Murder in Honolulu: A Skye Delaney Mystery
Maybe Darlene would surprise me and
meet with someone in the back room of one of the fashionable
boutiques. Or maybe even out in the open in the food court.
    If that was the case, she certainly was
taking her own sweet time about it. Darlene spent nearly three
exhausting hours at the mall. At least it was exhausting for me, in
spite of my fitness routine. This was one time in which the lady
did take full advantage of her credit cards. She left the mall
overloaded with bags, but no lover.
    Her next stop was a manicurist on Woodlawn
Drive. A young woman gave Darlene the full fingers and toes
treatment. Seemed innocent enough, I thought, ruling out for the
moment that the affair was with another woman. I took pictures
anyway just for the hell of it.
    Things finally began to get interesting when
I tailed Darlene to a community park on Aala Street. She walked
hurriedly to a shaded area, where she met with a thirty-something
Hawaiian man of medium build with a short dark ponytail. My first
thought was: Gotcha, Darlene!
    But it looked like I'd jumped the gun.
    They exchanged a few words before she handed
the man an envelope. I captured it on digital and watched through
the telephoto lens as he riffled through what could only have been
money. More words were exchanged before he reached into his pocket
and quickly—his eyes darting left and right as though scared to
death that someone might catch them in the act of committing a
crime—placed a small plastic bag into Darlene's palm, and curled
her fingers around it for good measure.
    My guess was that I'd just witnessed a drug
transaction between a dealer and the wife of a former prosecutor
and now wealthy businessman. Suddenly this case had far greater
implications than merely a wife who was having an affair. I found
myself almost wishing it had been something as simple and
non-criminal (unless it happened to be your own spouse) as
adultery. Was this the essence of Darlene's "affair"? Drug abuse?
Did Carter even have a clue that his wife was doing drugs and
willing to go to risky lengths to get them?
     

 
    CHAPTER
FIVE
     
    My favorite place to unwind was at a Waikiki
watering hole on Kuhio Avenue called Clyde and Bonnie's. Named
after the infamous bank-robbing couple from the 1930s, the walls
were lined with images from a time gone by. The music piping out
was also vintage jazz standards, featuring the likes of Sarah
Vaughan, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and other great crooners of
that era.
    I sat with Ridge at a small table near the
window, sharing a pitcher of beer. His brow furrowed as he studied
the photograph I'd just handed him.
    He turned his eyes to me. "Looks familiar,"
he said. "I think I'll run it by the guys in vice."
    I grabbed the picture of Darlene and the man
she had met at the park. "Strictly unofficial , remember?"
Against my better judgment, I had shared with Ridge my suspicions
about Darlene and her probable drug dealer. "I can't really be sure
what I saw," I said waveringly. I'd held back the more
incriminating pictures. "The last thing I want to do is betray the
confidentiality of a client—particularly one who was once a top
prosecutor in this city—by providing dirt for every cop on the
police force who may have had, or still has, a beef against
him."
    Not to mention those nervous investors
Carter mentioned. And just plain old media folks who like to jump
on any story that seems remotely newsworthy. At the very least, I
figured that Carter deserved to hear it from me first if there was
any substance to my suspicions.
    Ridge put the beer mug to his mouth and
flashed his deep blue eyes at me drearily. "Do I detect some
sentiment for Carter Delaney and his female problems?"
    I stared at the tricky question while
tasting beer. "I'm not going to pretend we were never married"—as
if that was an option—"or that there aren't some lingering feelings
that come with the territory," I conceded, hating to admit it. "But
right now my only interest in the man is
Read Online Free Pdf

Similar Books

A Handful of Time

Kit Pearson

How To Set Up An FLR

Georgia Ivey Green

Quilt

Nicholas Royle

Back for You

Anara Bella

Monster Lake

Edward Lee

Kiss the Bride

Lori Wilde