She found her father engrossed in a TV comedy. He had his feet on the Maru table in front of the sofa. Mother would have had a fit, but Annie didn’t have the heart to scold him. “I’m going to go see Jillian,” she told him.
He grunted and she went out to her SUV. She carried Wilson with her. The mongoose snuggled against her, then looked up as though they were having the most pleasurable evening. Annie laughed and scratched his head. She’d leave him home, but Heidi loved the mongoose. Of course the keiki loved anything that flew, swam, or crawled. Annie ran her window down and let the fragrant scent of plumeria waft over her. The natural aromatherapy eased the knots in her shoulders.
She dug out her cell phone and made sure it was on. There was no sign of any missed calls. Leilani might call any minute. Or Tomi. But why hadn’t they called already? They knew how Annie worried. Driving down the dark, narrow road, she tried not to think of the heiau. She shivered in spite of the warm air.
Lights blazed from Jillian’s house. Annie pulled in and gathered up Wilson, who squeaked, then wriggled with excitement as Annie approached the house. She heard the sound of women’s voices through the screen door. Maybe it was the TV. She didn’t see any extra cars in the driveway, only Jillian’s red Neon.
Heidi came to the door moments after Annie knocked. “You brought Wilson,” she squealed, swinging open the screen door. She clicked her tongue. “Hi, Wilson. Want to come see me?” She held out her arms and the mongoose moved toward her, then fell into her arms like a rag doll. He was so spoiled.
Almost immediately, Heidi’s cat came out from behind the sofa. Wilson and Checkers had formed an uneasy truce, though Annie often caught the cat licking her chops when she watched the mongoose. Checkers meowed and leaped at Wilson, but the mongoose uttered a warning noise, letting her know he was king of the roost now, and she’d better beware. The cat dashed back to her hiding place.
“Keep an eye on them,” Annie told Heidi. “Is your mom in the kitchen?”
“Uh-huh,” Heidi said from where she sprawled on her stomach in front of the mongoose. She glanced up at Annie. “I thought maybe you were my dad. He came to see me today.”
“He did?” Annie examined the keiki’s expression. Was she serious?
Heidi rolled over on her back. “I tried to make a paper mongoose like you showed me. It didn’t come out very well.”
“We’ll have another origami lesson soon,” Annie promised. One of the low voices that emanated from the kitchen belonged to Jillian, and from the tension in it, Annie thought maybe Heidi was telling the truth about her father’s reappearance. She touched the top of the little girl’s head and went to the kitchen. Annie hesitated in the doorway.
“I don’t trust him,” Jillian said to the other woman.
“I hope I’m not interrupting,” Annie said in the sudden lull of conversation.
Jillian’s head jerked around, her tight mouth relaxing when her gaze met Annie’s. “Annie. I wasn’t expecting you.” Her eyes went to the cow clock on the wall. “You’re out late.”
Annie glanced at the clock too and was shocked to realize that it was nearly nine. “I’m sorry to barge in so late.” The other woman turned her head, and Annie recognized her. Annie offered a tentative smile.
The woman stood and held out her hand. “So you’re Annie. I’m Mano’s sister, Kaia.”
“I recognized you from your pictures. Mano talks about you all the time.”
“What’s wrong?” Jillian pulled out a chair beside her. “I just fixed some chamomile tea. Would you like some?”
“Sure.” Annie sat between the two women and waited until her coworker poured a cup of tea from the blue teapot. “Gorgeous teapot,” she said.
“Kaia brought it to me. Isn’t it beautiful? It’s the plumeria pattern from Banana Patch Studio. I think it’s a hint that Kaia wants some for her wedding.” In spite of the light way Jillian chattered, an underlying strain tightened her mouth and left lines around her eyes.
Kaia’s happiness was the last thing Annie wanted to talk about right now. Especially since her eternal crush on Mano had passed from the ridiculous to the impossible. She put some sugar in her tea and took a sip. “Mahalo.”
“What’s up?” Jillian asked.
“Did you happen to see my sister out at the volcano yesterday or today? Did she stop by the observatory looking for me or anything?”
Jillian raised her eyebrows. “No, and I was in the building most of the day. She’s terrified of the volcano, isn’t she? Is something wrong?” She frowned. “I did see her in Volcano yesterday, though.”
“She’s missing.” Annie’s voice broke. She cleared her throat and told them about the necklace. “What was she doing when you saw her?”
“Just walking to the general store. I asked her if she needed a ride to work. She smiled and waved and kept on going.”
“Did you notice what she was wearing?”