Tomi Tagama. He’d cut his hair short and dyed it blond. Not an attractive look for him, but it altered his appearance considerably. Mano started to pull away from the window, but Tomi’s gaze met his. Tomi didn’t betray Mano’s presence other than with a mere flicker of his eyes.
Mano moved away from the window before anyone else could see him. Tomi knew he was out here. He jogged across the street to his car and settled behind the wheel to wait. There was probably a back way out of the Shark Head, but he didn’t think Tomi would try to evade him, not when he likely needed help. He turned on the auxiliary power and found a Hawaiian music station that was playing an Amy Gilliom song. As the sound of her rich voice and Willie K’s twelve-string guitar filled the car, he watched the front of the building.
Sure enough, fifteen minutes later Tomi darted out the front door and hurried across the street. He got in on the passenger side and shut the door.
“Are you crazy?” he hissed. “If Watson sees you, he’ll be asking questions I don’t want to answer.”
“Who’s Watson? The big guy at the bar?”
“Yeah. You know him?”
“I know him by another name,” Mano said grimly. What game was the big Hawaiian playing? And how was Tomi involved? “He’s the last one to see your sister. Did you know that?”
Tomi paled. “He never mentioned he knew Leilani.” His voice cracked.
“I think you’d better tell me what’s going on between you two,” Mano said.
Tomi looked in the back of the car at the cooler. “You got any soda?”
“I’ve got water. Help yourself.”
Tomi grimaced but reached into the back and pulled out a bottle of water. He took a swallow and shuddered. “Yuck.”
“Quit procrastinating and just spit it out.”
Tomi finally looked at him directly. “How much do you really know about my family, Mano?”
“Apparently not as much as I thought.”
Tomi chuckled. “My dad built a little house forty years ago and has no idea of the gold mine he’s sitting on.”
“What are you talking about? The land isn’t worth much.”
“That’s what I thought too. Look at HOVE. You can buy a lot out there for fifteen thousand dollars. But what would you say if I told you there’s going to be a volcano theme park built out at Aloha Shores, along with a casino and a resort? That changes the value quite a lot, wouldn’t you say?”
“I already heard about it. But what’s that have to do with Watson?”
Tomi pressed his lips together. “Watson has connections with the casino. He’s offered us three million dollars for the property.”
“Your dad will never sell. What’s it to you? Are you undercover?” Tomi looked away, but not before Mano saw pain darken his eyes.
Tomi shook his head. “I wish I were. It would be easier to get out of this than out of the mess I’ve made of things.”
“So let’s get you out of it.”
“Spoken like the friend I know. Mano to the rescue. This is too bad for a quick fix, pal. A Band-Aid won’t do.”
“Just give the money back to the Iranians and forget the whole thing.”
“The problem is, I need some of it.” Tomi hunched his shoulders.
“You’re not serious. You touch it, and you go to prison. What do you need with that kind of money?”
Tomi took another swig of his water. “I got a call last night. From Afsoon.”
“I thought you said she was killed.”
“That’s what I thought. But she lived.” He dropped his head. “You thought you deserted me, and now I find out I deserted her. She borrowed a car to drive me to catch a boat. We were on the end of the pier about to get into the boat when the ambush happened. The bullets were flying. She toppled into the water and was floating face down with blood coming out of her head. I was sure she was dead.”
“So why call you now? And what about the money?”
“They’d told her I died. But she overheard her father talking to some flunkies and realized she’d been told a lie. I’ve got to get her out of there. And it’s going to take some dough. A lot of it.” He rubbed his hand through his dyed hair and left it standing in spikes. “Wouldn’t it be poetic justice to use their own money to do it?”
“Sounds like you still love her.”
“Yeah, I guess I do. Sap that I am.” He sighed and looked down the street. “I’ve got to get to the bank.”
“Tomi, you need to give that money back.”
“I know.” Tomi rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“Where does Leilani fit into all this?” Mano decided Tomi had to know more about his sister than he was saying.
“She doesn’t. That’s what I don’t get. No one’s demanded anything of me. I still wonder if she’s just run off with a boyfriend.”
“What information do the Iranians want, exactly? You haven’t been very specific.”
“You know that tactical plan for how we would proceed if we ever found it necessary to invade Iran? They want me to write it all down for them.”
“We’ll never invade Iran.”
“You and I know it, but they’re not taking any chances after what happened in Iraq. And I can’t give them what they want, of course.”
“No, of course not.”