The round face of Detective Ray Kahoalani frowned back at me, his bright Hawaiian print shirt in direct contrast to his mood. This wasn't the first time the detective and I had met, and his glare told me that he wasn't particularly happy to see me at his crime scene yet again.
"It wasn't me. I promise," I explained, my hands in the surrender position.
"I didn't think it was." The detective was of islander heritage, and despite the fact that they were presently narrowed at me, his eyes were kind. "But I do need you to tell me exactly what you found."
I sat heavily on the chair and glanced towards Alani. She was sitting behind the shop counter, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, her wide eyes filled with tears.
"She didn't kill him!" I exclaimed. "When she arrived at the shop, she found the broken paddle because she nearly fell over it. Luckily she didn't because she could have been hurt. What if she'd broken her leg or her arm? How would she have run the shop then?" I'd started to babble, which seemed a habit I had when I was nervous.
"Samantha, focus!" the detective barked.
"Sorry." I had to word everything very carefully with the detective, as he was already scribbling in his notebook.
"When did you arrive at the shop?"
"Just after she found the body. Around 7ish." The vision of Alani's ashen face as she stood over Nathan had sent me into shock, but once I'd regained my ability to think, I'd taken the paddle from her and led her to where she was presently seated. Then I'd called the police, who'd arrived within minutes of my call. Apparently they took homicide seriously.
I shivered despite the morning heat as the coroner zipped up the bag containing the very dead Nathan McCauley.
"So how do you know that's what happened?" Detective Ray asked, breaking through my thoughts, his pen stopped mid-scribble.
I allowed the last of my breath to leave my lungs, and my shoulders slumped. "Because that's what Alani told me."
Detective Ray's sigh could have been heard all the way to the resort.
"I don't want to know what she told you. I want to know what you saw. The facts, please." I believed Detective Ray to be a kind man. One who was good at his job but worked on island time. He was, however, quite scary when he gave you the look, which was exactly what he was doing at that moment.
I swallowed the large amount of saliva that had pooled in my mouth. "I saw her standing over the body. But she didn't kill him. I know it. Alani couldn't hurt a fly."
"I'll be the judge of that."
"Detective Ray, you have to believe that she didn't do it."
"Evidence is what I believe, Samantha."
"How could she have done it? Nathan looked like a large man. Alani isn't strong enough to have killed him."
"Anger gives a person exceptional strength. And anyway, Alani has surfed her entire life. She has a core strength that athletes would be jealous of."
That was true. I'd seen her abs, and they were amazing.
"But why would she kill him?"
"I've lived on this island for a long time, and I know that she has a history with him stealing from her. A colleague of mine was the investigating officer at the time. Revenge is quite a powerful motive."
I wanted to argue the point, but at that moment the coroner Aimi Yoshida made her way towards us. Aimi and I had met a few times but had never communicated more than a hello. I gave her a small smile as Detective Ray excused himself to talk to her.
Making myself busy checking the rack of swimsuits, I strained to listen to what she was telling him. After all, if Detective Ray was really looking at Alani as the murderer, then I may just need to know some facts myself. Since living on the island I'd solved two murders, so this was going to be no different.
Actually, it was more like I'd accidentally stumbled upon the truth of the last two murders, but there was no reason that couldn't happen again.
Aimi's voice drifted across the shop floor. "We're moving the body to the morgue so that I can do a complete autopsy," she explained.
"Do you have any indications to the cause and time of death?"
"Only preliminary, but the injuries look concurrent with a blow to the front of the head and to the back of the head. Closer examination should prove which one killed him. I'm placing time of death between 6:30 and 7 a.m."
Right in the timeframe that I'd found Alani standing over the body. The hanger that I held slipped through my fingers and hit the floor with a clatter.
Detective Ray glared at me before moving Aimi out of my earshot. Bugger.
I gave up and hurriedly moved to Alani, pulling her close and holding her tight.
"Oh, Sam," she cried against my shoulder. "I think Detective Ray thinks I did it."
"No, he doesn't," I lied. "He's just getting the facts together."
Alani shrugged. "He wanted to know my movements. He asked what time I got here this morning and if anyone could verify that."
"Can they?"
"No." Alani sat wringing her hands in her lap, her eyes huge, a large amount of fear and sadness lurking in their depths.
"It's probably just a burglary gone wrong," I added to soothe her worries.
"That was my thought too! I reckon Nathan fell and hit his head, and that's what killed him."
Sounded reasonable, but how did that explain the blow to both sides of his head and the blood on the paddle?
"Detective Ray asked me if the shop alarm went off at all."
I raised my eyebrows.
"It didn't," she continued. "It broke last month, and I've never had it fixed. Aloha Lagoon doesn't have too many robberies, so I thought I was safe. Now I wished I'd fixed it."
"Did you tell Detective Ray about your theory?" I asked.
"Uh-huh. But he said that even if it's true it doesn't prove that I didn't hit him. Plus, he said he already knows about my relationship with Nathan and how I hated him." Her eyes once again filled, spilling over her lashes. "I did hate him, Sam, but I would never kill him."
I squeezed Alani tight, waiting for her to regain control of her emotions.
"Why do you think Nathan came here?" I asked once her sobbing had turned to hiccupping. "What was he looking for?"
"I have no idea."
"Do you think he came to see you?"
Alani shook her head, swiping the moisture from her cheeks. "Why would he?"
"I don't know. It's just a thought."
"I know that I joked about my revenge plan, but I would never have gone through with it."
"I believe you." I was skeptical about whether the detective did though.
"Alani, do you remember what Kalei said about Nathan last night?"
She nodded as she blew her nose in a very indelicate manner. "He didn't mean anything though. Kalei's harmless."
I hoped she was right.
Detective Ray sauntered towards us, his lips tight. "Alani," he commanded, "I'll need you to accompany me to the station. I have more questions for you."
I gulped. He meant business.
"But the shop," she whispered.
"I'll lock it up," I interjected. "Once everyone has gone, that is." I noted the dozen or so professionals moving around taking photos and gathering evidence.
Alani paled. "Do I really have to go to the station?"
Detective Ray nodded. "Yes. This is a murder investigation."
Her entire body shook as she stood and allowed a female police officer to lead her out the door. Only once she was out of sight did I fall back onto a stool and find my phone.
"Hi, Luke," I said as the familiar sound of my brother's voice boomed back at me. "I think you need to get to the police station.
* * *
It took Detective Ray three hours to finish questioning Alani, but it took her much longer to start to feel like her old self once again.
We were presently sitting at one of the timber tables outside The Lava Pot, nursing a cola. Luke had stayed with Alani at the station, but the lunch rush at The Lava Pot was unmanageable without a chef, so he'd had to work. I did what I could, called my immediate supervisor, Juls Kekoa, and explained what had happened and how I'd found Alani standing over the body, and being the wonderful person she was, Juls had managed to reschedule my lessons for the day so that my friend wouldn't be alone.
The headache brewing behind my eyes made me wish that my cola held something much stronger than caffeine, but if my mother found out that I was drinking alcohol before five, my life wouldn't be worth living.
"Samantha!"
I looked up from my drink to see the smiling face of my dad beaming back at me, a blonde woman clinging to his arm.
"Brian?" He was the last person I'd expected to see at the resort this time of day. "What are you doing here?" Okay, it sounded rude, which hadn't been my intention, but things between the two of us were still a bit uneasy.
My relationship with my dad was a complicated one. He'd left my life when Luke and I were four, only resurfacing around the time that I moved to Aloha Lagoon. Recently Mum told me that she had been trying hard to reconnect with him and improve their friendship. Their relationship may never be what every child dreams about, but at least they were civil to each other. Me? I was still figuring out how I really felt about him.
"I had a job interview," he explained as the blonde wrapped her hands possessively around his arm.
"What? Here?"
"Yes. It's for a grounds keeper position. The head of Human Resources did the interview. A David…someone or other."
I sighed. "David Mahelona."
"That was him. Intimidating-looking man. It didn't help that I couldn't remember his last name, but I'm handy with a lawn mower, so fingers crossed he liked me enough to give me the job."
When I'd first reconnected with my dad back in March, he'd been bordering obese. A new lease on life had caused him to take control of that, and his waistline was once again visible on his six-foot-three frame. His face had lost the bloated look, and his defined cheekbones and strong jawline highlighted his dark brown eyes.
"Fingers crossed," I added weakly, my gaze darting to the blonde woman.
"This is Patrice," he said, jolting as if he'd just remembered she was there. "Patrice, this is my daughter Samantha."
"Daughter?" she drawled. "Brian, you don't look old enough to have a daughter."
She was either blind or delusional. Dad was getting better looking every time I saw him, but that much weight loss left him with saggy, wrinkly skin, and age was not being kind to him.
Dad, however, was completely taken in by the compliment, laughing and slapping a loud kiss on her cheek.
I took a closer look at Patrice, noting her dyed blonde hair tied in a high ponytail, the crow's feet around her eyes betraying her age. She looked familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on why.
"So what are you girls doing?" he asked, finishing his kiss and returning his attention to us.
Word of Nathan's murder obviously hadn't made it far.
I sat quietly while Alani spent the next five minutes once again going over how she found Nathan and what Detective Ray was thinking. She was usually a very easygoing person, and to see her nervous and anxious broke my heart.
"So Detective Ray thinks you're guilty?" Brian asked Alani.
She paled but nodded.
I groaned, wishing he could be just a little more tactful.
"Well, that's a bummer."
Okay, he had that right.
"What can I do to help?" he asked.
I remembered the last time he'd tried to help us and how it landed both my mum and Luke in custody for murder. Thankfully that all turned out for the best, but that was a whole other story. However, it wasn't one that I wanted to repeat in a hurry.
Alani shrugged while I thought of a reasonable excuse for him to stay out of it.
"We don't even know where to start," Alani added.
"Well, if it were me," said Patrice, "I'd want to know why Nathan came back to Aloha Lagoon."
I considered what she was saying. "That's actually a good idea," I replied, giving Patrice a small smile of gratitude.
"Really? Why?" asked Alani.
"You told us about Nathan's history here. If Kalei were mad at me, it would take something huge to bring me back into that firing line."
Alani chewed her lip. "But what would that have to do with his death?" she asked.
I shrugged. "I don't know, but it could lead us to a clue, and that could lead us to the killer."
"I suppose," she said. "I can't sit here and do nothing, and at least looking into that will give me something else to think about. But I think we'd be better off finding out who that guy in The Lava Pot was first."
I raised my eyebrows as I sipped my drink.
"The one who was looking for Nathan. He showed you the photo. I was wondering if maybe he found him."
I nodded, remembering the man with the very hairy arms. "Hmmm, that's a good point," I said.
"Samantha, I don't like the idea of you looking for a killer," said Brian. "So why don't you let Patrice and I do the looking?" Thankfully I didn't have to think of a way out of that, as his phone rang. "It's the resort! Maybe it's about the job. Excuse me a minute, ladies. I need to take this." He stood and moved a few feet away from us as he answered the call.
As he ummed and ahahed, Patrice leaned across the table, her eyes wide and excited. "Maybe we can ask the bar staff if they know who that guy is?"
Okay, problem number one was, there was no "we" in this. Patrice and Dad were not part of this investigation. Problem number two was… "What are we going to ask them? 'Hey, have you seen a guy with hairy arms around here lately?'"
"What did he look like?" Patrice asked.
"Midthirties, long scruffy beard, and Marine-style haircut."
"That's a pretty common look with the guys these days. But still, how about Brian and I ask around about him, and you start to find out why Nathan was back in town?"
"Patrice, that's a really kind offer, but you don't need to get involved with this."
"You're Brian's daughter, and I want to help. Besides I have nothing better to do than sit knitting. There's nothing wrong with knitting, but I'm too virile to spend my days in an armchair."
"Who's spending their days in an armchair?" asked Dad, pushing his phone back into his pocket as he rejoined us.
"I was just telling the girls that we can help with the investigation."
"Fantastic!"
I sighed. As much as it could prove helpful, and we could solve this murder twice as fast with their help, I was unsure about how much involvement I wanted my dad to have and how much trouble he would cause doing it.
"How did the phone call go?" I asked. "Did you get the job?"
"They haven't decided yet, but they need some paperwork, so that sounds promising."
I nodded and gave him a smile. I really did wish he would be successful, despite the fact that it would be weird having him around the resort all the time.
"So where do we start?" he asked, rubbing his hands together and getting the conversation back on track.
I sighed. "How about I ask Casey to keep an eye out for Hairy Arms in The Lava Pot, and you guys ask around here. I don't know the man's name or anything about him, but it can't hurt." At least I hoped it couldn't. "In the meantime, Alani and I can try to find out a little bit more about Nathan and what brought him back to town."
"How do we do that?" she asked, her eyes wide.
"Maybe we can find out where he was staying. We might find some clues as to what he was up to and how long he'd been here. If that led to his death, then it'll be a good path to follow."
Alani and Patrice nodded their agreement.
Brian frowned. "Samantha, leave this to me. Why don't you girls go and get a massage or something fun?"
"It's okay, Dad. We'll only ask questions. We won't do anything stupid." The fear in his eyes told me that he was remembering the last time I got involved in a murder investigation and how it nearly cost me my life.
"Nathan's best friend, Don, lived over on Lehia Lane. For a short while Nathan rented a room above his garage," Alani explained, a little of the old Alani shining out from behind the fear. "Don might know where Nathan was staying this time."
I shrugged. "It's as good a place to start as any."
Dad stared at me for a moment before slapping his hand on the table, causing us all to jump. "Sorry, I just got a little excited. It's not every day I get to help my daughter and her friend solve a murder." He grinned. "But you had better be careful."
"I will," I added, meaning every word. I had no intention of dying this week.
As Brian and Patrice almost skipped off in the direction of The Lava Pot, I gave Casey a quick phone call. As I brought him up-to-date with proceedings, Alani and I made our way around the lagoon towards the staff parking lot where she'd left her red VW Beetle.