End of Enemies Read Free

am learning at school.”
    â€œMy name is Briggs.”
    â€œI am Mitsu.” Introductions made, the boy scampered over and plopped down. He eyed Tanner’s swim fins. “What are those?”
    â€œFins.”
    What were you doing in the water?”
    â€œDiving.”
    â€œFor pearls?”
    â€œFor fun.”
    Mitsu considered this. “Are you hungry?”
    â€œWell, I—”
    Without waiting for an answer, the boy sprinted off, gesturing for Tanner to follow. Tanner shrugged. Why not ? He got up, stuffed his gear into his rucksack, and followed.
    Dinner consisted of braised fish, vegetables, and rice. Mitsu’s mother, younger brother, and sister—both under four years old—spoke no English but did their best to make Tanner feel welcome, as though having a complete stranger join them for dinner was a perfectly routine event.
    They sat on the hut’s porch, which was back a few yards into the tree line. A pair of sputtering kerosene lanterns hung from the eaves. In the distance Tanner could hear the hiss of the waves.
    Once the dishes were cleared away, the mother served tea while the younger boy fanned the hibachi smoke to keep the insects at bay. Tanner asked Mitsu where his father was.
    â€œHe went out one night. In our boat. The boat came back the next morning. He did not.”
    Tanner glanced at the mother, who merely smiled at him. Up to this point, Mitsu had been translating their conversation, but he had stopped at this last exchange.
    â€œHow long ago?’
    â€œSix months. It was after the ship stopped coming.”
    â€œWhat ship?”
    â€œEvery few nights for almost a month, a ship came. Over there.” He pointed off the beach. “It would stay for a few hours, then sail again.”
    â€œDo you know what she—it—was doing?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œWhat did the police say about your father?”
    Mitsu shrugged, and Tanner realized the police hadn’t been notified. It was a village matter, he guessed. He wondered why Mitsu had mentioned the ship. Was it simply the boy’s way of marking his father’s disappearance or something more?
    Tanner stood up and bowed. With both hands he returned the teacup to the mother. “Domo arigato, Kombanwa. ”
    The mother returned his bow. “Do-ita-shimashi-te. ”
    Tanner tousled Mitsu’s hair, shouldered his rucksack, walked down the steps, and headed down the beach.
    â€œ He went out one night. The boat came back the next morning. He did not. ” What happened to him ? Tanner wondered. A man goes out in a boat, then disappears.
    Back at the hotel, Tanner stood under a hot shower, then toweled off, slipped on a pair of rough khaki shorts, a navy blue tropical knit shirt, and sandals, then headed downstairs to the hotel bar, the Tiki Lounge. He still had trouble speaking the name without laughing, but it certainly did fit the general motif of the Royal Palms Resort.
    What the designers had lacked in originality they recouped in lavishness. Seemingly transplanted from the shores of Tahiti, the hotel was a man-made tropical paradise on an island with plenty of its own. The crescent-shaped hotel was bordered on one side by the beaches of Cape Shiono and a forest of evergreen and bamboo on the other. Nestled between the concave sides of the hotel was the requisite kidney-shaped swimming pool, cabana bar, and artificial waterfall. And palms. Large and small, fake and real, they sprouted from every corner, with or without the aid of soil. Hidden in the foliage came the muted squawks of parrots. Tanner had yet to see a live bird, but to the hotel’s credit, neither had he spotted the loudspeakers.
    He strolled through the Tiki’s doors, took a stool at the bar, and ordered a Kirin beer. It was a quiet night, with only a half-dozen patrons seated at the tables. His beer arrived, and he took a sip.
    Then he sensed someone standing behind him.
    â€œDo you ever