Her father interrupted. “No one who knows you would suspect you of killing anyone.”
Her mother’s frosty smile thawed. “Spoken like a devoted husband. Maybe I’ll fix you a good dinner after all.”
“How easy would it be for someone to steal the drugs?” her father asked.
“Very difficult. Access is limited and everything has to be signed for. We track inventory on the computer and then do a periodic visual check. It would have to be someone who worked at the hospital.”
Leia tried to think of everyone who worked at the hospital that she knew. She couldn’t see any of them doing something like this. “Maybe even an orderly who got access to a key?”
“Maybe, but we watch that kind of thing pretty closely. You have to have two people go to get out controlled substances to verify what was taken. Maybe the murderer bought it over the black market.”
“Since some is missing from the hospital, I would think it was stolen from there.”
“Well, it’s not my worry.”
In spite of her mother’s assertions, Leia could see the unease on her mother’s face, and it fueled her own anxiety. Surely the police wouldn’t focus on her mother.
After diving with Kaia and Nani all day, Bane took Kaia to Kaunakakai so she could call Jesse without using up her cell minutes. He sat on a lava rock on the beach with his ukulele in his hands. His fingers picked out the traditional tunes without conscious thought. While he might not beat Pete this year, he would give him a run for his money.
A host of giggling children ran past. One boy around six stopped to listen to Bane. Bane motioned him to come closer and showed him how to strum the instrument. When the boy tired of the game, Bane ruffled the child’s hair and gave him a handful of macadamia nuts. He watched wistfully as the child ran off with his booty clutched in his pudgy fist. Kids generally gravitated to him, and he thought he’d make a good father. At least he liked to think that was true. He might never find out.
He stopped by a small hut and ordered a rainbow shave ice with macadamia-nut ice cream on the bottom. Taking the treat with him, he started toward his car, then noticed a van that said Westerfield Salvage on it. Sam was here? Maybe Ron wasn’t so paranoid after all. Bane stepped closer to the van. He’d met Sam Westerfield once, before taking the job with Ron. He couldn’t be missed in a crowd. He resembled Mr. T, only instead of heavy gold chains, the leather necklace he wore held a mammoth shark tooth, which nestled in the V of his aloha shirt. Matching shorts covered his meaty thighs, and he would have looked more at home on a wrestling mat than strolling across the parking lot of a Hawaiian beach.
His gaze touched Bane. “Bane Oana. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
“Sam. I didn’t know you were on the island.” He kept his tone even. No sense in getting Westerfield’s back up.
“Yeah, I got to town yesterday. I hear there’s an interesting find out near Elephant Rock.” He grinned and revealed a gold-capped tooth.
“You’re a little late to get in on the action. We already have salvage rights.”
“I heard there’s been a snafu. Maybe I could help smooth the way if you cut me in on the action.”
“I think we can handle it.”
Sam’s smile faded, and he looked sour. “This is too big a find for Ron to handle by himself. I have the heavy equipment he needs.”
“We have our own equipment, mahalo. Why are you talking to me anyway? Ron is the owner. I’m not the one to ask.”
“But you have influence over him. You could persuade him of the wisdom of letting me help you.”
Bane’s shave ice was melting. Enough of Sam’s hypocrisy. “Sorry, I can’t help you,” he said. He walked away and tried not to imagine a knife thrust in his back.
Thirteen
The boat passed by the Moloka’i Lighthouse on the tip of the peninsula, framed by the soaring sea cliffs. The tallest U.S.- owned lighthouse in the Pacific, the sight of the grand beacon never failed to thrill Leia. The sea glimmered as blue as lapis lazuli in the bright morning sunshine. The boat passed the boundary of the Pelekunu Preserve. The lowland rain forest held a mystique for her. For one thing, access was forbidden, and she’d never taken well to anyone telling her what she couldn’t do. It also held one of Hawai’i’s last free-flowing streams, and the tallest sea cliffs in the world.