Homicide in Hawaii (Flight Risk Cozy Mystery Book 3) Read online

  “I ain’t that redneck!” Pauline called, reaching the energy of the driver. “I’m a Georgia peach, hun, born and raised, and we Georgia girls know how to have a good time.”

  “Dang!” the driver called, yanking the bus door shut. He sped off, and the bus shook with each turn he made down the backroads. The man’s voice spoke over the bus’s screechy intercom system. “Ladies and gents, we have ourselves some newbies tonight, so I’m going to do my spiel.”

  “Boo!” a few people shouted, laughing and just having fun giving each other a hard time.

  “Aw, don’t give me that, Luke-ie boy!” the driver called. “Aloha, folks, the name’s Johnny, and I’m gonna be your driver this evening! Now, city folks and southern belles, this is not your mama’s luau you get from those bogus resorts, no. This one’s au-then-tic. We are headed to Ikaika!”

  The whole bus began stomping their feet and shouting Ikaika like it meant something, and Pauline and Kendell exchanged curious glances. “I haven’t read about a place called Ikaika,” Pauline whispered to Kendell.

  Nick turned in his seat, smiling back at Pauline and Kendell. “Ikaika is not a place. It’s the owner of our luau local. He throws the best luau at his bar on the beach.”

  “Ooh, lovely!” Pauline said.

  Johnny, the driver, continued. “Folks, the bus will be leaving whenever I feel sober enough to drive us all home tonight, because you better believe this driver is downing The Ikaika’s Special as soon as we get there.” The crowd cheered, laughed, and clapped. Johnny laughed into the intercom. “But, in all seriousness, folks, the bus will leave whenever I feel the need, so if you got some place to go, make sure you got a ride out, because I party late! Now, Ikaika’s is the place to be, folks. It is the surfer hangout, in case you haven’t heard, so be prepared to talk waves with every other person you bump into tonight including myself, as I intend to take home the gold this weekend, Makani!”

  “Not in your life, Johnny!” Makani shouted, and the whole bus broke out into a roar of laughter.

  “Hold on tight, everyone, this is going to be a bumpy ride!” Johnny called, putting up his intercom speaker and zipping off-road. The bus bounced and jerked, and Kendell and Pauline gripped the seat in front of them, laughing as they were tossed about.

  Eventually, the bus pulled down onto the beach. The sun was setting over the horizon, and Kendell could make out a small bar that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. There were several other rinky-dink buses parked all along the edge of the tree line, and there were fire pits already blazing all up and down the beach. There was music blasting, people dancing, and general merriment.

  “Oh, this is going to be so much fun,” Pauline said as everyone unloaded. Several people from the bus went straight for the water while there was some daylight left, surfboards in tow.

  Johnny gave Nick a friendly shove on their way out. “Hey, looking forward to surfing circles around you this weekend!” Johnny teased, twirling his bus keys around.

  “Yeah, right,” Nick said. “My girl is the best of the best, and she’s been training me.”

  Makani elbowed Nick. “You still suck, baby.”

  “Geez, thanks,” Nick said, shaking his head and leading Kendell and the others to the outdoor bar.

  “Welcome!” a loud, booming voice called out. A round, dark Hawaiian man stood behind the bar, holding out his arms happily.

  “Ikaika!” Nick called. “Hey, man, this is my brother, Brandon.”

  “More folks from Jersey?” Ikaika smiled.

  “I’m from Jersey,” Brandon said. “This is my friend Kendell and her friend Pauline. Kendell’s a New York native, and her friend Pauline here is from Georgia.”

  “Well, welcome to Oahu, ladies,” Ikaika said, pouring them some drinks. “First round’s on Ikaika! E komo mai!”

  “Aw, such a gentleman!” Pauline exclaimed, willingly taking her free drink.

  Kendell sat at the bar, smiling happily as she watched the surfers. “You didn’t bring a board, Makani?” Kendell asked.

  “She’s been training nonstop,” Nick said. “Getting ready for the competition. She’s guaranteed to win.”

  “I don’t know about that, Nick,” Makani said, blushing.

  “You’re a natural,” Ikaika said. “This girl has been surfing these beaches since she was a toddler.”

  “Hey!” a voice called from across the bar, and Kendell looked up to see a young man scowling their way. He was tall, muscular yet slender, and he was coated in a layer of sand over his wetsuit. He had just leaned his surfboard against the outside of the bar.

  “Bane,” Makani groaned under her breath.

  “Friend of yours?” Kendell muttered, taking a sip of her drink.

  “Ex-boyfriend,” she said, and Kendell could see Nick rolling his eyes as the man made his way over.

  “This is a tourist-free spot,” Bane hissed. “Locals only.”

  “Relax, Bane,” Nick said. “This is my brother and his friends.”

  “Tourist-free means tourist-free,” Bane said, glaring in Kendell and Pauline’s direction.

  “Yeah, you tried to say the same thing about Nick,” Makani said, rolling her eyes.

  “Hey, Bane,” Ikaika said, slamming a drink down on his counter. “Bane, this is my beach, kid. You don’t make the rules. This place is tourist-free, but these folks are Nick’s ohana from home. E hana me ka ha`aha`a, am I right?”

  “E hana me ka ha`aha`a,” Nick said.

  “Oh, shut up, Nick,” Bane said, snagging his board and heading back on the beach. “This place isn’t what it used to be, Ikaika.”

  “Then go somewhere more to your liking,” Ikaika warned, and Bane ignored him on his way out.

  “Well, he’s pleasant,” Kendell muttered.

  “He got too competitive,” Makani said. “I dumped him because he didn’t like it when I started competing against him. They started letting women compete against the men, and he got all misogynistic about it. He was just mad when I won. And he doesn’t like tourists. You should have seen his reaction when I brought Nick home after my trip to New York.”

  “He sounds fun,” Pauline said.

  At the end of a bar, there was a man sitting quietly, head slumped down. Kendell continued drinking and chatting with Pauline, Brandon, and Nick, but Makani headed over to the quiet man and spoke with him for a moment. She ordered some food from Ikaika for the man before heading back over. She asked Ikaika if he had a spare board, which of course he did, and Makani decided to catch a couple of waves before the sun went down.

  Kendell nodded toward the sad young man in the corner whom Makani had bought food for. “That’s just Mikey,” Nick said, shaking his head. “Homeless guy who hangs around. He was on drugs, but he’s gotten clean and is looking for a job. Makani has been helping him out—getting him clothes for interviews, that sort of thing.”

  “That’s really sweet of her,” Kendell said. “Sounds like you got a real winner there, Nick.”

  Nick smiled and gazed out toward the beach where Makani was swimming out to the water on Ikaika’s board—apparently unable to resist the ocean even after leaving her board behind. “I definitely do,” Nick said. Brandon elbowed him, giving him a hard time like brothers do.

  “I certainly hope so,” Brandon said. “You moved across the country for her!”

  Nick laughed. “Yeah, well, I can’t help it.”

  “You are too sweet,” Pauline said to Nick. “Such a sweet boy.”

  Dot started barking, and Kendell could see Bane scowling from the beach. “Creep,” Kendell muttered under her breath.

  They continued on with their evening, partying and generally having a good time. They danced, watched a few dancers who worked for Ikaika, and had an incredible, traditional Hawaiian dinner. As Johnny had warned, he liked to stay late, and he was their ride home. Kendell was quite surprised to see that Pauline was still going strong—dancing, laughing, and conversing with the locals. The woman, despite her age, was a twenty-something at heart. She did cut herself off after the one free drink, but that didn’t keep her from having a good time.

  At last, Johnny called over a megaphone for those wanting a ride, and everyone scurried onto the bus. Brandon was laughing, picking fun at his brother on their way back to the bus stop. On their way, Pauline called for a cab to meet them back at the bus stop so they wouldn’t have to walk. It had been a good evening, and Kendell was really looking forward to the rest of her Hawaiian vacation.

  3

  Kendell awoke completely exhausted the following morning, already making up her mind that it was going to be a day hanging around the resort rather than a full day doing tours or whatever else Pauline had in mind. She needed some time to recoup after the flight the day before as well as the late-night luau, so she was hoping that Pauline would feel the same. If anything, Kendell decided, she would wander down to the beach and lay out on a towel all day. She was looking forward to her day a she rolled out of bed, only to have her day start out sour with a stream of text messages from her boyfriend Jack.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she moaned, picking up her phone and sliding through the texts. Basically, he wanted her to come home and end her vacation. It made zero sense to her, considering that Jack was always encouraging her to take a break; however, the moment she actually decided to take up the suggestion, he had had a change of heart. Suddenly, Jack felt that she was being selfish, and it was driving Kendell crazy. Five years working for the airlines, and she had never taken a single vacation day. Maybe one or two sick days because some people just couldn’t avoid flu season, but that was all. She was committed to her job to the extreme, and after this year, her vacation days would no longer roll over. Her supervisor had been kind enough to let her spend them all at once, which she certainly hadn’t expected, but that didn’t seem to matter to Jack. It didn’t matter that she was exhausted. It didn’t matter that she was finally doing something for herself. And he wasn’t even giving her much of a reason she shouldn’t do it.

  Kendell sent Jack a quick text, gently telling him to back off, and then put her phone away in her bag. She combed her hair, threw on her new bathing suit, and put her cover on. The cover had been a gift from Pauline that she had nabbed from one of the resort’s numerous gift shops. It was very cute and lacey, much like the bathing suit underneath, and was a lovely off-white that complimented her curves. Very Kendell, she felt.

  She slipped out of her bedroom, where she saw that Brandon was already dressed in his swim shorts and t-shirt, ready for a beach day. “Pauline up yet?” Kendell asked.

  “She’s downstairs hitting up the complimentary breakfast,” he said, laughing. “She’s in her swimsuit too, and she said she’d save us a seat at breakfast.”

  “Awesome!” Kendell said, joining Brandon in his laughter. “Pauline sure does love her complimentary breakfasts. She won’t book a hotel unless they offer free food.”

  “That’s my kind of girl,” Brandon said.

  “I think she’s a little old for you, Brandon,” Kendell teased.

  The two headed downstairs, and sure enough, they found Pauline sitting with Dot at a table, several plates full of food in front of her. “You’re a mess,” Kendell said when she saw Pauline, and the older woman laughed. “I’m going to go make my own plate.” Kendell headed toward the buffet line, filing her plate with an orange, a pancake, and some yogurt. Brandon made himself a plate as well, and the two of them joined Pauline and Dot at her table.

  “So, what’s the plan for today?” Pauline asked.

  “Beach,” Kendell said. “I’m exhausted, and sitting and lounging around on the beach sounds like a good plan to me. Maybe we could do tours tomorrow?”

  “That sounds lovely,” Pauline said. “I’m not as young as I used to be, and that luau wore me out last night.”

  “Yeah, we were stuck there pretty late,” Brandon said, rubbing his eyes and attempting to hold back a yawn. “Well, if you ladies are interested, Nick invited us to a private beach. You can be lazy there if you’d like, and it won’t be as crowded with other tourists.”

  “That sounds just lovely!” Pauline exclaimed. “Hanging out with the locals! That’s what destination vacations are all about.”

  “Yeah, that sounds good to me too!” Kendell said, smiling. “Last night hanging out with the locals was a lot of fun, well, except for that Bane guy. Everyone was really nice, but he acted like we were invading his space.”

  “We probably were a little,” Brandon said. “I mean, we’re from New York. You and I both know what it’s like when tourists take over a local hangout, right?”

  “Yeah, I guess that’s true,” Kendell said, slumping slightly. “But he was pretty rude about it. He was even mean to your brother, and he lives here.”

  “True,” Brandon said. “But apparently, Nick is dating his ex, so that is probably a reason behind the callousness a little bit.”

  “Boo-hoo,” Pauline said, shaking her head. “Well, I say we get a move on! I cannot wait to head to the beach!”

  Once Kendell and Brandon finished up their breakfasts, the three of them headed out with Dot in tow. They were able to catch a public bus deep into the outskirts of Honolulu, where Nick lived a short distance from a private beach. Kendell smiled, spying Brandon’s parents and sister lounging out on the front porch. “Kendell!” Brandon’s younger sister, a younger twenty-something named Trixie, jumped up. Kendell smiled, glad to elicit such an excited response. She didn’t know the girl particularly well, but they had gotten along and had gone on a couple of shopping excursions together since she had befriended Brandon. Kendell had also attended a Christmas party Brandon’s parents had hosted once, so she knew the family fairly well.

  They talked for a bit until Nick came out of his little Hawaiian shack. “Morning!” Nick called. “Man, I’ve been waiting on you three forever. I snagged some of our spare boards and stuffed them into the car; I want to see if Brandon can hold his own.”

  “Yikes,” Brandon groaned, but he laughed. “Yeah, well, I’m sure if you’ve managed to become good enough to join a local surfing contest, then it’s not that hard.”

  “Low, man,” Nick said, smirking. “Mom, Dad, you two change your mind yet about coming?”

  “We’ll catch up with you later,” their mother said. “I’m still on Jersey time.”

  Nick held out his hand to help Pauline into the passengers’ seat of the little beat-up pickup; the back of the truck was loaded down with surfboards, and he had been thoughtful enough to throw a good beach chair with an oversized umbrella in the back for Pauline. Kendell crowded into the back seat of the truck with Brandon and Trixie, and soon they were off.

  “You guys are going to love this beach,” Nick said. “The waves are awesome. It’s a big surfers’ hangout. But, there is this one spot nearby that’s really tame because of some rocks in the distance that makes almost a beachy pond area for those less enthusiastic swimmers. Surfers bring their families here—stick their kids in the chill area of the water so that they can catch some waves.”

  “If the waves are as big as you say, I might be hanging out in the kiddie pond!” Trixie joked. “I don’t know how much I can handle getting tossed about in the ocean. I’m not the best swimmer.”

  “You get used to it after a while,” Nick said.

  “So, where is Makani this morning?” Kendell asked.

  Nick smiled. “She left the house before sunrise this morning. Went for a jog before heading to the beach. She wanted to get there early and get a little time in. She doesn’t want to overwork herself this close to competition, but she wants to make sure she’s prepped too, so she decided to put in the extra early morning practice.”

  “So, she’s really a professional surfer?” Kendell questioned. “Like, how good is she?”

  “She’s one of Hawaii’s best,” Nick said proudly. “She can surf circles around some of the guys, too. You guys ever heard of Bethany Hamilton?”

  Kendell thought for a moment. “Yeah, she’s that surfer who lost her arm to a shark attack. They did a movie on her, right?”

  “Right,” Nick said. “She’s from Kauai, one of the islands. Makani was in a magazine alongside her once. They did a story on local female surfers, and Makani and couple other locals were in there with Bethany. Makani met her, and I got to meet her too. It was really cool. Makani is becoming a sort of celebrity around here in her own right because of her surfing.”

  “Why is she dating you, though? That’s the real question,” Trixie teased, and Nick reached back and punched her in the leg.

  Soon, after only a brief drive, they were pulling up on a gravel parking lot. They piled out of the car, and Nick frowned. He nodded toward a parked ambulance.

  “Hope everyone’s okay,” Brandon said.

  They walked through some tress, coming out onto the beach, where they saw a number of surfers standing around. There were some paramedics and a police officer standing over someone, and Nick abruptly broke away from them to rush over. Brandon and Trixie hurried after him while Kendell remained back with Pauline. The older woman did her best to scurry, but the sandy beach was not the easiest thing for a woman her age to sprint on.

  It was still early in the morning. There were only about four or five surfers there, and they were all gathered around the paramedics. One of the surfers glanced up and spotted Kendell and Pauline heading over, and he separated from the group. After a moment, Kendell recognized the man as Johnny, the giddy driver from their luau the night before. He looked sad and a bit shaken.

  “What happened?” Kendell asked.

  “I don’t know. I just got here,” Johnny said, and Kendell glanced over to see Nick in a fit. Johnny lowered his head. “It’s Makani,” he said. “Some of the surfers who got here before me found her amongst the rocks. Man, she was smart… She knew better than to start surfing these waters before anyone else showed! You don’t surf along out this way, man! She’s so stubborn!”

  “Oh, no,” Kendell said under her breath. She glanced over again and could see Nick lingering over the paramedics, his face very pale. In fact, Nick looked like he was about to fall down. “Is she okay?” Kendell asked under her breath.