Authors: Colleen Coble
Sam reached them. “Let him go, Mano. We just want to ask you some questions,” he told Aki.
The big man rolled to his back and sat up. “I haven’t done anything. What do you want?”
“For one thing, for you to stop when a police officer tells you to,” Sam said sternly. He grabbed Aki and hauled him to his feet.
Mano got up as well. He and Sam exchanged a wordless glance, and Mano read the warning in the detective’s eyes. He moved off to the side to give Sam room to handle the interrogation.
Sam took out his notebook. “Name.”
Aki glared at Mano. “Kim Aki.”
Sam looked up. “You’ve been going under an assumed name. Why?”
“Trying to stay out of the spotlight of yahoos like Oana over there.”
Mano ignored the big man’s glare. He studied Aki’s body language. Head thrust forward, arms crossed defensively, poised as if to flee any minute. The man was hiding something. Mano was sure of it.
Sam grunted. “What spotlight? Do you have a record?”
“No.” Aki’s response was instant. His smile held a trace of triumph.
“He was offered a deal for testifying against his dad,” Mano put in.
Aki bunched his fists. “See what I mean? How can I start a new life with that hanging over me? So I just changed my name.”
“Changed it or assumed a new one? Let me see your ID.” Sam held out his hand.
Aki reluctantly got out his wallet and handed the detective his driver’s license. “I assumed it.”
“Then where’d you get the documentation for this license?”
“I got sources.” Aki’s lips had a sulky twist.
Sam sighed. “Look, we want to know about Leilani Tagama. Where did you see her last?”
“About a week ago. We went out for drinks. I took her to her car afterwards. It was parked where she worked.”
“And that was the last you saw her?”
Aki nodded. “She was just fine when I left her.”
“What time was this?”
“About two in the morning.”
Leilani was a partier. It looked like that hadn’t changed. Mano itched to question Aki but forced himself to stay silent.
“Did she say where she was going when she left you?”
“Straight home.”
Sam scowled. “Did she have another boyfriend?”
“Her and me weren’t like that. We’d only been going out a few weeks. We weren’t serious.”
“A friend says she saw you with Leilani a few days ago in Hilo. What do you have to say about that?”
Aki clenched his fists. “It’s a lie. I haven’t seen her.”
“Were there any other men in her life?”
Aki shrugged. “Not as far as I know, but you never knew with Leilani. She liked to keep men guessing.”
Ah, they had him. “You’re talking like she’s dead,” Mano said. “You’re using past tense.”
Aki flushed. “It’s just a figure of speech.”
Sam’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “I think you’d better come downtown for a few more questions. Like what you were doing outside Noah Sommers’s house.”
It was about time Sam pounced with that line of questioning. Mano was certain Aki was involved with Noah. Whether he had killed him remained to be seen, but there was something between the two men.
Aki held up his hands. “Don’t be framing me for that murder. It wasn’t me.”
“I just want to ask some questions,” Sam said.
Aki nodded, and they started toward the patrol car. When they reached the road, Aki made a sudden move to the right. He jerked his arm out of Sam’s grasp and bolted for the forest.
“Stop!” Sam gave chase with Mano on his heels. Ten minutes later they gave up. “We’ll find him,” Sam said grimly. “Every cop on the island will be looking for him.”
“What’s your take on this now?” Mano asked him. “Still think Leilani just ran off with a boyfriend? I think Aki is in this up to his ears.”
“Maybe. Or he might be tied to Noah’s death.” Sam started the car. “But I’ll look into it a little more.”
Finally. “Where can we start?”
“There’s no
we
, Oana. This is my job. Let me handle it.” Sam dropped the gearshift into drive and headed toward town.
A
nnie stood in the doorway to Gina’s office. She wasn’t sure whether to act as if she still had a job or to throw herself on her boss’s mercy and beg for menial work.
Gina looked up from her perusal of a graph. Her face lit with relief and something else that Annie couldn’t read. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be coming back in today or not. Come in, sweetie, I want to talk to you.”
At least she wasn’t mad. Annie stepped into the office and sat on the edge of the seat, gripping her knees.
“You look like you’re about to hear a death sentence.” Gina smiled and went to the small rolling cart against the wall. “Want some tea?”
“Sure.”
Gina heated two mugs of water in the microwave, dropped a tea bag into each, and handed one cup to Annie before taking her seat again. Annie used the reprieve to try to calm her jitters. Was that unknown emotion regret for letting Annie go, or something else?
“I’ve been thinking about what you said,” Gina said, taking a sip of tea. “And I realize I was pushing you too hard, too fast. I don’t want to lose you, Annie. You’re too good of a scientist for me to stand by and let you throw it away. I want you to see a therapist and try to get over this fear.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Annie protested. “I just need a little time. Let me do it in small stages instead of sending me right out to the most dangerous areas.”
“I’m not sure we have that kind of time. I need you up to speed as soon as possible. The earthquake swarms likely mean something big is about to happen. I need the whole staff fully functional and operating as one.”
“Even a therapist can’t work miracles overnight.”
“True.” Gina took another sip of tea. “How about we compromise? Over the next two weeks, I want you to enter an area where you feel frightened, even if it’s only for a few minutes. Don’t do any work there, just go to the brink and evaluate your reaction. If you find the fear is lessening, we’ll assume you can conquer this by yourself.”
It was a good offer, and Annie knew it. Though fear soured her stomach, she nodded slowly. “Okay. It’s good of you to do this, Gina.”
The older woman played with a pencil on her desk. “I’m no stranger to fear, Annie. I know what it’s like to feel your heart shrivel in your chest.”
Annie couldn’t imagine tiny but intrepid Gina afraid of anything. “I don’t believe it,” she said.
Gina looked up. “My childhood was a nightmare. I had a father who brutalized me and my sister. I remember hiding in the closet and praying he wouldn’t find me. I decided when I was a teenager that I wasn’t going to let fear control me any longer. I don’t want to see you bow to it.”
Annie tried not to show her shock. Gina seemed so calm and put together. Sometimes she seemed too controlled, though now Annie could see why. Gina would be good for her father. “I’m sorry, Gina. I had no idea.”
Gina waved her hand airily. “It’s all in the past. You’re like me in many ways, Annie. Even in your family life. I’ve noticed your father is a little hard on you. You need to remember that you’re a strong woman. You don’t need his approval. Make your own way.”
“My family needs me,” Annie said weakly.
“I think you overestimate your importance to them. They’ll survive without you. You need to look out for yourself. No one else will.”
Gina had it all wrong. Insulating herself against hurt was no way to live. But for the first time, Annie was beginning to realize that being a doormat wasn’t what God intended either. Was there a happy medium where she could open herself to her family and yet be her own person as well? She wanted to rush home and look through the Bible to find out.
Gina interrupted her thoughts. “As long as we’re in agreement, you can get back to work. I want you to go out as far on the lava as you can go today. Then come back here and work on your data. And get that formula fixed for Jillian.”
“Okay.” Annie rose and went toward the door. She hesitated. “
Mahalo
for everything, Gina. I hope things work out with you and my father.” Gina smiled without answering, then bent her head and went back to studying her graphs. Annie went down the hall, checked her e-mail, then went outside. She had to go out on the lava bench.
Someplace dangerous, but not too dangerous. She got on her ATV and drove out across the rock. Though she didn’t like the thought of going back to where she’d vomited the other day, she had to face her fear. She got as far as the path but couldn’t make herself get off the vehicle. Maybe Gina was right and she needed professional help. She turned around and went back to the observatory.
A
nnie frowned as she stood in front of the seismograph two hours later. The earthquakes were increasing at the rift. She’d never seen so many in a twenty-four-hour period. She went to the bank of computers on the other side of the room and began to call up data that she could check. Wilson batted at the mouse, then tried to nibble on the cord. Her father had been unusually grouchy about him, and she decided to keep him out of the house.
“Forget it, mister.” She nudged him away. He squeaked, then hopped to the floor and went to the sofa by the door that they used for guests. He raced up the sofa and perched on top to look out the window.
“You’re frowning.” Fawn had come into the room behind her. “Is something wrong?”
“All these earthquakes make me a little uneasy.” Annie showed her the data.
Fawn perused it, then handed it back to her. “Looks like we might be about to have another eruption. Maybe Mauna Loa is ready to sound off again.”
While it was impossible to predict eruptions, Mauna Loa was said to be “overdue” for one. The volcano had erupted thirty-nine times since 1832. In the last century, the events had occurred every one to twelve years. This latest lull, however, had gone on since 1984. The islands breathlessly awaited a new light show.
Annie’s excitement rose. “Maybe.” She looked back at the computer. “With this much activity, though, I wonder if we might get an explosive event.”
Jillian came into the room as she spoke. “You think? I’ve been wondering about it.”
“Don Swanson proved there have been some in the past,” Annie pointed out. “It could happen again. And my father’s data shows the same thing.”
Jillian leaned over Annie’s shoulder and looked at the computer. “Looks like we’ll be getting something. Let’s pray for a nice, gentle flow that doesn’t hurt anyone.”
Wilson growled, and Jillian turned to look. “I don’t know how you get away with bringing Wilson in here. I’m surprised Monica hasn’t complained.”
“She has, but Gina told her to mind her own business,” Fawn put in with a sly grin. “And Annie doesn’t bring him every day.”
Annie got up and grabbed her purse. “I think I’ll go put out some new GPS receivers on Mauna Loa.”
“Speaking of receivers, did you get Orson Kauhi to agree to let you plant them in his neck of the woods?” Jillian asked.
“No, but I’ll go to talk to him about it while I’m out.” She picked up Wilson and headed for the door.
“I still need your help on that computer model,” Jillian called after her.
“I know. Later, I promise.” She kept going, grabbed some GPS receivers, and headed to her SUV. Maybe she could get somewhere with her neighbor if she went out by herself. Orson might be more amenable to a woman alone. He’d always been more courteous to women. She stopped at her house and dropped off the mongoose, then drove on down the road to the Kauhi property. She parked where the road ended and walked up the hillside. It was a hard climb over the jumbled black lava rock. The hillside could have been a play yard for a giant tossing balls of lava rock.
At the crest of the hill, she paused and looked around for her neighbor. The air was still and silent but fragrant with the scent of flowers. The extreme silence gave her the willies. She saw movement to her left, so she began to wander toward a small structure. As she neared it, she realized it was a
heiau
. Constructed of lava rocks, the small structure held an altar. Orson knelt before it. A lei circled an offering of fruit and vegetables. He was chanting as he bowed. A
ki’i
frowned over the scene.
Annie clasped her arms around her and waited. How could he think praying to a god made of wood would gain him anything? Watching him, she was struck again by what Fawn had said to her about idolatry. Had Annie herself been worshiping at the feet of the god of her family? Had she really let her desire to be needed become her god? She was afraid her friend was right.
And the yearning would so easily creep back in. Though she’d begun to read her Bible every night before bed, she sensed it wouldn’t take much for the old habits and attitudes to take over her life again. Recognizing how much she loved her family, she knew her tendency was something she was going to have to guard against a long time, maybe all her life.
She shook away the thoughts as Orson rose. Dressed in traditional hula costume with ti leaves and a shell lei, he wore a contented smile. He turned and caught sight of her. The beatific expression on his face changed to a scowl. “I told you not to come here.”
“What god are you worshiping?” Annie blurted, her horrified gaze still on the temple.
“You have lived on the island all your life and still do not recognize Ku?” Orson shook his head. “How typical of the young ones.”
“Ku likes human sacrifice. How can you worship him?” Annie half expected to see blood dripping from the altar.
“Only on certain holy days. Ku’s four days of worship are here. Are you offering yourself as a sacrifice?” Annie backed away, and he smiled. “You can’t take a joke? I wouldn’t hurt you, Annie. We’re neighbors.” He said the words almost gently.
She dragged her gaze from the
heiau
. “Did you introduce Leilani to Ku worship?”
He studied her for a moment without answering. “Your sister is searching for meaning for her life. How could I not show her?”
He
had
gotten her involved. Annie’s excitement rose. “Do you know where she is?”
“I haven’t seen her.” He picked up a walking staff and began to walk back toward his cabin.