Jillian thought a minute. “A turquoise and yellow shirt with white shorts.”
The same shirt Annie and Mano had found on the heiau. “That’s what she had on the last time I saw her too.” She told them about the altar and the bloody shirt.
“You’re sure that shirt is what she was wearing the last time you saw her?” Kaia asked.
“Positive. It had a low neckline, and I prodded her about changing it.”
“Maybe she thought your advice was good,” Jillian suggested.
Annie shook her head. “Not Leilani. I don’t know why I even bothered to voice my opinion. It just makes her more obstinate.”
The silence in the room spoke more loudly than a phreatic eruption. She hadn’t planned to tell them about Mano’s theory, but it rushed out into the silence. “Mano thinks she might be with Tomi.” She realized she’d broken her promise to Mano and pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose. At least this was his sister. She dropped her hand.
Jillian blinked then frowned. “Who did you mean? You said— Tomi.” Her tone was hushed as though she were afraid to say Tomi’s name.
“Mano doesn’t think Tomi is dead.”
Jillian’s eyes widened, and Kaia looked at Annie with compassion in her eyes. “He never said anything about it to me. Did he actually see Tomi?”
Annie shook her head. “He said Tomi called him. Mano recognized his voice.”
A flicker of doubt darkened Kaia’s eyes. “I hope someone isn’t playing a trick on Mano. I know losing his best friend was hard on him. Maybe he believes what he wants to believe.”
Annie hadn’t considered how her brother’s death affected Mano. “He seems very certain about it.” In spite of her confident words, she wondered if she’d so easily swallowed Mano’s claim because she wanted to believe it too. Could Mano be deluding himself— and her? What if it was someone playing a prank for some reason? She touched the bankbook in her pocket. There was still the money to consider. She didn’t know what to think, but remembering the passion in Mano’s eyes, she knew he was convinced of it.
“I don’t know,” she said slowly.
“I’ll talk to him, see what it’s all about,” Kaia said. “He wanted to talk to me earlier today, I think, but we were interrupted.” She glanced at Jillian.
Annie glanced at her friend too. “Heidi said something about her father coming to see her. Has Noah shown up?”
“Yeah, like the proverbial bad penny.” Jillian glanced down at the table and fiddled with the handle on her teacup. “I think he’s running from someone. He wouldn’t talk about it. He’s different— thinner and more serious. I don’t know what to think.”
“Maybe the two of you can get together and talk,” Annie suggested. “I’m glad he’s finally facing the music. This limbo you’ve been in is no good for you or Heidi.”
“I know. I’m just not ready to listen to him spout some ‘reason’ for what he’s done. There is no excuse for his actions.” Jillian’s expression hardened, and she took a sip of her tea.
“He’s still Heidi’s father,” Kaia pointed out.
“I know that,” Jillian said sharply. “I would never keep her from him. But he’d better not expect me to kiss and make up as if nothing happened.”
Annie wanted to suggest counseling, but she kept her mouth shut. The couple’s problems weren’t any of her business, and from Jillian’s tone, she knew her friend wasn’t ready to hear it. “I’d better get home. Maybe Leilani has called.”
“Wouldn’t your dad let you know?” Jillian rose with her.
“Not necessarily. You know how scatterbrained he is.”
“He’ll be back to himself one of these days. It’s been a hard year.” Jillian trailed behind her to the living room. Kaia followed as well.
“I’m not so sure. He’s so obsessed with the old research. It’s as if he’s forgotten the curiosity he used to have for new facts.”
“Give it time. Hey, I hear the earthquake swarms at the seamount have been increasing.”
Annie had been tracking the myriad small quakes for several weeks now. Swarms were a series of earthquakes of the same size that occurred in a short time. “There were more than two thousand last week. We might be seeing some action soon.” Earthquake swarms were a good indicator of a pending eruption, and the topic was one of Annie’s pet projects. Excitement pushed away her fear about Leilani, at least temporarily. “With a major eruption, we might have another island forming from Loihi. Word’s getting out. I wouldn’t be surprised if geologists from all over the world start dropping in.”
“If you’re up to it, maybe we could take a look on Monday while we’re down replacing the pressure recorders. Try to beat the rush.” Jillian stooped and scooped up Wilson. “Don’t forget your rat.” She wrinkled her nose and handed the mongoose to Annie.