Authors: Colleen Coble
“I’ve been a bad daughter.” She released him and stepped back. “I spent the night with Candace last night. She had a little too much to drink.”
“You’re a perfect daughter.” He started to sit on the pale gray damask armchair, then intercepted a pointed glance from his wife directed at his dirty clothing. Selecting a wooden rocker he’d built instead, he leaned back and propped one leg on the other.
“Candace was drinking?” Her mother’s voice was stiff with dis-approval. “I thought she was pregnant.”
“She is. I scolded her this morning and gave her some homeopathics to counteract the hangover. She promised not to do it again. She’s hurting.”
“That’s no excuse. She increases her chances of giving birth to a child with a birth defect. I hope you, of all people, impressed on her the importance of abstaining.”
“I did, yes.” Leia managed to keep her hand from wandering to the scar on her lip, but she felt her mother’s gaze touch it.
“Where have you been all evening?” her father asked.
“I took some time off to dive with Bane, but we’re held up by an injunction OHA has slapped on us. I went to see Pete to try to sort it out, but he wouldn’t budge. I finally gave up since I had something pressing to talk to you both about.”
“Oh?” Her mother took a sip of her mango iced tea. “That sounds rather ominous.”
Leia wet her lips. “It’s about
Tûtû.
She’s been very confused lately, as I’m sure you know.”
“I know.” Her father moved his head in a weary wag. “I think she’s getting worse.”
“I’m sure of it too.” Leia glanced at her mother, then back to her father’s face. “I think she shouldn’t be living alone any longer. Something has to be done.”
Her father plucked a strip of coconut twine from his shorts. “I don’t want to move her into a home.”
Leia kept her gaze on her father. “I had another idea. I’m going to move in with her.”
“You will do no such thing!” Her mother stood and put her glass of tea on the glass-topped table. “I blame your grandmother for your ridiculous obsession with that paper cloth and for throwing away your career. Paper cloth! Is there anything less relevant to real life?”
Leia wondered if her mother might be jealous of the closeness Leia shared with her grandmother. She rejected the idea. Her mother always seemed so self-sufficient, jealousy didn’t seem possible. “You’re consumed by your work as well.”
“I’m not consumed, I’m merely interested. I can leave it at my office. You put in way too many hours at that little clinic for a pittance, and then spend your off time working on an outdated hobby. You’ll never have anything at this rate.” Ingrid’s voice softened. “I want only what’s best for you, Leia. You have your head so up in the clouds that you never seem to see the chasms yawning under your feet. As your mother, it’s my duty to protect you. I can’t let you do this. I’ll begin to look for a place for her.”
Leia shook her head. “I’m going to try it for a few weeks and see how it goes. Malia said she would stay with
Tûtû
during the day when I’m gone. At some point, we likely will have no choice but to put her in a nursing home for her own safety, but she’s not bad enough yet.”
“I don’t like it. Ipo will just require more and more of your time. You’ll never break free.” Ingrid clasped her hands together. Her gaze went past Leia, and she frowned. “Eva, you’re supposed to be in bed.”
Leia turned to see her sister. She had her fingers in her mouth and was humming. “Aloha,
keiki
. I’ve missed you.”
Eva took her fingers out of her mouth. Her eyes were huge in her face. “Don’t go in your shop, Leia. I dreamed it was broken.”
“Broken?” Leia tried not to smile. “You mean the roof or what?”
Eva’s forehead wrinkled. “I don’t remember. But it was scary. I don’t want you to go there.”
“I’m sure it’s fine. Want me to read you a story before you go back to sleep?”
Eva began to smile, and she nodded. “Will you read
Green Eggs
and Ham
?”
“Okay. You go on up, and I’ll be right there,” Leia told her. She ran from the room, and Leia turned back to her mother. She wet her lips. “There’s something else I need to talk to you about. This involves you, Mama.”
Her mother sat back down slowly on the edge of the chair. “All right, I’m listening.”
“Have the police been to see you about Tony’s death?”
Her mother’s eyes widened. “Whatever for? I didn’t even know he’d died until Eva told me. Why would you think they’d be coming to see me?”
“Yesterday after Koma was killed, Detective Ono asked me how well you knew Tony. They suspect he was injected with a narcotic that depressed his breathing. And some narcotics are missing from the hospital.”
Her mother didn’t say anything at first. She took a sip of her tea. “So that explains why there was an inventory of the controlled substances.”
Her mother was handling it better than Leia had thought she would. “Ono asked if I’d ever heard you and Tony fighting.”
“I suppose you told him about the disagreement we had over the lease on the building.” Her mother gave a heavy sigh. “Really, Leia, you should learn to hold your tongue. I’m sure he’ll be around to see me.”
“I didn’t tell him. I’d forgotten.” In fact, Leia hadn’t even remembered her mother owned the building Tony leased for his shop. They’d argued over her mother’s decision to raise the rent, and the disagreement had gotten heated.
Her mother began to smile. “You’re a good daughter. The last thing I need is for my patients to hear that I’m under suspicion for murder. It would be the final death knell for my practice.” The glance she sent toward her husband held
a trace of censure.
Her father interrupted. “No one who knows you would suspect you of killing anyone.”
Her mother’s frosty smile thawed. “Spoken like a devoted husband. Maybe I’ll fix you a good dinner after all.”
“How easy would it be for someone to steal the drugs?” her father asked.
“Very difficult. Access is limited and everything has to be signed for. We track inventory on the computer and then do a periodic visual check. It would have to be someone who worked at the hospital.”
Leia tried to think of everyone who worked at the hospital that she knew. She couldn’t see any of them doing something like this. “Maybe even an orderly who got access to a key?”
“Maybe, but we watch that kind of thing pretty closely. You have to have two people go to get out controlled substances to verify what was taken. Maybe the murderer bought it over the black market.”
“Since some is missing from the hospital, I would think it was stolen from there.”
“Well, it’s not my worry.”
In spite of her mother’s assertions, Leia could see the unease on her mother’s face, and it fueled her own anxiety. Surely the police wouldn’t focus on her mother.
A
fter diving with Kaia and Nani all day, Bane took Kaia to Kaunakakai so she could call Jesse without using up her cell minutes. He sat on a lava rock on the beach with his ukulele in his hands. His fingers picked out the traditional tunes without conscious thought. While he might not beat Pete this year, he would give him a run for his money.
A host of giggling children ran past. One boy around six stopped to listen to Bane. Bane motioned him to come closer and showed him how to strum the instrument. When the boy tired of the game, Bane ruffled the child’s hair and gave him a handful of macadamia nuts. He watched wistfully as the child ran off with his booty clutched in his pudgy fist. Kids generally gravitated to him, and he thought he’d make a good father. At least he liked to think that was true. He might never find out.
He stopped by a small hut and ordered a rainbow shave ice with macadamia-nut ice cream on the bottom. Taking the treat with him, he started toward his car, then noticed a van that said Westerfield Salvage on it. Sam was here? Maybe Ron wasn’t so paranoid after all. Bane stepped closer to the van. He’d met Sam Westerfield once, before taking the job with Ron. He couldn’t be missed in a crowd. He resembled Mr. T, only instead of heavy gold chains, the leather necklace he wore held a mammoth shark tooth, which nestled in the
V
of his aloha shirt. Matching shorts covered his meaty thighs, and he would have looked more at home on a wrestling mat than strolling across the parking lot of a Hawaiian beach.
His gaze touched Bane. “Bane Oana. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
“Sam. I didn’t know you were on the island.” He kept his tone even. No sense in getting Westerfield’s back up.
“Yeah, I got to town yesterday. I hear there’s an interesting find out near Elephant Rock.” He grinned and revealed a gold-capped tooth.
“You’re a little late to get in on the action. We already have salvage rights.”
“I heard there’s been a snafu. Maybe I could help smooth the way if you cut me in on the action.”
“I think we can handle it.”
Sam’s smile faded, and he looked sour. “This is too big a find for Ron to handle by himself. I have the heavy equipment he needs.”
“We have our own equipment,
mahalo
. Why are you talking to me anyway? Ron is the owner. I’m not the one to ask.”
“But you have influence over him. You could persuade him of the wisdom of letting me help you.”
Bane’s shave ice was melting. Enough of Sam’s hypocrisy. “Sorry, I can’t help you,” he said. He walked away and tried not to imagine a knife thrust in his back.
T
he boat passed by the Moloka’i Lighthouse on the tip of the peninsula, framed by the soaring sea cliffs. The tallest U.S.- owned lighthouse in the Pacific, the sight of the grand beacon never failed to thrill Leia. The sea glimmered as blue as lapis lazuli in the bright morning sunshine. The boat passed the boundary of the Pelekunu Preserve. The lowland rain forest held a mystique for her. For one thing, access was forbidden, and she’d never taken well to anyone telling her what she couldn’t do. It also held one of Hawai’i’s last free-flowing streams, and the tallest sea cliffs in the world.
She enjoyed a last look at the jungle, then headed in to shore. She checked in at the clinic and made sure she wasn’t needed, then went toward her cottage. Pete had called and said he left her key under the pot of ginger by the front door. It was right where he’d said it would be. She pushed open the door and stopped. The place was a mess. Bottles of dye had been spilled on her work table and onto the floor, her cupboard doors stood open, and all kinds of sup-plies were off the shelves and on the floor.
She marched to the phone and punched in Pete’s number. As soon as he answered, she didn’t even say
aloha
. “The least you could have done is not let the kids trash my house,” she barked.
“Leia? What are you talking about?”
“My cottage. It’s a disaster, Pete. How could you leave it in this shape?” Her voice rose.
“It was spotless when we left. I know how picky you are.”
“There’s dye everywhere. Nearly everything is off the shelves. I hardly call that spotless.”
“I didn’t leave it like that. Maybe someone broke in.”
That stopped her. It was possible with all that had been going on. “Maybe,” she said.
“You shouldn’t jump to conclusions, Leia.” Pete’s voice was sharp.
“Sorry, Pete.”
“You can make it up to me. I want to show you something. Will you be there for a while?”
“Just long enough to clean up, then I’m going to my grandmother’s.”
“If you’re not at home, I’ll come find you there. You won’t believe it.” He sounded excited.
She hung up, opened the door to let Hina in, and set to work. An hour later, she had everything in order. She packed a small bag, found her sketchbook, and took the motorbike to her grandmother’s.
She heard
Tûtû
before she saw her. The strains of “Makaha” carried through the jungle. The incongruity of her grandmother singing a surfing song made her recall that
Tûtû
was young once. The songs she sang reminded her of the days when she was as slim and lovely as Malia and just as graceful. Leia pushed away the pang of sadness. She grabbed a bag of ‘
ohelo
berries she’d brought for the goose, then opened the door and got out. Pua waddled to meet her, and Hina jumped down. Pua nipped at the cat’s tail, and Hina spat at the goose. The two had an uneasy truce that wasn’t always respected.
Squawking for a treat, the
nene
bumped her head against Leia’s leg. “I didn’t forget you.” Leia dumped some berries in her palm and extended her hand to Pua. The goose honked, then gobbled up the berries. She looked up as if to ask if there were any more. “That’s it, girl. You’re on your own now.” Pua followed Leia as she moved away from the cycle. “You have to stay out here,” she said, patting the goose a final time.
Pua hissed, and Leia drew back her fingers. The temperamental
nene
had never nipped her, but she was taking no chances. “See if I bring you anything again.” She left Pua at the edge of the driveway voicing her displeasure, then joined her grandmother in the garden. She kissed
Tûtû
’s soft, wrinkled cheek,
but the older woman continued to sing without looking up. Her grandmother wore earmuffs and a bathing suit.
Leia sighed. She might as well unpack. Once she was occupying the spare room, her grandmother wouldn’t kick her out. Maybe she would be lucid again, and Leia would be able to coax her into putting on some clothes. She went to her cycle to get her suitcase. A pickup truck pulled in behind her. She shielded her eyes with her hand and recognized Bane’s thick, dark hair on the passenger side. Something inside her leaped in response, but she squelched it.
He thanked the Kalaupapa resident who’d given him a ride, held the door open for Ajax, then slammed the door behind him. Leia raised her hand in greeting. “Aloha,” she said.
“Kaia was a little tired after diving today, so I dropped her off back at the ship to rest for a while and decided to come check on you.” He glanced toward her grandmother. “She’s bad today. Can I do anything?” The dog whined and leaned against his leg.
Her eyes stung at the sympathy in his voice. “I don’t think there’s anything anyone can do. She’ll come out of it soon.”