“Then look at who he hangs out with,” Rex said. “My father used to run in his circles. I’m thinking he still does and doesn’t want to say anything.”
“On it,” Swede said. “You’re on your way to your dive?”
“We are,” Rex said.
“Good luck. I hope you find Kimo’s camera. The authorities need that evidence to bring justice to the victims in that container. Out here.”
Rex ended the call, set the phone in the cupholder and stared straight ahead, his jaw tight, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white.
Kimo reached out and touched his arm. “Are you as frustrated as I am?”
He nodded and flexed his fingers, letting blood flow into them. “I feel like we’re on the edge of knowing something critical to solving this case.”
“Me, too,” she said. “It’s like having a word on the tip of your tongue, but you can’t spit it out.”
“If only that word was the answer to all our questions.” Rex continued driving, his focus on the road and, maybe, the situation. After a while, he turned to her. “I’m sorry.”
Kimo looked at him. “For what?”
“That my father wasn’t more forthcoming. I feel like he knows something that would help us with this situation. By holding back, it keeps you and Alana in danger.” He banged his palm against the steering wheel. “It’s just like him to protect his business associates and not come through for his family. Not that I’m a part of his family anymore. I’m actually shocked he spoke to me at all.”
“Maybe he regrets having cut you off. Are you his only living relative?”
Rex nodded.
“He’s older now. He might want to reconcile and rebuild your relationship.”
“He can go to hell before I do that. He wasn’t there for my mother. The only time he was there for me was to force his legacy on me, grooming me to join him in his business. Not that he cared about his son working with him so much as molding me to his specifications to be like him.”
“How did you know?”
Rex snorted. “I heard him say he couldn’t get enough employees who could think like him. He said, verbatim, ‘I’ll make sure you know how to run this business exactly as I would. No bellyaching. No going against my orders. You’ll do precisely what I say. Won’t you, boy?’”
Kimo stared at him in shock. “He said that?”
“He did,” Rex said. “When my mother suggested I might want to choose a different career, he yelled at her that he wouldn’t let his son bail on him. Why else would he have let her have a kid in the first place?”
“Ouch.” Kimo winced. “That had to hurt her and you. How old were you when he said that?”
“Twelve.” His face was grim as he drove into Lahaina, checking the rearview mirror often.
Kimo’s heart ached for the twelve-year-old version of Rex. What a different childhood from hers, which had been filled with love and encouragement to explore her passions.
When they arrived at the marina, Rex parked in the parking lot, backing into the space. He jumped out, gathered his snorkel and mask and put on his sunglasses.
By the time he rounded the front of the truck, Kimo was pushing her door open.
He reached up, captured her waist in his hands and swung her to the ground. His hands remained on her waist as he stared down into her eyes. “Anyone tell you your eyes are like dark, mysterious pools a person could fall into?”
She laughed. “No.”
“Someone should.” He smiled and tugged her hat down over her eyes. “Ready to go for our private snorkeling adventure?”
Kimo shoved her hat up in time to catch Rex winking at her. Her heart warmed at his playfulness in the face of so much danger. He’d just told her the story of his tragic family life and was trying to lighten her mood.
He took her sunglasses off her hat, where she’d rested them and placed them on her face. Then he caught her hand in his and walked her toward the marina.
Kimo guided him to Leilani’s slips, where she kept her tour boats.
