Dangerous Depths (17 page)

He took her suitcase from her. “Are you sure this is wise?”

“I’m worried about her. If we’re not careful, she’s going to wander off into the Pelekunu Preserve and never be seen again.” She nodded to the edge of the encroaching jungle. “I’d be happier if we could get her to leave here, but she won’t go without a fight.” Hawaiians revered their elderly. The thought of forcing her grand-mother into a home made Leia shudder.

Before Bane could answer, a tan SUV pulled up to the edge of the driveway and parked. Pete got out carrying a small box. He wore a blue shirt that said WELA KA HOA!, which meant “Strike while the iron is hot.” His smile faltered when he saw Bane, but he quickly recovered and approached them. “Aloha,” he said, raising his hand. “I was told I could find you here.” He rubbed Ajax’s ears, and the dog groveled.

“Ajax, you traitor,” Bane said, but he was smiling.

Leia nodded toward the box in Pete’s hands. “Hey, Pete. What you got there?” Pua waddled to meet Pete, craning her neck to see what he carried. He stepped around the goose, but she scurried after him. “Pua is wondering if you’ve brought her some fruit.”

Pete’s smile widened. “I found this
kapa
cloth in my grand-mother’s attic, and I wondered what you could tell me about it.” He extended the box to her.

Leia took the box and caught her breath. “It’s gorgeous.” She carried the box to the picnic table where her grandmother sat singing. Setting it down, she carefully lifted the precious cloth from the box, and the aroma of sandalwood and plumeria embedded in the cloth drifted to her nose. Whoever had made this beautiful piece was a
kupuna
of the art that Leia was still trying to learn. The golden-rod and black colors were still vibrant on the snow-white cloth. There were a few blemishes because of the age, but it was still lovely.

She ran her hand over the soft cloth. “I think it’s a ceremonial robe. Look at the
Ukanipo
—the shark god—design. This is a real treasure.”
Kapa
cloth was highly prized and was still even used for bartering. She suppressed her own covetous thoughts.

“How much do you suppose it’s worth? I know it’s damaged.” Pete touched a hole in the fabric.

“Several thousand dollars at least.” Leia put her hand over the hole. “This is not much damage considering the age. It’s lovely.”

Her grandmother stopped singing. She reached out to touch the beautiful cloth. “That reminds me, I still haven’t found my great-grandmother’s
kapa
bedcovering. You must see it, Leia.”

Her grandmother had never mentioned any
kapa
bedcovering before. Was she still befuddled? Leia took her grandmother’s hand and thanked God that the clouds had lifted. Smiling with relief, she pressed her lips to her grandmother’s hand. “Aloha,
Tûtû.
I’ve come to stay with you for a while.”

“
A’ole loa!
I can get along just fine on my own.” Her grand-mother frowned and pulled her hand away. “Your mother can’t be happy about this. You belong in her
haole
world, not here.”

“I’m not a
haole
,
Tûtû
.” Leia’s gaze met Bane’s, and she looked away from the sympathy in his face.

Her grandmother dismissed her words with a wave of her hand. “You’ve been raised by a
haole
, and you’ll always be one. Your father should never have married her. I knew from the first moment I laid eyes on her that she was wrong for my Akoni. He should have married the girl I had picked for him. Beautiful Pela. She came to see me last week, and she’s still as lovely.”

“Did she?” Leia glanced at Bane and gave a slight shake of her head. Pela had died five years ago.

Her grandmother stood and went to Pete. “Who are you, young man? Are you chasing after my granddaughter? You’d do bet-ter to find someone of pure blood.”

Leia knew her mouth was dangling, and she shut it. She blinked back tears. Grief swamped her. Her grandmother had been Leia’s supporter when she was growing up—she couldn’t bear it if the illness changed that. “It’s me,
Tûtû.
It’s Leia.”

“I’m not blind,
keiki
.” Ipo’s voice was still sharp.

Pete patted her arm. “I’m a friend of Leia’s. The cloth belongs to me. Do you recognize the family pattern?”

“Maybe.”
Tûtû
touched the cloth again. “Where is my
kapa
cloth, Leia? Did you steal it while I wasn’t looking? I don’t want you here. There are too many valuable things in the house. I can’t trust you.”

Leia looked away from the sympathy she saw in the men’s eyes. “You can trust me,
Tûtû
. I wouldn’t take anything of yours.” Ajax whined and licked her hand.

Her grandmother put her finger to her lips in a shushing motion. “You’re just like your mother. She was always sneaking around here looking for treasures. She talked me out of the little jade whale I loved so much. I didn’t want to give it to her, but she kept hammering me until I couldn’t think.”

Leia knew the figurine her grandmother meant. Her mother loved it. Ipo’s eyes filled with tears, and Leia tried to embrace her, but her grandmother waved her away. Leia wanted to run away, to hide her shame from the two men watching, but she couldn’t.
Tûtû
needed her—she just didn’t know it.

Bane put his arm around Ipo, but she didn’t brush him away. Her white head nestled comfortably against Bane’s shoulder, and she gave him a coquettish smile. “You remind me of my husband, God rest his soul. What did you say your name was?”

Was she confusing Bane with Pete? Leia exchanged puzzled glances with the men. “You know Bane,
Tûtû
. He and I were engaged once.” A wave of heat touched her cheeks when she said the word
engaged
, and Bane’s chin jerked up so that his eyes locked with hers. She wondered what he really felt now. Did he care at all, or had all those feelings burned up in their final conflagration?

Her grandmother waggled her finger at Leia. “You
haoles
are flighty. You take after your mother.”

“She’s not a
haole
,
Tûtû
,” Bane said. “She’s got more Hawaiian in her than the majority of those who call themselves native. Look at her—she looks like a Hawaiian princess.”

Her grandmother snorted. “She’s got blue eyes. No Hawaiian ever had blue eyes.” She patted Bane’s arm. “I want to go inside. Can I lean on your arm? My legs don’t seem to want to work right. I need to find that
kapa
.”

Leia watched her grandmother walk away still muttering about the
cloth. Pete took his box of cloth and beat a hasty retreat. She didn’t blame him. What had she gotten herself into? Her grand-mother needed more care than Leia could give her. She sighed and followed them.

I
po leaned heavily on Bane’s arm. Her hands gripped his fore-arm in a hold that was almost painful, and he wondered where she got the strength. The dog trotted after them. “You hurt Leia’s feelings,
Tûtû
,” he chided.

She paused in the hall and let go of his arm. “I said nothing to the
keiki
but the truth. She’s too sensitive.”

“She’s your granddaughter who loves you and tries to help you in every way she can. You should be ashamed of yourself.” Bane knew he shouldn’t be talking to an elder so frankly, but seeing the pain in Leia’s eyes compelled him. She’d done nothing to warrant her grandmother’s censure. “It’s not her fault your son married a
haole
. Leia loves her Hawaiian heritage.”

“Perhaps you’re right.” Ipo looked suddenly tired, though her dark eyes sparkled with more alertness than they’d possessed only a few minutes earlier. “I need to find someone to trust,” she muttered. “Where’s my granddaughter? Where’s Leia?”

Maybe she was less clearheaded than he’d thought. He grabbed a bathrobe hanging on a hook on the wall and helped her slip it on. “You can trust Leia. And me. What do you need?”

“I must get the
kapa
to a safe place. It’s not safe now.” She plucked at her sleeve in a fretful motion.

“Where is the cloth? I’ll get it for you.” He suspected there was no
kapa
. Leia joined them, and he saw the doubt on her face at her grandmother’s mention of the cloth.

They moved on into the living room. Bane stopped and stared. The entire house was topsyturvy. He gaped at upended drawers, their brightly colored contents juxtaposed against the dull brown carpet. Cushions had been pulled from the sofa and chairs. The doorway to Ipo’s bedroom stood open, and he could see more devastation in that room. Through the large archway to the kitchen, he saw cabinet doors ajar. Ajax began to growl, and his hackles raised.

“
Tûtû
, did you do this?” Leia asked, her voice quivering.

“Who has been here?” Ipo demanded. “Or was this your handiwork, Leia? Are you trying to find the
kapa
?”

“I haven’t even been inside,
Tûtû
.” Leia walked down the hall. “Hey, the back door is open. Someone’s been in here.”

Bane situated Ipo in a chair, then went to join Leia. Muddy footprints mixed with bits of crushed grass and debris came from outside and went down the hall, where they disappeared into the master bedroom. “These weren’t made by your grandmother. It looks like they’re about a size 12 man’s shoe.”

Leia rubbed her arms. “It almost looks like the person was searching for something. Someone trashed my house too.”

“Maybe it’s just a series of random break-ins,” Bane said. He and Leia went to her grandmother’s bedroom and began to pick up the clothing dumped on the floor.

The phone rang on Ipo’s bedside table, and Leia answered it. Bane could hear Eva’s excited voice through the receiver. Leia spoke in a soothing voice. “I’m fine, Eva. I know you said not to go to the cottage. You were right about it being messed up, but I’m okay.” She spoke a little longer to her sister, then hung up. “Eva and her dreams. She dreamed something happened to my house. Strange, isn’t it?” She began to put things away.

Bane sorted through the discarded clothing. Did Ipo still wear any of this? The muumuu looked ancient.

“Bane, look at this.” Leia was holding a brooch. “It’s a diamond-and-sapphire brooch. Why didn’t whoever it was take this? My mother told me once that it was worth several thousand dollars.”

“We’d better call the police before we straighten anything else up. This is weird.” He plucked the phone from his pocket and dialed 911 to report the break-in. The dispatcher promised to send out an officer, and Bane hung up.

“There’s more, Bane.” Leia held out a small teak box with the lid open to reveal rumpled hundred-dollar bills. “This was in plain sight with the lid up.”

“It seems our intruder was after something specific. I wish we could count on your grandmother to know what was missing.”

“In her lucid moments, she would know, but I don’t think we can believe anything she says today. We’re going to have to figure this out ourselves.”

“It’s obvious they weren’t after cash.” He closed the lid of the box and set it on the dresser.

“Could it have anything to do with Koma?” Her eyes widened as her gaze connected with his.

Bane tore himself away before he drowned in her big blue eyes. “What could Koma have to do with it?”

“I may be totally off base, but Koma told me to talk to my
tûtû
. Those were his last words. He said he wanted to show me where the treasure was, but I thought I’d just get another of his stories. What if it wasn’t? What if he really knew where it was—and now
tûtû
is the only one who knows? She could be in danger too.”

“Leia,” Bane began, “this place is isolated, and even if someone drove by, they couldn’t see the house for all the trees. No one would hear you if you yelled for help. I think you and your
tûtû
need to go back to your dad’s place, at least until we figure out what’s going on.”

Ipo wandered in as he finished, and she was shaking her head. “I’m not leaving my home. Make him leave me alone, Leia.” She covered her face with her hands and began to cry—a pitiful sound that plucked at his heartstrings. He was a sucker for elderly people. Bane sighed. “How about if I stay too? I don’t want you two women out here alone.”

Ipo didn’t seem to hear him. She continued to wail, and Ajax whined. Leia finally went to her grandmother and put her arms around her. Ipo allowed Leia’s embrace this time, and Leia managed to calm her. “I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Leia said to Bane. “You don’t have to stay. We’re going to the village luau tonight, and there will be lots of people there. My parents are coming too.”

“I’m either staying or you’re going to your dad’s. Those are your only choices.” He folded his arms over his chest. “Whoever broke in has no fear. He did it in broad daylight.”

“We don’t know that.
Tûtû
was so confused earlier, and maybe she awoke to the mess and it disoriented her.”

He shook his head. “The mud on the carpet was still wet. Whoever it was, he hasn’t been gone long. Your arrival may have frightened him off. Besides, your house was vandalized too.” He stood looking down at her and had to resist a powerful impulse to kiss her. She looked so vulnerable, so frightened. No doubt she wouldn’t welcome his embrace.

O
nce Eva talked to Leia and knew she was okay, Eva got out her colored pencils and paper. Her best friend, Lani, looked over her shoulder. Lani was so pretty, with the dark hair Eva had always wanted. She had Down’s too, but she was a year older than Eva and sometimes tried to pretend she was smarter. Eva didn’t think she was, though she loved Lani just like a sister.

“I’m bored,” Lani said. “You said your friend Hotshot might come. He is just made up, isn’t he? He’s not real.”

“The boys told you they play basketball with him.” Eva tried not to let her friend bother her. Lani just hadn’t seen Hotshot before, and she was jealous. “He’s real.” Her gaze touched on the woods that lined the park. “There he is!” She jumped to her feet, and her pencils scattered over the grass. She knelt and tried to grab them up, but they
kept escaping her thick fingers. If only she had slim, pretty fingers like Leia and Malia instead of these short, stubby things.

Lani stood with her mouth dangling as Hotshot came toward them. He stopped when he saw Lani, and his smile faded. Eva got up from the ground. She didn’t want to make him mad, but she wanted her two friends to meet. She stuck her fingers in her mouth, then remembered she wasn’t supposed to do that. She pulled her hand down and put it in the pocket of her shorts. “Hi, Hotshot,” she said.