Annie shook her head. “I don’t know him.”
“Consider yourself lucky. He scares me. But you know Leilani. She was always up for a challenge. We like big guys.” She glanced at Mano with a come-hither flutter of her lashes.
Mano wasn’t flattered. “How did Leilani know him? Any idea where they went?”
CeCe shrugged. “They’ve been hanging around together a few weeks. He’s part of that religious group Leilani was interested in. I think it was more Tab that intrigued her, and not the religion.”
The Ku cult again. There had been no Ku worship on the islands for generations. The thought of it being resurrected made Mano uneasy. “Where does the group meet?”
“I have no idea. Leilani wouldn’t tell me.” CeCe giggled. “I think she was afraid I was after her precious Tab.” She shivered. “Cre-e-e-py. I wouldn’t take him if you paid me.”
Though her words said otherwise, Mano could hear jealousy in her voice. “You have no idea where this group met?”
CeCe hesitated. “Well, I saw them drive off toward the volcanoes a few times.”
“Leilani hated the volcanoes!” Annie’s voice quivered. “She wouldn’t go there.”
“They may not have gone that far,” Mano said. “There are other places at the park that are no danger.” He took her hand and squeezed her fingers. The gratitude on Annie’s face brought a sense of shame when he realized how little she expected from anyone.
“I know,” CeCe said hastily. “No way would Leilani go out there. But that’s the direction they went.”
“Do you know where Watson works?” Mano asked.
“He’s a bouncer for Shark Head Bar. That’s where me and Leilani met him.”
Mano knew of the place. He winced to think that Leilani had been hanging out in a dive like that. “Does he work every night?”
“Most nights. He was there last night. I wanted to ask him about Leilani, but he avoided me.”
Annie dropped Mano’s hand and embraced CeCe. “Mahalo, sweetie. It’s not your fault. We’ll find her.”
She was such a little mother hen. Mano thought she’d take anyone hurt or in pain under her wing. He began to wonder if he could find shelter there himself.
“I’ve got to go to work.” She sounded despondent. “Will you keep looking?”
“You know I will.”
“Call me if you hear anything.” CeCe waved and followed her coworkers inside.
“I’ll see if I can find this Tab Watson.” Mano was beginning to think he’d do just about anything for Annie Tagama. “How about dinner tonight?”
“Dinner?”
“Yeah, as in food. You have to eat, and we never got our dinner last night with all the problems. I bet you never even ate at Gina’s.”
She gave a faint smile. “You’re right.” She chewed on her bottom lip, then nodded. “Okay. You can bring me up to date on what you find out today.”
“I’ll pick you up at six.” He realized he was going to miss her this afternoon. That wasn’t a good sign.
Fourteen
Annie drove her Pathfinder into the parking lot by the water and shut off the engine. She was in no mood to dive. Gina was supposed to meet her, a fact that Annie found less than encouraging. She’d dived with her boss one other time and sworn she’d never do it again.
She grabbed her dive gear out of the back and walked down the narrow path to the rocky shore. She saw a woman by the water and recognized Fawn by the bright blue beads in her hair. “I thought you were going to be gone this week.”
“The vibes were bad at my brother’s. He and his fiancée broke up this morning. I didn’t want to hang around for the postmortem. Gina dropped me off so I could ride back with you.” Fawn’s gaze traveled over Annie’s face. “You okay? You look pale. Any word on Leilani?”
“Nothing. I’m really scared.” Confessing her terror brought the sting of tears to her eyes. She was so tired of being the strong one.
Fawn enveloped her in a tight hug. “God’s in control here, Annie.”
Annie sniffled and pulled away. “I wish I could believe that.” She was envious of Fawn’s calm assurance in the face of any problem. “I—what if she’s dead?”
Fawn’s comforting pat on Annie’s back stilled. “Why would you say that?”
Annie didn’t try to stop the tears that began to flow. “I just can’t get that phone call out of my mind, that creep saying we’re all going to pay for something Tomi did. I think someone has hurt her.”
“What does Sam say?”
She shrugged. “He thinks it’s just some sick prankster trying to shake us up. He says it happens all the time; someone hears about a missing person or a death and calls and makes claims that aren’t true.”
“He might be right. You’re just tired and scared.”