The Bone Field by Debra Bokur (top e book reader txt) 📕

“Well, Mr. Bragden. I’m very interested in learning more about the plantation and the people who worked here. Is there a chance you could put me in touch with your son-in-law?”

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping the field behind them. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible. He disappeared, you see. Spent a good number of years making my daughter’s life miserable, then he went to work one day and never came home.”

Before she could comment, she caught sight of Tomas, waving wildly, signaling to her that he needed to see her. There was an urgency to his gesture. Kali turned back to Bill, distracted.

“Where can I find you later today, Mr. Bragden? I’d like to speak with you about your son-in-law, but this isn’t the best time.”

He nodded. “I can see that. I’m quite easy to find. White house with bright red shutters on Boat Street. Drop by whenever it’s convenient. I have nowhere to go.”

She turned toward Tomas, jogging back along the road to meet him.

“What’s up?” she asked. Behind him in the distance, she could see that the old man had turned away. He was standing very still, gazing out over the field.

“I don’t know,” said Tomas, “but they need us at the new grave site immediately.”

She looked in the opposite direction, toward the area currently being excavated. Stitches was standing in the hole, and Kali could see Walter and the others squatting around the perimeter. She walked quickly toward them, hearing the thud of her shoes fall into rhythm with Tomas’s footsteps. As they reached the grave, the others turned toward her, their faces serious.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

Walter rose and stepped aside, pointing to the cavity in the dirt at their feet.

“See for yourself,” he said.

Kali looked into the grave in astonishment, then met Stitches’s eyes.

“Is that . . . ?” she asked.

“Oh yes,” said Stitches. “I can confirm that this grave holds the bodies of one adult male, one adult female, and one female infant. An ‘ohana, yes?”

Hearing the Hawaiian word for family, Kalie fixed her gaze on the row of skeletons, lingering on the tiny form nestled beside the female body.

“I would suggest,” said Stitches, “even at this stage of examination, that the child is quite, quite young. Also, we found another anchor charm beneath it.”

“Under the tiny keiki?”

“Yes. It may have been wrapped in something that’s since rotted away, but that’s where it was.”

“All of them, left out here in this damned, dried-out field,” said Kali, her voice barely a whisper. A wave of anger swept through her, followed by a surge of responsibility. The bodies of the victims had been found and could be laid properly to rest, but that wasn’t enough. She had to find who had been responsible—who had placed the little charms, filled the holes with dirt, and then walked away from the dead.

CHAPTER 10

Over the course of the morning, the three bodies from the mass grave were removed from their resting places and prepared for transport. The search in the remainder of the field had taken on a new urgency, and Kali watched as the patched, grassy areas abutting the service road were explored by several people pushing wheeled radar units across the ground. Along with some of the volunteers, she walked slowly through the nearby rows of mixed red earth, pushing a long metal probe into the ground in the hunt for more bones. There was nothing more to be found in the path line where the other bodies had been discovered, so the search teams moved to the interior of the field.

As the sun grew higher, Kali’s energy began to diminish. The heat was becoming oppressive, and though she’d been loaned a pair of gloves, the constant thrusting required to use the probe had left blisters on her hands. She looked around for Tomas. He had stopped beside one of the volunteers, who had struck something in the earth. Instinctively, her whole body tensed.

“Just a rock,” he said as she approached.

Her momentum waning, she held the long probe balanced on her shoulder. “Feel like loaning me your car?”

“Sure,” he said. “Keys are in the ignition. If you tell me you’re running away, I won’t blame you. It’s hot as hell out here.”

She grinned. “What are you talking about? This is paradise, brah. All the brochures and television ads say so.”

He wiped the perspiration from his chin with the back of his hand. The gesture left a streak of dirt across his skin. “Right. Easy to forget that sometimes.”

“There was a guy in the crowd earlier. Tall older man who told me his name is Bill Bragden and that he’s a local. Ever hear of him?”

“Bill? Sure,” said Tomas. “Quiet guy, been here for as long as I can remember.”

“You know anything else about him?”

Tomas frowned. “Yeah, I think there was something. I can’t remember the details. Something that happened a long time ago. I think one of his kids died. It was before my time on the police force, but I think it got mentioned at a gathering. Maybe some cookout or a festival a while ago. Why?”

“I don’t know. He was curious about what we’re doing here.”

“By now, everyone on this island is curious. You might have noticed there’s not a whole lot of anything else going on. Or maybe he’s just following that actor around.”

“I don’t think so. Yes, he was with Chad’s entourage, but he’s not really one of them. He didn’t seem to know who Chad is. Regardless, I’d like to talk to him. He gave me his address.”

“Sure. I’ll let you know if there’s any more excitement.”

“Yeah, do that,” she said, stifling a yawn. “I’m going to find Walter and take him with me.”

She trudged down the service road to the parking area. Walter was there, talking on the police radio to the station on Maui. He ended the call as she approached.

“I’m sick of talking to people about roosters,” he said, following her to