Dangerous Depths (23 page)

“There are places on Moloka’i where no one goes and access is forbidden. I don’t find it implausible that it’s still buried somewhere on the island.” Leia should have expected his argument.

“Does anyone know more about this legend?” Ron squinted his eyes and looked at the water.

“The only one I heard talk about it is dead now. Someone shot him a few days ago.” Leia wondered how Koma’s death fit in. All the pieces of the puzzle had to fit in somehow.

“Convenient,” Ron said. “No one knows who shot him?”

She shook her head. “I was with him, and the shot came out of the blue. He said he was taking me to the treasure.”

Ron eyes brightened. “Did you believe him?”

“He saw Ku the week before, so I wasn’t holding my breath.”

“Great. He sounds like a crackpot.” Ron rubbed his eyes. “I want that ship. Not just the gold, but the artifacts. I can’t give it up with it being right under us.” He looked to Bane. “Hang with me on this, Bane. I’ll go down with you. We’ll keep an eye on the eruption. Just one good dive. That’s all I ask. We can haul up some artifacts even if we don’t find a treasure of gold doubloons. I’ll give you a twenty-five percent share in whatever we find in addition to the salary I’m paying you.”

Bane was tempted—Leia could see it on his face. “Don’t go, Bane,” she said softly. “It’s too dangerous. I don’t want you down there when an eruption starts.”

“She’s right,” Mano said. “Annie and I have lived through an eruption. You don’t want to experience it.”

Bane chewed on his lip, then finally nodded at Ron. “One dive, and that’s all. Get us some deep-sea gear here, and we’ll go down tomorrow.”

Ron’s relieved smile came, and he clapped his hand on Bane’s back. “You won’t regret it, my friend. I’ll make it worth your while.”

“I’m doing it for friendship, Ron, not for money. My twenty-five percent goes to Candace. But one dive is all I’m doing.”

Ron nodded and went toward the control room. Leia tried to hide her disappointment. She’d thought Bane would take her wishes into account, but why had she even thought he might? He didn’t owe her anything, not anymore.

“I’ve got to get back to work,” she told Bane. “Can someone run me to shore? I’ve got to run the shop today while Dirk takes a group out on a dive.” They had a week before they had to shut it down, and she was going to help Candace milk every dime out of it.

“I’ll take you,” Bane said. “I need to drop Kaia at the airport anyway. She has to get back today.”

“I want to stay here and tabulate this data. Do you think Ron will mind?” Annie asked.

“I’m
sure he’ll want to know what’s going on. There’s all kinds of equipment and computers in the control room. Make yourself at home.” Bane helped Leia into the boat, then joined her there. He went to the helm. “Eva ought to be out here with us. It doesn’t feel right not to have her here. She likes to steer.”

“She’s working today. She’ll be sorry she missed you.” Leia watched him fiddle with the controls before he got the engine started. They cruised the tops of the waves, and Nani followed them for a while, then turned back to the research boat. Leia decided she would go to Koma’s cabin and look around. If she could find a lead to the treasure on land, maybe Bane wouldn’t dive in dangerous conditions. She’d check out Koma’s cabin, then talk to her grandmother again. Maybe she would draw them a map this time. Leia had about an hour before she had to be at the dive shop. She glanced at Bane. Best not to tell him though.

M
ynahs screamed from the treetops over Leia’s head as she followed the sound of the waterfall by Koma’s house through groves of coconut, lauhala, and banana trees. Insects hummed near her head, and she batted them away after a quick glance at her watch. She needed to hurry. She’d stopped by her grandmother’s cottage to check on
Tûtû
, but Malia and Ajax had everything under control.

Koma’s cabin had always seemed to her like the one belonging to the witch in
Hansel and Gretel.
When she was a little girl, she used to have nightmares for several days following a visit here. Even now, she suppressed a shudder as she approached the structure. It hunkered in the woods like a malevolent scorpion. The hipped roof reminded her of the humped back of a beetle, and the shuttered windows looked like two half-closed eyes. She shook her head at her fanciful thoughts. It was an old cabin, nothing more. There was nothing to fear here.

Leia tried the door and found it unlocked. The sounds around her seemed loud, and even her breathing was harsh and labored. She stepped inside the dimly lit, one-room cabin. Koma didn’t have much of a kitchen—just a cabinet at the back of the room with a sink that held a hand pump to the water catchment in the back. She felt like a Peeping Tom as she advanced into the house. The air smelled stale and musty and held a hint of tobacco from the spittoon by the easy chair.

The room was cluttered with old Hawaiian memorabilia from bouncing hula girls to old movie posters of the Elvis movies made here. A stack of books sat beside the chair, and she glanced at the titles. They were all about the old Hawaiian kingdom. A small cot was pushed against one wall. She peered under it but found nothing except dust bunnies, a whole nest of them. If she were Koma, where would she hide her most prized possessions? Surely not here. He loved the jungle. This place was where he came when he was finally too tired to roam the wilderness.

She didn’t really know why she was here. Maybe she’d hoped to find a treasure map with a giant
X
. She smiled at the thought. She stepped out the back door and found several old pails for cleaning—not that it looked like they’d been used much. They held cob-webs and the remains of some spider’s meal. She suppressed a shudder and stepped off the back stoop into the yard. A frayed yard chair sat beside a firepit. Koma had spent a lot of time out here. She looked around the yard, trying to see where he might hide some-thing. Her gaze stopped on the old banyan tree at the edge of the jungle. Koma had told her stories about this tree. He loved it.

She approached the massive tree, its aerial roots now massive, intertangled trunks so thick it was hard to see between them. Tipping her head back, she gazed into the branches loaded with leaves and birds. Koma used to climb this tree every day and sit and meditate, he’d told her. She glanced at her shorts. She’d get her legs scratched, but she couldn’t leave without at least climbing to the platform she could see the tip of.

She kicked off her slippers, then wedged her foot into the crook of the tree and heaved herself up. Once on the first branch, the climbing became easier, and her fingertips soon touched the lip of the platform. When she at last stood on the platform and looked down into the surrounding yard and jungle, she felt like Tarzan. She glanced around the platform and saw that an old wooden chest was nailed to the tree.

Could it be the treasure? Her pulse skipped, and she rushed to throw open the lid. Inside lay a jumble of bones, and she shrank back and slammed the lid. It had to be something from Koma’s weird religion. She didn’t know what kind of bones they were, and she didn’t want to know. Who knew what animals he’d sacrificed? This had been a waste of time. She was preparing to descend the tree when she heard voices below her. She shrank back. Who else would be exploring Koma’s property? She dropped to her knees and peered down through the branches. The murmur of voices grew louder, but she didn’t recognize them. They stopped about ten feet from the tree. She hoped they wouldn’t see her slippers at the base of the tree. Their voices carried in the clear air. Leia could see their heads through the leafy cover beneath her, but their backs were to her and she couldn’t identify them.

“I thought sure she’d come this way. We must have lost her somewhere. Old Koma might have told her something. We’re get-ting nowhere by ourselves.”

“I’ll grab her tonight.” The second man’s voice was high and whiny.

“That’s what you said last night,” the first man growled.

“Yeah, well, she had the guy staying there. I wasn’t going to tackle him. He’s ex-military.”

Bane. They were talking about her and Bane. Leia put her hand over her mouth. Last night had been an attempt to kidnap her. Fear rose in a wave, and she fought it back. She had to figure out who these men were and what they wanted. Did they think Koma told her where the treasure was? If so, how could she convince them she knew nothing?

A
fter dropping Kaia at the airport, Bane drove back toward the harbor. He saw the dive shop up ahead and decided to stop by for a minute. He told himself he really needed to check on Candace. Tony would expect it of him, especially now that she was being tossed out of the business on her ear. He didn’t see Leia’s little Neon parked in the lot, though there were several other cars. Maybe someone had dropped her off. She should have been here half an hour ago. He pulled into the first available slot and shut off the engine. The dirt road had left a scum of red dust on his rented pickup, and he made a mental note to get it washed after work tonight. The place was nearly deserted, and he saw only one customer perusing the display of swim masks on the shelves.

Candace was looking out the window on the door. She chewed her lip. “I was hoping you were Leia,” she said.

“Isn’t she here?”

Dirk lifted one eyebrow. “We were just wondering what happened to her. She’s late, and I’ve got a group to take out on a dive in about fifteen minutes.”

“She left for here two hours ago.” Bane thought of last night’s intruder. “There was someone lurking around Ipo’s last night. I hope she’s all right.”

“It’s not like her,” Candace said. “She’s generally early, not late. I don’t like it. I wish she’d carry a cell phone.”

“You have her grandmother’s number?” Bane realized he didn’t.

Candace shook her head. “She just moved out there, and we haven’t updated her file yet.”

“We could call her mother, but I’d hate to worry her if Leia has only had a flat or something simple like that.” Candace looked past Bane’s shoulder, and the worried creases on her forehead eased. “There she is.”

Bane turned to see Leia running to the door. She glanced over her shoulder as though she was afraid someone was following her. The door stuck, and she practically fell into the shop when it finally opened. She caught herself, then her gaze collided with Bane’s. Her face was white, and a smudge of dirt marred her cheek. She rushed to join them.

“What’s wrong?” Bane took her arm and helped her to the chair, where she sat and caught her breath.

She glanced up at Bane. “I went to Koma’s cabin,” she began.

“By yourself ? Why didn’t you ask me to go along?”

She tilted her chin up. “I wasn’t afraid.”

He sighed. “You never are when you should have more sense. The man was killed, Leia. We still don’t know why.”

She nodded, then gulped. “I was in the tree, and two men came by. I overheard them talking. One of them was the one outside
Tûtû
’s house last night. They were planning on grabbing me and asking me where the treasure is. They think Koma told me!”

Candace gasped, and Dirk grabbed a bottle of water from the little fridge under the counter. “You look like you need a drink,” he said.

Bane mentally slapped himself. He should have thought of that. He was the one who loved Leia, and he hadn’t even stopped to think of how upset she must be. “You want me to take you home?” he asked.

Leia stiffened. “I’m fine.” She pushed the water away. She moved so that Bane’s hand dropped from her shoulder.

He stuck his hand in the pocket of his shorts. He wished he could figure out what was eating her. “Did you get a look at the men?”

“Just a glimpse. I didn’t recognize them. I told Malia to be care-ful with
Tûtû
. If they’re watching the house, I don’t want my grand-mother in danger.”

“We don’t want you in danger either. What makes them think Koma told you anything?” Candace asked.

“I wish I knew. Koma said he was going to show it to me just before he got shot.”

“Did he give you any hint of where it was?” Candace uncapped a bottle of water and took a swig.

“No, but—” She clamped her lips together and looked away.

“But?” Candace prompted.

“Nothing.” Leia slumped back against the chair and fingered her upper lip.

“Hey, I have to go,” Dirk said, glancing at his watch. “I’m already late. I’m taking a group out along the barrier reef.” He chucked Leia under the chin. “Keep a stiff upper lip, babe.”

Leia smiled. “Have a good dive, Dirk. I’ll hold down the fort here.”

“Are you sure you’re up to it?” Candace asked. “You’re still pale.”

“It was just a shock to find out someone was looking for me.” She licked her lips and slanted a glance up at Bane. “Um, are you still staying at
Tûtû
’s house?”

At last she was asking him for something. “You’re not staying there without me. Candace, would you call Detective Ono and tell him what happened to Leia? He’ll probably want to talk to her.”

“I called him from
Tûtû
’s house. He said he’d meet me here,” Leia said.

“I think you and your grandmother should move in with your parents for now.”

Leia sighed. “You’re right, but
Tûtû
will never agree. Besides, I’m not living under my mother’s roof again.”

“Her safety is more important than your issues with Ingrid.”

“Of course it is,” she mumbled, looking away. “But all she has now is her dignity, Bane. How can I take that from her? If she wanted to go, I’d take her, but I’m not staying there myself.”

“You already know she’s not well. That spell with her heart or whatever it was showed us that. She’s so remote. What if she has another attack? Put aside your differences with your mother.”

She inhaled, then blew her breath out. “All right, I’ll call my father. He can break the news to my mother. But I’m not going to stay there. Don’t ask me to do that.” She rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know how I’ll tell
Tûtû
.”

He knew better than to argue with her. “Where will you stay?”

“In my cottage. Or maybe I can stay with Candace.” She glanced at her friend, who nodded.