Maui Mysteries - The Characters - David Walden

I’ve introduced you to the Madison sisters, Janet and Julie. I told you they married best friends Sam Loftus and Dave Walden, respectively. And we met Sam on my Saturday blog. Now it’s time to meet Julie Walden’s husband David.

As for other characters, I’ll introduce Dave through the first interview Det. Sgt. Keone Boyd has with him. Dave is cleaning out his former legal office when Keone encounters him in Lahaina.

Protruding from the top of one of the larger, wooden containers, Keone saw a man’s legs and running shorts pointed directly up in the air. “Mr. Walden?”

“That’s me,” Walden answered without extricating himself. “Are you from the moving company?”

“No. I’m from the Maui Police Department.”

He heard a resonant bang as Walden’s head connected with the side of the crate. After climbing out and studying Keone’s credentials, he said, “I’m sorry, Detective Sergeant Boyd. What can I do for you? If this is about Sam’s accident, I wasn’t there.”

Already distancing himself. “I realize that, Mr. Walden. But, as Mr. Loftus’s best friend and a family member, I assume you spent a great deal of time with him prior to the accident.”

“Why is that relevant?”

This guy really is a lawyer. “Mr. Loftus was driving on the wrong side of the road. We’d like to know why.”

Walden seemed to relax and ran his fingers through his mane of red hair. He winced when he touched the spot where he’d connected with the packing crate. “Of course you would. Sorry, you caught me off guard… Sam and I have been friends since college.”

Not best friends. “Tell me about Sam.”

“One thing I can promise you, Sam never messed with drugs. Here.” He swept a pile of folders onto the floor, clearing two chairs. “Let’s sit down. This might take a while.”

I never asked about drugs.

“I met Sam at IU when we were both freshmen… I grew up in the Bay Area and Sam was from Southern California…”

Always provides more than he’s asked. Tries to redirect the interrogation. “Did you do things together outside of class?”

“We shared a dorm room and hit it off from the start. We were both terrified of drowning, so naturally we decided to go white water rafting. There was a wonderful place called the Upper Gauley River in West Virginia… one early fall weekend....”

Off on another story. “…Hell, Sam still does it. But on the island, ocean kayaking floats his boat… Too boring for me. Not like the adrenaline rush from rafting.”

“Do you enjoy any sports on the island?”

“I took up golf over here.”

Now there’s an adrenaline rush.

“The courses over here are so beautiful and you meet so many great people. It can really help you calm down. Never could get my wife to try it though.”

What does he need to calm down from? “About your wives, how did you meet them?”

“The good old Indiana State Fair. A treasure trove of pork butts and other fried things on sticks, smelly livestock, and a fun zone filled with…”

He did it again. What a schmoozer. Enough. “Your wives?” Keone didn’t hide his impatience.

“Sure. Sure. We spotted these two hotties and decided to flip a coin for them… We made a deal that when the girls emerged from the haunted house, the winner would get the first girl who came out on the right and the loser the other one. Sam won the toss, Janet came out first on the right and the rest, as they say, is history.”

But if left is right?

“Tell me a bit more about Sam Loftus.”

“Sam’s a worker bee. Always plays by the rules. Rules are important to him. Too important. I think it’s the OCD… He’s just…”

“A little anal. So I keep hearing.” He’d struck a nerve. Did Walden have trouble following the rules? Did Sam’s need to play by the rules affect their friendship?

“Do you think Sam will snap out of these...uh...delusions he’s having? He’s a good guy. I’d like to see him get back home and back to normal as soon as possible.”

I never mentioned Sam’s delusions. “You need to ask his doctor about that. Has he had delusions before?”

“Absolutely not. Sam doesn’t even read fiction…”

“Thank you again, Mr. Walden. Good luck with your packing.”

Walden left a bad taste in Keone’s mouth. He’d seen too many like him before. All Walden let you see was a role he was playing. The part of a friendly and non-threatening schmoozer. But Keone’s questions had scratched that surface to reveal something less palatable beneath. Keone decided to learn more about Sam’s best friend.

About the pictures:

Dave Walden’s interest in golf gave me the opportunity to show some pictures of a few of my favorite golf courses on Maui. Although I like to imagine it is Dave in the picture of shooting across the Bay on the Bay Course at Kapalua, it is actually me. The other courses shown are the Plantation Course at Kapalua, and the Royal Course in Ka’anapali. Our condo was actually on this course, hence the beautiful views.