Page 44 of Tiki Beach
“Talk fast,” she instructed. “Mayor Santos is waiting in the interview room, and I don’t want to give him time to get comfortable.”
We quickly briefed her on everything we’d learned from the letter, Artie, and our earlier discoveries at Pearl’s house.
“We have two potential suspects,” Lei summarized. “Mayor Santos, with a historical motive to suppress evidence of his grandfather’s crimes, and Councilman Akana, with a financial motive to control Pearl’s property for his development plans. And they’re business partners.”
“Which complicates determining who actually poisoned Pearl,” Keone noted. “Though we still don’t know who could have been at Pearl’s premises the day of the tea party.”
“Meanwhile, the tech department has broken the encryption on the thumb drive you found in the origami crane. It contains financial records—documentation of payments from Anuenue Enterprises to various officials over the past five years.”
“That’s hard evidence!” I exclaimed.
“Not quite,” Lei said.
“Bribes?” Keone interjected.
“Let me finish. The payments are labeled as ‘consulting fees’ but the timing corresponds to key zoning decisions and permit approvals. Pearl was documenting modern corruption, not just historical crimes.”
“Which gives both Santos and Akana motive to silence her,” I said.
“I’m going to interview Santos now. I will live stream the interview via button cam to you, through our phones. Your knowledge of the case might help you spot things I miss.”
“Thanks for including us, Lei,” I said fervently.
I didn’t ask if this was protocol for a police interview because I was pretty sure it wasn’t.
We followed Lei’s perspective, watching on my phone in a slightly fish-eyed distortion view, as she walked into the interview room. Mayor Santos sat stiffly in a chair at a shiny metal table, his coiffed salt-and-pepper hair a little wilted, his face shiny. Apparently, the air-conditioning wasn’t working. Beside him sat a sleek blonde woman in an expensive suit—his attorney, based on the protective way she leaned toward him.
Lei set a folder on the table before taking a seat across from Santos.
“Thank you for coming in, Mayor,” she began. “This is an informal interview. You’re not under arrest, and you’re free to leave at any time, as your attorney has surely advised you.”
The lawyer nodded. “My client is here voluntarily to assist your investigation in any way he can. We understand a respected community member has been harmed, and naturally, the mayor wants to help resolve the matter.”
“Naturally,” Lei echoed, her tone neutral. “Let’s start with your relationship with Pearl Yamamoto. Tell us about that.”
Santos shifted slightly in his seat. “Pearl and I have known each other for many years. We’ve had our disagreements on certain community matters, but I’ve always respected her dedication to education and cultural preservation.”
“These disagreements,” Lei said. “They wouldn’t happen to involve her Heritage Tea Garden project, would they?”
“I have expressed concerns about the project’s scope and potential impact on traffic patterns,” Santos said. “But these were professional disagreements, nothing personal.”
“Nothing personal,” Lei said. “Even though the garden was specifically designed to commemorate the Japanese internment period, including events involving your grandfather, Felix Santos?”
A muscle twitched in the mayor’s jaw, but his expression remained neutral. “Ancient history is rarely relevant to modern civic planning, Ms. Texeira.”
“You can call me Detective Sergeant Texeira, thank you. What about Pearl’s request that you donate the five-acre lot adjoining hers as part of the garden? A piece of land that, according to records we’ve uncovered, was taken from her family by your grandfather for a fraction of its worth.”
“I told Pearl the lot was not available as a donation,” Santos said. “However loudly she played the guilt fiddle.” He ran a finger around his buttoned collar, tugging at it. “Can you adjust the temperature in here?”
“I apologize, Mayor, the air-conditioning is out in this section of the building,” Lei said smoothly. “Let’s move forward quickly so we can get you out of here.” She flipped open the folder. Keone and I leaned forward, and our heads bonked; we were looking at a series of Lei’s handwritten notes, nothing more. “Now, some evidence has come to light regarding your ancestor, Felix Santos. Apparently, according to historical records, he didn’t just swindle the Yamamotos out of their land. He stole valuable items from other detainees and was involved with a homicide.”
The attorney leaned forward. “Detective, is there a specific question here? My client cannot be held responsible for unsubstantiated rumors about events that allegedly occurred over eighty years ago.”
“Of course,” Lei said. “I’m more interested in his response to evidence of those events being made public now. Perhaps through Pearl Yamamoto’s garden project and the educational materials she was preparing.”
“I have no control over Ms. Yamamoto’s educational materials,” Santos said stiffly. “But I will take prompt legal action to prevent slander such as you’re describing.”
“That tells me you have a significant interest in preventing certain historical revelations,” Lei said. “Revelations that might damage not only your family’s reputation, but your reelection campaign.”
