“We’re going to have to draw him out.” Bane motioned for Mano to lead the way. “You’ve got the gun, buddy.”
“I’ve got the brawn, you’ve got the brains, is that it?” Mano grinned but stepped out with his gun ready.
They ducked under the window and crept to the door. “Stay here,” Bane whispered.
Leia shook her head. No way was she waiting out here. She wanted to touch Eva and make sure she was all right. Her father too. She tiptoed behind Bane and Mano toward the front of the cabin. Bane motioned for her to get behind a large monkeypod tree, and she moved to the safety of its gnarled branches. Bane and Mano slipped to the front of the cabin.
Mano held his finger to his lips, then picked up a rock, moved to the side of the door, and banged the rock on the outside of the cabin. Stepping behind a bush, he brought his gun up. Leia heard a muffled oath from inside the cabin. The door eased open, and Dirk’s gun poked out. His eyes squinted and his gaze sweeping the landscape, Dirk stepped outside.
“Freeze!” Mano shouted. Dirk whirled, bringing his gun up. Before he could fire, Bane jumped him from behind. Dirk thrashed under Bane as Mano leaped to help his brother. He wrested the gun from Dirk’s hand and stuck both it and his own gun in his waistband.
Leia rushed to the cabin door and entered. She grabbed Eva, who jumped to her feet as Leia came through the door. Leia inhaled the essence of her sister—ginger shampoo, some musty odor she couldn’t identify, and the salt of her tears.
Her father came up behind her and embraced both of them. “I knew you’d find us. You’re like a pit bull.”
Bane and Mano hustled Dirk into the cabin. Leia turned to face Dirk. She whipped out Tony’s weight belt and shook it in Dirk’s face. “You killed Tony, didn’t you? Why? He was your friend—he trusted you. He had nothing to do with any of this. Why did you kill him?”
Dirk’s face turned a mottled red as Bane shoved him into a chair. “Where’d you get that? You can’t prove anything.”
Leia realized they couldn’t. It had been found on Candace’s boat. Candace would be the one to go down for it, though with his kidnapping of Eva, he was in plenty of trouble.
Eva lifted her head from Leia’s shoulder. “I saw that in Hotshot’s bag when I was looking for candy.”
Leia turned to her sister. “Why didn’t you tell me? You knew we were looking for it.”
Eva dropped her gaze. “He said it was Candace’s.”
Leia hugged her. “It’s not your fault.” She glared at Dirk. “All for money.” Events of the past few days began to bubble to mind. “You worked for a security firm on O’ahu. Was the museum one of your clients? Is that how you figured out my dad had the artifacts? There was something on one of the tapes, wasn’t there? You figured you could get it from him, so you hid the tape from the police. When did you plant the belt on Candace’s boat?”
He shrugged. “Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out, Sherlock.” He jutted out his chin.
“Did Candace know about this? Did she fall for your charm?” Bane asked.
Leia raised her brows and shook her head so Bane would see her. She wanted to keep Candace out of this. It was obvious Dirk had set her up. Dirk didn’t answer Bane’s jibe, but Leia saw the flash of triumph in his eyes. Her gaze went back to Bane. He’d been right about Candace working with Dirk. She felt sick. Candace knew about it and had shielded a murderer. Her friend would be arrested too.
Bane pulled out the cell phone. “I better call the cops.” He stared at the phone, then put it away. “No signal here.”
Eva was crying now, and Leia looked down into her sister’s exhausted face. “Makua, you’d better take Eva home. Take one of the boats and send the police back here. We’ll stay here with Dirk until the cavalry arrives.”
“I think I’ll go with them if you can handle it,” Mano said. “I want to check on Annie and her volcano. She’s probably harried with all the media attention. You want my gun?”
Bane shook his head. “I’ve got Dirk’s gun. Besides, he’s trussed up good and tight. We’ll be fine until the police arrive.”
Leia hugged her sister and father and thanked Mano for all he’d done, and the three headed to the beach where they’d left the boat. Now all they had to do was wait for the police. Once Mano could use his cell phone, he would summon help.
“We might as well get comfortable.” Bane pulled out a camp chair for Leia, then dropped into one himself. “You think the money was worth it, Dirk?”
“You don’t know anything,” he said. He clamped his mouth shut and turned to stare at the back wall.