4 Maui Macadamia Madness (20 page)

“Can we see your
spear?” Aunt Eunice stood on tiptoe to try seeing in his house. “We need you to
bring your spear. You’ll be gone before the luau. Oh, and we need you to eat
fire.”

“What do I get out
of showing up?”

“Focus,
people.”
I glanced back
to where April sat in the car staring at the ocean through a stand of palm
trees.
Smart girl.

Aunt Eunice rummaged
in her purse. “You show up on time, and I’ll pay you twenty dollars. If you’re
late, you get nothing, ‘
cause
we’ll lose our scavenger
hunt.”

“Why are you no longer
dancing!
” I practically stomped my foot.

“Touchy, lady,
aren’t you?” Kevin sighed. “I’m no longer employed because I punched Leroy in
the face this morning.”

I raised my
eyebrows.
“Really?
Go on.”

“Oh,
jeez.
I punched him in
the mouth because he said I was making the moves on his sister. I’m not,
though. I’m dating Malia. Anyway, Leroy said they’d be coming into some money
soon, and I wasn’t good enough for a
Wahine
to waste
time on.” Kevin stepped back, one hand on the door handle. “I’ll be there at four
forty five at your cottage.” He closed the door.

“With
your spear!”
Aunt Eunice
called out. “Don’t forget that.” She turned to me. “That went well, didn’t it?”
She studied our list. “We have one little problem, though.”

“Now
what?”

“The list says we
have to have a picture of Ethan, Joe, and Roy in muumuus. We didn’t say
anything about us having to wear them. How are we going to get that picture?”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Good point. I think we needed to be found and the most likely place to
find inexpensive muumuus was the flea market. “We’ll find them before they find
us and snap their picture while they’re having theirs taken.” Besides, I
seriously doubted they would get a fire eater with a spear. That was our
winning item, and we got a little more feedback into our mystery.

We made it to the
flea market with two hours before the end of the scavenger hunt. Hungry, we
bought the seaweed wrapped rice and one extra for proof. Next to the food booth
were fresh leis, several of which were
plumeria
,
giving off their wonderful sweet scent. We were cranking on our list.

“Poi.”
Aunt Eunice wrinkled her nose. “Who has to
eat it?”

“Oh,
no.”
April glanced at the
thick paste. “Uncle Roy does. Another picture we have to sneak. What if he’s
already eaten his?”

“There’s no way my
husband is going to eat that.” Aunt Eunice took a deep breath. “If I know Roy,
he definitely won’t try any. I’ll eat some, you take my picture, and it should
still count.
Right?”
She ordered a small bowl. “Do I
have to use my fingers?”

“Yes.” I got the
ready camera.
“Just one bite.
You can do this.”

Aunt Eunice dipped
her fingers in the paste and swiped her tongue across them as I took her
picture. She worked her mouth back and forth, brows lowered.
“Hmmm.
Not as bad as I thought.
Kind of bland.”

“Look.” April
pointed two booths down. “The guys are slipping on muumuus.”

“Great. Y’all stay
here.” I fished the camera from my purse and darted behind the booths. When the
guys lined up, ready for an older woman to take their picture, I zoomed in,
snapped the shot and ducked back out of sight. I was made for mystery and spy
work. Within minutes, I rejoined Aunt Eunice and April.

Arm-in-arm, we
headed to the muumuu booth to buy our own for the luau later. I chose one with
pink hibiscus flowers printed on a purple background. We pretended not to
notice the men until I turned to find my nose planted in Ethan’s chest. One
glance at his face showed his displeasure.

“Where have you
been?” He scowled.

“Finding
the items on our list.”
I
smiled as sweetly as I could and planted a kiss on his lips. “How are you
doing?”

“Fine.”
He sighed. “Are you done running around
without sufficient guardians?”

“Yes.”

“You’re finished
with your list?”

“Yes.”

“Stay here.” He
darted back to Uncle Roy and Joe. He returned to us within seconds. “We still
have a couple of things. Go back to the hotel and stay there.”

I winked at April.
Nothing made my sweetheart leave as fast as a competition he was in danger of
losing. Since we had everything we needed, going back to the hotel to lounge on
the beach sounded like a good idea.

“About
something pineapple in a drink?”
I started heading for the car.

“The
Wahines
are probably busy with the luau, and the way
they’re firing staff, we might have to get our own drink.” Aunt Eunice bustled
past me.

They fired one
person. I shook my head.

“You stay at
Wahine
?” A little Hawaiian woman stepped from behind a
booth.
“You careful.
Bad man.”

“Mr.
Wahine
?” I still couldn’t believe that the jovial fellow I
knew had a sour side.

She glanced around.
“Be careful. Bad things happen. People die.”

“I’ll be careful.
Thank you.” Although I knew of the murders, her whispered warning sent chills
down my back. Something was rotten in paradise. Everyone seemed to know more
than I did, and I was staying at the place, nosing around.

By the time we got
back to our rooms to change for the beach, I was in a fine mess. The more I
thought about my lack of clues, the more worked up I got. I needed a powwow
with my girls. Hopefully, we could find a private spot of sand in which to
hatch our plans.

Grabbing my floppy
hat, I slipped my feet into sparkly flip-flops and headed to the beach to meet
the other two. Aunt Eunice and April already sat, fruit drinks in hand, in
chairs by the water’s edge. I must have moped longer than I thought.

“I got your drink.”
April handed me a tall glass with a straw umbrella.

“Thanks.” I untied
my sarong, accepted the drink, and lowered myself into a vacant chair. The
delectable aroma of roasting pig filled the air. “We need to talk.”

Aunt Eunice and April
exchanged alarmed looks.

“Stop it. It isn’t
that bad.” I took a sip of pineapple heaven. “We need to set up a sting
operation.”

“I do not like the
sound of that,” April said.

“I do.” Aunt Eunice
leaned closer. “Explain, please.”

“Good,
because you will play a big part, because of Uncle Roy.”
I thought for a moment, trying to form my
idea into a plan that made sense. “Since Uncle Roy came here to look at a
timeshare plan, we need the person responsible to think he is seriously
considering forking over some money.”

“Jamison is dead,”
April pointed out.

“Thank you,
Sherlock.” I glared at her. “But he had a partner who isn’t. We need to find
out who that partner is. So…” I dared her to interrupt again. “We’re going to
leave a letter, purposely on accident, from Uncle Roy, somewhere in the hotel
tonight.”

“That’s the dumbest
idea you’ve come up with yet.” April shook her head. “Anyone can find the
letter.”

“I’m thinking we let
Leroy in on our little secret.”

“How
and why him?”
Aunt Eunice
leaned so far toward me, her chair threatened to tip.

“Because I think the
youngest
Wahine
knows something. We already know he’s
a hothead, he smokes,
he
fits the photos we found.”

“Ethan is going to
have a fit.” April crossed her arms. “You’re going to get us in trouble, again.”

“No, once we know
something, we’ll tell the guys. We’ll be perfectly safe.
Shh
.”

The subject of our
conversation strolled by, giving me an entirely new idea. I prayed Aunt Eunice
would catch on. “When does Uncle Roy intend to let the man know he has the
money?”

“What money?” Aunt
Eunice settled her chair back on all its legs.
“Oh, that
money!
He said tonight at the luau.”

Good girl. Leroy’s
steps slowed.

“I don’t like the
idea.” Oh, this was fun. “That’s
y’all’s
retirement
fund.”

“But Maui is the
perfect place to retire.” Aunt Eunice raised her glass in a toast toward the
ocean. “Other than Arkansas, there isn’t a prettier place on God’s green earth.
Too bad Jamison’s dead. We know he had a partner in his business, but we aren’t
sure who that person is.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

April huffed.

I widened my eyes,
pleading for my aunt to not overdo her acting. “That’s a problem. Ethan and I
might be interested in purchasing a share, too. April?”

“I want no part of
this.” She turned on her side and ignored us.

“Some people don’t
know a good thing when they see it.” I grinned at Leroy. “Hello?”

“Ladies.”
He gave us a nod and continued on his way,
glancing once over his shoulder.

I
high-fived Aunt Eunice.
“Bait is laid, and our fire eater is strolling this way.”

###

“Roy refused to try the poi, and since you say a cigarette lighter
doesn’t count as a fire eater,
then
I guess you win.”
Ethan tossed the list on the table.

“Wasn’t it fun,
though?” I snuggled under his arm.

He kissed the top of
my head. “Yeah, it was, except for us worrying about where you women were.”

“You shouldn’t worry
so much.”

“I can’t help it.
You drive me crazy.”

“But you love me.”

“Yes, I do.” His
chest rumbled with his chuckle. “Now, go put on that over-modest muumuu so we
can go to the luau. The smell of roasting pig has me hungry.”

I jumped up to do as
he bid. Soon, we were headed to a
Tiki
lamp-lit beach
where a small stage was erected and tables were decorated in Hawaiian finery.
Pineapples filled with tropical flowers adorned the center of tables. Wicker
placemats held brightly colored dishes.

What a wonderful
last Hurrah. I found it hard to believe our time on the island was almost over.
In two days, we would fly home and return to our everyday lives.

We sat and I glanced
around the long table, saddened by how the number of guests had shrunk. I
supposed that until the killer was found, no one was eager to rent a room at
the
Wahine
Bed and Breakfast. Afterward, maybe the
curious would flock to this part of the island. Warmth cruised through me. I
didn’t know the
Wahines
, but as a small business
owner myself, I liked to help others succeed. Maybe I could save the B & B
and catch a killer at the same time.

Our host announced
dinner was served and immediately Camilla and Malia began setting plates of
pork and vegetables in front of us. My stomach rumbled
,
reminding me I hadn’t eaten anything but the
musubi
at the flea market. Oh, the smell was divine.

After dinner, we
enjoyed a show of hula dancers, in which Camilla participated, and fire
twirlers, one of which was Leroy. My, the
Wahines
were a talented bunch. Knowing that, it confused me as to how they could let
their business be on the brink of selling out. I popped a chunk of fresh
pineapple in my mouth. I started thinking maybe there was more to the story
then any of us knew.

“Stop staring at
people.” Ethan leaned close and whispered in my ear. His breath tickled the
hair at my nape and sent tingles down my spine.

“Have you noticed
that Camilla hasn’t smiled once tonight? Leroy seems his usual shifty self, but
Mr. and Mrs.
Wahine’s
smiles seem
forced
.”

“If your candy store
was going under, wouldn’t you have to force a smile?” He straightened and took
a sip of iced tea.

“Well, sure, but I
wouldn’t throw a party, either.” No, I’d try to come up with a way to make
money and save my business. Exactly what seemed to be happening, except I would
find an honest
way.

“Excuse me.” Malia
appeared at my elbow. “I believe you dropped your napkin?”

“Thanks.” My napkin
was still draped across my lap, so I set the one she gave me aside. Something
crinkled from its folds. As surreptitiously as I could, I peeked.

A small square of
white paper winked at me. I smiled and slid it into my hand. Pretending to
scratch my shoulder blade, I slipped the note under the strap of my bra. Yes,
ma’am, I was getting good at the spy technique.