Bane parked. “Stay here, boy. Keep watch.” Ajax whined but stayed where he was. Bane walked past the few boats bobbing in the harbor waves. The ferry was just offshore, having disgorged its few visitors onto the island, and now chugged its way back across the waves toward Lana’i.
He saw a boat with the dive shop’s name painted on the side and paused to see if anyone was aboard. He wanted to find Hans himself. The deck looked deserted, and it was after three, so most likely the day’s diving was done. The trade winds blew along Moloka’i with greater ferocity than the other islands, and the unprotected waters took the brunt, churning up large swells outside the reef. Most of the divemasters would be hawking wares in their stores by now.
He passed Tony’s shop. It had a large Closed sign in the window. Aberg Hans was probably rejoicing today at the prospect of a larger clientele. He wouldn’t be so happy when Bane was done with him. Bane couldn’t believe the man had the nerve to show up at the funeral. Luckily, Candace hadn’t seen him. Bane continued on and was nearly at the end of the harbor when he spotted a small, clap-board building with Hans Dive Shop on a wooden sign over the door. Through the open door, he could see Hans standing behind a counter. He was smiling at a young woman buying something.
Bane stepped inside the shop and got in line behind the woman. He caught a whiff of the coconut in her suntan lotion. It was doubt-ful Hans would recognize him. The other day the dive operator had been too intent on yelling at Tony. He glanced around and saw only one other employee, who was outside rinsing salt water off scuba gear. Perfect. The woman took her bag and exited the shop.
“What can I do for you?” Hans asked. His skin was red and sunburned under his blond crew cut. “You want to schedule a dive?”
“I was in the Aloha Dive Shop when you arrived the other day.”
Hans reddened even more. “I was sorry to hear about Tony.”
He decided to go for a sympathetic attitude. “It sounded like the two of you have had problems in the past, though I know Tony could be a steamroller.”
Hans huffed. “A steamroller, that’s pretty accurate. He didn’t care who he hurt as long as he found that stupid ship. I doubt there even is a ship. He was obsessed.”
“Did it really hurt your business?” Bane put just a touch of skepticism in his voice.
Hans invented a few choice words Bane had never heard. “He was about to bankrupt me. He had ads plastered everywhere about the treasure. That’s all my clients wanted to talk about, if I got them as far as going out with me instead of Tony. No one was interested in the fish or coral I could show them.”
“It sounds like you had cause to dislike him.”
“I hated his guts.” Hans narrowed his eyes. “But I didn’t kill him, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“I didn’t say that. You have any idea who might have wanted to hurt him?”
“We weren’t friends, you know? Besides, I thought it was an accident.”
“Apparently the police suspect foul play. I heard him accuse you of putting oil in his air-filling station. That doesn’t sound too dangerous.”
“It’s not. It just makes the air taste bad.” Hans held up his hands. “But I didn’t say I did it.”
Bane nodded. “It sounds more like something a kid would do, not a business owner.” Aberg looked away. Bane pretended not to notice.
“Well, I don’t like the way he acts, like customers will get something extra by diving with him.” Aberg was grinding his teeth and looking toward the door. He inhaled a deep, ragged breath. “I just wanted him to play fair. He had plenty of enemies though.”
“Who?” As far as Bane knew, everyone liked Tony. He was a friendly guy and could always be counted on to help a friend.
Hans just frowned and didn’t answer. Still, Bane had to admit to himself that a prank like putting oil in the air-filling station was a far cry from murder. All the oil would do was make the air taste like diesel fuel and cause customers to leave. “Were you diving in that area?”
Hans hesitated, and his gaze fell. “Yeah,” he mumbled. “But I never saw Tony or any of his divers. It’s a big ocean.”
He was there. Bane examined Hans’s face again. “Maybe one of your divers saw something. Could I get a list of who all was out there that day?”
Hans’s jaw hardened, and he shook his head. “No way. You’re not harassing the few customers I have.” He folded his arms over his chest. “Look, I have work to do. I had nothing to do with Tony’s death, okay?”
Bane could tell he wasn’t going to get anything else out of the man. “If you think of something that might help, give me a call.”
“I told you—I didn’t see anything.”
“Here’s my business card if you think of anything else.”