Last Night Read Free Page B

Coltranes were staying. It was always crowded and noisy. No one would overhear her talking to Vanessa.
     
     
    D ana arrived at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, the pinnacle of society in the islands. While the elite on the mainland congregated at country clubs, Hawaii's wealthy so cialized at yacht clubs. The se curity guard opened the gate and Dana hurried in. Normally she would have smiled at the ridiculousness of having a statue of King Kamehameha overlooking the c lu b ' s courtyard. Generations ago the wise king had unite d the warring islands, but now— thanks to the Coltranes and the other white settlers —the king's descendants were in the kitchen or waiting on tables, she thought with disgust.
    Inside, burgees of the great yacht clubs of the world hung from the ceiling. The small, triangular flags all had one thing in common: the red star. A yacht club wasn't a " serious " club until some member earned a star in a death-wish yacht race.
    Naturally, the Royal Corinthian had a star. And the R.C. had what Dana thought of as " yacht snot " —an attitude. The real reason the club existed was to exclude "undesirables. " She didn ' t belong. The welcoming smiles wer e for a judge, for Vanessa Col trane ' s sister. Not for a girl from the backwoods of Georgia.
    Dana spotted Vanessa in two seconds. As usual, her sister was standing in a cluster of men, flirting. Vanessa had a presence about her that would have shouted, " Look at me! " had she been in Levi ' s in stead of tonight ' s designer gown with a diamond necklace that circled her throat as regally as a crown graced the head of a reigning monarch.
    Dana waved, suddenly a young girl again, fondly waving to her older sister. After the death of their parents Vanessa had raised Dana, but since her marriage to Eric Coltrane they had grown apart. What had happened to the bond of trust that they had shared for so many years? The Coltranes. And Dana ' s career. She wasn't seeing her sister often enough and she missed her terribly.
    "Dana, darling. " Vanessa threw her arms around her and hugged tight.
    For just a second Dana clung to her. She loved Vanessa so much—and owed her so much—that she couldn ' t quite bring herself to destroy Vanessa ' s happiness by telling her about the knife. Her sister had every right to enjoy her life, even if it wasn ' t a life Dana would have chosen.
    Vanessa ' s blue eyes became serious. " I wasn ' t expecting to see you until Monday. You ' re still vaca tioning with me, aren't you? "
    " I ' m flying over to Maui first thing Monday, just as we planned. " Dana steered Vanessa toward the terrace that overlooked the yacht harbor where the members ' boats were docked. "But I have to talk to you tonight. "
    In the semidarkness of the terrace Dana explained what had happened. Vanessa quickly cast an apprehensive glance at the interior of the club to her husband, Eric. As usual he was standing with his brother, Travis, and their father, Big Daddy Coltrane.
    " It ' s just a joke, " Vanessa whispered.
    "Someone must know something. A rabbit- skinning knife with a loose blade. That ' s not a wild guess. I haven't mentioned what happened that night to anyone—ever. "
    It was true. She had tried to block out that fatal night and everything that had happened. She thought she ' d done it with amazing success—until this evening. But there was always some hidden corner of the mind set to betray with terrifying memories of the past.
    "I never told anyone, not even Eric." Vanessa glared at her husband, who was standing inside, his back to them. " We never talk. "
    Normally Dana would have been sad for her sister, who ' d married for money, not love, but tonight she was too upset. "There must be an explanation— "
    "Help me, " Vanessa pleaded suddenly, and Dana was stunned by the turn their relationship had taken. Once she would have expected Vanessa to help her, to mother her as she had when they ' d been teenagers alone in the world. Time had