Midnight Sea (Aloha Reef Series)

by Colleen Coble

  She leaned down and found Fisher’s harness. “Let’s go for a walk, boy.” He stood up, and she heaved herself out of the chair, every muscle protesting. Meg lay sleeping, and Annie and Mano had gone out to dinner with Fawn and their boss from the volcano center. Ben’s low voice got her emotions in a whirl. No other man had ever made her feel so off center.

  “Forward, Fisher,” she said. The dog led her down the steps, which she negotiated carefully with her hand on the railing. Pausing when her slippers landed in the wet grass, she moved to her left toward the flower garden between the back of the property and the forest. The sweet fragrance of coral hibiscus lifted her spirits.

  When her feet sank into the cultivated dirt of the flower bed, she sank to her knees and caressed the blossoms. Her sensitive fingertips plucked dead buds and dried fronds. Weeds choked the flowers, and she pulled them, dropping the debris behind her in the grass. When her fingers found no more work, she sat back. It wasn’t necessary to see in order to tend the flower bed. She’d chosen her profession well, though she would need help for some things. Even so, she could find the help she needed.

  The night felt alive around her. Crickets chirped, and tree frogs sounded off in the woods. Something thrashed in the underbrush, maybe a deer. Then she heard a cry. That was no deer. She sprang to her feet. “Who’s there?” she called.

  Fisher was instantly at her side. A low growl came from his throat. She never should have come out here by herself. The tranquility of the last few days had lulled her into forgetting that danger still lurked about somewhere. She listened past the pounding of her pulse.

  “Fire!”

  Lani whirled at Yoshi’s voice. A bright yellow flame shot through a darker shadow. She couldn’t see more than that, just shadow and light, but enough to know it was real. She ran toward the blaze with Fisher.

  “Get back,” Yoshi shouted. “There’s a fire extinguisher in the house. I’ll get it.”

  “I’ve got the hose!” Ben yelled.

  A dark figure blocked the glimmer of light, and she heard water sizzling as it hit the flames.

  “I’ve got the extinguisher.” Yoshi’s voice came from the porch.

  Lani backed away. She should go check on Meg in case the ruckus awakened her and she became frightened. Starting toward the house, she heard a whimper. Frowning, she stopped and listened. The cry came again.

  It sounded like a child. A familiar child. “Meg?” It couldn’t be Meg. She was safely asleep in her bed. Lani stumbled forward, her hands outstretched. Fisher whined, then began to bark. “Find Meg, Fisher. Meg.”

  He tugged her across the flower bed. The cool rush of shadowed forest chilled her. She halted by the dark blur of a tree. What was she thinking? She’d never be able to find the child by herself. It might not even be Meg. The murderer had fooled her before—it could be another tape recording. Yoshi and Ben were a few yards away. As she retraced her steps, she listened but heard nothing except her own panting.

  “Ben, Yoshi!” She staggered when her slipper flew off her foot. Her bare foot slid on wet grass, and she went down on one knee. The slipper would have to wait. Her right knee throbbed where she’d twisted it. Fisher pushed his wet nose against her neck and whined. She needed to be using him. Her hand on his neck, she got to her feet and grabbed the harness. “Home, Fisher.” He led her to the right of where she’d been heading. “Ben!” she screamed again.

  “What’s wrong?” Ben’s voice came from her left. “We’ve got the fire out.”

  Lani jerked toward him. “I heard something. In the woods. Is Meg okay?”

  “She’s fine. I checked on her about fifteen minutes ago.”

  “Check again. I heard a child cry out. I called to her, but no one answered.”

  “Stay here.”

  His footsteps moved away from her, then she heard the door open and close. She petted Fisher while she waited. The warmth of his coat soothed her. More than likely she was overreacting. What could the sound have been? A bird? But no, birds were sleeping by now, other than night prey birds. It had been a child—she was sure of it.

  The door banged, and an agitated babble of voices rushed toward her. Her hand fell away from Fisher’s ears, and she faced the house. “Is she okay?”

  “Meg’s gone!” Ben grabbed her arm. “Her screen is torn open. Do you remember where you heard her cry?”

  “In the woods just past the flower garden.” She turned and stumbled back the way she’d come. Her bare foot struck her missing slipper, and she scooped it up and continued to run. Her feet slid out from under her, and she went down hard. A hand grabbed her, but she shook it off. “Run, hurry. Don’t worry about me.”

  “Don’t move,” Ben said. His hand fell away.

  Feet and voices rushed past her. She heard Yoshi say he’d head toward the cliff. They had to find Meg. The thought of her with some murderer made her stomach sour. The dew soaked through her shorts. Her knees ached from the impact with the ground. Fisher laid his head on her shoulder. He was shaking. She patted him. “It’s okay, boy.” If only she could see and help.

  Getting to her feet, she grasped the harness and moved toward the garden again, this time carefully planting her feet and letting Fisher guide her. With her head tipped, she listened to the wind and hoped to hear Meg’s glad shout at the sight of her uncle. Please, God, let them find her.

  It seemed an eternity before she heard voices. Twigs snapped and leaves crunched with the sound of bodies moving through the woods. “Did you find her?” she called.

  “I called in reinforcements,” Yoshi said. “Are you sure it was her you heard in the woods? It makes more sense he’d take her to a waiting car.”

  She wrapped her arms around herself. “Eighty percent sure,” she said. “I know it was a child, and it sounded like Meg, but she didn’t call my name or anything.” What would the guy want with a little girl? A lump formed in her throat.

  Simi trudged through the forest behind Master. “They’ll pony up the goods if they want to get the kid back,” Master muttered. They cut through the edge of the woods and got into the car the big man had parked along the road. Master carried the little girl easily in one arm, and he dangled a carrier to wear on his back from his other hand.

  Master put the little one down and patted his pockets. After several fruitless moments, he shoved the little girl at Simi. “I must have dropped my keys in the woods. Watch her. In fact, see if you can find anything on her. I’ll be back.” He vanished into the trees.

  Simi looked at the little girl. Her eyes were wide with shock, and she made little sounds of distress. Patting her head, he glanced to the woods. He couldn’t let Master hurt this little one. His gaze touched the carrier. “A ride, missy?” He picked her up and managed to get her legs in the holes.

  He slipped it on his back and grunted. The little one was heav-ier than she looked. He’d expected her to be as light as his little cousin Fetina. The child’s cries had tapered off, and her head dropped onto his shoulder. He turned and plunged into the trees, heading in the opposite direction Master had gone. Best not to walk the road. Master would return with his keys and quickly run him down. He could circle around and get her home.

  Trees crowded around them. Branches snatched at his clothing as he struggled through the dark forest. He thought he was going in the right direction. Master didn’t seem to be following. Simi heard only the occasional hoot of an owl and the night sounds of crickets.

  He smiled as he glanced down at the little girl. Once he returned her to her family, he would go home. His mother would welcome him with open arms. He imagined his homecoming. His father would be proud of how brave Simi had been. Simi would show his bruises and the scars on his back, injuries he’d taken willingly in order to send home money.

  Only now that he’d run, there would be no more money. Maybe he wouldn’t be such a hero after all. His fa’e might cry. There was no going back though, not now. He would be arrested, sent to prison. His cousin had been in
prison for a year in Tonga. He’d come home gaunt and silent. Simi couldn’t bear to be locked away from the blue sky and the sound of the sea.

  The trees began to thin, and he caught glimpses of moonlight. Quickening his pace, he sniffed the air. Was that a trace of salt in the air? He must have gone the wrong way. From the smell, he knew the ocean should be at the bottom of this hill. He could find people at the Place of Refuge. It wouldn’t be far.

  His people had come to that place in the past. All Polynesia knew of the sacred places. He felt safe there. He would have someone summon the little one’s family, then he would go. When he’d found the old canoe at the Place of Refuge, it had seemed an omen from the sea god Kanaloa. The idea to escape had popped into his head when he found the outrigger stashed in thick brush and looking as if it hadn’t been used in years. There were no holes in the hull, and it looked solid enough to make the journey. He wasn’t quite sure how long it would take to sail it to Tonga, but his own boat trip here had been only a few days.

  Provisions might be a problem, but he’d figure out how to get enough food once he was at the Place of Refuge. While his master had been harsh, Simi had seen much kindness from other Americans. And his own slight stature might gain him enough pity to be given food.

  He trudged on through the thinning brush until the hill flattened. Moonlight glimmered on whitecaps, and he saw the white monument that marked Captain Cook’s appearance on the islands. He’d made it to the sea. Now to be rid of his burden, find the boat, and escape.

  Searchers from all over the neighborhood joined with the police to scour the woods. Ben’s mood grew bleaker the longer they floundered with no sign of Meg and her captor. Dawn’s early rays had already turned the night’s dew to mist that rolled down the hillside he searched.

  There had been no sign of Meg, no scrap of clothing, no dropped doll. When he stepped out of the woods into the backyard of Ethan’s house, he saw police officers and other people he didn’t recognize standing around talking in small groups. Slumped shoulders and soft voices told him not to expect any good news. He walked through the crowd and found Yoshi standing with Fawn, Annie, Mano, and Lani.

  Yoshi’s gaze lingered on Ben’s face. “We’re coming up dry,” he said.

  Ben nodded and turned his attention to Lani. “Tell me again what Simi said when he warned you to be careful with Meg.”

  “He just said the big man was watching Meg. That has to mean the guy who attacked you. And that we should be careful.” She touched his hand. “How are you holding up?”

  He pulled away. How did she expect him to be? His niece was in the hands of a maniac. “The house was ransacked right after Ethan and Natalie died. He’s looking for something. If only we knew what it was, I’d turn it right over.”

  “Any speculation at all on what it might be?” she asked.

  “We know the coral was being smuggled in Aunt Rina’s coffee,” Yoshi said. “I tend to think Ethan had something important—and the murderer is going to use Meg as leverage to make you cough it up.”

  “But what? We’ve found nothing suspicious or valuable.” Ben balled his hands into fists at his side.

  “I expect we’ll get a ransom call telling us what they want. I’ve got your cell phone and Ethan’s phone tapped.”

  Ben allowed himself a sliver of hope. He’d gladly turn over anything the big guy wanted if it meant Meg was released unharmed. It was hard to imagine anyone being monstrous enough to hurt a child, but he read the headlines. Monsters walked around with kind, smiling faces.

  Yoshi’s cell phone rang. He answered it, then barked questions. “We have a lead,” he said, snapping it shut. “Someone saw a kid with a toddler walking along Highway 160.”

  Ben frowned. “So what? Meg would be with a big guy.”

  “The kid looked Polynesian. What if the guy sent Simi in after her?”

  “I don’t think he’d do it,” Lani put in. “He warned me, remember? He was worried about her.”

  “He might not have had a choice. It’s the only lead we have. I have to check it out.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Ben said.

  “Me too.” Lani grasped the back of her cousin’s arm.

  “Someone needs to stay here in case the kidnapper calls,” Yoshi said.

  “I’ll stay,” Annie said. “Fawn and I will clean the house or something.”

  “Let’s go,” Ben said. He couldn’t sit around and do nothing. Even though the sighting probably wasn’t Meg, investigating was better than waiting around for the phone to ring.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Simi held out a bag of potato chips to the little girl. “Chips,” he said. The chips had been lying by a picnic table, dropped by someone. He’d also found a slim stick of unopened gum. The chips would at least feed the girl. He’d thought there would be more people here near Cook’s monument, but only one family laughed and splashed in the water. He’d approached them, but they’d spoken some language he didn’t know, neither English nor Tongan.

  Meg took the chips and smiled. Her fear of him seemed to be going away, which was as it should be. He wanted only to help her, not to hurt her. She didn’t have a fa’e, but the lady who couldn’t see loved her and would want her back.

  “Chips,” the little girl repeated. She stuck her small hand into the opened bag and put a handful in her mouth.

  Simi slid her back into the carrier, then put it on and began to walk toward the cliff. A few boaters paddled toward the white monument out in the water. Simi moved at a steady clip along the trail. If only he could have stashed the outrigger somewhere closer. Sweat broke out on his back and forehead. He looked longingly at the clear water, but there was no time for a swim. His master would realize he was gone and be out looking for him.

  Since there was no one here to help, he would get the boat and travel along the coast until he found people. Then he would give them the girl and make his escape. He carried Meg through a bunch of coconut palm trees, pausing to stare at the coconuts high over his head. If he had time, he could shimmy up the trunks and get something to eat. His mouth watered at the thought of coconut milk and meat.

  Simi looked around. The palms were his marker. Just past them should be a patch of high weeds with the hidden boat. There it was. He smiled and began to walk faster.

  Then someone moved out from under a tree. “I thought you’d be making for here,” Master said.

  Simi stopped, and Meg’s fingers tightened in his hair. His tongue seemed stuck to the roof of his mouth.

  “Did you really think you could go anywhere and I wouldn’t see? I followed you one night when you came out here. When you turned up missing, I knew where you’d headed.” Master’s gaze went to Meg, and he smiled.

  Simi shivered at the grin. His gaze darted past Master. If he could get to the top of the cliff, there was a rope down to some caves. Master would be too large to climb down.

  Master started toward them. “No!” Simi picked up a large black rock and threw it at the big man’s head with all his might. Master tried to dodge, but the rock struck his forehead, and he toppled to the sand.

  Simi ran up the path to the top of the cliff. Meg squealed, and her small hands held on to his hair. Small rocks slid under his feet, and he had to move around larger lava rocks. Master bellowed, but Simi didn’t look back. He’d known he wouldn’t be fortunate enough to hurt the big man. All he’d hoped was to slow him down.

  It seemed forever before they crested the hill, then darted past a rocky outcropping that would hide them and gain a few moments. Meg hadn’t cried, but she puckered when they stopped. “Shh, shh,” he said, patting her small hand where it rested on his shoulder. Where was the rope? He searched behind the rocks for it. A sharp pain pierced his hand, and he snatched it back. A scorpion scurried from behind the rock. Staring at his throbbing hand, he saw it was swelling rapidly. Would he swell up and die? He didn’t know how deadly such insects were here.

  There was no time to waste. He spied th
e rope under another rock and grabbed it. “Gum,” he told Meg, handing her the stick of gum. Her pucker turned to a smile, and she began to unwrap the gum. No one could climb like him. He took out his carabiner, which he’d been wise to keep. Anchoring the rope around a rock, he prepared for the descent.

  “Don’t look down,” he told her. Hanging on to the other end of the rope, he backed to the cliff edge and looked down. The blue water was far, far below. If he was wrong about how far it was, they would die. He would never see his fa’e. His hands shook. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Then he heard Master shouting. He must try.

  Grasping the rope, he began to rappel. He braced his feet on the cliff wall and bounced them down a few feet at a time. The little one’s hands clung to his hair, and she chomped her gum in his ear. If the rope was long enough, he could go all the way to the bottom before Master realized it. He could get them in the boat and set out before the big man could get back down.

  He kicked out and braced his feet for the next bounce, but his feet met empty space. The void left them dangling in the air. Simi looked down. They were still a long way above the water. The end of the rope dangled only ten feet below them. He looked at the cliff face. A small ledge jutted from a cave. If he could swing to it, they could hide there until Master left. He would think the rope had been there a long time.

  Pumping his legs back and forth, he swung them closer to the ledge. His feet touched it, then slid off. Gritting his teeth, he tried again.

  Meg began to whimper. “Down,” she said.

  Simi concentrated. Pumping his legs again, he swung harder this time. The rope let down a few inches, and he gasped when the rope jerked. His gaze went to the water far below again. Then his feet landed on the ledge. He staggered and caught at the rock face, teetering on the edge. His arms pinwheeled, then he flung them forward and they rolled into the cave.

  Meg began to shriek. “Shh, shh, little one,” he said, patting her head. The gum was gone. She must have dropped it on the way down or swallowed it. Simi stood and took off the carrier. Her sobs quieted. He put her down by a rock and went to the edge. They couldn’t use the rope to get on down to the bottom unless he could release it from above. He tried to see up the side of the cave, but the rock stuck out above his head and blocked the view.