Murder on Easter Island (24 page)

Daniel smiled as he thought about the time that had passed since he and Mahina had arrived into the present. The first morning was spent with Tiare, who cooked up a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, hash browns and toast. As they sipped hot tea, Tiare was all ears as they told her the whole story in great detail. No convincing was necessary; Tiare had suspected beforehand that, somehow, there was a breach in time that the murderer had exploited.

Tiare scrounged up some clothes her family had left behind over the years and gave them to Mahina, knowing she couldn’t very well stroll topless down the streets of Hanga Roa.

Hand in hand Daniel and Mahina walked the little city, enjoying the sights. Daniel enjoyed seeing Mahina’s amazement as she discovered cars, horses, eyeglasses, motorcycles, bicycles — well, nearly everything was new and interesting for her. Mahina caught on quickly, and Daniel was certain with time and patience, she would adapt well to her new environment.

After their return, Tiare insisted Mahina begin to meet the Rapanui community, including Alame Koreta from the Te Manutara Hotel. A select few, including Alame, would be told the truth of how Mahina had traveled across time, but otherwise the story would be that Mahina was a Maori visitor from New Zealand, one who happened to know much about Rapanui culture.

Daniel couldn’t help but chuckle as he thought about it. He suspected that within days everyone on the island would know all the details. In a small community such as this, there were few, if any secrets.

Just an hour from now, he had scheduled a meeting with Salvador Diaz. The fact that Daniel had resurfaced after being missing for almost five months had stirred up more than a little interest for the investigator. Especially since, as Daniel had learned, twelve more murders had taken place while he was adventuring in the past.

Like it or not, Daniel planned to tell him the whole truth of his experience, and Diaz could do what he wanted with the information. For now, though, Daniel needed some time by himself to think.

While Daniel was pleased that all seemed to be going well, there were some details that stuck in his craw. Normally when he solved a crime, all the pieces of the puzzle fit together nicely. Oh, there might be a red herring or two, but all the major themes blended together coherently.

Not this time.

For example, Daniel didn’t understand how Paoa got his hands on chloroform. Daniel supposed Paoa could have sneaked around during the dark of night and found it, but how would he know about it in the first place?

And the logistics didn’t fit. To kill a total of forty-two people without being caught would require legwork — lots of it. Was Paoa capable of emerging from the cave in the dark of night, finding his victims and killing them all by himself? Did he use his shaman magic to assist him?

No, something is missing, Daniel thought.

It was then that he heard footsteps walking on the rocky soil behind him. He looked back over his shoulder and discovered a trim Rapanui man approaching. He wore sunglasses, navy slacks and a long sleeved, white, dress shirt. Daniel grinned when he recognized him.

“José! I’ve been meaning to call you.”

José removed his sunglasses, put them in the front pocket of his shirt and reached out his hand. “No problem, Hawk. The grapevine tells me you came out of hiding just yesterday. I understand it’s been a little busy for you.”

Daniel shook José’s hand. “Very much so. How did you know I was here at Rano Kau?”

José sat down and explained, “I ran by Tiare’s this morning, and she told me.”

“How have you been?” Daniel asked as he gazed across the water.

“Just fine, until I found Paoa dead in the cave.”

Daniel quickly looked back at José, who held what appeared to be a Taser, pointed directly at him.

“José — what are you doing?”

José grimaced and said, “Hawk, I knew before too long you would realize Paoa needed someone on this side of the cave to help him, so I thought I’d better take care of business before you got too close.”

Daniel was astonished — yet he asked, “José, how?”

“You really want to know?” Seeing Daniel’s incredulous nod, he continued. “It all started last year when I was out hiking and saw a man wandering around half-naked. I thought he had to be crazy, wearing only a loincloth and a feather headdress. When I talked with him, he explained he was from the past. Naturally, I didn’t believe him. But as he went on — you know — I began to wonder if there was any truth to his words.

“To prove his point, he took me through the time cave to old Rapa Nui. God, was that awful or what? I barely made it through, but after just a brief glance at the people and their living conditions, I was convinced. Getting back home through that narrow place was at least as bad as going in.”

Daniel sat silently and thought while he listened: How can I get the weapon away from him? There must be a way . . .

“When we returned,” José went on, “Paoa explained to me that the purpose of his time travel was to take advantage of an opportunity to rid our island of its oppressors. To do that, he needed someone to keep an eye on things in the present time and help arrange the attacks. I didn’t mind the killings so much, but the cannibalism? When he let me know that he needed the mana of his victims, I understood. Besides that, what better way to scare off the tourists, and eventually Chile?”

“But José,” Daniel asked, “aren’t the conditions under Chile gradually getting better? Why were all those killings necessary?”

José turned angry. “Because we want them out now! We can’t put up with them and their so-called help any longer. For a top investigator, you ask the stupidest questions,” Jose continued. “Now shut up and listen. Paoa had told me about his visions and how you could mess up our plans, so I expected you when you arrived from the United States and have personally had you under surveillance.”

Alame Koreta had said I was being watched, Daniel recalled.

“Paoa also told me that you had taken a fancy to the daughter of the ‘ariki mau, and while I can only guess what happened in the cave, I figure that if you hadn’t unexpectedly brought that bitch back from the past —”

Daniel bristled. “What did you say?”

José ignored him. “— Paoa would have killed you in the cave as he planned to do. Now it’s up to me to do the dirty work. You do know, Hawk, once you’re dead, the killings will continue. First I’m going to take out Diaz, so no other Chilean investigator in his right mind would want to come here, and then I’m going to keep killing anyone who doesn’t have at least a trace of Rapanui blood. Every foreigner will be gone in no time, and Chile will be out of here within the year.”

“Why the Taser?” Daniel asked as he eyed the weapon. I must play for time, he thought. I have to find a way out of this —
another
mess.

“First, Hawk, this is not a Taser. Like a Taser, it’s a conducted electrical device, but this one has an adjustable setting, so at the least it will knock you out cold. Once I shock you, I’ll pull the probes out and push you off the edge. I’ll explain to Diaz that you and I were having a little chat when you slipped and fell. When they find your body, I can’t have them find a bullet hole in you, can I? Two little holes in your chest will never be noticed next to all the scrapes and bruises you will have.”

“But José, don’t you think —”

“Hawk, you might as well quit stalling. I’ve figured out all the angles, and you are as good as dead.” He aimed the weapon at Daniel. “Oh, and one more thing: I saw your lady friend when I was at Tiare’s, and she’s pretty hot. I know at first she will be upset over your unexpected death, but after a little grieving time I will take her under my wing. Once she gets to know me, she’ll come to appreciate how wonderful it is to be with a
real
man. Goodbye Hawk, it’s been great to —”

Suddenly a
whoosh
of wings was upon them.

“What the hell?” José exclaimed as a pair of cinnamon colored caracaras streaked out of nowhere and swooped down on him. José flailed wildly as they darted in and out, scratching his face repeatedly with their talons. José screamed and soon his face was covered with deep gashes.

“I can’t see!” José shouted as he stumbled close to the edge of the cliff, blood pouring from his forehead into his eyes. “I can’t see . . .”

“Watch out!” Daniel yelled.

The caracaras hit José again, and he slipped on the loose rock at the precipice and fell away.

Daniel stood up and looked out over the edge. José tumbled head over heels down the cliff face, shrieking every time he bounced off the rocky wall.

When José hit bottom, he didn’t make a sound.

He was dead.

Daniel quivered as he backed away from the rim. He sat on a nearby boulder and gazed at the sky around him. His caracara rescuers had disappeared.

A few moments later he heard the flapping of wings, and the two caracaras settled on a rock five feet away. Both of the birds stood erect and eyed him.

Daniel could sense intelligence in their gazes. As he watched in disbelief, a whirling vortex of brown, gold and white swirled around them, obscuring the birds from view. Daniel stared as the vortex became larger and larger. All at once the movement stopped and the air cleared. The caracaras had disappeared, and two people, a man and a woman, stood in their places.

An astonished Daniel stood and carefully studied them. The man was approximately six feet tall, Native American, with short dark hair, wearing blue jeans and a long-sleeved blue plaid shirt. The woman was Caucasian, had long, straight, brown hair hanging to her shoulders and wore a beige, loose fitting, full length dress. Both of them looked to be in their late forties and had tears in their eyes.

The man spoke. “Daniel — it’s good to see you again.”

The woman added, “It’s been far too long.”

Daniel was puzzled. Both of them looked familiar . . . he reached into his eidetic memory — no help. Finally he asked, “Who are you?”

The man said, “I am your father, Daniel Fishinghawk.”

The woman added, “I am your mother, Jenny Fishinghawk.”

Daniel stared in shock. He took only a moment and ordered, “Go away and leave me alone.” He hated them as much as anyone could.

His father asked, “Will you hear us out?”

Daniel turned his back on them and shook his head.

“Please?” his mother begged.

Daniel turned around. In spite of his loathing for them he folded his arms, sat back down and answered, “If you must.”

His father looked at his mother. “May I speak for us?”

“Yes,” she answered.

“Daniel,” his father said, “twenty-six years ago, when you were only two years old, your mother and I were killed in a car accident. You may already be aware that we were both high on alcohol and drugs.”

“Oh, I know
all
about that.” Daniel glared at them.

His father winced. “Then you also know there was no excuse for our behavior. Your mother and I were both twenty years old — young
and
stupid. If we had only thought for a second about the consequences of our actions, the car accident and our deaths would have never happened.” A pained look came over his face.

His mother was barely able to say, “We are
so
sorry . . .”

Daniel’s heart began to soften.

His father continued, “After our deaths we both floated above our bodies and were relieved to see you unharmed in the back seat. Our hearts were broken, though, because we knew we wouldn’t be able to care for you as normal parents would.

“Before long we were approached by two beings of light. One stood before each of us and beckoned us to join them. I said to the one facing me, ‘Are you my creator?’ I heard no answer, but in my mind I heard a ‘yes.’ Your mother asked the being that faced her the same question, and she got the same answer.

“I spoke for both of us. ‘We are not ready to join you. We are parents of a little one who needs us. May we stay behind?’

“One voice came from them, and we again heard in our minds, ‘It is time for you to come with us.’

“I said, ‘We cannot. We wish to stay.’

“We stood together for the longest time in silence, when the lights pulsated and became even brighter. ‘Very well. Since you have lost your human identities, what form do you wish to take?’

“Your mother spoke. ‘We wish to be birds of the air.’

“‘As is our name,’ I said.

“The voice said, ‘Permission granted — with one condition: When your child no longer has need for you, then you must come with us.’ The light faded, and we found ourselves flying in the Oklahoma sky as hawks.”

How much they must have loved me, Daniel reasoned.

“And so,” his father went on, “for the next twenty-six years we stayed close to you, watching for any help you might need. Around ten years ago, though, we detected an evil presence at your grandfather’s home. We left your side at school and flew there as quickly as we could, but arrived too late to help. We saw the murderer
lurking around the house and guessed he was waiting for you. So we attacked and drove him away.”

Daniel recalled Paoa’s story. At last he understood.

“We shared your pain as we circled overhead at his funeral, and when you came to Easter Island, we assumed the form of the caracara, watching you every moment of the daylight hours.

“While we were in our spirit forms, we were able to see brief glimpses of what lay before you, so that time when you napped on top of the mountain, we gave you a dream of the cave, hoping we could forewarn you of the coming dangers.

“Daniel, do you recall when you went to Puna Pau — the home of the akuaku Hitirau?”

I could never forget that nightmare, Daniel thought.

“We saw you were in great danger, and we carried the spirit of love into the area, breaking the spell of evil. We were almost certain he would have killed you had we not been there. But this pleased us greatly, because, as your parents, we were able to help you.”

Daniel could feel their love more and more.

The area began to fill with an unearthly light, and his father explained, “We also were told by our creator that today would be the last time you would need our presence. It is time for us to go.”