Chapter 1
958 Words
Chapter 1
"Is Abby finally ready to go through with it?" Pari Malik asks.
"They are just two simple words—'I do'—but we'll see if she can bring herself to say them," Campbell Vaughn answers. "I would put the likelihood of another postponement at about fifty percent. But she has two very famous people on hand to improve the odds. You are about to meet them both, if we avoid traffic delays and catch the tail end of the wedding rehearsal dinner."
Campbell, the bride's next door neighbor and friend, drives Pari from the Honolulu International Airport to the northern shore of Oahu, Hawaii. He is a retired military officer with salt-and-pepper-hair, a flattop crew cut, and heterochromatic eyes (one blue, one tan). Pari endured a flight delay that is jeopardizing her attendance at the celebration. She is shrewd and wise at twenty-two years of age, with keen eyes, unblemished honey-brown skin, and long hair.
The bride, Abby Goodwin, before her divorce and relocation to Hawaii, watched Pari grow up in Maryland and played a godmother-like role in her life. Abby's marriage to Kawaii Hale takes place tomorrow evening alongside a mountain stream on an historical island preserve.
"We know Abby loves Kawaii," Campbell says. "No matter how many times I ask her for the reason for her cold feet, she evades giving me a direct answer."
"Her hesitation to tie the knot again is probably related to her first husband and his philandering behavior," Pari replies.
"By all accounts, Kawaii has settled down and become monogamous."
"Who are the two famous people attending their wedding?"
"Isabelle Jade, the film and television actress, and Antoine Talon, the controversial photographer," Campbell answers. "Whew, the egos on these two! Our beloved island is not big enough for both of them."
Campbell explains that Isabelle Jade is attending for Abby and Antoine Talon went to college with Kawaii.
Isabelle Jade fell in love with Oahu while filming her futuristic action and adventure film at Moe'uhane—the Oahu nature preserve where Abby serves as the park's volunteer coordinator. Instead of returning to Hollywood immediately after filming wrapped, Isabelle chose to remain on the island and befriended Abby while volunteering. Further, by renting the large manor at the heart of an exclusive compound with four bungalows, Isabelle is now the neighbor to Abby, Campbell, and Kawaii. Tonight, it is in the enclosed courtyard of this mystifying gothic-style house, so seemingly out of place in Hawaii, that Isabelle hosts the wedding rehearsal dinner.
Antoine Talon, estranged for many years from Kawaii, recently made amends for a betrayal during their youth and offered to photograph Kawaii's wedding and rehearsal dinner celebration without compensation.
"What was his betrayal?" Pari asks.
"I can't get a straight answer on that either," Campbell answers. "First, Abby implied it had something to do with Kawaii's college sweetheart, who would later become his first wife. But Kawaii told me it revolved around Antoine trying to deflect scrutiny after a model was harmed during a photoshoot. This was during their university days and Kawaii declined to talk about it in any depth."
"I am familiar with some of Antoine Talon's work. He is the one who exclusively photographed the assassination of the presidential candidate in Missouri, right?"
"Yes, it was the governor of Missouri, about five years ago. Antoine is famous though for much more. His career exploded in Los Angeles with cutting-edge celebrity portraits. He also dabbled in the paranormal and boasted of recording visual representations of auras and ghosts. Most notorious of all, he claimed to have captured the only high resolution image of the Loch Ness Monster while taking pictures of the Urquhart Castle in the Scottish Highlands."
"You said they are being divas—both Isabelle and Antoine—and overshadowing Abby's wedding?" Pari asks.
"Well, not yet," Campbell answers. "I made that comment because their reputations precede them. They are known for being difficult. So far, having just met them briefly, both are being charming and minding their manners."
"You don't expect that to last?"
"Of course not." Campbell laughs as they reach the northern coast and veer in a northeastern direction on Kamehameha Highway for the final stretch of the drive. "Eventually, true colors always shine through."
"Is there any other news since I have been gone?" Pari asks.
"No, it has been quiet this past year. No more murders, at least where we live. Katerina, Abby's maid of honor, is eager to see you. If your plane had arrived on time she was going to join me in picking you up from the airport. Katerina also feels responsible for the house, since Isabelle is renting it from her brother and sister-in-law. Miguel and Camila are spending the rest of the year in their hometown in Puerto Rico helping family members and others homeless from Hurricane Maria."
"They are modern day saints. Conditions must still be horrendous in Puerto Rico for them to miss this wedding."
"Yes, our neighborhood—Apapane Ring—remains a tight-knit community. I understand Katerina has implored Isabelle Jade to keep the manor a secret. Isabelle reportedly replied that its privacy and tranquility are the primary reasons she chose it as her temporary retreat."
Turning onto an unmarked road, they bend along the drive and Pari sees the familiar sign that simply states, "Apapane Ring" and "No Trespassing." But flashes of blue and red lights ricochet through the breezing leaves on the trees. By the time Campbell and Pari reach the cobblestone lane surrounding the tiny neighborhood park, they count three police vehicles and an ambulance in front of the central manor. A slender woman in her mid-thirties with lengthy blond hair races toward them and thumps her palms on Campbell's driver-side car window.
"What's wrong, Katerina?" Campbell asks, slamming on the brakes and rolling down the window.
"We found his body on the roof!" Katerina Rivera answers, grasping the car door. "We think he's dead."
"Who?"
"Antoine. Our photographer. Antoine Talon."
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