Maui Widow Waltz (Islands of Aloha Mystery Series) (26 page)

CHAPTER 36

A
mazingly,
Lisa Marie did as I’d asked and brought me the duct tape. I quickly trussed
Brad’s hands and feet and tossed what remained of the roll across the overlook
floor. Five minutes later I heard the sound of boots on gravel. I didn’t look
up from watching Brad, but I clearly heard only one set of footfalls coming down
the path.

As the sound of the steps changed
from gravel to concrete, I stood up, held my arms above my head in surrender
and flashed the ranger a smile. She smiled back, but it was a
gotcha
grin.
I glanced over at Lisa Marie and saw her gearing up for a performance.  

“Thank God you’re here! This woman
tried to kill my fiancé.”

Ranger Hard-Ass turned to me, her
smile so wide I thought it might dislocate her jaw. “I made a mistake in not
pursuing you when you trespassed on federal property. For that, I guess I owe
this gentleman an apology.”

She gazed at Brad’s prone body,
trussed up like a prize pig. He was dazed, but his eyes were open. He didn’t
look at her. He didn’t struggle against his restraints, but instead blew out an
irritated breath like a guy stuck in heavy traffic.

The ranger turned back to me. “As
an agent sworn to defend federal property and uphold the laws of the United
States of America, I hereby arrest you for aggravated assault, improper
restraint and kidnapping. You will remain in my custody until proper law
enforcement authorities can arrive to transport you to jail.”

I was pretty sure she was hoping
the police would take their time. No doubt this was as close to an orgasm as
Ranger Hard-Ass had had in months.

Might as well mess with her a
little. “Aren’t you supposed to read me my rights?”

“Uh, I don’t have my card with me.”

“You were never issued a Miranda
card, were you, Ranger…” I glanced at the difficult-to-read bronze name plate
over her shirt pocket. “…Masterson. In fact, you’re not a sworn federal agent
at all. You’re a gatekeeper, a ticket taker. You have no authority to arrest
me—here or anywhere else.”

Lisa Marie was observing us
closely, her face showing she wasn’t enjoying watching me not only play, but
triumph, at her favorite game. She piped up, “I don’t care whether you’re a cop
or an outhouse janitor. I need you to cut that tape off my fiancé’s hands and
feet. He’s got a plane to catch.”

Ranger Masterson whipped out a
Leatherman tool from her back pocket. I wasn’t surprised. I’d bet she had some
chew and a church-key bottle opener back there as well.

 “Don’t be so quick to free
him,” I said. “He’s a confessed murderer. And this woman,” I pointed to Lisa
Marie, “stole a car.”

Lisa Marie snorted. “Oh yeah, some
car. I don’t think it’s against the law to take a pile of crap to the dump.”
She turned to the ranger. “It didn’t have hardly any gas in it.”

Masterson glared at me, her eyes
like two steel ball bearings. “Why should I believe you?”

“Better safe than sorry, right? You
said yourself you wish you’d pursued me when I blew through your toll booth.
Now you have another chance to take precautions. Can’t hurt to leave this guy
tied up until the police arrive.”

She twisted her mouth to one side,
not pleased to be forced to agree with me.

“Maui Sheriff’s deputies have been
called and they’re en route,” she said. “I’ll secure the crime scene and
maintain physical custody until they arrive.”

Touché, Ranger Hard-Ass. Good save.

At this point, Steve appeared. “What
the hell happened here?”

“Long story,” I said. “Hatch didn’t
come with you?”

“He’s on his way. But it’s a slow
go with crutches. Why’s this guy tied up?”

 “This gentleman is the
formerly deceased Brad Sanders. It seems he asked Lisa Marie to meet him up
here. He had some paperwork for her to sign, but she wouldn’t do it.”

“Liar,” said Lisa Marie. “Brad
called me to come up here because he wanted to talk about getting married. He
felt bad about missing Valentine’s Day.”

“Ditching a wedding isn’t grounds
for a thrashing,’” said Steve. “Why’s he tied up?”

“You’ll have to ask her,” I said.

All eyes turned to Lisa Marie. She
shrugged.

“Why don’t you start by telling us
why Brad pulled a gun on you?” I said.

“Because—.” She halted. I could
imagine the little liar cells in her brain scrambling around, all talking at
the same time and bumping into each other.

“Yes? We’re waiting,” I said. I’d
seen Lisa Marie in action enough to know she wouldn’t stay stumped for long.

“Because Brad loves me so much he
wanted to get married right away by a justice of the peace and I really, really
want a fairytale wedding. When he got out the gun he was desperate to change my
mind. It was—uh, a crime of passion.”

Not one of her better snow jobs.

I shook my head. “I give that one
about a C minus. You want to tell what really happened, or do you want me to do
it?”

“I hate you! I wish I’d never met
you. You ruined everything! That ugly dress, the stupid crane picture, and then
you hired that whore for the wedding ceremony. You screwed it up so bad Brad
pretended to disappear and then he had to kill Kevin. If it hadn’t been for
you, it could’ve worked out. That company would’ve bought DigiSystems, and
Kevin would be rich, and Brad and me would be on our honeymoon instead of him working
twenty-five hours every day. It’s all your fault!”

Somewhere in that messy haystack
was the needle of truth I’d been seeking.

CHAPTER 37

H
atch
made it down the trail about ten minutes later. He looked pissed he’d been
dragged into this, but he didn’t say anything. Then another ten minutes after
that, none other than Glen Wong and his sidekick showed up. Their beefy Crown
Vic must have really screamed up Crater Road to make it that fast. Wong was
unable to hide his confusion as he took in the scene—a hog-tied man,
tear-stained Lisa Marie, and me, the so-called ‘nobody assistant’ he’d ordered
out of the Olu’olu sunroom only a few hours earlier.

 “Well, I guess we meet
again,” he said, turning to me. “This time I need to insist on seeing some
identification.”

“My ID’s in my purse and my purse
is in my car. Or at least I hope it’s still there. This woman,” I nodded at
Lisa Marie, “stole my car and my purse and drove up here. I followed her and
when I arrived I witnessed a man threatening her at gunpoint.” Just in case
there might be some confusion over what man I was talking about, I pointed down
at Brad.

“Quite an interesting story. But
until you’re able to recover your ID, why don’t you just tell me your name.”

“Certainly. I’m Pali Moon. I live
up in Hali’imaile, and I have a wedding planning business in Pa’ia.” I probably
should have said a bankrupt business in a burned-out building, but I wanted to
appear to be a respectable tax-paying citizen.

“That your full legal name?”

“That’s the name on my driver’s
license, yes.” I’d be damned if I was going to amuse this sorry lot with the
name on my birth certificate. If it showed up in a police data file, I’d deal
with it then.

“And if this person allegedly stole
your car, how did you manage to get all the way up here? Did these gentlemen
bring you?” He nodded toward Hatch and Steve.

Leave it to a detective to want to
cross all the T’s.

“No, Detective. I borrowed a car.
They arrived later in their own car.”

“And who did you ‘borrow’ a car
from?”

“From her stepmother.” I nodded
toward Lisa Marie.

“The stepmother gave you permission
to use her vehicle?” Oh great. I could see where this was headed, so I decided
to play it straight.

“Not exactly. She’s on the
mainland. But her husband hired me to keep an eye on Lisa Marie at all times,
so I was following his orders.”

“I see. Well, we’ll deal with that
later.”

“And as for you young lady,” he
looked at Lisa Marie, who was sitting on a boulder wearing the sulky look of a
teenager caught with a joint in her pocket. “I didn’t take you for a nature
lover, Miss Prescott. Fascinating to find you up here admiring the view.”

He finally went over to Brad and
crouched down beside him. “And you. Let me guess. You bear a striking
resemblance to a guy whose picture we were showing around a couple of weeks
ago. That guy disappeared off a boat and was never found. Any chance you might
know something about that? His name’s Bradley James Sanders.”

Brad grunted and turned his face
away.

“And the gun used in the alleged
assault. Where is it now?”

I reached back and pulled the Glock
from my waistband.

“You got a permit to carry?” Wong
asked.

“I was an air marshal with the
TSA.”

“Good for you, but we’re not on an
airplane. Most people new to Hawaii don’t know we’re pretty strict about folks
carrying unpermitted firearms.”

Here we go again. “Detective, I’ve
lived in Hawaii all my life. I was raised here on Maui, and I took criminology
courses at UH Manoa.”

He smiled and turned to his
partner. “Whew. Seems we’ve got a local girl who used to work for the feds.
And, she took cops and robbers classes in college. Does it get any better than
that?” The partner grinned and shook his head.

They cut the tape off of Sanders
feet and hands and replaced it with handcuffs. We were then all marched single
file up the trail to the parking lot. Hatch huddled with Wong for a few minutes
while we waited for the Maui Fire EMT’s to arrive in their fancy panel truck
fitted out for medical assistance. Wong told me he wouldn’t cite me for carrying
Lisa Marie’s gun, and he even allowed me to gather my belongings from my Geo
and return down the mountain in Steve’s car. I was ordered to appear at the
police station before going home, though.

Lisa Marie wasn’t so lucky. When
they told her she’d be riding in the police car, she howled “unfair”—adding a
few choice expletives regarding Wong’s mother—and demanded to drive her
stepmom’s car instead. Wong explained that once they’d gotten her statement
she’d be free to retrieve the Porsche at the impound lot. What he didn’t tell
her was that toting around a loaded handgun is a class A felony and he’d be
citing her for it once they got down to the station.  

Brad Sanders didn’t get to join
Lisa Marie in the cop car for the scenic ride down the mountain. The EMT’s
strapped him to a backboard and fitted him with a neck collar. They radioed the
hospital to report they were bringing in a possible concussion. They whispered
the last few sentences; probably alerting the Emergency Department this was a
criminal transport so prepare for a phalanx of cops as well.

“How’d you find me?” I asked Steve.

“Hatch figured it out. When you
didn’t call or come home by three, we got worried. I called your cell and right
away I recognized Lisa Marie’s voice. She was blabbing nonsense so I asked her
to put you on and she screamed a bunch of swear words and hung up. She wasn’t
smart enough to turn off the phone, though. Hatch got the cops to trace your
location through the embedded GPS in the phone.”

It was ironic I’d used part of Lisa
Marie’s initial deposit to pay my overdue cell bill.

I arrived at the Wailuku Police
Station assuming I’d be out of there in an hour or so, but after three hours
I’d answered the same barrage of questions, or variations thereof, at least a
dozen times. I’d also downed about five Diet Pepsis. Finally, despite the
caffeine, I was nodding off and they told me I’d be named as a witness but I
was free to go. I got a little speech about Hawaii firearms laws—which was
actually a repeat of a lecture I’d attended in college—and they warned me not
to leave the island without permission because I’d be summoned to testify at
trial.

The next morning I called Todd
Barker and gave him an abbreviated version of Monday’s events. He was quiet
when I reported Brad had been alive all along, but when I said Brad had killed
Kevin and was now facing a felony murder charge, he gasped.

“Why’d he do it?” he said.

“From what I’ve pieced together,
Brad disappeared to halt the sale of DigiSystems.  Remember you told me there
were rumors of a takeover? Well, I guess Kevin was backing the takeover and
he’d secretly convinced Lisa Marie to vote for it too. But when Brad went
missing the sale went into limbo. Then Kevin stepped in with the idea of a
proxy marriage. Marv said he’d have no trouble getting a judge to sign off on
it, and that would allow Lisa Marie to not only vote her shares, but Brad’s as
well—as his widow.”

Barker sighed. “I always held out
hope Brad might be still alive. He took DigiSystems from a spark of an idea to
a corporation worth more than three hundred million in five years. The guy’s a
freaking genius.”

“Maybe so, but don’t you think a
genius could’ve come up with a better way to hold on to his company than
bashing his partner’s brains out?” I winced. I hadn’t meant it to come out like
that.  

“I don’t know. He was just so
passionate about it. And Kevin was, well, I don’t mean to speak ill of the
dead. But his priorities were never in synch with Brad’s. For Kevin it was all
about the money.” I heard him suck in a deep breath and then let it out with a
whoosh
.
“I suppose you’re going to be testifying against Brad.”

“I have no choice. I witnessed him
confessing to Lisa Marie about the murder. And then I saw him pull a gun on
her.”

“I hear Marv Prescott offered a
reward for clearing Lisa Marie. You gonna get it?”

“Fat chance. I had to resort to
extortion just to get him to pay me his half of the wedding costs. But I’ll
survive. I’ve got friends.”

“Tell you what. I’ll tell the board
we need to shake a little reward money your way. After all, with the sale of
the company, any cash on our balance sheet will just go to the new guys anyway.
Give me your bank’s wiring instructions and I’ll send you the five grand. A
goodwill gesture, Miss Moon. Marv mentioned you’re having some cash flow
problems.”

Bells went off in my head. Barker
had been talking with Marv Prescott about
me
? And now they’re on a
chummy first-name basis?

“When did you talk to Marv
Prescott?”

“This morning. With Brad in the
slammer and Kevin gone, Lisa Marie’s our majority stockholder now —well, the
only stockholder who can vote, anyway. Marv offered to spearhead the sale of
the company for us. The next time you call here, pretty much anybody you talk
to will be a millionaire. Brad gave stock options to everybody—even the
secretaries and the cleaning crew. All those little pieces are worth a lot of
coin.”

There was an awkward pause as
neither of us seemed prepared to sign off for the final time.  

“Miss Moon, I know this may sound a
bit out of line, but I feel obliged to let you know I’ve recently gotten
engaged to be married.”

“Well, congratulations.” I managed
to put a smile in my voice. It’s simply proper etiquette to congratulate the
groom. But that didn’t keep me from conjuring up an image of a tall, busty
blond purring in his ear that she’d be
honored
to be his wife—not to
mention co-custodian of his newfound millions.

“Anyway,” he said, “for some crazy
reason, my fiancée’s adamant about getting married in Hawaii—Maui, to be
precise.”

“Smart lady.” Okay, so maybe Todd
Barker wasn’t so bad after all. The
nouveau riche
deserve a fabulous
wedding as much as anyone else. 

“How much advance notice do we need
to give you?” he said. “You know, to have you help us put on this thing.”

“I’m usually booked a couple of
months in advance, but let me know when you set the date and I’ll make sure
your wedding gets top priority. But first, a bit of advice, Todd. Aim for late
spring or summer. Winter around here can get a bit rainy.”