Kristi added, “At the very least, he was planning to burn down the resort! It looks as if the Lord stopped him from finishing the job when the earthquake struck and that tree fell on him. Apparently he had gone back for more gasoline. He was nothing but an evil old serpent!”
“We should have known it was Kimo who was behind all this,” Dan suddenly said. Mrs. Manoa looked at him. “Well, not right away, but he approached Pete, Skeeter and me at the festival last night and threatened us with some young punks,” he confessed. “I thought he was just being a cranky old man. I never connected him with the break-in or the fire, though. I mean he’s an old man! He must have come back here after he confronted us at the festival with this plan to burn down the place.”
“What should we do now, Mrs. Manoa?” Pete asked.
“We can’t leave him out here,” she said softly. “Do you think you boys could carry him into the house? We’ll put him on that old sofa in the office. And then, since we can’t call, someone needs to go back across the island to Palekaiko and tell them there what has happened. Maybe by now they will have some sort of communication established with the big island and they can send the authorities out here—and someone to pick up the body.”
“We’ll go, Mrs. Manoa,” Dan and Pete said.
“Do you want Leilani to go with you to show you the way?” she asked.
“Nah, we’ll manage,” Dan said.
Twenty minutes later Kristi watched her brother and Pete disappear once more into the rain forest. She was exhausted, and she knew they must be also, but there was still much that must be done before this day was finally over and they could crawl into bed for the first time in two days. She went back into the house and glanced into the office as she walked by the small room. Kimo’s body lay covered with a sheet on the sofa. Kristi shuddered. Paradise was free of the evil serpent now. So why did she feel nothing but a terrible sadness? She shook her head and averted her eyes and walked away wearily.
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CHAPTER TWELVE
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Sunset in Paradise
Steve and Rachel walked out of the rain forest later that day with several families following them. The sun was low in the sky. They were tired and hungry and thirsty, but a cheer rose from their heart-weary souls when they saw the cheerful little cottages and the peaceful view from the cliff above the beach. Mrs. Manoa hurried out to welcome them and to show them to the pleasant little “homes” she had prepared for them in their necessity.
Dan and Pete had returned a couple hours earlier with word of the families that would be returning to Castaway Cove with the Camerons. Only four families were coming. Most of the tourists had been able to leave on the boats that had sailed to the rescue of the disaster-struck little island. Many of the local people had friends or families whose homes were still standing and who would welcome them.
Rachel and Steve had been shocked when Dan and Pete had walked back into town, and even more shocked at the news they brought. One man who lived on the outskirts of Palekaiko had a shortwave radio and had been able to call the outside world with news of the earthquake and tsunami. Help was already on its way. He made another call and informed the authorities of what had happened out at Castaway Cove. The sheriff was on his way, as well, along with the coroner.
The teenagers had poured out onto the lawn, too, to welcome the homeless families. Suddenly Kristi saw a familiar little figure trotting alongside her mother. “Emma! Emma!” she called, waving to the child. Emma looked up and saw the nice girl that had helped her find her mommy the night before. She came running and threw her arms around Kristi’s knees, nearly knocking her off her feet.
The girls happily escorted the families to the cottages they had prepared for them. Rachel had sent a message back to Mrs. Manoa with the boys, insisting she give Hibiscus Hideaway to one of the other families so that she and Leilani could stay in their own rooms and get the rest they needed to serve all those people. Kristi had moved her mother’s things into the Hula Hut with her and Robyn and Anna, and her father’s things in with the boys at Banana Cabana. Now as the families exclaimed in delight at their pretty new lodgings for the next few days or weeks, and thanked them gratefully, the girls felt all their hard work that week had been well worth it. “Supper will be ready in half an hour out on the lawn,” they told their guests. “Supper and ‘the show.’”
“The show?”
“You’ll see!” the girls promised.
The guys had set up extra tables and benches and Mrs. Manoa had set the tables with her finest. “We won’t do it every night, of course, but tonight when everyone has been through so much, perhaps it will lift their spirits and make them feel more hopeful that their lives will soon return to normal.”
She had made a warm, comforting meal, as well. There was not much conversation at first, for most of them had not had anything to eat for almost twenty-four hours, but as they began to get their fill and relax, they started talking about their experiences during the earthquake and tsunami and their aftermaths.
There were tears and laughter—especially when Steve shared his story about finding himself in the tree and not knowing whether he got there by monkey arms or angel wings! They shared their fears about what had happened, and their fears about what would happen to them now that their homes were gone. The Camerons and their friends were able to share their testimonies of God’s goodness and His wonderful plan of salvation. And as the sun began to go down and ‘the show’ began, Steve began singing “Amazing Grace.” Almost everyone knew the words to the beloved old hymn, and they sang it together now with gratitude in their hearts and tears in their eyes.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.
Kristi looked around at the people gathered around the tables and thanked God that they had all made it safely through the earthquake and the flood. Little Emma was leaning against her mommy and already sound asleep. Though there were tears, each face also shone with smiles, for they all knew how blessed they were.
She looked at the precious faces of her family and friends. It still choked her up to think how close she had come to losing her father. That they had all come through not one, but two natural disasters without so much as a scratch was truly a miracle of God.
God had spared not only her loved ones, but for some reason He had spared this bright little spot of paradise, as well, when so much of the rest of Paradise Island had been destroyed. Kristi looked around now at the perfect blending of God’s Hand in nature and the results of the hard work they had put in throughout that week. She prayed that Leilani and her grandmother would find not only the comfortable home and successful livelihood for which they had worked so hard, but also peace and joy in their lives there at Castaway Cove.
The sky was a tapestry now of deep velvety purple laced with streaks of pink and peach, gold and fiery red. The ocean, which last night had been transformed into a monster of devastation and destruction, now peacefully rippled onto the shore, sparkling in the last rays of the evening sun with a million diamonds encrusted in its surface. Tall, graceful palms swayed to the soft duet of the wind and water. For a split second the heavens opened, and a single beam of light suddenly stretched from the golden-edged clouds like a spotlight onto the upturned faces gathered around the tables. They felt bathed in the blessings of God at that moment as His light shone upon them.
Kristi’s heart felt like it would burst with joy. I’ll never forget this moment, ever, in my whole life! she thought. Never! It’s “showtime” at Castaway Cove, and it has never been more glorious!
The End
Castaway Cove (Kristi Cameron Book 8)
Catastrophe at Castaway Cove (Kristi Cameron Book 8) Page 12
