Lurking in Paradise

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Pari Malik is awake, dressed, and sipping her first cup of coffee when she hears a firm knock. She opens the door to a smiling face. Kawaii Hale, in his mid-forties, several years younger than Abby, has deep-set eyes, short dark hair, and a large physique.

"Breakfast," he says, lifting a cardboard carrier with fruit smoothies and a sack of bagels.

"Good morning," Pari responds, "please come in."

"Let's eat in the backyard."

"How is Abby this morning?"

"She is still asleep," Kawaii answers, setting their food and drinks up outdoors on the small antique table between two chairs. "Abby took a sedative last night—one of her sleeping pills—and they always conk her out until at least mid morning."

Kawaii's familiarity with Abby's backyard extends beyond their romantic relationship. A landscape artist, who principally works at Moe'uhane, the same historic nature preserve where Abby coordinates volunteers, Kawaii likes helping Abby and his other neighbors with their yards, gardens, and trees. He designs and maintains Abby's lush blend of tropical plants and flowers without griping about her growing collection of wind chimes.

"I am happy for Halo to stay in his own home so he doesn't feel confused," Pari says, referring to Abby's blind German Shepherd and Husky mix. "You can bring him back. I will take great care of him."

"Thank you, but he has expertly memorized my bungalow by now. Halo gets around perfectly. The older he gets the more he just wants to be at his mom's side. He is lying on our bed right now waiting for her to wake up."

"I asked about Abby and Halo, but forgot to ask about you. How you are holding up, Kawaii? Antoine was your friend."

"I'm okay," he replies. "My job is to make sure everyone else gets over the tragedy."

"We will figure this out. I hope it is some comfort to you to know that justice will be served."

"No, I don't expect justice to be served. The world is unfair. We have the power to bring beauty and kindness into our lives, but we cannot stop cruelty and malice."

Pari, realizing that Kawaii may not be supportive of Abby's wish for her to solve the murder, puts down her bagel and sets her elbows on the table.

"Abby didn't consult you before hiring me?" she asks.

"No, I was in shock last night and unable to discuss it with her," Kawaii answers, scooting his chair away from the table. "Pari, please know I am glad you are here. Abby and I both are very fond of you. My personal opinion is you should spend your time engaged in quality visiting with us and not bother with what the police are already investigating."

"I don't understand. Shouldn't we try to catch a murderer?"

"You would be looking for a needle in a haystack, as that saying goes. His killer was not one of our guests. Antoine blazed through life, and people, with countless enemies in his wake. Something dreadful from his past followed him here and crushed him. I think whoever did it, for whatever reason, is too clever to be caught. Maybe it was a murder for hire and the real culprit, a person who paid for the job to be done, will never be revealed."

"Kawaii, it sounds like Antoine failed to properly make amends with you," Pari states.

"No, he tried," Kawaii answers, "and I forgave him. His gesture to take all of our ceremony photographs for free was admirable and appreciated."

"During our drive from the airport, Campbell mentioned that Antoine had betrayed you, causing an estrangement that lasted many years until now."

"Yes."

"Are you willing to share what that betrayal was with me?"

"Now that Antoine is forgiven, and dead, I just don't see the point in rehashing it. No offense, Pari. But I need to keep looking forward, not backward. Discussing his actions, from decades ago, is the last thing that should be on my mind."

"All right," she responds. "But please let me at least ask you about what you observed at the dinner last night."

"What would you like to know?"

"Were there any arguments?"

"No."

"Striking noises of any kind? Or screams? Loud thuds?"

"No."

"Did you lose power and light?"

"No."

"Did you notice any people besides the dinner guests?"

"Just the caterers. There were two of them. They were scrambling around the whole time, serving courses and refilling drinks. Neither of them would have had a moment to sneak away."

"Would any of your guests have been able to slip away?" Pari asks.

"I doubt it," Kawaii answers. "I wasn't paying attention to anyone taking trips to the bathroom. But I sat between Abby and my best friend, Gabriel, and neither of them ever left my side the entire night."

"When is the last moment you remember seeing Antoine?"

"He disappeared early on. I mean, he was there, around us, taking photographs. But it fit Antoine's character that he would not settle for typical ceremony photographs. Instead, he was shooting us from ground level, then at odd angles, and at one point Abby said she even saw him filming us from the tower window. When Dee mentioned he was missing toward the end of the dinner, the first place I thought of was the roof. Sure enough, that's where he was." The manor house is mostly one tall story above a ground level entrance, but a narrow gothic tower rises three stories and overlooks the enclosed courtyard.

"You are the one who found his body?" Pari asks.

"Yes."

"On the first floor roof or the tower roof?"

"The first floor roof," Kawaii says, sighing and drooping his shoulders.

"I am sorry that I must ask upsetting questions, but I really need answers for a few things more. Did you notice any injuries to Antoine's body?"

"There was no blood," Kawaii answers. "No wounds were visible. He was face down, but also on his side, like he had collapsed while squatting up there to take pictures."

"Did you spot any objects?"

"Like what?"

"A taser or pipe? Or a baseball bat? A gun or knife? Antoine's tripod camera stand?"

"No, there was nothing to bash him with that I could see," Kawaii says. "His tripod was there, nearby, propped upright like it was supposed to be. That's not what was missing."

"What was missing?" Pari asks.

"His camera."

#