“Unless he forged your father’s name.”
“So now he’s guilty of espionage and forgery? I thought you were Tomi’s friend! I should never have brought you along tonight.” She folded her arms and hunched against the door.
He wished she’d trust him. Her window was partway down, and the wind ruffled her shiny dark hair. He could barely keep his eyes on the road and wondered what had come over him. She was like a little sister, so why was being in her presence so exhilarating?
“I’m not an ogre, Annie. I care about your family. Whatever trouble Tomi is in, I want to help get him—and you—out of it. I’ve got some savings. Let me loan you the money to get the mortgage caught up.”
She shook her head violently. “I wouldn’t think of it. We’ll figure a way out of it.” The laugh that escaped her lips held no real mirth. “With the two million dollars in that bankbook of Tomi’s, our money troubles would be over.”
“Don’t go spending any of that. I’m afraid whoever gave it to him is going to come looking for it. You could be in a world of hurt if they can’t get it.”
“I was joking.” She turned the radio down.
He nodded and fell silent. The time flew by as they drove north. He took Highway 160 toward Puuhonua o Honaunau. Place of Refuge. He stopped the car in the parking lot and got out. It had been years since he’d been here, and he glanced around at the site as if seeing it for the first time.
In ancient times, kapu law ruled the lives of the commoners. If a commoner broke one of the laws—like if a man ate with a woman, or a person allowed his shadow to fall on a chief—the penalty was death by club, strangulation, spear, or fire. In severe cases, the offender’s entire family would be put under a death sentence. The communities had great incentive to make sure the laws were obeyed, because the Hawaiians believed the gods retaliated against lawbreakers by sending tsunamis, volcanic flows, and earthquakes.
A condemned man’s only chance of survival was to flee to a place of refuge and perform the rituals mandated by the kahuna pule, the priest. Only then could he return home with no repercussions. This site had also been the location for the Ali’i’s, or the chieftain’s, palace. Standing on this site, he imagined what it must have been like to run for one’s life to this place. Coconut trees dotted the landscape, and he could see the Great Wall, a structure a thousand feet long, ten feet high, and seventeen feet thick. It originally separated the Place of Refuge from the palace grounds.
The noticeable stillness made him think no one was here. He turned as Annie joined him. “Did he say where he’d be?”
She shook her head and cupped her hands around her mouth. “Tomi!”
Mano hid his grin. Her tone said, Don’t mess around. She was like one of the Hawaiian hens calling to her chick. “It doesn’t feel like anyone is here.”
“He said he’d be here.” She advanced across the fine golden sand toward the water. “You check out the open-air buildings. I’ll look around the hale.”
“Okay, Mom,” he said.
Her eyes widened. “Sorry, I’m being bossy, aren’t I? Tomi hates it too.”
“I didn’t say I hated it. I like your spunk.”
A smile tugged at her lips. “Nothing usually gets done unless I do it. You have a better idea?”
“Nope. Lead on, kahuna. ”
She chuckled. “I’m not wise. But I want to find my brother and sister, though I might wring both their necks when I do.”
Examining her face in the last rays of the fading sunshine, Mano saw only love and commitment. Annie was one of those people who gave her whole heart to her family. He wondered what it would be like to be the center of her world.
Ten
The soft sand underfoot muffled their steps. It was almost sunset, and the coconut trees had a golden glow as they swayed over the beach. Sea turtles munched near the canoe landing. Though the surroundings should have soothed her, Annie’s nerves were on full alert.
Only birds called from the trees. The deserted beach took her aback. This time of day, people usually hung around to watch the sunset, but Mano’s car was the only vehicle in the lot. They passed the reconstructed Hale-o-Keawe, a kind of mausoleum that originally contained the bones of twelve chiefs. Bones were considered to have manu, or supernatural power. The thatched structure was surrounded by a stick fence, and several ki’i stood guard. The fierce faces on the wooden statues added to Annie’s sense of unease. A few full-scale models of ancient houses and temples surrounded the mausoleum. Tomi could be in any one of them.
“Tomi!” Annie shouted again. The loudness of her voice felt out of place on the sacred grounds.
Mano seemed at ease. “Have you ever seen the lava tube just past the caves with the bones?”