Wedding Day Dead: A Murder on Maui Mystery (7 page)

I went outside and fished my car keys out of my pocket. I jumped into the car and slammed it in reverse. I looked toward the restaurant. Alana wasn’t at the doorway. She wasn’t running out to stop me or explain herself. I put the car in drive and sped away.

I was home in no time. Maui the dog greeted me at the door. I grabbed his leash and took him outside. I had my phone with me and kept expecting it to ring. It would be Alana begging me to forgive her, telling me how sorry she was and how she didn’t intend to hurt me. She just had too much to drink, and Panos had forced himself on her. I knew that wasn’t true, but part of me allowed myself to believe the lie. Alana didn’t call.

I walked Maui the dog for at least an hour. When we got back to the house, I saw that Foxx’s car wasn’t there, and I wondered if he had seen or heard what happened between Panos and Alana.

I looked down at the dog. He was exhausted. I don’t think anyone had ever walked him that far before. He collapsed on the cool tiles of the living room floor. I sat down on the sofa and turned on the television. A second later, I turned it off. I couldn’t concentrate on anything. My mind was buzzing too hard.

I went into my bedroom and fell on the bed. I lay on my back and stared at the ceiling. I knew I couldn’t go to sleep, despite how late it was, but I didn’t know what else to do. I checked my cell phone again. I assumed I might have put the phone on silent mode and didn’t feel it vibrate when Alana called. The display showed no calls. No text messages. Nothing.

I don’t know how long I lay there. Eventually I heard the back door open. I climbed out of bed and saw Foxx scratching the dog behind his ears. He looked up at me.

“How are you doing?” he asked.

I could tell by his tone that he didn’t expect me to be doing well.

I didn’t answer him. I just watched him pat the dog.

“I gave Alana a ride home. She told me what happened,” he continued.

I still said nothing.

“I’m sorry. It’s really shitty.”

I nodded.

“For what it’s worth, she was crying the whole way to her house. She’s devastated.”

“She is?” I asked, my tone harsh and bitter.

“I’m guessing she didn’t intend for it to happen. It was pretty obvious she had too much to drink,” he said. “I had to help her into her house.”

“That doesn’t excuse anything,” I said.

“I’m not saying it does.”

“So why hasn’t she called?” I asked.

“Maybe she doesn’t know what to say. Maybe she doesn’t want to hear how bad she’s hurt you.”

“She should call,” I said, “even though I don’t want to talk to her.”

“I understand, buddy, but give her a chance. I’m sure she’ll call you in the morning once her head has cleared. You two can get past this. I know you can.”

Foxx walked up to me and patted me on my shoulder.

“It will be okay, man. It will be okay.”

He walked into his bedroom. I sat down on the sofa. Maui the dog jumped onto my lap. I looked down at him. He wagged his tail. I couldn’t tell if he knew I was hurting or if he just wanted some affection. Probably the latter. He was a pushy little thing after all.

I kept my phone by me the entire time, but Alana didn’t call that night. She didn’t call that morning either. No texts. No e-mails. No messages by carrier pigeon. Nothing.

I hung out by the pool all day and alternated between sitting in the sun and swimming underwater laps. Maui the dog stayed in the shade the entire time. Later that afternoon, Foxx came outside. He was wearing a nice pair of pants and a silk shirt. I looked awful by comparison. I hadn’t showered that morning, and I was dressed in ratty swim trunks and no shirt.

“Off to the wedding?” I asked.

Foxx nodded.

“Give Alana my best,” I said and tried not to hide the sarcasm in my voice.

Foxx walked over and sat down beside me.

“I take it she hasn’t called,” he said.

I shook my head.

“I’m a little surprised by that. Maybe she feels you don’t want to talk to her. Hell, maybe she’s too embarrassed to face you.”

I said nothing.

“For what it’s worth, I don’t want to go to this damn thing. If Michelle wasn’t in the wedding party, I’d blow it off,” Foxx said.

“I’m sure it will be a nice wedding, provided Alana can keep herself from making out with the groom during the service,” I said.

“I know you’re really hurting, but don’t let it consume you. Things have a way of working out. Hell, do you know how many girls have walked in on me doing the act with other girls. They all forgave me.”

“Yeah, but that was them catching you. What would you do if it was the other way around?”

“I see your point, but I think the principle is the same. It’s about forgiveness.”

“No, Foxx. It’s about her humiliating me. It’s about her being more interested in him than me. I thought we had something, and in one moment, she shit all over it.”

“Yeah, she did, but that doesn’t mean she can’t make it up to you.”

“Why are you on her side?” I asked.

“Look. I like Alana. I like her a lot. But make no mistake about it. I’m on your side ten times out of ten. I’d do anything for you, and I think you know that. That’s why I’m defending her. I know what you two have. I’ve seen how she makes you feel, last night not included. She’s changed your life for the better. I don’t want to see you lose sight of that.”

Foxx stood.

“It’s cool for you to be angry. I don’t mean to imply that you shouldn’t. You should be pissed off. You should be mad as hell at Alana and that asshole Panos, but when you calm down, I still think you should see if there’s something left that’s salvageable.”

Foxx looked at his watch.

“I’m already late. I better go get Michelle. I hope you feel better, buddy. I mean it.”

I nodded. Foxx turned and walked toward the back gate. I looked down at Maui the dog. He was asleep on his back in the shade. I could have sworn I heard him snoring.

“Well, Maui, I guess it’s just you and me.”

VI

Panos

I
don’t remember when I finally fell asleep on the sofa that night. I do remember watching some god-awful science fiction film on TV about aliens or crocodiles or aliens fighting crocodiles. I woke up when I heard the back door open.

“You feeling any better?” Foxx asked.

I didn’t answer him.

Foxx walked over to the sofa and sat down beside me.

“How was the wedding?” I asked.

“What wedding?”

“Come on, Foxx.”

“I mean it. What wedding? There actually has to be a wedding for me to tell you how it went,” he said.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Panos was a no-show. He left Hani standing at the altar. It was awful, man.”

“He didn’t show?” I asked. I wasn’t really sure I heard him correctly.

“Everyone was in their seats. The harp was playing but no groom.”

“What did Hani do?”

“What do you think she did? She hid in the back the entire time. She was too embarrassed to come out.”

“Did you ever find out what happened to Panos?”

“No idea. Michelle took Hani back to her house. She said she’s going to spend the night there to help console her. I left and went to Harry’s for a few drinks.”

“What about Alana?”

“She was a no-show too.”

Dear God. You know what I was thinking at that moment because you’re thinking it too as you read this. Things just went from bad to very bad.

“I know what’s going on in that brain of yours, but she didn’t run off with the guy. I saw her on my way home,” Foxx said.

“Where?” I asked.

“It took me almost an hour to drive back from Harry’s. There’s some kind of incident at the marina. They had one of the two lanes blocked off in front of the entrance. There must have been at least ten police cars there with their lights flashing. I saw Alana talking to some cops when I drove by.”

Foxx stood.

“I’m gonna hit the sack. I’m exhausted. Have a good night, buddy. Things will get better in the morning.”

Foxx left for his bedroom. I lay back down on the sofa. I didn’t have the energy to walk to my room. Maui the dog stayed with me.

I woke the next morning when the doorbell rang. I waited for Foxx to answer it. I looked like shit. I hadn’t showered in two days, and my mouth felt like it had dirty socks in it. Foxx didn’t come out of his room, and the doorbell rang again. I figured it was Michelle, and he’d want me to let her inside, so I dragged myself off the sofa and stumbled to the front door. I swung open the door without looking through the peep hole. It was Alana. She was dressed in her work clothes, and her hair was much neater than mine, but she looked just as tired. I stood in the doorway and stared at her.

“May I come in?” she asked.

I stepped back from the door to let her pass. I didn’t say anything. We walked into the living room, and I sat back down on the sofa. Maui the dog ran up to Alana. She ignored him at first but then finally bent over to pat him on the head. Several long moments of silence went by. Neither of us knew what to say. Finally, Alana spoke.

“I do want to talk about us, but there’s something else you need to know first. I wanted it to come from me before you heard it on the news. I really don’t know how to say this, but Panos was murdered at the marina last night.”

“What?”

“They found his body in the cabin of his boat. His throat was cut.”

“Who did it?” I asked.

“We don’t know. I was one of the detectives who got the call.”

“So you’re the lead on the case?”

Alana shook her head.

“Not with my personal connection to him. Another detective named Glen Adcock got it. Unfortunately, he’s a first-class asshole.”

“Panos is dead,” I said. I really couldn’t believe it.

“Hani is going to move in with me for a while. She’s as torn up as you’d expect her to be.”

“How are you?” I asked.

“Not good.”

I wasn’t sure what to say or do at that point. All of a sudden my relationship problems didn’t seem to matter.

Alana shoved her hands into her pockets.

“About us - I’m sorry. I really have nothing I can say to defend myself. I wanted to call yesterday. I dialed your number a million times only to hang up before it started ringing. I just didn’t know what to say.”

I said nothing.

“Panos came up to me on the dance floor. He said he wanted to talk to me in private. I didn’t know what he wanted. I had way too much to drink, and honestly, I didn’t care what he had to say, but he insisted that I come to the back office with him. He apologized for leaving me for Hani.”

Alana looked away like she was reliving the conversation. I thought about saying something in response but thought better of it. She turned back to me.

“I can’t tell you how long I waited for that apology, but when he finally gave it, it didn’t really matter. He said he still loved me, but he loved Hani too. He was still going to marry her, but he wanted me to know how he felt about me. That’s when he kissed me, and you and Hani walked in the room at the worst possible moment. If you had been one second later, you would have seen me push him away.”

I wanted to tell her that it didn’t seem that way to me, but now definitely didn’t seem like the time for a debate. Panos was dead.

“Yesterday morning I went by Hani’s house and apologized to her, and I backed out of her wedding,” she said.

“So you had time to apologize to her in person, but you couldn’t even send me a text message?” I asked.

“I love Hani. She’s my sister, but you mean more to me. I couldn’t stand what I had done to you. I know it doesn’t make any sense, but it was easier to face her than you.”

“What now?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I think I just need time.”

“Time for what?”

“To figure out what to do,” she said.

I wasn’t sure what she meant. A million questions ran through my mind. Did she not want to be with my anymore? Did I want to be with her? Where do we go from here?

Alana said she needed to go and be with her sister. I walked her to the door. She turned to me once she got out on the porch. We just looked at each other for several seconds. I thought she wanted to tell me something else, but she said nothing. She finally nodded and walked to her car. I stood in the open doorway and watched her drive away.

Maui the dog ran between my legs and took off down the street. I called to him, but he completely ignored me. I spent the next five minutes chasing the little guy down and praying he wouldn’t get hit by a car. I finally caught him when I cornered him between the neighbor’s house and his backyard fence. Maui rolled on his back. I couldn’t believe the audacity of this guy. He expected a belly rub after making me run him down. I picked him up and carried him back into the house.

Foxx came out of the bedroom a few minutes later, and I told him about Panos. We both sat in stunned silence for what seemed like an hour. Foxx called Michelle. She’d just heard the news on television and was already on her way to see Hani. Bad news does travel fast.

The next few days were a complete blur. Panos’ murder was all anyone talked about. I didn’t know if the police were making any progress, and Alana didn’t call to give me any updates on the case or Hani’s condition. I wanted to call myself but was worried about intruding. Besides, Foxx kept me somewhat up-to-date. Michelle had been spending a lot of time with Hani. She said Alana wasn’t there most of the time, and Hani didn’t want to be alone. I assumed Alana was helping with the murder investigation despite
her connection to the deceased. It was about five days after Alana’s visit that Panos’ sister, Daphne, called me.

“I’m so sorry about your brother,” I said.

“Thank you,” she said.

I wasn’t about to ask her how she felt. It seemed like a stupid and obvious question.

“The reason I’m calling is that my mother is in town. She’s requested to see you.”

“Your mother wants to see me? I don’t understand.”

“I really would prefer not to get into it over the phone. Would it be possible for you to come by the house tonight around seven? Her flight arrives later this afternoon. I’d like to give her a few hours to rest before she meets with you.”