Dying for a Daiquiri (26 page)

We arrived at Koffee Land and found a temporary barrier blocking the entrance. A sign indicated the coffee plantation was closed to the public this week. How did I forget the reality show began filming today? Should I warn Lee to be discreet? No blue lights flashing or sirens blaring?

Tom and Stan moved the barrier so it only partially blocked the driveway. That way Henry could get in as well as the police, assuming they were interested in my nocturnal musings. When we drove up to the parking lot, we found it filled with vans, trucks, cars, and people.

“Do you think we can watch them tape the show?” Stan asked me, eyes hopeful. Reality TV trumped detecting as far as my pal was concerned.

“I don’t have a clue,” I replied as we walked up the sidewalk to the entrance. The door to the center bore a “closed” sign, but when I pushed on the door, it opened. My sister-in-law knew we were coming, so they must have posted the notice for any tourists who ignored the driveway blockade.

I walked through the deserted center calling out Regan’s name. Victor’s and Regan’s offices were vacant, as was what I assumed was Ritz’s office, far grander than the other two. Plus a bigger clue: the walls were loaded with plaques and trophies engraved with his name.

“Maybe everyone is out on the set,” Tom said.

That’s why he’s the top guy in the sheriff’s department. And in my heart.

“Sounds like the perfect excuse to visit the pavilion. Stan will be thrilled. I just hope he doesn’t try to win the bachelor for himself.”

We bumped into Ritz on our way out of the center. He informed us that the building was supposed to be closed since all of the staff was out on the set.

“Do you think we can watch them shoot the show?” I asked Ritz as he locked up the center.

“This is a closed set so we’re not supposed to have any visitors, but I guess you’re family of sorts. Just keep quiet once we get over that rise.”

Running into Ritz was a convenient coincidence since my coffee questions had been percolating in my mind all night. Along with thoughts of the killer.

“Ritz,” I said, “your operation is so amazing. I don’t know how you’ve managed to maintain the quantity and quality of your coffee production on top of your other expansion plans.”

Ritz puffed out his chest, clad today in a silky taupe aloha shirt and paired with taupe trousers. I wondered if the man even owned a pair of jeans. My gaze drifted to Tom’s cute denim-clad tush, as he and my mother walked ahead of us.

That man was born to wear jeans. And some day I wanted to be the one to take them off him.

Back to my burning coffee questions. “Do you store all of your beans on the property? Ever use other temporary storage facilities?”

He shook his head. “No, we have plenty of space for our current crop. In fact, we have enough capacity to double production. That insidious borer beetle finally hit us this year so Victor has had his hands full ensuring only a small percentage of our acreage has been affected. Thank goodness for his expertise managing our crops.”

If Ritz only knew that Victor’s expertise may have diverted coffee beans away from Koffee Land and into his own hands. I wondered what drove the long-term employee to cheat his boss. Did it have anything to do with his family? Perhaps it was expensive supporting Kiana? And what about Keiki? Did she factor into Victor’s theft?

Or did Victor factor into her murder? I couldn’t imagine Victor killing his stepdaughter. The grief in his eyes appeared to be real.

But so was Keiki’s murder. Very very real.

The pavilion area looked exactly how I expected a reality TV show set to look.

Pandemonium in paradise.

Cameras, computers and people everywhere. In the pavilion itself, a dozen young women in colorful outfits chatted with one another. It didn’t look like anyone, much less the four of us, would be noticed in the melee.

I finally spotted Regan and Tiffany, both recognizable by their lime green Koffee Land shirts.

I turned to Ritz. “I see Regan but I don’t want to interrupt her. Do you know who that woman is?” I pointed to an elegant Chinese woman dressed in a summery silk suit who conversed with one of the camera crew.

“You don’t know Stacey Leung-Crawford?” Ritz’s tone indicated his admiration for the woman.

No, that was a name I would definitely remember.

“She used to be the evening news reporter for KXXA news in Honolulu.”

“I haven’t had time to watch the local news.” Except for the terrible evening when the police arrested my brother, which miraculously did not make the late night news.

“Stacey is a big deal on the island, and one of the producers of
The Bride and the Bachelor
. She hopes it will be hugely successful and make national prime time. I think Stacey is determined to make national prime time herself. Follow me. I’ll introduce you.”

I was more than happy to follow Ritz, and my detective trio trailed behind us. The female contestants and Jacques Cointreau, the male star, stood near what appeared to be a refreshments tent. He looked hot which wasn’t surprising given the above normal temperatures today. The Bachelor chugged half a bottle of water then dumped the rest on his head. The water did nothing to mar Jacques’s striking good looks and bronzed, muscled body.

Quite the contender. If I were twenty years, twenty pounds and two kids lighter, I’d have auditioned for the show myself.

Not really, I thought, stealing a glance at Tom. Our last two days together had given me renewed hope for our relationship. Maybe one of these days the two of us would star in our own bride and bachelor reality show. But without millions of viewers looking on.

A couple of men wearing Koffee Land polo shirts stood under the zip-line tower. “Are the contestants taking a zip-line ride today?” I asked Ritz.

“Yes, that is one of the reasons we had to rush construction,” he replied. “The final inspection was completed Friday so the inaugural ride will be today. Jacques will zip with five of the women.” Ritz pointed to the sky where a helicopter was flying in from the south. “They can film the ride from above. Isn’t it amazing?”

He was right. It truly was remarkable. These girls were lucky. Even if they didn’t land a husband, they would still have the adventure of a lifetime.

Ritz tapped the famous island newscaster on her pink silk shoulder. She whirled, a look of annoyance crossing her delicate features. Seeing Ritz, her expression changed from irritation to delight. She leaned forward to let the elegant plantation owner air kiss each of her perfectly made-up cheeks.

“Ritz, you wonderful man, what a breathtaking spot you have here. I’m so glad you suggested it for our show.”

“But of course. Koffee Land has everything one could desire.”

Stacey’s gaze drifted over to Tom Hunter, who was eying her with his usual cool composure.

“And who is
this
handsome man?” Stacey widened heavily mascaraed eyes as she questioned Tom. “Are you interested in auditioning for our next
Bride and the Bachelor
show?

Tom smiled and crossed his hands in front of each other in a “no way” gesture. “Nope. I’m not an actor. Just a tourist.”

She smiled a brilliant smile of her own and reached into an off-white lizard handbag that screamed Prada. “Here’s my card in case you change your mind. You have a natural attractiveness. The women will eat you up.”

Hey. The only woman who got to eat Tom up was me, and I wasn’t sharing my dinner. I introduced myself to Stacey, who merely nodded. She didn’t hand over a business card so she evidently didn’t anticipate any male contenders noshing on me.

When Ritz and Stacey left to find the reality show’s director, Regan and Tiffany joined our group. My sister-in-law looked tired, but happier than I’d seen her since our arrival.

I nudged her arm. “How’s Dave?”

“He’s fine. We were up late last night, um, talking.” Regan giggled. “I told him to sleep in. He should be here any time though. He wanted to participate in catching…” she stopped when she realized Tiffany was absorbing every word. “Tif, honey, why don’t you check out the food tent and see if they need refills on coffee or anything.”

Tiffany smiled and bounded off toward the tent.

Regan shook her head. “Ah, youth. Dave wanted to be here when the police arrested Henry.” She spun around, her expression puzzled. “I haven’t seen Detective Lee yet. Didn’t you call him?”

“I left three messages. I don’t know whether something more important came up or if he decided Henry isn’t a viable suspect. Did Henry pick up his pay check yet?”

“It’s tucked away so he can’t grab it and run. Ritz said Henry was coming by to make sure everything was okay for the initial run.” She chewed on her thumb. “It’s still difficult for me to believe Henry would kill Joey and Keiki because he was worried about his reputation. Tom, do you think we could be wrong about Henry?”

“Hey, you know my position. I think you should all stay out of the detective’s way and let him solve this case,” Tom said. “I’m just here to make sure Laurel doesn’t do anything stu…” he stumbled then finished, “stupendous.”

“Nice save,” Stan remarked.

“Weeks of practice,” Tom shot back.

Men. Gay or straight. They were all annoying at times. I turned my back on both of them and glanced around to see what the contestants were up to now. The women, all equally adorable ranged from petite to tall and sported hairdos that ran the gamut from short blonde bobs to long ebony manes. The pavilion looked like a mini-United Nations with a myriad of ethnicities represented.

Amanda caught my eye and waved. The vivacious marine expert appeared to be in her element. I grabbed Tom’s hand and led him over. Between the beautiful contestants and Ms. Leung-Chandler, I wasn’t leaving Tom alone for a second. Otherwise, before I knew it, he’d be signed up as the poster boy for the
The Bride and the Bachelor
,
Cougar Edition
.

“Hi, Laurel, isn’t this exciting?” Amanda eyed Tom curiously and I introduced him as my boyfriend from California.

She furrowed her brow. “Does Steve know you have a boyfriend back home?”

My face colored and I diverted the conversation to something safer than my love life. “Did Steve find someone to help out while you’re shooting the show?”

“Timmy finally showed up for last night’s sunset sail so Steve said he could fill in for me temporarily. Steve was really ticked off about his disappearance. But Timmy has listened to my lectures for months now so he should be okay. I feel kind of bad about taking off for the show.”

“Where did Timmy go?”

Amanda’s eyes opened wide. She looked left then right as if she were about to disclose a state secret. “I asked him about it, but he said it would be better if I didn’t know. He had things to take care of. Something about his family’s honor, whatever that means.”

“So he’s been gone since Friday?” I mulled over Timmy’s disappearance for the last three days. Where had the young man gone, and what had he been up to? Too bad he hadn’t shared anything with Amanda.

“Do you get to ride on the zip-line today?” I asked.

“No, I was a last-minute substitution and the girls were already selected for the zip-lining. Jacques and I are going to picnic at the beach instead.” Her green eyes grew misty. “I think a picnic will be so much more romantic.”

She stared at the bachelor, her gaze intent. “Once he and I are alone, we can really make progress in our relationship. I’m sure none of these other girls have researched him like I have. We’re a perfect match.”

Amanda noticed Stacey Leung-Crawford beckoning to her. “Oops, gotta run.” She raced off to join the bevy of beauties heading to the viewing deck. We wished her luck then walked back to join Stan, Mother and Regan.

“Henry’s here,” Regan said. “He and Victor walked by a few minutes ago. I swear Victor looks like he’s aged a decade. Keiki’s death has really shaken him. I hope he doesn’t fall apart if Henry is arrested.”

“Does Victor need to be here today?” I asked.

“He wants to ensure the camera crew doesn’t go into any areas where our current crops are planted. We don’t need any more crop infestation. I was reviewing the numbers Victor provided from last week’s cherry picking, and they totally suck.”

I had a feeling the sucky numbers had more to do with the excess coffee in Victor’s garage than a beetle colony residing at Koffee Land.

“Has anyone ever stolen beans from Koffee Land?” I asked Regan.

She frowned. “Are you worried some of the film crew or contestants might try to break into our warehouse and steal beans? The building is locked and no one has access other than Ritz, Victor and me.”

“Why would anyone want to steal coffee beans?” Stan asked. “It’s not like you can hide them in your underwear or anything.”

Regan nodded. “Yeah, all the beans are stored in hundred-pound bags. I suppose someone could break in and steal the bags from the warehouse at night. But why?”

Financial gain for one thing. And I’d just discovered the person I suspected of stealing the beans had access to the warehouse.

Was it time to get the Kona coffee crook to ’fess up?

I decided to discuss my suspicions with Regan before confronting Victor. I told her about the enormous coffee cache in his garage. She was understandably stunned. “That’s impossible. Victor would never steal from Koffee Land. This farm is his life.”

Being the pragmatic detective who dealt with criminals on a daily basis, Tom jumped into the conversation. “Circumstances can change people and turn honest men into thieves. Maybe he’s suffered some financial losses recently.”

Regan mulled over Tom’s comment. “Victor has been acting oddly the last month or so, but I thought it was due to the beetle infestation he was dealing with here. Or Joey’s death. Keiki had dated Joey on and off for several years and I knew Victor was fond of him.”

“What should we do?” asked my practical mother. “Do you want to discuss it with Ritz first?”