Distant Echoes

  They were going to have to wait for help.

  She heard a sound, a squeak and whistle.

  “It’s Nani!” Heidi slipped from her lap and went to the rail. She leaned over and dangled her fingers at the dolphin.

  “Quiet,” Faye cautioned. “We don’t want the bad man to shoot Nani.”

  Heidi’s smile dimmed, and she stepped back from the railing.

  Faye joined her and looked down at the dolphin. “Go get Kaia, Nani,” she said softly. “Kaia.” She wished she knew how to make the sounds that meant “Kaia.”

  Nani rode the waves then plunged into the ocean. Faye saw her dorsal fin slice through the water as she headed away from the boat. She could only pray the dolphin knew enough to find her daughter.

  Twenty-seven

  Jesse guided the boat along the cresting waves. The craft bottomed out then rose on the next wave. He glanced at his watch. “It’s nearly four.”

  “This night has been the longest in my life,” Kaia said. She must look as haggard as she felt. They’d been wandering aimlessly out here for over an hour. Jesse had received an update from the police, who hadn’t found a sign of Heidi or Faye.

  Her cell phone rang. “This is Kaia.”

  Her brother’s voice sounded weary and ragged. “It’s Mano. We found Aki about to leave the island with his son. He claims to have no knowledge of Heidi or our mother.”

  “Can’t they force him to tell where he’s got them?” She heard the sharp edge of panic in her voice and tried to tighten her control, but time was running out. Every moment that ticked by brought disaster closer.

  “They’re trying. You having any luck?”

  “Not yet. I can’t find Nani either. If she would come, she might be able to help us.”

  “You’ve called her?”

  “Many times. I’ve never known her to be so unresponsive. I’m worried.”

  “She’s fine,” Mano assured her.

  Kaia wasn’t so sure. Something felt very wrong. “Keep me posted,” she told him. She clicked off her phone and told Jesse what Mano had said.

  “We know Pele Hawai´i is behind this. Are there any other officers in the organization who could be hiding them?”

  “I don’t know. We just have to pray the police can get Aki to talk.” Kaia rubbed her eyes. She wished she could talk to Nahele Aki herself. She could look into his eyes and find the truth behind his lies.

  Jesse’s cell phone rang, and he answered it. His eyes widened. “Listen,” he mouthed to Kaia. He held the phone tipped so she could put her head next to his and listen with him.

  The distorted voice raised the hair on the back of her neck.

  “Jesse, you’ve got a problem,” the voice said.

  “Who is this?”

  “I’m the person you want to keep happy if you also want to see your niece again.” Kaia locked eyes with Jesse. This could not be one of the Akis.

  “Where is my niece?”

  “She’s safe. For now. But whether she remains safe will be up to you.”

  “What do you want?” Jesse said.

  “Nothing. That is, I want you to do nothing. When it’s all over tonight, we’ll talk again.”

  “When what is all over?”

  The phone went dead.

  Jesse hung up and stared at Kaia. “I don’t get it at all,” he said.

  Kaia didn’t like what she was thinking. “The missile test will be over by tonight. What if the problem with the last test wasn’t an accident? What if this one is going to veer off as well?”

  Jesse went still. “But why take Heidi and Faye?”

  “I don’t know.” Kaia rubbed her head. “What do we do?”

  He whirled the steering wheel and turned the boat toward shore. “The first thing I want to do is talk to Duncan. His father was part of the design team who came up with this new system. Duncan would know if it’s even possible for someone to tamper with it like that. His house is near here.”

  The boat sped toward the shore. Jesse docked it at Duncan’s pier and tied the boat to the piling. “This shouldn’t take long. You want to wait here or come with me?”

  “I’ll wait here.” Kaia wanted to try calling Nani again.

  Jesse nodded then headed toward the steps that led from the pier up the hill to the house on top of the cliff. “He’s not going to like me waking him at this hour.”

  Kaia watched him disappear at the top of the hill then called Nani on DALE again. Still no sign of her dolphin. She stepped from the boat to the dock. Her muscles were stiff and sore. A walk might help. She kept her reef shoes on and stepped into the soft sand. She walked toward a small lagoon where she often swam with Nani.

  A low stone wall separated her from the lagoon’s beach. She stepped over it then pushed through a thicket. Maybe Nani had come here. It was a favorite spot. She half expected to see her dolphin floating dead or injured in the water. The mental image dogged her. She couldn’t imagine why Nani would refuse to answer . . . unless the dolphin couldn’t.

  In the middle of the thicket, Kaia came up short at the sound of men’s voices. At the edge of the lagoon, she saw two men talking. Duncan Latchet and someone she did not recognize. She started forward to tell Duncan their problem.

  Duncan clapped his hand to the man’s shoulder. “We’re all set. In this game, all we need are two strikes, and they’re out. And it looks like we’ll be in.”

  Kaia paused and ducked down behind a shrub. Two strikes. What kind of strike? The sight of the missile veering off course crossed her mind. If this morning’s missile test went awry . . . She told herself not to be ridiculous. Duncan’s father had helped develop this missile system. He would have no reason to want to see it fail.

  “Meet me at the satellite. We should have a bird’s-eye view of the fireworks.” Duncan’s voice was filled with excitement.

  He was talking about the missile test. He had to be. Kaia backed away as quickly as she could. She and Jesse had to get out of here before Duncan saw them. She escaped the thicket and ran along the sand back to the boat. She saw Jesse standing on the dock.

  She raced to the end. Grabbing Jesse’s arm, she pushed him toward the boat. “Go, go, let’s get out of here.”

  “What—” he began.

  “I’ll explain later. Just get us out of here.”

  Jesse jumped to the deck of the boat and helped her aboard. “As quietly as possible,” she whispered.

  He nodded and started the engine. Though it purred quietly, Kaia hoped the white noise of the surf would muffle their departure as well as it had their arrival.

  At a safe distance out, Jesse accelerated, and the boat sped out to sea. Then he cut the engine and turned to stare at her. “What was that all about?”

  “I saw Duncan talking to another guy. He said something about two strikes. I couldn’t hear everything he said, but I think he means to sabotage this morning’s test.” Her voice rose as fear began to vibrate through her.

  A smile touched Jesse’s mouth. “Not Duncan, Kaia. He wouldn’t do something like that.”

  “What else could he be talking about?” Kaia knew he didn’t want to believe it, and neither did she. She’d always liked Duncan. “We should call the police.”

  “I can’t go charging him with something like that without proof,” Jesse said. “And there’s no time for them to investigate.” He frowned. “His office is over by the base. Let’s go see if we can find anything there.”

  “How do we get in?”

  “I’ll think of something when we get there,” he said.

  Kaia sat in the bow of the boat as he directed the boat toward Barking Sands Naval Base. Events were spiraling out of control, and she felt as helpless as the time she took the dingy out to sea without a compass.

  The Latchet building bordered the naval base. Jesse cut the motor at the nearest civilian dock, grabbed a flashlight, and helped Kaia ashore. They jogged toward the buildings.

  “Is there a guard?” Kaia whisper
ed.

  Jesse nodded. “I think so. They deal with some top-secret stuff.”

  Security lights illuminated the parking lot, and their hum seemed loud when Kaia and Jesse were trying to be quiet. A row of windows looked out to sea, but only a few dim lights shone in the halls.

  “Do you see the guard?” Kaia stopped and peered in.

  “Yeah, he’s at the desk.” He pointed, and she saw a man slumped back in a chair with his eyes closed.

  “Maybe we can talk our way past him.” Jesse took her hand as they went across the road to the parking lot. He pressed the buzzer at the front door.

  The guard, a sleepy-eyed Hawaiian of about forty-five, came to the door and opened it. “Hey, brah, you got any kine idea of the time?”

  He looked familiar to Kaia, then she placed him. She’d gone to school with his son, Simon. In fact, she’d dated Simon a few times.

  “Hi, Mr. Kalakaua. I don’t know if you remember me.”

  His face changed. “Kaia Oana. Howzit?”

  He’d always sprinkled his speech with Hawaiian pidgin. “I’m fine. How’s Simon? I haven’t seen him in a while.”

  “Getting married in August.” He frowned. “Whatcha doing out here at this hour?”

  “It’s a matter of national security,” Jesse said, stepping forward. “I really need to get into the building.” He dug out his military ID.

  “No can.” Kalakaua handed him back the ID. “Latchet be giving me stink eye when he gets wind of it. Waddascoops?”

  He’d just asked them what was at stake, so at least he was willing to listen. “Please, Mr. Kalakaua. A little girl’s life is at stake. And me—my mother’s as well.” To her shock, Kaia felt tears well in her eyes as she said the word mother. She blinked rapidly to dispel them.

  His face softened. “I dated her once, da kine?” He frowned again. “But no can.” Then he smiled. “Lesgo, it’s about time for my break. Mo’bettah, I’ll take a little shut-eye for fifteen minutes.” He winked and stepped away from the door without locking it behind him.

  Kaia and Jesse looked at one another, and Kaia felt a grin stretching her lips. “You’re amazing,” he whispered. He held the door open for her, and they walked past Mr. Kalakaua with his feet propped on his desk and his eyes closed.

  Kaia’s smile felt as wide as the Kilauea caldera. Did he really think that? He touched her hand and squeezed her fingers. Her hand closed around his, and they went to the elevator.

  Stopping on the third floor, they stepped out into a dark lobby. Jesse flipped on the flashlight, and its beam illuminated the cavernous lobby. “Duncan’s office is the first door on the right.”

  Kaia followed him down the hall and into the first office. She glanced around at the office furniture. “I’ll check the filing cabinet.”

  “I’ll check the computer.” Jesse went to the desk and pushed aside a can of Red Bull.

  Fifteen minutes later, they were still empty-handed. “Maybe I’m wrong,” Kaia admitted. She didn’t feel wrong though.

  “Or we’re missing it,” Jesse said.

  “Let me look at the computer,” Kaia said. “I’m a bit of a computer nerd.” Jesse moved aside, and she sat in the chair and began to poke around. “Aha,” she said a few minutes later. “There’s a hidden file.” She tried to open it. “Rats, it has a password.”

  Jesse sat on the edge of the desk. “I know Duncan pretty well. Let’s try a few things.” He suggested word after word, but the file refused to open.

  Kaia sat back in the chair. “Any other ideas?”

  “I’m fresh out,” he said. His gaze wandered around the room. “Hey, he’s got a picture here of Christy.”

  “Your wife?” Kaia wasn’t sure she wanted to see it. At least she’d know whose shoes she had to fill. She nearly gulped at the thought. Where had that come from? She didn’t want to be Jesse’s wife—did she?

  Jesse leaned forward and plucked a picture frame from the desk. “Yeah, see here. She’s standing with Jillian. Duncan used to date Jillian when we were in high school. He still asks about her.”

  Kaia took the picture and studied the lovely blond woman. In the picture, her head was tipped to one side, and she was laughing. Her green eyes were mischievous. “She’s lovely.”

  “Yes, she was.” Jesse took the photo back and stared at it. “Duncan was hung up on her once too, before she and I started dating. In fact, I always thought of her as the girl next door until Duncan took her out.”

  Kaia wondered what he was thinking. Was he comparing his wife’s fair locks with her own dark ones? She would certainly be found wanting when compared with Christy.

  “I kind of broke them up,” Jesse said.

  “Duncan and Christy?”

  “Well, yeah, but that was no big deal. They’d only gone out a few times. But I meant Jillian and Duncan. In college he stole the answers to a test and told me about it. It ticked me off, and I told Jillian what he did. She broke it off with him.”

  Kaia took the photo back and looked at it again. “Do you think Duncan is still angry over that?”

  Jesse frowned. “That sounds pretty extreme, though he was pretty broken up over it. He didn’t speak to me for a few weeks. When he lightened up, he threw himself into his schoolwork and said he was going to beat me out for valedictorian. I beat him anyway, and he was majorly ticked for about a month. But he got over it.”

  “Why would he be so competitive with you? I thought you two were friends.”

  “We were. He’d always been a bit of a geek though. We went through that kind of thing occasionally. He was always sorry afterward, and we stayed friends.”

  Kaia stared at Jillian’s face. “When is Jillian’s birthday?”

  “June fifth.”

  She typed in JILLIAN65. “Rats, still wrong. Think, Jesse.”

  Jesse thought for a few moments then squatted by the desk. “Duncan was always into secret hiding places. Move aside and let me look.” He began to feel around the bottom of the desk. “Aha. He’s got something taped under the drawer.” He struggled briefly then brought up a small notebook. Flipping through it, he pointed at a series of numbers and letters. “Try that.”

  Kaia typed it in, and the file opened. Jesse leaned over her shoulder and began to read the file with her. She heard his intake of breath. “He intends to direct the missile into Honolulu.” She couldn’t believe it.

  “Nearly four hundred thousand people live there. The death toll would be staggering.”

  “He can’t be serious. Thousands would die.”

  “Tens of thousands,” Kaia said. “Look at this.” She pointed to the screen. “He’s got another missile system in the works that he plans to sell to the government once this one is discredited. But why would he be willing to kill so many people for money?” She noticed Jesse wasn’t listening. His attention was focused on a display of pictures on the wall.

  He went to it. “This almost looks like a shrine to his dad.”

  Kaia joined him. In one picture, Duncan was looking at his father with an adoring expression on his face.

  “It makes no sense he’d want to discredit his father’s missile system.”

  “His father designed it? Why isn’t it named after him or something?”

  “His dad’s company split apart and his partner took the credit. It killed Duncan’s dad. He drove his car into a monkeypod tree, and we always thought it was deliberate.”

  “Maybe that’s what this is really about,” Kaia said. “The new system would have the Latchet name on it.”

  “Maybe.” He glanced at his watch. “We’ll have to figure that out later. Right now we have to stop that missile launch.”

  The phone jangled, and they both jumped. Kaia’s eyes widened. “Why would it ring in the middle of the night? Maybe it’s Mr. Kalakaua. Answer it.”

  Jesse raised his eyebrows, but he picked up the phone. “Hello,” he said cautiously. “It’s Duncan,” he mouthed to Kaia. He motioned for Kaia to come close enough
to listen in.”

  She pressed her ear against the phone and heard Duncan’s voice. “Did you enjoy rifling through my office, Jesse? Look, I was serious when I told you to do nothing. If that missile test doesn’t go on as planned, I’m going to kill your niece. So don’t even think about calling the commander.”

  The phone went dead.

  Jesse dropped the receiver back into its cradle. “I don’t know what to do.” He stared uncertainly at Kaia.

  “We’ve still got a few hours. Maybe we can find him and rescue Heidi and Faye first.”

  He pulled her from the chair. “We have to try.”

  They left the computer on and the filing cabinet standing ajar and ran for the elevator. The guard kept his face turned away as they exited the building and headed for the boat.

  As they approached the Porpoise II, Kaia saw a familiar dorsal fin. “It’s Nani!” She was dizzy with relief.

  She ran to the water and ran her hands over the dolphin. The warmth of her friend reassured her. Nani seemed fine physically, but she was agitated. She kept chattering and whistling. She dove under the water then surfaced again and made more noises.

  Nani’s pattern of clicks and whistles suddenly formed a pattern in Kaia’s mind. She gasped. “She’s saying, ‘Heidi’!”

  “What?” Jesse frowned.

  “She’s communicating, Jesse! She’s telling me she knows where Heidi is.” Kaia jumped to the deck of the boat.

  Nani chattered again, the same word. Heidi. Then a different word. Shark.

  Twenty-eight

  Faye’s stomach rumbled. The man hadn’t fed them or given them anything to drink, though it was nearly dawn. Light began to touch the edges of the sky, but only barely.

  Heidi slept on a blanket on deck, but Faye hadn’t closed her eyes all night. They felt gritty and painful, and she wished she could rest. She wanted to cling to every minute because she thought this night might be her last. The men weren’t going to let her walk away. She could identify them.