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  HANDBAGS & HOMICIDE

  an Aloha Lagoon Mystery

  by

  ANNE MARIE STODDARD

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  Copyright © 2018 by Anne Marie Stoddard

  Cover design by Estrella Designs

  Gemma Halliday Publishing

  http://www.gemmahallidaypublishing.com

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  This book is for the wonderful women of my own bridal party: Allison, Liz, Claire, Stella, Kathleen, Becky, Aubrey, & Camila. Love you all!

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  First and foremost, I'd like to thank Gemma Halliday for her guidance and support. I'm grateful to work with such an incredible author and mentor! I'd also like to thank the Gemma Halliday Publishing team for helping give my stories some much-needed polish—especially Susan and Jenny for their work on this book. A shout out is also due to my husband, Eric, for his patience while I locked myself away to hammer out another one of Kaley's adventures. I also want to thank Kristin Burks for helping name the Lanai Lounge, a new setting featured in this book. And finally, I want to thank anyone who picks up this book for giving my writing a chance. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

  "Best of all, at the end of your creative adventure, you have a souvenir--something you MADE, something to remind you forever of your brief but transformative encounter with inspiration. That's what my books are to me: souvenirs of journeys that I took, in which I managed (blessedly) to escape myself for a little while." —Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic

  CHAPTER ONE

  "I'm getting married!" my friend from Atlanta, Emma Ross, gushed. She let out a squeal so loud that I almost had to pull the phone away from my ear. "Kaley, isn't it so exciting?"

  When Emma had sent me a "9-1-1" text message five minutes earlier, I'd bolted off the sales floor of the Happy Hula Dress Boutique, the clothing shop I managed at the Aloha Lagoon Resort, without a moment's hesitation. I had hurried into the office that I shared with my Aunt Rikki, worried that something horrible had happened to my dear friend. A break-up, a lost job—or maybe a really bad spray tan. I certainly hadn't expected this.

  "That's great, Em," I said, wincing at the shrillness of her voice. "Congratulations." I quickly crossed the office and pulled the door closed, hoping that my friend's ecstatic squealing hadn't been heard from the sales floor. Then I returned to the desk and sank into the cushioned chair. "When's the wedding?" I asked, my own voice coming out a half-octave higher than usual. While I was happy for Emma, the engagement seemed rather sudden. She had only been dating Atlanta Falcons' star defensive end, Dante Becker, for just over four months.

  "Well…" Emma's tone was a little reluctant now. "That's part of the reason I'm calling. Obviously, I wanted to tell you right after Dante popped the question." There was a pause, and she sighed with contentment. I pictured my petite brunette friend on the other end of the line, marveling at a massive diamond on her left ring finger. "Anyway," she continued, "we didn't want to wait until next year, and with football season right around the corner, Dante's about to be busy twenty-four-seven. You know how it is."

  "Yeah." I pursed my lips. I did know. Until recently I'd been a football wife myself. My ex-husband, Bryan Colfax, was Dante's teammate. We'd actually been the ones to introduce the newly engaged couple. Of course, that was before my NFL star hubby had cheated on me with three of the team's new cheerleaders (one of which happened to be Dante's cousin)—all at the same time. We'd divorced nearly two months ago, and the last I'd heard, Bryan was dating one of those home-wrecking pompom shakers. Good riddance. I scowled at the memory.

  "So, anyway, we're going to do it a week from next Tuesday," Emma blurted, bringing my attention back to her.

  I nearly dropped the phone. "For real?" Today was Thursday, which put the ceremony less than two weeks away. It was also currently the middle of July. The team's preseason would start in mid-August, and the guys were already training daily. "Em, that's not enough time to plan a wedding. How are you going to book a venue within that kind of window? What about a dress? And a honeymoon? Can Dante even manage to take off around the team's practice schedule?"

  "Oh, don't worry. We've got it all handled," my friend replied smoothly. "We're getting married on a Tuesday morning so that Dante's schedule isn't interrupted. We're just having a small ceremony with family and close friends. Besides, Dante is still recovering from his knee surgery last month, so he's been spending most of practice on the bench. It's not like he'll miss much. We'll be taking a late honeymoon to Fiji—we just have to wait to see how the Falcons do postseason before we book the trip. Plus I pulled some strings with my yoga instructor's girlfriend, who works at that exclusive boutique in Buckhead, Bella's Bridal. I have an appointment tomorrow to try on dresses." She sighed again. "I wish you could go with me."

  "Me too." I felt a pang of sorrow. I missed Emma so much. I wanted to be there for every step leading up to her big day, but I was across the continent in Hawaii, and it was such short notice. "Are you sure you're not rushing into this?" I asked gently. "Why not wait until the postseason? That would give you more time to plan, and maybe I could come visit and help you—"

  "We're in love," Emma interrupted, sounding defensive. "We don't wanna wait until the postseason." She sniffed. "I thought you'd be happy for me."

  "Oh, sweetie." I smacked my palm to my forehead. I hadn't meant to upset her. "Of course I am."

  "Good," Emma said, the perkiness returning to her voice. "Because I want you to be my maid of honor."

  "Really?" It was my turn to squeal with excitement. "Em, I'd love to!" About two seconds later, the rational side of my brain caught up, and my pleasure was replaced by panic. Emma wanted me to help her plan a wedding that was just twelve days away. I chewed my lip, thinking of my barren bank account. Even if I worked on my days off for the next couple of weeks, the round-trip flight from Kauai to Atlanta would nearly drain my savings.

  As if she'd read my mind, Emma piped up. "I was hoping you'd say yes—because Dante and I want to pay for your plane ticket back to Atlanta. How does first class sound?"

  My jaw dropped open. "Em, that's such a generous offer," I breathed. "But you don't have to do that." I'd find a way to pay for a ticket myself. Maybe I could ask Aunt Rikki for an advance on my next paycheck.

  "I know we don't have to, but we insist," she said. "And don't you dare start talking about paying us back. We want you to be there, and this is the least we can do. You did set us up, after all. We owe you."

  "Girl, you don't owe me a thing. But seriously, thank you," I added softly, feeling a rush of gratitude.

  "That reminds me," Emma said. "I wanted to fi
nd out who you're bringing for a plus one. Still seeing that hottie you told me about? If you'll send me his info, I'll book his flight, too. What was his name again?"

  "Noa." I felt my insides warm at the thought of my childhood best bud—and, as of a few weeks ago, more than just a friend—Noa Kahele. "I'll talk to him about it tonight at dinner, though I'm sure he'll insist on paying for himself." Noa ran his own freelance business as a website and graphic designer. He was really good at his job, and business had been booming lately. Though he didn't need the supplemental income, he worked part-time as a lifeguard at the Aloha Lagoon Resort. Noa was usually stationed at the guest swimming pool right across the courtyard from Happy Hula, which meant I got the occasional glimpse of him in action through the shop's display window. I wasn't embarrassed to admit that it was the highlight of my shift on those days. He was usually shirtless when he worked at the pool, and the man rocked a nice set of abs.

  A knock on the office door made me jump. "Hang on just a sec, Em," I said, rising from the desk chair.

  "Wait!" she squawked. "Just one more thing, and then I'll let you go. It's almost dinnertime here, anyway, and Dante and I have reservations at Bacchanalia."

  "Okay," I relented, swiveling in the chair. "Just a minute!" I called toward the closed office door.

  Emma cleared her throat. "Since you're the maid of honor, I'm sure you're wondering how to go about hosting a bridal shower and bachelorette party on such short notice."

  I felt the blood drain from my face. Neither of those things had even occurred to me yet. Unless she wanted a quick, super cheap celebration the day before the wedding, I wasn't sure there was any way I could pull it off—especially with less than two weeks to go until the big day.

  "Well, you don't need to worry yourself about a shower. Dante's mother is handling that this Saturday."

  "And the bachelorette party?" I asked, fighting to keep the panic out of my voice.

  "Is next weekend." Emma giggled. "In Hawaii. I knew you wouldn't be able to fly home for the ceremony and the bachelorette festivities, so we're bringing the party to you. Surprise!"

  My eyes went wide. "Are you serious?"

  "As a heart attack, honey." I could practically hear Emma grinning. "You know I don't joke about a good party. I've already booked a couple of rooms at the Aloha Lagoon Resort for next weekend. I just need you to plan a few fun activities for us to do while we're there. Dante's offered to pick up the tab for everything, so just let me know how much everything will cost, and I'll run it by him and send over his card info. We'll arrive on Thursday afternoon, and then you and that sexy surfer man of yours can fly back to Atlanta with us on Sunday to get ready for the ceremony."

  "That sounds great." I did a little dance in my chair. I was going to see Emma in just over a week, right here in Kauai!

  "Oh, and feel free to invite any of your other gal pals from the island to join us for the weekend," Emma replied. "I'm only bringing the other bridesmaids, so the more the merrier."

  "Who are your other bridesmaids?" I asked.

  Emma coughed. "Oh, you know—just some of the football girlfriends," she said quickly. I thought I detected something in her tone that resembled reluctance—or worry, maybe?—but it was gone a moment later. "Anyway, I've gotta run," she said. "Dante hates being late for dinner reservations. I'll send over our flight and room info tomorrow." She squealed. "I can't wait to see you! This is gonna be so much fun. Later, tater."

  I was still buzzing from Emma's exciting news as I slipped my phone back into the pocket of my peach-colored tube dress and got up to open the office door. My new pal and coworker, Jamie Parker, stood on the other side, her thin, blonde eyebrows raised in curiosity.

  "Everything okay? I was walking past the office on the way back from the stock room and thought I heard screaming." Her lips twitched. "It sounded like you were murdering a pixie," she added in an accent similar to Emma's Georgia lilt.

  I had a feeling my two friends would hit it off when they met face-to-face next weekend. Jamie had grown up in the South before moving to Aloha Lagoon to be the resort scuba diving instructor, which is what she did when she wasn't working cashier shifts at Happy Hula.

  "No pixies," I said with a laugh. "I was on the phone with Emma, my closest friend back in Atlanta. She dropped a pretty big bombshell on me."

  Jamie glanced over her shoulder, down the hallway that led to the boutique's sales floor. "It's pretty slow out there. Harmony and Rose can handle it for a few minutes." She stepped into the office and closed the door behind her. "What kind of bombshell?" she asked, giving me her full attention.

  "She's getting married."

  Jamie opened her mouth to cheer, her face alight with excitement, but I held up a finger to stop her.

  "A week from next Tuesday," I finished.

  Her grin vanished. "Whoa," she breathed. Her forehead wrinkled. "What's the rush? Does she have a bun in the oven?"

  I shook my head. "No, nothing like that." I explained the limited time window in Dante's schedule with football season fast approaching. "They want to have the ceremony before the preseason kicks off, and they'll delay their honeymoon until after the playoffs." I sat back down in my desk chair. "She's flying me to Atlanta for the wedding, but first she and her other bridesmaids are coming to Aloha Lagoon next weekend for the bachelorette party. They'll be here a week from today." I glanced at the calendar on the wall. "That means I've got less than seven days to plan the perfect girls' weekend," I said, chewing my lip. "And I don't even know where to start."

  "I can help," Jamie offered, perching on the chair opposite mine. She crossed one slender leg over the other and tugged at her pale green, scale-patterned leggings. One of the things I loved most about Jamie was her unique (and mostly marine-inspired) fashion sense. "Are any of the bridesmaids certified divers?" she asked, her expression thoughtful. "There's a great spot I could take y'all to about a mile past Coconut Cove."

  I shrugged. "I'm not sure. I don't even know who the other members of the wedding party are just yet."

  Jamie waved her hand. "That's okay. We could always go snorkeling instead. Or we could rent jet skis. There are lots of fun things to do out on the water." Her ocean-blue eyes widened. "Ooh! You could also take the girls dancing at the Lanai Lounge across town. Thursdays and Fridays are both ladies' night, so there's no cover."

  "That's a great idea." I smiled at her, feeling a little better about my last-minute maid of honor duties. "I'll call Juls Kekoa after work and see if she can round up some last-minute luau tickets, too. By the way, you're welcome to join us—that is, if you don't have plans next weekend."

  Jamie smirked. "Well, I did have a date with my couch and the final season of Girls, but I suppose I could clear my schedule."

  "How generous of you," I teased. "What about that surfer guy you've been dating? No hot dates planned?"

  Jamie's bottom lip poked out. "We had a major wipe out," she admitted. "I thought we were exclusive, but apparently, I'm not the only woman he's been seeing."

  "Bummer."

  She shrugged. "Meh. Plenty of other fish, right? The island's not that small." She waggled her eyebrows. "Who knows? Maybe I'll pick up a new man at the Lanai Lounge."

  "Yeah, maybe." I smiled at her as I stood up and made my way toward the door. I poked my head out into the hallway. From the rear of the sales floor, I caught Happy Hula's assistant manager, Harmony Kane, giving me the stink eye. "Come on," I said, looking over my shoulder at Jamie. "Let's get back to work before the Wicked Witch of the East Pacific puts a hex on us."

  The rest of the afternoon seemed to fly by, mostly because I was preoccupied planning Emma's bachelorette weekend in my head while I worked. By the time the boutique closed for the evening, I had come up with a list of activities that she was sure to love. I ran my ideas by Jamie as she gave me a ride home from work in her sea foam green Chevy Malibu, which I'd affectionately dubbed the Mer-mobile.

  "Juls said she'd hold some tickets for
us for the luau on Saturday night. Oh, and how does an afternoon at the resort spa sound?" I asked her, rolling down the passenger window so I could breathe in the ocean air as we sped past Coconut Cove. "I'm thinking mani-pedis, massages, maybe some time in the sauna. I could call Summer at the front desk tomorrow and book us for Saturday around noon. We can pack all the partying into Thursday and Friday and then recover with a little pampering before the luau."

  "Sounds good to me." Jamie bobbed her head. "You know I'm always down for being pampered." She turned onto Kalapaki Drive, bringing the car to a stop in front of the teal and white beach cottage where I lived with my Aunt Rikki. There were two other vehicles parked in the driveway alongside my aunt's purple Vespa: a sedan driven by Rikki's ukulele teacher and a familiar black Jeep Wrangler. I cursed under my breath at the sight of the dark SUV, and Jamie gave me a curious sidelong glance. "I thought you'd be happy to see Noa."

  "I am," I said, feeling sheepish. "I just didn't expect him to beat me here. I was hoping to grab a shower and freshen up before dinner, but I'd hate to keep him waiting."

  Jamie grinned. "Just tell him you'll make it worth the wait."

  I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah," I said dryly. I stooped to snatch my purse off the floorboard. "Thanks for the ride. I swear one of these days I'm going to finally pawn off my old wedding band and use the money for a down payment on my own set of wheels."

  "You've been saying that for weeks now. I'll believe it when I see it," she teased. "But in the meantime, I'm happy to give you a lift whenever you need it. See you at sunrise yoga tomorrow morning?"

  "Only if you swing by and scoop me up so I don't have to run there with Rikki." My aunt insisted on jogging the two miles to the beach for our morning yoga sessions. I liked to think I was in fairly good shape, but I was not a morning person. Or a jogger, for that matter.