Poe's First Law: A Murder on Maui Mystery

I said.
“I’ll need an answer by tomorrow. Is that agreeable?” Mrs. Akamu asked.
“Yes,” I said, and I stood. “I’m sorry for making you late for your important phone call.”
“I don’t have one.”
I laughed.
“I find you delightful, Mrs. Akamu.”
“Delightful? I’ve never been called that before.”
“There’s a first time for everything,” I said.
Mara stood.
“It was a pleasure seeing you again, Mrs. Akamu,” Mara said.
“Thank you, Ms. Winters.”
We turned and almost ran into Samson. I hadn’t heard him walk down.
“Samson will show you out,” Mrs. Akamu continued.
We followed Samson back through the house and he walked us to the front door. I’d just stepped outside when he called to me.
“Mr. Rutherford.”
“Yes, Samson.”
“I’ve only seen her husband and son push back on her like that and get away with it.”
“Then I should feel honored.”
“You should.”
“Where are her husband and son now?” I asked.
“Sadly, they’re both deceased.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Have a good day, Mr. Rutherford, Ms. Winters.”
“Thank you, Samson,” Mara said.
We both turned and continued toward our cars.
“Let’s not talk here. I’ll call you in a minute,” Mara said.
“Sounds good.”
I climbed into my convertible and started the engine. I’d just made it around the first bend in the road when my phone vibrated on the passenger seat.
“How do you think that went?” I asked after pulling over to take the call.
Mara laughed, which isn’t a very common thing for her to do, at least when I’ve been around her.
“I wasn’t sure we were going to get out of there alive.”
“Sorry if I scared you,” I said.
“Are you sure you want to get into this?”
“Who says I’ve decided to take the case?”
“A dead body recently discovered after being buried for five years. Missing files. Of course, you’re going to take it,” Mara said.
“It’s possible. I’ll let you know tomorrow.”
“Thank you. I’ll talk to you then.”
I ended the call with Mara and continued my drive home. As I got closer to Lahaina, I decided to turn off and head to Harry’s. It wasn’t until I pulled into the parking lot and saw Foxx’s Lexus SUV that I realized I’d completely forgotten to call Yuto the day before. I made a mental note to call him once I left Harry’s.
I walked inside and saw Kiana and Foxx behind the bar. Kiana has worked at Harry’s since it opened under the original owner.
There were a few other customers inside, but they were seated in booths on the opposite side of the room.
“How’s it going?” Foxx asked.
I slid onto one of the barstools.
“Can I get you anything, Mr. Rutherford?” Kiana asked.
“No, thank you. I’m fine.”
“You look like you’ve got something on your mind,” Foxx asked.
“I do. A new case. Well, maybe I should say a potential new case. I haven’t decided whether I’m going to take it.”
“Why not?” Foxx asked.
“Two words: Mele Akamu,” I said.
“Mele Akamu wants to hire you?” Kiana asked.
“She does and that goes no further than here,” I said.
“Mum’s the word,” Kiana said.
Then she walked to the other end of the bar where two new customers had just sat down.
“What’s the case about?” Foxx asked.
I gave him a general rundown on what I’d learned, leaving out my correct guess that Eric Ellis had stolen incriminating evidence from Mele Akamu.
“When do we start?” Foxx asked.
“What do you mean we?”
“Sounds like you’re going to need help on this one. I think I’ve more than proven my worth in past investigations.”
“Yes, but look what happened to you on the last case you helped with. You almost got killed,” I said.
“And you would have definitely been killed had I not been there to save you.”
There was no sense in denying that since it was most definitely true.
“There’s one other thing you haven’t thought about,” Foxx said.
“What’s that?”
“If this case involves Mele Akamu’s business, then you’re going to be dealing with some pretty unsavory types.”
“I do on all my cases.”
“True, but Mele Akamu is in a different league. Let’s be honest. You don’t exactly have a stellar track record when it comes to defending yourself.”
“What do you mean by that?” I asked.
“How do I put this delicately, Poe? You’ve gotten your ass kicked more times than I can remember. You’ll need a bodyguard if you’re going to start questioning people who run in that world.”
“Those weren’t ass kickings. I was luring my opponents into a false sense of security.”
Foxx laughed.
“Is that right?”
“So, you want to be my protection?” I asked.
“Not just that. I think we both know I’m more than brawn,” Foxx said, and he tapped the side of his head with one finger. “There’s a lot going on up here.”
At six-four and two-hundred and forty pounds, Foxx is a physically intimidating guy. But it would be a mistake to underestimate his intelligence. He’s one of the smartest men I know.
“Plus, with this Hani wedding coming up, I could use a good distraction,” Foxx said.
“Is there something bothering you about the wedding?”
“No, I’m just tired of hearing Hani talking about it. Every time I go to pick up Ava, she has to remind me that she’s getting married. I don’t know what her angle is. She’s got to know I’m not jealous.”
I thought I had a decent theory as to why Hani was doing that. Foxx was right when he’d said that she must have known he wouldn’t be jealous of Yuto. But I didn’t think that was what she was really doing. Instead, I thought she was trying to one-up him. Sort of like, “Look at me. I’ve found someone to marry and you’re all alone.”
If that was the case, then it was a petty thing for Hani to do.
“By the way,” Foxx continued. “You’re not going to believe who called me this morning.”
“Who?”
“What’s-his-face.”
What’s-his-face was Foxx’s moniker for Yuto. Did I also find that petty? Of course, but like the previous example, I swallowed it and said nothing.
“What did Yuto want?” I asked.
“He told me about that big party you and Alana are throwing for him and Hani.”
“We’re not throwing them a party. Yuto is having it for Hani and