"Why'd you tell Aunt Audrey I was an outstanding wedding photographer?" Leilani asked after Carly and company took off. "You know I always do the video. I'm all thumbs when it comes to taking pictures of anything more complicated than a few people standing around in a group."
"Leilani, you'll do great," Dorothy said supportively. "You've watched the professionals do it dozens of times. All you have to do is take three times as many pictures as you think you should. That way, at least some of them will come out."
"Well, I'll do my best," Leilani grumbled. "But don't judge me if they look like they were taken by a fifth-grader."
"Hopefully, it won't come to that," I said. "If you end up taking the photos, I'll have to shoot the video. Then I won't be available to sort out the problems that come up. In case everything goes sideways, I'll see if Autumn is free for the ceremony and the reception."
Dorothy gave a slight shake of her head, and I knew what she was likely thinking. The resort's staff photographer, Autumn Season, was typically booked up months in advance. It was unlikely she'd be available on short notice to shoot a wedding and a reception.
"Did either of you hear anything about Jake?" I asked. During our meeting with Carly, I'd seen both Dorothy and Leilani texting.
Dorothy shook her head. "I've asked my friend at Wilcox Medical, but no one knows anything yet."
"I haven't heard anything either," Leilani said. "I texted Kai and told him what happened. He said he'd head over to the hospital after he gets off work from the nursing home."
"It's nice that your brother's doing that," I said. "I'm going over there in a few minutes. The EMTs didn't think he could have visitors for a while, but I'd like to see how he's doing."
"I'll go with you," Leilani said with a happy grin. "Jake's pretty much family."
* * *
When Leilani and I got to the clinic, we were directed to a room in one of the wards. Walking in, I was surprised to see Jake sitting up in his bed, sipping on a box of apple juice.
A large white bandage was wrapped around his head, hiding some of his dark curly hair. Fortunately, his deep blue eyes showed he was alert. I let out a breath, glad to know he was okay.
"Jake," Leilani called out. "I'm glad you're awake. We figured you'd still be passed out in the ICU, hooked up to a dozen machines."
"Sorry to disappoint you," he said with a small laugh and a hint of his lopsided smile. "They're telling me I have a concussion, but it isn't too bad. They were worried about an epidural hematoma for a while, so they ran a bunch of tests. But once they found out it was only a bump on the head, the doctors all lost interest."
As Jake talked, I noticed he was looking at me. Well, staring at me was more like it. I started feeling a little self-conscious. I even glanced down at my outfit to make sure I hadn't spilled anything on it.
"Can you tell us what happened this morning?" I asked.
"A detective was in here a few minutes ago," Jake said as he shook his head slowly. "He asked me the same thing. He also let me know that Alex was dead. I'd already assumed that from seeing him laid out on the floor, but it was still hard to hear it. Unfortunately, I don't have a very good answer."
"What do you remember?" I asked.
"Well, I got to the resort right as the eight o'clock news started on the radio. It had been a while since I'd been there, so I wanted to scout out some picture locations near the Overlook Chapel. I went to look for a bathroom, but they were cleaning the one in the lobby. I figured there must be one in the conference center somewhere."
"What happened when you went back there?" Leilani asked.
"I heard Alex arguing with someone in one of the conference rooms. As I got closer, I heard him cry out. I went into the room to see what was happening and saw him on the floor. The next thing I knew, I woke up in the ER, and a doctor was shining a light in my eye."
He looked at me again. "This might sound crazy," he said, "but I sort of remember that you were with me and that I was talking with you. I think you helped me. Um, were you really there, or did I dream it?"
Okay, I guess that explains why he was looking at me.
"Yeah, I was the one who found you. I went back there looking for Alex. I was completely surprised when I saw you sprawled out on the floor."
"Well, I appreciate it," he said, giving me a sweet smile. "According to what the doctors told me, my injury could have been life-threatening. They said getting me in here quickly was the best thing that could have happened."
"Did you hear who Alex was arguing with?" I asked.
"No. The only voice I heard was Alex's. But it wasn't like he was frightened. It sounded more like he was pissed off. Like yesterday on the beach."
"Do you think he knew the other person?"
"Definitely. From the way he was going on, I'd say Alex and the other person knew each other well."
"Do you remember what he said?" I asked. I didn't want to pepper him with too many questions, but I wanted to understand what was going on.
"I don't remember the exact words. It was more the tone. Alex said something sarcastic, then he cried out. That's when I ran in, and somebody hit me."
"Good thing you have such a hard head," Leilani said. "Otherwise, they could've done some damage."
"Do you know who hit me or what they used?" he asked as he reached up and delicately felt the lump under the bandage. "I've got a knot the size of an unshelled macadamia nut on the side of my head."
"Nobody knows who hit you," I said, "But I'm pretty sure they used a big souvenir tiki. It was on the floor next to you, and Detective Ray has it bagged up as evidence."
"A tiki?" he asked, eyebrows raised. "Seriously? Who hits someone with a tiki?"
"Well, someone hit you," Leilani said, flipping her long black hair for emphasis. "They almost took you out with it."
"Do you know when they're releasing you?" I asked.
"They haven't told me," he said, brushing a lock of curly dark hair off his forehead. "I imagine they'll keep me in here. Probably for a day or two."
"Oh, I'm sure they will," Leilani said. "You can never be too careful with a brain injury."
"Are you ready to go home?" a nurse asked in a bright and cheery voice as she pushed a wheelchair into the room. "Are these the people who'll give you a ride?"
Leilani and I looked at the nurse, then back at Jake. I shrugged my shoulders.
"Um," Leilani said. "Then again. Maybe you don't need to stay here overnight after all."
Jake raised his eyes, cocked his head to the side, and gave me a questioning look.
"Sure," I said. "I'll be glad to give you a ride."
* * *
After a quick discussion, we decided it would probably be best if I drove straight to Jake's house. I could then pick him up the following day so he could get his car from the resort.
With Leilani in the back seat giving directions and Jake in the passenger seat, I drove my red Jeep Wrangler Unlimited away from the hospital towards Jake's place. It was a couple of miles inland from the resort, off the main highway, and up a winding but well-maintained road.
As we made it to a cleared-out section of the hill, we pulled into a circular driveway at the back of a lovely home. It was one of the larger houses I'd seen in the area and looked like it had five or six bedrooms. I could see a massive wraparound lanai from where we were parked and glimpsed a breathtaking view of the Pacific through the trees.
"Wow," I said. "Is this really your house? It's gorgeous."
"Thanks," Jake said a little absentmindedly. "It was my parents', and I grew up here. They moved to Lahaina a few years ago, and now it's mine."
"Don't worry about shooting the dinner tonight," I said. "I'll cover that. I'll call you tomorrow morning and see if you're feeling up for snorkeling with the group. In either case, I'll come back and drive you down to the resort tomorrow so you can get your vehicle."
"Thanks," he said as he unbuckled himself. "I'm planning on sleeping the rest of the afternoon, but I'm sure I'll be okay in the morning. Why don't you come over about seven o'clock? I'll make you a coffee—then we can drive down to Aloha Lagoon. My equipment's still in the car, but I'm sure it'll be okay for tonight."
In the mirror, I could see Leilani's eyes grow big as she looked back and forth between Jake and me, a slight smile forming on her lips.
"Um, sure," I said, feeling my face grow warm. My heart was beating a little faster, and I couldn't stop myself from smiling. "Coffee would be great. I'd like that."
"I'll call Kai and let my brother know you're at home," Leilani said. "You can probably convince him to bring you a pizza or something later if you offer him a few beers."
* * *
Leilani climbed into the front seat, and we took off toward the resort. As we wound back down the hill, Leilani kept looking over at me and smiling.
"What?" I asked after she'd looked at me for the third or fourth time.
"What do you mean, what?" she asked, even as she smiled at me again.
"What's so funny?"
"You and Jake," she said. "I've never heard him talk like that before. I think he likes you."
"Talk like what? You're imagining things. He doesn't even know me."
"Maybe, but I've known him a long time. I can tell when something's up."
* * *
When we got back to the Wedding Center, Aunt Audrey was sitting in one of the big white rattan chairs in front of Dorothy's desk. She'd fixed her dark hair, and it was back in the perfect bun. Both she and Dorothy held a tall glass of iced tea and were chatting and laughing like they were old friends.
As soon as we walked in the door, both women turned to me. From the way they were smirking, it felt a little like an ambush.
"I was interviewed by that detective we met earlier in the day," Aunt Audrey said. "He was the same one I talked with about my necklace. I hate to say it, but he seems somewhat out of his depth. Dorothy tells me he's successfully solved murders in the past. But I honestly don't see how that can be possible."
"There've been other murders in Aloha Lagoon?" I asked Dorothy. I'd heard some rumors, but never anything specific.
"Oh, you'd be surprised," Dorothy said, looking over her reading glasses with a knowing nod, her long black and gray hair bouncing. "I know this seems like a quiet backwater in paradise, but underneath the surface, it sometimes gets a little crazy."
"I don't want a murder hanging over the wedding," Aunt Audrey said, now looking at me intently. There was a great deal of force and determination behind her words. "We've put too much time and effort into this event to have it spoiled by something foolish. You'll need to find out who did it, and we'll need to get this wrapped up quickly. Preferably before the other guests start to arrive, but definitely before the ceremony."
"That's only three days away," I said, shaking my head. Then I realized what Aunt Audrey had said. "Wait! What? You want me to investigate? I'm a wedding planner, not a detective!"
I looked over at Leilani. Her eyes had grown big as she held her hands up and shook her head to show that this hadn't been her idea.
"Look," I said, "I really don't know anything about solving murders. Besides, I don't think Detective Ray would be too thrilled if I start investigating this on my own."
"Probably not," Aunt Audrey said with a small snort of disgust. "He seems like the type who wants to be in charge of everything. Unfortunately, based on the questions he's asked me, he's building a case against your photographer."
I was about to say she must have misunderstood his intent, but then I thought about it. When Detective Ray had talked to me earlier in the day, he seemed to be going in that direction then as well.
I'd ignored him since the idea of Jake being anything other than a victim was clearly ridiculous. Now, I wasn't so sure if the detective could see the obvious or not.
"Jake didn't have anything to do with the murder," I said, sounding angrier than I'd meant to.
"No, of course not," Aunt Audrey agreed. "I don't believe for a minute he had anything to do with it. Besides, I've seen him work, and he knows what he's doing. I'd like him to be there at the wedding to take the pictures."
"That's going to be difficult if Detective Ray has him arrested," Leilani mused.
"That's another reason to end this as quickly as possible," Aunt Audrey said. Her normally kind face was now scrunched up in frustration. "Plus, we apparently can't leave the island until Ray solves the murder. I'd like to go back home after the wedding. But from what I've seen of the detective's work so far, that might not happen for several weeks, if not months."
* * *
"How do we go about solving a murder?" Leilani asked after Aunt Audrey had left. "None of us are exactly Miss Marple or Nancy Drew."
I was feeling the same way and let out a deep sigh. On top of the wedding being thrown into chaos and my dreamy new photographer being the prime suspect, I'd been asked to solve the murder. That wasn't something that was covered in any of the wedding planning courses I'd attended over the years.
"Let's take this one step at a time," Dorothy said. "What do we know about the murder so far?" She'd pulled out a legal pad and was preparing to take notes.
"About all we know is Alex was killed a little after eight o'clock this morning by someone who wasn't Jake," I said. "And I'm pretty sure Jake didn't hit himself over the head with that tiki."
"So, let's take it from there," Dorothy said, jotting down a note.
"From what Jake told us," Leilani said. "It sounds like Alex knew the person who killed him."
"That makes sense," I said. "Detective Ray said robbery wasn't a motive, and I can't see someone as big and mean as Alex going somewhere with a stranger against his will. At least not without a fight."
"So," Dorothy said thoughtfully, "unless we discover something different, I'd say it's likely that the only people Alex knew in Kauai were his friends from California."
Leilani looked alarmed, and I'm sure I did too. Until Dorothy said it out loud, I hadn't associated the murder with anyone in the wedding party. It was a creepy feeling.
"Wow," Leilani said. "That's horrible, but I think you're right. I guess we already know the killer, but which one is it? There are ten people left in the group. How are we going to start to narrow it down?"
"From what Jake told us, we're pretty sure Alex was killed sometime between eight and eight-fifteen," I said. "If we could somehow figure out where everyone was, maybe we can eliminate some of them right away."
"A few of them might have gone to the Loco Moco," Dorothy said, "but I imagine most of the wedding party had breakfast at the Rainbow Buffet. You have to check out with the cashier there as you leave. You'd probably be able to tell what time someone left the restaurant by the timestamp on their bill."
Leilani nodded her head in agreement. Dorothy's reasoning sounded sensible to me as well.
I knew the Loco Moco did their own accounting, and I'd need to ask them directly. Fortunately, we had a quick way of tracking down charges at the Rainbow Buffet. I picked up the desk phone and called the front desk.
"Hi, Summer," I said when she answered. "It's Kristy. I'm trying to track down some charges for the members of the Clarkson-Cooper wedding party from this morning. Would you be able to let me know what time everyone was billed for breakfast at the Rainbow Buffet?"
"Oh sure," she said, cheerful as always. "I'll pull up the records and send them over. But it's kinda crazy at the desk right now. Would you mind if I got that to you in a few minutes?"
"No problem," I said. "Thanks, Summer. I owe you."
"That's one thing done," Dorothy said when I hung up. She made another note on her pad. "Now, we'll need to work on why the boy was killed."
"Alex seemed like he was pretty much a jerk," Leilani said. "I imagine most everyone who knew him would have at least some reason to want him dead."
"When Detective Ray revealed that Alex was murdered, everyone in the group reacted, at least a little bit," I said. "I think that's why he announced it like that."
"Yeah," Leilani said with a shudder. "I remember how weird it was when some of them seemed almost happy about it."
"You were taking a video when Detective Ray made his speech," I said. "Do you have it? Maybe we can spot something?"
"It's still in the camera," Leilani said as she grabbed the office digital and pulled out the memory card.
She gave it to me, and I slid it into my computer. I then switched the computer to display the video on the big television we have mounted up on the wall next to the conference table.
As we watched, the Ono Terrace from earlier in the day filled the screen. The sun was shining, the wind had picked up, and fluffy white clouds dotted the sky. Everyone was eating, talking, and laughing.
As the camera panned over the group, I didn't see anything unusual. No one seemed the least bit troubled by anything.
When Detective Ray moved to stand before the group and then held up his hand, we saw all conversation grind to a halt, and everyone turned to look at him curiously. He then announced the murder in his annoying monotone.
Everyone reacted exactly as I remembered.
We focused first on Flirty Roxanne. Her long red hair was being blown around her face by the wind. When she heard the news, there was a small, satisfied smile on her face as she nodded her head.
It was hard to believe she was happy about the murder, but maybe she was, especially after what had happened the day before on the beach. She kept smiling and nodding, but right before the video ran out, her smile faded into a frown.
"See," Leilani said, pointing at the screen, "That's creepy. How can you hear that someone you know has been murdered and smile about it?"
"I hate to judge," Dorothy said. "But I'd say that girl had a history with the dead man."
We then backed up the video and focused on Gamer Orson. His large nose and thin pale frame made him stand out from the rest of the group.
He looked puzzled when he heard the news. His eyes lost focus, and I could see the gears turning. I wasn't sure if he was thinking about something profound or if he was simply spaced out.
"Nope," Leilani said as she shook her head. "His lights are on, but nobody's home."
"I'm not so sure," I said. "Orson designs computer games for a living. I can't see him ignoring a challenge as tempting as an unknown killer among their ranks. He'd probably see it as some sort of logical puzzle to solve."
"Well," Leilani said with a shrug. "You draw your conclusions about Orson, and I'll draw mine."
Dorothy just jotted down some notes on her pad without offering a comment either way.
Anime Lauren, who was seated next to the twins, was next on the list. She was also easy to spot with her big black glasses, slim build, and blue-tipped brunette hair. Upon hearing the news about Alex, her face immediately scrunched up. Her shoulders began to shake, and she started crying silently.
"You know," Leilani said. "With that makeup and the headband with the ears, she sort of looks like a crying cat."
Dorothy shook her head and gave Leilani the stink eye but didn't say anything.
"What about the rich guy—Derek?" I asked, mostly to change the subject. "What's up with him?"
Again, I restarted the video, and Detective Ray again gave his speech. We watched as Derek's eyes opened slightly wider, and he shook his head in disbelief. But then he let out a small chuckle, and the condescending smirk had returned to his face.
"He doesn't seem to care about the murder one way or the other," Leilani said.
"Oh, I think he cares more than he's letting on," Dorothy said. "Did you see how his eyes widened and his nostrils flared? It wasn't much, but something about Detective Ray's speech threw him off for a second."
"I don't get that," I said, as I failed to track what Dorothy saw. "I get the feeling that the murder is only one more thing that amuses him about being here with his friends from college."
"You may be right," Dorothy said with a shrug. "What about the rest of the group?"
"Yeah," Leilani said. "Look at Eddy, the big mean-looking guy with the hairy arms and tattoos. He doesn't look so happy."
As we restarted the video and concentrated on Angry Eddy, we saw a look of shock, and then worry, quickly pass over his square face as he heard the news.
He rapidly composed himself and quickly glanced around at the other members of the wedding party. His eyes narrowed, as if assessing each of them as potential murderers.
"I still don't like his looks," Leilani said. "He looks pissed, and now he knows one of his friends is a violent killer."
"Unless he's the one who did it," I said.
"Well, yeah," Leilani said thoughtfully. "There's always that."
"Look at the twin girls," Dorothy said. "Have you ever seen a response like that?"
As we looked back at the screen, we realized Dorothy was right. The weirdest reactions came from Madeline and Victoria Trapp, the two tall, athletic blondes.
Short-haired Madeline muttered that the murder was "gross" and looked devastated. At the same time, Long-haired Victoria merely seemed surprised.
The two women then looked at each other, and both let out similar snorts of disgust. The video ended with the two sisters staring daggers at each other.
"Huh," Leilani said. "They seem more upset with each other than they are about Alex."