Distant Echoes (16 page)

She worked with Nani for an hour; then her lids began to grow heavy, and she knew she had to get some rest. On her way to the truck, she heard the phone ringing in the office over the loudspeaker. They had it set up that way so no one felt they had to stay inside when they could be working with the dolphins. No one was here but her. Maybe it was Jenny. Kaia hoped her coworker didn’t have any ill effects from the night’s escapade.

She entered the office and grabbed the phone. “Seaworthy Labs.”

An unfamiliar man’s voice came over the line. “I was about to hang up.”

The guy sounded irritated, and Kaia’s back stiffened. “We’re actually closed,” she informed him. “It’s Saturday.”

“Is Mr. Latchet around?”

“No, like I said, the lab is closed.”

“You can take a message. Tell him Aloha Sea Park called, and I need to reschedule my tour of the facility. I don’t want to cancel it though. I’m very interested in partnering with Mr. Latchet in building a sea park.”

Kaia promised to relay the message and hung up. Anger drove away her exhaustion, and she considered heading straight for the Latchet house to plead with Curtis to stop all plans to capture her dolphins. But she knew she’d get nowhere when she was this mad. She glanced at her watch. She could go see Mano. Worry about what he was getting into with Pele Hawai´i wouldn’t leave her alone. She still hadn’t decided whether to confide her fears to Bane and ask him to try to extricate their brother from his involvement.

She drove out to her brother’s house. A block one-story house, it was basic and plain, but Mano had spent a lot of time and money on the yard, and flowers bloomed along the lava-chip path to the door. As she approached, she saw Mano talking with another man. The man wore a navy uniform, and she saw the captain’s bars on his shirt. Mano stood at attention, but even from here she could see the tension in his jaw matched the rigidity in his back. His hands clenched and unclenched as he stared the other officer in the face.

Maybe she should stay in her truck. She didn’t want to interrupt something important. The officer shook his finger in Mano’s face, and it was all Kaia could do to stay in her vehicle and not fly to her brother’s defense. Mano wouldn’t thank her for humiliating him by interfering. She’d tried that once when he was in high school. He’d been in a schoolyard fight, and she’d launched herself onto the pad to pummel the back of a boy who had pinned him.

It had been months before Mano deigned to look at her or speak. Guys were weird about girls defending them. Kaia rolled her window down, but the wind was blowing the wrong direction for her to be able to hear. It rustled the leaves in the monkeypod tree along the driveway. She was going to have to wait it out.

Her nerves were already strung as tightly as vines through the jungle. She wondered if Mano’s obsession with Pele Hawai´i had gotten back to the navy. They wouldn’t be happy about one of their own putting himself in a potentially traitorous position.

Chewing on her thumbnail, she wondered what she could do to prove to Mano that his so-called friends were behind the problems at the base. Kaia was sure Nahele and his cohorts had been planning something the night she ran into them at the lagoon. If only she had some kind of proof. Mano was too firmly entrenched in their camp to listen.

Leaning her head back against the headrest, she closed her eyes. Her anger toward Curtis had waned, and the night’s hard work was beginning to take its toll. The buzz of insects outside and the rustle of the wind in the leaves soothed her, and she felt her muscles relax. She sank down into the welcome arms of sleep.

Kaia awoke and sat up. She glanced at her watch. It was nearly eleven. She’d been sleeping here for an hour and a half. She heard the roosters crowing, something that occurred any time of the day. Groaning as her muscles complained of their cramped position in the truck, she got out and headed to the house.

“Mano?” She opened the screen door and went inside, but her brother wasn’t in the small three-room house. He had a hobby shop in the shed out back. Maybe he was there. She went through the kitchen and out the back door. The shed’s door stood open, and she could hear the murmur of voices as she approached.

She recognized the deep tenor of her brother’s voice. The shop door opened outward, and she paused behind it where she couldn’t be seen. She shouldn’t be eavesdropping on Mano, but she had to know what was going on.

Peeking through the crack by the hinges, she could see the two men with her brother. One was a big Hawaiian. When he turned slightly, she could see a birthmark on the side of his nose. She thought she might have seen him at the Pele meeting she’d attended.

Nudging nearer the crack, she listened.

Mano was raising his voice. “I don’t know how you can question my loyalty. The navy just told me I have to quit the organization. I told them no. Because my boss likes me, he’s giving me the option to resign my commission or I’ll be court-martialed.”

The big man spoke. “We heard. But you’ve got to prove it to us one more time. The navy has taken our land long enough. They’re going to find out they have no right to be here.”

“What did you have in mind?” Mano’s voice was low and intense.

Kaia tensed. Surely her brother wouldn’t strike at the military. He’d been proud of his military service until Pele Hawai´i had twisted his values.

The other man laughed, but it wasn’t a nice sound. “I was thinking a nice, big bomb. Something that will put us on the front page of every paper.”

“What will that accomplish?”

At least Mano was questioning the insane suggestion. Kaia wondered if she should enter the shop and break up this little meeting. Mano would be furious though.

“They’ll know we’re about more than just talk. Our numbers will grow as Hawaiians see we are serious enough to put action behind our words.”

Mano seemed to weigh this. “Okay,” he finally said. “I’ve got an idea. Where do I get the explosives?”

Was that eagerness in his voice? Kaia wanted to slam the door and lock Mano in until she could get Bane and her grandfather here to talk sense into him. On second thought, he’d never listen to Bane. She was going to have to figure out a way to save Mano from himself.

The big man took a paper out of his pocket. “We have the firepower stashed here.” They all bent over the paper.

A
fter only four hours of sleep, Kaia still felt sluggish. Traipsing down the stone steps, she felt beaten down by what she’d overheard at Mano’s. This was too big for her. Could Mano’s involvement with Nahele have caused their cousin’s death? She didn’t have the strength or the resources to help her brother. She’d have to ask Jesse for help and pray he wouldn’t turn her brother in.

When Kaia stepped into her grandfather’s cottage, she was enveloped by the aroma of sweet potatoes and roast turkey. She followed the fragrance to the kitchen and found her grandfather at the oven. “What can I do to help,
Tutu kane
?”

“Everything is almost ready,
lei aloha
. You can set the table.”

Kaia nodded and went to the old pie safe her great-grandfather had made. She pulled out the Banana Patch Studio pottery she’d bought him for Christmas last year. The Plumeria Collection of dinnerware in blue and yellow lifted her spirits. Though she’d spent two weeks’ wages on it, it was worth every penny, she thought, running her hands over the bottom of a hand-painted plate.

Glancing at the table, she saw her grandfather had
opihi
as an appetizer. Whatever he wanted to discuss with them must be important if he’d plunked down the money for the highly prized limpet.

Her brothers came in as their grandfather set the last of the food on the table.
Tutu kane
sat at the head. He gave thanks then began to pass the food around. Bane talked about his day out fishing, but Mano didn’t have much to say. Kaia wished she could tell him she’d overheard him, but she bit her tongue.

When their grandfather had finished serving the dessert—
haupia
, a custard made with coconut—he placed his hands on the table and glanced around at his grandchildren. “I have something I wish to discuss with you. This affects all of you, so I didn’t want to do it unless I had unanimous approval.”

All three grandchildren put down their spoons and looked at him. Kaia could feel the curiosity zip between them. Their grandfather was seldom so serious. Dark circles rimmed his eyes, and she wondered if he’d slept last night. Could he be sick? She tried to remember if he’d been to the doctor lately.

“Are you okay,
Tutu kane
?” she asked timidly.

“I’m fine. Physically at least.” Her grandfather’s smile was kind. “But I’m seventy-eight. Who knows how many more years the good Lord will grant me? There is one thing I want before I die—to know what has become of your mother.”

Of all the things Kaia had been expecting, she’d never imagined this. Her gut clenched, and the taste of coconut rose from her stomach. “Is this another of your jokes?” she asked, her suspicions rising.

“No joke this time.”

He was still smiling, but not with mirth.

“Do you have any idea how we might accomplish that?” Bane asked.

Her brother’s calm tone upset Kaia more than her grandfather’s request. How could Bane act like it was perfectly all right? Was she the only sane person left in this family? No one in their right mind would willingly seek out someone who had left so much pain in her wake. Paie Oana had been like an octopus who sucked the life out of her family and left the shell of the remains behind.

“I don’t want to find her. She’s better left in the past.” Kaia folded her arms over her chest. “Why do you want to find her after all this time? If she wanted to see us, she knows where we are.”

“I’ve told myself that for years,” her grandfather agreed. “I’ve been thinking about it for a year. It was the one regret your grandmother had when she passed on—that she never knew what had become of Paie. I woke up in the night last week and realized I didn’t want to die with that same regret. And I want the three of you to have closure as well.”

“It’s closed as far as I’m concerned,” Kaia said. More than closed. Dead and buried.

“I’m for it,” Bane said. “How do we do it?”

“We hire a private investigator,” their grandfather said.

“No!” Kaia cast a
help me!
look at Mano and began to gather the dirty dishes. Mano looked away.

“And you need to think about extending aloha to our mother.” Bane’s voice was grim. “
Tutu kane
is right. It’s time we know. Pray about it.”

Kaia carried the dirty dishes to the sink. Her mother deserved no aloha. There was nothing to pray about as far as she was concerned. She stormed into the bathroom, grabbed her toothbrush and began to brush.

Twelve

T
he man paced across the room. The woman and her dolphin were beginning to be a problem. If they found his underwater transmission site, he was in trouble. He pressed the phone against his ear.

The voice on the other end of the phone raised a notch. “She has no idea what we were doing. She’s not really a problem.”

“So you say. The big day is in less than two weeks. I’ve got everything riding on this.” No one knew just how much. If he succeeded, he stood to regain all he’d lost. Money, prestige, a purpose. If he failed . . . but he couldn’t let himself think that way. It would be sinking back into the old patterns that had brought his first defeat so many years ago.

His father’s name was rarely spoken now, but that would change in a few short weeks. His name would be on lips across the world. He shook off the fear that clouded his mind. Fear was his only
real enemy. If he could defeat the fear of failure, he could beat anything.

K
aia went home and tried not to worry about Mano’s betrayal or her grandfather’s plans. She tried to focus on what she’d try next with Nani but found it impossible to concentrate. Her thoughts kept drifting back to Mano. She had left
Tutu kane
’s without talking to him. Now was as good a time as any. She had a couple of hours before it was time to meet Jesse.

Grabbing her keys, she hurried to her truck and drove back to her brother’s. A yellow glow of lamplight shone from his front window when she pulled into the driveway. She wasn’t sure how to bring up the subject. He’d take one look at her face and know something was wrong.

She didn’t even have time to knock on the door when Mano threw it open. “I heard your truck.” His gaze lingered on her face. “Have you been crying?”

She thought she’d washed all traces away. Her lips tightened, and she shut the door behind her. “I need to talk to you.” He was going to get mad and defensive, but she couldn’t help that.

“So talk.” Mano pointed at the brown couch, a hand-me-down from Aunt Edena. He sat down and began to twirl a pencil in his fingers.

Kaia sank onto the worn fabric. “I might as well tell you—I overheard you today.”

His fingers stilled. “When—what do you mean?”

She could hear the caution in his voice, and it broke her heart. There had never been this distance between them. “When you were talking to the Pele Hawai’i men,” she said softly. “Don’t do this, Mano. Don’t commit treason. That’s what this is. I couldn’t bear it if you were sent to prison. It would kill
Tutu kane
.”

“You don’t understand, Kaia,” Mano began. “Stay out of it.”

“I can’t. You’re my brother. I love you.” She leaned forward. “Walk away. Now.”

“I can’t. It’s gone too far.” His jaw was hard as he stood and turned his back to her.

She touched his shoulder. “I’m here for you, Mano. I’ll do anything I can to help.”

“I don’t need your help.” He turned toward the kitchen. “I’ll get you some coffee and we can talk about something else.”

J
esse was napping on the couch in his office when his cell phone chirped. He raised his eyebrows at the name on the caller ID. Kaia rarely ever called him, and even before he answered it, he had the feeling it was bad news. “Matthews.”

“Jesse, we need to talk. Where can I meet you?” Kaia’s voice sounded strained.