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settle down.
    “Not in about two weeks. She was trying to get out of her latest assignment but wasn’t having much luck. They want to send her to Italy, to a volcano about to blow. She needs the money, but she doesn’t want to leave Heidi behind.”
    “Tell her I said hello.” Duncan glanced at his watch and rose. “I should get back to work. It will be nine before I get home tonight as it is.”
    “ Mahalo, ” Jesse called, thanking his friend. He wished he could do something to help Duncan. He seemed so lonely since his wife divorced him three years ago and took their two young children to the mainland. But even if Jesse could think of some way to help, Duncan’s pride would never let him accept it.
    Jesse’s cell phone rang and he punched it on. “Matthews here.”
    “We’ve got problems.” Ensign Will Master’s voice came over the line.
    “On my way,” Jesse told his aide and ran for his Jeep Wrangler.
    T he Porpoise II skimmed the tops of the waves. Laban’s mother, Edena, held the vase containing her son’s ashes between her knees as she perched in a seat beside Kaia. Her face was set and stoic. Kaia hadn’t seen her cry at the funeral either.
    “It was about here,” Kaia said, cutting the engine. Her grandfather had been hurt that his niece hadn’t wanted him along to scatter the ashes, but Edena had wanted only Kaia, and she likely would have gone alone if she hadn’t needed Kaia to show her where Laban had died.
    Edena nodded and stood. She began a funeral mele , her keening sharp as the words of the chant flowed out. Tears burned Kaia’s eyes. Edena opened the vase and slowly scattered the ashes into the white crests of waves. As the mele mingled with the sounds of the terns overhead, Kaia prayed that she would never forget how short life could be.
    Still dry-eyed, Edena put down the vase and turned to Kaia. “Was this more than an accident?” she whispered.
    “The navy says the computer malfunctioned.”
    Edena nodded. “Do you believe it?”
    “I have no reason not to,” Kaia told her. Where was her aunt heading with this?
    “If you learn anything that suggests it was more than an accident, would you promise to let me know—and to see what you can find out?”
    “I’m not a cop or anything,” Kaia pointed out. “There’s not much I could do about it.”
    “Just keep your eyes and ears open. Something doesn’t smell right to me about it. I think the navy is trying to cover up something.”
    Kaia shrugged. Her aunt had always been a little bit of a conspiracy theorist. She could humor her. “Okay,” she said.
    She took her aunt back
to the dock then headed to work. She’d had the weekend to recuperate, though her muscles still ached from the ordeal in the water. Today she felt alert and ready to get back to her research. Dressed in a blue tank suit, she kicked off her Locals flip-flops, known in Kaua’i as “slippers” because they were easy to slip on and off. She dropped her bare feet over the edge of the dock into the warm water. The caress of the seawater made her eager to get to work.
    The facility was already hopping with activity. The part-time students, Bobby Hannigan and Mindy Endo, were carrying buckets of fish to the large training pool for trainers Cindy Fletcher and Doug Murakami to use in the day’s session.
    Cindy Fletcher, a dishwater blonde with a baby face in spite of her nearly forty years, hurried past Kaia with a wave. The other trainer, Doug Murakami, about thirty, strolled behind her in his usual leisurely stride. His straight black hair fell over a smooth forehead. His family had emigrated to the islands from Japan before Doug was born then had moved back without him five years ago. His easy manner made him a favorite with the staff.
    He paused to smile at Kaia. “Nice vacation? You look rested.”
    “Other than last weekend’s crisis, it was great. I’m ready to get back to work though.” Kaia turned to watch the dolphins jumping in the