Black Sands (18 page)

Annie was going to have to tell her the whole story. She sighed and launched into the saga about how he’d been shot and taken by the Iranians. “He’s trying to get out of the mess, but I don’t see how he’s going to do it.”

“He must have really loved this girl.” Fawn’s voice was low.

“I think he did. I’m sorry.” She laid her hand on Fawn’s.

Fawn gave her a sad smile. “It’s not your fault, Annie. It’s not anyone’s fault. Tomi never had eyes for me. I tried my best, but he never gave me a second look, and I learned to live with that. Maybe Mano can help him.”

Annie’s fingers tightened on hers. “Maybe.”

Fawn recovered her composure. “Mano’s appearance hasn’t helped your state of mind, I bet.”

Heat rushed up Annie’s neck. “I don’t want to talk about Mano.”

“You never do. You’ve loved him for years, Annie. Fight for him this time. Quit standing on the sidelines and make him notice you.”

“That approach didn’t exactly work for you.” The words were out before she could think. She saw the way Fawn recoiled. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that.”

“But at least I tried, Annie. I did everything I could. At least I’ll never have to wonder what might have been if I’d given it my all. You have to fight for him.”

“I can never compete with Leilani. I wouldn’t want to.” She was such a liar. Everything in her longed to compete. And win. But she knew better than to try. Leilani always won. Even if Leilani weren’t in the running, Annie just wasn’t the kind of woman men noticed.

Fawn glanced at Annie’s feet. “Your feet are as flashy as a parrot, but the rest of you is as colorless as a mynah. I’ve wanted to take you in hand for years and dress you in the bright colors your dark hair and eyes beg for. Now is the time. Don’t let this opportunity slip away to have what you want.”

Annie hated wearing boots all the time. Her feet had been her one vanity. Her mother used to tell her she had pretty feet. They weren’t pretty any more. No part of her had beauty now. “I don’t want to attract a man by being something I’m not. I want someone to love me for myself, not for the way I dress or the makeup I wear.”

Fawn’s frown softened. “Don’t we all? But men are visual creatures. You have to get them to look at the exterior first, and then they’ll see the interior.”

“No thanks.” Annie began to pull on her wetsuit. “Let’s get this over with. I have to help my brother out of this mess.”

“You are so stubborn.” Fawn sounded resigned. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.” She sat on a lava rock beside Annie and began to pull on her wetsuit too. “So what are we doing today?”

“Gina wants some readings from Loihi seamount while we have Nani here. A recent swarm of earthquakes was centered out there. More than any Hawaiian volcano in recorded history.” The women put on their reef shoes and went to the dock to wait on Jillian and the boat.

Annie’s cell phone rang, and she pulled it out of her bag.

“Annie, it’s me.” Her brother’s voice sounded strained. “I wondered if you found Father last night.”

“Tomi. You’re okay!” She didn’t think she could have stood losing him when they’d just found him. Beside her, Fawn’s movements stilled, and she turned her gaze on Annie as she listened. Annie wished she could shake Tomi and wake him up to what he was missing. “Father’s fine. He was down by the water.”

“Did he say what happened?”

“The men said they would kill all of us if you didn’t do what they wanted.” There was no answer on the other end. “Tomi, did you hear me?”

“I heard.” His voice sounded deadpan. “I don’t know what to do, Annie.”

“We’ll figure it out. Come home. We can talk about it tonight.”

“No. I won’t bring danger to your doorstep. I’ll be in touch.”

The phone clicked in her ear, and she put it away as the sound of the boat’s engine neared. “That was Tomi.”

“So I gathered,” Fawn said. “Is he coming home tonight?”

“No.” Annie sighed and gathered up her diving gear. “I wish I knew what to do.”

“Just ask God. He’ll guide you all.”

That was Fawn’s answer for everything. But surely God expected his children to figure some things out on their own, though in this case, Annie was completely at a loss. She waved at the approaching boat. Jillian nudged the craft close to the dock, and they hopped aboard. Her cold was better, and Annie brought her up to speed on events.

“I still haven’t seen Noah,” Jillian said, taking them out to sea. “If he comes by, I’ll see if he’ll tell me more about this casino thing.”

The day was cloudy, and the scent of rain hung in the air. They rode rough swells out to Loihi seamount, about twenty miles from shore. No one had ever seen the volcano erupt, because it was so far under water. The USGS had put an undersea observatory called HUGO on the mount, but it hadn’t functioned since 1998. Gina and the rest of the team were hopeful that they might collect some data with Nani. The summit was about a thousand feet down, close to the depth limit that Nani could dive.

Annie decided she should try to enjoy the day. So much of their work was spent hunched over a computer analyzing seismographs, GPS receivers, air-quality testers, and gas composition. At least out here she could listen to the birds overhead and inhale the fresh scent of the sea.

“If we had Wilson with us, he’d call Nani,” Annie said, smiling at Fawn. Placing Kaia’s device into the water, she called the dolphin. Within a few minutes, a dorsal fin appeared. Slicing through the waves, the dolphin stopped a few feet from the boat, poked her nostrum above the water, and chattered to them.

“She seems eager to get to work,” Fawn said. She picked up the dolphin’s gear and sat on the edge of the boat. She attached it to Nani with an elastic belt that had been designed for the dolphin. The belt contained tubes that would take samples of the seawater, as well as temperature gauges.

“I’m going to miss her when she goes home.” Annie jumped overboard. The water was hot here near the surface. It was like jumping into a hot spa. She knew it would cool as they went down. She pulled on her mask and mouthpiece, then dove beneath the waves. The water was murky with suspended ash. The deeper they swam, the darker it got. The visibility eventually dropped to about five feet.

Nani came close and nudged her, and Annie grabbed the dolphin’s dorsal fin. Nani drew her down toward their target. When she was as deep as she dared go, she released the dolphin and fluttered her fingers to tell Nani to go on.

After the first trip to the Kilauea vent, the dolphin knew what to do. She swirled away, and the dark water swallowed her up. The sounds were disorienting—hissing and crashing. The water seemed warmer than she’d expected, and Annie wondered if the flow had increased. She took temperature readings and scooped up some water samples.

Annie glanced at her watch. They’d been down long enough. She signaled Fawn, and her coworker nodded. They began to surface, pausing occasionally to decompress. Annie’s head broke the surface of the water, and she spit out her mouthpiece. “That was incredible! I could hardly think with all the noise. I wonder if the swarms were going on while we were down.” She called the dolphin to her and removed Nani’s belt and equipment, then slung it aboard the boat.

Fawn nodded. “I almost forgot where I was. It was disorienting.”

“Let’s get back to the observatory and see what the seismograph says.”

“I have a feeling it’s going to show major activity,” Fawn said. “We may be gearing up for something as big as the 1996 event.”

Jillian dropped them off at the dock, where they got in Annie’s SUV and drove along Chain of Craters Road. Whether the road stayed open was an ongoing battle with the volcano. Twelve miles of the road were covered by lava from Mauna Ulu between 1969 and 1974, and five miles of the connecting road to the Puna area disappeared under lava from the Kupaianaha vent of the
Pu’u O’o
eruption from 1986 to 1991. Flows crossed the highway near Kamoamoa, closing another mile of road and coursing into the ocean. The park was never static.

They passed dozens of tourists walking the black
pahoehoe
lava. It was smooth and ropey and easier to walk on than the jagged
a’a
. A long line of lava seekers walked in single file along the trail leading to the current lava show. Annie glanced at her watch. It was a three-hour walk, and the tourists usually arrived in time to see the lava in the daylight, then hung around to see the nighttime show.

At the observatory, she pulled into the parking lot and parked beside Fawn’s car. “I’ve got an hour to figure out that computer model before I have to get ready for dinner.”

“I’ll come help you get ready,” Fawn told her.

“It’s not a big deal. I’m just going to change into a clean T-shirt and jeans.”

“You are not! This is a bona fide date, and you’re going to look fabulous.”

“You’re making too much of it.” Annie didn’t want to think of this as a “real” date, or she’d be too nervous to go.

Fawn got out of the SUV and slammed the door. “I could shake you. This is your chance, Annie. Take it.”

Muttering about pushy friends, Annie got out and hurried to the office. She found Jillian already hunched over the computer in her office. “How’s it going?”

Jillian barely glanced up. “This thing still isn’t working.”

“Scoot out of the way and let me take a look.”

Jillian stood and went toward the door. “I’m going to get some coffee. Want some?”

“Sure.” Jillian was tall, so Annie’s toes barely touched the floor. The results sure looked haywire. She suspected some row or column in the database had been tagged with a wrong label. She launched the spreadsheet program and began to go through it line by line. One row of figures didn’t make sense. She needed the original model, and it was in Gina’s office.

Annie went to her boss’s office and began to go through the filing cabinets. Her thoughts drifted as she flipped through the folders. She didn’t want to think about her date with Mano, so she set her mind on her brother. She had to talk to him and try to figure out how to get him out of the mess. She stole a glance at a picture of Gina’s family as her mind whirled. Ah, there was the file she sought.

“Find what you needed, or can I help you?”

Annie turned to see Gina standing in the doorway. “I wondered if you were still here.” She shut the filing cabinet drawer. “I think I’m making progress.”

A relieved smile lit Gina’s face. “I hope you can get it done today.” She cleared her throat. “Um, I hope you don’t mind, but your father called me and invited me to dinner.”

Annie’s eyes widened, but she smiled. “I admit I’m surprised. He’s never shown any interest in anyone since Mother died.”

“That’s what he told me. I like your father, and we seemed to hit it off. Is it okay with you?”

Was it? Annie didn’t want to admit the emotion stirring in her heart was jealousy. “I want him to be happy. You too.” It looked like more changes might be coming into her life, and she wasn’t sure she was ready to handle them. Gina’s flirtation with her father last night had seemed blatant, but then maybe most men liked that. Annie was no expert.

Annie nodded toward the picture of Gina’s family. “Your daughter looked familiar, then I realized it’s because she looks so much like you. I’ve never seen her visit. Does she live on the island?”

Gina’s smile faded. “She’s dead.” She looked away. “She and my husband died in the same accident. I should have been there. He never was good at taking care of the children.”

Annie ducked her head. “Oh, Gina, I’m so sorry.” She’d jumped to conclusions about her boss. Gina hadn’t shared much about her family life.

“It was a long time ago.” Gina’s smile came back. “That’s one reason I’ve felt so close to you, Annie. You’re a lot like Michelle.” She caught her lower lip in her teeth. “And, um, I really like your dad. More than any man I’ve met since Alex died.”

The softness in her boss’s gaze touched Annie. “
Mahalo
, Gina. It means a lot to me.”

Gina touched her cheek. “You make me proud, Annie. That’s why I push you so hard. I see a lot of potential in you. You’re going to accomplish great things in your life.” Her gaze strayed to the picture. “Just like Michelle would have.”

“What did she do?”

“She was a marine biologist. She died on a dive.”

Annie had to wonder if that was why Gina took such chances on dives herself. Maybe subconsciously she wanted to join her daughter. There was no way Annie could tell her boss that, though. “I’d better get that computer model fixed.” Annie squeezed Gina’s hand, then went back down the hall to Jillian’s office.

Jillian was standing over the computer. “I’m all for tossing this thing out the window. How about you?”

“I think I’ve got the answer here.” Annie held up the file folder. “If this doesn’t work, we’ll go with your plan.” She moved past Jillian and looked at the computer. She dropped into the chair. The figures ran together as she looked over the file for the next thirty minutes. She laid it aside. “I still can’t figure it out.”

“Tomorrow will have to do. I want to spend some time with Heidi tonight,” Jillian said. “We’ll forget trashing the darn thing until then.”

Annie stepped into the hallway to go home. Monica was standing by Gina’s door. “If you’re wanting to see Gina for some more sucking up, she’s left for the day.” Monica’s lip curled.

Annie forced herself to stand as tall as her five feet two would allow. “Monica, can’t we be civil? We’ve never been friends, but at least we could work together. Have I done something to offend you?”

Monica folded her arms over her chest and glowered. “I’m a better volcanologist than you, but you’re the one who gets the cushy projects and all the praise. I’ve just had it. Ever since you got hurt you act like you’re entitled to special consideration. Get over it! So you got hurt—big deal. That’s the reality we face every day in our jobs. If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen—or in this case, the lava field.”

Annie absorbed Monica’s words in silence. Did she have an attitude of entitlement? She was ashamed to admit to herself that maybe she did.

“Oh please, wipe off that expression of shocked hurt.” Monica brushed by her abruptly. “You’re not a child, Annie. Grow up and do your job.”