by D'Ann Lindun
“I hope so.” Castaña stepped closer. “Are you Nascha Nizhoni?”
“Yes.” The girl’s black button eyes darted between them. “Why?”
Castaña stepped closer, Jake beside her. This girl was the type Martin had gone for all his life—curvy Navajo or Mexican girls with dark hair and eyes, never skinny blue eyed blondes. “I’m Martin Castillo’s sister, Castaña. This is Jake Brown.”
“Martin has not spoken of you.” Nascha stared in frank curiosity at them, but in typical Navajo fashion did not pry.
Jake played with a stick of honey candy. “May we ask you some questions?”
“Yes.”
“When’s the last time you saw Martin?” Castaña waited as the girl thought about it.
She smiled shyly. “About a month ago. We had dinner at my mother’s house.” That implied a commitment. In Navajo culture, the mother was the head of the family and her approval was everything.
Jake spoke up. “Have you spoken to him since then? Maybe in the last week?”
Nascha touched the book on her lap. “Once. On the phone. About two weeks ago.”
Castaña watched her closely. “Is this normal for you?”
“Yes. Why?”
“You haven’t heard that Martin is missing? Or that he’s wanted for murder?” Jake spoke bluntly and Castaña shot him a startled glance. Why had he blurted it out like that?
Nascha’s round face paled. “What? No, I didn’t know. I don’t believe it.”
“Believe it,” Castaña said grimly. “Two BLM agents were murdered near Angel Falls and the cops think Martin did it. They’re looking for him, but no one’s seen him in over a week. I’m afraid he might be hurt, or worse. We were hoping you might have a lead.”
“I don’t know anything.” Nascha’s face crumpled. “The last time Martin and I spoke he told me he was going to try to move the mustangs near the ranger station because they were in danger, but he didn’t say why.” She reached for a tiny horse pendant tied on a red string around her neck. Martin’s. Or one just like it.
“Did he say when he’d be back?”
“No.” She continued to play with her necklace. “But with Martin, that’s normal.”
Castaña smiled a little. Martin hadn’t changed then. She took a deep breath. “May I ask a personal question?”
Nascha looked alarmed. “I guess.”
Jake gestured toward the far wall. “I’ll just go over there and look at those kachinas.”
After he moved out of earshot, Castaña leaned forward and asked, “Have you and Martin dated for a long time? Are you two exclusive? I mean do either of you date anyone else?”
With a look of relief, Nascha shook her head no. “Martin and I saw only each other for the last few years. I never dated anyone else, and I don’t think he did either. He never told me if he did anyway.”
“Do you think you would know if he had?” Castaña didn’t like planting doubt where there was none, but she had to know about Briar Rose.
Nascha’s chin quivered. “Are you saying Martin cheated?”
Castaña touched her hand. “There’s a girl at the ranch who is very pregnant, and she’s saying it’s Martin’s baby. Eagle said it wasn’t possible because my brother only dates you.”
Nascha jerked her hand away. Sparks filled her eyes. “Who is this girl? Is she a bilagaana?”
A little puzzled by the question, Castaña nodded. “Yes, she’s white.”
All the fight seemed to go out of Nascha. She looked like she’d been pole–axed. Jake walked over and stood at Castaña’s elbow as Nascha said, “So it’s true then. Last year after the roundup I heard rumors that Martin was with a bilagaana—she made the words sound dirty—but I didn’t believe them and Martin never said he wanted to date anyone else. But there’s always been this unspoken thing between us since then.” She added bitterly, “Now I know why.”
Castaña didn’t know what to say. Nascha looked like she might throw up and there wasn’t anything to do to make it better. Why had Martin cheated on Nascha with Briar Rose? Why hadn’t he told his longtime girlfriend another woman was carrying his baby? “I’m sorry.”
“Me, too,” Nascha whispered.
“If you hear from Martin, could you please let me know?” Castaña hated adding salt to the wound, but she had to ask.
Her eyes glimmered and her chin quivered, but Nascha managed to nod.
Together, Castaña and Jake walked out of the store. As they climbed in the pickup he asked, “What do you make of that?”
She started the engine. “I don’t know.” Maneuvering onto the main street she added, “I feel like a jerk. I didn’t have to tell her. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Yes, you had to tell her. Wouldn’t you feel worse if you knew the truth and kept it from her? She has the right to know.” She glanced at him and his eyes darkened. “She knew before you said anything.”
“I guess.” She turned onto a side street. “I don’t have much appetite, but I promised you dinner. I hope you like Mexican.”
“Love it.”
She turned again and parked in front of a small, out-of-the-way café she remembered from high school. “This used to be a good place to eat.” Looking at the rundown adobe building, she wasn’t so sure her memory served her correctly.
As they entered the familiar sight of chili peppers hanging from the ceiling and the scent of spicy shredded beef coming from the kitchen reassured Castaña. She settled into a booth toward the back so she and Jake could talk, although she need not have bothered. No one else was in the place. For just a fraction of a second, she allowed herself to look at the handsome man across from her and wonder what it would be like to be on a date with him. Luckily, a teenage girl hurried out of the kitchen with menus and placed them in front of them, distracting Castaña’s crazy thoughts. “Can I get you a drink? A peach margarita maybe? Our specialty.”
Tempting, but she had to keep a clear head. “Just a cola, please.”
“Iced tea,” Jake decided.
For a few minutes, they studied the menus then ordered when the girl returned with a plate of warm chips and salsa. Jake munched on a few tortilla chips before he asked, “Which one of the girls do you believe?”
Castaña paused with her chip halfway to her mouth. “What do you mean?”
He stirred the salsa with a chip. “I mean either Briar Rose or Nascha isn’t telling the truth. Which one do you bet is?”
She ate her nacho. “Why can’t they both be telling the truth?”
“They could, but I don’t think so. My gut is telling me that Briar Rose is our liar. Although she told me she met Martin at the round-up last year, I don’t think he dated her.” He drank.
“Why?”
“Because I can’t see a man who is in love with Nascha Nizhoni ruining it for a casual fling. After I met Nascha, Briar Rose just doesn’t seem like the kind of woman that Martin would go for.”
“I don’t think so either,” Castaña said, “unless he’s changed a great deal.”
“There’s only thing to do.” Jake reached for another chip. “And that’s confront Briar Rose.”
Jake’s cell phone vibrated against his thigh, but he didn’t take it out of his pocket and look at it. As soon as he could excuse himself, he went to the men’s room to check his phone. Kelso. Jake dialed his partner. “What’s up?”
“I have an I.D. on the dead guy in the canyon,” Kelso said. “Fingerprints show he’s Axell Tsosie from Payson. He’s a well-known Navajo photographer with a gallery in Payson and one in Phoenix.”
“How did he get himself run over by a herd of mustangs?”
“I don’t know, but his business partner, a woman named Caroline Delacourte, might be able to help you.” Kelso rattled off the woman’s address.
“I’ll go talk to her as soon as I can figure out a way to get away from Castaña without alerting her suspicions. Speaking of, I need to get back now before she sends out a posse.”
>
“Be careful, buddy.” Kelso hung up.
Their food had arrived by the time Jake returned to the table. He eyed his enchilada plate appreciatively. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was until the aroma from the steaming food reached his nose and his mouth watered. Sliding into the booth opposite Castaña, he smiled at her. “If this tastes as good as it looks, it’ll be something.”
“It will,” she promised.
The food was excellent, but Jake couldn’t concentrate on enjoying it with his mind stuck on Axell Tsosie. Why had the man been in the canyon the night of the stampede and why hadn’t he gotten out of the way? A herd of galloping horses wasn’t exactly hard to miss. And, more importantly, who had moved his body? And why? If Jake had to guess he’d bet Martin was the culprit who had probably tried to hide some sort of evidence.
Castaña eyed him over her glass. “What are you thinking about so hard?”
He shrugged. “Briar Rose mostly.”
“She’s a mystery all right.”
He nodded. Yeah, along with everyone else involved in this case.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Briar Rose stood in the kitchen eating a bowl of cereal over the sink when Castaña and Jake entered. Her hair looked stringy and uncombed and her skin appeared sallow. Dark circles surrounded her eyes. Was it Castaña’s imagination, or was Briar Rose’s belly bigger and the rest of her smaller? “Are you feeling okay?”
She drank the last of her milk from her bowl, wiped her chin and nodded. “I’m fine. Why?”
“You don’t look like you feel well,” Castaña said bluntly. Behind her, Jake drew in his breath a little.
Briar Rose set the bowl in the sink and ran water into it. “All this stress over Martin, well it’s difficult.”
No time like the present to jump in to question her. “Speaking of Martin, we talked to a girl who claimed to be his long-time girlfriend. Her name is Nascha Nizhoni, and up until a couple of weeks ago, she believed she and Martin were in an exclusive relationship. Do you know anything about that?”
For the briefest moment, her hand shook as she lifted the bowl out of the sink and dried it. “No.”
“Really?”
She placed with bowl in the cupboard with exaggerated care. “I knew he dated others before me, of course. But once Martin and I became a couple there was no one else.” Her tone turned harsh. “This Nascha girl is lying.”
Castaña waited until she turned around. “Are you sure she’s the one who is lying? Maybe Martin lied to both of you.”
Already she was shaking her head. “He wouldn’t do that. He loves me.”
Jake spoke then. “You said you met at the roundup last year, right?”
“Yes.”
“And did you move in here right away?”
For the first time her confidence seemed to waver. “Not immediately.”
Castaña waited, allowing Jake to ask his questions. He seemed to be on a roll.
“Where did you live when you were just dating?”
Briar Rose folded her arms around her middle. “What does it matter?”
He shrugged. “Just wondering why Nascha was so insistent that she and Martin were exclusive when you were obviously—” he glanced at her belly “—an item.”
“I moved in here about a month after we began dating. As soon as he knew about the baby Martin asked me to come live with him. I’ve been here ever since.” She lifted her chin and stared defiantly at them.
“Okay.” Jake didn’t sound convinced and Castaña didn’t believe Briar Rose either.
Briar Rose spoke up. “Martin did mention that girl once. He said he dated her a few times, but it wasn’t serious. I think she must be obsessed with him or something. She’s just trying to cause trouble. To make him feel bad. You know, for choosing me.”
Not for one minute did Castaña believe Martin would pick Briar Rose over Nascha, but maybe the blue-eyed blonde did something for him that the Navajo girl hadn’t. Jake said if he had to pick between the two, Nascha was the clear choice. Pretty, classy, she seemed like the kind of girl Martin would go for. But if he hadn’t been drawn to Briar Rose on a sexual level at least, what was she doing in his home obviously pregnant? Only Martin could answer that.
“Where were you last night?” Castaña asked.
“Who are you, my mom?” With her arms crossed over her belly, she looked and sounded about twelve.
Castaña tried to soften her voice. “I just thought you might’ve had an idea about Martin’s whereabouts and went to look for him.”
“No.”
They all waited.
“I was craving ice cream, all right? I went to the Dairy Queen in Payson. I also rented a movie, brought it home and fell asleep watching it.” She grimaced a little. “A double scoop of berry parfait was a mistake. It made me sick. I didn’t sleep well at all. I was up three or four times, at least.”
Tired of beating around the bush, Castaña abruptly changed directions. “What are we going to do if Martin is dead?”
What little color had been in Briar Rose’s face drained away. “Why would you say that? He’s not dead. He’s just out on one of his mustang saving things.”
“Why hasn’t he come home?” Jake jumped in again, his voice gentle. “He’s been gone over a week, closer to two now, with no word. Why isn’t he here taking care of you? With you being so close to delivery, he has to know it’s not safe for him to be gone so long without any word.”
“I don’t know.” Briar Rose’s hands shook and she gripped the counter.
“Who will help you when it’s time for the baby to come?”
“He’ll be here,” she insisted.
“Will he?” Jake continued to grill her. “Where will you go if something has happened to him? You don’t have any family close by, do you? You said you don’t like to talk about them, so I assume you’re not close. Where will you go with an infant? What will you do?”
She looked at Castaña with a wild look of desperation in her eyes. “Martin will be fine. Besides, the baby is Castaña’s niece or nephew,” she said in a small voice. “You wouldn’t turn your family away. We don’t have anywhere else to go.”
He looked between the two women. “Castaña seems like a nice lady, but will she really want to extend her home to you, a virtual stranger, for who knows how long?” He raised his eyebrows. “Who does that?”
Briar Rose’s chin trembled.
Castaña opened her mouth to say they’d work something out when Jake jumped in again. “All I’m saying is if you know anything about Martin you should speak up.”
“I don’t!” Briar Rose swayed and grabbed the counter for support.
“Jake,” Castaña said. “That’s enough.” From the minute she’d met Briar Rose, Castaña thought something was strange about this girl. But it was more her seemingly indifference to her boyfriend’s disappearance that struck Castaña as different. For all her protestations of love, she didn’t seem that worried about her lover’s absence. But they had pushed her hard enough for one day. She looked ill and Castaña didn’t want to bring on a premature labor.
Jake held out his hands in a conciliatory gesture. “Okay. Okay.”
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to go lie down,” Briar Rose said stiffly.
When she was out of earshot Castaña turned toward Jake with a frown. “What was that all about?”
He shrugged. “I thought if we both pushed on her she might open up.”
Narrowing her eyes, Castaña said, “There for a minute you sounded almost like a cop.”
“Just trying to help,” he said. “Didn’t do any good though.”
“No.” She moved toward the kitchen door. “You can take the same room you had before. I’m going to turn in. I’m beat.”
“Yeah, me too.”
~*~
Jake undressed and climbed into bed, but he couldn’t relax. He had nearly pushed too hard out there. Luckily, he’d dodged a bullet. He’d have to be more careful ne
xt time. His mind twisted and turned over the facts, yet none of the pieces fit. No matter how he figured things they just didn’t add up to a whole picture. Maybe a drink of water would help. Standing and pulling on his jeans, he headed for the kitchen.
The front door stood wide open and when he went to investigate, he found Castaña sitting on one of the wicker sofas. Her head was bent and he could tell she was crying softly. He slid next to her. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
She sniffed and shook her head.
“Is it Martin?”
“Yes,” she said on a strangled sob. “I’m so afraid for him.”
“Try not to worry,” he said. “We’ll find him.” Even though Jake had his own doubts the man was still alive, the last thing he wanted to do was add to her distress. He slipped his arm around her trembling shoulders and pulled her close. A shudder ran up her body and something deep inside him responded. Turning her so she faced him, he lifted her across his lap. For a moment, she tensed then relaxed her head against his chest. Her breast rested next to his ribs and every time he drew a breath, it created unbearable friction.
Warning bells exploded in his head, but it was too late. He couldn’t have moved if his life depended on it. Trying to the block the overwhelming sensations, Jake focused on the night around him. Stars lit up the night sky like a million angels’ wings beating against a velvet backdrop. Lower, the mountains’ jagged edges met the sky like an explosion, trailing purple ribbons across the horizon. The air, still warm from the day, moved across his skin like a lover’s touch.
Not helping.
She shifted and he gritted his teeth.
“Jake?”
“Yeah?” He made the mistake of looking down into her damp eyes. There was something about the way her eyelashes stood in spiky little clumps that tore at his heart. He couldn’t let it matter. He had a job to do.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
His resolve to keep their relationship professional melted faster than ice cream on a Phoenix sidewalk. He bent and tasted her lips. Soft as he remembered, they parted under his, tasting faintly of wintergreen toothpaste. Exploring the cavern of her mouth with his tongue, he wanted more. Already hard, he ached to slide inside her. Wrapping one hand in her hair, he slipped the other under her T-shirt. Skimming the heavenly soft skin of her waist, he cupped a full breast. Not sure which one of them moaned, he flicked a thumb over her nipple and his skin tingled when she gasped into his mouth.