Wedding Day Dead: A Murder on Maui Mystery (19 page)

“I’m sorry, but I really need to get going,” I said.

“You sure there’s nothing I can do to convince you?”

“Some other time,” I said.

I managed to pry myself off the sofa and made my way to the door. Daphne opened it for me. I turned to her to say goodbye and found her standing just a couple of feet from me. It was a clear invasion of personal space.

“I’m glad we worked this out,” she said.

“I am too.”

I backed away from her and walked outside. I did my best to walk casually to my car. Once I reached it, I turned and waved goodbye to her. It was a close call.

I left the house and drove to Wailuku, which is where the district court is located. Hani’s criminal arraignment was scheduled for that afternoon. I knew Alana would be there, and I didn’t want her to have to sit through it alone.

I arrived at the courthouse early. Alana was already there. She was in the front row behind the defendant’s table. I slipped in the space beside her. She nodded to me. We sat through a few other arraignments that had been scheduled before Hani’s. It was amazing how fast they blew through those things.

Then Hani was led out from the back and escorted to the table. She looked at Alana and me but didn’t say anything.

A tall woman with dark red hair joined Hani at the table. She looked about forty-five years old. She had an air of confidence about her that was immediately apparent even to the most casual viewer.

“That’s Mara Winters, Hani’s attorney,” Alana whispered to me.

The attorney said a few things to Hani, and then she turned around and acknowledged Alana.

“Alana,” she said.

Alana shook hands with Mara.

“Thanks for doing this for us,” Alana said.

Mara nodded and turned back around before Alana could introduce me.

Then the show began.

The judge asked the prosecutor to outline the charges against Hani. He described the murder of Panos and the evidence against Hani. It didn’t take long considering there wasn’t much of a case, or maybe this just wasn’t the time to go too in depth. The judge asked Hani how she pled to the charges, and Mara Winters answered for her.
Not Guilty.

The prosecution asked the judge to deny bail. He pointed to the heinous nature of the crime and described Hani as a potential flight risk since she no longer lived on Maui. Mara Winters informed the judge that Hani still owned a house here and intended to relocate back to the island. She also described Hani’s strong ties to the community, including her sister, a local, respected police detective. The judge, however, agreed with the prosecutor and denied bail. The judge set a preliminary date for the trial. The gavel came down, and Hani was escorted out of the courtroom. The whole thing had been almost
as speedy as the few cases that were before hers. There was an impressive efficiency to the event, but I couldn’t help but feel the wheels of justice were running over her in their haste.

We followed Mara Winters into the lobby of the courthouse. Alana introduced me to her.

“Are you surprised they denied bail?” I asked.

“Unfortunately no. This judge is a tough one,” Mara said.

“So what now?” I asked.

“We start building her defense.”

“What do you think her chances are?” Alana asked.

“Good. We both feel the evidence is weak. I know this prosecutor. He’s not the best there is. I’ve beaten him the few times I’ve gone against him. I assume that’s why you asked me to represent Hani.”

“I did my research,” Alana said.

“I don’t doubt it. I need to get back to the office. I’ll be in touch soon.”

Mara turned to me.

“It was nice meeting you,” she said.

“Pleasure to meet you as well. Wish it was under different circumstances,” I said.

Mara nodded and headed out of the courthouse.

Alana turned to me.

“Thanks for being here,” she said.

“It was no problem.”

Then Alana broke down. It was completely unexpected, and it came without warning. She’s a tough woman, stronger than anyone I’ve ever met, but it was only a matter of time before the emotions overwhelmed her.

I pulled her against my chest and wrapped my arms around her. She sobbed. I didn’t know if people gawked at us or not. I really didn’t care. I wanted so badly to tell her something that would make her feel better, but I had nothing.

XVI

An Interesting Turn of Events

T
he next morning I decided I needed another heart-to-heart with Hani. I preferred Alana not be there because I thought her presence had an influence on Hani, but I didn’t want to go behind Alana’s back either. I sent her a text message and let her know what time I was going to see Hani. She wrote me back and said she’d meet me there. So much for a private meeting.

On the drive over, I thought about my encounter the day before with the lovely Daphne. I couldn’t figure out why she tried to seduce me. It wasn’t too overt. She didn’t actually kiss me or anything, but it was an obvious flirtation to anyone with half a brain.

Part of me wanted to believe she simply found me irresistible, but the less egotistical side of me knew she wanted me to end the investigation. But why? Every indication told me she loved her brother and wanted his killer to spend the rest of his or her life behind bars. I couldn’t fathom she actually thought Hani was that person.

I wondered, though, if I was fooling myself. Did I want Hani to be innocent because she was Alana’s sister? I didn’t know if this investigation and my potential success at it was just my way of convincing Alana I was the guy she should be with. I thought back to the rehearsal party and the kiss I saw Alana share with Panos. My mind was flooded with questions. Could I get past that kiss? Could I learn to trust Alana again? Can we ever trust anyone 100 percent? What happens if you trust someone 95 percent? Is that really trust?

Unfortunately, none of these questions were answered by the time I got to the jail. Interestingly enough, Alana wasn’t there. I waited several minutes
and then sent her another text message. I got no reply. I waited for a few more minutes and then went inside.

Hani seemed different this time. It was way more than the baggy orange suit. I noticed during my visits with the jailed Foxx that there seemed to be different emotional stages of being imprisoned, much like there are stages of grief.

The first stage is the freak-out mode where you can’t believe you’re actually being arrested. It usually kicks in the moment they slap the handcuffs on you, as if everything up to that point was merely a threat you believed the police officer had no intention of carrying out.

The second stage happens after you’ve been booked at the police station. You’ve just had your fingerprints and your mug shot taken, and now you’re pleading with everyone you know to somehow magically get you out.

The third stage is desperation. You’re in jail, and you’re surrounded by drug dealers, thieves, rapists, and derelicts of society. You know you don’t belong, at least you think you don’t belong, and you hope there’s still a chance for someone to get you out soon. You beg people for updates and convince them that there’s got to be some option for freedom that everyone’s simply overlooked. Maybe you think there’s a magical piece of evidence that will be revealed. Maybe you pray the cop will find the real culprit.

The fourth stage is a combination of resignation, depression, and a general feeling of hopelessness and despair. It’s finally sunk in that you’re not getting out any time soon, and you feel like the weight of the whole world is crushing you. That’s the stage Hani currently seemed to be in. She looked even smaller now. She was defeated, like someone who put every nickel she owned on black and the wheel came up red. She was quiet, and she had trouble looking at me.

I sat down in a chair opposite her in the visitation room. We sat in silence for a few moments. I fought the urge to ask her how she was doing. The answer was obvious, but we always seem to feel the need to ask the question.

The visitation room was crowded and noisy. I had taken a quick look at everyone when I entered. There was lots of emotional devastation to spare. Most of the imprisoned women looked hard. I didn’t know how Hani was going to make it. Hani eventually thanked me for coming and asked where Alana was. I told her I didn’t know but assumed some unexpected police business probably kept her away.

“I met with Aaron Tench,” I said.

Hani nodded.

“How well do you know him?” I asked.

“Not well. I only met him a few times.”

“Really? I thought he and Panos had been best friends.”

“I wasn’t really around Panos that much here on Maui. We really didn’t start dating until I moved to L.A.”

“So Panos just decided to visit you in L.A. and things took off from there?”

“Something like that,” she said.

“Come on, Hani. Alana’s not here. Tell me how it really happened.”

Hani hesitated.

“I’m not going to judge you,” I continued. “I really wouldn’t care under normal circumstances, but I need to understand the dynamics of everything.”

“You won’t tell her?” Hani asked.

“No. I’m not here as Alana’s spy.”

“I was with Panos a few times when he was dating Alana,” she said. “I met him when Alana invited me to a party he was throwing. We hit it off, and he asked for my number.”

“And then you eventually left Maui, and he followed you?” I asked.

“Basically.”

Hani’s a clever lady,
I thought. By getting Panos to follow her, she eliminated the competition, and she made herself more desirable by playing hard to get.

“I’m sure you knew about Shae and the other women. Why did you stay with him?” I asked.

“Because I loved him,” she said.

“Daphne thinks you were only interested in Panos for his trust fund.”

“She can think whatever the hell she wants. It’s not true,” Hani said.

I didn’t believe that for a second. I’m sure Hani didn’t believe it either, or maybe she was just self-deluded enough to think that.

“Did Panos ask you to sign a prenup?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Did you sign it?”

“Not at first. I was really offended.”

Most people would be,
I thought. Marriage was a legal contract, though, so shouldn’t the financial aspects be worked out too? Wouldn’t it be more prudent
to do that before the wedding? But I understood the emotional aspect of it to. It doesn’t seem like a good omen to already be planning your potential divorce before you even walk down the aisle.

“What made your eventually sign it?” I asked.

“He refused to get married without it.”

“Did you have a lawyer look over it?”

“Yes, one I found in Los Angeles.”

“There’s something else I need to ask, and it’s a pretty sensitive subject, so please forgive me. Aaron Tench said you were pregnant but lost the baby.”

Hani paused a moment, and then nodded.

“Now you’re going to ask me if that’s why Panos agreed to marry me,” she said.

I said nothing.

“He wasn’t happy when I told him, but he came around. He even became pretty excited after a while. Then I lost the baby.”

“Did you guys talk about cancelling the wedding after that?”

“Once. Panos was drunk. He became depressed when I’d lost the baby. He told me there was no reason to get married anymore. The next morning, I told him I was leaving him. We were separated for a couple of weeks, and then he asked me to marry him again. He said he didn’t want to lose me.”

So far everything she’d told me backed up Tench’s story.

“How well do you know Daphne?” I asked.

“I barely spent any time with her.”

“Did she ever visit you two?” I asked.

“Never. I saw her a couple of times when we got back, but she wasn’t interested in helping with the wedding, which was fine by me.”

“Back to Aaron Tench for a minute. How is it possible he and Panos were best friends when you hardly know him?”

“I kind of got the impression he and Panos had a falling out.”

“Do you know what it was over?” I asked.

“Not really. Panos made a comment once that he thought Aaron was jealous of him.”

“Aaron told me he spoke to Panos a few times a week, even after he moved away.”

“I don’t remember him calling at all, but I wasn’t around Panos twenty-four hours a day.”

“What about Jim, the chef who worked at Panos’ restaurant. Did Panos mention him when you two came back to Maui?”

“No, Panos said he needed to talk to Wes at some point, but he didn’t say anything about Jim.”

“Did you know Jim attacked Panos in the kitchen because of an argument over Shae?”

Hani looked away, and I took that as a confirmation.

“You said Panos mentioned he needed to talk to Wes. Did he say anything specific about the meeting?”

“Not really. I figured it was about the business.”

“Why do you think Panos ignored Wes? Did he not care about the business?”

“When you get millions every year for doing nothing, why would you care about a tiny restaurant in Maui? I don’t know why Panos invested in that thing to begin with. He got bored so easily. I knew his interest in the restaurant would never last. Wes was a fool to think it would.”

“Did you hear about Wes ever threatening to harm Panos?”

“No, Panos never said anything about it. We hardly ever talked about Wes at all.”

“So Panos never mentioned anything about anyone threatening him?”

Hani turned back to me.

“Don’t you think I would have told you or Alana if he did?” she asked.

It was a stupid question, but I was grasping at straws. I still had a long list of suspects but no solid evidence against anyone, except Hani.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“There’s no reason to be,” I said.

“Makani came to see me yesterday,” she said.

Now that was a surprise,
I thought.

“What did he say?”

“He asked me how I was doing. Said he was sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” I asked.

“That I was in here.”

“Why did you leave him?”

“I really loved him, but when I looked at our future, I could tell you exactly how our life would play out. There would be no surprises. It would be a life
without stress but also one with no adventure. I knew Panos was cheating on me, but he offered me something I could never get on my own.”