Page 3 of Tiki Beach (Paradise Crime Cozy Mystery #6)

She rifled through a few drawers until she found a snack bag and handed it to me.

I placed the new leaf in that and put it inside with the other sample.

Using a handy Sharpie from a mug beside the sink, I marked the date, time, and where I’d collected the leaf samples from—giving full credit to Tiki for the latest one.

My phone buzzed and I picked up for Keone. “They’re taking Pearl to Queens on Oahu,” Keone said without preamble. “Critical care unit. Mom’s already calling her contacts there to make sure Pearl gets the best team.”

“Thanks, Keone. That’s good; your mom knows everyone, and not just on Maui! Listen, something weird is going on with the tea Pearl served. Tiki’s been acting strange about it and I collected some samples. Do you know anyone with access to a lab who could analyze it?”

“Yeah, and you know her too. Call our friend the detective, Lei Texeira over at Maui Police Department. Maybe she can get it processed through their lab.” Keone paused; I could almost see the frown on his handsome face. “You thinking this wasn’t natural causes?”

“I’m thinking my cat doesn’t usually try to knock teacups out of people’s hands.” Through the kitchen window, I could see the garden where Josie had spotted movement. It was now completely dark except for the security lights and the lamps on the deck.

Kawika had reappeared on the deck; he was cleaning up the blueprints for Pearl’s legacy that still lay scattered on the lanai, spotted with spilled tea.

He stacked the little silk-covered pillows we’d used for our interrupted tea party; they were a poignant reminder of something festive that had gone badly wrong.

“Want to come over to my place?” Keone asked. “You seem stressed.”

“I am. Doing CPR on a fragile elder friend is not something I ever wanted to experience again,” I said.

Josie patted me on the shoulder comfortingly as she left the now sparkling kitchen and headed out to rejoin her partner, Edith.

“Appreciate that, but I think I’ll just go home.

I’ve got work tomorrow. Tiki and I both need some rest.”

“I’ll be here if you change your mind, Trouble. Love you.”

After we hung up, I pulled out my phone again to look up Detective Sergeant Lei Texeira’s number. I scrolled through my contacts until I found it; Lei picked up on the second ring.

“If you’re calling about those speeding tickets, I already told Keone they don’t disappear just because he’s dating the postmaster,” Lei said by way of greeting.

“That was one time, and we were chasing a thief,” I bantered back. “You’d be doing the county a service.”

“Uh-huh. What does my favorite Secret Service Agent turned postmaster sleuth need this time?”

I shifted the phone to my other ear. “You’re not wrong, I need a favor. Pearl Yamamoto just collapsed at our Red Hat tea ceremony this afternoon, and something’s not right about how it went down.”

“Pearl? The tiny one who uses a fancy wheelchair? She’s quite a character. I’m sorry to hear that.” Lei’s tone sharpened. “What kind of not right, exactly?”

I explained about Tiki’s behavior and the strange leaf she’d brought to me. “I was hoping there was some way you might be able to get it analyzed?”

“Your one-eared furry detective strikes again, eh?” Lei chuckled. “Yeah, I can run your tea leaves through our lab here in Kahului. But I need proper chain of custody of the samples. You can’t just mail them to me.”

I thought fast. “Keone’s flying his usual Monday morning run tomorrow. He could drop it off at the station for us.”

“Of course, your partner at K & K Investigations is available for custom airline deliveries.” I could hear the affection in her voice. “Fine. Tell your boyfriend to bring it to my office before nine. And Kat?”

“Yes?”

“If your cat’s right about this, it’s going to be my case. No playing detective this time.”

“Would I do that?” I cast my gaze heavenward—and spotted a pair of geckos getting busy in the warmth of the overhead light fixture.

“Do you want a list chronologically or alphabetically?” Lei’s voice softened. “I’ll call you as soon as I have results once Keone brings me your mysterious tea leaves.”

“Thanks, Lei. You’re the best.”

“I know. Oh, and Kat?”

“Yes?”

“Tell Pearl’s family I’m keeping her in my thoughts and prayers.”

I ended the call feeling sad as I remembered Pearl’s words about how little family she had. Fortunately, she had our Red Hat community, her nephew on Oahu, and faithful, kind Kawika to look after her.

Through the kitchen window, I could see the other ladies heading to their cars, their usual chatter subdued. The ziplock bag with its suspicious contents felt heavy in my pocket.

Kawika reappeared carrying the stack of silken sitting pillows.

He opened a large cabinet and stowed them inside on a shelf.

“Thanks for all the help with Ms. Pearl,” he said.

I told him where Pearl had been taken, and he nodded.

“Yes. I’m on her access list, always. I was already notified.

I’ll lock up the house. You should change out of that kimono and get on home. ”

I’d forgotten I was still wearing it. “Thanks. I’ll check on Pearl first thing tomorrow.”

“We all will.” Kawika managed a smile. “At least we know she’s getting the best care on Oahu.”

I changed quickly in the guest restroom and, when I returned to the kitchen, gathered up Tiki and stowed her in the carrier.

Getting her used to that had involved many hours of training, treats, and outright bribery.

Curled up on her fuzzy pillow inside, she was now acting perfectly normal—the drama queen.

But my cat might be onto something bigger than any of us realized. We’d soon find out when those tea samples were analyzed at Maui Police Department.

* * *

I drove the winding road to Hana in the dark, the air growing thicker with moisture as a light fog rolled in from the sea. Tiki curled up in her carrier in the passenger seat, occasionally letting out a mewing comment as we hit a guava in the road or I took a hairpin turn too fast.

Keone’s cottage sat nestled in the shadow of his mother’s much larger, sprawling plantation house, where the lights were still blazing.

She was probably hosting family, or an impromptu community gathering.

Ilima’s home was unofficial headquarters for everything from hula practice to area crisis management, and tonight’s events would certainly qualify.

But Keone’s smaller place, perched beside it on a little knoll overlooking Hana Bay, beckoned with its quieter welcome. A single lamp glowed through the screened lanai, and his mother’s old orange tabby, Mango, dozed on the railing among potted orchids that Ilima insisted on “lending” him.

Tiki had fallen asleep and I didn’t want any hostility to get going between her and Mango, so I cracked the windows of my vehicle and left her inside.

The wooden steps creaked under my feet as I went up them and sneaked past Mango carrying the baggie of tea leaf samples. The familiar scent of plumeria from the tree that grew on one side of the cottage wafted around us as Keone opened the door before I could knock.

“Hey, Trouble.” He was still in his pilot’s uniform, the crisp white shirt unbuttoned to the navel to reveal his rather spectacular chest. That ridiculous shirt with its gold epaulets and navy braid was somehow unwrinkled despite a full day of flying.

“Glad you changed your mind about coming over.” His warm brown eyes softened as they moved over my frizzing hair and stressed-out face. “Need a hug?”

“Heck yeah.” I loved that he still asked permission, though I’d come a long way from my touchphobic early days in the relationship. He looked, smelled, and felt like pure catnip for this feline lover as I stepped into his arms and nuzzled his neck with a sigh, then kissed him.

Something I haven’t mentioned yet is that I’m a healthy six-foot-one in height. So is he. That’s only one of the reasons that, as a couple, we go together as perfectly as bananas and peanut butter.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I am now.”

After several moments of hugging, snogging, and general relationship bliss, I stepped over the threshold into his little cottage.

He closed the door behind me, and I held up the ziplock bag, trying to ignore how my hand shook at the memory of Pearl’s collapse.

“I need you to take these tea samples to Lei at MPD tomorrow morning. She’s agreed to have the lab analyze them for us. ”

“Done.” He took the plastic bag from me and set it on the nearby table. Suddenly, a loud yowl made us jump—Tiki made her presence known, even from the car.

“Can I bring her in? She’s been really upset all afternoon,” I said. “I’ll keep her in the carrier so she doesn’t fight with Mango.”

“Of course.”

Soon Tiki was inside, fed, watered, and back in her carrier. I frowned as I addressed Keone, closing the door on Tiki.

“Pearl’s like everyone’s auntie, you know? If someone hurt her . . .” I shook my head, rubbing the chicken skin bumps that had risen on my arms.

“Hey.” Keone tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering against my cheek. “Let’s get Lei’s lab results first. Then we’ll figure the rest of it out. Meanwhile, I was about to eat. Have some of my homemade chili and rice. You look like you need food.”

“Trying to get me to spend the night, Mr. K?” I followed him into the kitchen. “Because you already know the way to this woman’s heart is through her stomach.”

“Is it working?” His smile gleamed like a Cheshire cat’s as he took down a bowl from a nearby shelf and handed it to me. “Let’s eat.”

From the big house’s open garage, someone’s ukulele started up, the music distinct through the open window. Several voices joined, singing a familiar local melody. Ilima was leading another impromptu gathering, helping the community process the pure Hawaii way.

Once we were done eating, we headed for the shower—together.

Sometimes a girl just needed her pilot, her cat, a roomy shower, and a small Hawaiian cottage by the sea.