Her Destiny

by Aimée Thurlo

  Acting on instinct, she slammed her elbow into her assailant’s midsection.

  Normally that would have bought her enough time to make a run for it, but her adversary didn’t let go or even ease his hold. He grabbed her hair and yanked her back into the shadows.

  “No more games,” he whispered, deliberately distorting his voice. “I want what you’ve got.”

  Lanie stepped down hard on his instep, then twisted, trying to get free. As she did, she caught a glimpse of his face. It was covered with a ski mask.

  She tried to reach for it, but the man was too quick. As they fought, Lanie saw Peter, Sally’s son, looking out the kitchen window. It didn’t appear as if he was going to help. He was probably terrified.

  Lanie screamed, but her attacker clamped his hand over her mouth before the sound carried. In desperation, Lanie bit down hard and was rewarded by a cry of pain. Taking advantage of that moment, she jerked free and ran toward Sally’s back door.

  GABRIEL SAW Lanie dive in through the back door as if demons were after her. With an excuse-me glance to Clyde Barkley, the postmaster, with whom he’d been conversing, he rushed toward her.

  He got enough of the story to burst out the back door, but by then, nobody was around. Gabriel searched the ground, saw enough to verify the scuffle, but found no trail he could follow. His best chance, he realized, was to question Lanie while her memory was fresh.

  He rushed back inside and found Lanie huddled up defensively in a booth near the back. Rage still seethed inside him, but he pushed it back. One thing at a time.

  Gabriel sat down beside Lanie and gently brushed her hair back from her face, searching for bruises. “What happened?” He was surprised that his voice sounded so controlled. Had he caught the man who’d attacked her, he would have torn him apart, badge notwithstanding.

  Lanie told him what had happened, fighting back tears. The fear in her eyes knifed straight through him. “Did you see his face at any point?”

  She shook her head. “He was wearing a ski mask. But Peter watched the whole ordeal.”

  “Sally’s kid?”

  She nodded. “I’m really not sure why, but it was creepy. He was just watching, his face completely blank.”

  “Don’t tell Sally just yet. I’ve got an idea I want to follow through on.”

  “There’s something I just don’t understand. Why is anyone after me now? I don’t have the bowl. It’s been stolen from me.”

  “There are two possible explanations. The simplest is that there’s more than one person after the bowl, and the one who just attacked you didn’t know you didn’t have it anymore. The second…” He tapped the table with one finger and avoided looking at her.

  “Is that the new owners want me dead,” she concluded. “Well, if that is it, they’re going to learn that I’m not an easy target.”

  “And you’ve got allies that will stand by you,” he said, his hand covering hers. “Lucas is still trying to track down my brother and dad. Once we find them, we’ll have answers.” He looked around the diner. “Things will slow down here soon. When they do, I’m going to have a little talk with Sally. Then I’m going to question Peter. By the end of this afternoon, maybe I’ll have a better idea of what’s going on. For now, let me drive you back to Marlee’s. Stay there until you hear from me. Tell Alma you won’t be in—she’ll understand.”

  “All right, but I don’t like the idea of being forced by a criminal to change my plans.”

  “That’s the least of your problems.”

  “True.” She stood up and walked with him to the door: “We do have one factor in our favor. Since I’m still the owner of the bowl, maybe the knowledge will work against whoever has it now and give us the advantage.”

  WITH LANIE’S WORDS echoing in his ears, Gabriel dropped her off at the boardinghouse, then returned to the diner. Sally was cleaning up, the place quiet now.

  “Mind if we have a talk?” Gabriel sat on a stool by the counter.

  “About what happened to Lanie? You’re sweet on her, Gabriel, aren’t you?”

  “That has nothing to do with this. I don’t take it lightly when someone in my town gets mugged in broad daylight.”

  She continued wiping the counter, though more vigorously now. “This never used to happen here. What’s happening to us? Is it that bowl of hers?”

  “It’s people who are doing the attacking, not an object,” he argued. “Now, tell me about Peter. Has he been in trouble lately?”

  “Trouble? How?” She stopped in midmotion and met his gaze. “My boy isn’t perfect, but if you’re suggesting he’s responsible for what happened to Lanie…”

  “I know he wasn’t. He was watching through the window when she was attacked, though he never bothered to call for help or offer any.”

  She stared at him, her face so pale that the freckles on her nose looked like tiny spots of fire. “You’re mistaken, Sheriff. Peter has been at home in bed for the last few days with the flu.”

  “Well, then, I think I’ll go over there and have a talk with him.”

  “Not without me, you’re not,” Sally said, throwing the damp cloth she’d been cleaning the counter with down hard. “I’m going with you.”

  “There’s no need. This isn’t a formal questioning, though admittedly the time might come when I need to do that”

  “Peter’s my son, and I intend to be there,” she said in a clipped tone.

  Sally’s home wasn’t far. Gabriel could see her car right behind him as he glanced in the rearview mirror. After a five-minute drive, they arrived at a small housing area nestled at the base of a hill. Each of the adobe homes held the stamp of its owner. Sally’s was painted in a sand color with bright turquoise trim. At least ten-red chili ristras hung from the wood-framed porch.

  Gabriel parked by the side of the house, and a few seconds later Sally pulled in the driveway.

  “Let’s get this over with. I’m not in the habit of closing down my business in the middle of the day.”

  “You didn’t have to be here at all—you know that. I told you, all I want to do is ask him a few questions.”

  Sally rubbed her hands against her pant legs nervously.

  He recognized the signs of fear, but what he couldn’t figure out was what was bothering her so much.

  “Sally, there’s something wrong. Why don’t you just talk to me?”

  “You think my boy is guilty of some crime and you want me to trust you? I don’t think so, Sheriff.”

  She looked as if she wanted to bolt. He had a feeling that only one thing was keeping Sally there—the protective instinct a mother felt for her child. “Your boy’s in trouble. Why don’t you let me help?”

  For a moment, Gabriel thought she was about to come clean, but then that hooded expression fell into place and he knew he’d struck out. Whatever battle had been waging inside her had not come out in his favor.

  She led the way through the house to a room in the back and she knocked lightly on the closed door. Loud rock music came from inside. “It’s Mom, Pete,” she shouted, trying to be heard over the din. “Sheriff Blackhorse is with me. He wants to talk to you.”

  The music was shut off. “Come in.”

  He saw Peter lying, fully clothed, on top of the covers. The seventeen-year-old young man, easily as large as Gabriel, didn’t look sick, regardless of what Sally had said. Gabriel glanced furtively at Sally. She looked like a woman whose life was coming apart at the seams. Her eyes gleamed as she held back tears, refusing to let them spill down her cheeks. She stood rock still with her arms crossed in front of her tightly.

  “So, what’s happening, Pete?” He straddled the chair near the bed.

  “Not much, Sheriff.”

  “Why don’t you tell me about the scuffle you saw behind the diner?”

  “Scuffle? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve been here all day.”

  “What makes you think I meant today?” Gabriel baited, hoping to rattle him.
/>   Pete looked him in the eye and smiled.

  “You came today, so I assumed you meant today.”

  Cool customer. Gabriel let the silence stretch out. With some, that was an effective tool, but it didn’t seem to bother Peter much.

  “You have any other questions?” Peter asked calmly.

  “You want me to leave now, do you, son?”

  “That’s up to you. But I do have some studying to do.”

  Gabriel stood and walked to the window. As he stared outside, letting time drag, he heard the floor creak in the adjacent room. He turned around and captured Peter’s gaze. “Who’s in there?”

  “None of your business,” Peter said calmly.

  He waited, listening, but the sound did not come again. He saw the pinched look on Sally’s face. She looked as if she was about to snap. “Why don’t I take a look in there, just to make sure you folks don’t have an intruder?” He put his hand on the knob when Peter suddenly sat up. “I think you need a search warrant for that, don’t you? Or permission?”

  Gabriel looked at Sally. “You have an objection to my looking in there?”

  “Yes. I’m going to have to insist that you respect my son’s privacy, Sheriff.”

  Gabriel moved back from the door. “You’re both hiding something, and let me assure you I’m not going to let up. I won’t tolerate trouble in my town.”

  Suddenly the door swung open. Ted Burns, the mayor’s son, stepped into the room. “There’s no great mystery here, Sheriff. Pete’s just trying to help me out. I’m supposed to be on my way up to the state capital on an errand for my dad. I didn’t go.”

  Gabriel watched him speculatively. Though he was only twenty, he had the air of someone older. He was over six feet tall, a former star quarterback of the high school. He had mooched off his father since graduation.

  Gabriel eyed the long scratch on Ted’s neck with suspicion. “That looks like a nasty scratch,” Gabriel prodded, wondering if Lanie had left it there during the scuffle. “How did you get it?”

  “A stray cat. Found it in an alley, tried to pick it up, but got that as a thanks. You can never tell with strays.”

  Ted’s face was expressionless, but there was a defensive tightening around his eyes. Gabriel had seen the same look on older criminals. The boy was trouble—he was certain of that—and he was taking Peter right along with him.

  “I’d be careful about handling strays in the future,” Gabriel said, his voice glacial. “They learn a lot about survival, and that means they sometimes hunt in packs. You get my drift?”

  Ted smiled slowly, his eyes burning with a cold fire. “We all have our survival tricks, Sheriff. It’s nature’s way.”

  Gabriel’s muscles knotted, but he kept his expression deceptively placid. “In the end, strength and experience are unbeatable. You’d do well to remember that.”

  Gabriel left the room and made his way to the door. His gut told him Ted was involved, but the reason escaped him. He certainly didn’t need the money. His father was well-off. It was true that Bob Burns had tried to buy the bowl, but it seemed a stretch to believe he would have sent his son as a hit man.

  As Gabriel drove back to the boardinghouse, he considered the matter, but answers eluded him. When he finally arrived, Gabriel parked and was on his way in as Lanie came out to meet him. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright. He felt the fierce need to protect her, but there was nothing more he could do at the moment. Frustration tore at him.

  “What happened? Did Peter tell you why he just stood there and let me be attacked?”

  “He denied being there,” Gabriel said, giving her the details.

  “He’s lying. He was there watching. Believe me,” Lanie affirmed.

  “I don’t doubt your word. I also saw Ted, the mayor’s son. He had one hell of a scratch on his face.”

  “I don’t remember scratching the man who attacked me, not specifically anyway, but it’s very likely I did. But Ted? Why would he do this? He could have taken the bowl from Alma the day I brought it to her shop so she could photograph it. He was there that morning, helping out. It doesn’t really make sense for him to act now. Peter, of course, is another story.”

  “He’s no leader,” Gabriel said. “In fact, neither of those two is. The boys bear watching, but the answers lay beyond anything those two could ever concoct.” He touched the side of her face in a caress. Her skin felt hot. “You’ve been taking aspirins for that fever?”

  “Sure. It’s no big deal. I can cope with this.” She returned to the couch where she’d been sitting. “Here’s a thought. What if Ted’s learned that his father was interested in getting. the bowl, and decided to beat him to the punch? Maybe he’s trying to prove he’s capable of doing something the elder Burns couldn’t do.”

  “It’s possible, but it doesn’t seem likely. He’d never be able to brag about something like that, you see, so it would defeat his purpose.”

  Lanie remembered what Alma had told her about Ted having dreams of his own. “Maybe money is more important to him and he plans on selling the bowl and then getting out of town.”

  “It’s possible, but that kid’s been trying to prove himself in the eyes of too many people here since high school. He wants approbation from folks he’s known all his life. He wouldn’t get that if he left. And I just don’t think he’s got the patience to set a long-term goal, say, wait a few years and then come back as a rich man. He’d still be afraid of the questions. He’s basically a coward. If he had any kind of backbone, he would have gone out on his own a long time ago. Guts just isn’t one of Ted’s strong points.” He rubbed his jaw pensively. “For now, don’t let Alma know what we’ve discussed. If she’s fond of Ted, she may decide to tell him right now. I want to play things my way.”

  Gabriel paced around the room. He needed answers. Time was working against them. Lanie reminded him of a candle that was burning too bright and too fast. As he thought this, he was overcome with dread. He knew with a deep, abiding certainty that unless he turned events around, her wind breath would leave her body soon and she’d pass into the afterworld.

  LANIE STOOD alone in her room, tired yet unwilling to go to bed. Angry with herself, she continued to pace. She needed to sleep. Yet the fear of having another horrific dream was keeping her from crawling into bed.

  With a burst of determination, she pulled the covers back and crawled between the sheets. She closed her eyes and tried to think of something pleasant, something good.

  She fell asleep with the image of Gabriel’s face drifting in her mind, as if he were her guardian angel, pushing back the darkness.

  She wasn’t sure how much time had passed before finding herself outside her fantasy home. Lanie walked inside slowly, and as she stepped over the threshold, the nightmarish vision unfolded. Blood was splattered everywhere, staining the whitewashed walls, running in rivulets down the brick floor. The color seemed to glow with unearthly force. She saw a child’s rag doll on the floor and picked it up. The material disintegrated in her hands, the stuffing dissolving into a mass of red that oozed between her fingers. She screamed and dropped it onto the floor.

  Although she wanted to run out of that cottage, something compelled her to move forward. As Lanie stepped into the bedroom, she saw a man lying on the floor. His face was hidden in the shadows, but the badge on his chest was covered in shimmering waves of red.

  Sobbing, she ran from the house into a wooded area. Someone was calling out to her, a man, urging her to turn back. She didn’t stop. Somehow she knew that to return would mean death.

  Then she felt a sharp pain in her leg. It traveled upward, corkscrewing through her body. She staggered to the ground.

  “Wake up, honey.”

  The words drifted to her as if from a great distance. Lanie opened her eyes slowly. Gabriel was shaking her gently. Disoriented, she looked around. “What…

  where…?”

  “You were sleepwalking. I saw you coming out here, and followed. You fe
ll over that branch,” he said, gesturing behind him. “Come on. You need warmth and rest.” He lifted her easily into his arms and carried her back from the yard into the house.

  “I don’t want to sleep anymore,” she whispered, burying her head against his neck.

  He took her to his room. “You’re safe here. I’ll watch over you.” He laid her down on his bed.

  She clung to him, unwilling to let him go as shudders shook her body. “There was a time when we shared dreams, didn’t we?” she said.

  “Yes. It was something we both knew after that first time, though we didn’t speak of it then.”

  “I couldn’t talk about it. It was difficult for me to even face that squarely,” Lanie said. “I didn’t understand how it could be possible, and it frightened me. Did it affect you like that, too?”

  He shook his head. “I am Navajo. I was raised to accept many things the Anglo world sees as magic. But it was unsettling.”

  “These new…nightmares are different. I wouldn’t wish these on you, ever.”

  “I’m too tired to dream, my sawe, my sweetheart. When I crawl into bed, I’m too tired to even think.” He held her close, hoping she’d stop trembling, and brushed her forehead with a kiss. “It’s okay. I’m here now.”

  Exhaustion took its toll, and this time, nestled in the warmth of his embrace, she didn’t fight as gray clouds gathered and overtook her.

  Gabriel continued to hold her. When Marlee came into the room with some warm tea, he shook his head. “She’s asleep,” he mouthed.

  Marlee nodded and slipped back out noiselessly.

  Gabriel kept her close to him. He wasn’t sure of anything anymore. Dreams meant little to the Anglo world, but in his, they were forces to be feared. Some of his tribe believed that the evil seen there would take place unless a hataalii was called in to do a sing. Others, with goodluck songs of their own, would sprinkle pollen and sing the bad dreams away.

  As he held her, feeling her softness melt into him, he began to sing softly, filling the darkness with his song.