4 Maui Macadamia Madness (7 page)

“I told you I didn’t
think that was the proper way to handle it.” Susan sighed over the rustle of
paper. “There are better ways when you’re on an island. That type of behavior
upsets David.”

Better ways to do
what? Kill someone? I clapped a hand over my mouth to stifle a gasp. Did she
mean by shark? Drowning? Horror! Susan was right. An island surrounded by water
hosted a million ways to murder someone. Who was she talking to?

I chewed the French
tip of my pinkie nail. I would have answered, if anyone asked, that Susan’s
partner in crime was David. Was he really just an acquaintance?
A boyfriend?
What about
Manano
?
So many questions.

If Susan was my
murderer, and it was way too early in the game to tell, what was her motive? I
leaned against the stall wall,
then
realized I hadn’t
made any ‘bathroom’ noises. I flushed the toilet.

When her door
opened, I held my breath and shrank back, almost tempted to put my feet on the
toilet seat.

“I’ll talk to you
later. Meet me tonight in the usual place.”

Once I knew for sure
she had left, I ventured from my hiding place. If she wasn’t talking about
offing someone, then what was she talking about? Her conversation sounded
highly suspect, given the recent circumstances. Maybe I needed to check what
type of vehicle she rode in to
Lahaina
.

Her giggle reached
me before I stepped on the patio. She batted eyelashes at Ethan, one hand on
her white cotton short-covered hip. April glared at her. Joe stared
impassively. Ethan looked like a deer caught in headlights.

I slipped past her
and into my seat where I leaned on Ethan’s shoulder. “Hello, Susan.”

“Summer.”
Her smile faded, and her eyes narrowed. She
glanced over her shoulder at the building, most likely trying to determine
whether I was the other person in the ladies room. I lifted my chin.
So what.
She didn’t own the toilet facilities.

“What brings you to
Lahaina
?” I rested my chin on Ethan’s shoulder. His arm
snaked around my waist.

“Vacation.”
With a flick of her hair, she stormed back
to her table, murmured something to David, who glowered, then the two left
without ordering food.

I shrugged. No skin
off my teeth. I picked my menu back up and decided on a tropical salad and
glass of iced tea.

“Learn anything on
your snooping expedition?” Joe asked.

“Maybe.”
I grinned at each of them. “Seems Susan is a
bit upset about how something was handled and that the same something could
have been handled better considering they are on an island.”

“That’s it?” He
reached for his glass of water.

“For
now.”
With today’s
sleuthing finished, I could enjoy the rest of our time in
Lahaina
,
even if I did have my bulldog of a cousin helping Ethan guard me. “I took it to
mean there were better ways of poisoning someone. Like a water-related death,
possibly.”

“We don’t even know
if Susan is behind Jamison’s death. Also, she isn’t the only guest at the bed
and breakfast. We also don’t—”

I held up a hand to
stop him. “There’s a lot we don’t know, but it’s a start.” He sure could bust
my bubble faster than anyone. But I had proved my nay-saying cousin wrong three
times before, and would do it again. I just needed to bide my time and keep my
eyes and ears open. “After we eat, I’d like to visit that gallery across the
street.”

###

By that evening, I was sunburned and happy, languishing on my patio,
feet up and a pineapple drink in my hand with the handsomest man in Hawaii
while the scent of salt water and seaweed teased my nostrils. This was the
life!

The art gallery had
filled my mind with beauty that almost rivaled the ocean view I gazed on now.
Ethan had even been a sweetheart and handed over a few hundred dollars on a
tropical painting by a local artist. I couldn’t wait to see it displayed in our
bedroom back home. I was going to redecorate the room to be a romantic tropical
sanctuary.

I took a sip of my
drink and puckered at its tartness. “Isn’t God’s creation glorious?”

A mauve and purple
sky stretched across an indigo ocean. Outlines of palm trees stood in stark
contrast to the sky. I couldn’t believe this was our third night on the island.

Ethan dozed beside
me. I transferred my attention back to the water where a couple strolled along
the beach. As hissed whispers drifted my way, it occurred to me that they
stormed along the water’s edge rather than strolled. I narrowed my eyes. It
looked to me as if the couple were the other newlyweds, Bruce and Maryann
Franklin. I hadn’t seen much of them, but if body language was any indication,
it appeared as if the honeymoon rode on stormy waves.

When Bruce grabbed
Maryann by the arm, Ethan stirred. “I’m watching. Don’t let on. I want to see
if I need to butt in.”

“You shouldn’t have
done that!” Maryann’s voice rose on the breeze. “The man didn’t do anything
wrong.”

“Stay out of what
doesn’t concern you.” Bruce faced the ocean.

“Look at me when I’m
talking to you.” She put a hand on his arm.

He shrugged free and
whirled around, putting his hands on Maryann’s shoulders. “If you don’t stay
out of what doesn’t concern you, I can’t be responsible for the consequences.”

Ethan shifted.

My gentle giant
didn’t rile easily, but when he did, watch out world. I prayed Bruce wouldn’t
do anything that signified harm to Maryann. Ethan wasn’t the type to sit back
while a man mistreated a woman. Me, on the other hand, sipped harder through my
straw and kept my gaze glued to the drama unfolding. Of course, if Bruce showed
too much aggression toward Maryann, I would be right there on the beach next to
Ethan.

Maryann raised her
hand to strike.

Bruce took her two
in his.

“I’m getting
uncomfortable.” Ethan stretched then took my hand. “I think it’s time for a
stroll of our own.”

I set my drink on
the small glass-topped table and slipped my feet into flip-flops. “Good idea.
If they know there’s an audience, they won’t fight.”

“That’s the plan.”
He tucked my arm close to his side and led me off a ways then doubled back.

My
sneaky
fella
.
Didn’t want them to know we were watching.

They pulled apart as
we neared.

“Hey,
you two.”
Ethan held out
his hand to Bruce. “How’s the honeymoon?”

“Wonderful.” Bruce’s
grin looked more like a grimace as he returned Ethan’s shake.

Maryann crossed her
arms and ignored us to the point of walking off and moving into the water.

I shrugged. When I
was upset, I didn’t want anyone bothering me either, but while the guys talked
about whatever guys talked about, I watched her. She hadn’t even kicked off her
shoes. I frowned. Something was definitely not right.

“Maryann.” I kicked
off my flip-slops, the sand cool on the soles of my feet, and hoisted my
sundress above my knees. The wind picked up, whipping my hair into my eyes.
“Plan on swimming in the dark?”

“Go away, Mrs.
Banning.”

“You can call me
Summer
. We’re around the same age.”

“I said go away.”
Soon she had progressed to the point where the water reached her armpits.

“Seriously, Maryann,
this isn’t wise.” I’d heard of sharks, barracudas, and … piranhas didn’t live
in these waters, did they? I tried peering through the dark water. Maybe I
should have done more research.

Where did she go? I
dropped my dress and splashed. “Maryann!” I couldn’t see her anywhere. “Ethan!
Bruce!”

Fierce splashing
sounded behind me.

“I was talking to
her one minute, the next, she was gone.” Tears clogged my throat. She couldn’t
drown that fast, could she?

“Wait. I see her.”
Ethan dove under the water.

“Where?”
Bruce shoved water aside. “Maryann! Don’t do
this to me.”

“Do what?” I grabbed
his arm.

He yanked free.
“Kill
herself
.”

Chapter
Eight

Ethan dragged a sputtering Maryann to the surface. She fought to free
herself, raining punches on his head and shoulders that didn’t appear to have
much significance. With a firm jaw, he sloshed toward shore. I moved deeper to
help him but Bruce shoved past and pulled her from Ethan’s arms.

“What were you
thinking?” He cradled her close. “Are you that upset over something that can’t
be undone?” He splashed his way to shore and set her on her feet.

Ethan took my hand
in his and led me to dry ground. We watched as Bruce covered Maryann’s face
with kisses. Already the wind was drying my skirt into salty stiffness. Sand
clung to my feet.

“I’ll take care of
it. No one will know. I’ll hide the evidence,” Bruce promised.

I glanced up at
Ethan. My list of suspects grew longer with each day. Susan and David spoke
about ‘other ways’ and the Franklins about hiding evidence.
In
what kind of place had Ethan and I chosen to spend our honeymoon?
I
almost believed Joe was right in saying that trouble followed me like a fat boy
after an ice cream cone.

Lights soon
flickered on in the cottages and guests converged on the beach. Mrs.
Wahine
strolled among them, probably trying to reassure
everyone that things would be okay. Mr.
Wahine
,
accompanied by his son, Leroy, bustled their way to us.

“What happened?” Mr.
Wahine
stood beside Ethan.

“It seems as if she
tried to drown herself,” Ethan said.
“At least, according to
her husband’s reaction.”

“One
more thing to put a disparaging light on the B & B.”
Leroy crossed his arms.
“First
Mr. Jamison, and now this.”

I frowned. “That’s a
horrible way of looking at it. One person is dead and another almost.” How
selfish could one young man be?

“Stay out of things
that don’t concern you.” He glared. “This is my future we’re talking about.”

“That’s enough,
young man.” Ethan shook his head, reverting to his high school football coach
tone-of-voice. Only a fool would argue with him when he was in that mode.

“Settle down, son.”
Mr.
Wahine
moved to the Franklins, most likely to
offer them a free night of their stay, too. If things kept happening as they
were, the
Wahine’s
would make very little money this
week.

Money was a big
motivator for murder.

Did evil lurk behind
the round, friendly faces of our hosts? But, if they killed off their guests or
guests left because of unpleasant circumstances that would defeat the purpose
of acquiring funds. I felt like I was in the wash cycle of a washing machine,
tossing and turning with no way of straightening out the clues.

Joe and April joined
us, and I filled them in on the night’s happenings.

“Do you think this
is all related to Jamison?” I asked.

“How could it be?”
Joe shook his head. “A murder and a suicide attempt with witnesses. Not the
same at all.”

“Maybe Maryann knows
something about the murder and the guilt made her want to drown herself.” Take
that, bossy cousin.

He smirked. “A bit
dramatic, don’t you think?”

I loved my cousin
dearly, but sometimes I wondered how he became a cop. How could you investigate
a crime when you walked around with your eyes closed? It was as plain as day,
these incidents were related. What were the odds of a murder and a suicide in
paradise?

“Shouldn’t someone
call the police?” Mrs. Aldrich pulled a terry robe closer around her rotund
middle. “Suicide is against the law, isn’t it? I think I read that somewhere.”

Bruce cursed. “She
just went for a swim. There’s no need for the police.” With his arm around his
wife, he led her, tottering and sobbing, back to the cottage.

“Looks like
Summer
went swimming, too.” Susan simpered. “Maybe night
swims are all the rage.”

I bit back a retort
that would give me reason to repent later, and instead, smiled. “The water is
wonderful. You should try it.” I lifted my chin and strode, as nonchalantly as
a stiffening dress would allow, to my room.

Ethan and the rest
of the family followed.
So much for a romantic evening.
Everyone would want to hash over the most recent events. At this rate, Ethan
and I wouldn’t have any newlywed privacy until we returned home. I slammed
through the door and marched to the bathroom.