1 Murder on Moloka'i Read Online Free PDF Page A

hallway toward the surfer airbrushed on my office door. Adrienne Ridgely stood by him statuesquely, clutching a lei. She looked transformed. The tropic sun had deepened the color in her cheeks and highlighted the reds and golds in her chestnut hair.
    As I approached, Adrienne stretched her arms toward me and placed the lei around my neck. Her perfume, mixed with the intoxicating odor of the tuberose, drew me nearer. We touched. She abruptly stepped back. The blush heightened in her cheeks.
    “Ah, what a surprise,” I said, searching for more intelligent words. “Why the lei ?”
    “For taking my case.” She quickly regained her composure. “My sister is finally going to get the justice she deserves.”
    “I’m not sure we have a case yet,” I admitted. “Although I did discover something on Moloka‘i yesterday.”
    I unlocked the two dead bolts and swung open the thick mahogany door. The tuberose lei instantly revived the stale air in my office. I opened my window and couldn’t help but notice how gracefully Adrienne slid into my client chair. She glanced atop my filing cabinet at the tarnished trophy teetering there– Classic Longboard–Mākaha–Third Place–then turned her cool gaze back to me.
    “So the big news is,” I started, “your former brother-in-law rode to Kalaupapa the day before Sara died.”
    “He did?” Adrienne’s eyes widened. She seemed even more surprised than I had been.
    “The guide doesn’t remember seeing Parke on the day of the accident, but said he acted preoccupied when he took the tour the previous day. His mind was apparently elsewhere.”
    “I know where it was,” Adrienne said almost to herself, her expressive brow working again.
    “It’s going to take more than his mule ride to build a case against him,” I said, trying to give her a sense of the magnitude of evidence needed to convict a man of murder. “We have a long way to go. But, fortunately, there were four witnesses besides the guide, Kaluna. I plan to interview each in person before confronting Parke. Their testimonies may give us more leverage against him.”
    “When will you start?” She looked at me hopefully.
    “Today,” I said. “The first witness is a doctor named Benjamin Goto who practices here in Honolulu. I lined up an interview for eleven o’clock. It should require little time and expense.”
    “Whatever it takes.”
    “Interviewing the other three may be more challenging. One lives on Maui, another on the rural Hāmākua Coast of the Big Island, and the last in a Los Angeles suburb. If you want to cut costs, I can try phone interviews, though I don’t think they’re nearly as effective.”
    “No,” Adrienne agreed. “Interview each in person.”
    “Your retainer should still cover the trip to Maui. But I’ll need another two thousand for travel to the Big Island and Los Angeles.”
    “Why don’t I just write you a check now?” Adrienne reached into her calfskin purse. She was determined.
    I took the crisp Boston check and tucked it into my top desk drawer. “I’ll call you after the interview with Dr. Goto then.”
    Adrienne rose. The highlights in her hair caught the sunlight filtering through my window. “If anyone can undercover my sister’s murder, I trust it’s you.”
    “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I said, the intoxicating scent of the tuberose mixed with her fruity perfume starting to make me dizzy. “And for the lei .”
    She nodded and turned to go. I took the opportunity to escort her down the orange shag stairs. Mrs. Fujiyama smiled when she saw us together.
    Outside the flower shop, Adrienne climbed into her waiting cab. The yellow sedan swept down Maunakea, past the lurid neon signs that glow day and night on Hotel Street.

seven
     
    Before my meeting with Dr. Goto, I made some telephone inquiries about him. Benjamin Goto had practiced medicine on Kapi‘olani Boulevard for twelve years, I learned. His license was in good standing and only one