Kaia shot him a look. He wasn’t paying any attention to what she’d told him, and Kaia could see the woman bristling.
The woman took a step back. “I know the military is trying to pin that dart gun on Jonah, but I’ve never seen him with anything like that. I doubt he would have known how to use one.”
“So you think he was murdered and didn’t shoot himself by accident?” Kaia asked, her voice gentle.
“Of course he was murdered! And I can tell you who the culprit is, though no one will listen.” Mrs. Kapolei stepped onto the porch and shook her finger in Kaia’s face. “It’s that no-good Nahele Aki. He hated Jonah.”
“I thought your husband was a member of Pele Hawai′i,” Kaia said.
“He was. But he’s been trying to get Nahele out of power for months. Aki is taking the organization in a radical direction.” Her eyes flooded with tears. “And Nahele couldn’t stand the competition, so he got rid of my husband and made it look like he was involved in something suspicious.”
“Did you tell the military this?” Kaia asked.
Mrs. Kapolei nodded. “But I could tell they didn’t believe a word of it.” She rubbed the back of her hand over her eyes. “As far as they were concerned, he’d been tried and found guilty.”
Kaia opened her purse and pulled out a tissue. She pressed it into the other woman’s hand.
Mrs. Kapolei blew her nose. “Mahalo. Are you going to do something about Nahele?”
The hope in her eyes rattled Kaia. This was beyond her reach. “We’ll do what we can,” she promised.
The light in Mrs. Kapolei’s eyes dimmed. “In other words, no.”
“We’ll follow what leads we can find,” Kaia told her. “Is there anything else you can tell us? Did Jonah have a best friend who might be able to help us?”
The woman’s jaw hardened, and her dark eyes closed to mere slits. “You might ask his girlfriend. I doubt she’ll talk to you, but you can try.” Mrs. Kapolei opened the screen door and stepped back into the house. “She works at the Waimea Brewing Company.”
Kaia knew the pub. She exchanged a quick glance with Jesse. “What’s her name?”
“Lindy Martin. She lives in a gray house next to the school.”
The door shut, and Jesse took Kaia’s elbow and guided her back to the path. “That was informative. You think she knows what she’s talking about?”
“I don’t know. She knew about the girlfriend though, so she’s no dummy.”
Jesse looked at his watch. “I’ve got forty-five minutes before I need to pick up Heidi. You game to see what this Lindy Martin has to say?”
“Sure.”
They reached the road, and Kaia followed him to the Jeep. She was quiet as they drove back down the winding road to town.
“You doing okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine. Just tired. I’ve fallen from a tree, twisted my ankle, been grabbed, shot at, and endured practically no sleep for the past few days.” She shifted in the seat and turned to face him. “To tell you the truth, I’m beginning to wonder if this is something I need to back away from. If I get killed, Nani will be at the mercy of Seaworthy Labs and likely be made to perform in a sea park. I can’t let that happen. My research doesn’t have a chance to move forward with problems like these.”
“Can you just hang in there with me until the missile test is complete?”
She was silent then leaned her head back against the rest. She didn’t know when she’d been so tired. Her life was racing from one crisis to the next, and she wanted the stress to end. “Okay, but if anything happens to me, you’re to take care of Nani. Agreed?”
Jesse chuckled. “Agreed. But I won’t let anything happen to you.” He slowed as they entered the town.
“That must be the house.” Kaia pointed to a gray house next to the school.
The small structure had peeling paint and a broken windowpane in the door. A flock of chickens ran from under the Jeep’s tires when Jesse pulled into the rutted driveway. They got out and went to the door. Splinters had been gouged from the wood, and the red paint had faded to pink.
Jesse pounded on the metal screen door that didn’t fit securely into the frame. Almost immediately, a young woman in her twenties answered. She had red hair of a shade Kaia had never seen in nature. A cigarette hung from her crimson mouth.
She looked blearily at them through the door. “If you’re selling something, I’m not interested.”
“We’d like to ask you some questions about Jonah Kapolei,” Kaia said. She smiled, but the young woman wasn’t moved by the warmth. “We won’t take more than a few minutes.”
Lindy’s manner thawed only slightly, and she stepped out onto the porch. “I’m about to go to bed.”
“We wondered if you knew of any problems Jonah might have had with Pele Hawai′i.” Jesse took off his hat and rubbed his forehead.