Bane extricated himself from Ron’s grip, then swam to the edge to peer over the side. He couldn’t see much, but he knew he’d never see bottom even with great visibility. Eddies of dirt motes danced in front of his mask. He shook his head and rejoined Ron, who was examining the crack. When he glanced up at Bane, lines were etched in his forehead, and his eyes behind the mask were slitted. He pointed up, and Bane nodded.
They swam upward, pausing several times to decompress. Ajax joined them near the surface. When they finally reached the surface, Bane spat out his regulator and turned to face his boss. “Earthquake swarms.”
Water ran in rivulets down Ron’s face. He spat out his mouthpiece and raised his mask. “We’re going to have to move fast. If we get another series of quakes, the ship and all we’ve worked for will go right over the edge.”
Not only would they lose the ship, all Ron’s investment in the search would be wasted. Bane nodded. “Let’s get our divers organized for tomorrow. We can’t let it slip away, not now when we’re so close.”
Leia crouched behind Koma’s body. Her skin prickled as her gaze searched the jungle tangle of ‘ohi’a and koa trees. She strained her ears to hear something—anything, a footfall or a snapped twig. But all that came to her was a hawk screeching over-head as it dove to seize a honeycreeper.
She prayed for poor Koma, though he was past help.
She needed to get the police out here. Who would want to kill an old man? She wondered if it could have been a poacher out hunting a black buck or an eland antelope. It happened, especially in remote areas. The forest was rich with pheasant and wild turkey as well. Her muscles felt like lead as the minutes ticked by while she watched and listened. She didn’t like this feeling, and it wasn’t getting her anywhere. She was not going to cower here in fear. She got to her feet and dashed toward the tangle of foliage. The normal aroma of vegetation sharpened her senses. Fighting her way through lianas—huge, woody vines—and ferns, she fought back the panic that choked her throat. She wouldn’t run. If she broke her concentration, the fear would overtake her. She lost a slipper but didn’t pause to retrieve it.
Leia broke through the forest tangle into the clearing where her grandmother’s house stood. She glanced back, but the smooth green leaves merely swayed in the trade winds without parting for an attacker. She kicked off her other slipper, then ran for the house. She burst through the back gate and nearly stumbled.
Malia rose from her chair in the garden. “Leia, you’re as pale as an orchid. What’s happened?”
“Koma. Shot,” Leia gasped and clasped her arms around herself. She couldn’t believe she’d come so close to total, mindless panic.
“Shot?” Malia lifted an eyebrow as if she was waiting for the punch line.
Leia nodded. “He’s dead. Call the police.” She ignored her cousin’s gasp and headed for the hose that lay curled like a giant snake along the side of the house. She needed to wash the blood off her hands.
Her grandmother followed her. “Koma? How can that be? Who would want to harm him?” Her gaze went to the blood running off Leia’s hands in the stream of water from the hose.
“It might have been a hunter’s stray bullet.” Leia turned toward the door. “We have to call the police.”
“I’ll call.” Malia dialed the phone. She paused with it in her hand. “You should sit down. You look like you’re going to pass out.”
“I’m fine. Just a little shaky.” She glanced around. “Where’s Eva?”
“Napping in the grass.” Her cousin nodded toward Eva, who lay on a soft mat of grass under a hao tree covered with white blossoms.
Leia relinquished the rising fear that her sister was in the for-est somewhere with a madman. Eva had always been her responsibility, but on days like today, that duty weighed heavily. She’d been right beside Koma and was unable to do anything to protect him. Tears burned the back of her eyes, and she tuned out the drone of Malia’s voice as she explained to the policeman what had happened.
“Leia?”
Leia jumped at the sound of her cousin’s voice. Malia was holding out her cell phone. “Detective Ono wants to talk to you.”
Leia shook her head. “Not on the cell phone. I’ll tell him about it when he gets here.”
Malia sighed. “My cousin won’t use a cell phone. Okay, I’ll tell her.” She clicked off the phone. “He’s on his way. He said not to disturb the body and to stay in the house until he got here.”
“I’ll get Eva.” Leia hadn’t thought how exposed they were in the yard. She ran to awaken her sister.
Eva always woke up smiling, and today was no exception. “I had a dream, Leia.”
“I hope it was a nice one.” Leia took Eva’s hand and led her toward the house. She paused long enough to grab the tray of pineapple.
“It was scary. Bane was in a hole.”
The family had learned over the years not to discount her dreams. They often held a grain of truth to them. “What kind of hole?” Leia murmured, wondering what Detective Ono would make of her witnessing two murders in less than a week.