Authors: Colleen Coble
Her father came up behind her and embraced both of them. “I knew you’d find us. You’re like a pit bull.”
Bane and Mano hustled Dirk into the cabin. Leia turned to face Dirk. She whipped out Tony’s weight belt and shook it in Dirk’s face. “You killed Tony, didn’t you? Why? He was your friend—he trusted you. He had nothing to do with any of this. Why did you kill him?”
Dirk’s face turned a mottled red as Bane shoved him into a chair. “Where’d you get that? You can’t prove anything.”
Leia realized they couldn’t. It had been found on Candace’s boat. Candace would be the one to go down for it, though with his kidnapping of Eva, he was in plenty of trouble.
Eva lifted her head from Leia’s shoulder. “I saw that in Hotshot’s bag when I was looking for candy.”
Leia turned to her sister. “Why didn’t you tell me? You knew we were looking for it.”
Eva dropped her gaze. “He said it was Candace’s.”
Leia hugged her. “It’s not your fault.” She glared at Dirk. “All for money.” Events of the past few days began to bubble to mind. “You worked for a security firm on O’ahu. Was the museum one of your clients? Is that how you figured out my dad had the artifacts? There was something on one of the tapes, wasn’t there? You figured you could get it from him, so you hid the tape from the police. When did you plant the belt on Candace’s boat?”
He shrugged. “Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out, Sherlock.” He jutted out his chin.
“Did Candace know about this? Did she fall for your charm?” Bane asked.
Leia raised her brows and shook her head so Bane would see her. She wanted to keep Candace out of this. It was obvious Dirk had set her up. Dirk didn’t answer Bane’s jibe, but Leia saw the flash of triumph in his eyes. Her gaze went back to Bane. He’d been right about Candace working with Dirk. She felt sick. Candace knew about it and had shielded a murderer. Her friend would be arrested too.
Bane pulled out the cell phone. “I better call the cops.” He stared at the phone, then put it away. “No signal here.”
Eva was crying now, and Leia looked down into her sister’s exhausted face. “
Makua
, you’d better take Eva home. Take one of the boats and send the police back here. We’ll stay here with Dirk until the cavalry arrives.”
“I think I’ll go with them if you can handle it,” Mano said. “I want to check on Annie and her volcano. She’s probably harried with all the media attention. You want my gun?”
Bane shook his head. “I’ve got Dirk’s gun. Besides, he’s trussed up good and tight. We’ll be fine until the police arrive.”
Leia hugged her sister and father and thanked Mano for all he’d done, and the three headed to the beach where they’d left the boat. Now all they had to do was wait for the police. Once Mano could use his cell phone, he would summon help.
“We
might as well get comfortable.” Bane pulled out a camp chair for Leia, then dropped into one himself. “You think the money was worth it, Dirk?”
“You don’t know anything,” he said. He clamped his mouth shut and turned to stare at the back wall.
His posture changed in some indefinable way that put Leia’s senses on alert. She turned to look out the window, but there was nothing there. She told herself she was jumping at shadows, but the skin on the back of her neck continued to prickle. “Is there water in the cooler?” Dirk didn’t answer, so she stood and went to the cooler on the table. It was full of soft drinks and bottled water. “Want something, Bane?”
“I’ll take some water,” a soft voice said from the doorway. Leia wheeled and stared down the barrel of the gun Candace held in her hand. Her other hand held the small box of the artifacts that had been on the tree stand at Koma’s. “Surprised?” Candace asked with a gentle smile. “Toss me the gun, Bane.”
I
wondered when you’d get here, babe. Untie me.” Dirk twisted so she could get at his bound hands, but instead of going to him, Candace shut the door behind her and strolled toward Leia to take the bottle of water from her hands. The gun never wavered. She picked up the gun Bane had shoved toward her.
Leia kept her gaze on Candace. The beautiful face still held no trace of evil or guile that she could see. The cornflower eyes had a disingenuous smile in them. The full lips were curved in what seemed to be genuine joy. She managed to smile at Candace. “Are you here to rescue us, or him?”
Candace uncapped her bottle of water and took a swig, but the gun didn’t waver. She set the bottle down with a deliberate motion. “Neither, I’m afraid.” She picked up a hank of rope and tossed it to Leia. “Tie up lover boy. Good and tight. I’m going to check your work.” Leia hesitated, but Candace’s beautiful mask slipped as her lips thinned, and her nostrils flared. “I’ve always liked you, Leia, but I forget those kinds of details when I’m mad. Do it now, or I’ll have to shoot him.” She gestured at Bane with the gun. “Sit down.”
Leia carried the rope to where Bane sat. She knelt in front of him, and he held out his hands.
“Hands behind the chair, idiot.” Candace strode across the floor and pointed the gun at Bane. “I’m losing my patience here.”
“Untie me, babe,” Dirk said again. Candace didn’t look at him, and he began to bounce in his chair.
“Shut up, Dirk,” she said. “I don’t want to have to shoot you too.”
Leia glanced at him in time to see his jaw drop. What was going on? She finished tying up Bane, then stood behind him. Candace’s perfume, a heavy floral scent, overpowered the room with a nauseating effect.
“Bring me the rope.” Candace pushed a camp chair in front of her and motioned for Leia to sit.
She didn’t seem to notice the tiny penknife Eva had dropped into the chair. Leia quickly slid into the seat and grabbed the knife as she sat so Candace didn’t catch a glimpse of it. Candace began to lash her hands together behind her back. Leia’s gaze met Bane’s. Candace finished her task and stepped back. Leia tipped her head to look up at her. “Why, Candace? Tony loved you.”
Candace gave an elegant shrug as she walked toward the propane stove. “He was getting suspicious about me and Dirk. Besides, I thought with him dead, you’d be quick to help me out, and I could use you to force your dad to give up the artifacts.”
“Did you feed him puffer fish?” Leia asked. Another incident floated to her memory. “It was in his fish oil capsules, wasn’t it? The ones you gave him before we went diving.”
Candace shrugged. “I had to time the effects. Once the poison took effect, all Jermaine had to do was cut the weight belt.”
“Jermaine? I thought he was one of Westerfield’s men.”
Candace smiled. “Jermaine was young and rather smitten. He wanted to please me.”
“There’s not really a baby either, is there? It was all a ploy to get my sympathy.” Leia knew her voice dripped with disgust, but it still didn’t match the level of contempt she felt.
“Candace, cut these ropes.” Dirk’s voice rose, and he thumped his feet on the floor.
She glanced back at him as she picked up the lighter. “You haven’t figured it out yet, have you, Dirk? I want it all. The money, my freedom. There’s going to be a convenient accident with the propane stove. Such a tragedy while you were waiting for help to arrive.” A smile played around her perfect lips. “But the murderer has been caught and deserves to die in the fire. I can play the grieving widow a few more weeks, then move to the mainland when I can’t make a go of the shop by myself.”
“No!” Dirk began to struggle against the bonds. “We’re going to be together.”
“You seemed so brokenhearted,” Leia murmured to Candace. She was actually sorry for Dirk.
“You mean like this?” Candace’s lips began to quiver. Tears made her eyes look luminous, and one rolled down her cheek. She dashed the tears away with the back of her hand and began to smile. “Tony was right about one thing—I was good enough to make it in Hollywood, but I never got the breaks. Maybe I will now. I’ve certainly had enough practice.”
“How—” Leia couldn’t finish.
“How can I cry at the drop of a hat?” Candace smiled. “I just remember how I felt the night my sister was crowned homecoming queen. That brings on the tears every time.”
Leia remembered what Dirk had said about Candace’s family. “Your twin and your parents died in a fire.”
“Fire is handy. It cleans up so many details.” Candace was watching her like Hina watched Ajax. Like she was just waiting to pounce. “The treasure hunt was all Dirk’s idea, but he was useful for that much.”
“That’s a lie,” Dirk shouted. “It was all her idea. She was the receptionist at Marks Security. She moved here and married Tony, then called me and told me Akoni lived here, and she had a plan to get the artifacts.”
“Why did you marry Tony?”
“He was useful,” Candace said, still smiling in that chilling way. “And he was fun. Besides, he knew your family well, and I needed an inside track to figure out what your dad did with the artifacts. And I thought there was at least a shot he might know where that ship was. That would have been a bonus if I’d been able to get both treasures.”
Leia shuddered. “I never knew you at all, did I, Candace?”
“I wish I could let you live, Leia. You were always good to me. But I have plans that I’ve worked on a long time. I can’t go soft now.” She disconnected the propane line from the stove, and it began to hiss. Candace walked to the door. “So long. Sorry it had to end this way.”
She didn’t look sorry. Her face was bright with color, and her eyes gleamed with exhilaration. She’d won, knew it, and relished it. Leia squirmed and tried to get the little knife in her hand to open, but it resisted her efforts. One by one, Candace carried the three boxes of artifacts out of the cabin and to an ATV that Leia could see parked in the jungle. With the last box, she shut the door behind her with a decisive click. Leia could hear her humming as she walked away.
“I’ve got Eva’s knife. Help me get it open, and I can get us loose.” Bane thumped his way over to her. She bounced as well, and they managed to get their backs to one another. “Hurry, the gas odor is getting thicker.” Bane’s fingers were strong, and he got the knife open, then began to saw at the bonds. The movement caused the rope to burn into her wrists, but she didn’t
care. If they didn’t get loose, she wouldn’t be feeling much of anything in a few seconds.
“They’re getting looser.” She twisted her wrists, and then they were free. She leaped to her feet and grabbed the knife from Bane’s hand. “Come on, come on,” she begged. The knife sliced a little deeper, then moments later, he was free too.
“Get out of here. I’ll get Dirk.” He took the knife and rushed to where Dirk sat.
Glass tinkled onto the floor, and Leia wheeled toward the window. Candace had thrown a flaming stick through, then run off. “It’s going to blow!” She dashed for the door and threw it open. Maybe the fresh air would buy them a few seconds. She darted a glance behind her and saw Bane and Dirk running for the door. She raced through. Just as Bane and Dirk reached the doorway, some-thing behind them rumbled. A massive
whump
impacted Leia’s eardrums, more with pressure than with sound, as the propane tank blew. The explosion tossed Leia high in the air. She grappled for something to grab hold of to break her fall but found nothing. The ground rose up to meet her, and she slammed facedown into the dirt. She groaned and sat up. Where was Bane? Her vision blurred as she tried to focus on his face. He and Dirk were moving where they’d fallen too.
She turned to look at the cabin. Flames were shooting out the windows and door of the cabin. The heat from the fire shimmered in the air. Ash and smoke made her cough as she struggled to rise. The acrid odor of smoke burned her nose and landed on her tongue.
Bane lifted her to her feet, then grabbed Dirk as he was trying to run for a boat. “You’re not going anywhere. We’ll just wait down here for the police.” He yanked some vines from a nearby tree.
“What about Candace?” Leia asked.
“Let’s see if we can catch her and get those artifacts back.” Bane tied Dirk to a tree with the vines, then took Leia’s hand and ran.
L
eia had always prided herself on being a good judge of people, but the evil that lurked behind Candace’s beautiful face had rocked her. She’d thought they were friends, but Leia didn’t know if Candace was capable of real friendship. At least Tony had died never knowing he’d been duped.
Her lungs still burned as she and Bane ran toward the beach. “She can’t get away,” she told Bane.
“There she is!” Bane pointed.
Leia could see her now. The wind whipped Candace’s blonde hair around her face as she struggled to shove her boat into the waves. The abandoned ATV sat with its tires half-submerged in the water. The tide was coming in, and the high surf hampered the vessel’s movement. The other of the two boats that were anchored here had floated away in the tide. Candace must have tossed its mooring line off the pier.
Leia put on an extra spurt of speed. Her slippers came off in the soft sand, but she didn’t stop to retrieve them. Bane ran beside her. Candace saw them coming and jumped into the boat. She tried to start the motor, but it only coughed. Leia wasn’t going to let her get away. She threw herself into the water. The shock of submersion cleared her head of the smoke. Bane hit the waves beside her. A wave slapped her in the face, and she swallowed a rush of warm sea-water. She spat it out and began to swim in the surging tide. Bane’s strong arms sliced the waves beside her, and he pulled ahead. He reached the boat first, but Leia was only a stroke behind him. He grabbed the bow of the boat as Candace tried the engine again. It started this time, but Bane’s weight dragged the hull into the sand, and the boat was unable to move.
Leia grabbed the side and pulled herself over. She lay on the deck and looked up to see Candace scrabbling for her gun. Leia rolled to her knees and flung herself toward the other woman. The two collided, and the gun slipped away from Candace. She sprang toward it again, and Leia tackled her. The two fell to the deck with Leia on top. Candace bared her teeth as she fought to free herself, her fingers still reaching toward the gun, but Leia had six inches on her and was more muscular. She straddled Candace’s body with her legs and grabbed her wrists, pinning her to the deck.