Death by Trial and Error (A Legal Suspense Short) (9 page)

Naku couldn't help but think that he was
holding back. For what reason? "Why would your wife meet with a
known illegal gun dealer? And why were those other men—two of whom
are clients of yours with criminal records—there?"

Bordeau sighed. "Suzette went to meet with
Tucker Matsumoto to try to collect money he owed us for the sale of
some weapons I owned. It was a perfectly legitimate transaction, I
assure you. As for Matsumoto being a known illegal gun dealer, as
you put it, that hasn't been proven. The other men are indeed my
clients and had come to my house for legal advice. They offered to
follow Suzette to the meeting place in order to protect her from
any harm that might come from street hoodlums who are known to
prowl that area."

"Right. And how did that work out for her?"
Naku asked sarcastically.

"Not very well," he acknowledged. "But that
doesn't mean the attack had anything to do with Suzette's purpose
for being there—or the men who were present, no matter their
background or present circumstances."

Naku gave him a direct look. "From what I
understand, your clients never bothered to call 911. Instead, they
drove around with your wife and a seriously wounded Matsumoto for a
while before going to the hospital. That probably cost your wife
her life," he added, if only to make a point.

Bordeau frowned. "They told me Suzette was
dead before they put her in the vehicle, and the autopsy seems to
back it up. My clients admitted they panicked out of fear that they
would be charged with the crime. Fortunately for them, the
authorities didn't pursue that angle and are looking for the real
killer now."

"Who do you think murdered your wife?" Naku
asked pointblank, while wondering if this could possibly have
anything to do with his alleged love life outside the marriage.

"I have no idea," Bordeau said as he ran a
hand across his mouth. "If I had to guess, I'd say it was someone
who had it in for Tucker Matsumoto, and Suzette was caught in the
crossfire."

"So you're saying that Matsumoto has
enemies?" Naku asked.

"I'm saying that in his line of work as a
licensed gun dealer, he could have come across some people who
didn't want to play by the rules."

"Maybe it was Matsumoto who didn't play by
the rules," Naku tossed at him, while thinking:
Or your
wife
.

Bordeau wrinkled his nose. "I'll leave it up
to the police to figure out." He paused. "Or perhaps you..."

"I guess I won't take up any more of your
time," Naku said amusingly. When he got to the door, he turned
around and asked, "By the way, do you know who your wife might have
been talking to on the phone the night of her death? Apparently,
that's what sent her out to meet with Matsumoto."

Bordeau flashed him a pensive stare. "I wish
I did know. My wife had many friends—some of whom she didn't share
with me. Could be the call had nothing to do with her death."

"Or it could have had everything to do with
it," Naku said, "since this person made sure to use a virtually
untraceable burner phone. What do you make of that?"

Bordeau shrugged. "Not much. Many people use
that kind of phone for different reasons." He paused. "If the
caller turns out to be involved in my wife's murder, I hope the
authorities can prove it."

"You and me both," Naku muttered, "whoever it
happens to be..."

Bordeau's brows bridged. "If you're
suggesting it was me, you're way off base. I have an iPhone that I
use regularly and have no reason to hide that fact."

Naku didn't believe for one second that meant
he was above using a disposable phone on the side for any
conversations he wanted to keep off the grid. Including one in
which he could have been setting up his own wife to be killed.

"Thanks for talking with me," he said
kindly.

"You didn't exactly give me much choice,"
Bordeau said. "Next time, you should make an appointment."

"Yeah, I'll try to remember that."

He walked out of the office, but Bordeau
didn't follow him.

Naku turned toward the attorney's secretary
as he heard her saying on the phone, "You have a delivery, Mr.
Bordeau." She listened to his response as Naku took note of the
large envelope. "I'll bring it right in." She listened again and
replied in a low tone, "He's still here—"

Naku realized she was talking about him. He
gave a little grin while caught eavesdropping, and said, "I was
just leaving..."

She smiled and said, "Aloha."

Naku wondered if Bordeau had played any role
in his wife's death.

* * *

In his car, Naku checked in with Vanna, took
a few messages, and gave her the rest of the day off. He headed for
the hospital to pay Matsumoto a visit. He had been shot twice, once
in the chest and once in the shoulder. Neither wound had been life
threatening, leaving Naku to believe he likely wasn't the primary
target. Either that or he was damned lucky, which was something
that couldn't be said for Suzette Higuchi-Bordeau.

Matsumoto was a patient at Maui General
Medical Center in Wailuku. Naku stepped into his room and saw him
sitting up in bed, eating, and watching television, clearly not the
worse for wear, in spite of being shot twice.

"Do I know you?" he asked, putting his
sandwich down.

"Not yet. Name's Eddie Naku. I'm a private
investigator looking into the death of Suzette
Higuchi-Bordeau."

He furrowed his brow. "Sorry. Can't help
you."

"Can't or won't?" Naku asked sharply.

"Same thing. We were both shot by an unknown
assailant. End of story."

"Actually, it's only the beginning of the
story," Naku said. "Why were you there?"

"I already told the police—I was shopping and
came upon her by chance."

"We both know that's a boatload of crap,"
Naku said, "considering you didn't have anything on your person
that was purchased from the shopping center. You were there to see
Higuchi-Bordeau or someone else and got shot, but lived to talk
about it. Same thing can't be said for her."

Matsumoto looked at him suspiciously. "Who
hired you? Or were you banging Suzette and doing this because you
miss her so much?"

Naku wondered if Patrick Bordeau would take
kindly to his client speaking ill of the dead. Or was he too busy
with his own alleged adultery to give a damn?

"Never mind who hired me," he told him. "I
can assure you that I wasn't involved with Suzette. However, I am
determined to honor her memory by seeing to it that her killer is
brought to justice."

Matsumoto sipped his drink. "Good luck with
that."

Naku narrowed his eyes. "So what was it—an
illegal gun deal gone bad?"

"I'm a
legal
gun dealer," he said with
a straight face.

"And that's why you've retained Bordeau as
your lawyer?" Naku asked skeptically.

"I'm just trying to protect myself."

"Or maybe you're trying to protect yourself
and
Bordeau," Naku suggested.

"I don't know what you're talking about,
man."

"Whatever you say." Naku furrowed his brow.
"Whoever killed Suzette is still out there," he warned. "Just
because you're still alive, doesn't mean you don't have an X on
your back."

"Yeah, well, I think I'll take my chances,"
Matsumoto said defiantly. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get
back to my meal, even if it is terrible."

Naku took out one of his business cards and
set it on his tray. "If you change your mind and want to talk, let
me know."

He left on that note, and was pretty sure
that Matsumoto knew a hell of a lot more than he was letting on.
But did he see the shooter? And was the person gunning for him
too?

* * *

Naku went to see Brett Kawachi, the deputy
prosecuting attorney of Maui County. He had done some work for
Kawachi when he first started his private investigation business so
he was hoping to get some insight into Patrick Bordeau from
him.

The Department of the Prosecuting Attorney
was located in Wailuku. Naku took the elevator to Kawachi's third
floor office, sure to find him there. After all, the man he'd
worked with hardly ever took a day off, as if trying to prove
something to someone, if not himself.

Kawachi greeted Naku at the door to his
office as if they were old friends, after the deputy PA's secretary
had sent him in.

"Eddie Naku," Kawachi said in a husky voice,
"Aloha 'auinalā."

Naku smiled, repeating the words back to him,
which meant good afternoon. He looked up at the shorter, wider
deputy prosecuting attorney with receding gray hair.

"Does this mean you're ready to work
full-time for the Prosecuting Attorney's office?" Kawachi asked,
gazing at him.

"Afraid not," Naku told him. He preferred
being his own boss as an investigator.

Kawachi frowned. "That's too bad. So what
brings you to my office?"

"I've been hired to look into the death of
Suzette Higuchi-Bordeau. I'm sure you're familiar with the
case..."

Kawachi nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I'm
familiar with it. Terrible thing that happened to her. The police
are working the case."

"Yes, but not fast enough for Ms.
Higuchi-Bordeau's sister," Naku told him. "She's my client and
we're looking for answers."

"Well, you have to make a living somehow,"
Kawachi said. "Not sure I can be much help to you, as this case
hasn't reached us yet."

"What can you tell me about Patrick Bordeau?"
Naku asked. "I take it you've crossed paths from time to time?"

Kawachi nodded. "We have, both in and out of
the courtroom." He glanced over at some chairs around a small table
and pointed in that direction. "Let's sit."

"Okay." Naku sat down, while wondering if
Kawachi could provide anything useful in his quest to get more
information on the man his client held responsible for her sister's
death.

Kawachi leaned back in the chair. "So what do
you want to know about him?"

"What type of guy is he?"

"Well, he's a damn good lawyer, a gun
enthusiast, charming, and someone who can look you in the eye
without blinking."

Naku sneered. "Why would he defend a crook
that might have had something to do with his wife's murder?"

"The pat answer to that is everyone deserves
a defense, no matter their position in life," Kawachi responded.
"Having previously been a defense attorney, I've taken on clients
who were less than ideal in their particular circumstances, but
asked for my help. I assume the same is true for Patrick Bordeau,
especially with no charges being filed yet implicating anyone in
his wife's death."

"My client believes Bordeau is involved in an
arms trafficking operation," Naku told him.

Kawachi cocked a brow. "That's a serious
charge."

"Yeah, it is," Naku said. "Problem is she
only has her sister's word on that and, of course, her sister is no
longer around to corroborate it."

"So she thinks Bordeau was involved in his
wife's murder?"

"That's right," Naku said. "My client
believes her sister was about to blow this operation out of the
water, but was killed before she could do so. It wouldn't be the
first time a man offed his wife to keep her quiet."

"And why would the wife try to ruin Bordeau?"
Kawachi asked. "Is there something I'm missing here?"

"He was cheating on her," Naku said, though
it hadn't been proven yet. "Maybe this was her payback, big
time."

"Infidelity is a good motive," Kawachi said
as he smoothed his jaw line. "Bordeau has a reputation for being a
womanizer, marriage aside. But that doesn't make him a killer, much
less an arms trafficker. Besides, I understand that he had an
alibi."

"As a lawyer, Bordeau's smart enough to get
someone else to do his dirty work for him, if needed," Naku
suggested.

"True enough. But I need a lot more than
innuendoes and possibilities to go after Patrick Bordeau."

"I understand." In fact, Naku felt the same
way. He wasn't about to pin a murder and an attempted murder on
Bordeau without solid evidence to back it up. That was something
the police clearly did not have at the moment, and neither did
he.

"Looks like you've got your work cut out for
you," Kawachi said, eyeing him.

Naku agreed. "That's how I earn my pay."

"You could probably earn more as one of my
investigators," the deputy prosecuting attorney reminded him.

"Probably, but then I wouldn't get to call
all the shots."

Kawachi lifted a brow. "Is it that important
to you?"

"Damned right, it is!" Naku met his eyes.
"Something I'm sure you can relate to," he added, knowing that his
role with the prosecuting attorney's office pretty much gave him
such leverage.

When he left Kawachi's office, Naku found he
still had more questions than answers in this case. In the
meantime, whoever shot to death Suzette Higuchi-Bordeau was still
out there and likely in no hurry to confess to the crime without
pressure to do so.

* * *

Read the entire Dead in Pukalani, available
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# # #

ABOUT THE
AUTHOR

R. Barri Flowers is an award winning
criminologist and bestselling author of more than eighty books,
including mystery and thriller fiction, relationship novels, young
adult mysteries, and children's books.

Fiction titles include Before He Kills Again,
Dark Streets of Whitechapel, Dead in Pukalani, Dead in Kihei,
Forever Sweethearts, Fractured Trust, Killer in The Woods, Murder
in Maui, Murder in Honolulu, Murdered in the Man Cave, Murder on
Kaanapali Beach, Murder of the Hula Dancers, Persuasive Evidence,
Seduced to Kill in Kauai, State's Evidence, and Justice Served.