Murder in Honolulu: A Skye Delaney Mystery (31 page)

"Yes, definitely
crazy
," I told her,
but I wasn't looking to turn this into some girl chat right
now.

She seemed to read my mind. "Well, I'm not
sure exactly where Liam is, but I can give you his cell number, if
you don't already have it."

Actually, I did and told her so.

After I got back into my car, I phoned Liam
Pratt, putting him on speakerphone.

He answered on the first ring. "Skye," he
said, as if we were longtime buddies. "Believe it or not, I was
just thinking about you."

"Oh really," I said. I didn't even want to
imagine the exact nature of those thoughts. I recalled our last
meeting and the mild flirting that seemed to be going on, more his
way than mine.

"That so hard to believe?" he asked.
Background noise suggested he too was driving.

"Actually, no," I admitted, considering the
source.

"It's not what you think," Liam said
mysteriously. "I was hoping we could talk. Guess you felt the same
way..."

"Maybe I did," I conceded, as he now had my
full attention. "Why don't you go first?"

"All right," he said. "I've been doing some
digging into these recent deaths that appear to be connected to
Carter Delaney and, to tell you the truth, I'm not really satisfied
with the official findings—" Liam paused as if gathering his
thoughts. "I found a common thread between Delaney, Edwin Axelrod,
and Antonio Ramirez that I think is worth checking into."

"I'm listening..." I told him.

He continued. "A man named Trevor Baldwin
worked for Delaney and, most recently, Axelrod, as a driver,
bodyguard, and all around errand boy," Liam informed me. "According
to my sources, Baldwin is a forty-five-year-old Persian Gulf War
vet who carries some psychological baggage from his tour of duty
and a bitter divorce. Delaney allegedly fired him for stealing
money. Although he was no longer employed by Axelrod, a witness saw
Baldwin coming from the building the day Axelrod was killed."

"Interesting," I said, while remaining
skeptical that this information was tied to Axelrod's death. The
police had not labeled Baldwin as a suspect in Axelrod's death nor
had they indicated that Baldwin had any connection to Carter's
murder. "But what does that prove, other than Trevor Baldwin
couldn't hold onto a job and he may have visited the building that
day?"

"For one, it gives us someone—besides those
already noted—who could've had it in for either man," Liam answered
equably. "But here's where it gets even more interesting. I had my
man on the force run Baldwin's name through the system. He spent
time in the joint for attempted murder. And guess who he roomed
with for a while?"

"Adam Ramirez," I replied. It seemed to fit
when I put the pieces together.

"Bingo!" Liam yelled into the phone.
"Antonio Ramirez's brother. Doesn't that strike you as just a
little bit too coincidental?"

"How about a lot too coincidental," I told
him, as the improbable connections raced through my mind. "Frankly,
it does seem almost too weird to be true."

"I know," Liam concurred, "but the facts
speak for themselves. I found out that Baldwin was also charged
once with breaking and entering, but it never went to trial after
the victim mysteriously disappeared. I admit that one thing may
have absolutely nothing to do with the other in these scenarios and
happenings. But, when you put it all together, it could be that
Trevor Baldwin is a ticking time bomb on the loose..."

"Even if I were to believe that Baldwin is a
threat to society and may have killed Axelrod," I said, "Antonio
Ramirez's DNA was a positive match to blood found on my dog when he
bit someone in my house the day Carter was killed. There was no
indication that Ramirez had a partner in crime or was there to
stage his suicide."

"So maybe Baldwin did a damned good job to
make it appear that way," Liam speculated. "Stranger things have
happened."

It seemed like this case had been full of
strange twists and turns, I thought. So why not another?

"Are you on your way to talk to Baldwin?" I
asked Liam, conceding that this turn of events could be much more
than a wild goose chase.

"Not exactly," he said. "The man's been hard
to track down. Seems like he never stays in the same place too
long." Liam cleared his throat. "However, I've got a lead on a
woman who supposedly knows Baldwin. I'm on my way to see her right
now. Her name is Natsuko Sasaki. I think you know her..."

My heart skipped a beat in that moment of
shock.
Natsuko
Sasaki
,
my mind repeated as if
I'd heard him incorrectly. My housekeeper!

What did she know about any of this? I
wondered. Was Trevor Baldwin Natsuko's boyfriend, in spite of her
supposedly strong anti male sentiments? I refused to believe that
she could possibly have had anything to do with Carter's death.

At least not until I heard it from her.
Natsuko's apartment was not far. I preferred to discuss this face
to face with her, while hoping that Liam was way off base.

"And what was it you called to talk to me
about, Skye?" he asked, snapping me out of my trance.

I told him, which amounted to the same
reason he had called me. But now there were new players involved in
what had become an increasingly complicated and potentially
dangerous game of life
and
death.

I finished with: "I'll meet you at
Natsuko's..."

CHAPTER
FIFTY-ONE

Natsuko lived in a one-bedroom apartment on
Hibiscus Drive. Her eyes betrayed astonishment as I stood at her
door. I had apparently beaten Liam there and saw no reason to wait
for him.

"Can I come in?" I asked. This was my first
visit there, though I'd taken Natsuko home once when her car broke
down.

She stepped aside without uttering a
word.

From where I stood, I took a quick scan at
the sparse furnishings that included a small wooden desk with
papers and an open textbook on it.

I refocused on Natsuko, deciding that she
was alone. She wore no makeup and had on a print dress and thongs.
She flashed me a befuddled look.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. "And
please don't tell me you just happened to be in the
neighborhood—"

Not quite
, I thought. "I need to talk
to you, Natsuko," I said with a catch to my voice.

"What about?" she asked.

"Why don't we sit down?" I suggested for
some reason, though I was eager to get this over with.

"Okay," she said uneasily. "Do you want
something to drink?"

I passed, and sat down next to her on a worn
out couch.

"You caught me in the middle of studying for
my psychology exam," Natsuko told me. "But it's okay. I needed a
break anyway."

I faced her and asked candidly: "Do you know
a man named Trevor Baldwin?"

Her face betrayed her surprise. "Yes, I know
him. Why?"

I hesitated, not wanting to accuse her of
anything if she was innocent. But I sure as hell was not leaving
there till I got some answers about Baldwin.

I told her: "I think it's possible he might
know something about Carter's death."

Natsuko's eyes widened. "Trevor...?"

I nodded and said: "I have it on very good
authority that Baldwin was once employed by Carter and fired for
stealing." I waited a beat before continuing. "He's also been in
trouble with the law—"

I wondered just how much she knew, or didn't
know, about Trevor Baldwin.

"I know Trevor has had some problems,"
Natsuko said. "But what does that have to do with Carter's death? I
thought the police already decided it was that man—Antonio
Ramirez—who killed him and some others..."

"The police may be wrong, Natsuko," I said
sharply, while trying not to point fingers—at least not at her. "I
need you to tell me
everything
you know about Trevor Baldwin
and if you told him anything that he could have used to break into
my house."

She rolled her eyes and sneered. "So you
think I helped him get inside your house to kill your ex
and..."

I sighed. "To tell you the truth I don't
know what to think," I responded. "I only know that this is not
going to go away. Please help me out here..."
And maybe help
yourself at the same time,
I thought, assuming she was somehow
caught in the middle of a murder plot.

Natsuko seemed to gather her composure
before saying: "I am not dating Trevor, if that's what you're
thinking. We just hang out together sometimes. He's actually dating
my girlfriend Akiko."

"Did she or Trevor ever ask you who were you
working for or anything in specific about me?" I pressed her.

Natsuko's face twitched before she
responded. "Come to think of it, there might have been a couple of
times when your name came up. But it was nothing important. Just
little things..."

Little things have a way of becoming big
things
, I thought, beginning to see a disturbing pattern
emerging here.

"Did they ever ask you anything about my
security system?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Never," she insisted.
"I'm not that dumb. I would never give anyone your security codes,
Skye. You have to believe that."

I did. But something told me that they might
have wormed as much information as they could out of Natsuko for
reasons she would never have suspected.

"Was Carter's name ever brought up in
relation to me, before he was killed?" I asked.

"No, not that I recall," Natsuko said. "Like
I said, Akiko and I only talked about small stuff regarding my
work. Mostly questions like if you were easy to get along with, or
did I mind taking care of Ollie. I usually only talked to Trevor
when Akiko was around, and not much then."

"Did either of them ask anything in specific
about Ollie?" I wondered, knowing he had encountered an assailant
twice, but attacked only once.

"I think one time Akiko asked me if he
bites," Natsuko replied. "That's about it."

I contemplated that for a moment or two,
speculating that if Baldwin had been in the house with Antonio
Ramirez when Carter was killed, he could have purposely instigated
the dog into attacking Ramirez to either set him up or keep Ollie
at bay while Baldwin murdered Carter. It could have also been
practice for how to deal with Ollie if Baldwin had accompanied
Ramirez to the house the second time around.

I looked into Natsuko's eyes and asked:
"Where can I find Trevor Baldwin?"

She didn't hesitate. "I don't know where he
lives. But Akiko lives in this complex. We met here and it's the
only place I've ever seen Trevor."

That was a step in the right
direction
, I thought.

Just as I was leaving the apartment, Liam
Pratt showed up with a frown on his face.

"What happened to you?" I asked, not
bothering to speculate.

"There was an accident," he moaned. "Traffic
was backed up for miles. Guess I picked the wrong way to go." He
paused. "Did you talk to her yet?"

"Yes, I did," I told him.

Liam looked perturbed that I had beaten him
to it.

"So what did she say?" he asked
anxiously.

"More than I expected," I said. "Let's take
a walk and I'll fill you in—"

CHAPTER
FIFTY-TWO

A few minutes later, we were at the door of
Akiko Higashi. According to Natsuko, she lived with her
three-month-old daughter Eva, and Trevor Baldwin was reportedly the
father. Liam and I were both eager to talk to Akiko, each having
our own agenda with a common goal of getting to the truth, which
increasingly seemed to center around Trevor Baldwin.

We knocked on the door several times before
it was finally opened. It took me maybe two seconds to recognize
the face before me. She was the receptionist at the M
anoa Aloha Clinic on
Punahou Street that
I visited as a possible place where Carter's killer might have gone
for treatment after being bitten by Ollie.

Immediately I began speculating... Could
Trevor Baldwin have shown up at the clinic to get medicine or
bandages from his girlfriend so he could treat Ramirez's wounds
from Ollie's bite? If so, Akiko could have easily made sure there
was no record of it. And it likely would have gone unnoticed by the
busy doctor on duty.

Akiko stood there in her bare feet wearing a
blue tank top and cut-off jeans. It was clear from her expression
that the recognition was mutual. She was cradling a baby, who
looked at me with mild curiosity.

Akiko stared, but waited for me to speak
first. I glanced at Liam, who was still clueless, and back
again.

"Are you Akiko?" I asked, though I had
little doubt.

"Yes," she confirmed.

"My name's Skye Delaney," I told her. "I
think we met once before at the
Manoa
Aloha Clinic
."

She gave a slow nod of acknowledgement, and
Liam raised a brow.

"I'm a private investigator. And this is
Liam Pratt, a reporter with the Honolulu Press. We're looking for
Trevor Baldwin."

Akiko assessed us uneasily, then said: "He
isn't here."

I took her at her word, taking the
opportunity to find out what we could before confronting
Baldwin.

"Do you mind if we come in for a few
minutes?" I asked.

She fluttered her lashes. "What for?"

"Baldwin might be in a lot of trouble," Liam
told her. "And
you
could be, too. The police will likely be
coming your way next. I think the smart thing would be to talk to
us first—"

I could see why Liam had gone into
reporting. He had a way of getting his point across and making you
feel as though he was on your side.

It worked, as Akiko Higashi invited us
in.