You beat me, you little twerp.” Faye threw her Uno cards onto the table and gave Heidi a mock glare.
The little girl giggled. “Let’s play again.” She picked up the cards and began to shuffle them awkwardly.
“I wish we could, sweetheart, but it’s almost time for your uncle to get here.” Faye had enjoyed the day. She was finally getting into this nanny thing. The break yesterday had helped too.
“He’s usually late,” Heidi said in a matter-of-fact voice. “He’s been really busy at work.”
“I know. What did your mom have to say when she called today?” Faye always tried not to pry too much, but Heidi had seemed more content and happy after the phone visit with her mother. Faye didn’t know the full story of why Heidi’s parents were split up, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
“She thinks she should be done in a few more weeks. She’ll come get me, and we’ll go see Grandma Sommers.”
Faye nodded, but said nothing else. Mention of Heidi’s father was treacherous territory and would likely lead to tears. Faye knew the keiki missed her daddy badly.
The doorbell rang, and Faye got to her feet. “I bet that’s your Uncle Jesse.” A smile lifting her lips, she went to the door and threw it open.
Jesse’s face was white, and his blue eyes seemed almost wild. “Is Heidi ready?” He pushed past Faye without a word of greeting.
“Jesse, what’s wrong?” Faye whispered.
He took off his hat and rubbed his short blond hair then put his hat back on. “Everything. I don’t want to talk about it.” He strode into the living room. “Ready to go, monkey?”
“Uncle Jesse!” Heidi scrambled out of the chair and threw herself into her uncle’s arms. He lifted her against his chest, tucking his head into the crook between her head and neck. “You’re squeezing me too hard,” Heidi protested, wiggling.
Jesse released her and set her back on the floor. “Sorry.” He turned to Faye. “Thanks for keeping her today.”
“Can’t you tell me what’s wrong?” Faye laid her hand on his arm.
He put his hand over hers. “Maybe tomorrow. I can’t talk about it right now. Work stuff.” He swallowed hard and dropped his hand then moved away.
Heidi returned with her backpack. “I’m ready to go.”
Jesse put his hand on the little girl’s head and guided her out the door. “See you after while.”
“After while, crocodile,” Heidi chimed in.
Faye shut the door behind them. She had several hours before Curtis was due home, and the house seemed claustrophobic. She grabbed her car keys and went out through the kitchen to the garage. The Volvo convertible rarely got used, but today she felt like letting the wind blow through her hair. Punching the garage-door opener, she got in the car, lowered the top, and backed out.
Her tires kicked up red dirt as she headed down Highway 50. She passed three men talking along the roadside. The Acura parked on the shoulder must belong to them. They turned so their backs were to the road. She stared at them as she passed. With all the problems going on for Jesse, she wondered if they were up to no good. The base was just over the hill. One turned to look at her, and she shivered and looked away. It was none of her business.
The car seemed to know where it was going even if Faye didn’t, and fifteen minutes later she stopped by a driveway. Did she dare drive in? Her lungs constricted, and she felt faint. Dragging in oxygen, she told herself she could do this. Curtis would be so proud when she told him.
She dropped the Volvo into gear and turned into the driveway. The koa tree that stood guard over the property was nearly sixty feet tall, its long, straight trunk at least eight feet in diameter. Plumeria, orchids, and hibiscus bloomed along the drive, and their sweet fragrance wafted to her nose and settled her nerves. Talk about aromatherapy. She smiled at the thought.
When she was a little girl, she often hid under the koa tree and pretended to talk with the Menehune and the Mu, tiny aborigines who were said to have lived on Kaua’i in the early days. Whenever she played jokes on her parents, she told them it was the Mu, because the little people were supposed to be tricksters. It never worked with her parents.
The memories washed over her, and she stopped in the middle of the driveway, unexpected sobs heaving from her throat. She couldn’t do this. The memories were too strong and painful. She’d give herself away.
Gripping the steering wheel, she took several deep breaths until she could feel a sense of calmness begin to settle over her. She took her foot off the brake and put it back on the accelerator. Rounding the last curve, she shut off the engine in front of a small Hawaiian cottage. The red shutters looked freshly painted, and the front porch was just as she remembered it, such a dark wood it was almost black.
Her knees shook as she got out of the car and went to the front door. There was no sound from the other side of the screen. A gecko looked at her then raced along the siding. She lifted her hand then dropped it and rubbed slick palms against the sides of her slacks. Biting her lip, she raised her hand again and rapped on the door. The soft knock startled the myna on the porch railing. It squawked and flew off. Faye rapped a little harder, but only silence greeted her.
“He’s not home.”
She turned, and her heart tried to escape her chest when she saw the man approaching the porch. He could have been Palani in his younger years. She wasn’t sure she could talk. She swallowed past the constriction in her throat. “Hello. I hope I didn’t take you away from your work.”
“I was just doing a little fishing. I’m not working this month.”
The young man’s wide shoulders and open, generous expression filled her with delight. He’d grown up strong and handsome in spite of her desertion.
“Catching anything?” she asked, stepping off the porch. She approached him. If only she had the courage to tell him who she was. In his firm jaw and full lips, she could still see the pudgy cheeks from his childhood.
He shrugged. “A few small ‘ono.” He tipped his head and stared at her. “Do I know you? You look familiar.”
The words lodged in her throat. “Not really,” she finally managed. “But I’m hoping you will want to. I’m your mother.”
KAIA SAT ON THE PIER WITH HER LEGS DANGLING IN THE WATER, disheartened. DALE lay discarded on the pier beside her. Nani could repeat sounds back to her, but the dolphin had no idea what they meant. Maybe she never would.
Kaia heard a noise and turned to see Jesse and Heidi coming toward her. Jesse’s mouth was grim. She stood and moved toward them.
“Can I swim with Nani?” Heidi demanded when Kaia reached them.
“For a few minutes. We’re going to have to go to the base in a while.” She smiled as she watched Heidi shuck off her shorts and top to reveal her bathing suit underneath. The little girl shouted then ran pell-mell into the waves. Nani leaped in the air then moved to meet Heidi.
Kaia turned back to face Jesse. “What’s happened?”
He picked up her hand and squeezed it. “I’ve been relieved of my duties.”
“My duties as security officer. Some anonymous caller accused me of being a spy.”
“You’ve got to be kidding. And the captain believed it?”
His words were clipped, and she found it hard to read his expression. “They’re investigating.” He rubbed his forehead. “Until they get to the bottom of it, I’m no longer head of security.”
“Auê! Why would someone do that to you?”
He shrugged. “To halt my investigation? Someone planted a copy of the schematics that had been stolen from the base in my quarters.”
“Wait—what schematics?”
“Of the new missile system. They think I’m a spy.”
She covered her hand with her mouth. A spy. Could it be true? She stared into his face, her eyes noting the firm chin, the direct way he met her gaze. She couldn’t imagine he could be a spy, but wasn’t that the reason most spies went undetected? They were the last person you’d suspect.
She didn’t want him to know her doubts, so she tried for humor. “Does that mean someone else is going to order me around?”
“Was I ordering you around?” His tight mouth relaxed, and he smiled.
“You do it without even thinking.”
“Come on, you must be talking about someone else. I’ve treated you with kid gloves.”
“With nails embedded,” she said, punching him lightly in the stomach.
He caught her hand, and she unfurled her fingers in his. He squeezed them. She tried to squelch her doubts, but they kept rising. Maybe he’d asked for her help to allay suspicions at the base. She didn’t want to be a pawn—she had too much on her own plate to figure out.
She stepped away. “So what’s next? I don’t have time to tiptoe around someone else. I found out today that Curtis is going ahead with the sea park plans and will take Nani and the others in as soon as the lagoon is ready.”
Jesse frowned. “Can he do that?”
“They’re free but trusting. They would have no idea what he was up to until he penned them in. I’ve got to bridge the gap between us. So you see, I don’t have the time to give to the navy right now.”
“What about getting Mano out of the fix he’s in? We only have three days to figure out what’s going on.”
She bit her lip. Mano. She had to make sure he was out of this. “How?”
He nodded toward the boat floating in the lagoon. “Would Curtis let you take that out?”
“Sure.”
“What if I take leave and we don’t have to answer to the navy? We could patrol on our own at night. That would give us time to work with Nani during the day and run down some leads too. We can catch catnaps when we need to. It would only be for three days.”
“Won’t you get in trouble?”
He pressed his lips together. “I can’t get in much more trouble. I need your help to find who’s behind all this. That’s the only thing that will clear my name.”
She wanted so badly to believe him, to trust him. “Okay.”
“What about Heidi?” Kaia nodded toward the little girl frolicking with the dolphin.
“How many bedrooms does the boat have?”
“One master with sleeping room for four more in the galley.”
“Could she share your bed? And some backup would be good. Would Bane have time to join us?”
“I think so. He’s been wanting something to do.”
“It’s settled then. I’ll head over to the base and get some gear.” He glanced at his watch. “I’ll meet you back here in an hour.”
“Who’s going to tell the navy I’m pulling out of the project?”
“I will,” he said. “I’m going to take great pleasure in it.”