Dangerous Depths (19 page)

Leia saw the clouds rolling across her grandmother’s consciousness again. She took Ipo’s hand. “Let’s get you something to drink.”

T
he last embers of the fire glowed red deep in the ashes. Bane sat on the bench by the fountain and felt a deep sense of contentment. Ajax’s head was heavy on his foot, but the heat and weight added to his comfort. The women were singing a soft Hawaiian lullaby to Eva, who leaned against Leia’s chest. The girl’s eyes closed as her older sister smoothed her hair and planted a kiss on top of her head. The remaining guests awaited the final ferry of the night, which would take them back to Kaunakakai. Akoni and Ingrid lingered near the fire on a blanket. Bane heard Ingrid demanding to go home earlier in the evening, but her husband had prevailed, and they stayed. Bane felt as drowsy as Eva.

Jermaine stirred and threw a stick in the fire, then glanced at Leia’s father. “Hey, Akoni, I heard you used to work for Bishop Museum. Were you working there when the Karshmer Cave fiasco went down?”

“Karshmer Cave? What was that about?” Shaina asked. “I’ve heard of the Forbes Cave thing, where they turned over the priceless relics to Hui Malama without authorization. Is this the same thing?”

Akoni took a sip of his drink. “The museum had some price-less artifacts—including human remains—that had been recovered from Loke Lau Caves on Moloka’i. The museum held them for several years, but native organizations wanted to rebury them, just as they did the Forbes Cave remains. Bishop Museum wasn’t going to allow that, which saddened me. The artifacts disappeared one night. We lost an irreplaceable part of our culture.”

“What went missing?” Jermaine asked.

“Some wooden gourds, a
kapa
depicting the death of Captain Cook, hand-carved wooden bowls with
nene
figures on the outside, and several
lâ’au pâlau
. And the bones of course.”

“Why did some people want to rebury them?” Rae Jardin asked.

“Their spirits are not at rest if they’re not buried. The power of our ancestors is in their bones. They are not to be some profane display for tourists to ogle.” Akoni’s voice was sharp. “The people are our grandparents. They deserve to rest in peace.”

“What do you think happened to them?” Jermaine wanted to know.

Akoni shrugged. Behind him, the horn of the arriving ferry split the air. “We’d like to think a native Hawaiian group reburied them, but no one knows. The pieces could have been sold on the black market for millions of dollars. All we know is that they’re gone. I doubt we’ll ever see them again.”

“Sam Westerfield claimed you stole the pieces yourself,” Bane said, catching the surprise in Leia’s eyes at his boldness. “Did you suspect he might have taken them? Rumor was he wanted to buy them.”

“I’d rather not talk about Westerfield,” Akoni said. With an abrupt movement, he threw a stick on the fire.

“And I’m sick of hearing about it,” Ingrid said. “The fiasco has ruined our lives. People gawk at us and think my husband had something to do with the theft. Let’s not talk about it anymore.” She tugged on Akoni’s arm. “I’m tired. Get your youngest daughter and let’s go home.”

Akoni nodded and rose. He gently shook Eva. “Time to go home,
keiki
.” She murmured but didn’t stir as her head lolled against Leia’s shoulder. He finally succeeded in rousing his daughter. She leaned against her
makua
as he led her to the boat. “Call us if you need anything,” he told Leia. She nodded.

The ferry pulled away with the last of the guests, and Bane and Leia were left alone in the moonlight. He took her hand and squeezed it. She didn’t pull away, which emboldened him to slip his arm around her and inhale the familiar plumeria fragrance of her hair.

She went still. He wondered if she could hear his heart pounding like the drum her father had played. He turned her and pulled her against his chest, then leaned his chin on the top of her head. She stood like that for a minute, then began to withdraw. He put his fingers under her chin and tipped her head up to look down into her face. Having her in his arms was sweet torture. Her lips parted, and he could see the fear in her eyes.

“I should get
Tûtû
home.” Her sweet breath whispered over his face.

He rubbed his thumb over her chin. “I’ve missed you, Leia. I’d like to start over.”

She inhaled and stepped away. “I don’t think so, Bane. It’s over between us. You know it too.”

“But why? I’ve never understood that. Not fully. I know you were mad when I tried to talk you out of going to San Francisco, but I only wanted what was best for you. That couldn’t have been enough to result in this.” He ran his hand through his hair. He wanted to tell her he was afraid, but what kind of admission was that to the woman he loved? He needed to show strength and courage. “Would you pray about it?” he asked.

Her only answer was to turn and head back toward
Tûtû
.

L
eia put her hands on her hot cheeks. She hadn’t been sure she could resist Bane’s nearness without telling him she still loved him. If only she could tear out the roots of her love for him. He wanted children, and that wasn’t something she could give him. It was better he thought she didn’t love him. Besides, even after dating him for months, she still found him an enigma. She wasn’t sure who he really was at the core. He was a good man—she knew that much. He shared her faith and cared about people. But she always felt he had on a mask and was afraid to let her in to see his real heart.

She sat on the edge of the bed and read her Bible. Or tried to read it. Hina batted at her toes from under the bed. Nights like this made her question the decision she’d made not to marry. The Scriptures should have soothed her, but lately she felt so alone. If only she could figure out how to get over being mad at God. The overhead fan thumped the air, and the crickets chirped outside her window in a cacophony that pushed back the edges of the darkness. These normal noises should have subdued the sudden prickle along her arms and back, but they didn’t. She felt as though someone was watching her. She told herself she had an overactive imagination, but her gaze swept the room and landed on the open window. She got up to shut it and saw a shadow flitting through the moonlight under a large monkeypod tree.

She shrank back against the wall, then stepped to the doorway and flicked off her bedroom light. The warm, fragrant breeze blew in her face as she peered out the window again. She held her breath and scanned the yard and surrounding jungle. There. The move-ment came again. It wasn’t an animal or a branch blown by the breeze. The movement was too deliberate for that. She shivered. There was something sinister in the silhouette’s skulking movements. No one lived out this way, and the village was five miles east of here. It was no casual walker out for a stroll. The area was too dangerous, and hiking was discouraged. Anyone walking here at night was asking for an injury. Could it be Bane?

Leia went to the door and stepped into the dark hallway. She listened for a moment to the grandfather clock ticking in the living room. The rhythmic sound of Bane’s breathing came from the vicinity of the couch. He seemed to be asleep. She peeked into her grand-mother’s bedroom, then relaxed when she saw
Tûtû
’s serene face, her eyes closed and the sheet rising and falling in a peaceful way.

Whoever was out there was up to no good purpose. Leia could feel it. She knew Bane would have her hide if she investigated alone. She tiptoed down the hall and stood looking down at him asleep on the sofa. A shaft of moonlight illuminated his face, and she felt a wave of love swamp her. She savored the feeling for a moment, then touched his shoulder. “Bane.”

His eyes opened instantly, and he sat up. Ajax awoke as well and began to growl. “What’s wrong? Has
Tûtû
wandered off ?”

“No, she’s fine. But someone is in the jungle watching
the house. I saw a shadow moving.” Talking about it made the fear rise up and flutter in her chest so her voice came out like a squeak on the final word. She realized she didn’t want to go out there. But she would. “Let’s go see who it is,” she found herself saying.

“You stay inside. Let me check.” He swung his legs off the sofa and went toward the back door. Ajax followed him.

She followed him. “I’m going too.”

“Someone should stay with your grandmother.” He rummaged in his backpack and brought out a flashlight.

“She’s asleep.”

He sighed and opened the back door quietly. “You’re the most hardheaded woman I know. Stay behind me.”

“Do we need a weapon?”

“What do you have in mind? Your grandmother’s butcher knife? I can handle it.”

“Don’t turn the flashlight on yet. The intruder will see it.”

He nodded, and they moved past the mass of orchids and around a large bougainvillea. “I saw the shadow just outside my window,” she whispered. Her bare feet were drenched in cool moisture from the grass. Ajax pressed close to her legs. She thought vaguely of cane spiders and wished she’d taken time to stick her feet into slippers. They stepped into the coolness of the jungle. A light touch on her shoulder nearly made her scream until she realized she was wrestling with a passion-flower vine. She thrust the plant away and scurried to catch up with Bane, who had stopped three paces ahead of her.

He had his head cocked to one side and was listening. Ajax growled softly. Leia paused and listened too but could hear nothing other than the crickets and the sound of the nearby stream rushing over the rocks. An owl hooted overhead, and she clutched his arm. “What is it?”

“I thought I heard a thrashing in the brush.” He stepped around a log.

She tried to follow him and slipped on the wet bark, banging her shin. She suppressed a moan and decided she should have listened to him and stayed in the house. Maybe she had brought them both on a wild-goose chase. Her imagination could have been playing tricks on her.

Bane flipped on his flashlight. The sudden illumination made her blink. “He’ll see us!”

“There’s no one here now. But there was. Look.” He pointed to a depression in the soft mat of leaves. “Someone was standing here for quite a while.” The flashlight shone on scattered cigarette butts. One was still smoldering. “He probably saw us coming.”

“But what could he want? Someone’s already been in the house. I don’t get it.”

“I don’t either, but we need to find out.”

She hadn’t had a chance to talk to him about what her grandmother had said. “You remember Koma said to talk to my grand-mother? She told me tonight that she knew where the treasure was. I tried to get her to take me tonight, but she didn’t want to do it until morning.”

“You know how fuzzy she was tonight. I wouldn’t take any-thing she said too seriously.”

“No, she was clear about this. I think she really knows some-thing. If she does, she might be in real danger, Bane.” Suddenly cold, she rubbed her arms.

He put his arm around her. “I’m here, Leia. I won’t let anything happen to your grandmother or to you.”

Leaning against him, she believed he meant what he said. “But you can’t be here every minute. We’re so remote out here. I’m not sure any of us should stay at the cottage.”

“You want to go to your mom’s tonight?”

She hesitated, then shook her head. “
Tûtû
is already sleeping. I don’t want to disturb her. But we’d better think about it tomorrow. We’re dealing with a bold person. They ransacked her house in the middle of the day and skulked around at night even though we’re with her now. A person like that sounds desperate, and desperate people are dangerous.”

Bane dropped his arm from her shoulder but took possession of her hand. They turned and started back to the house. “I’ll stay up tonight and keep watch.”

“I hate for you to do that. It’s midnight, and daylight is a long way off. Wake me in a couple of hours and I’ll take a turn.”

“A little thing like you wouldn’t scare him off.”

“Little! Look at me.” She smiled in the darkness. He always knew the right thing to say.

“You get some rest,” he said as they stepped into the house.

“Wake me,” she told him again. He didn’t answer, and she knew he was going to be bullheaded about it. She’d just set her alarm. She went to her room and set the clock, then lay back on the pillow. The walk had made her hot. She relished the fan’s movement. Moonlight spilled in the open window, and the breeze touched her heated body. She heard a rustle from her bedroom closet and froze. Her throat closed. She heard the tick of the clock over the sound of her ragged breath. Should she run to get Bane or investigate?

She’d look pretty foolish if it was only Hina in there. Glancing around for a weapon, she saw nothing that would work. Her slippers were just thin rubber, and she wished she had her hiking boots handy. Then she spied her grandfather’s
lâ’au pâlau
hanging in a wooden rack on the wall. She took it out. Moving stealthily, she advanced to the closet. Putting her hand on the doorknob, she hesitated. Should she yell when she flung it open or just do it quietly? Her grandmother was a heavy sleeper, so maybe she wouldn’t awaken.

Hefting the bat to her shoulder, she planted her feet wide and held on with one hand. Her other hand twisted the knob and flung the door open as she uttered a war cry. “Aiiaa!” Hina rushed past her, squalling at the top of her lungs. Leia giggled, and she slumped in relief. But the hair on the back of her neck still stood at attention. She felt a presence, a noiseless something from inside the closet.

Then she heard another scrabble in the back of the closet. She backed away with the club held high, then a dark figure rushed her. She swung the
lâ’au pâlau
, connecting with the person’s mid-section. A muffled
umph
told her she’d inflicted some damage. But it wasn’t enough, because the intruder brushed by her, knocking her out of the way. She fell back against the nightstand. It toppled and sent the lamp crashing to the floor. She heard Ajax begin to bark. The figure flitted by the window, blocking the moonlight, then the door to the hallway opened, and he fled. She heard Bane’s heavy footsteps pound down the hall, then a crash. Ajax was growling ferociously. The man yelped. She ran to the door and peered into the hall. Bane was picking himself up off the floor, but the other man gained his feet first and disappeared into the kitchen with Ajax on his heels. Moments later, the back door crashed open and slammed shut again. Ajax’s bark was frantic.