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“I have no idea what that means, but it sounds good.”
Emi giggles. “She already has you figured out!”
“We don’t have all the answers yet,” Tannis concedes. “The naturalists are still making discoveries. But in the end, there’s always a way. It’s just a matter of thinking creatively and strategically.”
She sounds very sure of herself. I’m sure if I had access to her résumé, I would see why. For now, I return to Emi.
“If nesting sites impact where the resort can be placed, is there anything you might discover that could derail the project completely?” Other than a dead body, I add in the back of my mind.
“Rare and endangered species,” Emi provides promptly. “Hawaii is often referred to as the endangered species capital of the world, given the number of unique birds, animals, and plants that exist only on those islands. Unfortunately, many of the bird species are now succumbing to avian malaria, as warming temperatures enable mosquitoes to survive at higher elevations. It is a huge tragedy. So many species have already vanished, and many, many more are down to less than a hundred pairs in the wild. It’s referred to as the silent forest. Where once there were mountains filled with birdsong, now you hear nothing at all.”
“That sounds unbelievably sad.”
I want to ask her more about it, but we’re interrupted from further discussion as Vaughn rises to standing and raps his knuckles against the table. I already know what’s coming, so I turn around more slowly than the others.
“I have an announcement,” Vaughn begins. “A discovery was made earlier today…”
He keeps it matter-of-fact. The finding of a grave containing remains that probably aren’t historic. Notifying the authorities in Honolulu, who will take over handling of the burial site. Whenever they get here. Which might be a few days or a few weeks, as flying special agents and forensic professionals to a remote island takes some coordination.
Ann’s hand is already in the air, as her earlier question has never been answered. “What does ‘not historical’ mean?”
Ronin fields the question. “NAGPRA specifies within the past fifty years. Based on the clothing, I’m presuming that time frame is accurate.”
Ann waves her hand again. “You’re an archaeologist. You’ve seen plenty of skeletons. You can’t do better than that?”
“No.” Ronin doesn’t elaborate. Ann looks peeved.
I raise my hand, as that seems to be protocol. “How long has this base camp been operating?”
“Depends.” Vaughn this time. “It’s been fully staffed for the past eight months. But in terms of first boots hitting the ground, fleshing out the infrastructure, more like a year and a half.”
“So lots of people coming and going, to bring in all the supplies?”
“Literally by the boatloads. We can’t fly in lumber, comm towers, heavy equipment. It was all shipped over on charter boats. They spent a week sailing over from Oahu. Returned with our building debris.”
“How many people on the boats? Same crew every time?”
Vaughn arches a brow at the specificity of my questions. I shrug, still wanting the answers.
“Three different companies, given the volume. Four-to-six-man crews each.”
I nod, sit back.
Ronin stares at me. “There’s no reason to believe the remains are that recent. They appear skeletonized.”
Trudy snorts in disbelief. “Please. In these conditions? Crabs alone can strip you down to spare parts in a matter of hours. Crab Town anyone?”
Everyone nods in agreement. I still haven’t seen this alleged Crab Town but make a mental note to stay away. The murmuring starts building in earnest.
Vaughn raises his hand for silence. “We’re getting ahead of ourselves. Look, the whole point of this operation is to fully explore and document this atoll. Well, today two of our people made an unexpected discovery. Our job now is to stay away and wait for the feds. That simple.”
“Where is it?” Tannis asks.
“Oh no, you’re not getting that out of me. I know what a curious lot all of you are. Second this meeting is done, you’ll go check it out for yourselves. So that’s that. Subject closed.”
More muttering. Emi regards me curiously. “Weren’t you with Ronin this morning?”
“Yes, but I have no idea where we were. Honest truth. I can barely find the mess hall.”
