The cabin was tastefully fitted in teak and brass, and there was even a neatly made bunk where I could lie. But the air was hot and stagnant, and after ten minutes below, I felt the need for air. I climbed the ladder, facing the right way this time, and emerged just as the boat swung to one side, nearly shooting me across the deck. But I kept my balance this time and crept back to the cockpit, gulping the salt air.
AS WE APPROACHED Barbers Point, the winds changed and almost seemed to swirl in circles. Kurt and Michael were furiously working to release lines from cleats, and Parker was shouting from the helm while Karen cranked the winch. All I could think about was how much longer would it be to Kainani-and whether I’d make it without being sick.
I realized after a few minutes that Michael was calling for me to join him. “Is this the house, Rei?”
I crawled over, took Kurt’s night-vision binoculars, and started to rise. Michael put his arm around me to help steady me, and slowly I took in what I’d never seen before: the resort from the water. Here was the twenty-story Kainani Cove Inn, the row of wedding chapels, and the time-share tower. And there, past a heavy border of volcanic rocks and shrubbery, was the white Kikuchi mansion, with a few lights on.
Karen dropped anchor at a spot that seemed to me was quite far from shore, although Kurt opined that the position was too close. Michael said firmly, ‘It’s perfect.” Then to me, ‘One last chance to decide what you’re doing, Rei. I won’t love you any less if you decide to stay aboard, but once we’re in the water, there’s no going back.”
“You can’t do it without me,” I said. “Let’s go.”
The crash of the dinghy dropping into the water cut through the sound of the wild winds. Michael and Kurt dropped in first; I handed down a waterproof box containing the walkie-talkie and other supplies, which Michael strapped to himself in a waterproof equipment belt. At last, I climbed down a small ladder on the side of the sailboat and joined them.
I’d never been this far out in an ocean before, and certainly, never been tossed about on such waves. As Michael and Kurt rowed, I recalled the sharks in Gerald Liang’s gate design. If we capsized, my lifejacket could save me from going under, but not from sharks.
“There’s something I want to ask you,” I shouted to Michael. “What exactly are you planning to do to Calvin, as I’m getting his confession on tape?”
“It depends on how much he cooperates!” Michael leaned in so I could hear him over the wind and waves. “I should ask what you’re going to say.”
“I could tell him that I was bodysurfing at the hotel beach and got pushed along his way by the current.”
“It’s pretty dark to be bodysurfing.”
“Oh. Maybe I was washed up along that horrible pile of rocks earlier, and was trying to find my way across them, and his house was closer than the rest of the resort?”
“Now you’re talking…What is it, Kurt?”
On the other end of the dinghy, Kurt was shouting something about rocks.
“We don’t want to hit the rocks, so we’re going to drop anchor here,” Michael translated. “We’re going to have to swim or wade in the rest of the way.”
“No way!” To me, it looked like we were at least three hundred feet from the shore. It was going to be a challenge for me to get in, given the darkness and size of the waves, and I wasn’t sure how we were going to get out, either.
Michael leaned over to kiss me, and spoke in my ear. “Look how close the lights of the house are now. You can hang on to the strap of my lifejacket, if things get rough.”
After the rowboat was secured, Kurt slipped into the water and started walking, using a series of hand signals to indicate to us where the rocks were. Michael and I followed, and I was grateful for the buoyancy the life vest gave me. The hardest thing was not swallowing water from the giant waves and their spray. Kurt reached the beach in what seemed like five minutes, while Michael and I continued to struggle.
“It looks as if Kurt’s started the reconnaissance,” Michael called out to me. “Notice how he’s creeping into shore-typical Navy Seal.”
I didn’t answer because a massive wave was building, starting to pull me into its undertow. I wouldn’t be able to fight it, but would it separate me from Michael?
I grabbed the strap on his life vest with both hands, and we were flung about like a toy, knocking against each other painfully.
“You’re pushing me down,” Michael said, when we came out of it. “Can you relax a little?”
“Yes, I’ll just pretend I’m in the Kainani pool,” I said as I loosened my hold. “Someone will be coming around with a low glycemic index mango smoothie for me any minute.”
“Make mine strawberry, with extra sugar.”
That made me laugh. “Michael, I’ve decided something.”
“Mmm?”
“If we make it in, and I recover from my injuries, I’ll definitely marry you.”
Michael didn’t answer, and suddenly, the wind was awfully loud. There was now a different feel to the water- not of power building behind, but something underneath. Michael finally spoke between hard breaths. “It’s a rip tide, and it’s going to move us. Just let me hold you.”
The water pushed us again, and when I opened my eyes, I couldn’t see Kurt on the beach anymore.
“Damn, I lost my belt. Did you see it?” Michael asked.
I shook my head.
“Well, at least we’ve got you.”
Michael’s hold seemed to be stronger, as if he were pulling me in on both sides of my body, not just my left. In confusion I looked to other side, and saw Kurt’s face.
“Need a hand?”
“Thanks,” said Michael shortly, loosening his hold of me as the new, massive arms encircled me.
“Took me a while to catch up with you, but I saw where the current was heading,” Kurt said. As he powered me to shore, I relaxed in relief, unable to do anything but breathe.
“What the hell happened here? Mikey forgot how to swim?” Kurt asked as the shore grew closer.
“Kurt, give us a hand getting Rei to shore. I’ve got to find my belt, which ripped off in the waves.”
As Michael searched the water, I lay on the beach, catching my breath. It was dark, and there seemed to be only giant globs of seaweed and a discarded potato-chips bag nearby. The prospect of abandoning the mission, because we’d lost our equipment, seemed almost tempting. But then I thought about what Calvin had done to my father and me, and knew, as Michael had said, there could be no going back.
36
“THAT WAS CLOSE,” Michael said to Kurt, when he finally swam back in, nothing in hand. “Thanks a lot.”
“Yes, thank you,” I echoed.
Kurt shrugged his hulking shoulders. “You two could have made it, but I was getting bored just hanging by myself.”
“I can’t believe I lost my belt.” Michael sounded grim. Now Karen and Parker won’t know what’s going on.”
“Do you want me to look for it?” Kurt asked.
“I don’t think there’s any point. We can get him on tape; all that equipment’s inside Rei’s wetsuit.”
“Yes, I’m wearing everything we really need. I think we should just get it over with,” I said in a voice that was braver than I felt.
“Remember, I don’t want you going inside the house. It’s important for your safety,” Michael said.
“OK. But I’ll have to connect with Calvin, and that could mean knocking on the door, stepping in the kitchen for a moment-”
“Enough chatter,” Kurt said. “When I was checking the house out, I saw an Asian guy through the downstairs windows, in a huge room-I guess you could call it a home theater, or entertainment center. I’d like one just like it, only there’s the problem of my military salary.”
