“He can use all the help he can get. I know Tony better than he does. He won’t turn down any leads I can come up with.”
Leia knew he was right about that. Murder wasn’t an everyday occurrence on the tiny island. “I’ll see what Dr. Kapuy has to say. He would have looked at Tony’s body before it was sent to Honolulu for the autopsy.” She was next in line to talk to Candace. The person ahead of her stepped away, and Leia moved up to face the young widow. “I’m so sorry,” she murmured. She embraced Candace, and the other woman clung to her.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do without him,” Candace whispered in her ear.
“Are you doing okay? Any cramps or anything?”
Candace wiped her eyes. Her eyes were so red and swollen they looked painful. “I’m fine physically. I have to tell his parents about the baby.”
“They’ll be thrilled.” Leia’s gaze went down the line to where Alfredo and Carlotta Romero stood. Carlotta had wailed her misery at the funeral, and Alfredo had taken her from the church. She stood sobbing against her husband’s shoulder and kept mopping at her face with a soggy handkerchief.
“I don’t think so. They never thought I was good enough for Tony. Working in Hollywood tainted me in their eyes. They’ll probably wonder if the baby is even Tony’s.” Tears welled in Candace’s eyes again. Tony always bragged that she could have made it big in the movies if she hadn’t married him, but Leia didn’t think Candace had enough drive or a hard enough edge to get to the big time. She’d done a few commercials, most notably one for Nike. Leia had seen it a few times, and Candace had done a good job, but she was no Julia Roberts. And she hadn’t acted in years. Her last job had been as a receptionist for a security company on O’ahu.
“Having a baby will change everything,” Leia told her. “Tony’s parents won’t want to alienate you or their grandchild.”
“They’ve taken charge of everything this week. Alfredo pulled strings to get the autopsy completed and Tony’s body released right away. But they haven’t said two words to me.”
Bane touched her arm. “They’ll come around when they hear the news. A new baby is like witnessing the creation of the world.”
Hearing the profound thought, Leia glanced up at him. Sometimes his almost poetic way with words surprised her. “When will the results of the autopsy be back?”
“Another week or so,” Candace said.
Leia squeezed her hand. “I’d better move along. The line is getting longer.” As she moved away, she caught sight of Aberg Hans. She hadn’t expected him to show his face. He stood off to one side, his eyes wide and uncertain as though he might bolt for his car any minute. Leia moved toward him. He saw her coming and looked away. She stopped in front of him. “I’m a little surprised to see you here, Aberg,” she told him.
“I’m here to pay my respects just like all of you. Tony and I had our professional differences, but I wouldn’t hurt him,” he said. “I know that’s what people think.”
“You threatened him just before he died,” she pointed out. “It sounds like you’d sabotaged his air tanks too.”
His gaze fell. “That’s a lie. I never did anything to his equipment.” His voice wavered.
From the way he shuffled around and wouldn’t meet her gaze, his guilt was not in question. “Were you diving in the area, Aberg?”
His head jerked up, and he began to glower. “I don’t have to answer any questions. I’m just here to pay my respects. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get in line.” He stalked off. Instead of getting in line, he vanished through the door to the outside. Leia wondered why he’d even come.
Six
Life moved at a sluggish pace in Kaunakakai. On the southern shore of Moloka’i, it was the largest of the tiny burgs that had sprung up around the pineapple and sugarcane trade in the old days. With no buildings over three stories, no traffic—or traffic lights, for that matter—it was Bane’s favorite town in all the Hawaiian islands. No nightclubs or fast food, just a friendly little town full of native Hawaiians. Bane wouldn’t mind living here someday.
He stopped at the tiny police station and answered the detective’s questions about Tony’s death, though he didn’t feel he had anything helpful to offer. When he was done, he drove through town in his rental car and headed for the wharf. Ajax sat beside him with his head hanging out the window. Bane wasn’t sure where Hans Dive Shop was located, but it had to be here somewhere. Aberg’s appearance at Tony’s funeral yesterday had raised more questions in his mind.