Candace raced to the ATV. She turned the key, and the engine roared to life. The sound of the engine whining traveled over the water, but the vehicle didn’t seem to be moving. The tires were sunk in wet sand and waves. Bane reached the shore. Candace looked up and saw him, then jumped off the ATV. She ran toward the jungle, but Bane was faster. He caught Candace, and she flailed and screamed obscenities at him as he pulled her arms behind her.
The police boats reached Leia. She motioned for them to help Bane, and two seamen jumped overboard and hurried to shore through the waves. They took Candace into custody, and nearly two hours passed before they’d asked all their questions and left with Candace and Dirk under arrest. They took the boxes of artifacts with them. It was all Leia could do to let them cart off the kapa.
The truth would come out now. She didn’t know how her mother would handle it.
Twenty-eight
Every time Leia closed her eyes she could see and smell the kapa cloth. She could feel the texture of it in her hands, the smoothness and strength of the fabric, the scent of sandalwood. For the first time she realized the struggle her father had to have faced with what was right to do with the artifacts. The situation was out of her hands anyway, but the truth still haunted her. She knew craftspeople like her could benefit from studying the works of beauty created by masters of the past. She tried not to think that the lost kapa might belong to her grandmother.
She hadn’t found any time to spend with Bane for several days. A flurry of publicity over the volcanic activity and recovery of the artifacts had struck the quiet island. Reporters camped outside her parents’ house, and Leia had to run a gauntlet of paparazzi every time she left her cottage as well. They followed her when she jogged on the beach or when she worked in the clinic. They snapped pictures of her and Eva picking up seashells for Malia’s leis and crouched behind her bushes when she picked flowers in the yard. Her father had been arrested but was now out on bail. Pete had turned over the bones he’d found when it was confirmed that they belonged among the recovered artifacts. What would happen to them was still up in the air.
Leia had thought about going to see Candace, but she couldn’t bear the thought of hearing more of her former friend’s excuses for what she’d done. At least Shaina would likely get what was left of Tony’s estate for her daughter. Leia contented herself with doing things around T?t?’s house, getting it ready to sell. After living with her eldest son and wife for a few days, her grandmother had finally consented to moving to an assisted-living facility as long as her son took care of Pua.
Leia was yanking out cat’s claw by the fistfuls from her bed of orchids when a shadow fell over her face. She jerked up, expecting to see more reporters. Instead, she saw Bane’s smiling face. He was holding a bouquet of white ginger in his hand. Ajax sat at his feet. Her gaze went to the kapa over his arm.
Hina had been digging in the dirt with Leia, and the cat meowed when she saw Bane and leaped into his arms. He held her at arm’s length in one hand with the flowers in the other. “I was kind of hoping for that reaction from you,” he told Leia with a wry grin. “You’re a little dirty, Hina.” Her paws were covered with rich black soil. He put her down, and the cat gave a plaintive cry. “Here, these are for you.” He thrust the mass of fragrant flowers into her hands.
Ginger was her favorite flower, and Bane had hit on her soft spot. “I’ll put them in water.” She wanted to ask about the cloth over his arm, but she had a feeling he wanted to wait to talk about it. He followed her into the cottage. She sensed him watching as she got a vase out, filled it with water, and arranged the flowers in it. She stuck her nose in the bouquet and inhaled the sweet aroma. There was stillness about him, a contemplative attitude. With a last poke of a flower into place, she turned to face him. “What’s wrong?”
“I just talked to Ono. He’s found out quite a lot about Candace. Her real name is Elizabeth Howard. She was married before. Her first husband drowned while swimming, but it was never investigated. He’s also arrested Sam Westerfield and his cohorts. He was the one who had hired the two men who abducted you.”
Leia absorbed the information. “I know the Bible says we’re all born wicked, but I don’t think I ever really believed it until now. I never really knew Candace. It makes me wonder if we ever know another person and what’s in their heart. Will they reopen her first husband’s death?”
He nodded. “That’s the plan.” He studied her face again. “I’ve been doing more thinking about you and me. Coming so close to losing you really shook me. I want to marry you, Leia, no matter what the conditions. But first we have to talk about some things.”