Black Sands

by Colleen Coble

“Why is the chair knocked over?” Tomi’s gaze shifted uneasily.

  Annie’s dark eyes focused on her brother’s face. “You’d better tell us what’s going on, Tomi. This is related to you somehow, isn’t it?”

  Tomi looked away. He lifted the chair from the floor and put it back in place.

  “Answer me!” Annie moved to block his path.

  He rubbed his eyes. “Probably.”

  “You’ve got to tell us what’s going on.” Annie pushed her hair out of her face. “Do you know where our father is?”

  Mano watched Tomi. He avoided Annie’s gaze and busied himself with tidying up the garage. To Mano, he seemed a man plagued with guilt.

  Annie’s cell phone rang, and they all jumped. Her gaze locked with Mano’s, and he read her panic. “Just answer it,” he said softly. “Stay calm and if someone has him, try to arrange to get him back.”

  “I’m scared,” she whispered.

  “You can do it.”

  She exchanged gazes with her brother. “You answer it, Tomi.”

  He shook his head. “No one knows I’m here. I can’t tip them off. You’ve always been strong, Annie. You can handle it.”

  The insistent chirp came again. She glanced at the phone, and relief flooded her face. “It’s Fawn,” she whispered. She flipped open the phone. “Hi, Fawn. Yes, I’m fine.” She listened a few more moments. “Okay. I’ll see you when you get back then.” She hung up and turned to Mano. “Now what?” she asked Mano.

  “Now we call the police.”

  “No!” Tomi’s eyes were hollow. “You can’t do that.”

  “This is out of your hands, Tomi. Your father’s life is at stake.”

  “I know,” Tomi muttered. He sank onto a chair and put his head in his hands. “I’ve been so stupid. You’re both going to hate me.”

  Annie knelt by his chair and pulled one of his hands down. “I could never hate you, Tomi. You’re my brother. I still can’t believe you’re alive.”

  “Maybe not for long.” He raised his head and stared at her, then glanced up at Mano. “Even you can’t help me with this one, buddy.”

  Things were beginning to click for Mano. “It’s about that girl, isn’t it? The Iranian girl—what was her name?”

  “Afsoon.” He gave a slight smile. “Her name means spell or bewitchment. It seems pretty appropriate right now.”

  “Wasn’t her father some kind of diplomat?”

  “Yeah. He was part of the Iranian consulate.” He gave a rueful smile. “I was such a chump. First time in my life I ever felt like that about a girl. Once she had me hooked, she told me she’d been ordered to get close to me to find out when the navy was moving in to rescue the two prisoners. If she failed to deliver, she was going to be killed. I swallowed it.”

  “You told her when we were coming. That’s why there was so much enemy fire. Were you really hit, or was it all part of the plan?”

  “I gave her a different time, but she figured it out from something I said.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe I was so stupid. I remember being hit by a bullet and you dragging me to the water. I woke up in their custody. They wanted more information from me. When I refused, they told me they’d planted that bankbook with the two million dollars, and they’d expose me as a spy if I didn’t give them what they wanted.”

  “I remember trying to tow you to the boat. You were unconscious. I don’t remember letting you go, but I must have.”

  “You were acting strange that day. Kind of forgetful. Were you okay?”

  Mano didn’t answer. He wasn’t ready to go there. When he’d awoken on the boat, he was sure he’d saved his friend. The censure in his commanding officer’s eyes nearly killed him. He told Mano Tomi was presumed dead. At the time, no one knew what had happened, but Mano soon learned he’d suffered from his first diabetic reaction. The guilt plaguing him had almost done him in. All over a girl.

  “A spy,” Annie whispered. “You didn’t give them more information, did you?”

  “No, I got out of there with Afsoon’s help. She had some feelings for me even if she used me.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “She was killed helping me get away.”

  “Oh no, Tomi, I’m so sorry.” Annie pressed his hand to her cheek.

  “So they’re still after information from you?” Mano asked. “What information?”

  Tomi looked away. “I need to get that bankbook and give them back their money. Then maybe I can go to the navy and see if I can get out of this mess. But if I go with that threat of blackmail hanging over my head, I’ll be court-martialed.”

  “They’d lock you up and throw away the key,” Mano said.

  Tomi nodded. “We have to get that money.”

  Annie looked out the window. “There’s a car parked in front of the house. A big Lincoln.” Glass shattered in the window, and she sprang back.

  “Get down!” Mano grabbed her arm and pulled her to the floor. Peering over the windowsill, he saw the black car speed away. He glanced at the shattered glass and saw a rock with a paper attached by a rubber band. “What’s this?” He grabbed the rock and pulled the paper loose.

  Letters cut from magazines had been glued to make a collage of words. YOU KNOW WHAT WE WANT. The words gave him a chill. He heard Tomi groan.

  “This is my fault—I’m putting you all in danger!” Tomi backed away, then turned and dashed out the door.

  “Wait!” Mano ran after him but stumbled over a chair leg lying in the way.

  Annie jumped up as if to run after him, but Mano grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “Let me handle this.” He ran into the yard, but Tomi had disappeared. He went back inside the garage to join Annie. “He’s gone.”

  “I’m scared.” She hugged her arms around herself. “Leilani is gone, and now Father is missing as well.”

  “He might have gotten away. Let’s look around before we call Sam. Maybe there’s a clue to who did this.”

  He took her hand, and instead of pulling away like he expected, her fingers curled around his. A warm feeling settled under his ribs. He squeezed her fingers, and she still didn’t let go. They walked around the side of the house to the backyard. The sound of the surf had a cold, angry tone, ominous as it boomed against the lava rocks. He didn’t want to suggest they look for Edega in the water, but Annie led him that direction.

  As they neared the shore, he saw a figure sitting on the black sand. Edega had his back against a lava rock and was looking out to sea with a pensive expression.

  Annie dropped Mano’s hand and ran forward. “Father, what are you doing down here? You scared me.”

  Edega seemed older, shrunken somehow. He got slowly to his feet. “Some men broke down the door. We’re in trouble, Annie.”

  “I know,” she whispered.

  “I don’t think you do. They say Tomi must give them what they want, or they will kill all of us.”

  Mano fixed Edega a cup of tea and lit some incense, hoping the familiarity of Edega’s favorite things would calm him. He waited until the older man’s hands quit shaking before he went to look for Annie. He stepped outside into the backyard and walked slowly down toward the water. Someone needed to be called, but he wasn’t sure who. The navy? The FBI? Which would be most likely to help them solve this mystery without putting the family in more danger? Tomi needed to ’fess up and face the consequences of what he’d done. This web was of Tomi’s own making.

  Mano was still trying to come to grips with the realization that he hadn’t harmed his friend. But the fact remained that he could have. His disease had put his friend and the whole mission in jeopardy. He was going to have to make a decision soon about his career, if the navy didn’t make it for him. He loved the navy, and the thought of having to walk away from it made him feel he was sinking in black quicksand. Could there even be a future for him outside the navy? His case was under review, and while they might allow him to stay in the service, it wasn’t likely. And he’d definitely have to give up his beloved SEALS.
/>   Maybe he could start a dive operation. He rejected the idea almost as soon as it was born. He couldn’t do anything where other people’s lives depended on him. If he harmed someone, he’d never be able to live with himself. He saw Annie sitting at the edge of the water. She sat clasping her arms around her knees. He felt as lonely and abandoned as she appeared.

  Annie looked at the sea rolling into the shore. She was as lost and aimless as the flotsam rolling in with the tide. What had her brother gotten them into? She usually had things under control and in order, and for the first time in her life, she knew she couldn’t take care of this, couldn’t make everything right for her brother and her father. And Leilani. Her entire family was disintegrating, and there was nothing she could do about it.

  Wilson went to the edge of the water and barked. He kept it up for several minutes, and Annie saw a dorsal fin slice through the water. A dolphin. The sea mammal leaped into the air, and she recognized Nani. “So you’ve figured out how to call Nani, huh, Wilson?”

  The bright wash of the moonlight touched the whitecaps as they rolled in to shore. She took off her boots and waded into the water. There was movement behind her, and she heard Mano call her name, but she ignored him and went farther into the waves. Wilson followed her. Nani chattered from deeper out and then swam in to meet them. Still dressed in her shorts and tank top, Annie dove into the water. Wilson clambered onto the dolphin’s back. Annie grabbed the dolphin’s dorsal fin and let Nani pull her out into the turquoise water.

  The soothing warmth always comforted her, and it didn’t fail to do that tonight. After swimming for a few minutes, she urged Nani toward the shore. Wilson slid off, and his sleek little body followed Annie to land. Her gaze swept the beach.

  Mano sat on a large lava rock. At least he hadn’t insisted she come in. She limped as she came across the rough rocks.

  “Feel better?” he asked.

  “Not really. We have to find out what’s going on,” she said. “What do we do next?” She sat beside him and pulled her socks on over her scarred feet, then put her boots back on.

  Wilson climbed onto Mano’s lap and shook himself, flinging water all over Mano. Mano didn’t seem to mind. He tucked the mongoose inside his shirt. “I don’t have any answers, Annie. Tomi might have some, but until he contacts us again, we’re in the dark. We should call the police in on it. Or the navy or the FBI.”

  She absorbed his recommendation in silence. “What if that gets Tomi into even more trouble? It sounds like these guys mean business. Can we find out who they are? Maybe Tomi would tell you.”

  “I don’t know how to get in touch with him,” he pointed out. “His number comes up unknown.”

  She bit her lip. “Okay. But we can’t call in the authorities yet. Not if we have a chance of getting Tomi out of this mess. We’re going to have to figure this out on our own. I’m going to go see Leilani’s friends first thing in the morning, if Tomi doesn’t get in touch about meeting him at the bank. Maybe one of them can shed light on what’s happened to her.”

  “You realize I’m going to be in a lot of trouble if I don’t contact the navy, don’t you?”

  She hadn’t considered that. “Why would they blame you?”

  “I have a duty to turn in AWOL personnel. And to report anything I know about espionage.”

  She didn’t like the term. “But he didn’t really engage in espionage. He gave them nothing useful.”

  “He gave them enough to figure out the rest. He’s got some explaining to do.”

  “I have to try to help him. And I can’t do it alone. I need your help, Mano.” What would she do if he refused? She knew nothing about this kind of thing. The silence seemed to last forever, and she realized she was asking him to betray his commitment to the navy. Mano was an honorable man. Maybe she was asking too much.

  He finally sighed. “Okay. But only for a few days. If we haven’t found your sister and gotten Tomi out of this mess by next weekend, I’m going to have to call in some help.” He stood.

  “I should stay here tonight. I don’t think you should be alone. You might be the next target.”

  She hadn’t considered the possibility that she might be in danger. Shivering, she went toward the house. “I could stay with Fawn.”

  “Good idea.”

  Mano glanced at her, then quickly averted his eyes. “I can still read you, Mano. You have no intention of leaving us alone. You’re planning to camp outside her house, aren’t you?”

  He grinned, and his teeth shone white in the moonlight. “Maybe.”

  “We’ll be fine. I’ve got a gun I can take.”

  “The last thing we need is you with a gun.”

  “Hey, I know how to shoot,” she protested.

  “It won’t hurt me to sleep in the car.”

  She didn’t protest. Maybe knowing he was out there would keep the fear at bay. She took the cell phone he handed her and called Fawn. She got the answering machine. “I forgot she called to tell me she was leaving tonight. Her brother is getting married Saturday, and she flew to Honolulu to help with last-minute preparations.” She punched in another number. “I can try Gina . . .” Her supervisor answered on the first ring and told her to come right over with her father.

  “At least no one will think to look for you there,” Mano said. “And Gina will make sure nothing happens to you.”

  Annie nodded. “Her son, Jason, used to be in the military. He’s probably got weapons in the house.”

  “He looks the type.”

  Annie smiled at the scorn in Mano’s voice. “Hey, at least you’ll be able check out Aloha Shores. Do you still think Noah has something to do with this?”

  “Maybe. I have an appointment there in the morning anyway.”

  “Evan?”

  “Yeah.”

  She opened the door to the house. “I’ll see you tomorrow then. I’ll try to get the day off. After your appointment, we can start making the rounds to all Leilani’s friends.”

  “Hey, I’ll make sure you get to Gina’s.” He followed her into the house.

  Relief flooded her. “Mahalo,” she said softly. She went inside and told her father they were going to stay with Gina. He grumbled about it, but she realized he was more frightened than he wanted her to know. They packed an overnight bag, she grabbed Wilson, and they went to her Nissan.

  Mano waved at her and started his car. Once his lights came on, she pulled onto the road and drove toward Gina’s home. She wasn’t totally alone with Mano behind her. If only they were together in the way she dreamed.

  Twelve

  Mano rubbed his burning eyes. He hadn’t closed his eyelids more than fifteen minutes at a stretch all night long. Though Annie had insisted she’d be okay, he had parked outside Gina’s house just to be sure.

  He grabbed the cooler from the backseat, took out his insulin, and prepared his shot. Everything in his life now revolved around this syringe and vials of medicine. It seemed so unfair, and he had begun to question why God had allowed this to happen. Had he not prayed enough, not served enough? He was thirty-two, and he didn’t want to have to come up with a new plan for his life.

  He got out and stretched the soreness out of his muscles. A movement caught his eye, and he saw Annie wave to him from the window of Gina’s house. She motioned him to come to the door. The stubble on his chin was scratchy. He rubbed it with a self-conscious hand as he walked across the yard to the front door. A stranger might think he was a bum.

  Annie met him at the door. “Want some breakfast?”

  “Yeah, I’d better eat, or I’ll be collapsing.” He saw her puzzled frown and knew he should explain. He started to tell her but hesitated. He still didn’t want her to know. Maybe because she’d always regarded him as strong and heroic. He missed that hero worship in her eyes. She’d never get it back if she knew he was a weakling now, dependent upon the power of insulin to keep him whole.

  Wilson sniffed his boots and followed him to the kitchen. He trod
terra-cotta tile floors. A faded version of the same color covered the walls, and he paused to admire several paintings of Greece and an arrangement of Greek figurines.

  He stepped into the kitchen. The same warm color scheme welcomed the sunshine spilling through the large windows over the sink. The aroma of poi hashbrowns and Spam made his mouth water. When he was away from the islands, it was hard to find Spam on any menu, but it was a favorite here. The protein in it would balance the carbs in the poi.

  A tiger cat under the table hissed when it saw Wilson. Wilson barked and started to move toward the cat. “No, you don’t.” Annie scooped up the mongoose. “You’ve terrorized poor Baxter enough. Behave yourself.” Wilson draped himself over her arm and rested his head on her forearm.

  “Have a seat.” Her tone cheerful, Gina pointed to the table. She ladled food from the skillet onto three plates.

  “Where’s your dad?” he asked Annie.

  “Still in bed. He and Gina were up late last night talking. Yesterday rattled him more than he wanted to let on, and they really hit it off. You hungry?”

  “Starved. It smells good.” He pulled out a chair and sat. Annie handed him a plate of food. He bowed his head for a silent prayer and opened his eyes to see Gina wearing a bemused smile.

  “I didn’t take you for a religious man,” Gina said.

  “God’s been good to me.” A stock answer—Mano hadn’t been focusing on God’s goodness lately.

  “You don’t seem the type to swallow all that mythology.”

  “The God I serve is still alive. He’s no myth.”

  Gina lowered herself onto a chair. “So you are waiting for the pie-in-the-sky someday. What about enjoying this life today? Good food, friends, a job you enjoy. I think it says somewhere in your Bible to eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you die.”

  “A proverb based on Ecclesiastes and Isaiah.” Mano smiled and picked up his fork. “If you read the whole book, you’ll see that it says there is nothing worth having under the sun except a relationship with God. That fun, food, and drink don’t satisfy. And as for pie in the sky, even if there were no heaven, what God has given me in this life is enough of a reward.”