“I read that there’s a land dispute going on over ancient burial grounds in some of the surrounding counties,” Andrew said. “And something about a mining company here that wants to strip more land.”
Lawrence’s jaw tightened again. “That’s right. Just because we focus on the ancient customs, doesn’t mean there aren’t members of the tribe that aren’t greedy in the modern ways. And there are always more corporations that arrive ready to take advantage of the land.”
“That must be tough for you,” Ashley said.
“If you talk to certain people, the war going on is real. Only now it’s in boardrooms and lawyers’ offices, not on horses facing off in a field. It’s a shame,” Lawrence said.
“What do you think will be the out—?” Andrew started to say.
“You know, I really don’t want to talk about it anymore,” Lawrence said. “It will spoil my day. I’d rather have fun with you folks in this beautiful country.”
“Fair enough,” Andrew said.
“Here, here,” Ashley said. She was all too happy to drop the serious talk and just enjoy nature.
They rounded a corner, and Lawrence shouted. “Look to your right!”
Everyone turned and saw a pack of coyotes ambling along. They were moving at a brisk trot and glanced warily in their direction.
Ashley let out a gasp.
They looked so beautiful out here in the wild. Andrew and Sean were busy taking photos. Lawrence had slowed the vehicle down, so they could really take in the sight.
Veronica clapped her hands like a child. “Will they come closer, so we can give them some of our sandwiches? They look hungry.”
Everyone got quiet for a minute. Ashley could see Lawrence’s jaw tighten up again for the third time. It seemed he was slowly counting to ten.
“We don’t feed the wildlife. It would take away their predatory instincts and make them a menace toward people if they started begging for food. They need to hunt. The balance of nature out here must be protected. So no, we aren’t going to feed them parts of your sandwich,” Lawrence said.
“Oh. Okay. They just seem to be hungry, that’s all,” Veronica said. She looked sad.
Andrew patted her knee and smiled at her. “Don’t worry, I’m sure they will find some food soon.”
Lawrence looked at them in the rearview mirror. “They may not. But that’s nature. Some will thrive, and others will die. It’s our job to stay out of it. Man has ruined enough wildlife already.”
Veronica and Andrew got quiet. Sean kept taking photos. Ashley gazed silently at the arid landscape and the pack of coyotes trotting off into the distance.
Growing up in the northwest, Ashley was completely unused to this kind of geography. It almost looked like another planet. The cacti and wildflowers were beautiful, but strange to her eyes. The colors were muted, unlike the green landscape back home. Shadows moved so quickly across the sand and hills, changing the palette of the land, that she thought her eyes were tricking her sometimes.
When she looked at a mound of rocks, they seemed to be in one place, but in an instant, they seemed to have moved, or were missing a stone or two. Far away, the sun shimmered on the horizon, and just as suddenly, clouds would obscure it. Then it seemed as if a paintbrush had washed across the land with a splash of terra-cotta. It was surreal, and wildly beautiful.
Chapter Three
Lawrence was talking in a steady and assuring voice as they bumped over the rocks and gullies. He told them about all the creatures living here: lizards, jackrabbits, coyotes, and the birds that existed in the dry scrub. He pointed out the different cacti and their part in the desert, and infused everything with the history of the Native Americans who had called this place home. He was obviously proud of his heritage and this beautiful land.
You can really feel his connection to this place, she thought.
Just when Ashley started to feel a pang of hunger, Lawrence pulled the truck over to the side in a shady area with a rock outcropping.
“How about some lunch?” he asked. “Then after that, we’re going to take a trail just up ahead and work the lunch off!”
“Let’s do it,” Sean answered.
They all got out and quickly found a rock to sit on and eagerly dug into their meals. Ashley took a long pull of water and squinted out. Lawrence had left them and was hiking up a tall rock to the left. When he reached the top, he looked up at the sky with his arms outstretched.
“Sean,” she said. “Look.”
Sean squinted up into the sun and noticed it too. “Do you think maybe he was the one who was up there on the mesa last night?”
She lowered her voice. “Shh. Could be. Let’s talk later.”
Andrew and Veronica were deep into a conversation, but Veronica was also looking at her phone. Then she starting typing and sighing in frustration.
“I can’t get any cell service,” she complained.
Ashley was about to say something, but Sean nudged her and whispered. “Forget it. She’s obviously out of her element.”
A fitting Shakespeare quote came to Ashley’s mind from the play Troilus and Cressida. “The common curse of mankind, folly and ignorance, be thine in great revenue!”
Just then, they heard a howl from the top of the rock where Lawrence was. He was spinning in that mystical way they had witnessed the night before.
Suddenly, he seemed to fall over the ledge.
Andrew jumped up and shouted.
“What the…? Sean, let’s get up there and see what happened!” Andrew started to bound up the rock.
“Andrew, no!” Veronica yelled.
Ashley and Sean jumped to their feet.
Sean took off after Andrew.
“Sean, shouldn’t you wait to see what happ—?” Ashley called.
Before the men had made it halfway up, Lawrence popped over the ledge and started scrambling back down the front side of the rock. His face was contorted, and his eyes were bulging.
He yelled to the men. “Go back down!”
Andrew and Sean took off back down the rock. Ashley saw them stumbling and thought how awful it would be if anyone broke a limb out here in the middle of nowhere.
As soon as they were all down, Lawrence yelled at all of them. “Get in the truck! Now!”
They all jumped in as quickly as possible.
Lawrence started the truck and turned the wheel sharply as he sped toward where they had come from.
“What is it? What happened?” Sean asked.
Lawrence didn’t answer. He kept glancing wildly around as he drove.
The truck lurched and groaned as it rattled over the rocky terrain.
Ashley leaned over and tapped Lawrence on his shoulder. “If you don’t slow down, we’ll pop a tire, and then we’ll be stuck out here!”
She felt a cold wave of nausea as he hit another rock.
Then the truck started to slow a bit.
Lawrence still didn’t talk. Sweat was beading on his forehead and neck. He drove with purpose, as if trying to explain what he had seen and driving at the same time was impossible. Everyone glanced out wildly at all sides and behind them as they drove. Dust was kicking up and the clouds were moving across the sky with speed now, casting dark shadows that moved like apparitions all around them.
Ashley glanced back again behind them. There, on top of another mound of rocks, she saw a dark figure.
Or did she?
The figure stood still for several seconds. Just as she thought she was imagining things, the figure moved quickly down the other side of the rock.
“Sean,” she whispered. “There’s someone following us.”
Sean turned around. “Where?”
There was nothing to see.
“There was someone, I saw him,” she said.
Andrew and Veronica were frozen to their seats. Neither one said a word.
Lawrence drove on until he reached the paved road and squealed onto the black surface. His shoulders relaxed a bit, but
he let out a strange noise. Then he started to chant in words none of them could understand.
Andrew shouted at him in frustration. “Hey man, with all due respect, we have a right to know what happened back there. We paid for this trip, and you’ve got us all shook up taking off like that. We at least deserve an explanation.”
Lawrence turned and gave Andrew a dark stare. Then he muttered something unintelligible and chanted again.
It seemed an eternity until Andrew yelled again. “Can you stop that gibberish please? You’re scaring my wife!”
This time, Lawrence slowed the vehicle almost to a stop and reached over and placed his big hand on Andrew’s shoulder. He leaned in and growled in Andrew’s face.
Ashley thought she had never seen such an angry look before.
“There was a dead man up there! The crows were feasting on his flesh. He had a hatchet in his forehead. Are you satisfied now, city boy?” Lawrence said.
Andrew’s face went white as a sheet.
Veronica started to cry. “I want to go home! Please Andrew. Now!”
***
Lawrence drove quickly. Soon they were back in the little town.
As soon as they pulled in to the stop, Lawrence jumped out of the truck and yelled back at them, “No charge! I’ll make sure your money is refunded,” and went into the general store.
Ashley and Sean numbly climbed out of the truck.
Andrew and Veronica bid them a hasty goodbye, got in their car, and left.
“That’s probably the last we will ever see them,” Sean mumbled.
“No kidding,” Ashley said.
She intended to follow Lawrence into the store and see what was happening, but he came darting out and jumped back into his truck.
She shouted as he started to roll up the window. “Can you tell us anything else about what you saw up there? Did you call the police?”
Lawrence stared at her. “I just called it in. Apparently, there’s been a detective missing all day. That’s likely him back there. He was investigating a murder that happened last night. They’re going to examine the crime scene now.” He paused and shook his head. “He should’ve stayed out of tribal business.”
“How do you know it was tribal business?” Ashley asked.
Lawrence rolled up the window quickly. His long hair got caught in it and pulled it sharply down to the left. His head looked lopsided as he drove off. She could see him trying to straighten his hair.
Is he wearing a wig? Ashley wondered. Maybe he’s bald and embarrassed about that.
“Come on, Ash. Let’s get back to our cabin. This is enough excitement for a day,” Sean said.
Ashley shook her head. “Can’t believe it. Even on vacation, murder follows me.”
“Crime is everywhere,” Sean said. “But let’s get back to having a good time.”
Chapter Four
As soon as they got back to their cabin, they sat out on their deck with a glass of wine and gazed at the mountains. Hawks were circling in the distance. The same shadows that had mesmerized her out on the tour were now creating patterns in the hills and far-off mountains that made a patchwork of the scenery. Yellow light and shades of deep purple and terra-cotta were woven in the view. The air became soft again, and the breeze kicked up swirls of sand as it danced across the landscape.
“It sure is beautiful,” Sean said.
“Yeah,” Ashley said. “But there’s something so eerie about it.”
“Because of what happened on our tour today. And because we’re not used to it. We look at forest and green mountains back home. This is so stark and wide open. I love it.”
“I do too. But I’m spooked right now. Something’s coming.”
“A storm?” he asked.
“Don’t know. We’ll see,” she said.
They sat in silence for a few moments. The stillness was unsettling.
All of a sudden, Ashley jumped up. “I’m getting started on dinner. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
Sean sighed. “Bring it on. After what happened today, I’m ready to enjoy dinner.”
Ashley went in and got a platter for the corn. She spread mayonnaise on each cob, squeezed some lime juice on, and sprinkled the ears with salt, pepper, and chopped cilantro. Then she wrapped each ear in foil. She pulled the bowl out of the fridge with the chicken soaking in a spicy marinade. Next, she took the pack of homemade corn tortillas and salsa they had bought at a little market in town and a small dish of butter out to their patio table.
Sean had fired up the barbecue, and she burrowed the ears of corn in the coals. As soon as they were nearly done, she would lay the chicken on the grate. He covered the top of the smoker, and Ashley sat and chopped jicama, melon, and papaya in a bowl and squeezed lemon and lime juice over the top.
When the corn and chicken were ready, she lay the tortillas on the grate for a minute and then put them on a plate and spread butter on them.
The sunset was like a fire on the horizon.
Sean sat down and took a tortilla, shredded some chicken in it, put a heap of the fiery salsa on, and rolled it up. He wolfed it down.
“Wow,” he said.
“Save some room for the corn and fruit salad,” she said.
She opened the foil around her ear of corn and bit into the cob. All the smoky flavors and the fresh lime hit her taste buds with force.
“There’s nothing in the world like fresh corn,” she said.
Sean was busy scooping the fresh fruit onto his plate and savoring the flavors. They both sat there eating in happy contentment.
“Aren’t you glad that you appreciate good food?” she asked.
“Mmm,” he said. His mouth was full. “Miss a good cold beer with this meal though,” he finally said.
“Oh, right. Forgot that. I’ll get it,” she said.
She started to head to the kitchen.
“Ash. Stop. Look up on the hill.”
She looked where Sean was pointing.
Far off, on the mesa, they saw a figure twirling again with outstretched arms as the sun started to go down. It had its head looking upward, and it danced and weaved as it spun around. They sat there transfixed.
Was that Lawrence? Or was it the robed man they saw earlier? And why was he alone up on the mesa, like the other night?
A long, distant howl broke the silence. It sounded like someone trying to talk to the sky. It also sounded like a warning.
Ashley shivered.
Sean reached for her hand. “It’s okay. Just a little local flavor, Ash. Let’s take the food inside and finish enjoying it.”
“Yeah, let’s,” she said. Sean got up with a frown on his face.
They gathered up the food and headed inside. As Ashley turned to slide the glass patio door, she saw a fire flickering on the mesa.
A campfire?
It was hard to tell. But it was unsettling.
“Sean, look.”
He looked out the glass door and didn’t say anything for a minute.
“Well, it’s mostly dry scrub and sand. Don’t think it could burn down here,” he said.
“But it’s really strange. Why the fire?” Ashley said.
“I don’t know. A ritual? Or maybe that person plans to sleep up there tonight,” he answered.
Ashley kept staring.
“Okay, I’m shutting the curtain. Enough. Time to relax,” he said.
“No, don’t. If something is going to happen tonight, we need to see it coming,” she said.
“Okay,” he mumbled. They finished eating in silence.
***
When they were done, Ashley got up to clean the table.
Sean looked at her. “How about we go in the bedroom and read? It is nice and comfy in there! And safe! I’m starting my new book tonight. See you soon.” He reached up and pulled the drapes shut.
Ashley stared out into the dark night from the little kitchen window. The only thing she could see were the stars in the sky and a brigh
t orange flame dancing on the hill. It was strange, but as nervous as she was, she wanted to go out there and see what was happening. But Sean called to her again, and she knew deep inside that it would be foolish anyway.
And dangerous, she thought.
Ashley followed Sean into the bedroom and stretched out with the bedside table light on. They read for a while and then turned out the light and went to sleep. Sean was snoring almost immediately, but he was twitching in his sleep.
She lay there in the dark and thought about the day. How strange the events were that led up to this. How serenely beautiful the desert was, and yet it felt so menacing at the moment. But she knew she was safe here with Sean right now.
Another Shakespeare quote came to Ashley’s mind, this one from Henry IV Part 1. “Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.”
She started to yawn. Her last thoughts were that she hoped tomorrow would be a more peaceful vacation day.
Chapter Five
They woke up early the next morning. Sean jumped out of bed first and hit the shower.
“Ash, get out of bed! I’m hungry!”
Ashley smiled to herself. How nice it was to have such an appreciative audience in her fiancé. She rolled out of bed and washed her face, then padded to the kitchen. She heated a pan on the stove and drizzled some olive oil in it.
As soon as it started to get hot, she cut up onions, red and green bell peppers, and cooked and diced potatoes, then quickly sautéed them. Then she whipped some eggs in a bowl, added a pat of butter, and poured them in the pan. A shake of salt and pepper, and a small handful of grated cheese, and she deftly rolled the omelet. The toast popped up, and the coffee was ready to go.
“Southwest omelet!” she yelled.
Sean came bounding into the kitchen, still rubbing his head with a towel.
“Great,” he said. He grinned at her and sat down, then mumbled a “thanks” as he chowed down the food.
She laughed. “Slow down and chew!”
Ashley Crane Cozy Mystery Boxed Set Page 49