Distant Echoes (13 page)

She should check it out. She poked her head into the engine room and told the sailors what she was doing.

“One of us should go with you.” Mick Wilson, the burly petty officer who’d been assigned to her, stood.

“I’ve got Nani. She and I can slip in without being seen. If I get in trouble, I’ll signal you with my flashlight and wave into Nani’s camera.”

He hesitated then nodded. Kaia stepped out of her slippers and went down the ladder. Nani met her at the bottom. Kaia began swimming toward the boat, and when Nani caught on, Kaia grabbed the dolphin’s dorsal fin. Together they sped through the water.

The boat was anchored just offshore in an inlet cove. No lights shone, and if she hadn’t heard the motor before it was cut, she never would have noticed it. The waves streamed past her body in a silken flow. She released Nani’s fin and treaded water while she assessed the situation.

There was no sound from the boat, no sign of movement. Maybe the passengers had gone ashore. She glanced toward the beach. The moon came out from behind a cloud and illuminated a small dingy pulled up on the sand.

Bingo. Someone was here. She swam closer to shore. Her feet touched bottom, and she moved to the left where coconut palm trees leaned over the water. She came ashore under the thick leafy shelter. Pausing to catch her breath, she stepped against the smooth trunk of the tree and peered around into the open area to her right.

Three men stood talking in a soft hush. The wind blew their words away from her. She was going to have to get closer. She sidled along the edge of the trees as they changed from palms to monkey-pod. She was careful to stay in the shadows. The sharp lava rock scraped her bare feet, and she winced when she stubbed her toe on an unseen boulder.

Still hidden in the shelter of the trees, she finally stood about six feet from the men. She recognized one of them as Nahele Aki, the head of Pele Hawai´i. The other two looked familiar, and she assumed she’d seen them at the meeting she’d attended with Mano.

“Are we all set on our jobs?” Nahele asked.

“Yep,” the taller of the two men said.

All three were dressed in black wet suits. Kaia suspected they were about to make an unannounced visit to the base, though why they’d come ashore here, off base property, she had no idea.

Nahele motioned toward where Kaia crouched. “Get the gear.”

She looked around for someplace to hide. The monkeypod tree branches grew low and heavy, so she grabbed one and hoisted herself into the tree. She settled on the branch and strained to hear. A movement along the branch above her head flickered at the edge of her vision. She turned her head to look and found herself eyeball to eyeball with a cane spider. She froze.

The thing was huge, nearly eight inches in diameter. It lifted one leg delicately as if to reach out to touch her. Her heart tried to get to the ground before the rest of her could move. Then her taut muscles loosened and she lunged back along the branch as far as she could go. It wasn’t far. She was wedged into the crook of the tree.

Her horrified gaze stayed fixed on the spider. It moved closer. She couldn’t
breathe, couldn’t think beyond a certainty that she couldn’t let that thing touch her. The spider was going to be on her any minute. She was afraid to look at it and afraid to let it out of her sight for fear it would scurry up her arm. When the spider made a sudden movement and raced toward her, she lost it. Screeching, she flung herself away and fell from the tree. Her ankle twisted under her as she hit the ground.

She lay on the sand as the men surrounded her. Nahele yanked her to her feet, and she moaned as her foot slammed against a boulder.

“Miss Oana, what are you doing here?”

Trying to ignore the throbbing in her ankle, she lifted her chin and met his gaze. “Nothing. I’d been out for a moonlight swim.”

“A little late for a swim, isn’t it? And tree swimming is something I’ve never heard of.”

“I couldn’t sleep.” She wondered how long it would be before the sailors came looking for her.

“What did you hear?”

Though the words were mild, the dislike and suspicion in his eyes made her freeze. She tried to smile. “Hey, I just got here. I didn’t hear anything other than when you told the men to get the gear.” It might be a good thing she hadn’t heard anything.

His gaze probed her face, and she forced herself to tilt her head up and meet his suspicious stare.

“I’m inclined to believe you,” he said.

“Nahele!” The younger man scowled and took a step closer. “We can’t risk it.”

“I know that, Kim. Take her.” He stepped aside.

The younger man grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away from the grove. A hot burst of pain jolted up her leg, and she sagged to the ground. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to moan or vomit.

Kim jerked her back onto her feet. She swayed on her good leg. She regarded him through a haze of pain. How was she going to get out of this? She glanced toward the dark water and saw the dolphin’s dorsal fin at the top of a wave. If she could just make it to the water, Nani would be there to get her back to the navy boat.

“Carry her, Kim,” Nehele said.

Kaia couldn’t let that happen. He’d have too tight a grip on her. “I can walk,” she said. “I just twisted my ankle.” She eased part of her weight onto her foot and took a tiny step. Kim slackened his grip on her arm, and she wrenched herself free and stumbled toward the waves.

He shouted and grabbed her, missing her arm but snagging her by the hair. She tore loose. Her scalp stung where she’d left strands of hair in his grip. Just a few more feet. She waded into the water, the cool touch of the waves soothing the pain in her ankle.

The men came splashing after her. She dove into the next wave. The water engulfed her and hid her from her pursuers. She kicked out and surfaced then took another gulp of air and plunged under the water again. Something brushed her ankle, a hand fumbled to snag her foot, but she shot forward in the waves.

The next time she surfaced, her pursuers were farther behind. Nani’s dorsal fin sliced the water toward her. Kaia reached out and took hold. She looked back and saw them scrambling for their boat. She had to get to her own, or they’d nab her again.

Nine

J
esse tried to move, but his arms were tied to his sides with long strands of black hair, dark as midnight and just as thick. He could smell the scent of orchids, sweet and cloying. Christy called his name, and he tried again to move, to go to her. The horn on the car blared an evil sound that made him want to scream. He turned to look at Christy again, but instead of her lovely face, he saw her father. His lips were twisted in a snarl that made him look like one of Kaua’i’s wild boars, all crooked teeth and wild eyes. Jesse tried to pull his hand free, but he was pulled toward those jagged teeth.

Jesse thrashed to free himself and woke up in his bed with the sound of his own voice crashing like tropical surf. Covered in a thin sheen of perspiration, his limbs felt weak and shaky. He untangled his legs from the damp sheet and took several deep breaths. It was just a dream.

“You yelled, Uncle Jesse.” Heidi stood in the doorway clutching her tattered teddy. Rubbing her eyes, her hair was rumpled around her red pajamas.

“I was having a bad dream.” He’d thought they were over, but this one was as bad as in the early days. He passed a hand over his damp forehead then rubbed his hair. The memories wouldn’t stay locked away.

Heidi scampered to the bed and clambered onto the covers. She patted his face and tucked Boo under his arm. “Want me to sing to you? Kaia taught me a new song in Hawaiian. Mom always likes me to sing to her when she can’t sleep at night.”

“It would be better than hearing me sing. Or Kaia,” he said, grinning at the memory of Kaia’s froglike voice. Jesse knew nothing could induce him to go back to sleep now, but Heidi would feel useful. And it might distract him.

She sat back with her legs tucked under her. Raising her hands above her head, she began to sing a hula
mele
.
“E hô mai i ka `ike, mai luna mai e.”
She closed her eyes and swayed with the beat.
“I nâ mea huna no`eau o nâ `ôlelo e, E hô mai, e hô mai, e hô mai e.”
She bowed her head when she was done.

“That’s beautiful. What’s it mean?”

“It asks God for wisdom from above,” Heidi said.

“I sure need that now.” Jesse could still hear the echo of the chant in his head. What was wisdom anyway? He’d read in Proverbs that the fear of the Lord was the beginning of wisdom. God could take things he treasured most away in a heartbeat—Jesse had learned well the lesson on fearing God. But he still didn’t know much about being wise.

Aware of Heidi’s expectant face, he hugged her and kissed the top of her head. “You need to go back to sleep, princess.”

“Okay.” She returned his hug with a fierceness that warmed him then climbed down from the bed and went to the door. “Call me if you have another bad dream.”

“Okay.” You’d think she was the grownup and he was the child. He grinned and settled back against the pillow.

He prayed for peace to settle over him and Heidi for the rest of the night, though he still felt uneasy. But his eyelids grew heavy, and he settled down into the bed.

The phone rang just as he was beginning to drift off. The bright numbers on the clock radio said it was four. He grabbed the phone before Heidi awakened again. “Matthews.”

“Kaia’s been attacked,” Ensign Masters said.

“On my way.” He dropped the phone back into the cradle and sprang out of bed. There was no way around it. He’d have to take Heidi with him.

K
aia sat in the control room with her foot propped on a stool. The doctor probed her swollen ankle with impersonal hands, and she winced when he moved it around.

“I take it that hurts,” he said, standing up.

“Is it broken?” That was her biggest fear. The thought of being laid up when the future of her research was at stake frightened her.

“I don’t think so. We’ll get some pictures and see for sure, but I think it’s just a sprain. I’ll wrap it, and you can stay off it a few days.”

“I don’t have a few days. Can I get back on the boat and just keep it propped up?”

“If you have to.” He took off his bifocals and rubbed his eyes.

She noticed the bags under his eyes. “Sorry to get you out of bed at this hour.”

“I was on duty, but it’s about time to go off.” He patted her toes. “Come
see me at the base hospital when you’re done being debriefed. I’ll get X-rays and wrap it.”

She nodded, her gaze on the tall figure coming through the door. Jesse’s gaze swept the room and came to rest on her face. Heidi clung to his hand, her eyes droopy with sleep. She saw Kaia, and her mouth made an O.

She dropped her uncle’s hand and ran to Kaia. “Is Nani okay?”

“She’s fine.” Kaia shifted in her seat and stifled a grin. The
keiki
knew where her priorities were.

Jesse approached. “What happened?”

“I ran into some men just off base. I’m not sure what they were up to, but whatever it was, they weren’t happy at my appearance.” She told him about her ordeal.

“Did you recognize them?”

She hesitated. If she told him about Pele Hawai´i, Mano might fall under suspicion. As well as implicating her brother, it could lead to even more demands by the navy for her help. She couldn’t afford any more distractions from her research. She decided to ignore his question. “I wasn’t sure I’d make it back to the boat before they got to me, but Mike was just starting to look for me. When the men saw the navy boat, they headed off in the opposite direction.”

Jesse’s composed face never altered as she went through her story. He nodded at a few points then asked his men some questions. They hadn’t seen anything other than the boat speeding away.

“You should report this to the police,” Jesse said.

Kaia splayed her fingers palms up. “Why? I injured myself falling out of the tree. My only bruises are self-inflicted.”

Jesse frowned. “Maybe they could help identify the men. They’ve got artists to help you recreate the faces.”

“I just want to go home.” Kaia reached forward and rubbed her ankle. She needed to keep him from asking her again if she recognized the men.

“That looks bad,” he said. He touched the purple bruises with gentle fingers.

She tensed at the way her nerve endings sprang to life. His hair was only inches away, and she had an urge to put her fingers in that short blond cap. Her hand crept toward his head, and she snatched it back. What was she thinking? He was ten years older and not her type at all.

Jesse seemed oblivious, but Kaia couldn’t look him in the eye. “What’s next?” she asked, careful to keep her tone impersonal.

Before he could answer, an older man stepped into the room. Kaia recognized the insignia on his uniform as that of a navy captain.

Jesse stood at attention and saluted.

“At ease.” The man didn’t smile.

Jesse went to an at-ease stance with his hands clasped behind his back. He introduced the man to Kaia as Captain Stanley Lawton. Lawton’s gaze raked over her, making Kaia feel she was a beached starfish on display. And what was that noise? She realized the captain was grinding his teeth.

The captain’s probing eyes zeroed in on Jesse. “Matthews, I’ve been patient with you and your family problems. But this missile defense system is
critical
. I don’t want any more attempted break-ins. You’re going to have to prove to me you can handle this job, or I’ll ask the base commander to replace you.”

A muscle twitched in Jesse’s jaw. Kaia wished she could come to his defense, but she knew it would humiliate him further. Heidi scowled at Lawton and took Kaia’s hand. Kaia studied her ankle and tried to disappear.

“I can handle it, sir. I’m going to need more men.”

“Then request the men you need, but I want results—not excuses. If there are any further security breaches, I’ll take steps.” Lawton’s scowl deepened, and he spun on his heel and stalked out of the room.

Kaia was glad the man hadn’t addressed her. She was in no shape to withstand his withering tongue.