Aki tried to close the door, but Mano stuck his foot out and shoved the door with his shoulder. He caught the big man off balance, and Aki stumbled back. Mano pressed his advantage and stepped into the living room. “Sarris, I know you’re in here.” He strode down the hallway carpeted in black, though it was so littered with crumbs the color was nearly hidden.
Aki roared and barreled after him. Mano turned aside, and Aki fell against the door at the end of the hall. The door sprang open and revealed Jason standing in the middle of the room with a gun in his hand. His face was white, but the hand he used to bring the gun up to point it at Mano’s chest was steady.
Mano stopped and held up his hands. “I just want to talk.”
“I should call the police and have you arrested for trespassing,” Aki said, getting to his feet.
“Go ahead.” Mano’s attention focused on the gun. “I’m sure they’d like to take a look at the gun. It looks like the same caliber that killed Noah Sommers. Why’d you shoot him, Jason?”
“It wasn’t me,” Jason said.
“Shut up!” Aki glared at the younger man. Jason blanched even more.
Mano couldn’t believe he’d actually found Noah’s murderer. “What about Leilani? Where is she?”
“I haven’t seen Leilani,” Jason said.
“I said shut up!” The cold stare Aki used on Jason made him take a step back. Aki turned back to Mano. “I think we’d better go for a little ride.”
“Not in this lifetime.” Mano bent over at the waist and rushed the larger man. His shoulder hit Aki’s stomach, and the two men tumbled to the ground. He was vaguely aware of Jason tossing the gun aside and running from the room. The men thrashed on the floor until Aki finally heaved Mano off. He gained his feet and looked around. He swore, then jumped for the door.
Mano staggered to his feet and tried to go after him but tripped over a boot left in the middle of the floor. By the time he got to the front door, the yellow car was gone and neither Aki nor Jason was anywhere in sight.
He fished out his cell phone and called Sam. “I’ve found Noah’s murderer,” he told him. “Come to Kim Aki’s house. I’ll wait for you here.” He shut off the phone and turned to explore the house before the police arrived. But try as he might, there was nothing to indicate Leilani had ever been here.
Twenty-five
Leilani dreamed of walking with Annie along a black-sand beach. Annie’s hand was leading her like when they were children. When she awoke, a hollow sense of bereavement assaulted her. Would she ever see Annie again, ever be able to thank her for all the things she’d done?
Being trapped in this dimly lit place was like being lost between life and death. She’d spent most of her time thinking about how selfish she’d been. Had she apologized even once for all the shirts she’d ruined that belonged to her patient sister? Or had she ever even told Annie she loved her? Leilani couldn’t remember a time when she’d acknowledged the quiet sacrifices she’d seen Annie make over the years. Things like giving her and Tomi the largest cuts of steak, like asking their mother to buy Leilani a new outfit even if it meant Annie dressed in styles that were outdated long ago. Instead, she’d whispered with her friends about Annie’s lack of good taste.
She heard something at the front of the cave and glanced up. They were coming back. She gasped when Tab dragged her to her feet. He untied her, then marched her out of the lava tube. She blinked in the bright light, though it was later in the day than she’d thought. His tight fingers hurt her forearm as he marched her down the hillside to a pool of water.
“Wash,” he said.
Why had she ever been attracted to him? She waded into the water and began to splash it onto her body. The refreshing moisture brought her senses alive in time to realize this was the sacred pool of Ku. She moaned and tried to run from the water, but he grabbed her and threw her back in.
Mano had called to tell Annie that her hunches had been correct. Not only was Jason involved with the casino, but he and Aki were implicated in Noah’s murder. The police were looking for both men and had taken the gun to check ballistics. He was going to have to skip dinner, but he’d be over later in the evening.
Fawn offered to assuage her disappointment by coming over to keep her company. Annie hoped Mano’s delay would mean that Leilani would soon be found. Surely Jason and Aki wouldn’t do anything to her sister now that the police were on to them.
Fawn stretched. “I’m bored. Let’s do something.”
“Scrabble?” Annie suggested. “I already thumped the guys in three games.”
Fawn groaned. “Not Scrabble. I’m in the mood to organize or something.”
Annie brightened. She was always in the mood for cleaning. “I’ve got all those boxes of Tomi’s possessions that Mano brought me. We could unpack them and put them away for him.”