Black Sands (16 page)

He grabbed the cooler from the backseat, took out his insulin, and prepared his shot. Everything in his life now revolved around this syringe and vials of medicine. It seemed so unfair, and he had begun to question why God had allowed this to happen. Had he not prayed enough, not served enough? He was thirty-two, and he didn’t want to have to come up with a new plan for his life.

He got out and stretched the soreness out of his muscles. A movement caught his eye, and he saw Annie wave to him from the window of Gina’s house. She motioned him to come to the door. The stubble on his chin was scratchy. He rubbed it with a self-conscious hand as he walked across the yard to the front door. A stranger might think he was a bum.

Annie met him at the door. “Want some breakfast?”

“Yeah, I’d better eat, or I’ll be collapsing.” He saw her puzzled frown and knew he should explain. He started to tell her but hesitated. He still didn’t want her to know. Maybe because she’d always regarded him as strong and heroic. He missed that hero worship in her eyes. She’d never get it back if she knew he was a weakling now, dependent upon the power of insulin to keep him whole.

Wilson sniffed his boots and followed him to the kitchen. He trod terra-cotta tile floors. A faded version of the same color covered the walls, and he paused to admire several paintings of Greece and an arrangement of Greek figurines.

He stepped into the kitchen. The same warm color scheme welcomed the sunshine spilling through the large windows over the sink. The aroma of poi hashbrowns and Spam made his mouth water. When he was away from the islands, it was hard to find Spam on any menu, but it was a favorite here. The protein in it would balance the carbs in the poi.

A tiger cat under the table hissed when it saw Wilson. Wilson barked and started to move toward the cat. “No, you don’t.” Annie scooped up the mongoose. “You’ve terrorized poor Baxter enough. Behave yourself.” Wilson draped himself over her arm and rested his head on her forearm.

“Have a seat.” Her tone cheerful, Gina pointed to the table. She ladled food from the skillet onto three plates.

“Where’s your dad?” he asked Annie.

“Still in bed. He and Gina were up late last night talking. Yesterday rattled him more than he wanted to let on, and they really hit it off. You hungry?”

“Starved. It smells good.” He pulled out a chair and sat. Annie handed him a plate of food. He bowed his head for a silent prayer and opened his eyes to see Gina wearing a bemused smile.

“I didn’t take you for a religious man,” Gina said.

“God’s been good to me.” A stock answer—Mano hadn’t been focusing on God’s goodness lately.

“You don’t seem the type to swallow all that mythology.”

“The God I serve is still alive. He’s no myth.”

Gina lowered herself onto a chair. “So you are waiting for the pie-in-the-sky
someday
. What about enjoying this life today? Good food, friends, a job you enjoy. I think it says somewhere in your Bible to eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you die.”

“A proverb based on Ecclesiastes and Isaiah.” Mano smiled and picked up his fork. “If you read the whole book, you’ll see that it says there is nothing worth having under the sun except a relationship with God. That fun, food, and drink don’t satisfy. And as for pie in the sky, even if there were no heaven, what God has given me in this life is enough of a reward.”

“What’s he given you that you couldn’t have gotten on your own?” Gina’s voice was beginning to get testy. “You seem a very bright man, one who could go far. I’d hate to see you waste your life by not focusing on your career.”

Mano was conscious of Annie’s interested stare. “Peace, contentment, a family I love.”

Gina shrugged. “I’ve got that much. My career, my son. What more could I want?”

Mano thought she sounded a little wistful in spite of her assertion. “Inner peace no matter what comes is something you can’t get on your own. Only God gives it.” He should take his own advice. He’d been railing against God because of his diabetes instead of thanking him for his providence. It could have been worse. He could have died on the beach six months ago. He still had a hope and a future. So what if he had to take insulin? At least his condition could be managed. He should thank the Lord for that.

And maybe God had a plan for his future career. Mano hadn’t asked. He’d just been miffed about having to give up his own plans, his own determination. He’d always heard it said that when God closed a door, he opened a window somewhere else. While Mano hadn’t seen so much as a glimmer of light under a cracked pane, he knew his God wouldn’t fail to provide. He had to be patient.

Annie gave him a glass of orange juice. He hesitated before he took it. It was too much sugar with the poi as well. Maybe they wouldn’t remark on it if he just left it on the table.

Jason wandered in. His hair was rumpled, and he was dressed in jersey shorts and a white T-shirt. The unappetizing aroma of sweat and beer rolled off him. Mano saw Annie turn her head, her nose wrinkling.

Gina appeared not to notice. “Your breakfast is on the stove.”

He grunted and shuffled to the other side of the kitchen. “I hate poi hashbrowns,” he grumbled.

“So don’t eat them.” His mother’s tone was sharp.

Gina saw more than she let on, Mano decided. He finished the last bite of his breakfast. “I’ve got to go meet Evan Chun.”

Gina’s head jerked up. “Now?”

He nodded. “At the gate to the Shores. I’m looking at a property with him.”

“You don’t seem the type to catch rainwater and do without electricity.”

“I can always get a generator like you have,” he said. Though she wasn’t actually in the Aloha Shores subdivision, she was in the same boat with utilities.

She made a face. “It’s expensive. Not everyone is happy out here. But once you get used to it, you might like it I guess.”

Mano wondered if she knew about Chun’s plans. If she did, she didn’t act like it. He couldn’t imagine she would welcome that kind of change to her world. Though the property values would skyrocket, all the residents out here would have to give up their privacy and anonymity. It wasn’t his place to tell her, though. If Annie wanted to mention it, she could, but he wasn’t sticking his nose into that mess. He had enough on his plate without worrying about real estate.

He rose. “
Mahalo
for breakfast. I’d better move along.” His gaze lingered on Annie. The sunlight illuminated her face. Her eyes were brilliant this morning. Fringed with thick black lashes, they shone with inner light. He wished he knew what she was thinking, what she really thought of him now.

Annie walked him to the door. “Be careful,” she said.

“No one’s after me. Keep the door locked. Call me on my cell phone if anything happens. If Tomi calls.”

Her brilliant eyes clouded. “I don’t know what to think about Tomi. I’m beginning to wonder if I’ve ever really known my own brother. I would never have imagined he could get involved with something like this.”

“We all mess up,” Mano said. He opened the door, stepped outside, and inhaled the scent of plumeria. He jogged to his car then walked down the lane. Chun’s sleek black Cadillac was already parked at the gate. The hum of the car’s engine was barely discernable over the sound of the flock of spotted doves that took flight and scolded him.

Chun ran his window down. “I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show. Hop in.” His gaze went to Mano’s car. “Looks like you’ve got some vandalism.”

“Yeah, I’ll get it fixed later today.” Mano went around to the passenger side and got in the car. The plush leather seat enveloped him. It smelled new and expensive.

A diamond ring winked on Chun’s pinkie finger as he wrenched the steering wheel around and turned into the gate. “This first property is a beauty. It’s on a cliff overlooking the water.” He drove along the rutted lane, through a stand of coconut palms, and past several cabins. “Here we are.”

Mano got out and walked to the edge of the cliff. It was a beautiful spot. For a moment, he wished he really was in the market for property. He could envision the house of his dreams sitting on this lot and looking out over the rolling waves.

Chun let him look in silence at first, then joined him at the cliff ’s edge. “What do you think?”

“Great view.” Mano hated to take up the man’s time just to gain information and access to the Shores. He pushed the guilt away. He’d come this far, though, so he might as well go through with the plan. “How long have you owned property here?”

“Probably twenty years. I saw the potential when it was still arid and deserted.”

“It’s still pretty arid. The volcanic rock is hard on the vegetation.”

“But it’s coming back.”

“How much do you want for it?” Mano shocked himself by asking. Maybe he’d buy this after all. He had to settle somewhere eventually, though he wondered what he could do here. The navy was his life.

He could almost see the dollar signs in Chun’s eyes. Chun nodded. “There’s a full half acre here. You have right of way for a driveway.”

“How much?” Mano asked again.

“Three hundred thousand.”

He’d been expecting something in the neighborhood of fifteen thousand. “Are you nuts? You probably paid fifteen hundred for it, didn’t you?”

Evan shrugged. “It will be worth six hundred thousand in another year.”

Mano began to walk back to the car. “Get real. You’ll never get that for it. Not out here.”

“You’ll see I know what I’m talking about when news of the casino and new subdivision breaks.”

The mention of the casino was the opportunity Mano had been waiting on. “I’ve heard something about that. Who’s behind it?”

“A company from Vegas called Banos LLC. They’re known for their innovative structures. It’s going to be a great boon for the island.”

Mano had never heard of them. “When do they plan to start building?”

“They’ve already bought the land for the casino, and the ground breaking should be in about three months. They’re still working on the peripheral designs for housing and a theme park. I’m buying up land for them as quickly as I can.”

“Have you tried to buy the Tagama land or Gina’s land yet?”

“I don’t think that’s any of your business.” He nodded toward the view. “So what do you think?”

“I’ll give you ten,” Mano said.

Chun laughed. “I don’t think so. If that’s all you’re willing to pay, we might as well go back now.”

It was way out of Mano’s price range. “Fine by me.” He walked toward the car, but before he got in, he saw a man standing in the shade of a stand of trees. Noah. “Go on without me,” he told Chun. He didn’t wait for a reply and jogged toward Noah. Noah turned and ran. “Noah, wait!” Mano put on a burst of speed.

He was out of breath when he reached the tree where Noah had been standing. He paused and looked around. Where had he gone? He listened. A mynah squawked from the tree over his head. Then he heard the sound of running feet. He took off and followed the sound.

Noah was twenty feet ahead of him. “It’s me, Mano,” Mano called out.

Noah glanced back. His action caused him to stumble. He fell headlong onto the ground and banged his head against the trunk of a coconut palm tree. Mano reached him as Noah struggled to his knees. Noah’s head was bleeding.

“You okay?” Mano knelt beside him.

“Fine.” Noah muttered. He dabbed at the trickle of blood running down the side of his face. “I didn’t want the other guy to see me.”

“I was hoping to find you.” Mano helped him to his feet.

Noah swiped his face with the back of his arm and left a red smear across his cheek. “I was wanting to talk to you anyway. You first.”

“I was worried about you. Someone shot at us, remember?”

Noah wouldn’t meet his gaze. “Kids playing around.”

“What did you need to see me about?”

Noah looked away. “I’m going to have to go away again. I want you to watch out for Jillian and Heidi.”

“Look, you need to be a man and face the mess you’ve made. Quit running away. Tell me more about this casino. Who was your contact? Anyone whose name begins with
A
?”

Noah’s eyes widened. “How’d you know that?”

“I found a ring. Whose is it?”

Beads of perspiration dotted Noah’s forehead. “I can’t tell you anything. Just leave me alone.” He tried to shake off Mano’s hand that was clamped on his forearm, but Mano hung on. “Look, I can’t talk about it. They’ve made that clear. I don’t want anything to happen to Jillian.”

“Let’s talk to the police. They can protect Jillian.”

Noah gave a bitter laugh. “You don’t know much, Mano.” He jerked his arm away.

No matter how much Mano pleaded, Noah refused to say another word. Mano finally gave up and walked back to his car. Sam needed to know about this.

Thirteen

G
ina had obviously made an effort to make her living room comfortable, though it was more cluttered with knickknacks than Annie liked. Figurines and Greek artifacts crowded nearly every flat surface in the room. Annie sat in an overstuffed armchair. She was in no hurry to get going.

“We need to get in to work,” Gina said. “You want to let your dad know we’re leaving?”

Annie cleared her throat. Did her boss really think she could work with everything that was going on? “I need to talk to Leilani’s friends and try to find Tomi.”

“Tomi knows how to contact you. It will be better if you keep your mind on your work, and let the police handle Leilani. There’s nothing you can do about it. I’ve found that during times of stress it’s best to try to maintain normal habits.”

“I don’t think I can do that,” Annie said softly. “I’d like to take the rest of the week off.”

“Fawn’s absence leaves us shorthanded. I really need you today.”

“I’m not even dressed,” Annie said desperately.

“I’ll go on ahead. You can come after you get ready. But don’t be too late. You and Jillian need to figure out what’s wrong with that computer model and get it right.” Her tone softened. “This is for your own good, Annie. Believe me, I know it’s best to keep busy.”

Annie knew Gina was probably right, but she wanted to
do
something
. Every day that ticked by without knowing what had happened to Leilani deepened her dread. Wilson curled at her feet, and Annie picked him up.