Ron had a viselike grip on Bane’s arm, but Bane barely noticed. He turned to look at the cave he’d just exited. The entrance still yawned, but a rock slide down the face had left a pile of stones to the side. He turned back to look over the side of the drop-off into the deep. He and Ron watched as the crumbling of the seabed finally slowed. It stopped about twenty feet from where Ron had been working. The water swirled with debris, and the visibility had dropped to about fifty feet.
Bane extricated himself from Ron’s grip, then swam to the edge to peer over the side. He couldn’t see much, but he knew he’d never see bottom even with great visibility. Eddies of dirt motes danced in front of his mask. He shook his head and rejoined Ron, who was examining the crack. When he glanced up at Bane, lines were etched in his forehead, and his eyes behind the mask were slitted. He pointed up, and Bane nodded.
They swam upward, pausing several times to decompress. Ajax joined them near the surface. When they finally reached the surface, Bane spat out his regulator and turned to face his boss. “Earthquake swarms.”
Water ran in rivulets down Ron’s face. He spat out his mouth-piece and raised his mask. “We’re going to have to move fast. If we get another series of quakes, the ship and all we’ve worked for will go right over the edge.”
Not only would they lose the ship, all Ron’s investment in the search would be wasted. Bane nodded. “Let’s get our divers organized for tomorrow. We can’t let it slip away, not now when we’re so close.”
Leia crouched behind Koma’s body. Her skin prickled as her gaze searched the jungle tangle of ‘ohi’a and koa trees. She strained her ears to hear something—anything, a footfall or a snapped twig. But all that came to her was a hawk screeching over-head as it dove to seize a honeycreeper.
She prayed for poor Koma, though he was past help.
She needed to get the police out here. Who would want to kill an old man? She wondered if it could have been a poacher out hunting a black buck or an eland antelope. It happened, especially in remote areas. The forest was rich with pheasant and wild turkey as well. Her muscles felt like lead as the minutes ticked by while she watched and listened. She didn’t like this feeling, and it wasn’t getting her anywhere. She was not going to cower here in fear. She got to her feet and dashed toward the tangle of foliage. The normal aroma of vegetation sharpened her senses. Fighting her way through lianas—huge, woody vines—and ferns, she fought back the panic that choked her throat. She wouldn’t run. If she broke her concentration, the fear would overtake her. She lost a slipper but didn’t pause to retrieve it.
Leia broke through the forest tangle into the clearing where her grandmother’s house stood. She glanced back, but the smooth green leaves merely swayed in the trade winds without parting for an attacker. She kicked off her other slipper, then ran for the house. She burst through the back gate and nearly stumbled.
Malia rose from her chair in the garden. “Leia, you’re as pale as an orchid. What’s happened?”
“Koma. Shot,” Leia gasped and clasped her arms around herself. She couldn’t believe she’d come so close to total, mindless panic.
“Shot?” Malia lifted an eyebrow as if she was waiting for the punch line.
Leia nodded. “He’s dead. Call the police.” She ignored her cousin’s gasp and headed for the hose that lay curled like a giant snake along the side of the house. She needed to wash the blood off her hands.
Her grandmother followed her. “Koma? How can that be? Who would want to harm him?” Her gaze went to the blood run-ning off Leia’s hands in the stream of water from the hose.
“It might have been a hunter’s stray bullet.” Leia turned toward the door. “We have to call the police.”
“I’ll call.” Malia dialed the phone. She paused with it in her hand. “You should sit down. You look like you’re going to pass out.”
“I’m fine. Just a little shaky.” She glanced around. “Where’s Eva?”
“Napping in the grass.” Her cousin nodded toward Eva, who lay on a soft mat of grass under a hao tree covered with white blossoms.
Leia relinquished the rising fear that her sister was in the for-est somewhere with a madman. Eva had always been her responsibility, but on days like today, that duty weighed heavily. She’d been right beside Koma and was unable to do anything to protect him. Tears burned the back of her eyes, and she tuned out the drone of Malia’s voice as she explained to the policeman what had happened.
“Leia?”
Leia jumped at the sound of her cousin’s voice. Malia was holding out her cell phone. “Detective Ono wants to talk to you.”
Leia shook her head. “Not on the cell phone. I’ll tell him about it when he gets here.”
Malia sighed. “My cousin won’t use a cell phone. Okay, I’ll tell her.” She clicked off the phone. “He’s on his way. He said not to disturb the body and to stay in the house until he got here.”
“I’ll get Eva.” Leia hadn’t thought how exposed they were in the yard. She ran to awaken her sister.
Eva always woke up smiling, and today was no exception. “I had a dream, Leia.”
“I hope it was a nice one.” Leia took Eva’s hand and led her toward the house. She paused long enough to grab the tray of pineapple.
“It was scary. Bane was in a hole.”
The family had learned over the years not to discount her dreams. They often held a grain of truth to them. “What kind of hole?” Leia murmured, wondering what Detective Ono would make of her witnessing two murders in less than a week.
“I don’t know, but he was really stuck. And he couldn’t breathe. Then he saw the stars and followed them out. Can we call him and make sure he’s okay?”
“Sure.” They reached the safety of the house. Leia locked the door behind them and rushed toward the phone on the wall in the kitchen. Her hands trembled as she dialed Bane’s cell number. When she got only his voice mail, something inside cracked and broke. She’d visualized digging up the roots of the love she’d had for Bane just like the Hawai’i Invasive Species Council worked at digging out fountain grass. Her efforts hadn’t done any more good than theirs.
Leia picked up the slipper she’d kicked off. “I lost my slipper,” she said.
“We’re following the trail of the slippers? Is that anything like bread crumbs?” Detective Ono guffawed, and the other two policemen laughed.
Ono’s laughter struck an incongruous chord in Leia. The situation was too serious for jokes. She exchanged a glance with Malia, who hovered protectively near her elbow.
He must have caught their expressions, because he sobered and took out a notepad. “Did you see or hear anything before or after the shooting?”
Leia thought for a moment, hoping to dredge up some small memory that would help. She finally shook her head. “Nothing unusual. Normal bird noises, the wind in the trees, that kind of thing. I heard a funny sound from in front of me that I know now was the gun firing. Then Koma slumped. It took me a few seconds to figure out what had happened.” She stooped to retrieve her second slipper and put them both on.
“Why were you together? Where were you going?”
She hesitated. Should she talk about the treasure? Ono caught her delay and turned a questioning gaze toward her. He needed to know, she decided, just in case it was connected to Tony’s death as well. “Koma claimed he was the caretaker of the treasure from the Spanish galleon Tony was searching for. I thought he was delusional, especially when he talked about seeing Ku.” She told him about her find at the cabin. “But maybe he really did know some-thing, and he was killed for it.”
Ono shook his head. “For what purpose? If he knew where the treasure was, wouldn’t the killer want Koma to tell him?”
Some sleuth she was. “I guess you’re right.” She stopped. “His body is in the middle of the clearing.” She didn’t want to go in there again.
Ono held up a hand and took out his gun. “I’ll handle this, Pilgrim,” he said in a bad John Wayne imi
tation.
What a goofball. Leia found a log and started to sit down. “Not there,” Malia said. “The haiku trees are too close.”
The hairy ovaries of the haiku flowers made her break out in hives, so Leia was grateful her cousin had been quick to point out the danger. Leia nodded and selected another log. Malia joined her. Insects buzzed around her in a pleasant background noise that made the horror of the day’s events fade a bit. “I wish I could have reached Bane.”
“He’ll call. You know how spotty cell-phone coverage is on the island.” Malia reached down and plucked a blossom. “The way you long for him now says a lot.”
Leia didn’t answer. Bane’s strength and levelheaded assessment would be welcome about now, and that was the only reason she wanted him. She could see Ono through the brush as he knelt around Koma’s body and examined the ground for evidence. Now that she thought about it, the shooter had to have been standing near where she now sat. She rose and began to study the foliage on the ground.
“What are you doing?” Malia asked.
“I thought the shooter might have dropped something.” A glint of white caught her eye, and she saw three cigarette butts under a huge anthurium leaf. She started to pick them up, then thought better of it. Detective Ono would want to retrieve them to save any DNA on them. She called to him, and he joined her and Malia.
He knelt beside the butts and picked them up with gloved fingers, then dropped them into a paper bag. “Good job, Pilgrim,” he said, still in John Wayne mode. “I’ll have them tested for DNA. Whoever dropped them was standing right here.” He pointed out an area where the foliage had been flattened. “This is recent.”
Leia glanced around, a feeling of unease running along her back. Did the man just now leave, or was he still out there watching to see what they’d found? She moved to a nearby bush, startling a mynah bird. The bird squawked and dropped something from its beak. She caught a bright flash of metal. She knelt, and the bird dropped the trinket and flew away with an indignant squawk.
“What is it?” Ono stooped to join her.
Leia didn’t touch it. “I think it’s a watch. The band is broken.”
Ono picked it up with his gloved hand and turned it over. “A common Casio. Kmart sells them by the thousands.” He squinted. “Though this one has the initials JR on the back.”
“Why would a cheap watch be engraved?”
Ono’s grin was sly. “Maybe a girl thought she could impress him with an engraved gift.”
“You think it belongs to whoever shot Koma?”
He dropped the watch into another bag. “It’s not rusted or wet. I’d say it was dropped today.”
Leia’s neck prickled again. “I hope it was an accident.”
Ono waggled his eyebrow. “Looks like premeditated murder to me, Pilgrim. The bullet is a high-powered 30-06. Not your usual hunting gun.”
Murder. Such an ugly word. Leia shivered and settled back on the log.
Nine
Bane’s cell phone beeped as he lay on his bunk in the belly of the boat with Ajax sleeping beside him. He had a message. Odd that he hadn’t heard it ring. He must have been in a dead spot. When Leia’s voice came to his ear, his fingers tightened on the phone. He could hear the stress in her voice as she told him Koma had been killed, and he sat up on the bunk. Ajax lifted his head and looked at him.
The research ship anchored off the Kalaupapa Peninsula. He called his dog to come with him, then took the small skiff from the boat to shore and docked it. He hurried to Leia’s grandmother’s cottage. Bane went toward the door, and Ipo’s nene came running to meet him. Ajax cowered from the goose. Pua squawked, and Bane reached down to rub her head. “Ajax, you’re a big baby. Pua won’t hurt you.” The goose waddled away after a moment, and he stepped to the door. Before he could knock, Eva opened the screen.
Her lopsided smile burst out when she saw him. “Pehea ‘oe?”
“I’m fine,” he said. “It’s all of you I’m worried about.”
“I dreamed you were trapped in a hole and couldn’t get out.” Her bright blue eyes skimmed over his face. “Then you followed the stars out.”
For a moment, he thought of the deep blue hole of the abyss he’d peered into. “Don’t worry, I’m fine. Where are Malia and your sister?”
“Malia is talking to the policeman. Leia told me I had to stay here with Tûtû.”
He listened but heard no voices. “Are they outside? Where is your tûtû?”
“She’s fixing tea. Leia took the policeman to find Koma.” Her eyebrows came together. “He got shot.”
“I heard about that.”
She hugged him. “You want some mango tea?”
He hugged her back, then released her. “I’d better go help your sister. But save me some tea.”
“We’re going to have pineapple boats too. So don’t be late.”
She seemed to have forgotten the dead man, and Bane patted her arm. He wished he could focus on the good in life the way Eva did. Sunshine seemed to follow her around. He started toward the door, but Ipo began to sing in her monotone voice. Hesitating in the doorway, he sighed and shut the door. Ipo usually only sang when the clouds rolled in. He wasn’t sure he should leave Eva here alone with her grandmother. Though she was twenty, her mind was like a child’s, and she was easily frightened.
Eva’s smile began to falter. “Tûtû is singing. She won’t know who I am. I hate it when she forgets my name.” Tears flooded her eyes.
“Maybe it will pass soon. I’ll go check on her. Why don’t you get Ajax some water?” He patted her shoulder, and they went into the kitchen.
Ipo sat at the wooden table. Most of the white paint on it was scuffed and worn. She stared at the wall and sang in a surprisingly melodious voice. When she got to the final stanza of “Ka Uluwehi o Ke Kai,” a traditional hula tune, she stood and began to sway. In her day, Ipo had been a hula dancer of great renown on the islands. Hula had originated on Moloka’i, and it still boasted exceptional dancers. He could still see traces of her grace in the fluid movements.
“Ipo?” He stepped to her side and touched her hand. She ignored him and continued to sing and sway. “It’s Bane.” She pulled the hand he touched away and moved into the center of the kitchen.
“Tûtû, I’m hungry,” Eva said. She placed herself directly in front of her grandmother, but Ipo danced around her grand-daughter. Her voice grew louder, and she closed her eyes. Eva looked at Bane. “She forgot me again.”
The pathos in her voice touched Bane. Though he felt an urgency to see Leia and find out what had happened, he didn’t dare leave Ipo and Eva like this with a shooter in the forest. He went to the refrigerator. “I think I’ll take some tea after all,” he said. “Would you like some mango tea, Ipo?”
The older woman dropped her arms from over her head. “Loose tea in the treasure chest,” she said in a wooden voice.
Bane sighed. She was still lost in the clouds and talking non-sense. He grabbed three glasses from the cupboard and dumped ice into them, then poured the mango tea. He took Ipo’s hand. “Here, why don’t you sit down and have some tea with us? It’s nearly eight o’clock. Leia will be back soon.”
“Pieces of eight, pieces of eight,” she chanted. “Tea in the treasure chest and don’t be late.”
He frowned. Was it possible she might know something about the treasure? Maybe she’d heard people talking so much about it that it had lodged in her mind and was coming out like this now. That had to be it. She would surely have told someone if she knew anything. He took a sip of tea. He wished she did know. It would make his job a lot easier.
Darkness had descended and it seemed even darker in the for-est. Ono closed the body bag, and several other men lifted the body onto a stretcher. “We’ve got everything all zipped up.” He grinned. He paused and stared at her from under dark eyebrows. “Watch your step, Pilgrim. Two killings in four days, and you’re around for both. I’m beginning to wonder about you.”
; “Me?” She shook her head. “Two killings, you said. Are you sure Tony was murdered?”
He hesitated, his walrus mustache twitching. “Not totally, no. But the autopsy should come back shortly. And we found some drugs missing at the hospital, so we think they were stolen by someone who had access to it there. Did your mother know Tony well?” He slipped in the question with a studied casualness.
Leia put her hand to her mouth. “You surely wouldn’t suspect my mother. She had nothing to gain by Tony’s death. She knew him, yes, just as my whole family knew and loved him. You’re going in the wrong direction.”
He pretended to jog his head from side to side. “As long as I don’t get whiplash.” He smiled. “What can you tell me about Aberg Hans? You were there when he came into the dive shop.”
The tension in her shoulders eased. “He seemed mad enough to do anything. He told Tony he’d better back off or he would be sorry.”
He touched his lips with his forefinger. “But he has no access to the drugs as far as we know. Does your mother know Hans?”
“I doubt she’s ever met him. My mother is focused on her patients. She’s a healer, not a killer.”
“What about Tony’s wife? Any trouble there?”
She shook her head. “They were newlyweds and very happy. She’s going to have a baby.”
He raised his brows. “I hadn’t heard that. At least she’ll have a bit of him left.”
Leia gave him credit for a pinch of compassion. “I hope the baby will help heal the discord between her and Tony’s parents.” Too late she realized she should have kept her mouth shut.
He raised his brows. “Caught you, Pilgrim. She didn’t like Tony’s parents?”
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