Aloha Betrayed by Donald Bain, Jessica Fletcher Read Free Book Online Page A

you’re outside.”
    “What’s your name?” he asked, which made me smile. He certainly was a direct little fellow.
    “I’m Jessica Fletcher.”
    “My name’s Kona.”
    “Like the coffee?”
    “Like the place on the Big Island. But my daddy calls me Koko. You can call me Koko, too.”
    “Nice to meet you, Koko.”
    “Found a new friend, huh?” Mike said, easing his big body into one of the patio chairs. “Could use a break from the sun. You have any water with you, Jessica?”
    “I have a couple of bottles in my bag,” I said, “but the water’s going to be warm.”
    “As long as it’s wet,” he said. “Take a seat. We can spare five minutes.”
    “But we don’t know who lives here.” I groped around in my bag for the small water bottles I’d tossed in it that morning.
    Mike shrugged.
    “You know me,” Koko said. I now could see large brown eyes through the thick lenses of his glasses.
    “Yes, we do,” I said, taking the other chair and handing Mike a bottle, “but I would feel better if you went inside and told Tutu that we’re out here on your patio.”
    Koko looked down at his feet. “She gets angry when I wake her up.”
    Mike chuckled. “Guess we better let your grandma sleep, huh?”
    Koko grinned at him. “What’s the yellow ribbon for?” He waved at the crime scene tape.
    “A lady fell and hurt herself,” Mike said. “We want to make sure no one else goes there and gets hurt—like you. Promise me that you won’t walk over there.”
    Koko shook his head. “I won’t. I’m not allowed to go on the trail, only as far as the tree.”
    “Good boy. You listen to your
tutu
.” Mike took a sip of his water and swiped a hand across his damp brow. “Henry indicated they questioned everyone in the neighborhood, and no one heard anything last night,” he said to me.
    “I heard something last night,” Koko said.
    Mike leaned forward in his chair and gave Koko a little smile. “What did you hear, Koko?”
    “I heard the rain.”
    “Oh, it woke you up, did it?”
    “No. I was already up. The birds woke me up.”
    “Birds?” Mike said.
    Koko nodded. “The loud ones. I hear them every morning, and last night when—”
    “There you are, Koko. I’ve been looking all over for you.” A woman in a yellow apron stood in the open door. “You’re letting out all the cold air. Get in here this minute.” She glared at Mike and me. “And who are you?”
    Mike stood and gave her a mild smile. “Investigators, ma’am.”
    Her angry expression changed to regret. “We heard about it. Just awful. I’ve been saying for years that they need to build a fence along that path.”
    “What’s awful, Tutu?” Koko asked.
    “Nothing you need to know about. Get inside, little one. It’s time for your snack.” To us, she said, “You can sit as long as you like.”
    “We’d like to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind,” Mike said.
    “I already told the police I went to bed at ten and slept through to this morning. Didn’t see anything. Didn’t hear anything. Sorry.”
    Koko started to say something, but his grandmother ushered him inside and closed the glass door.
    Mike sat again. “What do you think?” he said.
    “I think Mala might have fallen down the cliff before the rain came,” I said.
    “Why do you say that?”
    “The birds Koko heard. At the luau last night, a noise disturbed birds that nest on the ground behind the stage and they flew into the air making loud noises. Grace Latimer said they were francolins. Maybe francolins were nesting here, too. Mala’s presence might have roused them. Perhaps she screamed. If she did, it might have startled the birds into calling. They’re certainly loud enough to wake a little boy. It could point to the time she fell—or was pushed.”
    Mike grimaced. “I’ll hold off on the second half of that statement,” he said, “for the moment. Meanwhile, let’s go look and see if we find any evidence of the birds.”
    But