Black Sands (25 page)

“Hi.” She smiled up at him.

How did she do that? He felt as powerful as King Kamehameha when he was with her. She barely reached his shoulder and looked as fragile as a ginger lei. “Where’s your dad?” That was a stupid question. She made him scatterbrained.

She blinked and her smile faded. “He’s coming with Gina.”

He tried to recover his wits. “Love is still in the air, huh?”

“Looks like it.” She turned to Kaia. “How’s Jillian doing?”

Kaia nodded toward the casket. “Not good. Heidi is taking it really hard too. Jillian is still torn up over not hearing his reasons for what he did. I don’t think she’s slept at all.”

“Does Sam have any idea who killed him?” Annie’s lips trembled.

“Tomi is his main suspect.” Mano shifted, wondering why he was feeling so on edge. Was it Annie’s presence? His agitation was increasing. Sweat beaded on his forehead. He had breakfast, didn’t he? He couldn’t remember if his watch alarm had gone off to remind him. He couldn’t seem to move his tongue right, and his thoughts were slow. He probably ought to eat something. He put his hand in his pocket and came up empty. Had he left his candy in the car? He couldn’t wrap his mind around the questions.

He started toward the door and stumbled. His vision was fuzzy, and he felt he was walking in lava that was hardening around his feet. “Are you okay?” he heard someone ask as if from a great distance. The words he tried to form wouldn’t congeal in his mouth. He stumbled again, then fell to his knees.

Annie was instantly at his side. “What’s wrong?”

She tried to help him stand, but his head was spinning. “I need some candy or orange juice,” he whispered.

She grabbed her purse, opened it, and dumped the contents on the floor. Mano was vaguely aware of people gathering around them. If he didn’t feel so sick, he’d be mortified, but all he wanted now was something sweet.

Annie shoved a piece of hard candy in his mouth. “It’s old, but it’s sweet.”

Sour apple flavor flooded his mouth, and he sucked on the sugary treat. He prayed for the reaction to pass so he could get to his feet and gather his dignity again. Annie was on one side of him, and his sister was on the other.

Jesse, Kaia’s fiancé, moved her out of the way and grabbed his arm. “Can you stand, buddy?”

“Give me another minute,” he mumbled. His vision sharpened, and his thoughts began to present themselves in logical order again. He wondered if he’d said anything stupid. He glanced at Annie but saw only concern, not disgust or pity. Pity was something he couldn’t stand. He put his head between his knees and began to feel better. Raising his head, he grabbed Jesse’s hand.

Jesse hoisted Mano to his feet. “Steady.”

“I’m good now.”

“Maybe we should call a doctor.” His sister sounded fretful.

He was going to have to tell them. His gaze sought Annie’s, and he took strength in the concern he saw there. He looked away. Better not to see the pity and disgust come. “I’m fine. It was just a—a low blood-sugar reaction.”

“What do you mean? You have hypoglycemia or something?” Kaia demanded.

“More than that. I have diabetes.” He heard Annie’s tiny gasp but couldn’t bring himself to look at her.

“Diabetes?” Kaia grabbed his arm. “How long have you known? And why didn’t you tell me? Does Bane know, or the rest of the family?”

Mano shook his head. “I haven’t told anyone. That’s why I couldn’t remember what happened when I lost Tomi in the water. I had a severe diabetic reaction. Blacked out. I had several more before I figured out what was wrong. I just found out for sure a month ago. I’m still figuring out how to manage it.”

“Don’t badger him,” Jesse said. His shrewd gaze lingered on Mano’s face. “Hard to admit a weakness, huh?”

“You got it.” Mano was feeling stronger by the minute.

“Oh, you men make me so mad!” Splotches of color stained Kaia’s face. She stared at Jesse with fire in her eyes. “It’s not unmanly to admit a weakness. Mano is as strong as a whale. So what if he has diabetes? It doesn’t make him a weakling.”

“It’s hard to deal with finding out your body is betraying you,” Mano said. “I guess I didn’t want to admit even to myself that there was something I couldn’t lick.” He finally dared to look at Annie again. Still no pity. If he wasn’t still so befuddled, he might actually believe there was some love in her expression as well. He shook his head slightly to clear it.

“Why didn’t you tell me that’s what happened when you were trying to save Tomi?”

“I didn’t want your pity.”

She flinched. “What’s your prognosis? I don’t know much about diabetes.” She sounded worried.

“I’ll be fine. I just have to take insulin shots and monitor my meals. I messed up this morning. I was in such a hurry I didn’t eat right. I’m okay now.”

“Good, because the funeral is about to start.” Annie took his arm in a matter-of-fact way. “I want to sit at the back and see who all is here. They say a murderer usually returns to his victim. Maybe whoever killed Noah is here.”

A
nnie’s heels sank into the soft, uneven ground, and she stumbled. Mano caught her arm, and she gave him a grateful smile. Most of the mourners were beginning to disband after the interment ceremony. She had seen no suspicious characters at the funeral, just close family and a few of Noah’s friends.

Mano drew her toward a lovely Hawaiian woman who stood off to one side. “
Makuahine
, I’d like you to meet Annie. Annie, this is my mother, Faye Latchet.”

His mother? Annie had heard his mother had deserted him when he was a kid. But there was no mistaking the resemblance. Mano had her eyes.

Faye held out her hand. “I’ve heard so much about your family. I’m sorry to hear about the problems you’ve all been having.”

Annie shook her hand. “
Mahalo
. Are you going to be on the island long?”

Faye patted her son’s hand with obvious fondness. “I was going to leave this afternoon, but I might hang around a day or two and make sure Mano is going to be okay. I heard about the low blood-sugar attack that happened before I arrived.”

“I’m fine.” Mano waved his hand. An irritated frown crouched between his eyes. “I hate people to fuss over me. Just drop it.”

His mother’s uncertain laugh touched Annie. Their relationship must be fragile. She glanced toward Mano to reprove him, but a movement caught her attention. A big man stood on the grass by a mausoleum. He wasn’t looking at the structure though, he was staring at the group under the awning. Could it be Tab Watson? “Mano, who is the man back there? Is it Tab Watson?”

Mano turned to look, then his frown deepened. “Sure is. Or rather it’s Kim Aki, his real name.” He turned back around. “I don’t want him to see me until I’m ready to talk to him.”

The color in his mother’s cheeks waned. “Aki? The same one who was involved with Kaia’s kidnapping?”

“Yeah, that’s him.”

“Why isn’t he in jail?” She started toward Aki, but Mano grabbed her arm.

“He turned state’s evidence.”

Faye was glaring at the man, and Annie had to cover her smile with her hand. She was like a bantam hen ready to defend her chicks. Maybe they were alike, in spite of their obvious differences of dress and elegance. Annie caught Mano’s eye, and he grinned and winked at her. He put his arm around his mother. “Let’s go back to town, and I’ll buy you a fruit smoothie.”

Annie cast a last look over her shoulder at Aki, but he’d left. She wondered if he was the one who had killed Noah.

Nineteen

A
fter the fruit smoothie, Mano, Annie, and Fawn dropped his mother at the airport, then went back to the funeral home. Annie’s SUV wouldn’t start when they arrived, so Mano volunteered to take her and Fawn home. They dropped Fawn off, then drove to Annie’s. The two hardly spoke on the way home. Mano seemed to be able to sense her mood, a rare ability. She liked the way she could be quiet around him without any discomfort.

She dropped her purse on the end table. “Want some coffee?” she asked him.

He grimaced. “Your coffee is like tea. I’ll fix it.”

He went toward the kitchen with the natural movements of someone who had been at home here for many years. Annie didn’t want to think about how well he fit into her life. His presence here was temporary. She sat on the couch and leaned her head back. Wilson chirped at Annie’s feet. “I’m fine, Wilson.” She lifted her head and looked at the mongoose. Once he knew he had her attention, he ran in a circle chasing his tail, then ran straight up the wall. She laughed, and he ran to her and climbed into her lap. She ran her fingers over his sleek head.

She didn’t know what was going to happen to Tomi. Had the men at the bank followed him? Was he in danger? When he turned up, he’d explain how his tags got to Noah’s body.

Soon the aroma of coffee began to drift into the living room. “Smells strong,” she called.

“It will help us think,” Mano said, carrying two steaming cups into the room. He handed one to her.

She took it and sniffed. “I’m not sure I’m up for shaving my legs tonight.”

He burst into laughter. Wilson raised his head in alarm. Mano’s grin was still wide when he nodded. “Try it. You have good Kona coffee, and even strong, it’s not bitter.”

She took a cautious sip. He’d laced it with a hefty dose of sugar and milk. “It’s good,” she said.

He grinned. “Told you. I’ll make a real coffee drinker of you yet.”

She wished that meant he’d be around to affect her that way. Averting her gaze, she sipped at her drink.

“You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what?”

“Pulling into yourself. Shutting me out when I say anything about being part of your life.”

But what part? That was the trouble. She wanted more from him than he would give, she was sure of it. Before she could frame an answer, the doorbell rang. Glancing through the window, she saw the mailman standing on the walk. She scooted Wilson off her lap, and he growled in protest. She gave him a reassuring pat and went to the door. “Hi, Paul.”

“Got a registered letter for you, Annie.” The mailman handed her a green card to sign.

She scribbled her name, took the letter, and waved good-bye to Paul. The return address filled her with dread. Aloha Bank. She stared at it in her hand, wanting to put off the inevitable as long as she could.

“You okay?” Mano stood in the entry to the living room.

“Fine.” She ripped the letter open. Scanning the letter, she inhaled.

“Bad news?”

“Yeah.” She rubbed her forehead. She might as well tell him. The whole town would know soon enough that she had failed to help her father keep the land that had been in their family for over fifty years. “The bank is foreclosing.”

He took the letter from her fingers and glanced at it. “You still have thirty days to pay the back payments and penalties.”

“The penalties are almost as much as we owe.”

“Highway robbery.” Mano sounded disgusted.

“I have to figure out a way to pay it. We can’t wait and let the casino pick it up for peanuts after the bank forecloses.”

“I could help you.”

Annie was touched, but she didn’t want him to see it. “I can’t let you do that.”

Mano handed the letter back to her. “Have you talked to your father about it?”

“He’s always liked me to handle the finances.” She hated handling the money, but she’d never been able to tell her father. If she’d only been honest about how bad she was with finances, they wouldn’t be in this fix.

“This isn’t your fault, Annie. Your father is the man of the family. It was his responsibility, and he should be involved in figuring out the answer. He wanted the money for his research. Maybe he could pay it back with grant money.”

“Maybe.” Annie went down the hall to the living room. She knew better than to expect any help from her father. He would be sure to lay the blame firmly at her feet.

M
ano grabbed the jumper cables out of the garage; then he and Annie returned to her Nissan. He got it started, then followed her home to make sure she made it safely. As he drove, he thought of what he could do to help her. He couldn’t pay the mortgage off, but he could at least get it caught up.

When she pulled into the driveway, he stuck his hand out the window and waved, then drove away. Glancing at the clock on the dash, he realized his mother should have gotten back to Kaua’i by now. He pulled out his cell phone.

“Hey,
Tûtû Kâne
, how are you feeling?” he asked when his grandfather answered the phone.

“Mano, I was just talking about you. Your mother is here too.”

“Checking up on you, huh? You’d better listen to her.”

“Oh, she’s making me toe the line.”

“Bane said you’d been a little under the weather. Have you been to the doctor?”

“I just got back. I’m fit as a fiddle. It was just the beginning of an ulcer. Your mother has me on apple-cider vinegar morning and evening, and some enzymes. I’m already feeling better.”

“Great! Listen, could you do me a favor? You or
Makuahine
?”

“Your mother is riding herd over me pretty hard, so maybe you’d better let her do whatever you need.”

“Sure, put her on.”

He heard the sound of fumbling and his grandfather calling loudly. Mano’s mother came on. “Missing me already, Mano?” Her voice was teasing.

“Always. Listen, I need to have some money transferred from my savings to checking. My bankbook is in the safe in my old bedroom. Could you transfer five thousand dollars for me?”

“Sure, son. But is everything okay? Do you have enough? I can give you whatever you need.”

His mother had been trying to make it up to the three kids for her abandonment when they were children. She didn’t seem to understand that they’d forgiven her and still loved her.

“I’ve got enough.”

The worry in her voice softened. “I’m being a mother hen again, aren’t I? Sorry.”

“It’s okay. So, when can you run over to the bank for me? I really need access to it right away.”

“I can do it now while your grandfather takes a nap.”

“I’m too young to nap like a baby,” Mano heard his grandfather call. He grinned. “Tell
Tûtû Kâne
if he’s good you’ll bring him a new whoopee cushion.”