Distant Echoes

by Colleen Coble

  “You’re sure on top of things. That just went through. He’s excited about it. He’s got some great contacts in the park business. Why do you ask?”

  “I need a favor from one of their employees.” He told Duncan about Kaia and her dolphin.

  “No problem. It’s the least I can do after you helped me get that navy contract. Though some days I wonder what I’m doing there.” Duncan laughed, a tired sound.

  “More work than you imagined, huh?” It felt good to talk to Duncan again. They had exchanged heated words when Christy died, and their relationship had never fully recovered. Jesse doubted that it ever would. Duncan tended to imagine himself a knight in shining armor, and in this instance, he’d failed to rescue the fair maiden.

  “More work for less money. I shouldn’t have cut my margins so low.” Duncan took a bite of the ice cream in the bottom of his shave ice. “I’m not complaining though. It will pay off with more work in the long run.” He wiped his fingers on a napkin and tossed it and the ice cup into the trash. “I’ll call you tonight. I’m sure Curtis will see to it that you get the help you need. This is for our own security.”

  “Exactly,” Jesse said, digging into the macadamia-nut ice cream in the bottom of his cup with as much satisfaction as he could muster. He knew he’d hear fireworks from Kaia when she found out. For some reason, he almost looked forward to it.

  “You heard from Jillian lately?”

  Duncan’s question was almost too casual. Jesse glanced at him and suppressed a grin. Duncan and Jesse’s sister had dated in high school but had broken up when Duncan went away to Honolulu for college. Jillian, several years younger, wasn’t ready to settle down.

  “Not in about two weeks. She was trying to get out of her latest assignment but wasn’t having much luck. They want to send her to Italy, to a volcano about to blow. She needs the money, but she doesn’t want to leave Heidi behind.”

  “Tell her I said hello.” Duncan glanced at his watch and rose. “I should get back to work. It will be nine before I get home tonight as it is.”

  “Mahalo,” Jesse called, thanking his friend. He wished he could do something to help Duncan. He seemed so lonely since his wife divorced him three years ago and took their two young children to the mainland. But even if Jesse could think of some way to help, Duncan’s pride would never let him accept it.

  Jesse’s cell phone rang and he punched it on. “Matthews here.”

  “We’ve got problems.” Ensign Will Master’s voice came over the line.

  “On my way,” Jesse told his aide and ran for his Jeep Wrangler.

  The Porpoise II skimmed the tops of the waves. Laban’s mother, Edena, held the vase containing her son’s ashes between her knees as she perched in a seat beside Kaia. Her face was set and stoic. Kaia hadn’t seen her cry at the funeral either.

  “It was about here,” Kaia said, cutting the engine. Her grandfather had been hurt that his niece hadn’t wanted him along to scatter the ashes, but Edena had wanted only Kaia, and she likely would have gone alone if she hadn’t needed Kaia to show her where Laban had died.

  Edena nodded and stood. She began a funeral mele, her keening sharp as the words of the chant flowed out. Tears burned Kaia’s eyes. Edena opened the vase and slowly scattered the ashes into the white crests of waves. As the mele mingled with the sounds of the terns overhead, Kaia prayed that she would never forget how short life could be.

  Still dry-eyed, Edena put down the vase and turned to Kaia. “Was this more than an accident?” she whispered.

  “The navy says the computer malfunctioned.”

  Edena nodded. “Do you believe it?”

  “I have no reason not to,” Kaia told her. Where was her aunt heading with this?

  “If you learn anything that suggests it was more than an accident, would you promise to let me know—and to see what you can find out?”

  “I’m not a cop or anything,” Kaia pointed out. “There’s not much I could do about it.”

  “Just keep your eyes and ears open. Something doesn’t smell right to me about it. I think the navy is trying to cover up something.”

  Kaia shrugged. Her aunt had always been a little bit of a conspiracy theorist. She could humor her. “Okay,” she said.

  She took her aunt back to the dock then headed to work. She’d had the weekend to recuperate, though her muscles still ached from the ordeal in the water. Today she felt alert and ready to get back to her research. Dressed in a blue tank suit, she kicked off her Locals flip-flops, known in Kaua’i as “slippers” because they were easy to slip on and off. She dropped her bare feet over the edge of the dock into the warm water. The caress of the seawater made her eager to get to work.

  The facility was already hopping with activity. The part-time students, Bobby Hannigan and Mindy Endo, were carrying buckets of fish to the large training pool for trainers Cindy Fletcher and Doug Murakami to use in the day’s session.

  Cindy Fletcher, a dishwater blonde with a baby face in spite of her nearly forty years, hurried past Kaia with a wave. The other trainer, Doug Murakami, about thirty, strolled behind her in his usual leisurely stride. His straight black hair fell over a smooth forehead. His family had emigrated to the islands from Japan before Doug was born then had moved back without him five years ago. His easy manner made him a favorite with the staff.

  He paused to smile at Kaia. “Nice vacation? You look rested.”

  “Other than last weekend’s crisis, it was great. I’m ready to get back to work though.” Kaia turned to watch the dolphins jumping in the oversized pool. “Looks like they’re impatient this morning.” Seaworthy Lab had several Atlantic bottle-nosed dolphins. Though they looked similar to Nani, the Atlantic bottle-nosed thrived in shallow water, a trait dolphins like Nani didn’t possess.

  Dolphin research had ebbed and flowed over the years since the navy first began to investigate dolphin intelligence in the sixties. Opinion had run the gamut; some believed dolphins were like dogs, and at the other extreme, some believed they were even smarter than humans. Of course, the fact that dolphins lived in a unique environment made it hard to know for sure. It had only recently been discovered that dolphins could recognize themselves in a mirror, the only other animal besides a chimp to have such self-awareness.

  “We’d both better get to work,” she told him.

  He grinned. “A poor man’s work is never done.” He patted her on the arm and continued his jaunt to the pool.

  Cindy and Doug worked on regular dolphin training and put on shows for the public that brought in needed research money, while Kaia headed up the research project on dolphin intelligence. Her assistant, Jenny Saito, waved at her. Jenny, a thirty-two-year-old of Hawaiian and Japanese descent, came toward her carrying their communication device. The Dolphin Advanced Language Environment—DALE for short—was a computer gadget that utilized a touch screen and microphones to transmit clicks and whistles and was used with a hydrophone. The researchers dropped a touch screen in the water and used it to interact with the dolphins.

  “Nani is raring to go.” Jenny put DALE beside Kaia.

  The dolphin chattered and rode the wave. She sank into the water then zipped past Kaia’s legs before leaping out of the water and splashing Kaia with a huge wave. Rushing to Kaia, Nani rose and presented her nostrum for a kiss.

  Kaia grinned and hugged the dolphin. “How have the other dolphins done while I’ve been away?”

  “Liko has been bullying Mahina, and I had to scold him.”

  “They seem fine now.” Kaia watched the three dolphins interact. It never ceased to amaze her how like a family they were. The pods all spoke the same “dialect” of whistles and clicks and taught it to the babies. They looked out for one another, and the mothers exposed themselves to danger to save their calves. If a member of the pod was too injured or sick to get to the surface for air, other dolphins bore the injured member to the surface and supported it so its blowhole was above the water.

  Her ow
n mother should have been so self-sacrificing. Kaia blinked and dragged her attention back to the dolphins. What was with all these thoughts about her mother? The woman was about as relevant to her now as the abandoned sugar plantations were to the island.

  “You’re supposed to go to the office,” Jenny said.

  “What’s up?”

  Jenny glanced around and lowered her voice. “We’ve got a new boss.”

  “You’re kidding.” She’d hoped to be further along in her research by the time a new owner came on board.

  Jenny shook her head. “Nope. It must have sold last week, and no one told us. He came first thing this morning and took over the office. Not only is he the owner, but he’s going to be the director.”

  “Who is it?”

  “Curtis Latchet. Seems nice enough. Maybe he’ll be more open with you than he was with me about his plans.”

  Kaia’s earlier ebullience faded. “I guess I’d better go see what I can find out.” She scrambled up and shoved her feet into her Locals and hurried to the office, a sterile box that looked out on the training area through a wall of windows.

  The man behind the desk looked up and gave her a confident smile. Nearly fifty, she guessed, the wings of white at his temples gave him an air of distinction that seemed out of keeping with the casual lab. His grin was amiable though, and she smiled back cautiously. “I’m Kaia Oana,” she said.

  “Ah, so you’re the marvelous Kaia. I’ve heard wonderful things about you and your work,” he said. “Have a seat.” He indicated the cracked vinyl chair across the desk from him. “I’m Curtis Latchet. You might have met my brother, Duncan, owner of Latchet Engineering.”

  She shook her head. “I’ve seen his buildings, but I’ve never met him.” She sat in the chair and regarded him warily.

  He steepled his fingers together. “Tell me how the research is going. I’m fascinated with dolphin communication. How close are we to a breakthrough?”

  She wished she had better news to tell him. “I invented DALE, a computerized Dolphin Advanced Language Environment, and have begun to work with Nani and two other wild dolphins. I’m trying to teach them clicks and whistles that stand for certain words.”

  He shuffled through the papers on his desk. “Three dolphins? I thought the facility owned eight.”

  “Actually, we own five. The three I work with are wild. I found one of them, Nani, as an orphaned calf. After I rehabilitated her and released her back into the wild, she kept returning. Eventually the other two joined her.”

  His eyes did a slow blink as he stared at her. “So we’re pouring our money and time into dolphins that are free to come and go? Why aren’t you working with the dolphins we own? What happens if Nani and her friends choose not to come back one day?” He directed a gaze at her. “I think we need to build an enclosure and keep them in. I’ve paid a lot of money for this lab, and I don’t want to see it escape with the dolphins. The communications research is key. Our future rests on being the first to break through the barrier.”

  “Captivity would be so wrong.” She leaned forward. “It shortens the life expectancy of dolphins. Right now these three dolphins choose to interact with us. We want to be the first researchers to establish true communication between humans and dolphins, not just another place that trains sea mammals. Our approach is truly revolutionary.”

  “I see.” He released the pen. “Coffee?” He lifted his coffee cup in the air.

  “No thanks.” She had to convince him. “Nani was fabulous the other day.” She told him about the explosion and how the dolphin had towed people to the boat.

  “That isn’t all that unusual with dolphins, is it? Sometimes even wild dolphins rescue people.” Curtis took a sip of coffee.

  “Nani is different,” Kaia insisted.

  Curtis Latchet sighed heavily and sat down his cup. “Look, Kaia, I have plans for Seaworthy Labs. I’d like to see us go beyond what we’re doing now. It’s fine to draw in tourists to watch the dolphin show, but it’s not the moneymaker it could be, and we’re spending a lot of our resources on the research end. I have in mind to turn this area into an actual sea park and aquarium with water rides.”

  Kaia couldn’t believe she was hearing this. “Then why did you purchase the lab if you didn’t believe in our research?”

  “It’s an ideal location for a sea park. I’ve got designers working now on the plans for the rides and the tanks we’ll need for the aquarium display.”

  She half rose out of her chair. “Please, Curtis, don’t stop us now.”

  Curtis eyed Kaia thoughtfully and leaned back in his chair. “It will take several months for the plans to be ready. I can give it a trial period of two months. If you can’t show me you’re on to something really revolutionary, I’ll move ahead with my plans.”

  “Two months! That’s not enough time.” Kaia stood and flipped her braid over her shoulder.

  “All I’m saying is I’ll withhold judgment for now. If you can show me the benefits of your research, I’ll listen,” he said mildly. “I don’t want to be your adversary, Kaia. I want to be the first, but if we can’t, I’ll need to be practical. But I still want you to build a pen to keep the dolphins in. I can’t lose them. They’re too valuable.”

  Kaia bit back the words she wanted to say. “You can’t do that!” she said.

  “I can and I will. Those animals are worth a hundred thousand dollars each.”

  “If Nani belongs to anyone, it would be me. She doesn’t belong to Seaworthy. If I have to take you to court over it, I will.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wondered if he would fire her on the spot.

  He pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose. “I don’t want to fight with you, Kaia,” he said softly. “This is not what I expected.” He fell silent for a few moments. “Okay, I’ll hold off on the pen for now. But if the research project fails, I’m not letting those dolphins escape.”

  “I won’t fail.” The bright promise of the day lay in ashes. There was no guarantee she would win if she went to court.

  “One more thing,” he said as she went toward the door.

  She turned.

  “I have an assignment for you.”

  Kaia waited, wondering why he didn’t look at her.

  Curtis glanced up and caught her gaze finally. “The navy needs some help, and I’ve agreed to assign you to them.”

  She couldn’t have heard him correctly. “Who needs help?”

  “The navy.” He finally met her gaze. “Specifically, I’ve assigned you to work with Lieutenant Commander Jesse Matthews.”

  “You just gave me only two months to get results. I can’t be spending my time anywhere but on my research.”

  “I’ve already promised our help.”

  “You want me to fail, is that it?” Her eyes burned, and she fought to keep her composure. “The offer of two months’ trial was just a bone?”

  “I can have Jenny take Nani and help Matthews if you’d rather. You could concentrate on the other two dolphins.”

  He was boxing her into a corner. “Nani is a free dolphin. She doesn’t have to cooperate.”

  “Jenny assured me the dolphin would work with her too.”

  He was right. Nani loved Jenny too. She would come if either of them called. Jenny was good, but she wasn’t as attached to Nani as Kaia was. The best chance Kaia had to make sure her dolphin wasn’t injured was to take charge of the project herself.

  The words seemed stuck in her throat. She swallowed. “Fine. I’ll just have to work with Nani on my time off. I’ll prove to you she can do it.”

  “Don’t act like this is the end of the world, Kaia.”

  “How did Jesse get to you? Did he threaten the lab?” She wouldn’t put it past him. He was probably a man who was used to getting his own way.

  “Of course not. Not everything is a big conspiracy, Kaia. You probably don’t know this, but my father had a hand in creating the missile defense system that’s under
testing right now.” His pride shone through in his smile. “Though Dad is gone, I want to do everything I can to help make sure this system is implemented. My brother’s business is tied to the project as well. I couldn’t refuse their request for help.”

  “I bet he was smug.” She could imagine his self-satisfied smirk.

  “I imagine he will be happy when he hears.”

  “You didn’t talk to him?

  Curtis shook his head. “My brother is a friend of his, and he asked on the commander’s behalf.”

  “Figures.” How like a military man to go through channels instead of asking right out, though she admitted to herself he had asked her. She’d just turned him down, and he couldn’t take no for an answer.

  “This isn’t all bad, Kaia. We’ll have the opportunity to observe Nani using all the skills you’ve worked so hard to hone. The two of you make a heck of a team. You’ll be able to work with her out in the ocean.”

  Easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one who would have to put up with being ordered around by Lieutenant Commander Jesse Matthews.

  Jesse surveyed the ransacked office. Files littered the floor, metal drawers stood open, and chairs had been upended. It looked more like the work of vandals than that of a serious saboteur. Generally, spies tried to cover their tracks. If spies had done this, they were either insolent or incompetent.

  He turned to his aide. “What’s missing?”

  “Some papers on the missile system,” Ensign Masters said.

  The shave ice he’d wolfed down sat in his stomach like a lump of cold lava. “How did this happen?”

  “Someone came ashore last night, slipped through our defenses. Security detected no breach, but I found this when I opened the door.” Ensign Masters swept his hand over the room.

  “Was anyone injured?”

  Masters shook his head and pointed to an open window. “Whoever it was came in there and bypassed the guard outside.”

  Jesse had no idea how that could be accomplished. “Post a guard inside this room from now on.”

  “Yes sir.”

  Jesse’s cell phone rang and he answered it.