Poe's First Law: A Murder on Maui Mystery

hello and ordered a burger and fries – a guilty indulgence intentionally designed to improve my sour mood. The food was good, as I knew it would be, and I’d almost finished when Foxx arrived. He looked at the remnants of my lunch and turned to me.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were getting here early? I’ve just been hanging out at the house.”
“Sorry. I didn’t really think about it,” I said.
“You ready to go? I’m anxious to get to this interview. I have a feeling this is the one.”
“You’ve really thrown yourself into this case, haven’t you?”
“It’s fun. I like a challenge.”
“Then let’s get to it.”
We left Harry’s and drove about ten minutes to Gracie’s apartment. I’d learned from her social media accounts that she worked as a waitress at a nearby hotel. The photos she’d posted indicated that she worked the night shift, so I thought there was a good chance she’d be home. I wasn’t wrong.
Gracie cracked open the door and I saw she’d kept the little chain lock engaged.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“Yes, Ms. Ito, my name is Edgar Rutherford. This is Doug Foxx. We’re hoping you could spare us a few minutes of your time. We’d like to talk to you about Eric Ellis.”
“You’re with the police? I already talked to that detective.”
“Yes, Detective Josh Parrish. We’re consultants with the Maui Police Department. We spoke with Lee Walters the other day. He told us to say hello.”
The Lee Walters comment must have convinced her that we were trustworthy, for she closed the door, unlocked the chain, and then opened the door again.
“Please come in,” she said.
Gracie Ito looked a lot like Alana. She was around the same height, maybe five-six, and she had long black hair and dark eyes. She was dressed in a light-blue surfer t-shirt and tan shorts.
We followed Gracie into her apartment. It was typical of Maui apartments, which is to say it was small. Of course, that didn’t mean the rent was cheap.
Gracie walked over to a chair and sat down. Foxx and I sat on a sofa beside the chair that probably should have been left on the side of the road where Gracie had probably acquired it. I felt a spring go right up you-know-where, and I assume Foxx did too based on the grunting sound he made.
“What did you want to know about Eric?” Gracie asked.
“You were Eric’s girlfriend at the time he went missing, is that correct?” I asked.
“That’s right.”
“Did you two live together?” Foxx asked.
“Yes, we lived in Eric’s house. I moved out after he disappeared. I’m sure the bank foreclosed on the property.”
“Another member of his family didn’t take over?” I asked.
“Eric’s family was poor. It wasn’t like they could handle the payments. I certainly couldn’t. That’s why I left.”
“At that time, were you aware that Eric was leaving Mele Akamu’s employ?” I asked.
“Eric and I told each other everything. I knew he was unhappy, and he was willing to do anything to get out.”
“Does that mean you knew his plan to blackmail the Akamu family?” Foxx asked.
“I told Eric not to do it. I told him to just walk away.”
“Do you know why he didn’t follow your advice?” I asked.
“He said Mele Akamu would never let him leave. He needed to force her to let him go. That’s why he threatened her. It wasn’t about the money. It was to let him leave. Eric had changed. He wanted out of the game.”
I didn’t believe that for a second, nor did I think Gracie believed it. But we all create little fantasies in our mind to protect the images of the ones we love.
“Do you know if Mele Akamu sent Samson to speak with Eric?” I asked.
Gracie laughed.
“Speak with him? Is that what you call it?”
She stood and walked into the kitchen. She grabbed a laptop from a small table and walked back into the living room where she had a seat again. She clicked a few times on the mouse pad and then turned the laptop so we could see the display. It was a photograph of a badly beaten Eric Ellis, at least I assumed that’s who it was. The man’s eyes were black and blue, and he had bruises and scrapes on his cheeks and chin.
“Does this look like ‘speaking’ to you?” Gracie asked.
“You took that photo, I assume?” Foxx asked.
“Yes, I came home from work and found him like that. I wanted to call the police, but he wouldn’t let me. I took the photo as proof of what they’d done to Eric. I transferred it to my laptop because I couldn’t bear to have it on my phone any longer.”
“Is it possible for you to email me that photo?” I asked.
“Of course.”
I gave her my email address, and a moment later, I heard my phone ping.
“How much time passed between this beating and when Eric disappeared?” I asked.
“Maybe a couple of days. He got a call at night from Mele Akamu. He said he needed to go see her to make peace. Eric never came back.”
“Did you call the police then?” Foxx asked.
“I was going to, but then Samson came to see me. He said he’d kill me if I spoke to anyone about Eric, especially the police.”
“Did Samson hurt you too?” I asked
“No, he didn’t lay a finger on me.”
“I’m surprised you stayed on Maui,” Foxx said.
“Where was I going to go? My family was here. I didn’t have any money.”
“We heard that Eric had problems with Tavii Akamu. Do you know anything about that?” I asked.
“Eric hated Tavii. He thought he was spoiled. Plus, Tavii always gave him a hard time.”
“Do you know why?” Foxx asked.
“Eric would always say that Tavii took a disliking to him on the first day they met. I think Tavii was jealous of Eric. Mele Akamu always asked Tavii why he couldn’t be more ambitious like Eric, at least that’s what Eric told me.”
“Did Eric have any more enemies other than Tavii