Read Online Maui Madness (Zoe Donovan Mysteries Book 7) by Kathi Daley - Free Book Online Page A

you’re really asking is whether there was someone on the island during the morning hours who would want him dead, then the answer is, other than Pono and me, not really. I promise you, however, that I didn’t do it. Now, I really should get back to the kitchen.”
    “ Thank you for speaking to us,” I offered.
    After Palani walked away, I looked at the other people sitting with me at the table. “Well?”
    “This is not going to be an easy murder to solve,” Malie guessed.
    “Probably not,” I agreed. “Do we continue to try?”
    I looked around the table. I don’t think any of us had planned to use our vacation to track down the killer of a man we’d never even met. I felt bad for Malie, who did know him, and for Pono, even though I’d yet to meet him. Keoke had been so nice to us that part of me really wanted to help him figure out what had happened the morning of the luau. But I also wanted to go diving and try surfing and spend a day reading next to the pool.
    “Let’s talk to Pono and then decide,” Levi s aid.
     
    After breakfast, Zak suggested that we take a walk to the edge of town, where Lahaina’s famous banyan tree was located. The 137-year-old tree towers over almost an acre and is said to be the largest such tree in the United States. Thanks to its aerial roots, which grow into trunks when they touch the ground, the shady tree is now supported by at least sixteen trunks in addition to the original.
    “The shade from this tree feels like a slice of heaven .” I sighed.
    I love Hawaii , but I had to admit that after living in Ashton Falls my entire life, I was having a hard time getting used to the heat and humidity.
    “We should check out the old courthouse,” Zak s aid.
    I could tell that Levi and Ellie were as bored as I was by the suggestion , but Malie’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree at Zak’s suggestion.
    “The courthouse houses the only U.S. flag to have flown over a kingdom, a republic, a territory, and a state,” Malie shared.
    I ’m a bit embarrassed to say I mostly tuned out as Malie explained that the flag was designed in 1812, during the reign of King Kamehameha I. She told us that the eight red, blue, and white stripes represent the eight major islands of Hawaii, while the canton consists of the British Union Jack, representing Hawaii's original ties with Great Britain. I was trying to decide between a sundress I’d seen in one of the windows in town or the cute shorts I’d probably get more use out of as she informed Zak that in 1893, the Kingdom of Hawai'i was overthrown, and Hawaii was a republic until 1898, when Congress officially annexed it, making it a territory and eventually a state in 1959.
    “As interesting as this all sounds , I’d really like to get in a couple of hours of surfing,” Levi interrupted.
    “Of course. I’m sorry for going on and on,” Malie apologized. “I have a habit of getting caught up in Hawaiian history.”
    “Which I found fascinating,” Zak assured her. “Why don’t you come to the house for dinner ?” he invited her. “Bring Pono as well, if he gets out of jail.”
    “I’d like that .” Malie smiled.
    “Down , girl,” Ellie whispered, in anticipation of the predictable arrival of Zoe the Jealous.

Chapter 7
     
     
    By the time the gang and I had settled in to grill some steaks and watch the sun set, it felt like we had been on Maui for months. Could it have been only two and a half days? I felt bad about leaving Charlie for so long while we were in Lahaina, so I’d taken him for a long walk down the beach while the men surfed and Ellie took a nap. Malie had left in order to pick up Pono from the police station once he’d called to inform her that he’d been released. She promised to bring him over for dinner if he was willing to come so that we could all talk about what, if anything, to do next.
    Our time in Lah aina had been somewhat productive. Not only had I bought three new outfits for my new baby sister,