Free Death by Trial and Error (A Legal Suspense Short) by R. Barri Flowers Page B

that?"
    Bordeau shrugged. "Not much. Many people use
that kind of phone for different reasons." He paused. "If the
caller turns out to be involved in my wife's murder, I hope the
authorities can prove it."
    "You and me both," Naku muttered, "whoever it
happens to be..."
    Bordeau's brows bridged. "If you're
suggesting it was me, you're way off base. I have an iPhone that I
use regularly and have no reason to hide that fact."
    Naku didn't believe for one second that meant
he was above using a disposable phone on the side for any
conversations he wanted to keep off the grid. Including one in
which he could have been setting up his own wife to be killed.
    "Thanks for talking with me," he said
kindly.
    "You didn't exactly give me much choice,"
Bordeau said. "Next time, you should make an appointment."
    "Yeah, I'll try to remember that."
    He walked out of the office, but Bordeau
didn't follow him.
    Naku turned toward the attorney's secretary
as he heard her saying on the phone, "You have a delivery, Mr.
Bordeau." She listened to his response as Naku took note of the
large envelope. "I'll bring it right in." She listened again and
replied in a low tone, "He's still here—"
    Naku realized she was talking about him. He
gave a little grin while caught eavesdropping, and said, "I was
just leaving..."
    She smiled and said, "Aloha."
    Naku wondered if Bordeau had played any role
in his wife's death.
    * * *
    In his car, Naku checked in with Vanna, took
a few messages, and gave her the rest of the day off. He headed for
the hospital to pay Matsumoto a visit. He had been shot twice, once
in the chest and once in the shoulder. Neither wound had been life
threatening, leaving Naku to believe he likely wasn't the primary
target. Either that or he was damned lucky, which was something
that couldn't be said for Suzette Higuchi-Bordeau.
    Matsumoto was a patient at Maui General
Medical Center in Wailuku. Naku stepped into his room and saw him
sitting up in bed, eating, and watching television, clearly not the
worse for wear, in spite of being shot twice.
    "Do I know you?" he asked, putting his
sandwich down.
    "Not yet. Name's Eddie Naku. I'm a private
investigator looking into the death of Suzette
Higuchi-Bordeau."
    He furrowed his brow. "Sorry. Can't help
you."
    "Can't or won't?" Naku asked sharply.
    "Same thing. We were both shot by an unknown
assailant. End of story."
    "Actually, it's only the beginning of the
story," Naku said. "Why were you there?"
    "I already told the police—I was shopping and
came upon her by chance."
    "We both know that's a boatload of crap,"
Naku said, "considering you didn't have anything on your person
that was purchased from the shopping center. You were there to see
Higuchi-Bordeau or someone else and got shot, but lived to talk
about it. Same thing can't be said for her."
    Matsumoto looked at him suspiciously. "Who
hired you? Or were you banging Suzette and doing this because you
miss her so much?"
    Naku wondered if Patrick Bordeau would take
kindly to his client speaking ill of the dead. Or was he too busy
with his own alleged adultery to give a damn?
    "Never mind who hired me," he told him. "I
can assure you that I wasn't involved with Suzette. However, I am
determined to honor her memory by seeing to it that her killer is
brought to justice."
    Matsumoto sipped his drink. "Good luck with
that."
    Naku narrowed his eyes. "So what was it—an
illegal gun deal gone bad?"
    "I'm a legal gun dealer," he said with
a straight face.
    "And that's why you've retained Bordeau as
your lawyer?" Naku asked skeptically.
    "I'm just trying to protect myself."
    "Or maybe you're trying to protect yourself and Bordeau," Naku suggested.
    "I don't know what you're talking about,
man."
    "Whatever you say." Naku furrowed his brow.
"Whoever killed Suzette is still out there," he warned. "Just
because you're still alive, doesn't mean you don't have an X on
your back."
    "Yeah, well, I think I'll take my chances,"
Matsumoto said defiantly. "Now