Black Sands (11 page)

“That’s going to need stitches,” the man told him. “It wouldn’t hurt to get an X-ray.”

“Slap a butterfly bandage on it, and let me out of here,” Mano said. He glanced at Sam, but the detective was intent on gathering the evidence. Maybe he wouldn’t notice if Mano stepped around outside to the window where the bullets came in. Mano’s head was clearer now.

The paramedic turned him loose, and he went to the door. Another car with flashing lights on top pulled into the lot. Sam had called for backup. Mano needed to act fast. He grabbed a flashlight from his car and rounded the corner of the building.

“Don’t touch anything,” Sam called after him.

Mano flipped on the flashlight and shone it on the ground. The light touched crumpled candy and gum wrappers, soda tabs, and a shave ice cup. He could barely see the imprint of where someone had stood in the grass, but it didn’t tell him anything.

He swept the light back and forth across the area one more time and then caught a glint of metal. Probably another soda tab. He knelt and parted the grass carefully. A ring winked up at him. He started to pick it up, then realized he’d be in trouble for tampering with the evidence. He dug a pen out of his pocket and lifted it so he could see it more clearly.

It was a man’s ring. The onyx stone was topped with a gold “A.” A bit from one of the prongs was missing. Mano dropped it back into the grass and put away his pen. “Sam, out here,” he called through the broken window. Once the detective joined him, he pointed out the ring. “It could have been here for a while, but it might be evidence.”

“I told you to leave this to me,” Sam growled. “We’ll handle the investigation.” He picked up the ring, his hand clad in latex gloves, and stared at it. “Are you sure it isn’t yours?”

“Positive,” Mano said. He took a step back.

“You’re hiding something, Oana,” Sam said. “I’m going to find out what it is. You might as well tell me now.”

“Is that your usual manner—to harass the victim?” Mano was ready to get out of there. He’d had all of Sam’s attitude he could take. “Look, let’s put our history behind us and focus on the problems.” He stalked off toward his car. Noah knew better than to go to his rental. Maybe Jillian would know where he might be.

A
nnie’s covers were in a tangle. Wilson growled as she thrashed once again and rolled over in the bed. “Sorry, sweetie.” She wiggled her fingers, and he nibbled on them. She stroked his head, deriving some comfort from his warm little body. She fluffed her pillow and propped it against the headboard. She flipped on the light. Sleep wasn’t coming so she might as well do something useful.

She glanced at her Bible on the stand beside her bed and reached for it, then changed her mind and picked up a thick research paper she’d been wanting to read. Flipping open the cover, she pulled her knees into a tent position and propped the manual on her legs. Wilson poked his head between the pages and closed his eyes.

She laughed and eased him onto her chest. The article was just getting interesting when the phone rang. Wilson sprang to his feet and began to bark. Annie brought her hand to her throat. Who would call at this hour? The luminous numbers on her alarm clock said twelve twenty. She almost let it ring, then realized it might be Tomi.

She picked it up and clicked it on. “Hello?” she said softly.

“Annie?”

The voice was like nothing she’d ever heard. Some kind of weird electronic sound altered the person’s voice. Her pulse kicked into high gear. Maybe it was Leilani—or someone who had her. “This is Annie.” Her knuckles hurt where she gripped the phone.

“This is just the beginning,” the voice whispered. “Are you enjoying the ride, Annie? Better fasten your seat belt, it’s going to get rough. Your family ruined my life. Now it’s your turn. And it’s all Tomi’s fault.”

“Who are you?” Annie heard the panic in her voice, but she didn’t care. “What do you want? Is this about Leilani?”

The laugh that followed raised the hair on the back of her neck. “She’ll join her mother in hell. You ever wonder how she
really
died?”

Annie heard a click. “Hello? Hello?” She shook the phone, then threw it across the room and burst into tears. What had the caller meant about her mother? She’d committed suicide. Annie kicked off the covers and practically fell out of bed in her scramble to retrieve the phone. She had to call the police. She got through to the station and told the officer on duty about the call. He took down all the information.

“So you weren’t specifically threatened? Maybe it was someone who knows your sister is missing and is trying to rattle you.”

Annie hadn’t thought of that. “You think so?” She wished she could believe it. “The voice seemed so—so—
evil
.” She clung to the hope that Leilani was with Tomi. If she only knew for sure.

“Those electronic voice synthesizers can really be upsetting,” the officer said. “We’ll check it out. I’ll talk to Sam about putting a tap on your phone.”

She didn’t mention what the caller said about her mother. No sense in putting the call into even more dispute by passing along that lie. Annie hung up the phone not at all comforted.

Eight

T
he fresh, clean scent of the sea washed over Annie’s face. Nani did a backward flip and splashed her, and Annie laughed. Nani had such personality. Annie slipped her mask over her head and let it dangle around her neck. Yesterday after church, the day had dragged by while she waited for the phone to ring. It never did. Her work today would keep her mind off the silence in the house.

Fawn sat on the edge of the boat and pulled on her fins. “You’re sure Nani knows what she’s supposed to do?” she asked Jillian, who was steering. Wilson stood on his hind legs on the dash. His nose quivered as he sniffed the wind.

Jillian nodded. “Kaia showed her and said she was ready.” Her voice was hoarse, and she fished a tissue out of her pocket and wiped her red nose. “We’re always hearing stories of wild dolphins helping people who are shipwrecked or drowning. This is my first up-close-and-personal experience with a wild dolphin though, and I’m disappointed I don’t get to go out with you.”

“Where is Kaia?” Annie asked. She pulled on her own fins. The brilliant turquoise of the bay washed away the last traces of the weekend’s stress. There was no sense in worrying right now anyway. She couldn’t do anything until she heard from Tomi and Leilani.

“She went back to Kaua’i. She’s in the middle of wedding plans.” Jillian cut the engine, and the boat sloughed sideways. “It’s a little rough out here. I should be going down with you.” She wiped her nose again.

“We’ll be fine.” Annie slipped into the water, and it wrapped her in a warm caress. Wilson leaned over the edge of the boat and barked at the dolphin. Nani rose out of the water, twirling several times before splashing back down. She swam to the boat and chattered at Wilson.

“I think she likes Wilson,” Annie said. She hit the water with the palm of her hand, and the dolphin swam to her. Nani thrust her nostrum into Annie’s hand. She smiled and patted Nani. The wet inner-tube feel of the dolphin’s skin brought a sense of comfort that surprised her. “Ready to help us, Nani?”

Underwater volcanic studies were something of a rarity. It was more difficult to collect data, especially when there was plenty of live flow accessible on ground. But the lava and sea interacted in fascinating ways that had yet to be fully understood. For example, the lava helped maintain the ocean’s salt levels. The prospect of new discoveries thrilled Annie.

The dolphin chattered and zipped away, then rose in her dolphin dance and splashed Annie. She pulled her mask into position and brought the regulator up to her mouth. Fawn joined her in the water, and they both struck out for deeper water with strong strokes. “Give us an hour,” Annie shouted to Jillian.

Jillian nodded, and the boat pulled away. It wasn’t safe to anchor the boat here. The water was too hot to properly cool the engines, and the ash suspended in the water could ruin the engines as well. Jillian would come back and look for their buoy.

Nani came close again, and Annie reached out and grabbed the dolphin’s dorsal fin. Nani pulled her to the edge of the cliff, then dove along the underwater slope. Schools of brightly colored fish darted across her vision: butterfly fish and yellow tangs. A bright blue parrot fish peered into her mask, and she paused to enjoy the experience. A sea turtle did a lazy turn just below her. The visibility was better than usual, so the vent must not be spouting off too badly today.

Fawn touched her shoulder and pointed down. Annie saw a mound of pillow lava. Underwater, the lava cooled so quickly that it formed a crust over the molten stone and resembled a pillow. A small crack showed the hot glow within. The noises of hissing and popping filled her ears. They’d have to watch out for explosions.

They could go closer to examine the pillow lava, but they needed to train Nani so they could take her to Loihi. The dolphin zipped past them and swam down to the oozing sore. The instruments strapped around her would gather the information they needed. They would take water-temperature readings, test for gases and salt content, and collect numerous water samples to evaluate the processes that control the earth’s chemistry. This use of the dolphin had been a brilliant stroke of genius on Jillian’s part.

Annie took temperature readings and checked oxygen content. She found it hard to concentrate on the work at hand amid so much beauty. Sharp lava cliffs rose to her right, and the mystery of lava tubes and caves beckoned. She’d explored some of them over the years, but every time she came down here, things changed. It was always new and exciting.

Her light passed over something brightly colored on the seabed. She peered at it through her mask. What could it be? It was fluorescent green and didn’t look like coral or anything natural. Maybe a diver had left an article of clothing behind, though it had to be wedged under a rock to be down here instead of washed ashore with the tide.

She could go get it herself, but she might as well use the opportunity to direct Nani. She pushed on the clicker in her hand to call Nani. The dolphin swam to her. Annie wondered if she could get the dolphin to understand she wanted her to fetch the item on the ocean floor. She pointed, and Nani swam around her for a few moments. She pointed again and this time made the clicking sound with the device in her hand. The dolphin zipped down again and nosed along the seabed. Maybe she’d realize Annie wasn’t interested in anything natural like rocks and fish.

Nani’s nostrum touched the fabric, or whatever it was. Annie couldn’t see exactly what the dolphin was doing, but she seemed to be trying to grab it in her teeth. Nani finally turned, and Annie saw she had it in her mouth.

The dolphin swam close to Annie and nudged her with her nostrum again as if to tell her to take it. Annie saw it was a slipper. Just one. Surfah brand, bright green. She took it from Nani’s teeth. Leilani had slippers like this, and so did a zillion other residents and tourists. But Leilani’s were missing from her room, so she must have been wearing them the day she disappeared.

Annie turned the thong over to check the size. Seven, just like Leilani wore. Fawn was looking over her shoulder at the slipper as well, but Annie knew her coworker would have no idea what it could mean. Maybe she was jumping to conclusions. These slippers were a dime a dozen, and this shade of green was popular. But the lump in her throat refused to be swallowed down.

The hissing and popping noises grew a notch. Annie looked at the slope and realized the terrain was sliding. An avalanche of black volcanic rock and ash moved quickly down the slope. She struggled to maintain her position. A roar filled her ears, and she wasn’t sure if she was swimming up or down. Nani bumped her, and she grabbed hold of the dolphin’s dorsal fin as space and distance seemed to rush past her. Was she rising to the surface? Shaking her head to clear it, she glanced at her depth gauge and realized she must have swum down when the rockfall started. Nani had helped her level out. Annie had forgotten all her training about underwater avalanches. If not for Nani, she would have found herself three hundred feet down and having to spend some time in a hyperbaric chamber.

She pointed up, and Fawn nodded. They swam toward the surface into water that got hotter near the top. The dolphin swam in circles around them. Pausing occasionally to decompress, all Annie’s fears returned. Was this her sister’s slipper? She didn’t see how it could be. Leilani would never come out here.

Her head broke the surface, and she spit out her regulator and turned to her friend. “Leilani has a pair just like this,” she gasped.

Fawn pulled her mask down around her neck as she treaded water. She took out her regulator. “So do I,” she said. “Don’t assume they belong to Leilani.”

Annie nodded. “I know, I know. But it’s the same size and everything. I’m scared, Fawn.” A wave struck her, and she swallowed a mouthful of salty water. She choked and sputtered, then caught her breath again.

“Let’s call it a day.” Fawn’s gaze was sympathetic. They swam away from the volcano to cooler water, and Fawn released the buoy so Jillian could find them.

Her mind on the slipper, Annie could hardly think about the data they’d just collected. She’d hoped working would get her mind off her brother and sister, but instead everything had come crashing in again. If only Tomi would call and tell her Leilani was with him. She depended on him, on his good-natured take on things, his strong will and nature. She was used to being the strong one, but she was tired, at the end of her strength. She couldn’t go on like this much longer.

She heard the sound of the approaching boat. Fawn stuck up her hand, and Jillian stopped to pick them up. As they rode to shore, Annie showed Jillian what they’d found.

“I’ve seen half a dozen women wearing those,” Jillian said. “I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”

Annie wanted to believe her. As they approached the shore, she recognized Mano’s stocky form walking on the dock. Something constricted in her chest: that old, unwelcome feeling for the man who loved her sister. She saw it in his face every time Leilani’s name was mentioned.