Page 32 of Still See You Everywhere

“Still…”

He regards me patiently.

“Who doesn’t love the idea of hidden gold?” I insist. “I mean if people are willing to pay good money for lottery tickets, why not search for X-marks-the-spot?” I return my attention to the jumble of silverware. “So your job is to map the entire atoll, looking for irregular—or really, too regular—geoformations.”

“More or less.”

“What happens when you find these perfectly symmetrical shapes? Have you discovered any?”

“There’s still much ground to cover. The jungle is real. Our progress is slow. Should I find any areas of interest, proper protocol is to mark off the site, then dig a test pit to check for charcoal layers, metal artifacts, or human remains. Any of which would be grounds for delaying development until further excavation and preservation can be done.”

I nod, getting the picture. “Which would be a big bummer for the project.”

“The law is the law. NAGPRA alone requires due diligence.”

“NAGPRA?” I stumble over the awkward word, which I’m already guessing is an acronym for something long and complicated. Sure enough:

“Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. All human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony must be handled with respect and repatriated to the appropriate parties. It is very important legislation, designed to provide Native Americans with more control over their culture and heritage. Mr. MacManus is aware. The purchase of this atoll for future development came with significant risk. That’s the way it is.”

I’m genuinely curious. “Does that put you in a difficult position? Anything you discover has the potential to cost him millions of dollars.”

“I don’t work for Sanders MacManus. I work for the state of Hawaii.”

“And the architect, Aolani? Because she does work for MacManus, and anything you find could torpedo a career-making project for her, too, right?”

He regards me for a long moment, his features impossible to read. “That would be a question for AO.”

“Sorry, I got the impression you two were working together.”

“We are.”

Now it’s my turn to be confused, but Ronin doesn’t elaborate. He clearly holds his cards close to his chest. I hastily return my attention to scrubbing silverware, not wanting to raise too many red flags this early on.

The back door bangs open. Trudy pokes her head in. “You two done yet?”

“I think so.” I look at Ronin, who nods his agreement.

“Perfect.”

“Light’s on,” Ann calls out from over Trudy’s shoulder. “You gotta see this.”

“Bert and Ernie have come to play.”

“Bert and Ernie?” I glance at Ronin, whose expression has now relaxed.

“You will not want to miss this,” he agrees.

“Okay.” I dutifully dry off my hands, then head outside, where Trudy and Ann are holding flashlights and practically vibrating with excitement.

“Come on, come on, come on.”

“Everyone loves them.”

“They’re like our camp mascots.”

“Just you wait!”

They hustle me over to the dock, where several other crew members have gathered, shoes off, feet dangling in the water. A spotlight shines over the rippling waves. I notice the undulations form a pattern and in the middle of that pattern are two dark swooping shapes with flashes of white underbelly.

---