Fully rested and dressed in her favorite flowered sundress and white sandals Sophia made her way down to the conference room at five o’clock. Luke was there organizing some materials he already had laid out when he saw her come in.
“Hello Sophia,” he said. “You look very pretty this evening.”
“Thanks,” she said blushing. No one had told her she was pretty for a very long time.
“I’m just waiting on the rest of the group,” he said as he heard both Ava and David walk in at the same time. “Hey guys!” they all said together and then laughed.
“Everyone hungry?” asked Luke. “My uncle has a fabulous chef that is cooking tonight. It’ll be a buffet like you’ve never seen.”
“Sounds good, I’m starved,” David responded. Ava and Sophia basically echoed David’s response.
Luke led them into the resort restaurant. It was pretty deserted at this early hour, but the buffet was all set up and ready to go. They found some seats just as the chef walked out to bring another dish for the buffet.
“Luke! Good to see you again?” the chef greeted him with a pat on the back and a firm hand shake.
“You too Hemi! How you doing? Keeping busy?” asked Luke
“Oh yes, definitely. The crowd will start drifting in here shortly once they get done playing on the beach. I’m glad you came in early so I can chat with you for a bit,” replied the chef with a very strong islander accent.
“Guys, this is Hemi! He’s been working with my uncle for over 20 years. He’s originally from Hawaii. Hemi, this is Sophia, Ava and David. This is the team I was telling you about,” Luke explained.
“Glad to meet all of you,” Hemi answered shaking each of their hands firmly. “Good to have you here, and if I can help in any way just let me know. It’s a sad business all these disappearances. I’ll be glad when you all finally find out who’s responsible. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around, so enjoy your dinner and help yourself,” Hemi said motioning to the buffet, which must be the cue to get started.
“Thanks Hemi,” said Luke. “We’ll definitely let you know if we need anything.”
“Bye Hemi, nice to meet you,” everyone said.
“Let’s eat!” Luke said as he reached for Sophia’s hand and they all got up to fill their plates with delicious island delicacies. She smiled at him and a knowing glance passed between the pair. They tried every kind of seafood you could think of including the local specialties of deep fried conch fritters and yellow fin tuna. There were fruits of every color and size, multiple pasta dishes and over a dozen deserts to choose from. Along with the buffet was a wine tasting table with a large variety of local wines from the vast reserves held here on the island.
“Wow! I’m going to get fat staying here,” exclaimed Ava.
“We’ll just have to work it off on the beach,” answered David as he looked at her and grinned slyly. Ava blushed and looked away.
David was a very handsome man. He had been friends with Luke since college and worked closely with him over the years. He was over six foot tall with rugged outdoorsy looks, blonde, tan and athletic. Ava definitely wanted to find out his story. He wasn’t wearing a ring, so he must be divorced, but she wanted to make sure before anything happened. He was certainly flirting with her, but that did not always mean a guy was single. She had been through that before and had learned her lesson. After a failed marriage she tried to date, but gave up and she decided to let love find her instead of chasing after it. Even though she was only in her mid-forties and still attractive she was content to be single, for now.
“Well, maybe we will,” she answered him with a smile.
After everyone was sufficiently stuffed, they were just sitting around drinking some native island beer and chatting. Two men came up to their table and greeted Luke. He stood up and shook hands with the older man while saying, “Hey everyone, this is my Uncle Max,” and slapping him on the back.
“Hi Max,” everyone said.
“Max is my dad’s brother.” Luke told them. “He’s been running this resort since I was a kid. We used to come down here every year for vacation. My Aunt Irene is around here somewhere too. She handles the kitchen and housekeeping staff.”
“Nice to meet you kids,” he said as if we were teenagers. Granted he was over seventy.
“About time for you to retire isn’t it Uncle Max?” asked Luke tickled with himself.
“This is retirement, wouldn’t you say, son?” Max laughed. “Look around! Why would I want to be anywhere else?”
“True!” replied Luke knowing his uncle would never leave this island. “It is definitely a little slice of heaven.”
“Yes it is,” said Max turning to the person he had with him. “This here is Luther Black; he is my assistant here at the resort. He’s been with me a couple years now. He handles basically everything I do. For the most part Luther oversees security and maintenance, but when I need help he pitches in with other areas too.”
“Nice to meet you Luther,” David got up to shake his hand. Ava and Sophia both nodded and said hello.
“So, you’re all here to solve this investigation, huh?” Luther asked getting down to business.
“We hope to,” replied David.
“Well, anything you need I’m here to help,” declared Luther. We’ve got video surveillance footage you can use if you need to, and security personnel we can loan out if necessary. Just let me know.”
“Thanks! That’s very helpful,” replied Luke gratefully. “If I could look at the video from two weeks before each disappearance that would be great.”
“Sure, I’ll send you the links to the surveillance system,” answered Luther.
Luther was about the same age as the team and looked like a shorter version of Kevin Spacey. He was balding on top with numerous wrinkles from the sun, but he seemed eager to help, if he could. At this point the team could use all the help they could get.
“Enough business for now,” declared Max. “Who’s up for an island tour…?”