Dangerous Depths (34 page)

“Let go of me,” Candace spat.

Leia pressed down on Candace’s arms. Bane clambered aboard the boat as well. Candace’s gaze went past Leia’s shoulder to Bane, and she finally quit struggling.

“You’re hurting me,” Candace said in a plaintive voice. “Let me up. Please.”

Leia moved off the other woman and released Candace’s arms. She stood and stepped closer to Bane as he dropped his arm over her shoulders. “Get up, Candace,” Leia told her.

Candace sat up and rubbed her arms. “You didn’t have to be so rough.” She rose and went to a box of artifacts. “Hey, we could split these.” She leaned over the box and brought out a piece of
kapa
. “I bet you’d like this, Leia. It’s worth a lot of money. Take a look at it.”

Leia’s gaze fell on the
kapa
. It was the most exquisite piece she’d ever seen. Her fingers itched to touch it, to unfold it and examine the pattern. She held out her hands, and Candace laid it in them. The cloth was just as soft as it looked. She unfolded it with a reverent touch. The pattern was flawed from age with a few holes here and there, but it was still the most beautifully designed piece she’d ever laid eyes on. She could only hope to be so talented some day. Her gaze fell on the tiny
honu
at the bottom. Her ancestors had often stitched a sea turtle like it on the
kapa
they’d made. Could this be the
kapa
her grandmother had talked about? If so, it wasn’t part of the artifacts. She’d have to ask her dad.

“It can be yours,” Candace said in a coaxing voice. “Just let me go, and give me a head start before you sic the police on me.” Her head jerked up at the sound of the sirens on the two Coast Guard boats speeding toward shore. “They can’t take me into custody. I was in jail once, and I swore I’d rather die than go back.” Her voice deepened and took on a note of desperation.

Bane squeezed Leia’s shoulder, and she tore her gaze away from the cloth. Staring into Candace’s face, she didn’t know if she could believe the uncertainty and fear lurking in the other woman’s eyes. “Who are you really? Is your name even Candace?”

“Of course it is.” Candace held her gaze for several moments before looking away.

She was lying. Even Leia could tell now that Candace was so close to being arrested. “I suppose the police will find out who you really are. How could you carry off such a full-scale lie for so long?”

Candace looked away. “Don’t preach me any sermons. I did what I had to do. Look at me, Leia. Look at this body, this face. Men turn to look wherever I go. All I did was use what I was given, and yet you judge me for that? You would do the same thing in my shoes. You use what you have.”

“You used people. That’s the difference.” She looked to wave at the police boats, and while her back was turned, Candace plunged over the side of the boat and into the water. The woman slogged to shore through the waves. “She’s getting away,” Leia screamed. She started to go after Candace, but Bane went over the side first.

Candace raced to the ATV. She turned the key, and the engine roared to life. The sound of the engine whining traveled over the water, but the vehicle didn’t seem to be moving. The tires were sunk in wet sand and waves. Bane reached the shore. Candace looked up and saw him, then jumped off the ATV. She ran toward the jungle, but Bane was faster. He caught Candace, and she flailed and screamed obscenities at him as he pulled her arms behind her.

The police boats reached Leia. She motioned for them to help Bane, and two seamen jumped overboard and hurried to shore through the waves. They took Candace into custody, and nearly two hours passed before they’d asked all their questions and left with Candace and Dirk under arrest. They took the boxes of artifacts with them. It was all Leia could do to let them cart off the
kapa
.

The truth would come out now. She didn’t know how her mother would handle it.

Twenty-eight

E
very time Leia closed her eyes she could see and smell the
kapa
cloth. She could feel the texture of it in her hands, the smoothness and strength of the fabric, the scent of sandalwood. For the first time she realized the struggle her father had to have faced with what was right to do with the artifacts. The situation was out of her hands anyway, but the truth still haunted her. She knew craftspeople like her could benefit from studying the works of beauty created by masters of the past. She tried not to think that the lost
kapa
might belong to her grandmother.

She hadn’t found any time to spend with Bane for several days. A flurry of publicity over the volcanic activity and recovery of the artifacts had struck the quiet island. Reporters camped outside her parents’ house, and Leia had to run a gauntlet of paparazzi every time she left her cottage as well. They followed her when she jogged on the beach or when she worked in the clinic. They snapped pictures of her and Eva picking up seashells for Malia’s leis and crouched behind her bushes when she picked flowers in the yard. Her father had been arrested but was now out on bail. Pete had turned over the bones he’d found when it was confirmed that they belonged among the recovered artifacts. What would happen to them was still up in the air.

Leia had thought about going to see Candace, but she couldn’t bear the thought of hearing more of her former friend’s excuses for what she’d done. At least Shaina would likely get what was left of Tony’s estate for her daughter. Leia contented herself with doing things around
Tûtû
’s house, getting it ready to sell. After living with her eldest son and wife for a few days, her grandmother had finally consented to moving to an assisted-living facility as long as her son took care of Pua.

Leia was yanking out cat’s claw by the fistfuls from her bed of orchids when a shadow fell over her face. She jerked up, expecting to see more reporters. Instead, she saw Bane’s smiling face. He was holding a bouquet of white ginger in his hand. Ajax sat at his feet. Her gaze went to the
kapa
over his arm.

Hina had been digging in the dirt with Leia, and the cat meowed when she saw Bane and leaped into his arms. He held her at arm’s length in one hand with the flowers in the other. “I was kind of hoping for that reaction from you,” he told Leia with a wry grin. “You’re a little dirty, Hina.” Her paws were covered with rich black soil. He put her down, and the cat gave a plaintive cry. “Here, these are for you.” He thrust the mass of fragrant flowers into her hands.

Ginger was her favorite flower, and Bane had hit on her soft spot. “I’ll put them in water.” She wanted to ask about the cloth over his arm, but she had a feeling he wanted to wait to talk about it. He followed her into the cottage. She sensed him watching as she got a vase out, filled it with water, and arranged the flowers in it. She stuck her nose in the bouquet and inhaled the sweet aroma. There was stillness about him, a contemplative attitude. With a last poke of a flower into place, she turned to face him. “What’s wrong?”

“I just talked to Ono. He’s found out quite a lot about Candace. Her real name is Elizabeth Howard. She was married before. Her first husband drowned while swimming, but it was never investigated. He’s also arrested Sam Westerfield and his cohorts. He was the one who had hired the two men who abducted you.”

Leia absorbed the information. “I know the Bible says we’re all born wicked, but I don’t think I ever really believed it until now. I never really knew Candace. It makes me wonder if we ever know another person and what’s in their heart. Will they reopen her first husband’s death?”

He nodded. “That’s the plan.” He studied her face again. “I’ve been doing more thinking about you and me. Coming so close to losing you really shook me. I want to marry you, Leia, no matter what the conditions. But first we have to talk about some things.”

She focused her gaze on the
kapa
. Its perfection mocked her. Every detail was beautiful—and perfect. Bane might not under-stand now, but she needed to do what was best for him. She loved him too much to let him settle for second best. She turned away without answering and went to the living room, where she scooped Hina into her arms and sank onto the couch. He followed Leia and sat beside her. His nearness made it hard to think rationally. Was that his intention?

He put his arm over the back of the couch behind her head. “I think you love me, Leia. You’re just being stubborn.”

There was something in Bane’s voice that made her take a sharp look at his face. He didn’t sound perturbed or frustrated. Her gaze went to the
kapa
again. She longed to touch it.

“You still haven’t accepted the fact that God is sovereign, have you?” He removed the cloth from his arm and began to unfold it. “Beautiful isn’t it?” he asked, laying it across her lap.

“It’s exquisite.” She ran her hand over it and inhaled the scent of sandalwood. “Why do you have it?”

“I got it from Ono. After conferring with the list of missing artifacts and talking to your grandmother, he realized it belongs to your family. Your grandmother asked me to bring it to you.”

“It’s perfect.” And fragile, lovely, and remarkable. She’d never seen anything like it.

“Not perfect. It has some burn marks and some imperfections in the weaving of it.” He pointed them out to her. “It’s really worth-less. I’ll throw it away.” He stood and began to gather the cloth in his arms.

She caught at his arm. “Are you crazy? It’s priceless!”

“It’s flawed.” His intent stare pinned her in place.

“I see where you’re going with this. You’re saying I’m valuable even though I was born with birth defects. I know that. I’m grate-ful for my life, thankful for the medical advances that have allowed me to live a normal life, but I mean what I said: I don’t want to have children who would go through what I did.”

“This
kapa
is more beautiful because of the years it was used, the lives it enhanced. Everything we go through makes us stronger and unique. Every life has value, Leia. God has a reason for every-thing he sends. If he chose to send us a flawed child, at least flawed the way the world looks at it, we’d love it anyway, just like he does. But he might choose to send us a healthy baby. It’s not our choice. You know what? Even if we had our own children, I’d like to adopt a child with special needs. That child would have been brought into the world through no fault of ours. You would be a great mother to a child like that. I see the way you love Eva.”

The thought held more appeal than she’d imagined it could. Before she could think about it, Bane fully unfurled the cloth. He wrapped it over her and tucked it under her chin with gentle hands. “Think about it. I’ll go now. Are you coming to the festival tonight?”

She tore her gaze from the
kapa
. “I’d planned on it. I hope you’re going to beat Pete, and I want to see how my
kapa
did in the judging.”

“You’re going to win. I’ll play better with you there.”

“It’s always surprised me that you play the ukulele with such passion. You don’t seem the artistic type. You’re a military man.”

He looked at his feet. “There’s a lot I’ve tried to change about myself because of my fears about being left.”

He didn’t like to talk about his childhood. “Maybe you don’t stop to think of the ways your experiences as a child have shaped you into the man you are. You’re strong, dependable, and as constant as the tide,” she told him.

“I’ve realized it lately. And I’ve decided to stop letting those experiences change who I am inside.” He smiled, a wry but gentle grimace. “I tried to become who I needed to be and buried some things. Things God has shown me I need to let out. It’s going to be hard, but I’ll try if you will.”

She stared into his earnest face.
She loved this man with all her heart. Too much to promise something that would hurt him in the end. “I don’t know if I can make that promise. And you might not want to wait. I’ve decided to do a residency in natural medicine.”

His expectant look turned solemn. “I’ll wait for you forever, Leia. But I could go with you, you know. Pray about it, Leia. Promise me that much.”

“Okay,” she said after a long pause. “But God and I aren’t on the best terms right now.”

“That’s the first thing you need to fix.”

She chose not to answer and rose to lead him to the door. Carrying the
kapa,
because she couldn’t bear to lay it aside, she showed him out.

“Be sure to come tonight. I might surprise you.” His smile held a trace of mischief and promise. “I’ve decided to let the real Bane Oana come out to play. For all the world to see, in fact.”

Her pulse jumped at the look in his eyes. What did he mean? She couldn’t wait to find out.

B
ane had no idea if his plan would work. Leia could be stub-born when she thought she was right. In this case she was wrong, totally wrong, and he had to figure out a way to prove it to her. He could only hope and pray she listened to God if she wouldn’t listen to anyone else. In the meantime, he was going to proceed with the evening he’d planned, even if the prospect terrified him.

He parked outside her parents’ home. Several reporters stood on the front walk with cameramen aiming their equipment at the house. One of them started toward his car. He’d have to hurry to avoid her. “We’re here, Ajax.” His dog cocked his head and whined. Bane felt like whining himself. His palms were sweating, and he rubbed them on his shorts. “Come on, boy.” He let the dog out, and Ajax ran into the yard. Slamming the door behind him, Bane crossed the yard. The reporter didn’t follow. Evidently, she’d been warned not to trespass.

Pua came running to greet them. She saw the dog and hissed. “Easy, girl.” He didn’t have anything to feed her, so she stalked off in a huff. Her indignant squawk made him grin. The front door seemed bigger than he remembered. He knew Ingrid would be happy to see him, but Akoni had withdrawn from everyone. Inhaling sharply, he squared his shoulders and stepped forward and rang the doorbell. From the heavy tread, he realized Akoni was going to be the one answering his summons.

The door swung open, and Akoni’s scowl changed to a surprised smile. “Aloha, Bane. Is Leia with you?”