by Unger, Erin;
Handing me back my phone, Shauna reached for her own. “Let me take a few pictures. You need to call the police and file a report.”
She snapped a bunch of shots of the room and the bureau.
In one last swoop of the room, I scrutinized the nightstand drawers and rechecked the floor. “It looks like that’s the only thing missing.”
What of the rest of the house? Was the kitchen chosen on purpose or was it a random fire location? Were there things destroyed by the fire that I’d missed? Things that didn’t seem out of place or extraordinary in the past few months? Truth to tell, I’d been almost zombie-like lately.
We hurried back to the first floor. The ruined carpeting had black boot prints everywhere from the firefighters working to diffuse the fire and water soaking the floor.
Shauna coughed. “You’re right, this air burns.”
We stopped in the doorway of the living room. Shauna had her own flashlight out still. “Do you notice anything different here?”
“It’s so hard to see.” Should I admit my housekeeping skills had disappeared with all the long hours at the train yard and firehouse? It’d be hard to tell without daylight and extra time. A cough billowed through me. The heavy air choked me again.
Shauna put a hand to my shoulder. I startled and she dropped her hand. This day was way past starting to get to me. Her comforting squeeze brought a little smile to my lips—and I didn’t replace it with a frown. “It’s not you. I didn’t mean to overreact.”
She dropped her shoulders and lifted a corner of her mouth. “We should come back tomorrow. You shouldn’t be in this dank atmosphere right now. And maybe the police need to be present too.”
Good point. But what if the person came back?
11
Christopher
Police reports were a drag. I locked my truck and headed into the B&B, wishing for my comfortable bed I’d bought only a few months ago. The foyer lights beat down on me with too much cheeriness. “I’m done.”
Ava and Shauna stopped on the stairs, both scrunching their brows together in an identical questioning look.
Shauna came back down a few steps. “I thought you were going to your aunt’s house.”
“Yep.” I pointed to the floor. “That’s here.”
Interest lit her eyes. She rested against the railing and crossed her arms with a smile on her face. “I should’ve guessed when she gave us an extra discount.”
Ava continued up the stairs. “I’ll see both of you in the morning. I need sleep.”
When Aunt Eena waltzed into the room, I cleared my throat. She didn’t need to know how bad my lungs sounded.
She took only a minute to zero in on Shauna at the stairs then raise a knowing eyebrow in my direction. She should be sleeping by now, but she’d never go to bed without first checking on me when I came to visit.
Her gaze went from me back to Shauna as I worked to create a poker face. “Can I get you anything, Ms. Pratley? A cup of chamomile tea?”
Skipping a step, Shauna hurried up the stairs. “No, but thanks for asking. I better go. Sleep tight.”
Was the comment meant for me or my aunt?
And the moment she disappeared down the hall, Aunt Eena swiveled on me. Uh oh. “Hmm, who’s she?”
“Shauna Pratley.”
She huffed. “That I know, but who’s she to you?”
I wasn’t going to make a clean get away on this one. But how did I go into the whole thing about hiring an investigation team without telling her? She would be perturbed for sure.
Before I knew it, Aunt Eena pulled me down the hall to her private quarters. “Spit it out. I want details. I’ve never seen you eye anyone like that before. And here she is at my B&B. It couldn’t be more perfect. Now I can keep tabs on you two. You know I only believe in courtship, none of that dating alone stuff.”
Had she forgotten I was almost thirty? “Slow down.”
“And isn’t she a beauty? Well, except all that camouflage she wears.”
“Whoa. Take a breath.” I didn’t want Shauna. Not tonight.
She pulled harder and opened her mouth again.
“Aunt Eena, let me answer at least one of your questions.”
At the door, she released me and pulled out a set of keys. “OK. Go for it.”
With the door open, she ushered me in and made me sit in my favorite armchair. I caught my breath and held in a cough. “We haven’t had a chance to talk lately. Sorry.” Poor excuse. How to broach the subject of the PIs? Take it slow…ease her into it? No. She liked it straightforward. “I hired an investigation team for Dad.”
She pulled back and plopped onto her own easy chair. “Really?”
“I thought it was time. I’ve been trying to do my own investigation, but I don’t have the resources they have.”
Her mouth twitched into a huge grin. “And you’ve fallen for that one, huh?”
Ha. It’d only been a day since I’d met any of them. How could there be time to “fall” for anyone in one day? “Don’t you think it’s kind of early for that assumption?”
She rubbed her knees and cocked her head. “Right. The ‘I don’t ever need a woman’ act. Well, let me say, you have to give that up and let go of all the hurt. You can love a woman. And not all of them break hearts and abandon their children.”
Air whizzed through my teeth. She knew how to cut to the chase. “They work for me. Nothing more. And I like it that way.”
She guffawed. “Sure.” Her arthritic pointy finger shot toward me. “I’d like to see you married. Before it’s too late.”
Not ever in my life plan. “Can you please keep these ideas to yourself? I don’t need the investigators to hear you and get upset then decide they don’t want to investigate. That’s the goal here, to find out what happened to your brother—my dad—not for you to marry me off.”
That deflated her. I could tell by the way Aunt Eena shook her head. “You know how to get in the way of God. I’m only trying to help you.”
A cough crept out before I stopped it.
She patted the arm of the chair and scrutinized me. “Did you work at the fire hall today?”
Time to open another can of trouble. I hadn’t told her about the fire when I called. “No.”
Her finger drew a circle in the air. “I see soot on your face. What’s it from? And that phlegmy cough?”
Count to three. Breathe. I gripped the arms of the chair. This would not go over well. I fumbled with my word choice. “There was a fire at the house today.”
“You mean your house?” She came out of the chair. “You were in it? That’s why you needed a room.”
“Well…yeah.”
“Give me all the details. And stop acting like I can’t handle it.” She jabbed her index finger at me.
I sighed. “I was up in my room when smoke began to pour under the door. A fire started in the kitchen.” I wiped my brow. Please don’t ask how it started. “But it was too involved for a fire extinguisher. So the fire department came and dealt with it.”
She put her hand on mine and took a closer look at my face. “You went to the hospital, right? You shouldn’t be coughing so much.”
“Yes. And they cleared me, so stop worrying.” Like she ever would. She’d been my mother more than twice as long as my real one. She’d watched me after school, kept me when Dad was on business trips. It was Aunt Eena who’d driven me to football practice and baseball games and cheered me on through a lot of tough years.
With a close look at my eyes and face, she returned to her seat. “So back to Ms. Shauna Pratley…”
12
Shauna
Clear skies held back low clouds that threatened to overtake the mountains and turn the day to rivulets of rain like the sweat dripping down my back. But wouldn’t it be welcome from the heat that left me breathless? I swiped the moisture from my brow and guzzled a bottle of water that did little to extinguish my discomfort.
Jillian relaxed against the SUV.
“Don’t forget you can’t charge in there. You need to come across as an ally.”
Right. If we wanted the chief to talk to us, I’d have to reign in my attitude. Not so easy to do.
I scanned the list of questions Jillian had sent to my phone. This was going to be a hard interview, and the question order mattered. I mustn’t get ahead of myself.
If only Jillian was in charge of this investigation, not me. Ava was wrapped up in wedding plans and negotiating the best venue, which was still up in the air since their original one had accidentally overbooked. Even now she sat in the vehicle and talked to someone. Did I see a tear on her cheek?
I threw the door open and whispered, “You OK?”
“Yes, I’ll hold.” Ava pulled the phone away from her mouth. “Wedding blues. Don’t worry. I can’t wait until it’s all over.”
If this was the norm for weddings, there was no way I was going to have one. “What an attitude to have about the best day of your life.”
Her head tilted. “I know. You’re right.”
“Find us when you’re done.” I left her to finish her conversation.
Jillian and I paid the admission fee at the souvenir shop/museum and looked around. The cashier didn’t know where we could find Chief Johns. Down a trail to the Monacan village, I stopped at the main entrance. “Wow.”
Long houses lined both sides of an oblong seven-foot-high palisaded wall. Was there still a need to keep something out? A centralized fire pit burned even in the heat of the day. I took a wide berth around it but still came into contact with the heat which played across my skin in uncomfortable waves. A bunch of clay pots and turtle shells lay across a low-lying table made from a log. Would Jillian mind if I made a quick detour to check them out? I itched to delve into this culture I knew little about.
No…I better not.
I touched the animal skin of a skunk as I passed through the door of the first longhouse. Several tourists sat on the logs along the edges and on a matted bed at the far end as a tour guide in a buckskin dress talked. I listened for a moment and studied the patterns of light coming through holes in the bark siding in perfect streams of cloudy white.
At the next showcase of trading goods, I had to stop myself from pausing again. This place was beyond cool.
One long house had only half of its roof finished. Were they repairing it or still building it? I did a double take. The ladder in the center of the building wasn’t a re-creation. Its red aluminum sides stood a stark contrast to the rest of the historic village.
Jillian seemed as enthralled as I was at the intricate detail in the place.
We exited onto an open field. At least fifty American Indians danced or sauntered around the semi-decorated area. Were they preparing for an event? The brilliant colors of their outfits surprised me. And who was in charge? Who should I ask to guide us to the chief?
There was no doubt how beautiful the native people were. Not all had the tanned skin and black hair I’d expected. Many of them varied from blond to brown hair. Blue eyes even. But most had very light brown eyes. Interesting.
But a few men stood out as they convened under an event tent. Their broad noses and faces were a variation from the Cherokee and other tribes I’d seen before. Yet anyone could glimpse their regal nature from a mile away. Bare chested, the men glistened with sweat as if they’d just come off the warrior dancing arena.
I nodded in their direction. “You think we should start there?”
Jillian looked up from her tablet. “Sure, why not? But let me get a picture of each one before you disturb them.”
Elbowing my partner, I laughed. “Disturb? Nice. Now I see what you really think of me.”
“Don’t act like it’s not true.” She snickered.
I raised my shoulders a notch. “I’m a professional now. I’ll act like one. I promise.”
One of the men stared us down. He tossed long, shiny hair over a shoulder.
“Looks like we’ve caught someone’s attention. Quick, finish getting those shots,” I spoke through gritted teeth. “He looks familiar.” The same guy from the fire last night?
His long stride bridged the gap between us so fast, I forgot how I wanted to introduce the team. He crossed his arms, and his black eyes drilled into mine, shooting shivers through me. “Hello.”
“How can I help you?”
Had the man ever heard of personal space? And why did I expect a halting accent? I shook my head. Bad profiling. “We’re looking for the chief,” I stuttered. “Chief Johns.”
He stood so close I could discern the details of his lunch by his breath. Onions. I backed up two paces. If he was going for intimidation, it was working.
He raised one corner of his mouth. “Do you have an appointment?”
How would we have gotten one? “Umm, no. But—”
Before I came up with an excuse, he strode across the expanse back to the tent. “Wow. That was a little rude.”
When I looked back, my partner had abandoned me. I screwed up my mouth. “Jillian?”
Jillian had overcome some huge hurtles in the past nine months, but the Monacan must’ve scared the stuff out of her. She’d retreated to the wall of the village. By tonight, she’d be holed up in her room decompressing for sure. Agoraphobia wasn’t anything to make light of, and it could come back to haunt Jillian at any moment. I hoped this wasn’t that moment, because I didn’t know if I’d keep my cool in front of the guy when he returned.
Where was Ava? Surely her wedding woes could wait until tonight when we were in the safety of our rooms.
He came back with the other Monacan who stood beside him earlier. They both looked from me to Jillian. “Chief Johns is in the middle of a demonstration right now.”
“We don’t mind waiting.” I avoided his stare by watching the dancers for another minute. “You all have a nice setup here.”
Once again, he walked away without responding—a good thing because he probably wasn’t the best one to talk to right away. He might have the power to tell others not to speak to me.
Walking to the wall, I beckoned to Jillian. “Let’s go back into the village and see who’ll give us some information.”
My partner clutched her tablet to her chest. “I like that idea.”
I thanked God. She wasn’t about to bolt for her SUV.
We stopped the first woman dressed in similar buckskins—but with many more tassels and beads—as the first one in the long house. Her hair, a medium brown, blew in the slight wind. “Hello. This place is amazing.” I crossed my arms and eased back on my haunches. “We had a few questions. Do you have a minute to talk?”
Her broad smile welcomed us. “Sure, if you don’t mind walking with me.”
At least not all of them were close-lipped. “What’s going on with all the dancers in the field? Is there an upcoming event?”
“Oh, yeah. Our yearly powwow is in a month and they’re practicing for it. It’s open to the public.”
“I’d like to see it.” I scratched at a mosquito bite on my neck. “Can anyone participate in the events?”
“Only tribe members can dance and partake of the show events, but you’d be surprised how many people in this area are at least a tenth Monacan bloodline.”
Another interesting fact. As a swarm of gnats moved in our direction, the woman stepped away, and Jillian and I followed her to avoid them. “We wondered if you knew anything about the forest fire that occurred this past March.”
She sat at the entrance of a lean-to type structure and picked up straw-like material. Her hands twisted it into a rope. “Oh, what a sad time for the forest. We’re so thankful that the fire didn’t spread any farther, though.”
Was it safe to broach the subject of Gary Newen’s murder? “Did you hear about the body found at the edge of the fire zone?”
Jillian squatted to watch the rope steadily grow in length then photographed the woman working as I waited for her to answer.
She blinked. “I heard about
it, but I didn’t know the man.”
“What kind of rumors are going around here about it?”
Her hands stilled. “I’m not sure.” She set the rope down and regarded me. “That he was an old guy who ran a bunch of stores in town.”
“Have you heard any mention of Indian territory and his infringement on it?”
“No.” a frown darkened her face. “That doesn’t sound good.”
Better move to lighter subjects. “Tell us about the powwow. I hope we can make it back here for it.”
Five minutes later, I was sure I had to make a return trip for the event. Perhaps I might visit Christopher also. Wait a minute, why would I do that?
We talked to several more tribesmen who didn’t reveal anything new. Ava found us hunched in one of the long houses talking to a college kid working for the summer at the village.
Good. We could see if Chief Johns was available now. Together, we reported what little information we’d gathered as we all walked toward the chief’s canopy.
Ava stopped in midstride. “Who’s that?”
I looked in the direction she stared. I squinted and shielded my eyes then nodded. “I think he’s one of Chief Johns’s right-hand men. He may’ve been one of the onlookers last night, but I’m not a hundred percent sure. Interesting that he’s here, which reminds me, did you talk to everyone at the scene? Do you recognize him as one of the people you questioned?”
She also narrowed her eyes in his direction. “I didn’t talk to anyone who looked like him.”
“Great.” Not great. “He must’ve left while we were talking.”
Ava brushed away a fly. “I’ll recheck the footage. At least we can determine if it’s the same guy. The people I spoke to hadn’t noticed anything out of the norm. Most were neighbors; a couple were reporters.”
“What about the kid? Did anyone know him?”