“So where is the relic now?” Cassie asked. “If Jessalyn’s mother died, who inherited the taniwha’s jawbone?”
“I don’t recall,” Manu said. “My info came from Mum. She wanted us to understand our history.”
“Where did the taniwha species come from?” Cassie asked.
“We’re related to the Asian and Chinese dragons,” Hone said. “Like most groups of settlers, our ancestors were looking for a better life.”
“This stuff is interesting,” Cassie said. “But both you and Jack have mated with Europeans. Does that mean our children will never have taniwha powers? And is that why some of your people turn up their noses at us?”
“Their loss,” Hone said. “My taniwha chose you. Remember that, sweetheart, when our people are acting like idiots. When we have children, I will love them regardless.”
“Honestly, Cassie, I don’t think anyone knows for certain what determines if a man or woman can shift. There are documented cases where a taniwha of full blood has never shifted. It’s rare, but it has happened. Times have changed since Jessalyn’s parents wed, and it’s obvious Jess has a taniwha,” Manu said.
“Fascinating. If Jessalyn is your mate, and she accepts you, it might appease the more vocal tribe members who are causing trouble.” Cassie peered at a road sign and signaled a right turn toward the main beach and the township.
“And if Jessalyn’s taniwha takes control and refuses to obey her, Manu will have a different problem. He’ll have to execute her,” Hone said.
Cassie gasped. “Is that true?”
“Unfortunately,” Manu said, the truth as unpalatable as when he’d taken his mother’s life. “You want the next right.”
“I hope those kids don’t think I’m crazy talking to myself,” Cassie said as she drove past a group of teenagers and took the next right.
Trees screened Jessalyn’s property, and Manu relaxed at the privacy around the house. This should be a quick job—in and out with no complications.
8 – A Wrinkle Or Two
“Cassie, I don’t think we need to worry, but we’ll take precautions. Open the doors for us and pretend you’re getting something out of the truck,” Manu said.
“Sure thing.” Cassie climbed out of his truck. She opened the rear door and clapped her hand to her forehead. “Ugh!”
Leaving the rear door open, she returned to the driver’s door. For a few seconds, she peered through the window then stomped around the hood, muttering to herself.
Manu grinned, entertained by her antics. He slipped from the passenger seat once she opened it for him. “We’re both out,” he whispered. “The keys to the house are in the console.”
Cassie retrieved the keys and her handbag and shut all the vehicle doors. She strode up a narrow concrete path and approached the door.
“Someone has broken the lock,” Manu murmured.
“I’ll check around the back,” Hone said. “Don’t move, Cassie. Okay, I’m out of your way now.”
“Open the door, Cassie,” Manu said. “Then stand aside. Let me enter first.”
He entered the house cautiously and checked the small kitchen, an adjoining dining room, a lounge, and two bedrooms. Cupboards and drawers hung open with the contents strewn over the floor.
“Cassie,” he called. “You can come inside. There’s no one here.”
Cassie stepped over the threshold and closed the door after her. “Opportunists or thieves looking for something in particular?”
“Call the local cops,” Manu said. “Tell them you’ve rented the property and arrived to find someone has trashed the place. Say you don’t know if there is anything missing and you can’t contact the owner because they’ve gone overseas.”
The front door opened and closed.
“Hone?”
“Yeah,” his cousin said.
“Ah! I can scent taniwha now. I need to make more adjustments to my screener,” Manu said. “Have they broken into the shed?”
“The padlock is still on the door,” Hone said. “It doesn’t appear busted.”
“While Cassie is waiting for the cops to arrive, we might as well load the contents of the shed. We should hear their vehicle coming before they see items floating through the air.”
Hone chuckled. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
Manu grabbed the keys and found the one to open the padlock. He unlocked the door, fumbled for a light and stepped inside.
A low whistle came from behind him. “Lot of money sunk into these tools.”
Manu surveyed the different pieces of equipment. “It should all fit in my vehicle.”
A police car arrived, and he and Hone ceased working while they listened to the sole policeman who’d arrived from the Waitakere Police Station.
“I’ll do a report,” the tall, thin man said. His watchful eyes scanned the items on the floors as he did his walk-through. “But that’s the best I can do. We don’t get a lot of trouble around here, but empty houses and kids with too much time on their hands are a recipe for disaster.”
Cassie patted her upper chest and stared up at the policeman. “Is it safe here?”
“We haven’t had other reports of disturbances in the area. I’d make yourself known to your new neighbors and watch out for each other. I’m sorry, but that’s the best advice I can offer.”
Cassie accepted the copy of the report he handed her. “Thank you for coming, Officer.”
Once the policeman left, Cassie cleared the mess from the floors while searching for business papers and anything else likely to aid their investigation. Manu and Hone finished clearing the shed and joined her inside the house.
“Who are you?” a male voice demanded.
Manu froze. They were in the kitchen, checking drawers and restoring tossed items to cupboards.
“What are you doing in Jessalyn’s house?”
Cassie turned to the new arrival. She approached the tall Maori man with a pleasant, polite, yet cool smile. “I’m Cassie,” she said. “I’m moving in here.”
Taniwha. Manu scowled at the man.
“Where’s Jessalyn?”
“Jessalyn?” Cassie frowned. “Oh! You must mean the owner. I’ve never met her, but the agency said she was going overseas. I’m renting the property.” Cassie’s frown deepened. “Although someone has broken in and ransacked the house. I might change my mind.”
“Jessalyn is renting the place?”
“Look, I don’t mean to be rude, but who are you?” Cassie asked.
“I’m Danny. Her boyfriend.” He inhaled, and his eyes widened. He leaned nearer and sniffed her.
Boyfriend? Manu’s hands curled to fists. What the fuck?
Cassie drew a sharp breath and took a huge step back. “Did you sniff me? No!” She lifted her hands as if to ward him off.
“I—sorry,” Danny said. “Do you have the number for the rental agency?”
Cassie rattled off Jack’s cell number, and Manu hustled into the lounge where he could pull out his phone and text Jack to expect a call from Danny.
Danny left as suddenly as he’d arrived.
Manu returned to the kitchen. “I’ll follow him. Hopefully, I’ll learn who broke into Jess’s house.”
“We’re almost done,” Hone said. “We’ll finish up here and wait for you. Call if you need me to rescue your butt.”
Manu growled, and both Hone and Cassie laughed.
“Must work on my leadership skills,” he mumbled before he left the house at a jog.
Danny’s scent was easy enough to pick up, and he trailed the young man to the beach and the Surf Lifesaving Club. This Danny wasn’t much younger than Manu, but with responsibility for the tribe weighing down his shoulders, Manu felt immeasurably older.
At the doorway to the clubhouse, he hesitated. Danny was a taniwha, and Manu figured he’d gone to meet with other dragons. Hopefully, his scent would get lost with the others.
Manu entered the open room and spotted ranch sliders that led
out to a big balcony overlooking the ocean. An excellent escape route if he required one.
Danny had joined a group of Maori men over the far side of the room. They spoke in hushed voices, but he recognized none of them. He’d need to do his research and match Waaka names to faces. It might come in handy at a later date.
“…and she said Jessalyn had gone overseas,” Danny reported. “I have the rental agency number. The woman knew nothing else. Weird thing, though. I swear I caught a hint of taniwha.” He grunted. “I sniffed her, and she jumped a mile. The woman threatened to call the cops, so I backed off.”
“Fuck, Danny. If you’d done a better job of romancing the pakeha, we’d have access to everything. That relic must be there somewhere. Grandma said she sensed a magical wave before Jessalyn left, and she read of changes in the stars. She’s never wrong,” the man said. “I knew I should’ve asked her out instead of leaving it to you.”
“She would’ve laughed in your face,” Danny retorted. “You and the rest of your friends treated her like she was shit on the bottom of your shoes. At least I got close to her and followed Grandma’s instructions.”
The bastard had used Jess. Manu inhaled and fought his snarling taniwha. He battled his own indignation on Jess’s behalf.
“We’ll get Allen to visit the woman once she has moved in. He’s the closest neighbor so she shouldn’t get suspicious. That way we can check to see if her story changes,” the one who appeared to be the leader said.
When their talk turned to the upcoming rugby season and the latest rescue from one of the dangerous Piha rips, Manu left.
The grandmother was obviously a tohunga who read the stars or foretold the future. Manu’s tribe didn’t have a future-reader.
When he arrived back at the house, Cassie and Hone had gone through every room and packed anything personal in his truck. They’d also included the folders of business and personal papers for Jack to go through while Jack and Emma adapted to life with two new babies.
Manu recounted what he’d heard. “They were using Jessalyn in the hope they’d find the relic. None of them—not even Danny, her so-called boyfriend—has any respect for her.”
“Because she couldn’t shift?” Cassie asked.
“That’s my guess. And because her mother had married a white man,” Manu said.
“This worries me,” Cassie said. “Please explain again why no one in your tribe protested at Jack and Hone marrying pakeha women.”
“It’s simple, sweetheart,” Hone said, blinking into sight. He curled his arms around his wife. “Both of our taniwha claimed you, and our human sides fell in love. Jack and I live to make you and Emma happy.”
“But wouldn’t Jessalyn’s parents have done the same?” she asked.
“We don’t know,” Manu said. “The issue of the broken engagement clouds the truth. That and the fact Humarie died not long afterward.”
“Jessalyn’s father never remarried,” Cassie pointed out.
“I doubt we’ll ever learn the truth,” Hone said. “Both of her parents are dead, and there is no one to ask.”
“Let’s do one more search for anything out of the ordinary,” Manu said. “Hone, you’d better blink out again in case we’re being watched.”
An hour later, they locked the house and left Piha. Back in Auckland, they dropped off the paperwork they’d discovered with Jack.
“Ah,” Jack said. “I’m glad you’re here. I dug into the details surrounding the death of Jessalyn’s mother since I was waiting for more information. This newsletter article has the main details.”
Manu accepted the A4 sheet of paper and started reading.
Wednesday, 3 October 1998
After exhaustive searches by volunteers, police, and the Coastguard, Humarie Brown, a resident of Piha, remains missing. A keen fisherman, Mrs. Brown was last seen carrying her baby daughter, Jessalyn and her fishing gear. Locals assume she was on her way to her favorite fishing spot.
When Mr. Brown arrived home from a business trip to Auckland to find the house empty, he rang around his neighbors before he and several others went looking for his wife. He found his daughter, wrapped in a warm blanket, and his wife’s fishing tackle but there was no sign of his wife.
Police found blood on the rockface and assume Mrs. Brown either fell or a rogue wave surprised her.
We have called the search off because of bad weather.
“I found another article in the local paper. Authorities declared her legally dead seven years later,” Jack said.
Emma and Cassie arrived in the lounge, each carrying a baby. Both babies had black hair. Despite his fear of having two girls, Jack’s love for his children and wife was glaringly obvious, and envy flooded Manu, taking him by surprise.
“Here,” Emma said. “Hold this one for me.”
Manu found the bundle thrust into his arms. The baby eyed him, and he returned her interest. He stroked her silky cheek and pondered his and Jessalyn’s children—if they had any. He smiled inwardly at his thoughts, the idea sinking into his heart. Somehow, he had to help Jess gain control of her taniwha. He’d accept no other outcome because if he didn’t, his future looked long and bleak.
* * * * *
Jessalyn left the pub at ten minutes after seven, exhausted after another busy day. The snacks throughout the day had helped, but now her stomach lurched at the myriad scents that assailed her. Perfume. Food. Unwashed bodies. Petrol fumes. The brine of the sea. Fear sped through her. What if Manu wasn’t here? Could she hold it together?
She scanned the people around the exit. Her fear notched up to panic. Come on Jessalyn. Breathe through your mouth.
“Jess,” a voice came from her right. “Sorry, I’m late.”
“My stomach is churning,” Jess whispered. “Too many contrasting scents. They’re bombarding me.”
“Here.” Manu slipped his arm around her midriff and handed her a package wrapped in silver foil. “Your hands are shaking. Let me.”
Manu unwrapped the package to reveal a doner kebab.
“Thanks.” Jessalyn bit into the pita bread and groaned at the savory meat and the blast of hummus and garlic.
“Did you eat your snacks?”
“Yes. Everything was normal until I came outside. I’m used to the kitchen odors. What is wrong with me? I’ve never had this problem. And is it customary for my taniwha to go silent? She chattered up a storm this morning, but she has gone quiet.”
“She’ll be resting. Your taniwha senses are kicking in and all of this is hard on her too.”
That made sense. “You always smell everything?”
“Yes,” Manu said. “We learn to screen out most or at least, cope better. How are your audible senses?”
Now that he mentioned it, her hearing had improved. As had her eyesight.
“My theory is that everything is happening fast and your human body is having trouble keeping up with the changes. That’s why you’re having difficulties with control. We’ll keep going with lots of food and rest. How would you feel about a real bed tonight? A hot bath?”
“Yes.”
“I hoped you’d say that,” Manu said. “Let’s go.”
“How did things go in Piha?” She savored the heat of Manu’s arm around her waist as they ambled toward the Wynyard Quarter. Her stomach had settled after the food, and she continued to nibble on the snack Manu had brought her.
“Someone broke into your house. Cassie called the cops so the break-in is on record.”
“Crap, is there much damage? Dad let the insurance lapse, and I can’t afford to fix stuff.”
“It looked as if they were searching for something. It’s difficult to know if they took anything or not.”
“I had nothing valuable… My father’s tools?” Her stomach hollowed at the thought of losing this last tie to him.
“They didn’t break into the shed. I have all your tools at the warehouse. We cleaned out the cupboards and drawers, so you can ring a rental agency and li
st it when you’re ready.”
Relief poured through her. “Thanks. I’ll do that tomorrow. There is a real estate place in Waitakere. I’ll use them since they won’t voice the nosy questions the people at Piha Real Estate will ask.”
“Makes sense. We had a visitor while we were there. Danny turned up and demanded to know where you were. He said he was your boyfriend.”
“He is not!” Jessalyn’s brows drew together. “What did you tell him?”
“He didn’t see me or Hone. Cassie handled him perfectly and told him you were going overseas. Don’t worry. He has no idea of your location. How did you get on with Danny’s friends and relations? By the way, they’re all taniwha.”
“Really?”
He nodded.
“I didn’t like them, and they returned the sentiment. Danny was the only one who ever hung out with me, although his behavior turned weird at the end.” Jessalyn took another bite of her kebab.
“Did he sniff you? He did that to Cassie. Of course, she knew what he was doing, but she behaved outraged.”
“Worse,” Jessalyn said. “He kissed me. Twice. It came out of the blue, and I haven’t spoken to him much since.”
Manu’s arm tightened around her waist. “What did you do?”
“I wiped it off. His kiss was slobbery.” Indignation filled her at the memory. “It was so random.”
“You didn’t wipe off my kiss.”
Jessalyn shot him a sideways glance. “Bighead.”
Manu grinned. “Eat your kebab. Jack printed the newspaper stories about your mother. Have you seen them?”
“No. Dad gave me the basics, her interests, et cetera. I’d like to read the story.”
“I’ll get it for you later. How was work today?”
“Busy. I’m tired.”
“A bath will hit the spot then.”
By the time they reached Manu’s truck, Jessalyn’s stomach had settled and breathing through her mouth filtered out the pungent scents.
The traffic leaving the city was much lighter, and it didn’t take long to drive down the Southern Motorway. Manu took the Papakura turnoff and once they’d reached suburban streets, he pulled over.
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