Maui Widow Waltz (Islands of Aloha Mystery Series) (27 page)

EPILOGUE

B
rad
Sanders was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of his friend and
business partner, Kevin McGillvary. He’d struck him in the head, then did a
lousy job of burial at sea. At trial, Lisa Marie testified Brad called and
asked her to meet him at Haleakala Crater and she was so excited to hear his
voice she mistook my car for one of her father’s many vehicles. She went on to
say Brad confessed to killing Kevin, but it was justified because he was so in
love with her he was heartbroken when Kevin stepped in to take his place. She
burbled on, reverting to her original fantasy about Brad falling from his boat
and washing up on a ‘desert island’ with amnesia. She said once his memory
returned he asked Kevin to step aside, but Kevin refused.  

My testimony pretty much blew that
story out of the water, and it was corroborated by Todd Barker, various members
of the DigiSystems board of directors, and even Kevin’s executive assistant
who’d been privy to his campaign to convince Lisa Marie to vote for selling the
company. By the trial date, DigiSystems had been sold to a competitor and many
of the former employees were busy putting up mini-mansions on Lake Washington,
east of Seattle. To them, Kevin McGillvary was a martyr—a guy who’d sacrificed
his life for the greater good.

No one sided with Brad Sanders,
even though without Brad’s original vision and relentless passion they’d all
still be writing code and eating Top Ramen.

Since Hawaii doesn’t have the death
penalty for any crime—even capital murder—Brad was sentenced to life in a
maximum security prison. I like to think he keeps himself busy conducting
Computer 101 classes for guys with shaved heads and biceps bristling with
tattoos, but that’s because I always prefer the Disney ending. More than likely
though, prison life for him is a never-ending gauntlet. He probably considers
it a good day if he makes it from sun-up to sun-down without requiring medical
attention.   

At trial, Brad pleaded the fifth on
a lot of things but he did cop to breaking into my shop and taking my file box.
He said he did it to retrieve the wedding license he’d taken out with Lisa
Marie. He stopped short of admitting to arson, and the fire investigator ruled
it ‘inconclusive’ so who knows?

Farrah and I managed to prevent
Tank’s efforts to turn our building into a parking garage. We were stunned when
a throng of local folks showed up to protest the condemnation order. It was the
first time rampant development on Maui had ever been dealt a serious blow.
Maybe at long last people here aren’t buying the sweet talk about how economic
growth always trumps culture and history. Maybe they’re finally sick and tired
of seeing everything our forefathers and foremothers held dear getting scraped away
by bulldozers.

And Hatch? Well, that’s another
story in itself. Come to find out he didn’t just up and quit the police force
because he wanted to be a firefighter hero. Seems heartbreak and guilt played a
big role in his decision. Once we both cast aside our need to BS each other, he
told me the truth. And knowing the truth was a huge step in giving our
relationship a chance.

From where I’m sitting now, it
looks to me like a very
good
chance.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There are always a bunch of people
who help get a book out. Some aren’t even aware of how much they helped. But,
even at the risk of forgetting someone, I’m going to take a shot at naming a
few names. Thanks to Deputy Chief (he’s probably chief by now) Mike Ciraulo for
teaching me a thing or two about firefighting; and to Amy Roth for clearing up
a question about the TSA and private aircraft. Also thanks to Marianne Gaertner
for taking me up to the Kula lavender farm, and to Chef Bev Gannon of the
Hali’imaile General Store for chatting with me about the area and for giving me
a great reason to drive completely across the island just to have lunch. Closer
to home, I’d like to thank local friends such as Bev Wake, Diana Paul, and Deb
Migdalski who kept pestering me to “finish the book,” and not-so-close to
home—but close in other ways—my friends Sue Cook and Wendy Lester with whom I
share an interesting past. Also a big
mahalo
to my friend and fellow
writer, Jackie Edwards aka Nora Barker, who did the final copyedit and usually
offered to drive because she had the hybrid. Finally, a lifetime of thanks to
my DH, Tom, who read draft after draft and never complained.

And, my warmest
aloha
to
you, my readers. Without you, these hours at the computer would just be me
whistling in the dark.

Also by JoAnn Bassett: MAI TAI
BUTTERFLY, available at Amazon.com or in all e-book formats.