Tempting Fate

by Meryl Sawyer

  "What an idiot," Kelly cried, "giving a gun to a child."

  "The senator is terrible with guns, but Benson is an expert marksman. He taught the boy to shoot just the way he taught Ginger. Later he taught Alyx. They're all excellent shots—except Woody.

  "Tyler was not content to shoot rabbits and squirrels. He brought down a great blue heron. It was a very, very sad day. Killing for no reason angers the gods. Thunder and lightning ravaged the area, washing out the road to their home." Luz shook the stick as if she wanted to hit something.

  "When the senator was elected, the family moved to Washington for most of the year. I found another job. I did not make as much money, but I was happier. The gods were happy, the sun shined every day."

  "Did you need money? Is that why you returned?" Logan asked, realizing the rain had almost stopped. It pattered softly on the roof and pecked now and then against the window.

  "My son needed an operation to correct his limp. The tribal clinic would do the surgery, but months of physical therapy would be required." Luz put the stick in her lap and stroked the feather. "I took the money, but told the senator that I would not be responsible for the twins."

  "Who took care of them?" Kelly asked, leaning forward slightly.

  "The senator assured me that the twins would only be home during breaks. When they were home, Ginger and Benson would be responsible for them. They would live in Washington most of the time."

  "Wouldn't the baby go to Washington, too?"

  Luz shook her head slowly. "The senator told me the baby would stay here until he was old enough to go to boarding school."

  So what if his old man hadn't cared enough about him to want him around. He didn't give a damn. But it made him uncomfortable to know that Luz had cared about him, yet he had no memory of it.

  "Didn't you find it odd that he would adopt a baby, then leave it here while he was in Washington?" Logan asked.

  "Yes. I thought it was very strange and told my husband so." Luz glanced at her husband who was in la-la land. "He told me to mind my own business. A year later, I understood."

  "What happened?" Kelly wanted to know.

  "The family was home from Washington, but the senator was away buying another stallion. Ginger had been drinking more than usual that evening. Benson told her something and she began screaming and cursing."

  He struggled to imagine Ginger pitching a fit. She seemed semi-catatonic like Luz's husband. In another world. Or was it just an act?

  "Everyone could hear what they were saying. It was a Sunday, and most of the servants had the day off, but I was there. The twins were watching television nearby, so they did not miss their mother screaming: 'Logan is Woody's son! He did it to pay me back, didn't he?' That is when I knew why the senator had adopted you."

  "What did adopting me have to do with paying back Ginger?" Logan asked.

  "The senator is not the twins' father," Luz revealed in a hushed voice. "Ginger kept screaming over and over that Woody was going to leave his money to his real son and cut her children out of the will. This was the only time Ginger ever seemed to care about the twins."

  "Did she say who the twins' father is?" Kelly asked. "Is it Benson?"

  Luz shook her head, gripping the feathered stick in one hand. "No, Benson was not the father. He said something about telling her to stay away from that gambler."

  Logan asked, "Did the twins hear all this?"

  "Yes. I tried to get them to go to their room, but it was impossible."

  "Did they seem upset by the news?" Kelly asked.

  "No. I think they knew that Woody wasn't their father. They always called him Woody, never father. That night Alyx kept saying, 'Little bastard Logan isn't going to get all Woody's money.' Tyler also seemed more concerned about the money than not being Woody's own son."

  Luz's eyes narrowed slightly as she directed her next words to him. "Ginger grabbed a butcher knife in the kitchen. She threatened to slit your throat. I ran to the nursery and locked myself in with you. She pounded on the door, cursing me and saying I was fired. Benson finally dragged her away."

  "Oh, my God," Kelly cried, a frantic look in her expressive eyes.

  Logan felt … nothing. The nickname, Nine Lives, sure as hell fit. He had eluded death several times as a Cobra. It didn't surprise him that as a young child his life had been threatened. Nothing surprised him.

  Except Kelly.

  He shifted his thoughts—easily—to the way she'd behaved in the car. He was looking forward to tonight, to the next six months. Hell, at the way things were going, he wouldn't want to leave her to take the next Cobra assignment

  "I do not know what Benson said to Ginger, but the next morning, she was herself again. She ignored Logan and the twins. The senator returned but the scene I expected never occurred. Things seemed normal."

  "I'll bet Ginger threatened to tell the world about his illegitimate son, if he divorced her," Kelly said.

  "He was going to divorce her and marry Suzanne," Logan reminded Kelly.

  "You are talking about the woman who was foolish enough to marry Tyler." Luz pointed at the fire with the feathered stick. "They killed her."

  "How do you know?" Logan asked.

  "I am an ahnii, my clan's wisest person. I know these things. I recognize adant' ti—evil—when I see it. I am also a yataalii—a shaman who identifies witches. They are all witches, Benson, Ginger, Alyx, and Tyler. The minute I heard Suzanne had died, I knew they had murdered her."

  Logan didn't buy any of the witchcraft b.s. He'd talked to Uma enough to realize Navajos saw Anti 'll—witchcraft—in many things. What he needed was hard facts, a chance to discover who was after him.

  Kelly asked, "Who do you think killed Suzanne?"

  "Does it matter?" Luz countered with a shrug. "Suzanne is dead. The evil ones are still among us."

  Logan could see the woman harbored a deep mistrust of all of the Stanfields mixed with a little fear that Navajos had of all "witches." The feeling she was withholding something persisted, even stronger now.

  "What happened after Ginger and the twins discovered that I was Woody's son?" Logan asked, deciding to close the discussion of Suzanne's death. All Luz had to go on was her instincts. She was probably right, but it didn't tell them who was out of to get him.

  "Nothing"—she reached down and stowed the feathered stick under her rocker—"life went on."

  Kelly had warned Logan that many Native Americans were reluctant to lie or discuss things with strangers. You had to ease the truth out of them a bit at a time.

  "I was looking at Logan's medical records," Kelly said. "He certainly had a lot of accidents. Was he hard to handle?"

  "He was no worse than other boys his age. My sons were terribly difficult."

  "All of Logan's injuries occurred when the family was home during the senate breaks, right?"

  Logan knew Kelly was guessing here, but he gave her credit for thinking of a way to get the truth out of Luz.

  "Yes. That is when he had problems."

  "Was Ginger or Benson abusing him?" Kelly asked gently.

  Her brows drew together in an agonized expression as she turned away from them and gazed into the fire. "They all were—all except the senator."

  Logan tried to imagine himself as a child, living with the Stanfields but he couldn't. Life before the camp was just a black hole. If he'd been physically abused, it had been nothing more than an introduction to life in the camp.

  "What do you mean?" Kelly asked when it was clear that Luz wasn't going to elaborate without prodding.

  "Ginger and Benson would leave him alone at times when a child should be watched. That is how his back was burned when he fell against the barbecue. He fell out of the sycamore and broke his arm. Tyler was with him. I am certain Tyler purposely broke the branch."

  "If he had, wouldn't I have told you?" he asked.

  "I asked, but you didn't see it. You were very young. Tyler is sneaky."

  "What about Woody? Did
you tell him?" Kelly asked.

  "I tried, but he said I was overly protective. These were accidents nothing more. I could not prove him wrong. I never actually saw anything. They are evil, devious people. All I could do was make certain I never took a day off while they were home."

  "Thank you for helping me." His words didn't express his gratitude. All his life, he'd been on his own, responsible for himself. It had never occurred to him that anyone had cared this much about him.

  It was hard to imagine this old woman, protecting him against the ruthless Stanfields. He thought he was brave, but this woman was truly courageous. Hardships had marked her life, he decided, judging from the small cabin without any modern conveniences. He doubted her zoned-out husband had ever been much help. She had been forced to work for the Stanfields to support her family.

  Luz Tallchief had been the only one to protect him at a time when he'd been too young to guard his back. Was there any way to thank someone who had done this? He had never needed to thank anyone. He honestly didn't know where to start, but he felt the need to say something.

  "What can I do for you?"

  She leaned toward him, her clouded ebony eyes, narrowing. "Leave—now. This time they may succeed in killing you."

  "Don't worry about me. Let me help you … somehow." He hated owing anyone anything, especially a kind old lady who'd protected him as a child. He wanted to give her money, but knew she would find it insulting.

  "There is nothing you can do for me. Save yourself."

  "Perhaps he can, if you tell us the whole story of what happened the day he disappeared," Kelly said.

  Luz gripped the arms of the rocker and levered herself to her feet. She lumbered over to the window and gazed out. Logan glanced at Kelly, wondering why Luz wouldn't discuss this with them. Kelly arched one eyebrow and pointed at him, indicating he should speak up.

  "Please talk to me. You're the only person who can help me."

  Luz stared out at the clearing sky for a moment, then turned to face them. "I believe someone put something in my food to make me ill that day. I think they saw how I watched you all the time and wanted me out of the way."

  "He was lucky to have you," Kelly said with an encouraging smile.

  Luz returned to her rocker and sat down again, looking directly at Logan. "There had been too many 'accidents.' I feared one of them would kill you. You did not return that day, but I did not discover this until you had been missing for hours."

  "Did he actually go riding with the twins?" Kelly asked.

  "Yes, they all stopped to look at something and got off the horses. One of them pushed him from behind into a steep ravine."

  "Oh, my God!" Kelly cried, grasping his arm.

  "Who pushed me?" Logan asked, not in the least surprised by the news. There was something about the twins that had alerted him the very first day he returned home.

  "You didn't see if Tyler did it or Alyx. When Jim Cree and I found you, it was dark, and you were sobbing your heart out. A mountain lion was hovering nearby."

  "He wouldn't have lived until morning." Kelly's stricken look made him take her hand. She was too sweet, too trusting to imagine anyone wanting to hurt a child.

  Logan knew he should feel something, but he didn't. Luz thought she'd done him a favor, and maybe she had. Life in the camp had been hell. Still, it was better than dying.

  What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. So true.

  "The twins went home and didn't tell anyone, hoping Logan would die," Kelly said, bitterness underscoring every word. "They deliberately led the searchers in the wrong direction. Do you have any idea if they acted on their own or did Ginger and Benson help them?"

  "I do not know," Luz responded. "The twins were fifteen. They were capable of anything."

  During his training as a Cobra, Logan had studied fear and knew there was an exact spot in the brain where receptors triggering fear were located. His immediate response to the twins had been hate. He wondered if in some primitive way his brain had retained the past he could no longer recall, activating his instant aversion to them.

  "What did you and Jim do with Logan after you found him?" Kelly asked.

  "I had overheard Benson telling Ginger that Logan's mother was Amanda McCord. She was living in Scottsdale. I thought it best that she take back her son before they killed him."

  Kelly measured him with a cool, appraising look. He knew she was astonished to learn that he had been with good old Amanda. He had deliberately deceived Kelly, leading her to believe a couple had kidnapped him.

  "You never told anyone about this?" Logan asked.

  "No. An ahnii must earn the trust of her clan. Lying, taking a child. These are evil things that skinwalkers—witches—do, not an ahnii. I believe I had done the best thing for you, but I never wanted anyone to know. Please, do not tell a soul."

  * * *

  Chapter 26

  « ^ »

  Kelly left Luz Tallchief's house, walking beside Logan. His eyes scanned the area, the way he always did. He tilted his head a fraction of an inch as he checked, reminding Kelly of a wolf picking up a scent. A lone wolf.

  The storm had climbed higher up the mountains to where they'd camped. The runoff from the rain had spawned furrows in the red soil, producing a melodious sound like a brook. The air was still so laden with moisture that she could almost wade through it.

  "What's that?" Logan asked as they reached her car.

  From the house a singsong chant rose above nature's music. Kelly immediately recognized the chant Uma often used, but Kelly was so upset with Logan that she could hardly speak. "It's a hozonji—a good luck chant. Luz is asking the holy ones to bring you luck."

  Without responding, he opened the car door for her and she climbed in. He got behind the wheel and started the engine. He'd lied to her about his mother, deliberately leading her to believe that a couple had found him.

  Worse, she had reported the story that way in the Exposé article. Her earlier mistake had caused a woman's death. If anyone discovered she had again printed unverified information, her career was truly finished.

  This time forever.

  She planned to stay in Sedona, but who knew what might happen in the future? After her article on Logan's return, her career possibilities had seemed limitless. If the truth were uncovered, she might not be able to work even in a bi-weekly newspaper like her grandfather's.

  Logan could have told her the truth, but he had mislead her on purpose. Had he deliberately sabotaged her career? Why? she wondered.

  If she expected an explanation, she could forget it. Logan's attention was focused on starting the car. He didn't give a hoot about her.

  "Luz saved your life, but you certainly didn't seem very grateful." She tried to temper the bitterness in her voice, but it was impossible. "She risked her reputation as an ahnii and the respect of her clan, not to mention the legal charges she could face. There's no statute of limitation for kidnapping."

  Logan backed the car around and headed down the road, chuckling.

  "What's so damn funny?"

  He turned to her with a smile that could have melted both polar caps, his father's charismatic smile. This time, it didn't faze Kelly.

  "See how great we are together? We're like an old married couple—fighting."

  "I fail to see any humor in this. Alyx or Tyler tried to kill you once. They're going to try again, or they wouldn't have bugged the house."

  "What makes you think Ginger and Benson weren't in on it?" He slowed the car to take a curve in the road. "One of the twins pushed me, but Ginger and Benson took their sweet time getting help."

  "True, I'll bet they all hoped you wouldn't survive the night, but I think Tyler pushed you. He's the one who tortured animals at an early age. He enjoys killing."

  "Tyler may enjoy killing but Luz has him pegged right. He's devious, sneaky. If he used brucine to kill his wife, it was because it's hard to detect. He bugged the house so he'll know what we're doing. He's goi
ng to pull something when we least expect it."

  "Try to think like him, right?" The anger had gone out of her voice, but it was still seething inside her, burning like acid.

  "Yes. I expected him to have pulled something by now. Tyler is not the type to be very patient. Everything has been handed to him on a silver platter. He hasn't a clue about how to wait. There are snakes in the Amazon who can stay for days without moving a muscle, then—wham—they strike. That's not Tyler."

  "But is it Alyx? She could be the one who pushed you."

  "No, she's just as spoiled. If I were them, I would strike when we are in South America. An accident. A run-in with roadside bandits. The possibilities are limitless. That's why I don't want anyone to know where we're going. As soon as we have the adoption certification, I'll order airline tickets to Quito. Tell everyone we're taking a smaller plane from there out to the Galapagos Islands."

  "Oh, my God," she cried as they rounded the turn, then came to bone-jarring halt. The low spot on the road was now a rising creek. "Around here, we call these gully-gushers. You might as well turn off the engine. It'll be at least fifteen minutes, maybe longer, before the water level drops enough to safely cross."

  Logan shut off the engine and turned to her. "Okay, Kelly, you're dying to let me have it with both barrels. Go for it," he said with as much enthusiasm as a man about to hear the Last Rites.

  The urge to smack his handsome face was almost impossible to resist. "Don't you have any feelings? That wonderful woman saved you. Now she's stuck way out here supporting a husband who's high on peyote. A quick 'thank you' and a half-hearted offer to help just isn't good enough."

  His smile vanished, replaced by a frown and the amusement left his eyes. "I don't have much in the way of feelings, so I'm not good at expressing them. I'm grateful for what Luz did. I was planning on asking you what I could do to help her. I think offering her money would be crass—"

  "She has too much pride to take it. By saving you, she forfeited her honor. Nothing will give that back to her."

  "I thought I might be able to help her granddaughter. Since she's living with them, something must have happened to her parents."