Maui Madness (Zoe Donovan Mysteries Book 7) by Kathi Daley Read Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kathi Daley
myself and everyone else that I absolutely, positively would not get involved, but everyone knew that my promise was more likely than not empty.
“Hey , Tiff.” I was yawning when she picked up.
“I’m surprised you called. When I suggested nine o’clock , I forgot about the time difference.”
“No worries . I was awake,” I lied.
“ How was the luau?”
“It was . . .” I paused to look for a word that could sum up the events of the previous day. “Eventful.”
“So tell me all about it. Was the island beautiful?”
“It was exceptional. I even got to swim under a waterfall.”
“Wow, I’m jealous. How was the pig?”
“Missing, actually.”
“Missing?”
I decided to fill Tiffany in on the less pleasant events of the day.
“The dead guy was in the pit where the pig should have been?” Tiffany said. “How could that have happened?”
“I don’t know. People were around most of the day , although Keoke did say that he hadn’t stayed to guard the pit once the pig had been buried, and there were only a handful of people on the island during the morning hours. The pit was set back from the house and shielded by large shrubs, so it’s reasonable that someone could have made the switch and not been seen, especially if they had help lifting the pig out and putting the man into the hole. I guess the whole thing was a fairly complicated process, so the person who made the switch must have had help.”
“That’s just so wrong. His poor fiancé e.”
“Yeah, she was kind of a mess.”
“Well, I should think so. Was the man dead before he was baked?” Tiffany asked.
“I don’t have lot of information , but I did get a pretty good look and there was a knife in the man’s back. Hopefully, he was long dead before he was lowered into the hole in the ground.”
“He was facedown in the pit?” Tiffany asked.
“Yes, thank God.”
“ Are there any suspects?”
“At this point the prime one is the bride-to-be’s brother.”
“Oh no. Th at poor woman. If I’d uncovered a pit and expected to find a pig but found a man instead, I wouldn’t be able to sleep for weeks.”
“Yeah, it was pretty bad. I talked to Salinger.” I decided to change the subject. There wasn’t anything I could do to help Anton, Leia, Pono, or Keoke at the moment, and the image of the dead man in the pit was already engraved in my brain. Talking about it was making it ten times worse.
“Did he have any insight on the dead animals?” Tiffany asked.
“No , but he promised to look into it.”
“Do you think he will ?”
I yawned again. “Probably not. Did the dogs from Bryton Lake show up?”
“ They arrived yesterday afternoon. Scott came over to give them all full exams. He said they seemed fine but agreed that we should keep them isolated for a few days.”
“Speaking of Scott , did you ever ask him out?” Tiffany had confessed to having a thing for our local vet and I’d recommended that she ask him out. She’d agreed to do it, although I suspected she hadn’t.
“Not yet,” Tiffany admitted. “Asking a guy out is hard.”
“And you don’t think guys feel the same way?” I asked.
“You think they do ?”
“Sure , if they really like the girl they’re asking. My feeling is that he’ll say yes, but even if he doesn’t, at least you’ll know where he stands.”
“I know you ’re right. I’ll do it before you get back.”
“Good.”
“I called your mom yesterday to warn her to keep her dogs in. She said she ran into one of the women she knew from her birthing class who told her that her cat died for no apparent reason a few weeks ago. It could be an unrelated incident, but with the other dead animals, I thought I should mention it.”
“ Did my mom give you a name?”
“No, she didn’t say.”
“Maybe I’ll call her later to see what I can find out. With everything that’s going on, it’s probably a good idea to follow every lead.”
“You’re going to be busy
“Hey , Tiff.” I was yawning when she picked up.
“I’m surprised you called. When I suggested nine o’clock , I forgot about the time difference.”
“No worries . I was awake,” I lied.
“ How was the luau?”
“It was . . .” I paused to look for a word that could sum up the events of the previous day. “Eventful.”
“So tell me all about it. Was the island beautiful?”
“It was exceptional. I even got to swim under a waterfall.”
“Wow, I’m jealous. How was the pig?”
“Missing, actually.”
“Missing?”
I decided to fill Tiffany in on the less pleasant events of the day.
“The dead guy was in the pit where the pig should have been?” Tiffany said. “How could that have happened?”
“I don’t know. People were around most of the day , although Keoke did say that he hadn’t stayed to guard the pit once the pig had been buried, and there were only a handful of people on the island during the morning hours. The pit was set back from the house and shielded by large shrubs, so it’s reasonable that someone could have made the switch and not been seen, especially if they had help lifting the pig out and putting the man into the hole. I guess the whole thing was a fairly complicated process, so the person who made the switch must have had help.”
“That’s just so wrong. His poor fiancé e.”
“Yeah, she was kind of a mess.”
“Well, I should think so. Was the man dead before he was baked?” Tiffany asked.
“I don’t have lot of information , but I did get a pretty good look and there was a knife in the man’s back. Hopefully, he was long dead before he was lowered into the hole in the ground.”
“He was facedown in the pit?” Tiffany asked.
“Yes, thank God.”
“ Are there any suspects?”
“At this point the prime one is the bride-to-be’s brother.”
“Oh no. Th at poor woman. If I’d uncovered a pit and expected to find a pig but found a man instead, I wouldn’t be able to sleep for weeks.”
“Yeah, it was pretty bad. I talked to Salinger.” I decided to change the subject. There wasn’t anything I could do to help Anton, Leia, Pono, or Keoke at the moment, and the image of the dead man in the pit was already engraved in my brain. Talking about it was making it ten times worse.
“Did he have any insight on the dead animals?” Tiffany asked.
“No , but he promised to look into it.”
“Do you think he will ?”
I yawned again. “Probably not. Did the dogs from Bryton Lake show up?”
“ They arrived yesterday afternoon. Scott came over to give them all full exams. He said they seemed fine but agreed that we should keep them isolated for a few days.”
“Speaking of Scott , did you ever ask him out?” Tiffany had confessed to having a thing for our local vet and I’d recommended that she ask him out. She’d agreed to do it, although I suspected she hadn’t.
“Not yet,” Tiffany admitted. “Asking a guy out is hard.”
“And you don’t think guys feel the same way?” I asked.
“You think they do ?”
“Sure , if they really like the girl they’re asking. My feeling is that he’ll say yes, but even if he doesn’t, at least you’ll know where he stands.”
“I know you ’re right. I’ll do it before you get back.”
“Good.”
“I called your mom yesterday to warn her to keep her dogs in. She said she ran into one of the women she knew from her birthing class who told her that her cat died for no apparent reason a few weeks ago. It could be an unrelated incident, but with the other dead animals, I thought I should mention it.”
“ Did my mom give you a name?”
“No, she didn’t say.”
“Maybe I’ll call her later to see what I can find out. With everything that’s going on, it’s probably a good idea to follow every lead.”
“You’re going to be busy