Murder in Honolulu: A Skye Delaney Mystery by R. Barri Flowers

it
out of his mind, as cops tended to do in the course of routine
homicide investigations of nameless strangers. This figured to be
an investigation that was far more personal than Ridge was used
to.
    Especially since it involved the woman he
was currently seeing. They seemed to get along as well as anyone
could expect, and certainly much better than he got along with his
ex-wife. He had no idea how long things would last between him and
Skye. Maybe months or even years. They hadn't placed any parameters
or prerequisites on their relationship. All that really mattered at
the moment was that they enjoyed each other's company, were a
perfect match in bed, and left the door wide open for whatever the
future may bring.
    Now he'd been assigned the investigation
into a possible homicide that took the life of the man who had been
lucky enough to marry Skye then, like a damned fool, threw it all
away. Ridge contemplated how this set of dynamics might play in
taking on this case, rejecting any thoughts of a conflict of
interest. He would treat the case like any other insofar as being
professional enough to see it through.
    * * *
    Ridge pulled up to the curb in front of
Skye's house. There were already squad cars there and an ambulance.
He got out of the vehicle, thought a moment longer about what he
would find inside, and went up to the front door. He was wearing
his usual cheap navy suit, loafers, and a deadpan look. He
identified himself to a young uniformed officer, and went
inside.
    The first thing Ridge noticed when he got to
the bathroom was the only thing he couldn't miss—Carter Delaney's
nude body partially slumped over the side of the now empty Jacuzzi.
As he assessed the former prosecutor's remains, it was hard to
imagine this stiff being Skye's ex-husband. But death did that to
you, he realized. It took away your physical stature and vitality,
and left nothing but a pitiful shell. This was made even worse if
it came by way of a criminal offense.
    Ridge closed his eyes for a moment. When he
opened them, he saw one of the crime scene investigators who
indicated that they had finished collecting the evidence from the
victim and his immediate surroundings.
    He stepped into the hall where a team from
the medical examiner's office was standing by. "Get him the hell
out of here," Ridge ordered them.
    "Will do," muttered one tonelessly.
    Ridge bypassed them and approached a young
female officer who was standing guard to prevent any tampering with
evidence.
    "Where is Ms. Delaney?" he asked her
anxiously.
    "In her bedroom, sir."
    Ridge headed in that direction. He wondered
if anyone at the scene was privy to his relationship with Skye.
They hadn't exactly tried to keep it a secret. But Skye seemed in
no hurry to let the cat out of the bag, as if it would somehow
complicate his sometimes-unofficial assistance with her private
detective work. From his standpoint, he would be happy to be the
man in her life for the whole world to see.
    But, for now, there were more important
things to be concerned about, starting with Skye's well being.
    Then he could turn his attention to the
mysterious death of Carter Delaney.
     

 
    CHAPTER
NINE
     
    "Why would Carter kill himself?" I cried out
to Ridge as the reality of this tragedy really began to sink in.
"It just doesn't make any sense..."
    Certainly not where it concerned the Carter
Delaney I knew. But perhaps he wasn't the same man anymore. Maybe
his personal and professional demons had driven him over the
edge.
    Or not.
    Ridge had been assigned the case as a
possible homicide. In walking a tightrope, he was also playing the
role of sympathetic boyfriend. Though I hadn't always embraced the
idea of our romance being public, for reasons that were more
professional than personal, it had to take a back seat to my
overwhelming need to feel connected to someone after such a
tragedy.
    "I've never heard of a suicide that did make
sense," he replied in his detective-like voice as we sat on