Black Sands (4 page)

Those busy fingers quickly set the dressing table to rights. She wore an expression of intense concentration, and Mano wondered what she was thinking. He couldn’t believe the Tagama family would have to endure another tragic loss. He hoped Leilani was off somewhere with a new friend. She never met a stranger, and she was always on the lookout for fun. She’d turn up in a day or two laughing about all the fuss. Or else . . . Another idea surfaced, and he turned it over in his mind.

Annie turned, and Mano caught a glimpse of fear in her eyes. His hope about Leilani vanished. Before he could stop himself, he touched Annie’s shoulder as she started to walk by.

She stopped, and her eyes widened. Her lips trembled, and she pressed them together and jerked her body away. She stalked past him and hurried through the door and down the hall. Mano drew in a deep breath. His gaze met Edega’s, and the older man looked away. His expression turned vague, and he vanished down the hall after his daughter.

Sam raised his brows. “Am I picking up some tension here?”

“What was your first clue? They blame me for Tomi’s death.”

Sam grunted. “You do leave a trail of damage behind wherever you go.”

Mano turned and went down the hall. Sam brushed past him to enter the living room first. Mano listened as Sam offered reassurance to the Tagamas and then departed. Once Annie closed the door behind the officer, Mano glanced at the boxes he’d hauled in from the car. Could his flash of inspiration be right? “I went through the apartment and boxed up everything of Tomi’s.” He laid his hand on the top box. “This one is his clothing, and the other two boxes have stuff like electronics and his personal things.” His voice faltered when he saw Annie’s eyes tear up. He dropped his gaze.

“
Mahalo
for bringing them.” Annie’s voice was a stilted whisper. Her gaze locked on the boxes. She reached out her right hand and then drew it back.

Mano wanted to bolt for the car, but he had to finish. “I’d like to talk to you both for a few minutes. Can we sit down?” He didn’t wait for an answer but moved to the sofa and perched on the edge of the cushion.

Edega frowned as he went to his recliner by the window. “Annie will listen. Then I would ask you to leave us.”

Even Annie winced at her father’s attitude. Wilson came out from under the chair, and she picked him up and began to stroke his head. Mano eyed the mongoose and wondered about Annie’s purpose in keeping it. Most people on Hawai’i hated the animals for destroying the bird population, and Annie had never been one to go against the grain. She cared too much about what other people thought of her. The animal must mean a lot to her for some reason.

Mano forced the muscles in his jaw to relax.
Just get it over with.
Annie moved to the chair opposite him. She was staring at a spot just past his right shoulder. A cramp lodged in the calf of his leg, and he began to jiggle his knee up and down.

He wasn’t sure how to start. The silence between them seemed to have a life of its own. Mano heard a mynah squawk from the trees behind the house. A breeze brought the scent of white ginger through the open windows. He tried to gather his thoughts, but they remained a jumble of regret, fear, and anticipation. He cleared his throat.

Annie finally lifted her gaze to his face. “This isn’t a good time. What do you want with us?”

“I thought you might have questions about what happened.” Mano held her gaze.

She swallowed but continued to stare at him steadily. “I have all kinds of questions. Most importantly, why?”

He wanted to pretend he didn’t know what she meant, but he couldn’t play that kind of game with them. But oh, how he didn’t want to explain. “I wish I could make sense of how it happened, but it’s still confused in my head.”

Annie leaned forward. “You let go of him, Mano. He trusted you, and you let him down. And us as well. He would have drowned before he let go of you.” Tears magnified her eyes. “Explain it then.” Wilson squeaked in her grip.

He found himself caught in the depths of her pain-filled eyes. “The mission had been meticulously planned. Four of us were to parachute down with two Zodiac rubber boats. Tomi and I had our scuba gear, and it was our job to extract the kidnapped prisoners from that Iranian hellhole. The drop went just like we’d planned. The boats inflated, and Tomi and I went overboard and swam along the bottom of the bay to shore.” He swallowed hard. He wished he could leave without telling them the full story.

Edega moved toward the door. “I’ll be in my office.” He slammed the door to the garage behind him.

Annie put out her hand as though to stop her father, but Edega didn’t see. What had happened to the caring man Mano used to admire? Mano hadn’t expected a red-carpet welcome, but he had assumed the family dynamics would be the same. Instead, Edega had turned into a petulant child who depended on his daughter for everything. And Annie let him. He wished someone else would help her deal with what he had to tell her.

“Go on,” Annie said.

The cramp in Mano’s leg grew, and he stood and went to stare out the window. He couldn’t watch her face. “When we got to shore, they were waiting for us.” He curled his fingers into the palms of his hands. “Bullets flew around us. Tomi was hit right off. He yelled at me to get out of there. I remember grabbing him and dragging him into the water with me. We left our dive gear behind so we could move faster. We were swimming for the boat.”
Tell her.
He resisted the impulse. No amount of explanation about his illness would erase what he’d done. Revealing his weakness would make it worse, not better. “I don’t remember anything after that until I woke up on the ship, and they were asking about Tomi.”

“That’s it? You don’t remember? You
have
to remember what happened.”

He wheeled. Her eyes were dark pools in a face as pale as jasmine rice. “It’s the truth. I can’t change it.”

“I’ve heard enough of this tall tale.” She stood. “Get out.”

“There’s more, Annie.”

“I won’t listen to another word.” She grabbed his arm and tried to tug him away from the window. Surprisingly strong for such a tiny woman, she pulled him toward the door.

He didn’t try to fight her. At the door, her grip slackened, and he pulled his arm from her grasp. “I found a bank account book in Tomi’s things. There’s two million dollars in it.” He plunged his hand into his pocket and withdrew the slim booklet.

Annie swayed as she stared at the account book in his hand. “You’re lying,” she whispered. She reached out to take the book, then snatched her hand back.

“I wish I were.”

“Where did it come from?”

“I don’t know,” he said simply. “Tomi was my best friend. I thought I knew everything about him. I want to figure out what happened to him, Annie. And where he got this money. When we were doing reconnaissance for the rescue mission, Tomi got involved with the consul’s daughter. But I can’t believe . . .” The questions had eaten at him the whole time he was recuperating.
Had his best friend betrayed them all for money?

“You’re despicable,” Annie said. “Now you’re accusing him of espionage? I’m not going to listen to another word of this.” She tried to close the door, even though he stood in the way.

“Wait,” he said. “I don’t think he’s dead. And I’m wondering if maybe Leilani is with him.”

Three

A
nnie’s legs wouldn’t support her, and she leaned against the doorjamb. Wilson made a noise and nibbled on her cheek. She rubbed the mongoose’s head. “What are you saying?” A sudden spurt of hope shot through her. Could Tomi be alive? Fear warred hope. What did the money mean? And why would Tomi let them think he’d died?

“I know this is a shock,” Mano said, his tone suddenly gentle. He took her elbow and guided her to the couch.

She sank onto the sofa. “How could he still be alive? The navy said he was dead.”

“He was assumed lost at sea. I thought I let go somehow. But I’m telling you the truth: I just don’t know what happened.”

When Annie was five, she got lost in the rain forest. She wandered in the brush for eight hours before her parents found her. The same panic rushed at her now, the sense of losing the landmarks, of wandering in a strange land where what was once familiar became distorted and menacing. If what Mano said was true, their lives were about to be turned upside down. Again. Hadn’t they suffered enough?

She reminded herself that Mano let go of her brother. Maybe this false hope was his way of dealing with the guilt. If Tomi were alive, he would have contacted her by now. “Have you told the navy about the money?”

He shook his head. He hesitated. “If Tomi is alive, he’ll be in big trouble with the navy. He’s AWOL, and if the money—” He shook his head. “I don’t want to tip them off yet.”

“How do you know he’s alive?” Just saying the word
alive
made her heart race.
Alive, alive.
Tomi might walk through the door any minute. Was it possible? She warned herself not to get her hopes up.

“He called me two nights ago.”

She wanted to believe him. But why would Tomi call Mano but not her? “You’re sure it was Tomi?”

His gaze dropped. “I think so. He said it was, and it sounded like him.”

Annie allowed the smallest hope to flicker a little stronger in spite of the trace of doubt in Mano’s voice. “What did he say?”

“He told me to bring the bankbook to you, that he’d get in touch with you to get it back.” Mano pursed his mouth, and a line of worry crept between his eyes. “I would rather not involve you in this, but I didn’t know what else to do. I had no idea Leilani was missing.”

“What makes you think she’s with Tomi?” Annie could only hope that was true. Her brother doted on Leilani. He wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her.

“It makes sense that maybe he got in touch with her.”

“Then what about this necklace?” She held out the delicate pendant.

“Tell me exactly where you found it.” His expression sharpened.

Mano had a way of focusing on a problem so intently that he gave her confidence. Almost against her will, she stepped closer to him and began to tell him about her afternoon. His dark eyes never wavered from her face. Maybe he could figure this out. Though she still wasn’t ready to believe everything he was saying, she allowed herself to lower her guard and hope he might get to the bottom of this.

“So no one else was on the lava shelf ? Had you been there long?”

“I was taking readings. We were there maybe an hour.”

“Annie Tagama, volcano cowboy.” He grinned. “Or I guess I should say cow
girl
.”

If he only knew how ridiculous that was these days. She was a volcano
coward
now. He hadn’t said anything about her limp. Maybe he hadn’t noticed. “Do you suppose Tomi could have dropped it there on purpose so I’d find it? Maybe it was supposed to be a message.”

“What kind of message? Why wouldn’t he have just told me?”

“I don’t know. But it might explain the necklace’s presence.”

Mano nodded. “She’d never go out there, would she? She avoided the volcano like swimmers avoid jellyfish.”

“I know, that’s what worries me. I should have looked around a little more.” She glanced out the window. “It’s still light enough to see. Maybe I’ll run back over there.” Her gut clenched at the thought of going near that shelf again.

“I’ll go with you.”

He was always one to step into the gap, but she couldn’t let him. Not this time. “I’ll handle it. It’s my problem.”

“It’s mine too. Tomi is my best friend. And you and Leilani are like—like sisters to me. I’ve got a month’s leave coming. I’m staying until we get to the bottom of this.”

He might think of her as a sister, but he’d wanted more from Leilani. The problem was Annie always wanted to be more than a sister to Mano. She thought she’d pulled that yearning out by its roots when they got word of how Tomi died. She must have missed a piece, because it came surging back with one glance into his eyes.

T
he sun bathed the lava fields with a pink glaze. Mano was glad he was wearing his shoes instead of his flip-flops. The
a’a
lava would cut his slippers to ribbons and then start on the soles of his feet. He and Annie skirted a hissing steam vent that belched sulfur and gases in a nauseating stench. Every time he came out here, he wondered how Annie could stand working in such a hellish place.

“It was right in here someplace.” Annie walked slowly and carefully along the lava bench.

Was that fear on her face? He didn’t think she was ever afraid out here. And what caused her limp? From the expression on her set face, he knew now was not the time to ask. He stepped to the edge, where the ground fell away. Steam hissed from fumaroles around the caldera.

“Not there!” she said sharply. “Step away from there.”

Mano glanced over the edge. This area hadn’t had any landslides in decades. Lava no longer encroached here, and the only heat that rolled out was from the underground steam. Still, Leilani would have run screaming in the other direction at the sight. She wouldn’t come right up to the edge. He backed away and returned to the path. “The necklace was found right here?”

She nodded.

He stepped off the path again and headed toward a group of rocks that had been belched from the volcano at some point in the past. The formation reminded him of a pile of cannonballs left over from the Civil War, round and black as though they were waiting to be loaded into the big gun.

The ground was a little smoother here. He’d always been fascinated by volcanoes. It was one reason he’d spent so much time at the Tagama house. The talk around the dinner table between Annie and her father was always interesting. There was a curious chemistry among them all—Annie’s mother, Adele, was so quiet and attuned to all their needs, while her three grown kids and her husband filled the house with noise and excitement. At least two of the kids were noisy. Annie was a carbon copy of her mother, directing everything with a firm yet quiet hand. Adele treated Mano like one of her own, and because his own mother abandoned him when he was a kid, Mano reveled in her attention.