Dying for a Daiquiri (22 page)

Did the driver of the ATV intend to kill me or just delay me from investigating any further? As far as anyone knew, I was supposed to fly home the next day. Did I possess some critical knowledge pertaining to the murders? Even if I still hadn’t figured out what it was yet?

Much as I hated to admit it, the most likely suspect had to be Steve. I sank deeper into the bath, my sigh so robust a bevy of bubbles floated out of the tub. The ship captain had employed Keiki on several occasions. I found that photo of the dancer in his bedroom. Although he hadn’t come right out and said he was interested in her, he admitted he’d found Keiki enticing. It would have been easy for Steve to frame Regan, or his best friend, Dave. Plus he’d invited me on board the
Sea Jinx
the night I almost drowned.

The final nail in the coffin I felt like shoving him into was that he knew I would be at Waipi’o Valley today.

I jumped out of the tub and grabbed one of the oversized fluffy white towels from the rack. The relaxing heat from the bath was nothing compared to the white-hot anger that surged through my body toward the person who’d tried to kill me.

I needed to stop him before he did any more harm to me. Or to anyone else.

Imagine my astonishment when I arrived at the hotel restaurant to dine with my mother, Dave, Stan, and a surprise guest.

Steve. The man I’d recently voted most likely to be our killer.

As I slid into the vacant chair between Steve and Stan, I sent a “what the heck were you thinking” look across the table to my brother. He threw his palms up indicating he was as clueless as I was.

My mother provided the answer to the question in our eyes. “I ran into Steve in the lobby and invited him to dine with us. I knew you wouldn’t want to leave without spending some time together, Laurel.”

Steve casually placed his arm along the back of my chair. I shot him an accusing look. He either didn’t recognize an accusatory stare or he was an exceptional actor.

“Your mother’s timing was perfect,” Steve said. “I dropped by because I wanted to talk to both you and Dave.”

How convenient, since I also wanted to talk to him. “How was your snorkel expedition today?” I hoped my question would catch him off guard and he would reveal his true whereabouts this morning.

“We had a decent turnout,” he said. “We were a little short-handed, but I think everyone had a good time.” His knee touched mine ever so slightly. “Of course, it would have been more fun if you were on board serving drinks.”

Steve winked at me. “Wearing that attractive tablecloth.”

I blushed at his distracting compliment. Focus, Laurel. I twisted in my seat and stared at him, trying to ascertain if he was lying. “So you weren’t at Waipi’o Valley this morning?”

Steve looked at me as if I was suffering Alzheimer’s symptoms. “No, remember, I told you last night we had an early morning sail. Your mother mentioned you had a slight accident. Those ATV’s can be tricky when you’re a beginner.”

“They can be especially difficult if someone tries to kill you.”

“What?” Steve and my mother gasped simultaneously. I forgot that Dave and I decided to inform my mother I’d had a minor accident, not that someone had forced me to learn rock climbing in one not-so-easy lesson.

“The driver of one of the ATVs intentionally rammed me,” I apologized to my mother. “We didn’t want to upset you.”

“I don’t understand.” Her face turned whiter than the napkin resting on her lap. “Who would do such a thing?”

“Someone who knew we would be riding ATV’s in Waipi’o today,” Dave said. “That leaves one person we know of.” He leaned forward, his expression fierce as he glowered at his best friend. “We told Steve where we were going last night.”

Steve’s expression quickly changed from confusion to a mix of disbelief and anger. “You thought I had something to do with it? That I attacked Laurel on her ATV? Are you kidding me, pal?”

Steve rose from his chair and threw his napkin on the table as he glared in my direction. “And here I thought you were beginning to have feelings for me. I sure do know how to pick them.” He turned to my mother. “Barbara, thank you for your invitation, but I think it’s time for me to leave. Good night, all.”

Steve strode out of the restaurant and into the lobby without a backwards glance. Stan threw me a guilty look. “You might want to stop him. Don’t forget we told Keiki’s parents we were going on the ATV ride. I also told Tiffany. And a guy at the front desk I was kind of flirting with last night.”

Hmmm. Now that I thought about it, I’d also told Ritz about our trip, and he could have shared it with anyone. Geez. Was there anyone on the island who
didn’t
know our travel plans?

Dave shot out of his chair and zipped around the tables, chairs and servers to catch up with Steve. In the space of a week, Dave had lost an employee and possibly his wife. Now it looked like we’d chased away his best friend.

I followed in Dave’s wake. I felt horrible that we’d accused Steve of attacking me when all our evidence consisted of was my suspicious nature and the crumpled photo of Keiki I’d found in his closet.

I was an even worse detective than Inspector Clouseau.

I hustled as fast as I could, but every inch of my thighs and calves ached. I finally caught up to Dave and Steve arguing in the lobby. I shoved myself between the two men. “Hey, guys, stop right there.” Dave’s face was almost as red as his receding hair and beard. Steve was tight-lipped and cool, but he didn’t try to leave.

I ordered them to follow me to a grouping of chairs in the lobby. Dave collapsed into one of the soft cushioned seats while Steve remained upright and tense.

“Look, Steve, I can see why you’re upset.” I cringed as my bruised booty made contact with one of the smaller settees. “We thought there was a ton of evidence pointing in your direction.”

Steve lifted a brow. “Anything you could have shared with me before I vaulted to the top of your suspect list?”

“Look, man,” Dave said. “We found a photo of Keiki in your closet the other night.”

“Why were you going through my things?” Steve’s reply was cooler than a cup of Hawaiian shaved ice.

“Dave and I were sitting on your lanai talking,” I explained, trying to mend the rift I’d created between the two men. “The breeze from the ocean picked up, and I felt chilled, so he suggested I borrow a jacket from your closet. When the sliding door jammed on a piece of paper, I grabbed it and saw it was a photo of Keiki.”

“That’s your evidence? Good thing you aren’t applying for a job with the Hawaii police department,” Steve said. “Keiki asked me to take some photos of her a while ago. I use a professional camera for the cruise passengers’ pictures. She was submitting an application to be a contestant for that reality show they’re taping at Koffee Land.”

Dave chimed in with his own accusations. “We also told you about the ATV trip.”

Steve ran his hand through his unruly blond hair. “I mentioned to the gang at poker last night that your group was going up there. I’ve never taken the ATV ride and I was curious if anyone else had been on it. You didn’t say it was a secret.”

Dave and I exchanged glances.

“Who was at the poker game?” I asked.

“The usual suspects.” Steve smiled slightly. “I didn’t mean it that way. Or maybe I did. My crew was all there. Plus Rick, the guitar player, and a musician friend of his he brought along. That’s one of the reasons I wanted Dave to participate. I knew you were concerned about your sister falling off the boat, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to discover if my crew saw anything suspicious that night. Or if someone would admit to pushing Laurel, either intentionally or accidentally. Beer is an excellent accelerant in getting a confession.”

Dave shrugged. “That wasn’t a half-bad idea. I wish you’d told me about it in advance.”

Steve frowned. “You never gave me a chance. You insisted on returning to the hotel, remember.”

I sure did remember. Boy, I sucked at detective work.

“Did you learn anything from the guys?” I asked.

Steve nodded. “That’s why I drove down to the hotel to see you tonight. Timmy normally joins us for our Friday night game, but he didn’t show last night. I figured with everyone well lubricated, I could bring up your concerns about being pushed and maybe lure them into revealing something.”

“Did your plan work?” I asked.

“It was a very successful fishing expedition.”

“What did you use as bait?” I asked.

Steve’s smile managed to be both sexy and sincere as he replied, “You.”

I leaned back into the cushions. “What?”

He winked at me. “I told the guys how much I enjoyed your company. That I was trying to woo you back on the boat again but after your last life-threatening experience, you refused. I think the guys really felt my pain.”

Hmmm. They should feel
my
pain!

“After a few beers Rick finally admitted he might have seen something.”

“Why didn’t he say anything before?” I asked.

“Rick had gone back up on the deck looking for his cell. He figured he must have left it behind when they were playing. The rain was coming down heavy and visibility was difficult, but he thought he saw you at the stern. Then less than a minute later when he located his phone, he looked up but only saw Timmy in the same area. He didn’t think about it again until we realized you were the one who’d gone overboard. When you showed up okay––” Steve stopped as I glared at him. “Well, not entirely okay, but at least you were alive. Rick figured there was no need to say anything more, especially since he didn’t see anything conclusive.”

“Did Rick question Timmy about it?” Dave asked.

Steve shook his head. “Rick and Timmy aren’t exactly call buds. But he apologized to me for not mentioning anything earlier.”

“Remember that night on the boat when I first encountered Timmy below deck, I saw him shove some packages in a small locker and put a padlock on it. Is there any chance he’s selling drugs?”

Steve sighed and looked pained. “I didn’t want to believe it when you first mentioned it, but you may be on to something. Timmy not only didn’t show up for the poker game last night, he never showed up for the sail today. And he never called in. With Amanda off on that reality show gig, we ended up short-handed.”

I pondered how easy it would have been for Timmy to learn about our ATV ride from one of the crew. Very easy, it seemed. I was about to question Steve further when Stan interrupted us. “Regan’s on the phone for you, Dave. She said you weren’t answering your cell so she called your mother.”

Dave leaned over and shook hands with Steve before following Stan back to the restaurant.

I stood and smoothed my sundress, prepared to follow my brother.

“Please sit,” Steve said. “I have something to say.”

I plopped back on the loveseat half wishing I could hide beneath the overstuffed cushions. I was embarrassed we’d accused Steve of murder, although my theory seemed so plausible a few minutes earlier. Steve parked himself next to me, his muscular thigh pressed against mine. For a minute, we sat in silence. The lilting sound of Hawaiian music drifted up from the bar below. Steve leaned close. The tips of his fingers grazed my reddening cheeks as he tucked an errant curl behind my ear.

My eyes widened as I realized he was about to kiss me, and there was a strong possibility I would kiss him back.

The sound of someone clearing his throat behind us broke the spell. I shifted closer to the side of the small sofa, unsure if I was relieved at the interruption or not. What would Tom say if he could see me now?

Seconds later, I had the answer to that question.

“Tom!” I squealed as I jumped up. “What are you doing here?”

“I might ask you the same question.” The detective’s angry eyes darted back and forth between Steve and me.

I was so eager to greet Tom that I almost climbed over the loveseat, but I’d already fallen over a cliff today. I didn’t need to add to my collection of bruises by falling on top of Tom. I zipped around the sofa anxious to jump into his welcoming arms.

That’s when I noticed
no
arms were reaching out to welcome me. Instead, Tom stood rigid, his arms folded, right foot tapping, and eyes sparking with outrage.

Steve also stood, arms folded, left foot tapping. They resembled a set of matching angry bookends. I had a feeling neither Dear Abby nor her sister, Ann Landers, ever encountered a situation like this.

For some reason it’s either raining men or I’m in the midst of a three-year drought.

Fortunately, Stan arrived to save me.

“Tom, boy do we need you,” Stan said. “Your girlfriend almost went home in a body bag today.”

Trust Stan to find a way to stop everyone in the lobby.

His remark fortunately distracted Tom from the vision of me cuddled up next to the good-looking captain.

Within seconds, my toes dangled above the marble floor as Tom lifted me, enveloping me in his muscular arms. He smelled like a mixture of lime and musk, but with an exotic hint of plumeria added to the mix. Our lips fused together, and every ache and pain from the day’s misadventures disappeared.

Heat coursed through my body, and we probably would have stood melded together all night if a few spectators hadn’t started clapping. Tom gently set me down and I reluctantly untangled my arms from around his neck.

“Are congratulations in order?” yelled one woman, pointing at her left hand.

Tom’s face colored and he shook his head. Despite my state of euphoria from that sizzling kiss, I was disappointed at how quickly he’d responded in the negative.

I glanced in Steve’s direction. He leaned against a column, his expression quizzical. My own expression wasn’t any less questioning. I turned to Tom. “How did you get here?”

He flapped his arms. “I flew.”