Detective's Keele and Jones are patient men. They have poker face in every situation I find them in. Even while getting lunch. 

"Order up!" 

We are standing in the longest line ever, waiting to get food from Teddy's Bigger Burgers. I am not standing per say, but rather floating. I remember why I didn't come here during lunch. They take forever. 

"Head to the office after we eat?"

"We can. If you are done interviewing today."

Detective Keele looks thoughtful then annoyed, almost as if his patience was cracking. 

"Yeah, we can pau hana. I want to talk through the suspects so far though. I have a pretty good idea who it could be."

"Me too. It's pretty obvious. But I'm not the kahuna!"

"You're getting better."

The line has barely moved an inch and the air smells like meat and cheese. I don't feel hungry though, but I can remember the flavors of eating. It's heavenly. Some memories never leave you I guess, even in death. 

Detective Jones scrolls through his phone, looking at emails. He opens one and elbows his counterpart. 

"Aww, look, the big boss wants us to hurry up with solving this."

Detective Keele casually looks at the screen. 

"No worry. We solve these by being meticulous, and not stopping. Time is a factor of course, but not to get sloppy."

"He sounds mad..."

"I don't give a shit."

They settle back into a comfortable silence and wait. I notice that Detective Keele has a scar on the back of his neck. It's jagged, as if a knife had sliced him. But it's well healed, almost worn into his flesh. An old scar. 

Finally the line moves a lot, as people pick up their orders. This place is a cook to order joint. No ready made burgers sitting under a heating lamp in a metal tray here. That's what makes it so popular. And the milkshakes are to die for, no pun intended.

"Next time we go to Mahaloha. They are faster."

"No way. Too many tourists."

"You're crazy Keele."

The line moves again and finally we are next to the front. I feel a weirdness watching everyone living their lives. Kids or 'keiki' are laughing and enjoying themselves. Not a care in their world. Certainly not a thought on death. I admit, I was the same a few days ago, before I took a face plant that ended my life. 

"Orders up! #320 and 321!" 

The detectives walk to the counter and gather the to go bags. 

"Thanks detectives! See you next week!" 

They came here quite often I see. Nice. I liked that they frequented the local places, instead of eating sandwiches from home. It means they know the neighborhoods. And hopefully a majority of the locals. For some reason, it gives me hope. And comfort. 

Will they be able to solve my murder? 

I feel like there is a real shot.

🩸

Back in the homicide office, the burgers come out along with the fries. It smells up the space instantly, the aroma lingering with it's warm goodness. The detectives look excited to eat too. Which I immediately envy. 

Envy. 

Another emotion I'm capable of still. Nice. Not nice but nice that I'm still human in an essence. 

"This'll give you a heart attack Keele." 

"Naw, I'm good! My doc said I can have cheat days." 

"You are so full of it!" 

Detective Jones takes a huge bite of his, letting sauce drip onto the laid open wrapper. Detective Keele opens a blue file labeled 'Miller'. 

Miller...that's me. 

He thumbs through, pausing to study the words on the pages before continuing. 

"So who you looking to pin this on? The most likely..."

"Most likely so far is the HR director. She can't account for her morning. Motive is there." 

"Are you thinking jealousy?" 

"Yeah. Classic, but yeah." 

"But...there's the coworker. He was stalking her." 

"He was. I like him for it too. The motive is undeniable. We need to interview them again at their homes. Talk to the spouses, and the kids grandmother." 

"The spouses would find out about the affair...." 

"They might. Who gives a shit though? We have a murder to solve." 

Detective Keele was right, they might find out. His attitude was on me though, not on Lila and Kenny, which I appreciated. If one of them did it, having their affair made known would be the least of their worries. 

"Alright. If you're ok with it, I am too. Will be mighty awkward though, being there when the wife and husband connect the dots. I don't like that cheating crap." 

"You'd never do that to your wife?" 

"Keele, seriously man, never. I'm not that kind of guy." 

"I knew you weren't...I'm not either." 

My respect for the two detectives grows again. It is rare for a man to stay faithful throughout a longer marriage, especially after kids come into the picture. Maybe I'm still cynical, even in death. Too many friends of mine had parents be unfaithful growing up. Divorce was common.

"What about the boss? Kenny?" 

Detective Keele finishes eating and wipes his mouth gingerly, before he exhales. 

"The boss seemed to genuinely like her. Not like the coworker, not in a creepy way. He came off as innocent to me. Of murder, not being a prick." 

"Yeah, having a concealed affair is one thing....but I felt the same. He seemed innocent. He had an alibi too for where he was at 5. Could the time of death be wrong? Off?"

"No. It's pretty much accurate. Pam isn't wrong. And she's thorough." 

Pam. I'm assuming he was naming the coroner. 

"The timing is early, before sunrise, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. The killer could have planned that for cover. Darkness and all that." 

"Or also convenience. Before work but not too early. Looks like they were thinking the timing through." 

"Could be. Makes the most sense. It doesn't fit the pattern for the other unsolved though. It's not a serial murder. This is an isolated one." 

Detective Keele was going somewhere with his train of thought but I wasn't sure where. I float next to him as he closes my file. 

"For now, we keep her in the murder files. Until we solve it." 

He stands, stretches and grabs his keys. 

"Let's head to the victims condo." 

🩸

The building comes into view, and the detectives pull over right out front, flashing their badges to the doorman. The usual doorman wasn't there. An older, fat Samoan was standing in his place instead.  He waved them in. 

It was weird being inside here like this. Dead. 

"How many floors does this place have?" 

The detectives get into the elevator and push the button for the fourth floor, my floor. 

"Twelve. She fell from twelve floors up." 

I fell from the roof! As I suspected. Not my balcony. 

"Her condo is number 410." 

As the elevator doors open, detective Jones' phone rings. I can't hear what's being said but his face has a deep concentration look to it. We stand in the hallway while he finishes the call. 

"Thanks. I'll let him know." 

He hangs up and exhales loudly. 

"Well, if we like the coworker for it still, he just gave us more motive. Tio's grandmother checked him into the psych ward at Hawaii State Hospital. Seems he had a huge mental break and tried to commit suicide." 

"No shit! Let's go see her tomorrow. Give it the day to settle down. I don't want to be responsible for Tio's tutu having a heart attack." 

Poor Tio. As creepy as it had been discovering he was stalking me, I didn't want him to take his life over it! It did make him look guiltier though. I really wished he wasn't the killer now. How would I stomach that? 

"They dead bolted it. Good. Last crime scene the door wasn't properly locked." 

Detective Keele swings the door open cautiously as we all step inside. My AC was still cranked up, the chill hit the detectives, causing them to audibly react. 

"Turn that down some...christ, was she an Eskimo?!"

What can I say, I used to like it cold. The colder, the better. 

They carefully walk through my space, looking at every object and piece of furniture I had out. Not sure what they'd find, I look as well. Bills were stacked on my desk by the floor to ceiling windows. Detective Jones finds these and flips through them. 

"She was very neat, for a 23 year old." 

"Yes." 

I didn't have much choice, I'd had to grow up fast. My parents dying right as I was in my last year of college made the world seem really real. All those years of helping my mom stage homes came in handy. Mom and dad had been realtors and they loved bringing me along to high end clients. 

"It doesn't appear that anyone was in here. Did the lab recover any foreign prints we know of?" 

"Not as of yet. Give them a call though, would ya?" 

Detective Jones got on his phone again as detective Keele wanders through into my bedroom. My bathroom door was shut. A scratching sound can be heard. He unholsters his gun and slowly opens the door. Tension fills the air.

Meow!! 

Out bounds my cat. I had almost forgotten about him! One of the police that responded and came up must have locked him in the bathroom. He skitters to the kitchen and finds the hidden water bowl behind the walk in pantry door. The detectives missed it when searching. 

"Jesus! There is a cat in here!" 

Detective Keele joined him in the kitchen. 

"Some idiot locked it in the bathroom and didn't tell anyone." 

They watch as my cat hungrily eats dry food left over in the bowl next to the water. Detective Jones is still on his phone, apparently on hold. 

"You'll never guess what she named him..." Detective Keele says, touching my cat's collar.

"What?" 

"Timothy Earl Jones."

They both laugh, the humor in my cats name hitting them off guard. I thought it was fitting, when I first rescued him from the pound. I had to incorporate my favorite actor, James Earl Jones, into my pet naming somehow! 

"Alright...thanks." 

Detective Jones hung up and looked at his counterpart. 

"They found a set of foreign prints on her front door, on the outside." 

"Whose were they?" 

"Our prime suspect, Lila's."

~ This book is Copyrighted by K E Jennings and only available on Wattpad. if you are reading this on another site, it has been stolen without permission or monetary payment to the said author. ~

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Fun Hawaiian Fact: You can actually mail off a coconut from postal offices on the islands. The entire coconut is addressed and postage given!