Midnight Sea (Aloha Reef Series)

by Colleen Coble

“No,” Fawn said in a dreamy voice.

  “You sound funny. Kind of breathless. Is everything okay?”

  “Everything is perfect.” Fawn’s voice held a smile. “Yoshi invited me to dinner.”

  In spite of her anxiety for Ben, Lani began to smile. “It’s about time he saw the light. When?”

  “Tonight. I can’t believe it.”

  “You sound like you’re about to cry.” Lani groped for Fawn’s arm, found it, then squeezed her hand.

  “Silly, isn’t it? I wish Annie were here.”

  “Still no word from her? Do you think she’s okay?” Lani just wanted to hear her sister’s voice. Annie always knew what to do about everything.

  “Yes, she’s fine, according to the consulate. No one has been injured or killed. When the communication systems are back up, they’ll get in touch with her. In the meantime, I’m sure she’s in her element.”

  “She’ll be obsessed. Poor Mano.” Lani began to smile.

  “He’s probably right there with her.”

  Lani tipped her head to the side and listened. “Are the men coming back?”

  Fawn didn’t answer for a moment. “Sounds like it. Yeah, it is. I can see them now. Ben looks like he’s been in a tussle. His shirt is torn, and his face is bloody. It’s scratched or something.”

  As the men approached, Lani could hear them talking.

  “You look like you’ve been wrestling with a bear,” Yoshi said.

  “I feel like it.”

  She planted her feet and turned to face the men. Yoshi had better answer her questions.

  “I found him. He’s fine. Just a dawdler,” Yoshi said in a cheerful voice.

  “I’m not stupid, just blind,” Lani said. “What happened? I know we were trespassing, but the guy sure overreacted.”

  “He wanted my cell phone,” Ben said.

  “Why?” Yoshi asked.

  “I took some pictures of his orchids.”

  “Are they proprietary or something?” Yoshi asked.

  “It’s not just that,” Lani said slowly. “I think he’s smuggling orchids.”

  “What?” Ben’s voice was sharp.

  “I’m sure that was an Asian slipper orchid. Fawn, you know a little about orchids. Look at the picture on Ben’s camera.” She heard the rustle as Ben got out his cell phone and opened it.

  “Hang on, let me find it,” he said. A few faint clicks sounded. “Here it is.”

  “It’s kind of fuzzy,” Fawn said. “But it does look like some kind of slipper orchid.”

  “It is,” Lani said. “I’m sure of it.”

  “It’s illegal to import and sell them,” Fawn said.

  “That’s what I’m saying. The guy must be smuggling orchids. Just one Asian slipper orchid is worth thousands. Something shady is going on down the road, and I have to wonder if it’s connected to Pam’s murder. Two crimes virtually next door to each other? It can’t be coincidental.” She moved without thinking, bumped into a chair, took a step back, and stumbled over the dog. Caught in a vortex of gravity and awkwardness, she couldn’t find anything to catch herself with. She went down on one knee. A strong hand caught her by the hand. Ben?

  “You okay?” Ben’s deep voice asked.

  “Fine.” She righted herself. “Or I would be if we could figure out what was going on.”

  Chapter Six

  Simi sat on the small cot in the basement and waited. Master had seen him. Simi cast a fearful glance toward the door. The man would hit him, but Simi could take it. He’d taken many bad things in the time he’d been here. Tonga seemed far away, a mere dream that he was having a hard time hanging on to. A tear slid down his cheek. If only he could go home. America was no land of gold, but a dark, fearful place.

  Though Master said he would send money to Simi’s family, Simi didn’t trust him. Nothing else he’d promised Simi had happened. Simi hadn’t seen the sea since he got here. There had been no day off, just pulling weeds and digging in the dirt.

  The door flew open, and Simi cowered as Master burst into the room. The man’s face was swollen. There was a cut on his lip. Simi whimpered as the big man came toward him.

  “What did you say to them?” Master shouted.

  The sound of his voice was so loud it made Simi’s ears hurt. He held up his hands in front of his face. “Please, Master. I say nothing. Tell them to go away.”

  “You should have come to get me. They took a picture.” Master paced around the room.

  Simi didn’t understand the word picture, but he’d seen the man pull out a hard thing and lean toward the flower. It must have been a bad thing, this picture. “Simi sorry,” he said. More tears squeezed from his lids. His back still hadn’t healed from the last time he’d angered Master.

  “You’re a poor worker, Simi. I think I should sell you to another master, let you see how hard it could be for you.” Master took a step toward Simi.

  Simi’s chest hitched. He wanted to hide under the bed, but Master would just drag him out. The big man stood only two steps away when a voice called to him from the other room. He scowled and turned to charge back the way he’d come. “Come with me,” Master snarled. He grabbed Simi by the forearm and dragged him toward the door.

  The roar of his bike soothed Ben like a lullaby. Stress usually sent him to the road, where he prayed while he rolled along. He still felt unsettled as he kicked down his stand and dismounted in front of his brother’s house.

  It didn’t seem possible to smuggle orchids in the coffee, but then, he didn’t know much about orchids and how they could be transported. Maybe he could get something out of Ethan tonight.

  Ethan answered the door at the first knock. “Hey, Ben. Do you know what time it is?”

  Ben glanced at his watch, surprised to see that it read after eleven. “Sorry, I need to talk to you.”

  Ethan stepped out of the way. “Natalie is in bed. I heard your bike when I was getting a drink.”

  Ben sniffed as he followed his brother to the living room. He thought he smelled the yeasty odor of beer, but maybe he was too quick to jump to conclusions.

  “What’s this all about?” Ethan dropped into an armchair and crossed his bare legs. He wore only boxer shorts and a T-shirt. He didn’t look like he’d shaved today.

  “I want to know about the coffee.”

  Ethan sighed and ran his hand through his hair, causing his cowlick to stick up. “I told you I’m delivering coffee to the other islands.”

  “You’re lying, Ethan. I asked at Kona Kai. They use only UPS.”

  Ethan dropped his legs to the floor and bolted upright. “You’ve gone too far this time, Ben! You’re my brother, not my dad. I’m an adult. I can do what I want.”

  “Did you go to the counseling session?” Ben blurted.

  His brother swore. “Would you get off my back? Yes, I went, and no, I haven’t been drinking today. I heard you smelling me as we came down the hall.”

  Maybe Ben deserved that. “I only want what’s best for you and your family.”

  “That’s the kicker, isn’t it? I have a family and you don’t. You know what your problem is, Ben? You’re so afraid of failing someone, you never try. At least I’m in the ball game. I’m swinging the bat for all I’m worth.”

  “You’re swinging at a football when you should be taking aim at the baseball,” Ben said dryly. “You’re doing something illegal, Ethan. I can smell it. Tell me, what do you know about orchids?”

  Ethan’s laugh echoed with bitterness. “Orchids? We’ve moved from coffee to orchids?” He stood. “I think you’re the one who’s been drinking. Why don’t you get some rest and come back when you’re making more sense.”

  “What are you smuggling, Ethan? Orchid starts?” he guessed.

  “I’m taking care of my family,” Ethan said fiercely. “I’m not hurting anyone.”

  Ben realized this was the nearest thing to a confession that he was going to get. Ethan was up to his neck in something, but what? Ben sigh
ed and slumped. “Can I peek in on Meg?”

  Ethan’s tight look eased. “I guess. But you’ve got to trust me a little, Ben. Everything is okay.”

  “I hope so, Ethan,” he said. “I really hope so.” He went down the hall and opened the door to Meg’s room. He tiptoed to her crib. Her hair smelled fresh and clean when he bent over the rail to kiss her soft cheek. At least she’d been bathed. They must be trying to clean up their act a little. If only he could extricate his brother from whatever problem he faced.

  “Why wasn’t someone guarding the orchids?” Thresh glared at the big man, his bald head slick from a fresh shaving.

  Kato spread his beefy hands. “The kid was supposed to be watching.”

  Thresh glanced at the boy, who cringed. “Did anyone kipe a flower?”

  The boy’s eyes clouded. “Kipe?”

  “Steal. Are the orchids all there?”

  Simi nodded vigorously. “No steal.”

  “Don’t leave your post again, you understand?”

  Though his blank eyes said he didn’t, the boy nodded. “No leave.” His dark eyes darted toward Kato.

  Thresh glanced at the bruises on the kid’s back. He should tell Kato to lay off, but handling the slave labor was the big man’s worry. It was up to him to bring in enough illegals for their purposes. The Tongans were the best. They were so desperate to send money to their families, they did whatever they were asked without complaint.

  Thresh turned back to Kato. “Who trespassed?”

  “Some guy. And a blind woman with her dog. I didn’t get a close look at her.”

  Thresh studied the cuts on his face. “Looks like you got plenty close up with someone.”

  Kato flushed. “He caught me off guard. It won’t happen again.”

  “What about the shipment?”

  “Out the door already.”

  “Copacetic.” Thresh didn’t want to worry about business right now. Everything was under control, in spite of this little bump in the road.

  Sitting in a lawn chair surrounded by the aroma of some Spam concoction Rina was making, Lani took comfort in Fisher’s warm body leaning against her leg. “I hope Yoshi stops by to tell us he’s gotten to the bottom of the orchid farm mystery,” she told Fawn.

  “I think he’ll be by in a bit,” Fawn said.

  Lani’s cell phone vibrated, and she answered it.

  “Hi, Lani. It’s Tyrone.”

  The deep voice made her fingers spasm around the phone. “Tyrone. What a—surprise.” Her throat constricted. Why was he calling? She hadn’t talked to him in two years.

  “I’ve been thinking about you. How are you doing?”

  “Okay. You?”

  “Fine. The dealership is going good. I—I heard about what happened to you.”

  “Did you call to gloat?” The words sprang from her lips before she could call them back. “I didn’t mean that. I was pretty nasty to you, Tyrone. I’m really sorry.” Her eyes stung, and she blinked.

  “I’m not gloating. I’m sorry about it. Blindness is no fun.”

  “I’m not permanently blind,” she said. “This will pass when the swelling goes down.”

  “I held on to that hope for a while too.”

  She squeezed the phone so tightly her fingers hurt. “Look, why are you calling?”

  “I’d like to take you to dinner. See if I can help you adjust.”

  “Why would you want to do that? I threw you over when you were blinded.” And worse. She couldn’t talk about that and prayed he wouldn’t bring it up.

  “I still care about you, Lani.” His voice was husky. “Maybe there’s still a chance for us.”

  She called to mind his image—tall, broad-shouldered, black hair and eyes, skin the color of a rich roast of coffee. A good man. She swallowed. “I don’t know, Tyrone. There’s a lot of water under the bridge.”

  “I’ve got a boat.”

  She laughed, an uneasy sound. She couldn’t in good conscience blow him off. “Just dinner, okay? No promises.”

  “No promises. Tomorrow night?”

  “Okay. Um, how do we do this? I can’t drive, and neither can you.”

  “Ben will take us.”

  “You know Ben?”

  “He drives a Harley, doesn’t he? Of course I know him.”

  Great, just great. What had she gotten herself into? She closed the phone and clipped it back onto her waistband.

  “What was that all about?” Fawn asked.

  “It was an old boyfriend. I’ve got a date tomorrow.” Lani searched for a change of topic. Fawn didn’t know the whole story, and Lani wasn’t about to go into it.

  “Here comes Yoshi,” Fawn said.

  A chair scraped as someone settled into it. “Yoshi?” Lani asked.

  “Yeah. How you doing?”

  “Did you find out anything about the guy who attacked Ben?” she asked. Yoshi’s heavy sigh came, and Lani wished she could see his expression. She could read him like the tide.

  “The property is in a holding company. We’re trying to find out the real owner. The housekeeper knows nothing, and we saw no one else around.”

  “Mind if I join you?” a voice interrupted.

  “Hey, Arlo, pull up a chair,” Yoshi said.

  Metal screeched against concrete. “I’m bushed. We shipped out over two thousand pounds of coffee today. I’ll be glad when you’re back to work, Lani.”

  “So will I.” He would be a good diversion, Lani decided. She didn’t want to think about Tyrone’s call. “I want to hear more about Taylor Camp. Did you love it as much as Aunt Rina?”

  “I must have, since I was so set on getting us all together.”

  He had a way of speaking that made everything sound like a question. She hid her smile. “What was your favorite part?”

  “We had a marvelous church,” he said promptly. “The Church of the Brotherhood of the Paradise Children. No other church since then has rivaled it. Every idea about worship was welcome. We had Wiccans, Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, even atheists, all celebrating together.”

  “What about truth?” Ben asked.

  When had he walked over? Lani turned in the direction of his voice. The way Fisher shifted should have told her he stood nearby.

  “Truth is relative. We all knew there was something out there; it just had a different name to some of us. One of us would play the guitar, someone else pounded out the rhythm on the drums, someone played the sitar. My, my, it was quite delightful.”

  “Sounds like a broad path to destruction,” Ben said.

  “You don’t believe in tolerance?” Arlo’s voice went even higher.

  “Not when it comes to truth. Everything needs to line up with Scripture.”

  “My, my.” Arlo’s seat rustled. When his voice came again, it was over Lani’s head. “Well, I think I’ll check on the food. Rina is making her famous macaroni salad.”

  A few moments later Yoshi chuckled. “Looks like you ran him off.”

  “I didn’t mean to. I thought he might debate it with me,” Ben said.

  “I get the feeling he’d rather run than argue,” Fawn said.

  Lani hid a smile at the lilt in her friend’s voice. She and Yoshi were supposed to go out to dinner in a few minutes, and Fawn’s excitement could be felt even in Lani’s black hole.

  “Ready?” Yoshi asked.

  The seat squeaked. “I’m ready,” Fawn said.

  Lani listened to them move away and thought about her own pending dinner date. How could she even talk to Tyrone? Especially with Ben along.

  Jerry’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “May I join you?”

  “Sure, pull up a chair,” Ben said.

  The chair’s springs protested, and Jerry spoke again. “I hear you had some excitement last night.”

  “Lani thinks some orchid smuggling is going on,” Ben said. “Tell us about the orchid, Lani. What’s a slipper orchid?”

  Anything to get her mind off Tyrone. “The Asian on
es are some of the rarest of the orchid genera. New ones are discovered in the wild sometimes, and there’s a ban on exportation. Their habitat has to be preserved.”

  “I would think if they could be cultured, it would save them from extinction,” Jerry said thoughtfully. “Though, of course, the natural ones are beautiful. Just like pearls.”

  She nodded. “It’s a tricky issue to decide what’s right. The orchids in the wild are beautiful and exotic—and worth thousands of dollars for one plant. But the fear is that they would cease to exist in the wild if they were allowed to be dug up for propagation.”

  “So people dig them up and sell them to private orchid collectors, is that it?” Ben asked.

  “Yes. Sometimes.”

  “Fawn said it looked like an Asian slipper orchid,” Ben said.

  “But she’s not an expert. I’d like to see it myself.” The one she’d seen was the most exquisitely beautiful plant she’d ever personally encountered.

  “Could we get someone in there to look at it?” Ben asked.

  “Not without their permission. And I can’t see that happening, can you?”

  Ben’s voice lowered. “You still think the smuggling might be related to the murder of the Aberstrom woman, Lani?”

  “Maybe. It’s just a gut feeling, though. I’ve tried to think, to remember something concrete, but there’s nothing there.”

  Ben hesitated. “I thought . . . I don’t know. I just thought maybe something would register—”

  “Nothing registers. I don’t remember anything.” Why did everyone keep pressing her? The harder she tried to call up the events, the more they floated away.

  “Do you really want to remember, Lani?” Jerry said gently.

  “Of course I do! Do you think I want to forget what happened?”

  “Sometimes it’s easier to forget. Especially when we’re trying to protect someone.”

  She leaned forward, furious, and felt Fisher’s body tense. “I don’t remember anything. I’m not trying to protect someone, either.”

  Jerry cleared his throat and gave an awkward laugh. “Hey, let’s not fight.” The chair groaned. “I’d better go see if your aunt needs me for anything.” His steps crunched away.