Free Maui Madness (Zoe Donovan Mysteries Book 7) by Kathi Daley

incident a couple of years back. A homeowner had squirrels in his attic, so he mixed rat poison with sunflower seeds and left it out for them to eat. Not only did we find at least a dozen dead squirrels but two dogs in the area died as well. My guess is that something similar is going on now. I just hope we can find out who’s responsible before any more animals turn up dead.”
    Zak pulled me back against his chest . “You’re frustrated at being here when something like that is going on there.”
    Zak knew me so well. “A little,” I admitted. “But I think it’s important that we ’re here, and I really am having a good time in spite of the dead man in the pig pit.”
    Zak laughed. “One of the things I love about you is your ability to adapt to any situation.”
    “You know me; I’m the bendy type.”
    “Yes , you are,” Zak growled. He leaned forward and kissed me on the neck.
    “Zak,” I scolded. “Malie and Pono will be here any minute. What will they think?”
    “They’ll think I want to make love to my hot girlfriend and they’ll be right.”
    “Later ,” I promised.
     
    The steaks were grilled to perfection, the Mai Tais delicious, and the salad fresh from the farmers market. The sun set over the water as we ate, lending an air of relaxation to an otherwise hectic day. No one had wanted to breach the subject of Pono’s arrest until after the sky grew black and the fire in the pit on the deck was the only light in an otherwise dark night.
    “The police are pretty sure I’m guilty,” Pono said after Malie got the ball rolling by urging him to discuss the interview with the others. “I guess I get it. Everyone knows Anton and I didn’t get along, and I’m sure someone must have seen us arguing. I suppose there are those who knew that I was alone at the pit after Keoke returned to the house.”
    Everyone sat very quietly.
    “It would have been easy to do,” Pono emphasized, “but I didn’t do it,” he clarified.
    “Can you tell us about your argument with Anton ?” I asked.
    “W e argued about the wreck, or at least the debris field of the wreck Malie and I found. I made the mistake of telling Leia, who used to treasure hunt with Malie and me. I thought she’d find it fascinating, and I guess she mentioned it to Anton. Anton warned me that diving in the area was dangerous, and that I should give up my search before I got both myself and Malie killed.”
    “Dangerous how?” Levi asked.
    “Anton suggested that there might be certain persons engaging in illegal activities in the same area where we found the remnants.”
    “Drug runners,” Ellie guessed.
    “Probably, although Anton was intentionally vague. I told him that I’d lived in the area my whole life and wasn’t going to let some haole tell me where I could and couldn’t dive. He got angry and called me a few choice names that I was able to match quite nicely. I stormed off, and that’s the last I ever saw of him.”
    “When was that?” I asked.
    “I guess around eight-thirty or nine. It was a nice day and I really wasn’t up for a party, so I left Keoke a note and went sailing.”
    “You left Keoke a note?” I said.
    “Yeah . I went back to the house to let him know what I was going to do, but he was on the phone. I knew if I told my grandparents or sister that I’d decided to leave, they’d try to talk me out of it, so I wrote Keoke a quick note and left it in his room. I figured he’d see it when he went in to change his clothes.”
    “When we spoke to Keoke , he didn’t mention a note,” I pointed out. “In fact, he seemed as confused as anyone about your absence. Could someone have taken the note?”
    Pono shrugged. “I guess. Keoke’s bedroom door wasn’t locked , but who would want to mess with the note?”
    “Maybe the killer,” Levi guessed. “If someone intended to set you up, they’d want everyone to think you remained on the island.”
    “For someone to have taken the note , they would