I said goodbye to Steve and joined my brother. As Dave and I walked to the parking lot, I looked back. Steve was talking on his cell, frowning, as the doors of the elevator closed.
Dave took over the driving detail, which was fine with me. I realized that I’d been up since five this morning. Dave must be equally exhausted since he’d only slept a few hours in his cell. I replayed my conversation with his friend in my head.
“I can’t imagine Steve as our killer.” Dave echoed my thoughts.
“Me either.” At least, I preferred that someone who kissed me was not a killer.
“You know if the cops don’t come up with any other suspects, they can arrest me again.”
“What kind of evidence do they have?”
Dave shot a glance at me then returned to stare at the dark and almost empty road ahead.
“In my opinion, a lot of the evidence is circumstantial,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. “How about your lawyer’s opinion?”
“I guess it depends if the Prosecuting Attorney thinks she has a sufficient case against me.”
“So share. What do they have?”
He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. “Well, like I said, some people––I don’t know who––saw me in town with Keiki those couple of times. It’s not like we were trying to hide our meetings.”
“They must have more than that.”
“There is. An opened bottle of beer with my fingerprints was sitting on the rock wall, but it probably got missed when we cleaned up. The police also ran tests on those pieces of broken glass they found on the lava rocks below the restaurant. They got the results back and it showed something.
I gasped. “Like drugs?”
“A type of drug, I guess. They tested it, and it turned out to be Ambien.”
“The sleeping medication? Do any of your bartenders or servers use it?”
He shrugged. “I have no idea if any of my employees use it. Unfortunately, I do.”
My head swirled with Dave’s new revelation. “So Keiki was poisoned?”
“They weren’t originally sure if her death was an accident, suicide or murder. But the toxicology results showed that Keiki had Ambien in her system. Enough to put a dance troupe to sleep.”
“Lots of people take Ambien. That’s very circumstantial evidence.” I loved the sound of that word “circumstantial” rolling over my tongue. Made me feel like I almost knew what I was doing.
“I think that’s one reason they didn’t feel they had enough hard evidence to charge me with murder––yet. Although Detective Lee stated that Walea pointed an incriminating finger at me. She claimed Keiki had a rendezvous arranged with her boss.”
“You didn’t meet Keiki, did you?”
He shook his head. “No. But when I arrived home after the reception, Regan and I got into it once again. She accused me of sleeping with Keiki, and I denied it. Then she stormed into the bedroom, slammed the door and went to bed, I guess. I watched TV awhile then went for a walk. Thought the night air might clear my head.”
“Heck of a time for a stroll,” I muttered, shaking my head at my alibi-less brother. On the other hand, his eyelids remained twitch-free. It appeared he was telling the truth.
“Hey, it’s Kailua, for Pete’s sake. This is as safe a town you can live in as anywhere.”
Unless you’re a hula dancer caught up in some nefarious activity.
“I guess if you were gone, Regan could have met Keiki at the restaurant and slipped Ambien into something she ate or drank.” I glanced out the window at the passing scenery wondering if I should ask Dave the question that kept nagging at me. “Do you honestly think your wife could be the killer?”
“I don’t know what to think. Ever since Ritz wangled this deal with The Bride and the Bachelor show, Regan’s been wound tighter than a championship yo-yo.”
“Was she stressed enough to fight with Keiki over you?”
“My wife can accomplish anything she sets her mind to,” he replied. “Even murder.”
Chapter 40
Saturday morning arrived far too early. I stumbled into the bathroom and stared at my bleary eyes. Once I returned home to Placerville, I would need another vacation to recover from this one. It seemed wrong to go on the ATV outing when we should be detecting, but it was the excursion I’d most looked forward to since we’d first planned this trip. Plus I felt my brother could use a break after his horrendous week.
The island brochures described the Waipi’o Valley as beautiful, serene, and a sacred area in the Hawaiian culture. With vistas 2,000 feet above the valley floor, twin waterfalls and a black sand beach, it was a guaranteed once-in-a-lifetime experience. Unfortunately, the only way to experience the beauty was to drive a four-wheeled all-terrain vehicle, or ride a four-heeled all- terrain horse.