“You must be Annie,” Leia said, stepping out to meet her. “I’m Leia.”
“I get a hug before we get on with the introductions.” Mano’s beefy arms enveloped Leia in a tight embrace. “It’s been too long.”
Bane was taller and thinner than his brother, with long, sleek limbs. Mano looked more fully Hawaiian with his massive arms, broad chest, and muscular legs. Hugging him was like being swallowed up by a bear. Leia had always felt comfortable around Mano. He fully approved of her, which seemed to be a rare occurrence in her life.
“I want to meet your fiancée.” Leia turned to the young woman. “I’ve heard all about you, Annie. I thought you’d be wearing a Wonder Woman outfit.” She extended her hand and Annie took it.
Annie stood, and Ajax went to greet Mano. “Whatever these Oana men tell you, cut it in half and you might get close to the truth.” Annie’s smile was friendly. “Kaia will meet us in town.”
Leia released Annie’s hand. “I’ve been eager to talk to you about the earthquake swarms happening just offshore. Do we have a problem?”
Annie nodded. “It’s looking pretty serious, Leia. The swarms are increasing. We may actually have an event brewing.”
“An event? Are we talking a major earthquake?”
“It’s too soon to tell, but there’s something happening, maybe a new magma chamber forming.”
“We found the treasure ship. An earthquake or eruption could destroy it.”
“It might be an earthquake, but my gut tells me a new seamount is forming that’s getting ready to spew. Hawai’i might be gaining another island that will merge with Moloka’i.”
Leia suspected it might be true, but she’d hoped she was wrong. “If lava starts pouring out, the water will be too hot to work and too murky with ash to see. It will gum up our equipment too.”
“I’d suggest you work fast. Don’t quote me, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see an eruption in the next week or so.”
Leia gasped. She hadn’t expected news of this magnitude. All her bright hopes of making a huge discovery began to fade. There was no way they could excavate the ship in that time. “Is there any way to tell for sure how much time we have?”
Annie shook her head, and her dark eyes were full of regret. “Aloha no. Predicting lava flow is like trying to surf the pipeline—it takes all your expertise and you still wipe out a lot. I’ve been wrong as often as I’ve been right. So you might have longer than I just said, but I think it’s coming. I’d like to get down there and take a look. Have you seen any rocks tossed up through the cracks?”
Leia shook her head. “Not that I noticed.”
“I can probably tell once I get down there. My boss said I can stay as long as I like if the captain of the ship will allow me to use his facilities as a base. I brought some portable equipment, and I want to put in some GPS recorders along the seafloor. They will tell us if there is any movement or thrust.”
Leia grew more and more impressed with the tiny woman’s knowledge and expertise. She could only hope and pray Annie was wrong about how long they had.
The Kalaupapa luau was in full swing when they arrived. Tiki lights flickered, and the citronella had so far managed to repel the mosquitoes. Leia’s father had brought his drums, and the Oana family had promised some hula demonstrations later in the evening.
Bane found Leia talking to Kaia by the stone fountain. Ajax lay at Kaia’s feet. The kapa skirt Leia wore reached her knees, and her white top glowed in the soft lights strung around the perimeter of the garden. He knew he was staring and tried to stop, but she took his breath away. He wanted to quote “She Walks in Beauty Like the Night” by Lord Byron, but she’d laugh if she even realized he read poetry.
“We should probably mingle. Shaina Levy looks lonely over there.” He indicated the woman who sat alone on a stone bench. She kept looking into the jungle as though she expected Tarzan to come swinging out of the trees any minute. If someone made a loud noise, she’d likely run screaming from the place.
Besides, he was interested in finding out more about her. Bane took Leia’s arm and guided her toward the seated woman. For once, Leia didn’t pull away. “Listen, there’s something about Shaina I haven’t told anyone. She claims Tony is her little girl’s father. Tony was worried about it.”
“Does Candace know?”
“Not when I spoke to Tony. I don’t know if Shaina has told her yet or not. Maybe we can find out.” He led the way to join Shaina.
“Hi, Shaina, are you enjoying yourself ?” Leia asked. She stood looking down at the other woman with a smile that Bane thought would prompt anyone to unload their burdens.