Maui Madness (Zoe Donovan Mysteries Book 7) (17 page)

“Yeah, I guess we should go
.” I was quiet for a moment. “Brian mentioned that one of the kidnappers had a tattoo on the inside of his wrist. Keoke has a tattoo on the inside of his wrist.”

“You think
he’s one of the kidnappers?” Zak sounded shocked by my suggestion.

“A
nton did die at Keoke’s party,” I pointed out. “And let’s not forget that Keoke makes his money investing in projects much like Anton’s. Maybe the potential loss of hundreds of millions of dollars was enough to cause him to act in a way he wouldn’t have otherwise.”

I ha
d to give Zak credit. He did take a moment to stop to think about what I had said before answering. “No,” he eventually decided. “Keoke wouldn’t kidnap anyone, and he certainly wouldn’t kill Anton.”

I wasn’t as sure as Zak but decided to let it go for
the moment. It was such a beautiful night; a night for romance rather than murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy. I’d made the decision several nights earlier to bring more romance into the mix, but somehow, in spite of my resolve, Zak and I had barely managed to spend any time together. I realized that the trip was a group trip and as such we’d be involved in group activities. Still, I guess I thought we’d have
some
time to ourselves.

“It fee
ls like a nice night for a swim,” I said.

Zak looked at the pool and arched an eyebrow.

“Not the pool,” I clarified.

“Haven’t you had enough saltwater today?”

I got up from my chair and pulled Zak to his feet. Charlie looked at us and then decided to go back to sleep. I stood on tiptoe and pulled Zak’s shirt over his head.

“
The waves are gentle, the moon is full, Ellie is sleeping, Levi is occupied,” I whispered suggestively as I kissed Zak’s neck.

“I like where you
’re going with this.” Zak groaned. “Do you have your swimsuit on?”

I pulled my shirt over my head. “Don’t need one.”

“How’s my snuggle baby?” I asked.

“Harper is fine,” my dad
said. “Although she misses her big sister. How is the trip?”

“Fun. We
’re flying to Oahu to attend a Fourth of July celebration at Zak’s friend’s house today. I hear he has a spectacular estate right on the water.”

“Sounds
like fun.”

“Yeah,
it’s supposedly
the
party to attend. I guess he goes all out with caterers and a fireworks display over the water. I’m really looking forward to it, although I’ll miss the annual Ashton Falls event. Are you going to take my baby sister to see the fireworks?”

“They don’t start until almost ten,” Dad pointed out.

“So?”

“Harper is two months old. Ten o’clock is just a tad past her bedtime. I think your mom and I are going to take her to the potluck picnic in the park.
Jeremy is bringing Morgan, so they can have a playdate.”

“Oh,” I moaned. “I’m going to miss it.”

“I doubt the babies will be doing a lot of playing.”

“I know
, but it’s Harper’s first Fourth. Is she wearing the outfit I bought her?”

“Does it have red and blue stars on a white background?”

“That’s the one.”

“Then yes, that
’s what her mother dressed her in.”

“
Take a picture of her and text it to me.”

“I’m not at the house at the moment. I thought I’d take the dogs for a nice long walk before we leave
, but I’ll take the photo when I get back,” Dad promised.

“
That would be fine. Any word on the water Salinger had tested?” I asked.

“Actually
, yes,” Dad said. “They found significant amounts of several toxic chemicals, which led Salinger to conclude that the water was contaminated with waste created by the cooking of methamphetamine. They’ve enclosed the swamp area I mentioned until they can get it cleaned up, so hopefully we won’t have any more animal fatalities.”

“Wow, I’m really glad to hear that. Did they find out who was doing the dumping?”

“Not yet, but they’re looking into a couple of leads.”

“I’m surprised Jeremy didn’t call me.”

“He said he tried, but his calls went straight to voice mail.”

I took out my phone and looked at it. I had seven missed calls. “I went diving yesterday and I guess I forgot to check my messages when I got back into range. It was a really long day.”

“Did you find additional artifacts?” Dad asked.

“Better. We found three men in a bunker.”

I spent the next several minutes filling him in on everything that had happened, after making him swear that he wouldn’t tell anyone. Not that the average citizen of Ashton Falls would have cause to spread the word of the men’s rescue to Maui, but the disappearance of the judge had made the national news, so you never knew who might say what to whom.

“Sounds like you might have gotten yourself mixed up with some pretty dangerous people. Best be careful who you talk to,” Dad warned.

“I’m sure we’ll be perfectly safe at Keoke’s party. We fly home on Wednesday, so we only have half a week next week. I really miss everyone and am anxious to get home, but I’m disappointed we haven’t found the shipwreck yet.”

“Finding the actual ship
, if there even is one, could take years,” Dad pointed out.

“I know. It’s been really fun looking
, though.”

“Is Ellie doing better” Dad asked.

“She is, although she forgot to notify her landlady that she wasn’t going to move after all and her apartment has been rented. She has to move out by the end of the month, so keep an eye out for a new place she can afford.”

“I’ll ask around. I’m sure we can find her something.
”

After I hung up, I went in search of the others. Levi and Ellie were deep in conversation on the patio. I hated to disturb them and was about to retreat back into the house when Ellie noticed me and waved me over. I couldn’t help but notice the slight blush on Ellie’s cheeks. I would be willing to bet I’d interrupted a personal conversation of the intimate kind.

“Levi and I are thinking about skipping the Oahu trip,” Ellie informed me. “I really hoped to make the trip around the island to Hana
, but with all the diving I haven’t had the opportunity. Levi said he’d be happy to stay behind and go with me.”

“That’s fine
.” I smiled. I suspected there was more to the decision to remain on Maui than a sightseeing trip but didn’t say as much. “The party at Keoke’s will be fun, but you guys won’t really know a lot of people.”

“We’ll keep Charlie with us
, if you’d like,” Levi offered. “I’m sure he’d like the quiet drive and a nice long hike in the rain forest more than a day on a leash at a stranger’s house.”

“We plan to stay overnight,” I reminded my friends.

“That’s fine. Charlie can sleep with me tonight,” Ellie said.

I thought about the offer. I had been a little worried about how Charlie would fare with
an estate full of strangers. Leaving him with Levi and Ellie seemed a perfect solution.

“Okay, thanks,”
I agreed. “I read an article about the road to Hana in one of the travel magazines in the living room. It seems like there are a lot of really good hikes along the way, so you should probably get started. It takes a lot longer to make the trip than the mileage would suggest.”

“I was just going in to grab my stuff,” Ellie informed me.

“Have you seen Zak?” I asked Levi.

“He was out here with us but got a call and headed back toward the house. He’s probably in the bedroom.”

“Have fun today.”

I managed to catch the end of Zak’s conversation. Based on the little bit I overheard
, it sounded as though Zak was speaking to the police detective Judge Gregor had asked us to call the previous day. The fact that I’d found the men and there were six of us who were present when the police arrived to escort them to the secure location, yet it was Zak who was called with an update brought home what I thought was an important fact: although Zak, Levi, Ellie, and I were all the same age, it was Zak everyone considered to be the adult. Perhaps it was because he had a
lot
more money than the rest of us, or more worldly experience, but I suspected it was due more to the way he handled himself in a variety of situations.

“Anything new?” I asked after
he hung up.

“The men have all been reunited with their families
, and a select group of local law-enforcement officials have been recruited to quietly investigate. As of now, they still don’t know who’s responsible for the kidnapping or where the other captives are being held. I did find it interesting that there were no recent missing persons reports.”

“So if there ar
e others, they’re people who haven’t been missed.”

“Perhaps. Or it could be that the families of the
captives have been warned not to notify the police.”

“Has anyone thought to question Kingsley Portman?” I asked.

“They purposely haven’t spoken with him. If he is involved, they don’t want him to realize that the judge and the others have been found. I think that once they can locate the others and make sure they’re safe, he’ll be the first one they talk to.”

“I guess I can see that
making sure everyone is unharmed and accounted for is their top priority. One way or the other, everything is going to come to a head when the new judge rules on Monday. I know you don’t want to believe that Keoke is involved, but . . .”

“A lot of m
en have tattoos on their wrists,” Zak pointed out.

“I suppose
, but . . .”

“Zoe, please. You just have to trust me on this
; Keoke isn’t involved in Judge Gregor’s kidnapping or Anton’s murder.”

I decided not to argue with Zak. I would, after all, be a guest in Keoke’s home for twenty
-four hours. Perhaps I’d take that opportunity to look around.

Zak and I took an early flight to the island and then rented a car. By the time we arrived at the estate, Pono and Malie were already in attendance. I was glad they’d decided to come. Both communicated that they only planned to stay for a short while, but I was still glad to see familiar faces in an unfamiliar crowd. I chatted with Malie while Zak greeted Pono, who was speaking to a man I didn’t recognize.

“I love your dress,” I complimented Malie
, who wore a traditional Hawaiian outfit with an orange and brown print. The colors in the dress flattered her dark hair and skin. She’d tucked an orange flower over one ear, rounding out the ensemble.

“Thank you. I wear this same dress to this party every year
, but I really love it. Your outfit is nice as well.”

I wore a simple white sundress that really wasn’t anything special except for its tendency to travel without wrinkling
, so I didn’t respond to Malie’s polite yet I suspected insincere comment. “I wasn’t expecting such a large crowd. It looks like half the people who live on the island must be here today.”

Malie laughed. “You
’re closer to the truth than you think. Keoke likes to do it up big, so he invites everyone he knows, as well as everyone they know. He often places announcements in the local paper, inviting the general populace, as well.”

I looked
at the long buffet tables, which had been set up under canopies to protect the food from the hot sun. The tables were overflowing with fresh fruits and vegetables, salads, a variety of fish, seafood, sushi, and traditional Hawaiian dishes such as poi and rice.

“It must cost a f
ortune to feed all these people,” I said, and my mouth began to water when I noticed the table set off to the side overloaded with a variety of delicious-looking desserts. If I wasn’t mistaken, both cream puffs and cheesecake, two of my favorites, were set out on platforms that were arranged over trays of ice that chilled the perishables.

Malie shrugged. “Keoke is a wealthy man. He enjoys entertaining and does so often. I’m pretty sure he could launch a successful bid for governor if he wanted to.”

“Do you think he’s interested in politics?”

“I guess you could say he’s not
uninterested
, although he hasn’t thrown his hat in the ring quite yet. His business keeps him busy, although I heard he was looking to take on a partner so he can devote more time to other interests. Who knows? Maybe he’s feeling out the idea.”

A bid for governor would surely be a huge undertaking
, but Keoke had wealth, good looks, and—based on the number of people in attendance—a lot of friends.

“Have you known Keoke long?”