Authors: Colleen Coble
“I’ve got a disguise like you suggested. Let me go grab it, and I’ll meet you back here in half an hour.”
The hug Tomi gave her seemed perfunctory to Mano. It must have felt that way to Annie too, because when she slid into the front seat, her eyes swam with tears. Mano reached across the seat and took her hand. She glanced up at him with a question in her eyes but didn’t pull away. “I’m sorry,” he said softly.
“This is going to kill our father,” she muttered. “I don’t know how to tell him.”
“Don’t. Let Tomi do it. This is his mess. You need to let him own it.”
Annie was shaking her head. “He won’t tell our father. Tomi has never been able to handle disapproval. It will be easier if I break the news, and we discuss what can be done. But to a Japanese man, honor is everything. Father will feel our name is dishonored when he hears what Tomi has done.”
“If Tomi gives back the money, he may only have to endure a dishonorable discharge for going AWOL.”
“Only?” She gave a faint smile. “Father will never be able to accept it.”
He hated to see the pain in her eyes. “I wish I could help somehow.”
She laid her other hand over his. “You’re doing all you can to help me find Leilani. I’ll never forget what you’ve done.”
“It sounds like you’re telling me good-bye.” He grinned, not sure if he was joking or not. Her expression was one of finality and resignation.
“I can’t imagine why you’d want to associate with us anymore. Not after Tomi let you believe you’d left him to die on the beach. If you want to go home and forget all about us, I’d understand.”
“You’re not getting rid of me that easily.” A clean scent of flowers, maybe gardenia, drifted to his nose from the lotion on her skin. He badly wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss away her frown. Knowing she wouldn’t welcome an embrace from him, he released her hand and settled back against his seat. “Have you had anything to eat?”
She shook her head. “I skipped lunch.”
“I had a cheese stick, but I’m still hungry. How about a jerked-chicken sandwich?” He nodded toward the small café beside the car. “The sandwiches are pretty good here.”
“I could eat a lu’au pig all by myself.”
They got out of the car and went to the small open-air stand. The aroma of jerked chicken and teri beef made his mouth water. He ordered two sandwiches, fries, and mango tea. Annie tried to pay for hers, and he wouldn’t let her. “My treat. And a fruit smoothie for dessert. There’s a great stand just down the street.”
He watched Annie as she ate. She devoured every morsel, then licked the sauce off her fingers. His fascination with her grew. He’d always heard that beauty was in the eye of the beholder, but he thought anyone should be able to see how lovely Annie was. The light in her eyes tugged at him, and he watched the curve of her lips and the slim line of her throat.
“You’re staring,” she said. A blush stained her cheeks.
“Sorry.” He collected himself and glanced away. “You’re so pretty it’s hard not to.” He glanced up in time to see a rush of red wash over her cheeks, and she dropped her gaze. She stood and went toward the car without answering. She got into the passenger side and slammed the door.
He went around to the driver’s side. So much for pursuing her. Last night’s date must not have affected her like it did him. It was obvious she had no interest in him beyond the help he could offer to find Leilani. Feeling more disappointment than he’d expected, he got in and fastened his seat belt.
A
nnie struggled with the guilt she felt. Last night, she’d almost become her sister. She didn’t want Mano if he saw her as an extension of Leilani. The silence between them stretched out. She saw Tomi’s familiar form loping toward the car. He carried a black satchel.
Opening the back door, he flung himself inside the car. “I’ve got to change.” He pulled out a loud mu’umu’u and dropped it over his jeans and shirt. Taking out a long wig, he tugged it over his hair. “Can you put some makeup on me?”
“All I have is lipstick.” She wished she had the makeup Fawn had given her. Annie rooted through her bag and pulled out the maroon lipstick she’d dropped in her purse that morning.
Tomi pulled away from her. “That’s too dark. It will be hard to wash off.”
He had a point. “How about just a touch?” He nodded and submitted to her dabbing a bit of color on his lips. “You need some, uh, shape to you,” she told him. She suppressed a chuckle.
“Got it covered.” He pulled out two small pillows and pulled up the dress, then stuffed the pillows under his T-shirt. Tugging the dress back into place, he preened. “What do you think?”
“You look hot,” Mano told him. “You’d stop traffic.” He winked at Annie.
Annie covered her smile with her hand. “Don’t encourage him,” she said. “How are you going to get them to give you the money? The name on the account is a man’s.”
“That’s where I need you.” He pulled out another dress. “We’ll look like sisters when we go in and will stand out. Then we’ll go into the ladies’ room and pull off the dresses and stroll to the teller window as brother and sister. No one will be the wiser.”
“You can’t go into the ladies’ room!”
“You can scout it out and make sure no one else is in there. Mano can stand guard.”
“Oh, that will look good.” Mano’s grin stretched across his face. “I’ll look like some pervert staking out the women’s restroom.”
“You fit the part, buddy.” Tomi punched him in the arm.
Annie smiled to see them falling back into their old camaraderie. “It might work. There’s rarely anyone in the restrooms.” A giggle welled up, and she clapped her hand over her mouth, but it bubbled out anyway. “We’re going to look ridiculous!” She grabbed the dress he handed her and pulled it over her head.
“I’m going with you,” Mano said. “It will look natural for me to be escorting you.”
They all got out of the car and began to walk toward the bank. Annie glanced at Tomi out of the corner of her eye. “You’re walking like a man,” she hissed. “Try a more fluid motion. Don’t stomp.”
“Yeah, sway your backside,” Mano said. Tomi’s swagger changed a bit. Annie began to laugh. “Your boobs are falling,” Mano said with a fake leer.
Tomi grinned and hiked up his pillows. “Just get me to the ladies’ room and out of this gear.”
“Walk between us,” Mano suggested. “Maybe no one will notice you walk like a sailor.”
“I
am
a sailor,” Tomi retorted.
Mano grinned and linked his arm with Tomi’s. “Want to rest your head on my shoulder, darling?”
“You’re sick,” Tomi hissed.
Both men were laughing. Annie giggled. Maybe they could find their way across this lava bench of intrigue and danger to the way things used to be. She had to cling to that hope.
They reached the bank. “See anyone watching us?” she asked.
Tomi kept his gaze on the doors. “The black car parked in front of the fruit smoothie place.” He started to open the door, and Mano stopped him.
“I’ll be a gentleman and hold the door open for you two ladies,” he said.
Black Sands
Tomi rolled his eyes, but stepped back and let Mano get the door. Inside, Annie glanced around. There were five customers. “The restrooms are down this hall.” She led the way past the water fountain to the ladies’ room. The building smelled of fresh paint and carpet from the recent remodeling. She liked the new seafoam green color that had replaced the institutional beige.
The hallway was empty. “Wait here a minute.” She stuck her head inside and looked around the restroom, newly papered with hibiscus-print wallpaper. There were two stalls but no feet under them. She went back to the hall. “It’s all clear.”
Tomi ducked inside. “Stand guard at the door.” He washed his face, whipped off the wig and dress, and stuffed them in his satchel. “Give me your dress.” She pulled it off, and he put it in the satchel.
“I’ll see if it’s clear while you wash off the lipstick.” She stuck her head out the door.
“I told a woman the restroom was full,” Mano told her. “She looked at me like I was a slug.” Though he was complaining, his grin told a different story.
She chuckled, then motioned to Tomi, who was wiping off his mouth. “All clear.” They stepped out of the restroom and moved toward the teller window. They got in line behind a woman with two children. Mano began making faces at the baby on her shoulder and had the little girl giggling and hiding her face in a few minutes.
The mother turned around. “You must be a dad to be so good with kids.”
“Not yet,” he said.
Annie couldn’t help but wonder what a child of theirs might look like. Mano’s gaze caught hers, and she looked away, wondering if he could read her thoughts on her face. She was such a dreamer.
The woman in front of them concluded her business, and Tomi stepped to the window and produced his ID. “I’ve lost my bankbook on this account.” He slid the number to her. “It’s on a New York bank. I want to move the money to a new account before someone finds it and gains access to my funds.”
The teller looked at his driver’s license and then back to Tomi’s face. She punched some numbers into the computer. After a few seconds, she frowned. “Let me get my manager.”
Annie’s stomach tightened. Tomi’s complexion had paled to a sickly yellow. “Maybe I should get out of here,” he muttered.
“No, it’s probably standard procedure,” Mano said. “Just hold tight.”
The back of Annie’s neck prickled in spite of Mano’s soothing, matter-of-fact voice. She wanted to finish this and get outside to the sunshine. Tomi’s tension was getting to her. She glanced around but didn’t see anyone watching them. “What about when we leave? Won’t the men outside recognize us?”
Tomi shrugged. “We can put the dresses back on.”
“Or just run for the car,” Mano said.
“Come on, come on,” Tomi muttered, glancing at his watch.
Finally the teller came back with an older woman. Tomi’s face cleared. “Margaret, you can tell the teller who I am.”
The woman’s eyes widened. “Tomi Tagama. I couldn’t believe it when my teller said someone came in yesterday claiming to be you. I called the police, but the man was gone by the time they got here. I froze the account and was going to call your sister.” She glanced at Annie, then back to Tomi. “I can’t believe you’re here and alive. What a happy day.” She reached across the counter and patted his hand.
“Good thinking, Margaret. Thank you. Can I please transfer the money to a new account?”
“Of course, of course.” She moved to the computer and began the transaction. Minutes later she had him sign several papers and then handed him a new bankbook. “Try to keep better track of this one,” she said with a teasing light in her eyes. “I didn’t know the navy paid so well, Tomi.”
He winked at her. “It’s not my money. If I’d lost it, I would have been in deep doo-doo.”
She chuckled. “I’ve missed you, Tomi. It’s good to see you resurrected. I’m sure your family is ecstatic. I’m surprised news of your return hasn’t spread all over the town.”
“It will now, I’m sure,” he said. Her laughter followed them toward the door. He paused and looked outside. Several olive-skinned men were approaching the bank. “Uh-oh, I’d better get out the other door.” He turned and bolted for the hallway by the bathroom.
Annie ran after her brother, but he’d vanished out the exit door. She poked her head out, but all she saw was an empty alley. Mano joined her, and she slumped against him. “He’s gone.”
He touched her elbow and guided her down the alley in time to see the men enter the bank. She glanced at the parked cars. “They all seem to be inside. Let’s make a run for it while we can.”
Mano guided her down the street. “We probably better tell Sam that Tomi is back in town. He’s going to hear about it, and he’ll be furious we’ve kept him in the dark.”
“I suppose.” Annie stopped. “We’d better figure out what we’re going to tell him though. We can’t tell him about the money.”
“No, we can’t.”
“We’ll just say Tomi was picked up by some Iranians and just now made it back to the States. It’s the truth.”
It would have to do, but she knew Sam would be suspicious. “Lead the way.” They went down the street to the police station.
Sam was at the front desk when they arrived. He smiled when he saw them. “I was just going to call you. I got a call from someone who said they saw your sister in Hilo yesterday with a man. She was laughing and seemed happy. It looks like I was right all along.”
Annie closed her eyes then opened them again. “Thank you, God. Who was this caller?”
“It was her friend, CeCe.”
“CeCe? Why didn’t she call me? That makes no sense.”
Sam shrugged. “She said Leilani asked her to get me to call off the dogs. I’m sure she knew I’d tell you.”
“I don’t understand why Leilani didn’t call me. I’d better talk to CeCe.”
“Go right ahead.”
Annie turned, then remembered why they’d come in the first place. “There’s something else. I wanted you to hear it from me first.”
“Oh?”
“Tomi isn’t dead after all. He was picked up by some Iranians and just now made it back to us. Isn’t that wonderful?” She forced herself to gush to make sure Sam wasn’t suspicious.
Sam’s face brightened. “You’re kidding me! Where is he?” His smile was genuinely delighted.
“I’m not sure, but I’ll tell him to stop by and see you.”
“I can’t wait to see him.” Sam beamed. “Great news all around for your family. I’m glad this has ended so well on both counts.”
Annie could tell he was congratulating himself on being right about Leilani. But something didn’t sit right with her. She and Mano chatted a few more minutes, then exited the station.
“We need to see CeCe now,” Mano said as soon as they stepped into the sunshine. “This stinks like dead mackerel.”
A
nnie glanced at her watch. “CeCe’s probably at lunch now. She and Leilani always used to go to the Kilauea Iki Overlook with their lunch. We could try there.” They got in the car, and passing through a shower in the rain forest, drove to the park. Several vehicles were in the parking area at the overlook.
“There she is,” Mano said.