Black Sands Page 16

  “I’ll get the door. Breathe deep.” Fawn hurried to the door and flung it open. “Hey, Mano, come on in. Annie is ready.”

  Mano stepped inside. His gaze went past Fawn and connected with Annie, and his smile faltered. His eyes widened. “Annie?” He cleared his throat. “You, uh, you look nice.”

  Nice. So much for Fawn’s assurance she would wow Mano. Annie forced a smile and dropped Wilson onto the sofa before picking up her handbag. It was going to be a long night. Holding her head high, she went past him toward the car. A feeling as dismal as rain settled in her gut. She wished she could back out of this laughable situation. Only she wasn’t laughing. She realized she’d hoped Mano would take one glance at her and look as dazed as if he’d been hit by a tsunami. Instead he was surely laughing at her. He silently held the car door for her, then climbed in on his side.

  “Your dad’s here.” Mano ran his window down as Edega got out of his car and walked toward them. Annie did the same.

  “Where are you headed?” Edega asked, stopping beside Annie’s open window.

  “Out to dinner.” Too late she realized she hadn’t even thought about what her father was going to eat. Some daughter she was.

  Edega frowned. “Did you transcribe those notes for me?”

  “I’m sorry, Father, there wasn’t time.” She reached toward the door handle with the intention of going back inside.

  Fawn waved from the door. “I’ll do it, Edega.” She winked at Annie. “And I’ll spring for dinner. How does pizza sound?”

  Annie grinned as her father’s expression brightened. She rarely let him eat pizza. It was bad for his cholesterol. It was quite a sacrifice on Fawn’s part too. She thought pizza was of the devil. “Mahalo,” she mouthed to Fawn. Fawn’s smile broadened, and she looked as satisfied as Wilson after a big meal.

  Edega’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do to yourself, Annie? You know I hate paint on a woman’s face.”

  Her smile waned. She looked away from her father’s accusing stare. “Um, it’s nothing,” she mumbled. Didn’t he realize Gina wore makeup too?

  “You go in and wash it off. You can’t go out in public looking like that.”

  Before Annie could slink away to do as her father ordered, Mano put his hand on her wrist. “I think she looks wonderful,” he said. “Have a good evening. We need to go if we’re going to make our reservations.”

  Edega’s eyes widened. His mouth flopped open like a hungry sea turtle, then he pressed his lips together and seemed to gather his thoughts before he began to speak. Annie couldn’t hear what he said, because Mano ran both windows up as he backed out of the driveway. “I’ve always liked your dad, but he’s gotten so autocratic lately. He never used to be like this.”

  “He’s changed since Mother died. I keep thinking he’ll get his feet under him and be the father I used to know. Besides, he’s right this time. I told Fawn I look like a clown.” She willed the words back. Her face burned. The last thing she wanted to do was call attention to the fact that she’d tried to make herself prettier for him. What must he think of her? She turned her head and stared out the window.

  “I think you look great.” He negotiated the narrow road to the restaurant. It had started to rain.

  She’d thought she wanted his attention, but now she wasn’t sure. What would he think if he knew the real Annie? She’d disappointed her father and Leilani so many times. She couldn’t bear to see disappointment in Mano’s eyes. “Did you find Tab Watson?”

  “No luck. I thought I’d look more tomorrow. I checked at the bar, but he wasn’t due in today.” He pulled into the Kilauea Lodge and Restaurant. The place looked a little like a Swiss chalet with stone pillars flanking the wide steps. It sat on a small hillside against a rain forest. The rain was coming down in torrents now. Mano drove past the steps to the parking lot and stopped. He got out and opened Annie’s door while she was still fumbling with her seat belt.

  “You’re getting soaked.” She glanced up at him helplessly. “I can’t get this stupid thing to turn me loose.”

  “It’s tricky.” He leaned past her and fought with the belt buckle.

  Rain trickled down his face and dripped on her blue silk blouse. Annie caught a whiff of Hawaiian Surf Cologne, one of her favorite male scents. It made her think of the sun and salt water. The hair at the nape of his neck was thick and straight. She curled her fingers into her lap to keep from touching it. Her brain was filled with bubbles—light and fizzy—and her pulse galloped.

  The belt released her. Mano took her hand and helped her out of the car. “Mahalo,” she said, careful to keep her head down. The rain struck her cheek, and she tucked her chin into her collar. She didn’t want him to see the heat in her face. What an idiot she was! Her feelings for him had been so much a part of her for so many years she might never get over him. She thought she had, but she was fooling herself.

  Mano’s big hand touched her elbow, and she flinched. She managed a smile and then hurried up the stone steps to the restaurant with his fingers guiding her. The hostess met them at the front door and seated them by the stone fireplace. The room was narrow and filled with so many tables it was hard for the waitress to walk around. Candles on each table cast a soft glow around the room. Annie perused the menu to keep her eyes off the candlelight glinting on Mano’s hair. He was eyeing her over the top of his own menu. If she didn’t know better, she’d think that was rapt admiration in his gaze.

  “It’s always so hard to decide what to eat,” she said. “Maybe I’ll get the leg of antelope filet.”

  “Ooh, feeling adventurous tonight, huh?” Mano grinned and closed his menu. “I think I’ll get the lamb curry with mango chutney. But I want a taste of yours.”

  “As long as you don’t eat it all. I’m hungry.” In truth, she wouldn’t be able to swallow a bite.

  Mano ordered for them, then leaned back in his chair. “How did your dive go today?”

  Annie told him about the adventure, glad for an excuse to watch him as she talked. He listened to her with the same intensity he applied to everything he did. She wasn’t used to the undivided attention. “Did you ever dive to the volcano?”

  He shook his head. “I’ve thought about it but never had the chance.”

  “I’ll be going again if you want to come,” she offered.

  A smile lit his face. “I’d like that.”

  Silence fell between them, but it was the comfortable sort. The hard knots in her shoulders began to soften. Maybe she’d get through this evening without looking like a complete idiot. Or a lovesick teenager. Mano was displaying the graciousness she’d admired in him for years.

  The waitress brought their dinner. Mano bent his head to pray, and Annie glanced around to see if anyone was looking, then lowered her head as well. His deep faith made her uncomfortable yet drew her as well. Maybe that was one of the special qualities he had. That same light seemed to be in Fawn. Annie’s own light sometimes couldn’t even illuminate a handful of fireflies.

  Annie picked up her fork. The appetizing aroma awakened a hunger she’d thought she could ignore. The door opened, and wind blew the rain onto the floor. A couple rushed in from the pouring rain, and Annie glanced over to see Gina come in with her son slouching along behind her.

  Gina stopped at their table while Jason followed the hostess. “I plugged in your data from the dive today, Annie. It’s looking good. The earthquake swarms have increased all day. I think we might be seeing some major activity out there soon. I’d like you to go down again before it gets too dangerous.”

  Mano frowned. “It sounds like it already is too dangerous. Annie said there was so much noise down there today that it was hard to think.”

  Gina waved her hand in an airy motion. “I wouldn’t hesitate to do it myself. She’ll be fine.”

  Annie wanted to point out that Gina took too many chances, but she kept her mouth shut. “I’ll be fine. When do you want us to go?”

  “Did you get Jillian’
s computer model fixed?”

  “That’s the first thing on my agenda for tomorrow.”

  “Let me know when that’s done, and we can make plans for the next dive.” Gina hesitated, and her eyes flickered. “Where’s your dad?”

  “He went for pizza with Fawn.”

  “Isn’t she a little young for him?”

  Annie wanted to laugh at Gina’s shocked tone. Gina had gotten a bad bite from the love bug. If she and her father married, where would Annie go? Fawn would be happy to share an apartment, but that wasn’t the Japanese American way. It was more typical for a daughter to stay under her father’s roof until she married. Annie’s role would be upset though. She would no longer be the one to worry about her father’s cholesterol or to fret when Leilani was out too late. That burden would be Gina’s. The thought left her feeling hollow. How would she cope with not being needed by anyone?

  Mano chuckled. “Fawn is just feeding Edega so Annie could come to dinner with me without guilt.”

  Relief lit Gina’s eyes. “Annie is a good and dutiful daughter.” She touched Annie’s shoulder. “I’d better sit down. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Sounds like love is in the air,” Mano said. He snaked out his hand and grabbed hers.

  Annie curled her fingers though his and smiled. “Gina would be good for my father. He’s been lonely since my mother’s death.” She studied his face. He could be someone to lean on. The thought appealed to her on one level but frightened her on another. Maybe she didn’t know how to turn loose the reins of worry. Maybe that was her way of controlling her life.

  She looked away. What would he say if she told him she’d been in love with him for years? Not that she would ever be brave enough to tell him. He released her fingers, and they finished their dinner. The warmth of Mano’s hand under her elbow unsettled her as they walked back to his car.

  She felt almost smug and definitely desirable on the drive home until her gaze touched the exotic skirt she wore. Leilani’s skirt. Instead of trying to find her sister tonight, she’d stolen her skirt and makeup and was trying to steal an old boyfriend. Her sister might even be dead, though the thought made her chest constrict. Was she trying to become her sister? Could she have subconsciously been happy if Leilani was out of the way? She rejected the idea, but the magic of the night dissipated like the vog after a rain.

  “Want to come in for some Scrabble?” she asked.

  “Still a Scrabble fanatic, huh? I’m not a masochist. You’d pummel me.” He grinned and got out to open her car door. “I’ll take a rain check. I’m beat tonight.” He helped her out of the car then stopped at the front door. “I had a nice time tonight. You’re comfortable to be with, Annie.”

  Comfortable. Like an old shoe. It was hardly a compliment, but Annie decided it would have to do. She’d never be the type to make a man’s heart beat faster. She’d never be Leilani. She whispered a hurried good night and raced inside to her bedroom where she scrubbed her face and took off Leilani’s skirt.

  Fifteen

  The small town of Na’alehu moved sluggishly in the late-afternoon sun. Tourists strolled the streets and poked their heads into small, quaint shops. Mano sat in his car across the street from the Shark Head Bar. He’d been told Tab Watson would be working tonight, and he had to stay alert though he’d like to lean his head back and take a nap.

  Still no word from Tomi. Mano wondered if he’d gone to the bank yesterday by himself. A mauka breeze blew through the open window and lifted the hair on his head. The wind cooled the thin film of perspiration that dampened his face. The cooling action awakened him to the fact that he was hot. Too hot. As the realization came that his body was reacting, the alarm on his watch beeped. Maybe he should set it fifteen minutes ahead. All the activity might be throwing off his usual blood-sugar levels.

  He dug out some cheese and munched it. The jitters began to leave, and his blurry vision cleared. With his brain once more focused, he turned his attention to the building. The employees began to arrive at the bar. An older man unlocked the building and opened the door for two women. Mano waited. The man didn’t fit CeCe’s description of Tab Watson. He unscrewed the top of his water bottle and took a swig. His gaze strayed down the street to the bank. Maybe he should have staked out the bank yesterday. Tomi might have shown up dressed in female clothing.

  Mano straightened up when a tan pickup truck pulled into the parking lot across the street and parked. A man got out, and Mano held his breath. Kim Aki. Kim moved quickly for such a big man. He darted between two parked cars and hurried to the front door of the bar. Once he vanished inside, Mano got out and went to the door.

  Could Kim be Tab Watson? He was big enough to be a bouncer. And he fit the description, though CeCe hadn’t mentioned the birthmark on his face. At the door to the bar, Mano hesitated. Maybe now wouldn’t be the best time to confront Kim. He might not want his employer to know his real identity.

  A murmur of voices drifted out the open window. Mano sidled up to the window and listened, but he couldn’t make out any of the words. Still, something in the tenor of one of the voices caught his attention. He peered through the window and saw two men standing at the bar. Kim’s back was to the window, but there was no mistaking the man who faced the sunlight.

  Tomi Tagama. He’d cut his hair short and dyed it blond. Not an attractive look for him, but it altered his appearance considerably. Mano started to pull away from the window, but Tomi’s gaze met his. Tomi didn’t betray Mano’s presence other than with a mere flicker of his eyes.

  Mano moved away from the window before anyone else could see him. Tomi knew he was out here. He jogged across the street to his car and settled behind the wheel to wait. There was probably a back way out of the Shark Head, but he didn’t think Tomi would try to evade him, not when he likely needed help. He turned on the auxiliary power and found a Hawaiian music station that was playing an Amy Gilliom song. As the sound of her rich voice and Willie K’s twelve-string guitar filled the car, he watched the front of the building.

  Sure enough, fifteen minutes later Tomi darted out the front door and hurried across the street. He got in on the passenger side and shut the door.

  “Are you crazy?” he hissed. “If Watson sees you, he’ll be asking questions I don’t want to answer.”

  “Who’s Watson? The big guy at the bar?”

  “Yeah. You know him?”

  “I know him by another name,” Mano said grimly. What game was the big Hawaiian playing? And how was Tomi involved? “He’s the last one to see your sister. Did you know that?”

  Tomi paled. “He never mentioned he knew Leilani.” His voice cracked.

  “I think you’d better tell me what’s going on between you two,” Mano said.

  Tomi looked in the back of the car at the cooler. “You got any soda?”

  “I’ve got water. Help yourself.”

  Tomi grimaced but reached into the back and pulled out a bottle of water. He took a swallow and shuddered. “Yuck.”

  “Quit procrastinating and just spit it out.”

  Tomi finally looked at him directly. “How much do you really know about my family, Mano?”

  “Apparently not as much as I thought.”

  Tomi chuckled. “My dad built a little house forty years ago and has no idea of the gold mine he’s sitting on.”

  “What are you talking about? The land isn’t worth much.”

  “That’s what I thought too. Look at HOVE. You can buy a lot out there for fifteen thousand dollars. But what would you say if I told you there’s going to be a volcano theme park built out at Aloha Shores, along with a casino and a resort? That changes the value quite a lot, wouldn’t you say?”

  “I already heard about it. But what’s that have to do with Watson?”

  Tomi pressed his lips together. “Watson has connections with the casino. He’s offered us three million dollars for the property.”

  “Your dad will never sell. What’s it to you? Are you unde
rcover?” Tomi looked away, but not before Mano saw pain darken his eyes.

  Tomi shook his head. “I wish I were. It would be easier to get out of this than out of the mess I’ve made of things.”

  “So let’s get you out of it.”

  “Spoken like the friend I know. Mano to the rescue. This is too bad for a quick fix, pal. A Band-Aid won’t do.”

  “Just give the money back to the Iranians and forget the whole thing.”

  “The problem is, I need some of it.” Tomi hunched his shoulders.

  “You’re not serious. You touch it, and you go to prison. What do you need with that kind of money?”

  Tomi took another swig of his water. “I got a call last night. From Afsoon.”

  “I thought you said she was killed.”

  “That’s what I thought. But she lived.” He dropped his head. “You thought you deserted me, and now I find out I deserted her. She borrowed a car to drive me to catch a boat. We were on the end of the pier about to get into the boat when the ambush happened. The bullets were flying. She toppled into the water and was floating face down with blood coming out of her head. I was sure she was dead.”

  “So why call you now? And what about the money?”

  “They’d told her I died. But she overheard her father talking to some flunkies and realized she’d been told a lie. I’ve got to get her out of there. And it’s going to take some dough. A lot of it.” He rubbed his hand through his dyed hair and left it standing in spikes. “Wouldn’t it be poetic justice to use their own money to do it?”

  “Sounds like you still love her.”

  “Yeah, I guess I do. Sap that I am.” He sighed and looked down the street. “I’ve got to get to the bank.”

  “Tomi, you need to give that money back.”

  “I know.” Tomi rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

  “Where does Leilani fit into all this?” Mano decided Tomi had to know more about his sister than he was saying.

  “She doesn’t. That’s what I don’t get. No one’s demanded anything of me. I still wonder if she’s just run off with a boyfriend.”