Bane pulled into the driveway of the Kahale home. He and Ono had searched the jungle until the trail petered out. While Ono went to find volunteers to search more, Bane knew he needed to talk to Leia’s parents. They had taken Ipo home with them and cleaned out the cottage.
Ingrid greeted him at the door. “Why didn’t you grab the shovel or something?” Ingrid whirled in a graceful movement and walked to the window. Her shoulders were rigid. “Bane, you’re a big guy. You could have made mincemeat of the thief. Now it’s all lost, and Leia is missing.”
Bane winced. He was already dealing with the guilt of failing to protect her. “I’ll find her, Mrs. Kahale.” He checked the time on his watch.
“Now, Ingrid, don’t hammer the boy.” Akoni spoke from the chair by the door. “He did the best he could. They’re going to find Leia. I’m going out to help search too.”
Ingrid frowned and nodded toward the window. “Looks like Candace heard the news.”
Bane stood and went to the window. With tears streaming down her face, Candace came flying up the walk. Bane pinched the bridge of his nose. He was so tired of failing everyone around him. “I’ll talk to her.” He left the living room and hurried to the door as the bell pealed repeatedly. What could he say to the young widow? The truth was going to hurt.
Candace was leaning against the doorjamb when Bane opened the door. “Is it true?” she demanded, swiping the back of her hand across her cheek.
“If you’re talking about Leia’s disappearance and the stolen treasure, I’m afraid so.” Bane stood back to allow Candace to enter. “Ono is gathering volunteers to help look for Leia.”
“Did you look at mug shots?” Candace continued to stand outside.
Bane glanced at his watch. “I didn’t see him. Ono has shut down the airports and the ferries, but the guy could have his own boat.”
“I can’t believe this. All that treasure, just gone.” She groaned. “You can’t let anything happen to Leia.” She rubbed her stomach.
The stolen treasure would have fixed everything for her and her baby. “I’ll find Leia. I wish I could say the same about the booty.”
“The money would have been nice, but as long as Leia is all right, that’s the important thing. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’ll figure out something.”
“Just so you know, there was hardly any treasure in the chest, just a sprinkling of jewelry and some coins. I doubt it was worth more than maybe a hundred thousand dollars.” While that sounded like a lot, it wouldn’t have lasted Candace more than two years—if that—with the cost of living in Hawai’i.
Candace dropped her hands. “You’re kidding. I thought it would be worth millions.”
“If the chest had been full, it would have. But it wasn’t much of a treasure, as treasures go.” He looked at his watch again.
“Could more of it be still buried—or on the ship?”
“Maybe.”
“So all hope isn’t lost.” Hope buoyed Candace’s voice. “You may find the real bulk of the treasure on the ship. At least we now know it’s more than a myth.”
“I wouldn’t put all my hope on that,” Bane warned. “I’d guess someone took bits and pieces of the treasure out of the chest over the centuries and sold them off. What we found is probably all that’s left.” He glanced at his watch. “I’ve got to get out of here. I’m meeting Ono and the others at Ipo’s house.”
Ingrid came to the door as he spoke. “Candace, you look exhausted. Come inside. I just put some tea on.”
He left Candace with Ingrid and ran to his car.
Move. We don’t have all day.” Logan jerked Leia to her feet and shoved her toward the door.
Leia’s feet tingled, and she felt clumsy and awkward as she shuffled barefoot through the door into the early morning light. The sun was barely up, and the light was still murky. “Um, I need to use the outhouse,” she said, her face burning.
Logan nodded. “Around back,” he said. He marched her in front of him to the outhouse.
“I’ll need my hands free,” she said.
Logan glanced around. “No tricks,” he warned. “Look, just so you know, I didn’t want any part of hurting anyone.”
“You work for Ron, don’t you?”
“Ron who?” He wasn’t meeting her eyes.
“Why did Moe kill Jermaine? I can’t see you doing it.”
He raised his head then, and his gaze held defiance. “The treasure was ours. I guess the boss hired him to keep an eye on Tony, but he had no business going off on his own.”
“Where is his body?”
Logan shrugged. “We tipped him over the cliff. He’s fish food by now, and no one will find him.” He gestured toward the outhouse. “Take care of business. We need to get going.”
Rubbing her sore wrists, Leia nodded and ducked inside the outhouse. It had only one small, high window that let in a trickle of light, but it was too small for her to squeeze through, even if she could hoist herself up to it. She heard a beep and realized Logan had dialed his cell phone. He was talking. She craned her head to listen at the tiny window.