Distant Echoes

  A light appeared on the horizon. It seemed to be a small motor-craft headed in their direction. Faye had thought she wanted something to happen, but watching the dot grow larger, she found herself praying it would pass them by.

  As the boat grew nearer, she squinted in the darkness. Was that her brother-in-law, Duncan? She shot to her feet and waved her hands. “Duncan, we’re here!”

  The engine died on the small boat, and moments later Duncan climbed aboard. Faye rushed to hug him then stopped when she realized he wasn’t smiling. And why had the other man not tried to thwart the rescue? She stared at him.

  “I wish you hadn’t interfered, Faye.” Duncan’s lips twisted and he shook his head. “I really liked you.”

  Liked as in past tense. She took a step away from his cynical smile. “You—you’re behind this?” she whispered. “You’re going to kill me?”

  “I wish I didn’t have to.” He sounded regretful. “I hate to hurt Curtis. He looked so long for someone to make him happy. You did a good job, I’ll give you that.”

  “Don’t hurt the keiki,” she pleaded, glancing toward the sleeping Heidi.

  “If you’d let my man take her, things would have been just fine,” Duncan growled.

  He is going to kill us both. The knowledge sapped the strength from Faye’s limbs. She shrank back to stand over Heidi. “I won’t let you hurt her.” Her voice was a whimper.

  Duncan looked away. “Sorry, Faye. But the kid has a role to play first.”

  He wasn’t going to kill them yet. There was still time to figure a way out of this.

  “Something’s wrong with the radio,” the other man told Duncan. The two went to the helm.

  Faye glanced at the boat Duncan had arrived in. Maybe she and Heidi could get away in it. She held her fingers to her lips and started toward the ladder. She’d just reached it when Duncan came back on deck.

  He reached her before she could react and grabbed her arm. He woke Heidi then thrust them both into the salon. “Stay there. If you move, you won’t like the consequences.”

  Kaia strained to see through the darkness as Nani led them on a chase over the sea. The waves were smaller now that morning drew near, and the sea seemed glassy smooth. Nani had said “shark.” What did she mean? Could Nani have been talking about something other than an actual shark? Something else that represented danger?

  Jesse cut the engine, and the boat bobbed in the water. “Why are we stopping?” she demanded. Nani’s dorsal fin was still cutting through the water ahead at a torpedo’s pace.

  “I see a boat in the distance. We can’t get too close or they’ll see us.” He opened the locker on the boat and pulled out snorkel gear. “If we stand any chance of rescuing them, we have to surprise them.”

  He tossed her a wet suit and she pulled it on, eager to get into the water with Nani. She saw Nani circling back to get her. She zipped up her wet suit then put her snorkel and mask around her neck. She squinted at the boat in the distance. “Looks like a Viking. Maybe fifty-foot or so. Nani can get us there quicker.” She glanced around for the dolphin and saw two more dorsal fins out there. “Liko and Mahina are here too.”

  Jesse went to the radio and called in their coordinates, but told them to wait until he knew for sure if this was Duncan’s boat.

  “Let’s go.” Jesse tucked Heidi’s stuffed bear inside his wet suit. “Boo will be soaked, but he might bring some comfort to Heidi if she’s there.” He tucked his gun into a waterproof bag.

  How like him to care about his niece’s emotional state as well as her safety. Kaia followed him into the water. The water closed over her head, but she couldn’t see a foot in front of her face, although dawn was beginning to brighten the sky. They didn’t dare use their lights if they wanted to surprise the people on the boat. She just prayed Nani hadn’t led them astray. Nani brushed by her, and Kaia reached out and grabbed the dolphin’s dorsal fin. Breathing steadily through her snorkel, she tucked her body close to Nani and let her pull her along the top of the water. She could only hope Jesse would do the same with one of the other dolphins.

  When she surfaced, she was six feet from the boat. Glancing around, she saw Liko’s dorsal fin approaching, then Jesse’s head bobbed up. She pulled her mask and snorkel down around her neck. Kaia swam toward the boat’s ladder. Jesse moved past her.

  “Let me go first.” He began to climb the ladder.

  “Be careful,” she whispered. She waited until he was at the top then followed. He paused and pulled out his gun.

  On the aft deck, she shadowed Jesse as they listened. Nothing moved aboard the boat, and Kaia shivered. It was too quiet. She looked and saw Faye sitting in the salon. Heidi was on her lap. Kaia pointed to them, and Jesse nodded. She could hear his soft exhalation of relief.

  Putting his finger to his lips, Jesse moved toward the helm. Before he’d gone more than two steps, a figure appeared in the doorway.

  Duncan. He was holding a gun. Another man stepped into view behind him. Kaia didn’t recognize the other man, but the impassive expression on his face made her shiver. She stepped closer to Jesse. With two guns trained on them, they were outnumbered. “Drop your gun, Jesse,” Duncan ordered. Jesse hesitated, then complied and the gun clattered to the deck.

  Heidi’s head came up at the sound of Duncan’s voice. “Uncle Jesse!” She scrambled down from Faye’s lap and rushed out the door of the salon. She launched herself at her uncle, and he caught her to his chest.

  “Are you all right?” He ran his hands over her face and arms.

  Heidi nodded. “Did Nani bring you?”

  “Yep.” His voice sounded choked. He reached into his wet suit and pulled out Boo. Heidi gave a smothered sob and clutched the dripping stuffed bear to her chest.

  Kaia’s gaze connected with her mother’s through the window into the salon. Faye rose and came slowly to the doorway. A myriad of emotions raged through Kaia. At least her mother was all right. Part of her wanted to rush into Faye’s arms and part of her hung back, still too afraid to let herself feel anything. She tore her gaze away from Faye’s face.

  “Such a touching reunion scene,” Duncan said. His hand shook.

  Kaia thought she detected real regret in the man’s voice. She stared into his face. He seemed pale but set on his course.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Jesse took a step toward Duncan but stopped when the gun came up. “What could possibly be worth this?”

  Duncan’s smile seemed weak. “The family honor, old friend. Honor and revenge. Two of the strongest motives in the world.”

  “Revenge? What have we ever done to you?”

  Pain, regret, then rage flashed over Duncan’s face. “Did you deliberately set out to hurt me, Jesse? You took everything from me, one by one.”

  “Are you talking about Jillian? You were the one who cheated.”

  Duncan’s face reddened. “I lost Jillian because of you. And Christy before that.”

  “You only went on two dates with Christy!”

  “Because of you. Every time I was close to happiness, you stepped in and took it from me.” He sneered. “Perfect surfer guy, the jock. All the girls looked at you and didn’t know I existed.”

  “You lost Jillian because you cheated on a test.”

  “I just wanted to take you down a notch or two, beat you at something. That was the only reason I bought the test answers. You made sure it backfired.” His gaze hardened. “Jillian would never even talk to me after that. But don’t kid yourself. This is about more than you.”

  “You’d kill thousands of people because you’re jealous? And hurt Jillian in the process by taking Heidi?”

  Duncan smiled. “That’s the beauty of my plan. Jillian will need comforting. She’ll be alone again. She’ll be totally alone with Heidi gone. And you.” His smile faded. “I wish she didn’t have to be hurt by it all though.”

  “The missile system,” Kaia said. “It was your father’s.”

  Duncan’s eyes narrowed
. “He never got credit for it. You never see his name on it. It’s always his partner who is said to be the genius, even though ninety percent of the work was Dad’s. When the system is discredited, I’ve got the perfect one to take its place. And this time the name Latchet will be on it. And make a boatload of money in the process.” He blinked rapidly. “I’ll be someone, the person I was meant to be.”

  “Nothing that you think you want is worth this,” Faye said softly. “Believe me, young man, hurting others for the sake of your own happiness is never worth it. I tried and it doesn’t work. God will never let you build your life on another’s misery. Better to extend aloha to those who hurt you. Forgive and love them anyway.”

  Duncan hesitated, and a flash of fear darkened his face. He stuck his gun in his pocket. “Cover them, Brad,” he said to the other man. The man nodded and leveled his gun at Jesse.

  “If any of them move, shoot the keiki,” Duncan said. “I’ve got some details to take care of.” He went to the helm, and Kaia saw him speaking into the ship-to-shore radio. Then he shook it and threw it down and began to tinker with the contents. He didn’t seem in any hurry. Brad finally let them sit down. Kaia kept stealing glances at her watch. The minutes were ticking by. It was already a quarter to eight. An hour and fifteen minutes until the launch. They had to stop it somehow.

  Duncan finally joined them. His face was tight as he went to the side of the boat. Reaching into a locker, he withdrew a piece of plastic. He pulled a tab and the plastic inflated to a lifeboat. Tossing it overboard, he got in a small motorboat that was floating beside the bigger boat.

  “Let’s have a picnic,” he said. “You get in first, Jesse.”

  Jesse looked at Kaia. She could see the plea in his eyes but didn’t know what he wanted her to do. He put Heidi down, and she clung to his hand. “Don’t leave me, Uncle Jesse,” she pleaded.

  “You can take her with you,” Duncan called. He was scowling, and Kaia wondered if whatever he planned was going to be more difficult for him to do than he’d imagined.

  Brad motioned with his gun. “You heard him. Get moving.”

  Jesse helped Heidi onto the ladder. Once she was in the inflated lifeboat, he climbed down himself. Faye went next, then Kaia.

  “All of you sit on your hands,” Duncan said. His vessel floated about ten feet away.

  Kaia looked at Jesse, and he shrugged.

  “I don’t want any funny stuff,” he warned. Sweat beaded his forehead and upper lip. He swallowed hard then lifted the lid of the cooler beside him. He began tossing handfuls of bloody meat into the water. He wiped his hands on his jeans then pulled out his gun and aimed it toward the lifeboat.

  He paused then wiped his forearm over his damp forehead. “I hate to do this, Jesse, I really do. It’s not as easy as I thought it would be. We were friends once. But I’ve come too far to back out. I’m not ready to go to prison.”

  Kaia felt sick as she realized what he intended. She looked at Jesse. They might as well try to stop him even if it meant getting shot. It was better than being shark bait.

  “Don’t worry; the sharks will kill you quickly.” Duncan leaned over the railing to aim the gun into the bottom of the lifeboat. He fired a bullet into the raft, and air began to hiss from the hole it made.

  Before either Kaia or Jesse could make a move, Nani launched herself from the water. As she passed Duncan, she gave a powerful flip, and her tail collided with Duncan’s body. Off balance from leaning over, he pinwheeled then pitched into the water. His head bobbed to the surface, and he swam toward the yacht’s ladder. Nani blocked his move and nudged him away from safety and farther out to sea.

  Kaia saw several fins appear. “Sharks!” The raft was quickly deflating. She lurched toward the ladder, pushing Heidi ahead of her.

  “Get him in,” Brad shouted from the deck of the yacht. He pointed the gun at Jesse.

  “Throw your gun in the water and I’ll bring him in.” Jesse folded his arms over his chest.

  “Shoot the dolphin!” Duncan screamed, still trying to evade Nani’s nudges.

  Brad swung the gun toward Duncan and Nani. His hand wavered. “I might hit you,” he shouted. He aimed it back at the lifeboat. “Haul him in or I’ll shoot all of you.”

  Jesse shrugged. “We’re about to die anyway. If you want to save him, you’ll throw your gun in the water.”

  Kaia held her breath as the man hesitated. There was no time to waste. They had to get off this raft before it sank.

  Duncan began to swear and scream. “Help me!” He batted at Nani, but she kept pushing him toward the approaching sharks.

  Brad swore viciously then tossed his gun over the side. “Get him in the boat!”

  Kaia grabbed the whistle around her neck and gave the command that told Nani to come. The dolphin left Duncan.

  Taking advantage of the opportunity, Duncan swam quickly toward the smaller motorboat. “Help me,” he cried.

  Jesse grabbed an oar and started to reach it out to help, but Duncan reached the motorboat and managed to haul himself aboard. He lay panting and shivering.

  “I need to get a weapon,” Jesse whispered to Kaia. He grabbed the ladder and climbed to the deck of the yacht.

  Faye hurried to the ladder, and Kaia helped her aboard. Waves were beginning to swamp the raft, and one slapped her in the leg, drenching her with water. A shark was swimming nearby, so close Kaia could have reached out and grabbed its fin. She jumped to the ladder and clambered to the deck as the raft sank beneath the waves.

  As she reached the deck, she saw Jesse grab Brad by the arm and spin him around. The other man brought up a speargun. Jesse grappled with him. Kaia held her breath, sure the man she loved would be killed.

  The man she loved. She squeezed her eyes shut. What a time to figure that out. She looked around for a weapon, but even as she snatched up a rope, Jesse batted the speargun out of Brad’s hand and bore him to the deck. He put his knee in Brad’s back and pulled his arms behind him.

  “Hand me that rope,” Jesse panted. Kaia rushed forward and helped him tie up Brad.

  The sound of a motor firing startled Kaia. She ran to the railing and glanced over the side of the yacht. Duncan was steering the boat toward the island. “He’s getting away!”

  “I’ll call the Coast Guard. They’ll pick him up. At least there’s no danger with the launch. All his equipment is here.” Jesse went to the helm to call on the ship-to-shore phone. He came back to the door with part of it in his hand. “It’s broken. I need to get to the radio on the Porpoise II.”

  “How? All the boats are gone,” Kaia reminded him.

  He rubbed his forehead. “Oh yeah.” He disappeared back into the helm.

  Faye stood off to one side, holding Heidi’s hand. She was looking at Kaia with love shining out of her dark eyes. At least Kaia thought it looked like love. A lump formed in her throat, but she couldn’t look away.

  “I am so proud of you,” Faye said softly.

  Kaia swallowed hard. She turned away and went to join Jesse.

  He threw the mic down. “I can’t fix it. I don’t know what we’re going to do.” He stood, and his gaze met hers. “I thought we were dead. If I had died without telling you how I felt . . .”

  He held out his arms, and Kaia went into them without hesitation. He was soaked and shivering, but so was she. She rubbed her face against his wet suit. He tipped her chin up and kissed her. She closed her eyes when his lips touched hers. Wrapping her arms around him, she put the love she’d just discovered into the kiss.

  She was trembling when they broke apart. “I love you,” Jesse whispered. “I didn’t want to. I’m too old for you—old and jaded. But it happened anyway.” He cupped her face with his big hands.

  “I love you too.” Kaia felt tongue-tied. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

  “We’re entering uncharted territory,” he said. “And I want to explore it with you as soon as we get a chance.” He kissed her on the tip of her nose. ??
?Let’s finish saving the day first. We’ll have to take the boat to rendezvous with the Porpoise II.”

  Twenty-nine

  Jesse put his hand to the engine ignition. “Duncan took the key. Great.”

  “Can you hot-wire the boat?” Kaia asked. “It’s nearly eight thirty. You said the missile test is at nine.”

  Jesse glanced at Brad, who was trussed up and lying in a corner. “You have a key to this thing?”

  “Nope.” The man smiled. “You think you’ve won, but time has run out. You’re stuck out here in the ocean.”

  “Duncan’s equipment is here, and you’re in custody,” Jesse pointed out.

  “What makes you think he was going to take control of the missile from here?” Brad’s smirk deepened.

  Kaia heard the smugness in his voice. “What’s he talking about?”

  “Hide and watch,” Brad said.

  “Where’s Duncan going?” Jesse demanded.

  Brad laughed. “I’d love to tell you and watch you stew since you can’t do anything about it, but on the slim chance you manage to get to shore before nine, I’d better keep my mouth shut.”

  Jesse went to where Brad lay. He checked the man’s pockets for a key but came up empty-handed. Brad’s grin grew wider. Jesse turned to Kaia. “Something’s about to happen. We’ve got to get some help. Let’s swim for it.”

  “I don’t think so.” She pointed at the sharks still circling the boat as they searched for more of the raw meat Duncan had thrown out.

  Jesse paled, and Kaia remembered his fear of sharks. “I hate sharks,” he muttered. He hesitated. “I’m going to have to risk it. Can you call Nani?”

  She didn’t want Nani in danger. “Sharks eat dolphins, you know.”

  “We can’t stand by and let thousands of people die! Look, we have no time to stand here and argue.”

  She rushed past him to the aft side of the boat. “The sharks are mainly on the other side. They don’t usually attack divers. I wish we had our tanks.”

  “Maybe there are tanks aboard.” He began to rummage in the storage compartments, but they found nothing. “I have to try. I’ll get the boat and come back for you.”