Paradise, Passion, Murder Read online

  “No way,” I said.

  “Way.” She nodded. “But Ramon, now he had the whole story. At one point, he began acting like he was our tour guide. He was very familiar with the baby kidnapping. He even knew Lindbergh had three wives with children in different countries. He said he was positive there was a fourth wife, and that’s when the group broke up. A couple of them said he was just telling tales. He was convincing. Almost had me believing the story. Anyway, after that everyone moved off. A few went to the gardens. Others headed to the church.”

  “This is very helpful,” I said. I doubted that it was, but what the heck? I had Conchita on my side, at least for the time being. “Did you hear or see anything else?”

  “Yes, there was a big argument after the group split. I didn’t recognize the voices, but I’m sure it was two men.”

  “Okay, two men. An argument.” Now that was something I could work with. “What else?”

  “I couldn’t tell what they were saying, but it was obvious they were very angry with each other. I’m not a busybody, so I decided to stay out of it.”

  That was about as phony as the fake designer bag she carried around. Once again, I had Benni to thank for that bit of insider knowledge. I nearly asked her which of her personalities didn’t like getting into other people’s business, but decided she could easily knock me down and shove my face in the grass until I sneezed to death. “Sure, sure. Weren’t you even curious, though?”

  Even during the breakfast buffet, it was obvious Conchita had no qualms about telling everyone what to do. Not once, however, had she even feigned interest in what the others said. Her apparent indifference had me almost believing she really did ignore the whole argument.

  Conchita’s lips curled in something resembling a smile. If she were a rhino, I’m sure she’d be wagging her fifty-pound tail, encouraging me to come closer.

  I kept my distance. Let her talk.

  “I told you. I’m not a busybody. I don’t interfere in other people’s lives. You may not mind being nosey, but it’s not my style. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m sure you have more prying to do.”

  Olivia

  Conchita stomped away, leaving me in a quandary. Apologize? Say to hell with it? I followed her, then decided an apology was unnecessary when we met up with Olivia Smith,

  “Relax, Conchita.” Olivia took Conchita’s hand. “You’re getting all worked up.”

  “I am not.”

  “Sure you are.”

  They reminded me of squabbling children I’d seen in grocery stores. In those cases, even the most oblivious parent eventually stopped the game. But, without adult supervision, these two could go on forever. I wondered how many times a day they did this. They were probably best friends, golf widows, most likely, who passed the time irritating each other with their own little quirks.

  Jerod returned from the van, looking decidedly unhappy. “Cops gonna be at least an hour, brah. Big kine accident up the road. Some local kids joyriding in a pickup. A couple of ’em fall out. Road’s blocked and Hana cops gotta deal wid dat first.”

  While Jerod filled me in on the traffic issues, Olivia and Conchita continued their banter.

  “I can see it on your face. You’re upset.”

  Conchita jerked her hand away. “You’re wrong.” Her lower lip protruded in a pout she probably learned in kindergarten.

  Jerod nodded at the two women. “Nothing worse than two women married to each other. See if you can solve this thing. My job’s on the line.” He shook his head and left.

  What? These two didn’t have husbands? They were—oh, crap. Now I had another problem. Who called who what? Was one the husband? Were they both wives? I caught Benni’s gaze, tried sending her a telepathic message. Please, Benni, please help me.

  She smiled, gave me a thumbs up, and turned away. So much for lovers reading each other’s thoughts.

  And, forget being politically correct. What I wanted to know was why the company would hassle Jerod over a killing on his tour. Unless, of course, this was a regular thing with him and I was dealing with a three-strikes kind of guy. Maybe I could find out before the cops arrived. Right now, though, Olivia was just a few feet away.

  I approached the women and asked if they’d been together the entire time at this stop. Call it my lie detector test. I already knew the answer was no.

  Conchita glanced at me, then spoke to her friend in a silky smooth voice. “I’ve already talked to him, Liv. McKenna’s trying to solve the murder. Then he’s going to help us get our money back. I’m going back to the bus. What an awful day.”

  Olivia let out a deep sigh and fingered one of her earrings as she watched Conchita leave. “I love her so much, but she can be such a handful.”

  “How long have you two been together?”

  “About five years. This was our honeymoon. We decided to make it official and blow our wad on the vacation of a lifetime. I’d say it was worth it. Until today.”

  “Were you with each other the entire time we’ve been at this stop?”

  “Not the entire time.” Olivia’s smile revealed bright, white teeth straight enough to make the pickiest orthodontist proud. Even the boy-cut of her blonde hair cried sex appeal. “I was on the bus getting a snack. I’m diabetic and my blood sugar goes crazy when I don’t eat on a regular schedule. Days like today are tough.”

  I nodded my agreement. For someone like me with celiac disease, finding a meal could become quite a challenge at times. “Did you hear the screams?”

  “No, not really.” She paused as though considering her options, then wet her lips before continuing. “Jerod had been asleep. He asked me not to tell, but I don’t see what the big deal is. He said one of his kids was sick all night, so he was whipped.”

  “Oh,” I said, trying to mask my surprise. So that’s why Jerod’s tour-guide commentary had become more lethargic as the day wore on. It had faded fast since the last stop. “If you didn’t hear the screams, and Jerod was asleep, how’d you know something was wrong?”

  “It was TC. He came charging up to the bus yelling about a lack of organization. I tried to wake Jerod before TC saw him. I didn’t want our poor driver being hassled because he was a good dad.”

  Sex appeal. Compassion. But, no help as a witness. Bummer. What I needed was someone who’d seen something other than the inside of the van or the backs of their eyelids. I was striking out. “Was there anyone else on the van?”

  “Valentine came on for a bit. She was flirting with me again. She seemed to think I was interested. She’s been trying to impress me with her video footage all day. To tell you the truth, I think she buys toys to compensate for her unhappiness. When I told her I was married to Conchita, she sulked off to play with her drone.”

  Based on what I’d seen today, Olivia appeared to be the only member of the “I heart Val” club. And, let’s put the emphasis where it belonged, on the heart. Now she was telling me she wasn’t interested? I took what I considered the only sane route, avoidance. “When did this happen?” I asked.

  “Let’s see, Conchita and I came to see Lindbergh’s grave first, then I made a beeline for the church. You were there—pretty deep in thought from the looks of it. Anyway, I was probably off the bus for a total of maybe five minutes. It all happened so fast.”

  “Conchita said she was caught up in a big discussion about Lindbergh. Ramon was leading it. I guess you missed it.”

  Her giggles took me by surprise. “Don’t worry. When something catches Conchita’s fancy, she’ll keep revisiting it until she’s an expert. You might have noticed she likes being in charge. Anyway, if Ramon was giving a history lesson, I know I’ll be getting the graduate-course version soon.”

  “You two are so different,” I said.

  “You and Benni aren’t exactly alike. Why should we be?”

  “Point taken. Is there any
one else you think I should talk to? TC maybe? You said he came running up to the van.”

  Olivia rolled her eyes. “He’s a waste. Try Valentine. She was flying that silly drone all over the place. You never know, that thing might turn out to be helpful.”

  Valentine

  I didn’t relish the idea of confronting Val again. Her Millennial with Money attitude kind of irked me. I really didn’t want to get into the whole Olivia-Conchita-Val triangle either. Solve this murder, that I could do. Understand those three? No way.

  What I needed to know was if she or her drone could shed any light on the murder.

  I found her showing off the day’s videos to Judy. Oh, happy day.

  “Ladies,” I nodded to both of them.

  “You here to accuse me again?” Judy’s glare could have melted glass.

  “Or maybe you want to harass me about my drone.” Val said. She took up a confrontational stance with her arms crossed over her chest.

  Sheesh. Had I walked into a hornet’s nest, or what? I raised my hands in surrender. “Neither. The cops are hung up and won’t be here for another hour. Right now, we have a killer running around. Wouldn’t you like to know who it is?”

  “I already told you what I know,” Judy said.

  Val’s lips pursed. She glanced at Judy, then reached out. When her fingers came to rest on Judy’s arm, their eyes met. “Remember what we talked about. Maybe Lenny’s just confused. He proposed. Okay? If nothing else, you’ve got a few days left to get him out of your system.”

  Judy nodded, gave Val a final hug, then glared at me. “I have nothing more to say to you.” An awkward silence engulfed us as Judy marched away.

  She waited until Judy was out of earshot. “Are you always so insensitive?”

  My jaw dropped a bit, then I remembered who I was talking to—the Queen of Embarrassing Questions. “Are you always so direct?”

  “Direct is good. It avoids all the little games people play. That’s the nice thing about technical writing, McKenna; everything is black and white. You might have some “if this, then that” sets of conditions, but there are always a finite number of options.”

  “Very…um, direct.”

  She nodded enthusiastically. “Right. People are much more complex. Anyway, you don’t want sensitivity lessons, because you want to solve a murder. Let’s cut to the chase. I didn’t see anything. That’s it. Period.”

  “Direct, but lacking detail.” I thought it a pretty good comeback for dealing with a technical writer. Val, on the other hand, looked unimpressed.

  “That’s not a bad analysis for someone who probably thinks their smartphone is a paperweight.”

  Crap. I just did it once. Well, maybe a couple of times. If I admitted my techno-crime to Val, I’d expose myself to more insults. Forget it. I needed to diffuse this situation fast. Time to cut my losses. I put my hand up and waved it back and forth a few times.

  “What are you doing now?” she demanded.

  “Can’t you see it? It’s a white flag. Truce?”

  Val snickered and, for the first time, gave me a slight smile. “You might be past your use-by date, but you’re determined enough to pull this off. What do you want to know?”

  “Let’s begin with where you set up shop to fly the drone.”

  “I was just wandering. While it videoed from above, I checked things out on the ground. If I came across something I wanted to see from a different view, I maneuvered the drone to where I wanted it.”

  “You’ve had it in the air a lot today. How far can it go?”

  She beamed. “About a mile and a half. This particular model gives me a couple of hours of flying time. It’s getting kind of low on power, but we’re past all the really cool stuff anyway.”

  I felt a little surge of satisfaction. She was dropping her guard. Maybe not as fast as the drone would fall from the sky without power, but I could see progress. I pointed at what she held in her hands. It reminded me of a white, plastic gaming console. “Did you have any trouble navigating around here?”

  “Not at all.” She held out the device. “The controller clip holds a cell phone. The controls are super simple to master. See?” She pointed. “Just a couple of joysticks and a ‘Return to Home’ button. It has trouble in high wind, so Jerod told me not to fly when we stopped at the Kīpahulu Visitor Center.”

  “Sure. The Pools of Ohe‘o. He was probably worried you’d be tempted to go after the drone if it went down.”

  “Too dangerous,” she said. “I read the sign. Father, daughter, missing shoe. Both drowned. Believe me, I don’t want to be somebody else’s example of a tragedy. Anyway, it’s easy here as long as you avoid the trees.” She winked at me. “It’s nothing like the Ke’anae Peninsula.”

  The skip in my heartbeat wasn’t because she’d hassled me with the drone, but because I was sure Val had just decided I was a friend. I smiled at her. “Yeah, lots of open space, picnic areas, real restrooms, crashing surf on a rocky coastline, and a flying camera to catch it all. It was a great stop.”

  Casting her gaze downward, she bit at her lower lip. “My husband is a bit of a stick-in-the-mud. He got really ticked at me when I buzzed you. I’m sorry about that. It was kind of childish.”

  “Tell Lowell, no worries. I think I might have had a little payback coming.” I raised both eyebrows and gazed in her eyes. “We’re good?”

  She gave me a little shrug, then nodded.

  I wondered if maybe I’d hurt her feelings at some point. Rather than pursuing opening the wound, I said, “Terrific. So, let’s focus on what happened here. Where was Lowell during this stop?”

  Val rolled her eyes. An exasperated, “Ugh” escaped her lips. Val pocketed the phone she’d been using to show Judy the video and set the controller off to one side. I really wanted to see the video, but I felt like I needed to work through the facts first.

  “This is his ideal stop,” Val said. “He’s a history buff. This was his big event. Lindbergh’s been his fascination since before we met and I wasn’t about to get in his way. Knowing Lowell, he was off educating everyone about Charles Lindbergh. You think I’m a nerd. Well, he’s exactly the same, but he’s focused on the dead past. I prefer looking at the unborn future.”

  I nodded as though agreeing with her, but her analysis felt slightly off. It would have been closer to the truth to say she was focused on technology. “So you didn’t see him?”

  She paused for a second. “Off and on. You know, we stayed in touch.”

  Her eyes had darted up and to the left, an indication she might have just constructed a visual memory. In other words, a lie. The only time I’d seen Val and Lowell together had been while they were on the van. At almost every stop, Val had gone one way, Lowell, the other. Even when Val had buzzed me at Ke’anae Peninsula, Lowell hadn’t been around. He might have seen the incident from a distance, but he hadn’t been a part of it.

  So, what was Val hiding?

  TC

  I watched Val’s face for a moment more, then broke eye contact. It bugged me to think she assumed I’d fall for such a naive lie. While I’d have loved to find out why she was lying about her and Lowell, that line of questioning had to wait. The person marching in our direction was the biggest complainer on the tour, Theodore Chaplin. In tow behind him was his wife, Magda.

  Theodore insisted we call him TC. I had a nickname for him, one that would probably land me in a smackdown with him. He and his wife were total opposites. Where he was overly obnoxious, she was polite and courteous. She also seemed to be a chameleon, morphing into whatever TC wanted her to be at the moment.

  I found it odd that everyone else on the tour was wearing lightweight clothing such as T-shirts and shorts, but Magda had on a long-sleeved cotton blouse and slacks. In that sense, she stuck out, but in all other respects, she melted into the background.

 
; “I hear you’re the one who’s going to get us our money back,” barked TC. “Why aren’t you working on that? What the hell kind of way is this to run a tour? No guides at the stops, a driver who falls asleep when he should be giving us the history, murders—you’d better make a strong case or there’s going to be hell to pay.”

  Val snorted, but kept her silence, even when TC glared at her.

  I thought it best to ignore Val and maintain focus on TC. “Right now, TC, I’ve got other issues to deal with.”

  “Yeah, yeah, you’re the big investigator. Well, right after you solve this case, you’d better be working to make us all whole again. Chiquita and me want this handled right.”

  “You mean Conchita?” I asked.

  “He’s not very good with names,” Magda said.

  “Did I ask you, Maggie? No, I didn’t.” He turned back to me. “Conchita, Chiquita, whatever. Nice gal, but kinda pushy. Back when I was on the tour, this kind of crap would never have happened. Somebody’s got to get this mess squared away.”

  Calling TC out on the way he treated his wife would probably not help my case at all. We’d be at odds, and what I needed now was his cooperation, so I bit my tongue and asked, “What tour were you on?”

  “PGA. Six years. Things were always well organized. Nothing like this.” He flipped a hand dismissively, a scowl on his face.

  “TC, you know things happen.” Magda put a hand on her husband’s arm, but he jerked it away, then silenced her with a cold stare.

  What a jackass, I thought. I’d reserve my questions for Magda until I could get her alone. But, TC? If I were twenty years younger, weighed forty pounds more, and worked out every day—well, so much for superhero fantasies.

  Fortunately, Benni had done a remarkable job with crowd control. It helped that most of the people I’d spoken to had lost their taste for the crime scene and were keeping their distance. Benni and Marquetta, another of the remaining witnesses, were engaged in a deep conversation. I hoped Benni could keep Marquetta occupied until I finished with the man I wanted desperately to call Totally Contemptuous.