“I’ll make sure that Norman Takahashi is given a fair shake insofar as the different sides of his character in writing the book,” Daphne promised while remaining focused on its nature as a crimes-of-murder project. She took a final sip of her coffee.

  “Mahalo.” Roxanne seemed pleased with this. She stood and Daphne followed, the two shaking hands like old friends. “Good luck with your book.”

  “Thanks.” She smiled at her as they walked out of the café and went their separate ways. Daphne contemplated the amazing twists and turns that always seemed to come with her profession. That included the serendipitous meeting of a certain homicide detective and any potential romance between them.

  Chapter Seven

  Martin Morrissey summoned Kenneth into his office for an update on the Maui Suffocation Killer investigation. Or more specifically, whether the death of Ben Hoffman meant the case had been effectively closed. Kenneth only wished he could say that were true. It would make things a whole lot easier for him and the other members of the investigative unit and task force. But he wasn’t going to lead his boss astray by giving him a false read of the situation. Or jumping the gun in wrapping this up with a nice ribbon on top if he wasn’t quite ready to go there yet.

  Morrissey’s brows twitched as he towered over his U-shaped gray desk, peering down at Kenneth seated in a stacking chair. “So, where are we in the investigation now that Hoffman is dead?”

  “Better off than we were when he was alive,” Kenneth said humorlessly. He knew that wouldn’t cut it. “We believe that Hoffman is all but certainly responsible for the asphyxiation murder of Irene Ishibashi, based upon the DNA evidence and his own final words as a vindictive ex-boyfriend of the victim. Not to mention taking his own life rather than giving himself up. Ballistics was able to match the bullet removed from Hoffman’s head to the shell casing and 9-millimeter Luger semiautomatic handgun found by his body, both with his fingerprints on them. All things considered, it stands to reason that given the MO, the presumption is that he also murdered nine other women. But I’m still not quite there yet to pin those on him.”

  “What’s holding you back?” Morrissey demanded, pressing large hands on the desk.

  Kenneth wanted to say a gut feeling, over and beyond the lack of evidence. That won’t fly, he thought, instead saying frankly, “The timeline, for one. So far, we haven’t been able to conclusively show through forensics or surveillance videos that Hoffman was present or in the vicinity at the time the murders occurred. This doesn’t mean he wasn’t. Only that it leaves open the door that he was a copycat killer. That’s what we need to figure out before putting this case to rest. Officially.”

  “Well, get it done,” he ordered, softening his hard stance. “The families of the victims deserve some real closure. That can’t happen as long as this case continues to hang over us.”

  “I understand.” Kenneth took this as his cue that the meeting was over. He stood, bringing them closer in height, making him feel less intimidated by the Investigative Services Bureau assistant chief. “We’ll finish this,” he promised while refusing to put a date and time on it.

  After leaving the office and Morrissey, who had gotten on his cell phone to probably update the police chief, Kenneth was approached by Vanessa Ringwald. Her green eyes were wide with curiosity when she asked, “So, how did it go in there?”

  “Just as you might expect.” Kenneth took a breath. “Morrissey wants results that he can pass on to his boss and the families of the so-called Maui Suffocation Killer. I told him we’d deliver, but only when everything fits right to do so.”

  “Everyone wants this over,” Vanessa contended. “With Hoffman out of the picture, we’re clearly on the right track.”

  “We just have to be sure there’s not more than one train to derail,” he said wryly.

  She nodded. “Yeah.”

  Kenneth thought about Daphne and her sense of being stalked. “I need you to check on the status of a woman named Marissa Sheffield. She was arrested for stalking Daphne Dockery in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.”

  Vanessa raised a brow. “Long ways from Maui.”

  “My thinking also,” he said evenly. “Ms. Dockery seems to think someone may be following her around as she researches her next book on the island. If there’s even a possibility...”

  “Got it!” Vanessa smiled without further comment on his clear interest in the author beyond an official capacity other than to say, “I’ll see what I can find out.”

  “Good.” Kenneth rubbed his hands together. “In the meantime, I think I’ll pay a visit to the only known survivor of the Maui Suffocation Killer, who may or may not have something to say about Ben Hoffman.”

  * * *

  KENNETH DROVE DOWN South Puunene Avenue toward Wailea, a popular resort community in South Maui, where Ruth Paquin lived with her mother. Since her near-death experience with a serial killer, the grade school principal had been unable to return to work, still suffering from the brain injury caused by the attack. After turning onto Piilani Highway, he soon took a left on Wailea Alanui Drive and entered the Wailea Heights condominium complex, parking in the lot.

  Passing by swaying palm trees and plumeria plants, Kenneth walked down a winding pathway to the ground floor unit and rang the bell. The door opened and a petite sixtysomething woman with ash-colored hair in stacked layers, whom he recognized from his previous visit as Ester Paquin, Ruth’s mother, greeted him. “Detective Kealoha.”

  “Mrs. Paquin.” He gave the widow a nod. “I was wondering if I could have a word with Ruth regarding the investigation into her attack?”

  Ester reacted. “Yes, please come in.” Kenneth stepped onto bamboo flooring in a small living room with rattan furniture. “I’ll go get her,” she told him. “Won’t you sit down?”

  “Mahalo.” He sat on a wicker sofa while wondering if Ruth would be of any help to him in possibly identifying her assailant.

  When Ruth entered the room alongside her mother, Kenneth thought she looked even frailer than the last time he saw the school principal. She had small brown eyes and her once long dark brown hair had been cut into a short messy style. “Aloha, Detective Kealoha,” she spoke tentatively, then sat beside him.

  “Hi, Ruth.” He gave her a moment before asking gently, “How have you been?”

  “I’m getting better,” she said. “It’s been an adjustment not being able to work, but my doctor tells me I’m responding well to treatment so I should be able to return to the school soon...”

  “I’m happy to hear that,” he said sincerely. “You probably have heard that a suspect in your case has been identified. His name is Ben Hoffman. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot injury.”

  “Yes, I saw the story on the news.” Her chin dropped. “I was shocked.”

  Kenneth took a breath for what came next. “Here’s the thing. We need to be certain that Hoffman was in fact the person who tried to kill you.”

  Ruth eyed her mother and back. “I don’t understand?”

  He took out his cell phone and pulled up Hoffman’s mug shot. “I need you to take a good look at this photo, Ruth,” he told her. “To the best of your ability, does this look like the man who assaulted you?”

  She studied the image for a long moment before saying, “My memory’s still a little hazy, but seeing his face, it doesn’t seem to be the same person who attacked me.”

  “Are you sure about that?” he pressed.

  “I think so.” Ruth’s voice shook. “The attacker’s face was rounder, eyes more closely set. Maybe it’s all in my head, still playing tricks on me...”

  Or not, Kenneth told himself. He wasn’t sure just how much more reliable the witness was this time than before. Yet the mug shot didn’t square with her initial description of the assailant, which she apparently maintained. In Kenneth’s mind, this lent itself to the real possibility that they could be looking at two killers. One mimicking the killing method of the other.

  Kenneth promised Ruth and her mother that he would keep them informed on any new developments in the case, even as he tried to keep an open mind himself on whether or not Ben Hoffman was actually their serial killer.

  * * *

  “HEY, JUST GOT news on your stalker, Marissa Sheffield,” Kenneth spoke on a cell phone video chat.

  “Oh...” Daphne tensed as she awaited what came next while sitting on a Louis XV armchair in her villa.

  “Yeah, I’m afraid she was able to make bail,” he said with a catch to his voice.

  “Figured as much,” Daphne muttered realistically, even if against her wishes. Should she be concerned?

  Kenneth seemed to read her mind. “As far as we’ve been able to determine, she hasn’t left the state of Alabama. Presumably, she’ll stay put and won’t bother you anymore.”

  “That’s good to know,” she said with a chuckle.

  “Apart from that, do you know how to ride a horse?”

  Daphne hadn’t seen that abrupt detour coming. “Of course.” She almost felt as though it went without saying. “When I was young, I rode horses every summer on my grandparents’ ranch. Why do you ask?”

  “An ex-cop friend of mine, Jared McDougall, who happens to be an expert in criminal background analysis, has a ranch Upcountry in Makawao,” Kenneth told her. “I’m headed there to get some feedback from him on my current investigation and thought you might want to tag along. Since he worked on the Takahashi case, he can give you some insight on that as well, if interested. Jared usually likes to talk shop while riding one of his horses.”

  “Yes, I’d love to go with you,” she said excitedly. “Haven’t ridden in a while, but I’m sure that won’t be a problem. I enjoy riding horses. I’ve also wanted to experience Upcountry Maui before I leave the island. It would certainly be a bonus to get Jared’s take on Norman Takahashi.”

  “Great, then it’s a date!” Kenneth’s voice lifted an octave. “I can pick you up in half an hour.”

  “That sounds fine.” Daphne looked forward to the adventure and liked the idea of it being a date, even if a working one. She gave him her unit number, but said she would meet him in front of the villas to save time.

  “Be sure to dress accordingly,” he teased her.

  She laughed. “I will.”

  It was only after she got off the phone that Daphne began to wonder if she had anything to wear that was appropriate for horseback riding. Or would she need to go shopping with little time to spare? In going through her things, she settled on a pink short-sleeved sun shirt, boot-cut jeans and some comfort faux-leather boots she’d brought along. She put her hair in a high ponytail and applied suntan lotion and was ready to go.

  With a little extra time on her hands, Daphne went to her laptop for a quick peek at info on Upcountry Maui. She saw that it was located on the western slopes of the Haleakala volcano and included the Haleakala National Park. Looking up Makawao, it was known as a paniolo town for Hawaiian cowboys and had a yearly Makawao Rodeo every Fourth of July. Seemed like a place she would love and imagined Kenneth as a cowboy, causing her to warm at the thought.

  When Kenneth showed up on schedule, Daphne hopped inside the car. “Hey,” he said, grinning at her.

  “Hey.” She smiled back, taking in his solid green polo shirt, jeans and paddock boots, while thinking that his attire more than measured up to her imagination. Including the Western felt black cowboy hat he wore. She chuckled. “You really are a cowboy at heart.”

  “Yeah, a little bit.” He laughed and said, “Have something for you.” Kenneth reached into the back seat and brought up a straw cowgirl hat, handing it to her. “Didn’t want you to feel left out.”

  “How sweet.” Daphne blushed and stuck it on her head, fitting perfectly. “Now I truly do feel the part. Mahalo!”

  He grinned. “All set?”

  “Yep,” she said out of the corner of her mouth. “Let’s go Upcountry.”

  During the drive on Highway 380, Daphne mentioned her unexpected sit down earlier with Norman Takahashi’s girlfriend. “She had photos and text messages that backed up her story that they were having an affair.”

  “Wow,” Kenneth said with surprise. “How did we miss that in the investigation?”

  “Apparently, she kept this to herself until now,” Daphne told him. “She wanted me to know so I could show a different side to Takahashi in the book, as someone she was in love with and claims loved her back.”

  Kenneth smirked. “Funny way for Takahashi to express this great love,” he uttered sarcastically. “By leaving her wanting for someone who’s no longer there. Never mind the hypocrisy of the jealous rage he exhibited in mass murder and suicide.”

  “I know.” Daphne was in full agreement. “Takahashi was some piece of work.”

  “You’re telling me.” Kenneth made a grumbling sound. “My morning wasn’t much better. Seems like the one survivor of the Maui Suffocation Killer, Ruth Paquin, doesn’t believe that Ben Hoffman is the man who tried to kill her.”

  “Seriously?” Daphne’s lower lip hung. “What does this mean?” she wondered.

  “It means that either Paquin’s judgment can be justifiably called into question,” he replied, “or we could be dealing with a copycat killer. Meaning her would-be killer is still at large.”

  “That’s a scary thought,” Daphne had to say. Like everyone else, she had hoped that Hoffman’s death would have spelled the end of the serial killer terrorizing dark-haired women on the island. What if this was a false assumption?

  “Yeah, scary.” Kenneth turned onto Piiholo Road. “I’m hoping Jared will have some thoughts about this to chew on.”

  “We’ll see.” She felt unsettled about where this investigation might be headed while at the same time wanting to see it through to its conclusion as a true crime story to possibly write about. Moreover, Daphne was happy to take this excursion with the detective as a way to spend as much time together as possible, with neither of them knowing where it was going.

  * * *

  JARED MCDOUGALL WAS ten years Kenneth’s senior and someone he looked up to. After more than two decades in law enforcement, moving from the San Antonio Police Department to the Maui PD, he’d had enough. He chose an early retirement to buy a ranch, where he could raise horses, give riding lessons and offer scenic tours by horseback and trail rides. Though Kenneth didn’t see himself calling it quits for the foreseeable future, he could see the day when he would hang it up and maybe get some prime property and more acreage of his own Upcountry to have a greater laidback life with a significant other he could start a family with. Someone like Daphne.

  Jared was waiting outside when they drove up to his large Dutch colonial house on Waiahiwi Road. Single, he was the same height as Kenneth, but a thicker build and tanned from spending much of his time in the sun. When he was introduced to Daphne, in true cowboy style, Jared tilted the brim of his wool Western hat hiding curly gray-blond hair with a receding hairline, and aiming weathered gray eyes at her, said, “Read your last two books. Both kept me engrossed throughout.”

  “Thanks.” She blushed. “I do my best to try and keep them real, yet readable.”

  “I can tell,” he said. “So, you two ready to saddle up and we can talk?”

  “Let’s do it,” Kenneth told him, and imagined how sexy Daphne would look on a horse.

  “It’ll be fun to ride and get a better appreciation of your land,” she spoke eagerly.

  Jared grinned. “Happy to show you around.”

  They went to the stables and Kenneth and Daphne came out with quarter horses and Jared a Clydesdale he’d named Grace after his mother. Kenneth would have happily helped Daphne climb atop the horse, only she did it on her own effortlessly and started riding as if she owned it, adding another layer to his fascination with her. She seemed just as taken with his own riding ability, which he’d also learned as a boy from his grandfather, who had a cattle ranch on Oahu. If Jared picked up the vibes between him and Daphne, he didn’t let on, choosing to focus on their purpose for paying him a visit.

  “Let’s start with Norman Takahashi,” Jared said as they rode down the trail surrounded by green grass, sloped land and koa trees. He faced Daphne, riding between the men. “I’m sure Kenneth told you I helped in the investigation.”

  “Yes, he mentioned that,” she said. “I was hoping that with your expertise on criminal background analysis, you’d like to weigh in on what propelled Takahashi to take such drastic measures in murdering four people and killing himself.” She threw in the new revelation that he’d been having an affair at the time.

  “I’d be happy to shed some light on this,” Jared said. “As far as the infidelity, I’d heard some whispers to that effect, but nothing that stuck. Kudos to you for getting Takahashi’s mistress to come out of the woodwork with her story.”

  “I believe it was eating away at her and she felt this was the best way to find closure,” Daphne indicated.

  “She was probably right. Keeping things bottled up, no matter how difficult, is rarely a good thing.” Jared took a breath and continued, “With respect to Norman Takahashi’s willingness to end so many lives as a respected professor and father, in my view, he had a narcissistic personality that made him believe it was his way or no way. Moreover, I think he had a male-superiority complex that, in his mind, had Takahashi believing he had a right to do what he damn well pleased. But his wife, well...that was a different story. Especially with another man’s child in the mix.”

  “Interesting,” Daphne said, guiding her horse down the trail. “But why couldn’t he simply have gone after his wife, if Takahashi couldn’t bear to have her with another man? Why murder his daughter, her boyfriend and his mother-in-law for his wrath?”