Maui Mysteries - The Characters - The Madison Sisters
Over the next few blogs, I’ll introduce you to the main characters in Eyes of the Beholder. I’ll do this through the eyes of my protagonist, six-foot-seven-inch, two-hundred-seventy-five pound Detective Sergeant Keone Boyd. Let’s start with two fraternal twins who grew up on a pig farm in Wabash, Indiana and moved to Maui after marrying two best friends, Sam Loftus and Dave Walden. In this excerpt, Keone first meets Julie in her sister Janet’s home in up-country. (The restaurant where I took this picture is also in up-country.)
The Madison Sisters
Keone pulled up in front of the Loftus home in Pukalani, behind a green Jeep Grand Cherokee… The neat, simple house, neither new nor terribly old, was built in the standard off-the-ground style of Maui hillside homes… Janet Loftus ushered him into a spotless, if somewhat spartan, living room where another woman sat stiffly in a ladder-backed chair. “This is my sister Julie Madison Walden.”
Keone’s first impression was that these sisters didn’t share much in the way of a family resemblance. Blonde Janet was short and thin, with the grace of a model. Her sister was taller and rounder, with long, wavy red hair. Where Janet was attractive and professional, Julie Walden was cute and unpretentious… To him, she seemed vulnerable in a way that Janet didn’t… “Mrs. Walden, I’m Keone Boyd from the Maui PD.” He showed her his badge. “I’m very pleased you made time for me.”
“Please, we’re Jan and Julie. We know you’re here to help,” Janet said rising to get refreshments from the kitchen. When Jan left the room, Julie seemed to relax a bit. A signal that he could begin questioning. “Julie, I want to get to the biggest question first.”
“Good. I hate people who beat around the bush. You want to know why Sam says I’m his wife, right?… I don’t have a clue… Sam always seemed to see me as either an extension of Dave or Jan. He and I have very little in common. I write fiction for children, and he hates fiction. I love kids. He’s uncomfortable around kids. He’s very detail oriented, and I leave all that to Dave—who leaves it to other people on his payroll.”
“How would you describe your interactions with your brother-in-law?”
“Friendly. Non-invasive. Sam’s a good guy, but more Dave’s friend than mine. He’s… always been a supportive partner for my sister.”
“Has he ever acted oddly around you?”
“Not until today.”
“You visited him? In the hospital?”
“I was only there for a minute or two, but the man in that bed was nothing like the Sam Loftus I know.”
Jan returned with the coffee service and some classy European cookies… “Thank you, Mrs... uh, Janet... Jan. Let me ask you the question I just asked your sister. Before the crash, did your husband ever behave unusually?”
“No. That’s just it. He never does anything out of the ordinary. He’s stable as a rock. I think that’s what attracted me to him in the first place.”
Keone sipped his coffee and peered at the two sisters over the rim of his cup. Although Julie seemed the most open of the two, he sensed she was hiding something. The fact that she wore long sleeves and long slacks despite the warm Maui weather, coupled with the heavier than necessary makeup around her eyes, raised a red flag.
“Julie, could you tell me a little about your husband? I met him today and understand he’s closed his legal practice.” The tension was back in Julie’s posture and in her face. He’d hit a nerve…
“What does this have to do with Sam and the accident?” Jan asked.
This was why he liked to interview witnesses separately. “Probably nothing. We just try to get a full picture of the subject’s environment, and I know you two couples spend time together.”… Jan’s eyes were starting to tear-up, a warning to Keone that it was time to bring the interview to a close, for now… “Thank you both for seeing me so quickly and for the refreshments.” He drew two cards from his wallet and handed one to each sister…
He wasn’t comfortable drawing too many conclusions, yet. But he knew one thing from today’s experiences. Julie Walden and her husband were having marital problems. He’d stake his badge on it. He also couldn’t shake the feeling that understanding the causes of the break between Dave and Sam might be relevant to unraveling events. He needed to speak to Julie alone again at some point and not because he found her so vulnerable. She raised questions in his mind.
What is she hiding with her clothing and make-up? What does she know about Dave’s other business?
About the Picture:
Both the Loftuses and Waldens live in a part of Maui that I love called upcountry. This picture is not the Loftus bromeliad garden, although there are some bromeliads in it. It is actual the outside eating area of the restaurant at the Kula Lodge, which gives a great feel for what upcountry is like. Later in the story, two of the main characters have a wonderful dinner at this place.