Maui Magic by Terry Ambrose

Author:Terry Ambrose [Ambrose, Terry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Maui, cozy thriller, island setting, Murder Mystery, funny mysteries, Amateur Sleuth, Hawaii fiction, senior sleuth
Publisher: Terry Ambrose
Published: 2017-03-29T23:00:00+00:00

26

It was nearly four in the afternoon when we left The Pony Club. The Hawaiian sun still burned hot enough to redden the skin of those with a fair complexion. But, the end of the day was drawing near and with the darkness we’d all be able to stash away our bottles of sunscreen. It also meant Chance and I still had time to meet up with the girls and question Hisao.

We were passing the King Kamehameha Golf Club turnoff when my curiosity got the better of me. “That was a slick trick you pulled on Billy.”

Chance snickered, but kept his eyes on the line of cars ahead of us. “Tearing the money in half?”

“Very smooth. Where’d you learn that one?”

“The script.”

“What script?”

“From the movie I was working on in Hollywood.”

“When you got fired for crashing the studio’s helicopter—that script?”

“Yes, McKenna. Just because I screwed up doesn’t mean I wasn’t serious about my job. If you have to know, I was taking my career very seriously.”

I nodded as the countryside rolled by. Brown rolling fields meandered up to the mountain. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to belittle your dedication.”

“It’s okay. Working with you is way more cool.” He extended his right arm for a quick fist bump.

We settled into a comfortable silence with me enjoying the ride while Chance negotiated the traffic. But, by the time we’d passed through the tunnel after Papawai Point I couldn’t resist asking how he’d come up with the countdown timer. “Chance? Where’d you pick up the idea for the phone?”

“Oh, the timer.” He snickered. “Well, nobody spelled it out, but I kept seeing how Mr. Marlowe put deadlines for everything on his website. You know last day for this. Sign up in the next hour for that.”

“I’m proud of you, kid. You had Billy right where you wanted him.”

Chance smiled to himself, then said, “Yeah, I did, didn’t I?”

“We’re going to see Hisao, yah?”

When Chance agreed that was our destination, I called Benni to tell her what had happened. She assured me they wouldn’t make fun of me for wearing Sherri’s ice tea. We drove the last few miles with only occasional chitchat and rolled up to the Fujita residence shortly before five. My shirt and shorts had dried, but the stains made me look like a man who’d lost control of his bodily functions. Talk about embarrassing.

Yoshiko greeted us at the front door. Her long straight hair hung over her bare shoulders and fell to her waist. Maternity meets island-casual sundress would be the best description. We removed our slippahs and followed her to the back lānai, the bottoms of our feet padding against the cool tiles as we walked.

A pair of fans whirred silently overhead. Yoshiko stood to one side smiling. The atmosphere seemed awkward, as though we were unwelcome strangers.

“You have a stunning outdoor living space,” I said.

Tension hung in the air despite the steady, cool breeze from above. After a moment of silence, Hisao stood. He and Chance moved two additional chairs closer to an oversized ottoman which was bordered by a rattan couch and matching chairs.

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