Mano glanced back to make sure Annie was surviving the rough ride. She’d been staring at the back of his head. She flushed and looked away. He turned back around and resolved to have a talk with her at some opportune moment. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but the strain between them was getting to him.
Gina jerked the Jeep to a halt at a path that led through scrubby shrubs. It wound around a hill and disappeared. “This is as far as we can go. The rest is on foot.” She got out and slammed the door.
Mano jumped out and moved the seat for Annie to exit the Jeep. “Does she always drive like that?” he whispered. A dimple appeared in Annie’s cheek, and he realized he’d been watching for her smile.
She nodded. “She likes to live dangerously. She thinks it keeps her young.”
“She’ll be lucky to hit sixty.” He held out his hand, but she ignored it and moved past him. He stifled a sigh and followed her. Gina walked nimbly along the narrow path. She led them around several piles of boulders and up a steep hill. At the top of another hill, he saw a small cottage.
“That’s it,” Gina said.
She increased her pace. Annie and Mano jogged behind her. As they neared the cottage, Mano’s optimism faded. Some of the window panes were missing, and the door looked like a stiff wind would detach it from the structure. The place hadn’t seen a paintbrush in twenty years. Surely Chun was wrong. No one would rent this derelict place.
Gina stepped briskly up to the flimsy door and rapped. To Mano’s astonishment, he heard footsteps from inside, and the door swung open. He didn’t expect the familiar face that peered out. Noah Sommers.
Noah’s eyes widened. “Mano, what are you doing here?”
“John Smith, I presume,” Mano said dryly.
Noah flushed. He pushed open the screen door and stepped onto the step. “Is Jillian all right?”
Interesting that his first thought was of Jillian and not Heidi, Mano thought. “She and Heidi are fine. I’m actually looking for someone else. Are you staying here alone?”
Noah hesitated, then nodded. His eyes flickered away from Mano. He was lying; Mano was sure of it. “Sorry to disturb you then,” Mano said. As they walked back to the Jeep, he wondered what Noah was trying to hide.
Gina returned them to Mano’s rental car and then drove off. “What now?” Mano said, more to himself than to Annie. They wouldn’t find any information here about the cult. If Tomi would only call, they might be able to let go of their worry. “Any other ideas where your brother might be hiding if he was on the island now?”
A line crinkled between her eyes as she thought. She finally nodded. “There’s an old man up the mountainside from our home. He doesn’t generally let anyone up there, but he liked Tomi and let him build a clubhouse on his property when we were kids. I think it’s still there. I’ve been meaning to go see him anyway. Jillian and I have been trying to talk him into letting us put GPS receivers on his lot. Want to try there?”
“Sounds like a possibility. Tell me more about him.” Mano drove toward the Tagama property.
“His name is Orson Kauhi. I think he’s as old as the lava fields he lives on.” She smiled and turned the radio down. “GPS helps us figure out where the ground is heaving and sinking. That data could help pinpoint new magma chambers. Jillian’s convinced the area holds real potential for one, but Kauhi has refused to let us do any research on his property.”
Mano knew the fields in her area were formed by the 1926 flow. If she was serious about Kauhi’s age, that would make the man nearly eighty or more. “Family?”
She shook her head. “His wife died before I was born, and they didn’t have any kids. I was scared of him when we were little. Maybe I still am. Tomi used to tell me he was Pii, the dragon in man form.”
Mano knew the legend. Pii lived on a steep precipice and could rush incredibly fast to fight his adversaries. “Is this guy big?”
“Huge. That’s one reason I believed Tomi. He never leaves his place.”
“How does he live?”
“He grows everything he needs on his mountain. I imagine he orders clothing by mail or phone.”
“Sounds like we’re stepping into the mouth of the barracuda.”
“He’s probably harmless. I was young and impressionable the last time I saw him.” She pointed. “Go to the road past our house and turn.”
He followed her directions until they could go no farther. The road ended in a field of lava rock. Black boulders lay strewn up the hillside as though a giant had tossed them there. “Do you know where his house is?”
“There was a narrow trail here that Tomi always used to take. I’ll see if I can find it.” She got out and stood by the car. “Here it is.” She set off up the steep slope. Mano followed her. Her boots loosened small stones, and they skittered down past him. He struggled to navigate the many boulders. They were both huffing by the time they reached the crest.
Pausing at the top, he gazed at the bleak landscape. “Is that a house?” He pointed to a dark structure camouflaged by the black lava rocks.
“That’s it!” Annie started off toward the cabin.