Chapter Seven
Walking to the office had taken much longer than what Laura had anticipated and as a result she was very late. Jazz music drifted from the open windows of the trailer, but when she walked in, Jessup was not in the office.
"Jessup, are you around?" Laura called out.
"In here," he yelled from the kitchen. Laura found him at the sink doing dishes.
"Will you do me a favor and turn down that stereo while I finish up these breakfast dishes?" he asked her.
Laura turned the volume to the stereo down and when she returned to the kitchen Jessup was drying his hands on a dishtowel.
"How you doing this morning, Laura?"
Her eyes clouded. "Not so well."
"Well sit on down and tell ole Jessup about it and I’ll pour us some coffee."
Laura related what had happened on Saturday. By the time she had finished he looked very distressed.
"It’s about time our good sheriff starts doing something about all the weird things that have been going on around here." His voice rang with pent up frustration.
"We can’t wait around for him. We’ll just have to get in touch with Wildlife Management ourselves. Maybe we’ll get further with them," Laura added.
"Yeah, well we have another problem."
She eyed him curiously.
"Another one of the men has disappeared." Jessup’s eyes reflected the worry that had begun to gnaw at him.
"We’ll just have to replace him." Laura felt drained, almost to the point of giving up.
"This time it’s different. This one left his car and all his personal property, just like Mitchell. We left him there to watch over the camp for the weekend and when we returned he was nowhere to be found. We searched half the night," Jessup finished in a voice grim.
"I stopped by there on Saturday, on my way to that old fort you told me about. I saw him then." Her voice took on a distant quality as she searched her memory for clues.
"We decided to stay over until Sunday morning, so we really don’t know how long he has been gone, but the fact that you saw him Saturday at least tells us that much."
They were both silent for several moments before Jessup again spoke. "You might want to talk to the police when they send someone out to investigate, but that won’t be until tomorrow since he isn’t officially missing yet." Jessup was clearly disgusted.
Laura shook her head. "Makes you wonder how they’ve kept this place from falling apart as long as they have."
Jessup slammed his big hand down on the desk. "I near forgot to tell you. Your grandfather called a while ago. Said he would try and call you tomorrow morning."
With all the events of the past weekend, Laura had completely forgotten her grandfather’s call. Dismayed, she ran her fingers through her hair. For some reason that Laura could not put a finger on, she felt it was extremely important to talk with her grandfather.
* * * *
Quitting time crept up on them and still there had been no word from Justin on the status of her Bronco. Laura began to wonder how wise it had been to hand her automobile over to him, but of course there was not much she could do about it at the moment. Laura decided to ask Jessup for a ride home.
Jessup not only gave her a lift home, but insisted on picking her up the next day for work. With not the slightest idea of what to do with herself for the rest of the evening, Laura took a book out to the porch.
Halfheartedly, Laura attempted to lose herself within the novel’s pages, but gave up after five minutes of staring at the same sentence.
Laura thought about the big mess that this job had turned into. She was beginning to wish that she had listened to her grandfather and never come here.
Her eyes scanned the sheltering woods which surrounded the cabin. They were beautiful and tranquil, but one could not miss its undertones of sinister darkness. Laura closed her eyes, and for the first time in many years she listened to her Navajo heart.
It sang out its warnings of evil, foretelling of her destruction if she should dare love a man of the Sungmanitu.
Laura’s eyes flew open. Where had that thought come from? It was true that Justin had not been far from her thoughts for the past few days, but was she actually falling in love with him?
She was not a believer in "love at first sight" but there was no denying the fact that Justin drew her like a magnet. Even the thought of his touch sent shivers through her body.
How did he end up in her thoughts every time she pondered all the disturbing aspects of this job?
Spending the evening alone filled her with a deep sense of uneasiness, and she now regretted not having invited Jessup to have dinner with her. At least she would not have been sitting here alone dreading nightfall.
* * * *
The office was a madhouse. The phones had not stopped ringing since she had walked into the office this morning. They heard from all sorts of people who wanted to put in their words of protest against the clear-cutting.
The sheriff had left only moments ago, convinced that someone in Beaver Creek was responsible for all the recent troubles. Laura didn't know why this conclusion made her uneasy, but it did.
Jessup’s voice wrenched her from her thoughts. "It’s your grandfather, Laura." He held out the phone to her.
A wave of much needed comfort washed over her as she took the phone. "Hi, Grandpa."
"What’s wrong Laura? Where were you yesterday?" His raspy voice was impressed with worry.
"Oh nothing." The lie felt as if it would burn her tongue. "I just didn’t feel well yesterday and couldn’t make it in. I was calling to see if you were okay."
"Things are as they should be here."
"I’m glad to hear that." Laura was grateful to know that her grandfather was faring well.
"When are you coming home?" he prodded.
"Soon, Grandpa. Things should be wrapped up here within a few weeks." Laura knew it was wishful thinking, but she didn't want to worry him.
Busby’s keen senses didn't miss the undercurrent of stress in Laura’s voice. "You should leave them to their own problems and come home now," he insisted.
"Grandpa ... you know I can’t do that." Laura tried to be firm, but she could feel herself wavering.
Busby caught this. "You are playing with forces that you do not understand, Laura, and putting yourself in danger. Leave them to suffer their mistakes alone."
"What danger ... Grandpa? What do you know about the Sungmanitu?"
There was only silence.
"Grandpa!"
"Leave the white men to pay for their own mistakes and come home to your own people, Laura." The line went dead.
"Grandpa!" Laura’s voice rose. There was no answer. The connection had been broken.
Laura sighed as she hung up the phone.
"Problems?" Jessup asked.
"Yes, you could say that. My grandfather thinks that you are all fools and that I should have nothing to do with this evil business." Laura was more troubled than what she let Jessup see.
"Your grandfather just may be right." Jessup smiled.
* * * *
Busby sat in the corner of the small trading post and eyed the pay phone on the wall. It was hard to resist the temptation to ring Laura again and demand that she return at once. It would do no good. Even if he told her the truth she wouldn't believe him.
His eyes wandered from the phone to Kenny, who had just finished waiting on the only customer of the morning. Old Dino gathered his purchases and staggered toward the door, leaving behind the sour odor of cheap whiskey.
Busby shook his head sadly. So many of the people had fallen to the dark spirits--it sickened him to witness it day after day.
Kenny was busy washing the counter, attempting to clear away some of the never-ending dust. Now there was a good boy and handsome too. His dark eyes were gentle and caring, especially for Laura. Busby would never understand why Laura had not stayed and married Kenny. She had always been a willful child and Busby ha
d not been too surprised the day Laura announced her intentions of moving to Santa Fe to look for work.
Busby struggled to rise from the old chair he had been sitting on and he made his way to the counter. Resting his old frame against the wooden surface, he waited for Kenny to acknowledge his presence.
"How’s Laura getting on?" he asked with a smile.
Busby eyed the younger man speculatively--evaluating the odds of obtaining his help in this situation. Deciding they were good, he pushed forward.
"Kenny, Laura could be in danger."
This instantly captured the young man’s attention and he immediately grew more serious. "Why’s that, Grandpa Busby?"
"I cannot be sure of the danger until I go to South Dakota. I need to ask if you will take me there."
Kenny was shocked at the request. As far as he knew, Grandpa Busby had only left the reservation on very few occasions throughout his seventy-five years.
"If you need to go to South Dakota, I will take you, but why there?"
"I don’t know how much time we have, so I will have to explain on the way."
The urgency in the old man’s voice disturbed Kenny, but he knew it would do no good to question Busby further at the moment.
"We better get moving. That’s a long ways." Kenny put more confidence into his voice than what he felt.
* * * *
Exhausted, Laura leaned back in her chair, hoping for a few moments of peace. Nobody seemed to be happy about Duccini’s presence. They had received so much opposition from, not only the locals and the ecologist, but just about everyone in between. Jessup had made the decision to postpone further cutting until the problems could be worked out.
The only people whom they had not heard from were the Sungmanitu. Considering their hatred of Duccini, this struck Laura as quite odd.
The sound of Justin’s bike outside pulled Laura from her thoughts. Rising, she went to the door. Justin killed the engine and reclined on the back rest. It was as if he knew Laura would come to him and as expected she went out to greet him.
"Hello, Justin." Her smile was strained as she seethed inwardly at his arrogance.
"Laura."
Her named slipped smooth as satin from his lips. The sheer sensuality of his voice sent Laura’s pulse racing.
He waved the keys in front of her. "Your truck is fixed. Would you like a ride to pick it up?"
Laura wavered, remembering the thoughts that had taken possession of her the night before, but she quickly pushed them from her mind. He certainly could not destroy her just by giving her a ride.
"Just let me tell the boss that I’m leaving."
Being so close to him had the same effect on her as fine wine and by the time they reached his cabin she was feeling faintly dizzy with longing. It was taking everything she had to ignore what she was feeling.
Justin helped her from the bike. "You should have no more problems with it," he told her.
"Thank you very much." Laura reached into her purse. "How much do I owe you?"
"How about a smile?" he told her in a voice softer than his caress.
Her spirits rose, and she felt unreasonably happy all of a sudden. It was flattering that he would go through so much trouble for her.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
He nodded.
"So ... do you live here alone?" The question came out before she had a chance to think about what she was saying. As soon as the words left her lips she was wishing she could take them back.
"I’m not involved with anyone." He winked.
Laura blushed all the way to her toes. "I didn’t mean to pry."
"Not at all. I would have told you a long time ago, if you had asked." Justin held her eyes with his. Laura had to catch her breath when she saw the heat of unmasked desire in their depths.
Knowing that she was not strong enough to hold either of their passions at bay, Laura thought it wise to change the line of conversation.
"So why is it that no one from Beaver Creek has been around to protest the clear-cutting?"
At once she saw her mistake. His mood swing was sudden and dark. It was as if he had slammed the door to his soul. In that instant the realization came to her. This was one subject he had purposely avoided. He had mentioned it only once, the night of the dance.
"Would it do any good?" His voice held a note of deep bitterness.
Laura had no answer for him.
"The white man has always taken what he wanted with no regard for my people. We have no reason to think it might change now." He was looking into the western horizon, his eyes seeing something that hers could not, or had forgotten how to see.
What could she say? She knew the truth of his words only too well. The silence between them was like a brick wall--Laura fought to tear it down.
"So ... is this your home ... did you grow up here?" Laura forced casualness into her voice, but inside her emotion was raging.
"I was born here, but when I was a baby my mother left--taking me with her." He again lapsed into thick silence. He was seeing those long ago days somewhere in his mind’s eye.
"When I was twelve years old, my mother was in a fatal accident and that’s when I came back here to live with my father," he added.
"I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories." Laura instinctively reached out to touch his arm, but withdrew at the last moment.
He smiled at her momentary lack of restraint. "Oh, they are not really so bad. This is where I belong ... not in the city where my mother had taken me."
Justin pointed down the hill toward Beaver Creek. "When I was a boy, I spent many days down there at those ponds. Some of the best rainbow trout in the world are in those waters."
"You don’t strike me as a fisherman."
He shrugged his shoulders. "I used to go fishing all the time, but I don’t really have the spirit for it anymore."
The two of them had begun to walk in the direction of the ponds--crossing a large open meadow before reaching the tree line and the ponds beyond.
"In the fall ... if you wake early enough, you can see this meadow full of deer, sometimes elk, too." As they walked, Justin slipped his hand through hers. "I have spent entire mornings watching them from the window." It was apparent that he loved his simple home.
Laura smiled. "This place is very beautiful. I can’t imagine why your mother would have wanted to leave."
Her words were spoken in innocence, but the effect on him was no less profound. Justin stiffened and looked away from her.
The pain in his eyes when he turned to face her tore at her insides. "My mother was very unhappy here. She didn’t fit in well, and my father could not bear to part with his home."
"Your mother was not Sungmanitu?" Laura was surprised.
Justin shook his head. "She was Oglala Sioux. They met during a rally in the Black Hills. He brought her back here to live after their whirlwind romance."
They had reached the bank of the largest pond. Justin lowered himself into a sitting position, bringing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. In that moment he reminded Laura of a vulnerable child.
"It really sounds kind of romantic," Laura mused.
His laugh was cynical. "If that was romance, then you can be sure that it brought them both a lot of misery because they didn’t have sense enough to know that they didn’t belong together."
Laura shook her head. "I'm a believer that love can bridge all gaps."
Justin had taken to chewing on a twig. "Well obviously not all of them," he smirked.
"It must have been very tragic for you." Laura softened her voice, sensing the pain deep within him.
His face was a mask, empty of emotion. "Not everyone has a storybook childhood."
Laura’s face grew sour as she remembered her own not-so-perfect childhood. "I'm very well aware of that."
His eyes held questions that he wouldn't bring himself to ask.
"Both my parents were killed when I was very young. I
grew up with my grandfather on the Navajo Reservation. He’s a dear old man, but life there isn't easy, to say the least."
"So you have the blood of the people in you?"
"Yes ... I’m half Navajo. My mother fell under the evil influence of a Belagana, to quote my grandfather." They laughed together.
Justin stood and held out his hand to Laura. She let him help her to her feet. He pulled her into his arms and they stood so close that she could feel the hardness of his body. Though she fought it fiercely, her body responded.
Justin ran his fingers through her hair, savoring its softness.
Another second--that’s all it would have taken for him to claim her lips, for his tongue to sample the sweetness of her mouth. The moment was stolen from them by the sound of a snapping twig.
A man emerged from the shadows of the trees, and for the briefest instant Laura was numbed with terror. The shadows had created the illusion that he was half-man and half-wolf. His long hooked nose, the snout. His blanket became his pelt.
She now saw that he was just an old man, much like her own grandfather. Laura laughed at her own foolishness.
Justin didn’t seem at all surprised by the man’s appearance. "Hello, Uncle." He nodded to the old man.
The man spoke to Justin in a language which Laura had never heard before, but she thought it sounded very similar to the Lakota dialect.
Justin turned to Laura. "This is my Uncle Arch." He introduced the older man.
Arch’s smile was nearly toothless.
"Hello." Laura acknowledged him.
"I was told you were like a wildflower in spring, but he lied, you are even more beautiful."
Heat rushed to her cheeks, and she felt a little overwhelmed. Never before had she received a compliment with quite so much flair.
"Thank you," she stammered.
The old man motioned to Justin. "My nephew has told me much about you."
Laura glanced at Justin in astonishment. Had he actually thought enough about her to talk of her to his family?
Wolf Dance Page 7