Poe's First Law: A Murder on Maui Mystery

such a bad father,” Hani admitted. “What did you think of my father?”
It was the one question that I’d hoped she wouldn’t ask, but she had.
“I had a similar reaction to you, although I’m sure it was nowhere near as intense. I’ve also disliked your father for what he did to you three, but the guy I talked to at Harry’s didn’t seem capable of doing that.”
“Was he tricking us?”
“If so, why? If he didn’t care, if he wasn’t interested in repairing the damage that’s been done, he would have stayed in Japan and never gotten on that plane,” I said.
“He’s here for two weeks. Did you know that?”
“He told me, so did Yuto.”
“I guess I have a big decision to make.”
“Yes, you do, but I think the other question is the more important one. Will you marry Yuto or not?”
Hani turned away from me and looked out toward the ocean.
“This is one of the most beautiful spots on the island,” she said.
“That’s the main reason I bought the place.”
Hani laughed. Then she turned back to me.
“Your little sister, huh?”
“Yep.”
“I’ve never had a brother. I guess you’ll have to do.”
“Thanks, I think.”
“I remember the first time I met you, Poe. You had this look of shock on your face.”
“I thought I was looking at twins.”
“That’s what everyone says when they see Alana and me together. I don’t see it, though.”
“I don’t know how.”
“I guess I better get home. I have some decisions to make.”
“Good luck.”
“Remember, not a word of this to Alana. Got it?”
“I got it. But keep this in mind. You should tell her yourself. I think you both could help each other get through this. There’s no reason to keep it a secret.”
“Maybe. I’ll think about it.”
Hani hugged me, which she almost never did. Then she turned and walked out of the building. I stayed on the deck for a few more minutes and was about to leave when my phone rang again. I looked at the display and saw Alana’s name.
“Hey, Alana.”
“I ran into Josh Parrish this morning.”
“Oh, yeah? How did that go?”
“He semi-apologized.”
“Semi-apologized? What does that mean?” I asked.
“He said he regretted how things went down yesterday.”
“Did he specifically say that he regretted arresting me?”
“No. He kept things generic. He said he wanted a good working relationship with me and asked if we could start over.”
“What did you say?”
“I said yes. No reason to make an enemy.”
“Understandable.”
“Besides, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to ask who the eyewitness is. He couldn’t very well say no after asking me for a fresh start,” she said.
“Smart play. Who is it?”
“Any guesses?”
“It would have to be one of her enemies. Sorry, I know that’s an obvious guess.”
“Maybe, but it’s a wrong guess. Then again, you might be right after what I heard later. The eyewitness is Oleen Akamu, Tavii’s wife.”
“You said she might be an enemy. What else did you hear?” I asked.
“After Josh gave me that name, I made a phone call to a woman I know in the mayor’s office. She’s known to be tuned into the gossip. She said the word is that Tavii and Oleen are getting a divorce. I asked her why and she said she’s heard several different stories, adultery being the main one. She said she also heard that Oleen already moved out of their house.”
“So, Oleen left Tavii and then decided to seek revenge on the Akamu family by turning on Mele Akamu?”
“It would seem so. The question is, is Oleen Akamu telling the truth? Did she really see Mele and Samson murder Eric Ellis?” Alana asked.
“That is the question, isn’t it?”
“How did your meeting with Daniel Davis go?”
I gave Alana the rundown on my meeting, including my suspicions that Daniel Davis didn’t own a dog.
“Why in the world would he lie about that?” Alana asked.
“I have a crazy theory that he’s part of the set-up against Mele Akamu.”
“A five-year set-up?”
“Foxx made that exact same point.”
“Sorry, Poe, but I’m going to have to side with Foxx on this one. If someone wanted Mele Akamu that badly, they’d have found a way to get her a long time ago.”
I didn’t respond. Alana and Foxx were probably right, and it didn’t make much sense to keep debating the point.
“I expect you’ll hear from Mara Winters later,” Alana continued. “Mele Akamu and Samson Opunui go before the judge today.”
“What’s your guess? Will they be granted bail?” I asked.
“No chance. I suspect she’ll never see freedom again, especially now that we know who the eyewitness is. A jury is going to have a hard time overlooking that testimony.”
“You’re probably right.”
“Is this the point you back out or are you going to keep going?” Alana asked.
It was a very good question, I thought. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a good answer.

17


The Butler
I called Foxx immediately after I got off the phone with Alana. I recommended that we take a divide and conquer approach to the Eric Ellis investigation. Foxx’s mission was to find where Oleen Akamu had moved to. My goal was to meet with Samson.
I’m sure you’re wondering why my internal debate on whether or not to continue with the case had lasted all of a few seconds. There’s an easy answer to that question. There was an intriguing mystery to solve and I wasn’t about to walk away from that.
I realized a while back that I rarely did these cases for the client who hired me. I did them for myself to bring the truth to light. Someone, and I was willing to concede that it might have been Mele Akamu, had murdered Eric Ellis. That person needed to be brought to justice.
I left the wedding venue in Wailea and drove back to the jail in Kahului since visiting hours were about to start. I didn’t think I’d get any more useful information from Mele Akamu, but I thought talking with her butler was worth a shot. After all, he doubled as her enforcer.
Yes, it was a long shot at best.