Death by Trial and Error (A Legal Suspense Short) by R. Barri Flowers

Or was that their plan?
    She took out her cell phone and called
Patrick. It went straight to voicemail. Frustrated, she didn't
bother to leave a message.
    "Damn you, Patrick," she muttered irritably,
jealous that he was likely bedding another woman at that exact
moment. She couldn't help herself, in spite of the fact that her
own romantic feelings and sexual yearnings lay elsewhere. She took
comfort in knowing that soon her life would change for the better
and she would no longer need to tolerate the pain Patrick had
caused her.
    The knock on the partially open driver's side
window caused Suzette's heart to skip a beat. She turned and saw
Tucker Matsumoto's face. He was Hawaiian and had a thin
mustache.
    "What the hell are you doing here?" he
snapped.
    She caught her breath. "I think you
know."
    Matsumoto cocked a brow. "He sent you to bring the money?"
    She almost hated to disappoint him. "No, I'm
here to collect money—from you."
    He frowned. "I owe you nothing."
    "The merchandise you have says otherwise,
Matsumoto," she said boldly. "If you think you can screw us out of
payment—"
    "You'll do what?" he said, cutting her off.
"Go to the cops?" He laughed derisively. "I don't think so."
    Suzette was furious at his arrogance and
clear intention to stiff them. Just as she contemplated her next
move, a shot rang out, striking Matsumoto, who doubled over.
Another shot hit him and he went down.
    Fearful that she might be next, Suzette
reached in her purse for her gun, which she kept for protection.
But it was too late. The crackling sound of gunfire, seemingly
louder than ever, rang through her ears. The sudden realization
that she'd been shot left her numb, then she felt her head
spinning, and suddenly everything was pitch black.
     

Chapter One
     
    The vibrancy of laughter echoed throughout
the bedroom as Eddie Naku playfully nibbled on the neck of his
current romantic interest, Gayle Luciano, a flight attendant. They
were naked in bed making love on a steamy night. It was one of
those on again, off again relationships, where neither was ready to
make a real commitment and both were the better for it. Instead,
they got together when their conflicting schedules allowed and
their bodies lusted for one another.
    Now was one of those times as Naku pushed
aside his life as a private investigator in favor of a good romp in
the sack.
    The ringing of his cell phone put a crimp in
that. He tried to ignore it, as did his lover.
    "Don't answer it," Gayle pleaded. "Remember,
this is your day off—and mine."
    For a moment, Naku found her incredible
powers of persuasion too much to ignore as she claimed his lips
with her own.
    But the damned phone ringing persisted.
Against his better judgment, he decided he better answer it. He
pried their mouths apart and hoisted his muscular
six-foot-three-inch body from the bed. Seeing the disappointment in
Gayle's face, he said, "Don't worry. Whoever it is, I'll get rid of
them."
    "You better," she said, pouting.
    He dug the cell phone out of his jeans that
had ended up on the floor. The caller was his secretary, Vanna.
    "I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time,"
she said.
    Naku gazed at his lover, ready and waiting.
"As a matter of fact, you did."
    "Sorry, but there's a lady here, a Ms.
Higuchi, who—"
    He cut her off. "It's my day off. She can
come back tomorrow."
    "Well, the thing is, she insisted on seeing
you today ," Vanna told him. "She said it can't wait."
    Higuchi . The name had a ring of
familiarity to it, and not because it was common on the Hawaiian
Islands. He remembered now. A week ago, a Suzette Higuchi-Bordeau
was shot to death in Pukalani. The shooter was still at large.
Coincidence?
    "She says she was referred to you," Vanna
said. "She seems really desperate."
    He glanced at Gayle, who seemed a bit
desperate herself to finish where they left off. But since he was
in the business of private detective work and prided himself on
never turning down a paying customer, he felt he should