Chapter 21
The Weather
?Opua: puffy clouds, as banked up near the horizon, often interpreted as omens
As soon as she got in, Minnow called Woody to ask if he knew anyone running shark dives. She figured he probably didn’t or he would have said something, but she had to ask. And Nalu was probably right; someone would have seen them. But she also wanted to know if he’d seen anything on the news. Being at Hale Niuhi with no television or easy access to a newspaper was frustrating, while on the other hand it was a dream—being in this place she wished she could hole up in and never leave, living on coconuts, seaweed and rainwater until her dying days.
Woody knew nothing about shark dives, nor did he have any news updates. Next she called Mayor Lum’s office to find out if he’d made any decisions. She got his secretary, who told her to watch the five o’clock news—he’d be making an announcement then. Minnow tried not to slam down the phone. So much for personally notifying the task force members.
The thunder of coconuts falling drew her outside. A whole bundle of brown ones had scattered at the base of the nearest tree.
“Watch for falling coconuts.”
Nalu was thirty feet up the trunk with a machete dangling from his belt loop. One slip and he’d be dead.
“I can’t even look at you up there,” she called.
“And watch out for rats too. I disturbed a nest.”
“Fabulous,” she mumbled.
He shimmied down using a strap, looking completely at ease. Once on the ground, he scanned his loot, then walked over to an older coconut with a tiny shoot coming out of it, held it in his palm and hacked at it with the machete. “The other ones can wait. I bet you’ve never had coconut sprout before.”
“You would be correct.”
With his hand miraculously intact, he opened the nut to reveal a white spongy inside that resembled a sea urchin.
“Geez, don’t cut off your hand on my account.”
He offered it to her with a smile. “Loloit’s called. Best thing south of heaven.”
Minnow took the piece and tentatively licked it while she watched him devour his. It was both sweet and salty, foamy and slightly crunchy.
“What do you think?” he asked.
She didn’t love it.
“It’s... interesting.”
He laughed. “Maybe it’s an acquired taste, but the Polynesians used to stock up on coconuts on their voyages. They’re like the perfect boat food. Full of all the good kine stuff—electrolytes, natural sugar, vitamins, fat.”
“I do like regular coconut meat.”
“All g. I’ll eat yours.”
When he was done inhaling thelolo, they collected the other coconuts he’d felled and set them out in a line on the lanai table, and then he left her alone and went off to ask around at Honokohau Harbor if anyone had seen people chumming in the waters north of the Kiawe.It was almost four in the afternoon, and Minnow had just enough time to shower and clean up before heading to the resort to catch the five o’clock news. Dread knocked around inside her, causing a heaviness to her movements, as though maybe if she didn’t watch the news, a shark hunt would not happen.
The air was thick and slippery on her skin. While it had been hot before, now a new level of humidity pressed down on her. The kind of tropical heat where the only possible place to be was in the ocean. Later, back at the house, she would swim, no matter how dark the sky.
Almost every table was taken, so Minnow sat at the bar, which had the best view of the television anyway. She prayed she wouldn’t see Luke, and then the next minute she skimmed the whole place, including the beach, looking for him. His boat was there, which to her consternation pleased her. Beyond it, the sun had disappeared behind that same wall of clouds that had been there this morning, and the whole ocean had turned silver.
No doubt Luke had his own kind of animal magic, built up from pheromones and charm and mystery. He was definitely someone she could get lost in, but all she had to do was think about his answer last night and his allure faded away.It’s complicated.Bullshit. There was nothing complicated about it. Either you were for the sharks or you were against them.
George poured drinks behind the bar, and she watched with bated breath as the beads of perspiration on his forehead threatened to fall into said drinks. Despite a fan, despite the open air, there seemed to be no escaping the heat.
He smiled when he saw her. “Be right with you, my dear.”
It was four forty-five. The Dallas Mavericks were playing the Orlando Magic, but the sound was off and she really couldn’t care less, so she pulled out her notebook and jotted down notes from today.
