Next to the truck there was a makeshift awning put together with a sheet of tattered green canvas. An old man was sitting beneath the awning; in front of him was a long table that he was using to display a variety of native trinkets.
Like many people on the reservation, he was probably subsidizing his income by selling handcrafted souvenirs to tourists, though she couldn’t imagine what tourists would be doing out here, unless they were lost like she was.
Instead of just coming right out and asking for directions, she took a moment to examine the turquoise jewelry and colorful sand paintings laid out on the table. They were beautiful.
“Hi,” she said with a smile.
The old man gave her a slight nod of his head to acknowledge her greeting.
“I’m kind of lost. Do you think you could tell me how to get to Red Canyon?” Mya asked, setting down the sand-painted clock that she’d been looking at.
When he spoke, his voice was so raspy and faint that she had to strain to hear him.
“You don’t want to go there,” he said, briefly looking up from the leather pouch he was working on. She saw that his deeply lined face was as rough as old leather, but his dark eyes appeared kind.
Mya hesitated, unsure how to respond. She wasn’t used to getting advice from strangers, particularly advice that she hadn’t asked for.
“Why is that?” Mya eyed him with open curiosity.
“Bad place … bad spirits,” he told her without taking his eyes from his work.
Mya let out a small sigh of relief. It was just native superstition; not anything that could be a real danger.
“I’m looking for the Metzger place in Red Canyon. Could you tell me how to get there?” she asked again, deciding it was probably best to ignore his reference to bad spirits.
He finally looked up and gave her a wide - toothless grin. “You have the warrior’s spirit, but you’re not real smart,” he said, tapping his forehead with one finger.
“It’s official police business,” she told him. Mya couldn’t understand why she felt obliged to defend herself to the man, but she did.
With a slight shrug of his shoulders, he pointed in the direction she had been heading. “Down that way you’ll see a dirt road going east. Take that road.”
“Are there any signs?” she asked. The dirt roads throughout the rocky desert all looked the same to her. She was certain that she’d miss it if there weren’t some kind of road sign to look for.
“There is a tall pole covered in juniper berries,” he told her.
“That’s a weird road marker.”
The longer she was on the reservation, the more she found their ways confusing.
“We are not crazy,” he told her, as if he’d read her mind. “It keeps the skinwalkers from darting into the road and causing accidents.”
His explanation did nothing to clear her confusion. She’d heard of skinwalkers, but had never given them much thought. As far as she was concerned, skinwalkers were a myth to explain away bad events that the people didn’t understand.
“Thanks,” she told him, but before she could turn away, the sound of his voice stopped her.
“Here,” he said, handing her a little pouch made of animal skin. “Run some of this over your skin and you’ll be protected from the skinwalker.”
“What is it?” she asked.
“Corn pollen. It will protect you.”
Mya smiled at him. She didn’t believe that something as simple as corn pollen would protect her from anything, but she thought it was sweet for the old man to be concerned. “Thanks,” she told him. “Maybe I’ll stop by another time and buy one of your necklaces. I really like them.”
He waved as Mya walked away. Sticking the bag in her pocket, she got into the patrol car. Pulling back on the highway, she returned his wave.
Just as he’d said, she drove about another mile before she saw a stick in the ground, near the turnoff. The pole was only of couple of feet tall. There was no doubt that she’d have missed it if she hadn’t been on the lookout for it.
Slowing the car almost to a crawl, Mya turned onto the dirt road. She had been expecting to find a little house or trailer not too far off the main highway, but that wasn’t the case. It seemed like she drove for miles and still found no visible signs of life.
Finally she entered a small canyon with red cliffs on both sides. She now understood why Donny had sent her out here. It was a long drive. He must have known it would keep her busy for most of the day.
Mya was a little upset. She’d hoped that Donny had sent her out here because he was finally starting to trust her, but she suspected it was merely to get her out of the way so he could get some real work done.
Mya pushed aside the resentment that was creeping up on her. He’d come around to her way of thinking soon enough. Then he’d see that she was an asset to the department, at least that’s what she was hoping.
Bringing the patrol car to a complete stop, her eyes scanned the canyon floor. At first it appeared to be deserted, She couldn’t see anything but sagebrush and rock, but as she took a closer look, she noticed a small camp trailer near the base of the cliff.
She wasn’t really surprised to find that the Metzgers lived in such an isolated area. So many people on the reservation lived in such places - typically in camp trailers. A lot of them didn’t even have running water. Their water usually came from a well, if they were lucky enough to have a well and there was good supply during the previous winter and spring.
Taking her foot off the brake, Mya drove slowly until reaching the trailer. Putting the car in park, she turned off the engine. Instead of jumping right out, Mya took a moment to evaluate her surroundings.
At the side of the trailer was a blue - late model sports car. It struck her as being completely out of place. In comparison, the camp trailer was old and on its last leg; white paint was peeling away in several large areas, revealing the metal siding beneath.
Mya got out and stood by the car, hesitant to go to the door. Nothing stirred but the dry desert wind - wind that persistently whipped at the strands of blond hair that had escaped her ponytail. Mya always wore her hair in a ponytail while working. She’d heard too many stories of female officers taken down because someone got a handful of their hair. She figured that if she were going to get taken down, it wouldn’t be because some perp got a hold of her hair.
Casting her eyes to the west, she realized that it was already late afternoon and the sun would be setting soon. The drive to Red Canyon had taken a lot longer than she’d anticipated, and with each minute that went by - the shadows in the canyon grew longer. In the fading light, the canyon seemed gloomy - almost ominous. Though there didn’t appear to be anything threatening about the place, she couldn’t get over the feeling of foreboding that had suddenly pulled her into its grasp.
With a shake of her head, Mya dismissed her thoughts as ridiculous. The only thing wrong here was that she’d been silly enough to let the old man’s morbid warning put her on edge.
Taking a deep breath, she started for the trailer. It appeared to be deserted, but she wasn’t going to drive all the way out here without at least knocking on the door.
After taking only three steps, she heard something moving around behind her. Mya froze instantly. For just that millisecond in time, she felt an unfathomable dread. At the back of her mind she knew that her fear was unreasonable, but it was there nonetheless.
It wasn’t the same kind of fear that you feel when you know that there is an animal ready to spring on you. It wasn’t even the same terror you might feel while walking alone at night and knowing that you were being stalked. It was far worse than that. It was the kind of fear that you experience when you know that you are in the presence of something that is made of pure evil.
Chapter Three
“Ya’at’eeh,” The male voice greeted her in the Navajo language.
Mya turned abruptly and was somewhat surprised to see a man behind her, and not the monster t
hat she’d imagined would be there. All the fear that she’d felt just seconds before, vanished, but it left behind a residue of uneasiness.
“You must be a new one, but I think you’re way too cute to be a cop,” he said, his striking blue eyes never leaving her face.
Though Mya tried not to let his words shake her up, she could feel the color rushing to her face. Like everyone she met for the first time, she tried to take in every detail. He appeared to be in his mid to late twenties, and he didn’t look anything like a Navajo.
Although he had a bronze complexion and the high cheekbones so common to Native Americans, he had tawny colored hair that fell in waves to his shoulders, and way too many white characteristics to be a full blood.
“Do you usually go around sneaking up on people?” she snapped.
The corners of his lips lifted into a tight smile. “You’re the one trespassing. So who’s sneaking up on who?”
Mya was irritated with him, but she wasn’t sure if it was because of his manner, or because he’d managed to scare her nearly witless. “Are you Trent Metzger?”
He nodded. “That’s me.”
She stepped closer. “Can I ask you a few questions?” Without waiting for a response, Mya pulled a notepad and pen from the back pocket of her jeans.
“It’s impolite not to tell me who you are,” he reminded her.
“My name is Mya Reynolds. I am working with the tribal police this summer.” She held out her hand to him.
“Ya’at’eeh Mya Reynolds.” His handshake was firm, but he held her hand in his a little too long.
Pulling away from his grasp, she gave him a terse smile before dropping her eyes to the notebook. “Can you tell me about your brother? Did he have any enemies that you know of … anyone that might have wanted to cause him harm?”
“I think I’ve already answered these questions,” he told her.
“Yes I know, and I’m sorry to bother you at a time like this … but we just thought that maybe there’s something you might have missed.”
Trent shook his head and started walking toward the camp trailer. “I’d like to get a pot of coffee on. Would you care to join me?”
Mya felt her stomach knot up. She wanted to talk with him about his brother, but she didn’t exactly feel comfortable having that chat over a cup of coffee. Besides, it didn’t seem very professional.
“Thanks, but I’m in kind of a hurry. I just need to ask you a couple of questions and won’t hold you up too long.”
Sighing, he turned back around to face her. Though he was smiling, she noticed that his blue eyes were now glazed with ice. “Go for it. Ask me whatever you want,” he said, spreading his arms in defeat.
“Did your brother have any enemies?” she asked again.
“He had lots of enemies.”
“Was there anyone that might have disliked him enough to kill him?”
“There was,” he nodded, stepping closer to her until they were only inches apart.
He was answering her questions, but she wasn’t exactly getting any information out of him.
Mya cleared her throat. “Do you have any names you could give me?” She backed away to put some distance between them. For some reason she felt threatened by his nearness.
It was true that her uncle and the Window Rock police knew where she was, but civilization was miles away. He could always dump the car somewhere and then claim that she’d never shown up.
Mya couldn’t understand where these gruesome thoughts were coming from. It wasn’t as if Trent Metzger was even considered a person of interest in the case.
So why did he make her feel so jumpy?
“Sure I could give you a name … but I’m not going to. I’ll take care of it myself,” he told her.
Mya was startled by his behavior. He was blatantly keeping information from the police - information that could help them catch his brother’s killer.
Her cornflower blue eyes made the switch from inquisitive, to hard and unyielding. “Do you realize that it is a crime to withhold relevant information in a homicide investigation?”
His laughter caught her off guard.
“Don’t kid yourself Mya Reynolds. You can bet your tight little ass the police have a pretty small pool of suspects, but they’ll never admit it.”
“What do you mean?” she asked in disbelief.
“Go ask your uncle … Detective Begay. He’ll be able to tell you what I mean.” Trent’s lips spread in a lopsided smile.
Again she was startled that he would know that Donny was her uncle. “How did you know he was my uncle?’
“Word gets around.”
Mya swallowed hard. Could it be that Donny was keeping information from her? She had to admit that it was a real possibility. Even to him she was still an outsider.
She didn’t know Donny real well, but she just couldn’t believe that he was a bad cop, or that he had a sinister motive for keeping the information to himself. He didn’t strike her as the type.
Mya smiled, brushing off Trent’s insinuations - at least outwardly. “You should leave this to the police. Not only is it a crime to impede an investigation, but you could get yourself killed.”
He laughed, apparently amused by her words. “I am very capable of taking care of myself, but you Mya … you need to be careful.”
Without writing down a single word, Mya closed the notebook and slipped it back into her pocket. “Well thanks.”
“Anytime Miss Reynolds.” Trent nodded to her before turning and walking away.
Once Mya was back in the car, she eyed the radio. In her excitement, she’d forgotten to radio her location to dispatch. This was an oversight that could easily get you into trouble.
Taking a deep breath, she picked up the mic to radio in. “This is unit 10. I’m leaving the Metzger place. I’ll be 10-76 to base.”
She waited, but there was no response. Trying once more, Mya repeated her location. Still she heard nothing but a burst of static.
Giving up, she replaced the mic. She was probably too far out to get any reception, but at least she wouldn’t have to deal with being reprimanded for not calling in. Now she had a legitimate excuse.
Mya looked back at the trailer. The lights were on, but she couldn’t see Trent Metzger moving around inside. She thought about knocking on the door - just to be sure that he was okay, but decided against it. He might claim police harassment if she bothered him again.
She had every intention of following through with more questions, but next time she’d have Donny with her. Trent Metzger was making no secret of the fact he was going to withhold information. She was confident of her abilities, but wasn’t sure she was quite ready to handle such a defiant witness.
Mya turned the key in the ignition, and was actually relieved when the car started. If it had been her old Nova, there would have been some doubt. She slowly backed away from the trailer and turned the car around.
The sun had already gone down, leaving the desert with just a hint of cool air. Peering out into the darkness, Mya was gripped with the urge to get back to the main highway as quickly as she could, but she had no choice but to drive slowly. If she took the road too fast, it might damage the car and then Donny would kill her.
She’d just switched on the headlights when she saw it. The dark shadow dashed across the road in front of her. Fortunately, she was driving slow enough that when she hit the brakes, the car stopped easily.
Her eyes scanned the desert landscape, hoping to catch sight of whatever it was that she’d nearly hit. At first she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. There were several shadows moving around in the brush.
The old man’s words came back to her and Mya’s heart began to pound painfully against her ribcage.
Bad place … bad spirits.
Dismissing the thought, she pressed on the gas petal and started moving forward again.
The shadows were merely jackrabbits.
There had to be tons of jackrabbits out here, a
long with a number of other critters. The hazy light of dusk just made them appear to be shadows.
* * *
From his vantage point he’d watched her - watched the creamy skin on her forehead wrinkle in confusion when she saw the Metzger land. He’d watched her delicate features twist in fear when the yee naaldlooshii came up behind her. Now he watched her leave.
Would they let her leave?
Moving from his hiding spot among the craggy rocks of the cliff, he sprinted forward. He had to follow her and make sure they didn’t stop her.
It made no sense for her to be here. It was too dangerous.
The wolf picked up the scent of her tangy perfume, but he didn’t need to track her that way. He could still see the car, and he could see them.
They sensed his approach and scattered in all directions. It didn’t matter - right now he wasn’t after them. His only concern was that the girl made it out of Red Canyon alive.
Inside his head he could hear Old Man whispering to him - mocking his weakness.
She is the bait! You’ve always known this. Don’t take the bait!
A long wailing howl tore from his throat.
This time Old Man was wrong - they wouldn’t destroy him so easily.
A low growl vibrated at the back of his throat when he saw her stop the car.
She couldn’t stop! The girl had to keep going until she was far away from Red Canyon - far away from Indian country.
The car started moving and he continued to follow her.
* * *
As soon as Mya pulled onto the highway she felt her tension dissipate. Being in Red Canyon had made her more nervous than what she cared to admit. She felt almost giddy with relief, and now wished that she’d taken her own car. At the very least she could turn on some tunes. It was a long drive back to town.
Bad Moon Rising - Paranormal Romance Page 2