid evidence to back it up. That was something the police clearly did not have at the moment, and neither did he.
"Looks like you've got your work cut out for you," Kawachi said, eyeing him.
Naku agreed. "That's how I earn my pay."
"You could probably earn more as one of my investigators," the deputy prosecuting attorney reminded him.
"Probably, but then I wouldn't get to call all the shots."
Kawachi lifted a brow. "Is it that important to you?"
"Damned right, it is!" Naku met his eyes. "Something I'm sure you can relate to," he added, knowing that his role with the prosecuting attorney's office pretty much gave him such leverage.
When he left Kawachi's office, Naku found he still had more questions than answers in this case. In the meantime, whoever shot to death Suzette Higuchi-Bordeau was still out there and likely in no hurry to confess to the crime without pressure to do so.
* * *
Read the entire Dead in Pukalani, available in eBook, audio, and print.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
R. Barri Flowers is an award winning criminologist and bestselling author of more than eighty books, including mystery and thriller fiction, relationship novels, young adult mysteries, and children's books.
Fiction titles include Before He Kills Again, Dark Streets of Whitechapel, Dead in Pukalani, Dead in Kihei, Forever Sweethearts, Fractured Trust, Killer in The Woods, Murder in Maui, Murder in Honolulu, Murdered in the Man Cave, Murder on Kaanapali Beach, Murder of the Hula Dancers, Persuasive Evidence, Seduced to Kill in Kauai, State's Evidence, and Justice Served.
Young adult fiction includes Count Dracula's Teenage Daughter, Danger in Time, Daughter of Count Dracula, Ghost Girl in Shadow Bay, Out for Blood, Teen Ghost at Dead Lake, and Summer at Paradise Ranch.
The author has also written a number of top selling true crime titles, including Murder of the Banker's Daughter, The "Gold Special" Train Robbery, The Sex Slave Murders 1, 2, and 3, The Pickaxe Killers, Murder at the Pencil Factory, Killers of the Lonely Hearts, and Dead at the Saddleworth Moor.
As a sought after expert on true crime, R. Barri Flowers has appeared on the Biography Channel, Investigation Discovery, and Oxygen television series.
Follow R. Barri Flowers on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, Flickr, Goodreads, and LibraryThing. Learn more about the author in Wikipedia and www.rbarriflowers.com.
Table of Contents
Death by Trial and Error
State's Evidence – Bonus Excerpt
Justice Served – Bonus Excerpt
Dead in Pukalani – Bonus Excerpt
About the Author