“You need to practice what you preach. Where is your trust in God to work things out for the best in your life?” He pulled away and searched her face.
She stared back at him. The police were shouting for them now. There was no time to talk about this, but he was wrong. She wasn’t going to gamble with a child’s life, and that’s what he wanted. Shooting him an annoyed look, she went down the tree. She couldn’t tell the police about the artifacts. Her father needed to be the one to come clean. If she could talk him into giving up the artifacts, he might not get into too much trouble. Maybe he’d get a suspended sentence when it came out that he had the best intentions for what he’d done.
Hina leaped from the tree behind her, and she picked her up. The helicopter rotors had quit turning, and she hurried to where Ono stood with her father.
The detective turned toward her, his mustache quivering. “Are you all right, Pilgrim?” Though he still called her the nickname, his eyes were sober.
“A little shaken up, but I’m not hurt.”
“What happened?”
She launched into the explanation of how the men had seized her and where they’d taken her. “I talked them into coming here because I hoped you’d all still be here looking for me.”
“What made them think your father had stolen the artifacts when he had been cleared of any wrongdoing?” Ono was writing everything down in a small red spiral notebook.
“I don’t know. They seemed to have been hired by someone else. They referred to Mr. Westerfield.” At least the detective wasn’t questioning her father’s guilt.
“We got back the autopsy on Tony,” Ono said. “He died of puffer-fish poisoning, so it was evidently accidental.”
“You can’t believe that with everything else going on!”
“Coincidences happen now and then.”
She caught Akoni’s eye, but he turned away, and she knew he wasn’t going to come clean. She swallowed and looked over to Bane. He must have sensed her anguish, because he stepped closer and put his arm around her.
“I can tell you about Westerfield, Detective. Let Leia get some rest. She’s exhausted, and I’d like to get her back to her family. They’re all waiting back at Ipo’s house for word.” He told the detecttie all he knew about Sam Westerfield. “My boss, Ron Pimental, can tell you more.”
Ono nodded. “I’ll give him a call. I’m sure we’ll have more questions, but that’s enough for now. Get some rest. We’ll head out to the cabin you mentioned and take a look around. If they’ve been staying there, we might find some clues.” Ono walked off to talk to another policeman.
Leia leaned against Bane. Fatigue had caught up with her, and her eyelids felt heavy. Hina meowed and reached out to touch Bane’s arm. “I forgot to tell you—Hina saved me today.” She couldn’t help the smile that curved her lips.
He dislodged Hina’s claws from his T-shirt. The cat licked his hand. “This fur ball? I can’t see her saving anything but another trip to her feeding trough.”
Leia covered her smile with her hand, her fatigue lifting.
“Ajax needs lunch,” Bane grumbled.
“Hina would have him for lunch. He’s terrified of her.”
“With good reason. She’s a psycho.”
“You’re just jealous.”
He glanced at her as they walked toward her grandmother’s cottage. “Maybe I am. I’d like you to look at me with the same love you do the cat. I’m not giving up, Leia. Almost losing you made me realize even my desire for children isn’t as strong as my love for you. A life without you is no life at all.” He stopped and turned her toward him. “We were meant to be together.”
She looked away from the love in his eyes. She loved him too much to let him make that sacrifice. Mano and her father hurried to catch up with them, and the moment was lost when they could have talked. Maybe it was for the best.
“Mahalo for not giving me away,” her father said, his voice low and strained.
It hurt to hear the shame in his voice. Leia was used to seeing him stride around with a confident walk and a booming laugh. When she was growing up, she thought he was the biggest man in the world. He seemed shrunken and diminished in her eyes now. She needed his help to figure out who was coming after them. Moe and Logan would be back. “Makua, can you think of anyone else who might have figured out that you had the artifacts?”
“I’ve been wondering about that ever since you told me. The investigation cleared me of suspicion.”
“How did you manage that?” Bane asked.
“Luck, really. I staged the break-in to happen when I was on duty. I put the artifacts in the back of my van. Coincidentally, security cameras caught another man slipping out the back door at about the same time, and it obviously wasn’t me. So I was cleared.”