“Uh, the flight was great, Dad,” she said. “Just great.” Mr. Cameron looked at her closely. He could see that Kristi was distracted and he wondered what was going on in that pretty little head of hers. Just then he saw their luggage coming down the conveyor belt towards them and he called for Dan and Pete to help him collect their bags, forgetting for the moment his daughter’s strange behavior.
Rachel Cameron took a closer look at Kristi, too. She was curious. She could see something was going on. She looked around the crowded baggage carousel and the area surrounding it. She didn’t see anything unusual, so she finally shrugged her shoulders and decided to forget it. Maybe Kristi simply had her mind on the beach already.
The Cameron family and their friends had no idea at that moment that they were being watched. A pair of dark eyes peered through the branches of a small potted palm, watching the happy group across the baggage area as they chatted and laughed and gathered their bags and suitcases.
A white limousine was waiting outside for the Camerons as they walked through the terminal doors. Skeeter was excited as he helped his father and the chauffeur load the luggage into the trunk of the limo. He had red hair and green eyes like his mother’s and sister’s, but where their hair was darker, more auburn, his was the bright red of a true carrottop. He had far more than just a sprinkle of freckles, like Kristi had, but he had never minded them despite the teasing he sometimes took from his friends and classmates. “A face without freckles is like a sky without stars” his father had once told him, and ever since then Skeeter had proudly worn his “star-spangled” face.
“Wow, Dad! A limo—a stretch limo! That is so cool!” Skeeter said with delight. “Wait till I tell Frankie! He’s always bragging about his dad’s Porsche and his brother’s Corvette. I’ll bet he’s never been in a stretch limo before!” Skeeter proceeded to talk the chauffeur’s ear off, asking questions the entire time they were loading the luggage.
Kristi was just ducking her head to get into the limousine when from the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of a white sundress and long dark hair. She straightened quickly and turned to look behind her. Was it her? She had spent the last twelve hours looking for the mystery girl and thinking about her, but now with the crowds of people and distance between them, Kristi couldn’t be sure. Just then the girl seemed to sense that Kristi was looking at her, and for just a moment their eyes met. Before Kristi could open her mouth or move, though, the girl had blended with the crowd and disappeared again.
“Kristi!” her mother called. “Get in, Honey! The chauffeur wants to move while there’s an opening in the traffic.”
Kristi took another quick glance around and then slid into the seat of the limo. “I saw her!” she whispered to Robyn and Anna. “I’m positive it was her. But then she ducked out of sight. I don’t know what’s going on, but I think that girl is in trouble.”
“Trouble? What are you whispering about, Kristi?” her mother asked. “Who’s in trouble?”
“Well, I don’t exactly know, Mom,” Kristi said slowly. “It’s a girl I saw on the plane. I mean, I saw her and then I didn’t see her, and then I saw her again. You know what I mean?”
Rachel looked bewildered. “Well, no I don’t know what you mean, Honey. You saw her and then you didn’t see her? I don’t think I understand.”
Kristi sighed. “I can’t explain it, Mom. It’s too late now to do anything about it, anyway.” The limo was already out on the main highway and followed by dozens of taxis and other limousines. “Maybe there was someone to meet her at the airport—I hope,” she murmured.
Kristi looked around the interior of the limousine. It was her first ride in a limo, also. The back seemed to stretch on and on. Twinkle lights in neon colors outlined the ceiling and crystal goblets hung above a small bar along one side. Comfortable tufted leather seats lined the other three sides with plenty of room for all eight of them. It was an exciting start to their Hawaiian vacations but Kristi would have been shocked to know that all was not as it seemed. At that very moment they were being followed. Those same mysterious dark eyes watched their limousine from the back seat of one of those taxis.
The limo finally turned onto a long avenue bordered with royal palm trees on either side. It pulled to a stop beneath a soaring white-columned canopy that covered the entrance to the grandest hotel Kristi and her friends had ever seen. Uniformed doormen and bellboys took charge of the luggage and whisked it away on carts. The young people were speechless as they followed Mr. and Mrs. Cameron into the lobby. Palm trees, fountains and a huge fire pit in the center of the lobby gave the illusion that they were outdoors. They suddenly realized that the center of the dome over the lobby actually was open to the outdoors and they could see the twilit sky above. Colorful tropical birds flew freely through the lobby from tree to tree.
“Look at this!” Skeeter called as they waited for his parents to check in at the desk. He motioned to them from the other side of the lobby. Dan and Pete led the way as the teenagers joined Skeeter at the wide doors leading out to the pool area. Night was falling and the verandas and pools were lit with dozens of tiki torches and hanging paper lanterns. Lounge chairs and umbrella tables surrounded the area. Beyond the pool they could see the moonlit beach and sparkling white-tipped ocean. Scores of people still wandered the beach, played in the water and lounged around the pool.
“Mom! Dad!” Kristi called as they hurried back to their parents. “You should see the pool out there! It’s beautiful with waterfalls and fountains and slides, and there are several Jacuzzis and even some smaller pools in little rock grottoes! Could we go for a moonlight swim? Please? Please?”
Steve and Rachel Cameron were just turning away from the check-in counter. They laughed. “Hold on, kids! What about supper? It’s long past dinnertime. Aren’t you hungry?” Rachel asked.
“I have a great idea!” Kristi said. “Why don’t you and Daddy go for a nice, quiet, candlelight dinner-for-two in that fancy restaurant over there on the other side of the lobby while we go down to the pool? I noticed there is a place called the Tiki Hut by the pool. It looks like they sell sandwiches and stuff, and it’s still open. We could eat there while we have fun in the pool. Please? May we, please? Wouldn’t you and Daddy like a romantic dinner all by yourselves, away from all of us kids? Hmm?”
Rachel looked at their eager faces and then looked at her husband. Steve said, “What was that, Kristi?” he laughed. “A bribe? Well, the first thing we need to do is call your parents, Robyn and Anna and Pete, and let them know that we arrived safely. Then, if you younger ones all promise to stay close to Dan and Pete, and guys, if you promise to keep a real close watch on them, I think we can trust you all to have a little fun tonight before bedtime.”
“Hurray!” A cheer rose from the young people. “Shhh!” Rachel hushed them quickly. “Hold it down! We don’t want to get kicked out of this fancy hotel for being too noisy before we even get to see our rooms! There are a couple more rules, too: You may go down to the beach, also, if you want to for a little while, but stay right in front of the hotel—and absolutely no going into the ocean at night! Period! Understand?” They all nodded their heads. “And try not to get too loud,” she continued. “It’s getting late and we need to be considerate of the other guests, okay?” The teens quickly agreed.
A few minutes later they were taking a tour of the luxury suite Steve Cameron had reserved for them on the seventh floor. There was a small sitting and dining room and a kitchenette all beautifully decorated in tropical prints and bamboo. Three bedrooms, each with its own bathroom and balcony, completed the suite. The girls were in awe of the luxurious master suite with its huge Jaccuzi. They were just as happy, though, with the smaller double room they shared, decorated in pretty Hawaiian colors and prints.
“Enjoy the luxury while you can!” Steve Cameron laughed as once again the teenagers plied him with thanks for their lavish accommodations. “The next place we stay will be a far cry from this, I can g
uarantee you!”
Dan and Pete took a quick glance around and a few minutes later were standing by the door waiting for the girls. Skeeter was looking for his beach towel, which he was sure he had packed but couldn’t find. “Come on, Kristi!” Dan called. “Aren’t you girls ready yet? What’s taking so long?” He heard laughter coming from the girls’ room and said, “Aw, come on, Pete. We may as well sit down. I have a feeling it’s going to be a while.”
“Patience, my friend,” Pete advised. “I don’t have much experience around girls, but I hear that this is pretty normal.” Pete was a nice looking boy with dark hair and calm gray eyes. He was a quiet guy, but always ready to have some good fun with his best friend Dan Cameron. Actually, the two were a lot alike in many ways. Where Dan was blonde and more outgoing, they both were adventurous, dependable and loyal. They were good athletes, as well as good students, and were looked up to by both their friends and teachers. Dan and Pete were leaders in their teen Bible study and often shared problems with one another and prayed together. They seemed more mature than their sixteen years to their parents—and yet they could act just as goofy as any other young guy when the mood struck them.
It wasn’t a minute later when the door to the girls’ room opened and three giggling fourteen-year-olds came out in their cover-ups and flip-flops. “Ready guys?” Robyn teased. “What are you sitting around for? Let’s get going!”
“Just a moment, kids!” Steve Cameron called. “We’ve got some phone calls to make, remember?” Fifteen minutes later all three calls had been made. Robyn talked fast, and Anna could talk almost as fast if she had to, and Pete was a man of few words, so they managed to tell their folks all they wanted to of their flight and the beautiful hotel in short time. Then, with encouragement to Mr. and Mrs. Cameron to have a nice long, romantic dinner, they headed out to the pool.
Kristi stopped right outside the door to the pool area. She took a deep breath of the fragrant night air. “Can you believe it?” she asked with her eyes closed. “We’re in Hawaii! It’s so beautiful, and the air smells so good!” The breeze carried the tang of ocean salt water and mingled with the heavy fragrances of tropical flowers.
“Hey! All I’m smelling right now is the smell of good food coming from that Tiki Hut!” Skeeter grinned. “I’m starved!” The kids threw their towels over the backs of some chairs around a table and hurried over to the snack bar—or Ka Hale`Aina, as the sign said. The variety of sandwiches and fancy tropical drinks it offered was amazing, but it wasn’t long before they had all made their choices and were seriously chowing down, laughing and talking with their mouths full.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’d take a Lava Flow and Hula Burger over a romantic dinner-for-two any day!” Skeeter finally said as he pushed away from the table. “I’m hitting the pool now!” He ran to the edge and did a loud belly flop into the water.
“Ouch!” Dan winced. “He hit the water, alright!”
Kristi, Robyn and Anna slipped out of their cover-ups and ran to the water’s edge. Rachel Cameron had taken all three of them to the mall the previous Saturday for a quick shopping spree before they left on their Hawaiian vacation. Kristi had selected two new swimsuits to replace her outgrown suit—one in a bright tropical print and the other a soft coral knit. Mrs. Cameron had insisted each of the other girls pick out a new swimsuit, too. Robyn chose a light blue suit that matched her eyes and looked terrific with her blonde hair. Anna’s choice was frilly pink with a matching wrap. Her darker skin and hair glowed softly in contrast to it. Mrs. Cameron had bought each of the girls several summer outfits, as well. Each time one of them tried on something that looked especially pretty on her, Rachel would wave her hand with a laugh and say, “We’ll take it!”
“Oh, stop worrying about the money,” she said when Anna tried to protest. “I’m sure not worrying! I sold another book a few weeks ago, and I just received the first check for it the other day. So let’s just enjoy it, and get all prettied up for our vacation! Now, I suggest we go have lunch at the Café Court, and after that we’ll do some shopping for me! Ha!” she laughed.
Tonight the girls weren’t worrying about anything, or thinking about how pretty they looked when they jumped into the pool. They were plotting to gang up on poor Skeeter until he laughingly begged for mercy and agreed to help them gang up in turn on Dan and Pete. They didn’t notice the smiles and quiet comments of the older people who were sitting around the pool enjoying the high-spirited antics of the young people. They never saw the admiring glances of the younger children in the pool. And they weren’t aware of a pair of dark eyes that followed their every move from the shadows beyond the glow of the tiki torches.
Later, as they took a quiet walk on the beach in the dark, Kristi told the boys about the girl she had seen on the plane. Dan and Pete listened and asked a few questions, but they didn’t have any more ideas than the girls did of how she could have disappeared in midair. They paused and Skeeter doodled in the white sand with a piece of drift wood as the older teens quietly discussed the riddle of the disappearing girl.
“It really gave me the willies,” Kristi said, “when I realized she wasn’t anywhere on the plane.”
“You’re sure it was the same person you saw in the airport, later when you were getting into the limousine, Kristi?” Dan asked as they moved on.
“Well, no, I’m not one hundred percent sure,” she replied. “To be honest, I didn’t get a very good look at her. She was too far away. But I just had this funny feeling that it was her, and that she was in trouble.”
“Well, it’s a mystery, alright,” Pete said, “and I suppose we’ll never know who she is or what it’s all about. But I do know one thing—God knows who she is, and what her problems are. Why don’t we pray for her and ask Him to help her?”
“Great idea, Pete,” Dan said. The young people stopped right there on the beach and bowed their heads. “Father,” Dan prayed, “we don’t know who this girl is, or where she is, but You do. And, Lord, You know if she’s in trouble and how to help her. So, Father, we are placing her in Your hands and asking You to do whatever Your will is in her life. And, Lord, if she does not know You as her personal Savior, we ask that somehow through all of this she might come to know You and to trust You. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”
Kristi was about to thank Dan and Pete for leading them in prayer when suddenly the words stuck in her throat. She had lifted her head and opened her eyes just in time to see a flash of white sundress and shiny dark hair melt back into the shadows of the palm trees and ferns and disappear.
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CHAPTER FIVE
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Rejoicing in Paradise
“Did you see that?” Kristi asked in excitement, turning to her brothers and friends. She was ready to take off after their mystery girl when all of a sudden she noticed that Anna’s eyes were wet with tears.
“What? What’s the matter, Anna?” she asked with concern. She put her arms around her friend and hugged her, forgetting for the moment the girl in the white sundress.
“Oh, Kristi! I wish I could talk to God like that, too! When Dan was praying for that girl to know Jesus as her Savior, I realized that I don’t really know Him, either—not like you all do! How can I have that kind of relationship with Him, too?”
Kristi’s compassionate heart went out to her friend. She gave Anna another hug and said, “Oh, Anna! I’ve been praying for this for so long! Come on, let’s sit down right here and we’ll show you how you can know that He is your personal Savior, too.”
The teens sat in the sand. Kristi continued, “You’ve been to church, Anna and heard how Jesus died on the cross. But did you know He died especially for you? When He shed His blood on the cross it was so your sins—and mine—could be washed away. We’ve all sinned and our sin keeps us separated from God. When Jesus died, and then rose again, He proved once and for all that He was more powerful than sin and death, and that He could wash us clean so that we
can have a real relationship with Him and His Father. All we have to do is believe in Him and ask Him to forgive us of our sins and be our Savior. And He’ll do it! It’s as simple as that! Would you like to pray right now, Anna, and ask Him into your heart?”
“Oh, yes, Kristi!” Anna closed her eyes, and her friends bowed their heads along with her. “Dear Lord,” she prayed, “I know that I need you as my Savior. I would like to know You like the Camerons and Robyn and Pete do. I know that I have sinned and I am sorry for that, and I know that only You can wash away my sins. Would You please forgive me for my sins and be my Savior? I love You and want to be a child of God, too. In Jesus’ name, amen.” She lifted her head and this time, though tears still filled her eyes, her face was glowing with joy.
“Let’s go tell your mom and dad, Kristi,” she said as the girls and boys alike hugged her and welcomed her into the family of God. “I can’t wait to tell them that I know Jesus as my Savior now, too! Do you think they’d let me call my parents again so I can tell them, too?”
“You bet, Anna!” Dan said. “News like this is too good to keep to yourself!”
Mr. and Mrs. Cameron were just coming out of the hotel’s restaurant when the teenagers came back through the lobby bubbling over with excitement. They all crowded into one elevator to the seventh floor and a few minutes later their suite was filled with happy celebration as the young people shared with Steve and Rachel what had happened that night out on the beach. “Oh, that is so wonderful, Honey!” Rachel said with her own tears of joy. “Kristi has been concerned about you for a long time. Now both her best friends are also her sisters in the Lord!”
The Secret of Fire Island (Kristi Cameron Book 1) Page 3