Authors: Colleen Coble
A line crinkled between her eyes as she thought. She finally nodded. “There’s an old man up the mountainside from our home. He doesn’t generally let anyone up there, but he liked Tomi and let him build a clubhouse on his property when we were kids. I think it’s still there. I’ve been meaning to go see him anyway. Jillian and I have been trying to talk him into letting us put GPS receivers on his lot. Want to try there?”
“Sounds like a possibility. Tell me more about him.” Mano drove toward the Tagama property.
“His name is Orson Kauhi. I think he’s as old as the lava fields he lives on.” She smiled and turned the radio down. “GPS helps us figure out where the ground is heaving and sinking. That data could help pinpoint new magma chambers. Jillian’s convinced the area holds real potential for one, but Kauhi has refused to let us do any research on his property.”
Mano knew the fields in her area were formed by the 1926 flow. If she was serious about Kauhi’s age, that would make the man nearly eighty or more. “Family?”
She shook her head. “His wife died before I was born, and they didn’t have any kids. I was scared of him when we were little. Maybe I still am. Tomi used to tell me he was Pii, the dragon in man form.”
Mano knew the legend. Pii lived on a steep precipice and could rush incredibly fast to fight his adversaries. “Is this guy big?”
“Huge. That’s one reason I believed Tomi. He never leaves his place.”
“How does he live?”
“He grows everything he needs on his mountain. I imagine he orders clothing by mail or phone.”
“Sounds like we’re stepping into the mouth of the barracuda.”
“He’s probably harmless. I was young and impressionable the last time I saw him.” She pointed. “Go to the road past our house and turn.”
He followed her directions until they could go no farther. The road ended in a field of lava rock. Black boulders lay strewn up the hillside as though a giant had tossed them there. “Do you know where his house is?”
“There was a narrow trail here that Tomi always used to take. I’ll see if I can find it.” She got out and stood by the car. “Here it is.” She set off up the steep slope. Mano followed her. Her boots loosened small stones, and they skittered down past him. He struggled to navigate the many boulders. They were both huffing by the time they reached the crest.
Pausing at the top, he gazed at the bleak landscape. “Is that a house?” He pointed to a dark structure camouflaged by the black lava rocks.
“That’s it!” Annie started off toward the cabin.
Mano hurried after her. “Should we shout or something? Warn him that we’re coming?
Before Annie could answer, a shot reverberated in the air. He pulled her down behind a boulder. “He’s seen us, but I don’t think he’s trying to hit us.”
“Let me talk to him.” She struggled to get up.
“Wait, let me see if I can spot him.” He lifted his head and looked toward a pile of black boulders. “I think he’s over there. Call to him and tell him who you are.”
She peered over the top of the boulder. “Mr. Kauhi, it’s Annie Tagama, your neighbor. I need to talk to you.”
The call of a hawk overhead filled the silence. Then a voice boomed out. “Show yourself, Miss Tagama, you and your friend.”
Mano and Annie stared at one another. “We don’t have much choice,” he whispered.
She nodded and stood slowly with her hands in the air. Mano did the same. A man stepped out from behind a rockfall. He was nearly seven feet tall. His shaggy black hair held only a few traces of white.
“I’ve never seen such a tall Hawaiian.”
Annie barely nodded. She stepped out. “Can we put our hands down now?”
Orson Kauhi lowered his rifle. “Make it fast. I don’t have all day.” His glower deepened.
As they came within three feet of the man, Mano realized he was older than he appeared from a distance. His face was lined with wrinkles, and his muscles were atrophied. In his prime, he must have been terrifying to a child. Annie smiled, but Mano could sense her fear and wondered if Kauhi could as well. Mano put his hand on her back.
“I was wondering if you’d seen my brother, Tomi, lately, Mr. Kauhi.”
He stared at her from under bushy eyebrows. “I heard he died.”
“That’s what we thought, but there’s talk he might be alive. Leilani might be with him. Did you ever see my younger sister?”
“She’s the nosy one, always coming here and peeking in my windows. Not like you. You were too scared.” Kauhi continued to glower, but amusement seemed to lurk in his dark eyes.
“Have you seen her lately?”
He reached out and Annie flinched, but he just touched her shoulder. “Go home, little girl. Forget about your sister. Live your own life. You worry too much about your family.”
She glanced at Mano, and he read the desperation in her face. He cleared his throat. “Have you seen either Tomi or Leilani in the last week, Mr. Kauhi?”
The big man shook his head. “No. Now leave me.”
Annie bit her lip. “One other thing. The GPS receivers. It’s critical we place some here to gauge the earth’s movement. You’d have final say on exactly where we put them. You turned down my coworker’s request, but would you please reconsider?”
“No. Like I’ve said, I don’t let anyone on my land. Not now, not ever. Study your volcano somewhere else. Ku protects me here as long as I keep the outsiders away.” He turned and moved swiftly away.
Ku.
Mano gave a start. Maybe this guy was part of the cult. “Mr. Kauhi, I’ve got some more questions.”
The big man ignored him and went into the cabin. The door slammed. Annie started to follow, but Mano grabbed her arm. “Forget it. He won’t change his mind. I’ll check out the mountain after dark.”
A
nnie rinsed the sink and hung up the dishcloth to dry. After Mano dropped her off, she had called Sam, but he didn’t have any new leads on Leilani. Then she’d cleaned the house from one end to the other, trying to maintain as normal a state as possible. Leilani would call when she was ready. She always did.
Wilson lay curled under her feet, and she nearly tripped over him several times. She gently pushed him away with her foot, and he growled softly. “Cool your jets,” she told him. The doorbell rang, and she went to answer it. Glancing out the living-room window as she passed, she saw Fawn’s car. Good, she needed someone to talk to. She swung the door open and saw her friend standing there with a baggie full of goodies. “Yum, what is it?”
“Wheatless carrot cake.” Fawn wore a hot pink beach coverup and reef shoes.
“Um,
onolicious,
” Annie said, paying the highest compliment she could. She was being only half-sarcastic. Though Fawn’s concoctions sounded horrible, they were generally tasty. “As long as it doesn’t have grass in it.”
Fawn stepped inside. “No grass, just natural vanilla, maple syrup, rice flour, and organic eggs. No sugar or wheat.”
“It smells good,” Annie said cautiously. She followed Fawn to the kitchen. Her friend put the cake on the counter. “How about a swim? You need to do something fun today.”
“I should clean the bathrooms.” Annie’s protest was halfhearted. She could use a diversion.
Fawn put her hands on her hips. “You need some exercise, an outlet for the stress. Go get your swimsuit.”
When Fawn had that stubborn expression on her face, there was no getting around her. “You win.” Annie hurried to her room and grabbed her suit and equipment from a box labeled “swim gear.” She changed and pulled on her swimsuit. The scars on her foot were still an angry red, and she rubbed them with some pure lanolin Fawn had given her. At least her reef shoes covered half of the scars.
Being around Fawn always lifted Annie’s spirits. She joined Fawn in the living room. “I can’t stay out long,” she told her friend. “I’ll need to get dinner started in another hour or so.”
“What are we having? And I’m up for Scrabble afterward.” Fawn’s expression was innocent.
Annie grinned. “More therapy? I’ll take it. Scrabble sounds good. I’ve got to be sharp for the tournament next month.”
“You and your Scrabble.” Fawn shook her head and followed Annie out the back door. Annie whistled for Wilson, and he came running toward them full speed ahead. He loved to swim. She grabbed the surfboard propped against the back wall of the house. They trod the path made of crushed lava rock down to the water. The property ended in a small black-sand beach. Annie shed her coverup, put on her mask, and walked toward the water carrying her fins. She waded into the waves and slipped them on. Wilson plunged in behind her.
Fawn donned her fins and dove into the waves. She came up sputtering. “Hey, there’s a bunch of honu out here today!” she shouted, referring to the Hawaiian green sea turtles.
Annie joined her, and her tension began to dissipate as she watched Wilson chase the schools of brightly colored tang, butterfly fish, and unicorn fish. She slowly swam alongside a huge honu that turned to stare at her before rolling over and diving deeper. The waves were good today. She called Wilson, and he swam to her. Tossing her fins and mask to Fawn, she helped him onto the surfboard, then paddled out to the break. A perfect wave came, and she caught it. With her toes hanging off the end of the board and Wilson between her feet, it was a perfect ride.
Breathless and elated, Annie flopped onto her back on the board. The warmth of the late-afternoon sun touched her face. Out here there were no worries, no problems. As she turned, she caught sight of a figure on shore. Mano. She glanced around for Fawn, but her friend had already seen him.
“Let’s go talk to him. I haven’t seen the yummy Mano Oana in ages.” The two swam to shore.
“Is anything wrong?” Annie called. She stayed in the water as Fawn hurried to the shore and grabbed her beach coverup.
Mano shook his head, then stepped to the water with Annie’s coverup in his hand. He held it out, and she had no choice but to rise from the water and go toward him. She slipped her arms in and buttoned it up. If only she could cover her feet too. But maybe he wouldn’t notice.
She tried not to limp as she walked, but thinking about it made her limp more pronounced. Mano’s gaze sank to her feet. She saw his eyes widen as he spotted the angry red scars. “What happened to your foot?” Wilson came out of the water, shook himself, and draped his body around her ankle.
Annie’s gaze connected with Fawn. Fawn nodded slightly as if to encourage her. “Just an accident on the job,” Annie said.
“Let me see.” Mano knelt at her feet and took hold of her ankle. Wilson growled a warning but didn’t try to snap at him.
She didn’t want him to see, but the warmth of his fingers paralyzed her. She heard him whistle low.
“That must have been some accident. It looks like burn scars.”
“A lava bench gave way, and she stepped in hot lava,” Fawn said. She shut up when Annie frowned at her.
Mano got to his feet and stared into her face. “It takes guts to keep working after something like that.”
She wanted to confess that she’d been a pretty poor employee since the accident, but she clamped her mouth shut. She couldn’t bear to spoil the admiration in his face. “It was pretty painful,” was all she could say.
“No wonder you’re so worried about Leilani. First your mother and then your accident . . .” His voice trailed away, and he glanced down at her foot. “I missed seeing that bright nail polish.” His voice was amused.
She didn’t want to talk about her mother or anything else, least of all her shame at the scars on her feet. She turned and found her reef shoes where Fawn had tossed them, then hastily bent and slipped them back on. “What are you doing back already? Did you find out something?”
“You left your purse in my car.” He pointed to her purse where he’d left it by a rock. “I thought you might need it.”
“
Mahalo
.” She wanted to hold onto her anger with him. Lack of conflict made her vulnerable.
Fawn jumped into the conversation. “It’s good to see you, Mano. We’re just about to go fix dinner. You might as well join us.”
Annie caught her breath at her friend’s brazen invitation. Fawn winked at Annie, and Annie scowled back. Her matchmaking wasn’t welcome. Fawn was studiously avoiding her ferocious scowl.
“Sounds great! I’m starved.” Mano picked up Annie’s purse, tucked it under his arm like a football, then followed them to the house.
Annie scooped up the wet mongoose and hurried on ahead. Let Fawn talk to him if she was so eager to invite him to stay for dinner. The two chattered like old friends, and Annie remembered how well the pair had gotten along before Tomi’s death shattered their lives. Jealousy welled in her, and she shoved it away, appalled at the unwelcome emotion. She loved Fawn and wanted her to be happy, but the thought of that happiness involving Mano made her claws come out. She told herself she should be ashamed, but her gloom persisted.
She fixed seared Spam with Hawaiian slaw and macaroni salad. Fawn’s carrot cake would do for dessert.
“You remembered how much I like Spam,” Mano said.
“It’s generally a safe bet for everyone,” she said. “The islands have the highest per capita consumption of Spam in the country.”
Fawn’s cell phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and made a face. “My brother. I’ll be right back.” She flipped her phone open and walked with it to the living room.
Annie’s father finished his meal. “I don’t wish to be rude, but I have much work to do this evening.”
“Go ahead,” Mano said. “I understand work issues.”
Edega nodded courteously and went to his office.
Annie kept her eyes on her plate. She didn’t have the energy to make small talk with Mano.
Mano cleared his throat. “Are you ever going to get over being mad at me?” he asked softly.
Annie knew she was being childish. “I still have no proof that anything you’ve said is true,” she said. “We wasted half the day looking for Tomi, and there’s no guarantee he’s even alive. Besides, you’ve accused my brother of treason. How do you think I should feel?”
“I think you should trust me.”
“That’s pretty hard to do, considering you left Tomi to die in foreign waters.” Her gaze lingered on his face. “I never took you for a coward. What really happened that day?”