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night uncovered a Hawaiian boat or burial spot of some kind. I want the DLNR to look into it.” He seemed to finally look at her. “You’ve been diving. Were you with Tony? I heard about his death. I’m sorry.”
    “Yes, Bane and I are on our way to see Candace.”
    “Bane is here?” His gaze went
past her to Bane. A flicker of an eye showed his interest. “I should have known he wouldn’t miss the festival.” His eyes gleamed.
    The two men were friends and professional rivals at the same time. Both had a passion for cave exploration and playing the ukulele, and neither liked to lose to the other, though they respected each other as men. Leia never understood the complexities of their relationship. It was like watching two jungle cats circle each other before deciding to be friends.
    “Let me know what you learn about these remains, Pete. I’d better get back. We want to see if there is any news about what happened to Tony.” She hurried back to Bane and Eva.
    Bane listened as she told him about the bones. “I wonder if it’s a hoax. There’s no likely spot for the surge to uncover bones. Could Pete be staging something for attention?”
    “What is it with you two? One minute you’re listening to his advice, and the next second you’re trying to one-up him.”
    Bane was looking out over the water. “The ukulele festival is coming up. Think I can beat him?”
    “You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?” She sighed. “Winning a ukulele festival isn’t the most important thing in life.”
    His white teeth flashed in a wide grin. “I live to win.”
    That was Bane’s problem—he was so caught up in the notion that everything depended on him that he never relaxed enough to enjoy life. It was admirable to be dependable, but Bane took the trait to an extreme. The world wouldn’t come to an end if he failed at something.
    She took Eva’s hand. “It’s getting late. If we’re going to see Candace, we’d better get moving.” And then she was going to go home and forget Bane Oana. If she could.
    They left the cat patrolling the beach and got back in the boat. No one said much as they rounded the eastern side of the island and headed to town. Leia nodded toward the parking area beside the dock as they approached. “I keep my car in the lot to use when I come to town. We can take it.” They docked and headed toward the car.
    “Want me to drive?” Bane jogged to catch up with her.
    “I don’t let other people drive my car.”
    “You let me drive your car once.”
    “And you wrecked it. That taught me a lesson.” She made the mistake of looking at him. His grin made it hard to stay mad at him.
    “It wasn’t my fault!”
    “You ever hear of defensive driving? You drive like you do everything else—full steam ahead with your eyes on the goal.”
    “You just like being in control.”
    “That’s a pot calling the kettle black.” Eva began to hum, and Leia looked down at her sister. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”
    “Don’t yell at Bane. He’ll go away, and I won’t get to go dive anymore.” Eva stuck her fingers in her mouth again.
    Leia pulled Eva’s hand down with a gentle touch and shook her head. Eva winced and rubbed her wet fingers against her shorts. Leia patted her arm, and Eva’s face cleared. “Bane isn’t going anywhere, are you, Bane?”
    He shook his head. “Not when I get to take the prettiest girl in town diving.” He smiled at Eva, then his gaze shot to Leia.
    The trip to the Romero house only took ten minutes, but Bane’s larger-than-life presence in her small car was like being caged with a tiger shark. He was every bit as sleek and dangerous to her peace of mind as the big fish. She parked in front of the Romero house behind Dirk’s green army jeep.
    The plantation-style home sat in a grove of palm trees. Though modest, the pale pink-and-white color scheme reminded Leia of a frothy glass of pink guava juice. They stepped past the mass of welcoming flowers at the