Summer Flash Burn

by Unger, Erin;

  A drop of water pelted my shoulder. Another one plinked against the ground and almost dissolved before it was sucked into the dry dirt. Yes. Something…anything to relieve the heat wave.

  Ava and I scooted farther under the shelter of the trading post, which was only the back half of a longhouse, but I wanted to do my own Indian dance in the magnificent, cool rain. It began to come down in torrents and sliced across the air at an angle.

  Isabelle jumped up and grabbed utensils that were displayed on the ground in front of her. Dropping them to the back of the enclosure, she hurried back to get the pots and beaded necklaces that lay on a thick woven blanket. She scooted the cut log she sat on back to avoid the cool drops.

  I charged to her side. “Can I help you? Here, tell me what I can do.”

  “Could you grab those utensils? They’ve been left out in the rain a lot but…” Her words trailed off.

  She did care about something. She cared about this village—as her mother had said. I scooped up the remaining items and brought them to the back of the post then rested them against the wooden bark that made up the siding of the enclosure.

  It only took Ava a second to grab the blanket on the ground, which was already soaking up water.

  I paused. “How long have you been working out here? The purse you’re making is amazing.”

  “Oh, most of my life, I guess. I started at the lean-to.” She gestured with her hand in the opposite direction. “First, I made the rope that we weave into baskets and other things around here. That’s typically what a young Monacan girl would learn first.”

  Fiddling with one of the knives we’d set at the back, I turned the handle in my hand to see the bone it was made with and then studied the sharp edge of the knife blade made out of some type of stone, once again a natural resource. “Who made all these tools?”

  “Everybody makes something or has some type of a skill. I guess one of the men crafted them.” She waved her hand in the general direction of the shop. “Even my mom can make these kinds of tools.”

  Skill. Wouldn’t it be nice to learn how to do the things the Native Americans in this area knew? It would make for a good safety course module too.

  Isabelle pulled her foot back as a puddle of water inched toward her. “You didn’t come here to ask me about these things. What else do you want?”

  The girl knew how to get to the point—like her mother.

  Ava and I both set down the items we were looking at and picked up other ones.

  The clay pot I held didn’t look handmade at all. Its smooth sides could have been reproduced at a factory it was such good quality. “What’s life like around here?”

  Once again Isabelle smirked. “There you go again, avoiding what you really want to ask me.”

  We couldn’t say anything to her that she hadn’t already guessed as our true intent. But this time I didn’t need to check Isabelle's expression. I’d guess it was a sour one. “It really is a valid point…I’m not yanking your chain. Do you have any problems around here? Like, does anyone bother you or make you uncomfortable?”

  With a shrug, Isabelle feigned disinterest. Not a true answer.

  Ava continued her search of the items as if her attention wasn’t on Isabelle. She must’ve also picked up on her aversion for answering the question. “We heard you caused the tribe some trouble not too long ago. We talked to your mother about it, but we’d like to get your side. Why did you take the statue?”

  With a huff, Isabelle stood up and put her hands on her hips. “I’m not answering that question. You’re not the cops.”

  How did I explain the difference between what we did and a police officer? “Well, we’re kind of like the police. We’re actually investigators, and we’re here to find out about the fire on the mountain, not to bother you about the statue. We were just curious.” I put the pot down on the ground. “It’s not every day someone steals a statue, but I’ll leave you alone about it. I’m more interested in knowing about events surrounding the fire.”

  Isabelle pressed her hand to her stomach. “I can’t believe what happened to the poor guy. Who would do that to someone?”

  A very valid question. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out. But in order for us to solve this crime, we need everybody to cooperate…including you. And we’re not looking to get you in trouble. We’re hoping you’d be willing to help us if you can.”

  The rain continued to pour but now the ground received it, and it seeped into the dry dirt cracks and filled them. I sent up a silent prayer of thankfulness for the cool breeze the storm brought.

  “Well, I don’t know anything, and I’m not making it up.” She glanced to the ground. “A hiker must’ve been careless with his campfire.” She returned to the stump and squared her shoulders.

  But something crossed her eyes that I really wanted to be able to read. I studied Isabelle who refused to move her gaze from the back of the tent. She had to be holding in something. There were too many sideways glances and avoidance of eye contact for even me to discount.

  “Are you sure there isn’t something you want tell us?”

  Isabelle snapped her attention to me with a glint of challenge. “I said there’s nothing.”

  But there was, even if it was small. I could feel it in my gut. “Maybe we should take you to your mother to talk since you don’t want to tell us.”

  Panic swelled in the girl’s eyes, but she masked it a second later. “I won’t be telling her anything I wouldn’t tell you.”

  Setting the teen too much at odds with us wasn’t the strongest approach. Perhaps the best thing was to spend a little time with her and gain her trust. Then whatever she was keeping back might come out…if I’d read her correctly.

  There was no doubt she was finished talking to us. No matter what I said, I’d end up shutting the teenager down even more.

  As quick as the rain had started, it went to a drizzle and then slowed to sprinkles.

  Ava thumbed in the direction of the parking lot. “We better get going. Thanks for talking to us.”

  Isabelle sighed and dropped her hands into her lap. “’Til next time.”

  Sarcasm, a teenager’s best friend. I gave a curt wave and followed Ava. “What now?”

  “I didn’t think we’d get anything from her.” We moved between rain droplets to the parking lot. “And I was right. She was a tough one.”

  “The typical teen.”

  Something caught my attention as I glanced between two buildings. A sudden movement jerked me out of self-evaluation mode and straight into alertness. Had I just seen someone peeking around the wall at us? I paused and squinted through the rain that had turned to a mist. “Did you see someone, Ava? Because I think someone’s following us.”

  Taking in the grounds, Ava looked in the direction I pointed. “I don’t see anything.”

  I swallowed hard. A slight chill in the wind sent a shiver through me. We passed the longhouse with a burning fire and the small hut still in the construction process. Once again movement stopped me. This time, for sure, someone followed us. I lowered my voice, “Ava, there’s someone over there. Look.”

  My fellow investigator turned on her heel and studied the entire area. “I don’t see anyone, but I trust your instinct.”

  “Keep watch as we go.” There had been tourists even through the rainstorm, and most likely it was one of them, not a stalker. We continued to the exit and took the path to the parking lot. I swiveled in every direction several times as we walked. Ava did her own recon. Trees surrounded two sides of the lot, throwing shadows in the gray light of the dying storm. But I still couldn’t shake the sensation someone was still there, right at our heels. Watching.

  I scurried to the driver’s side door and waited for Ava to unlock it with the key fob. I glanced around the windshield over the hood and peered into the woods. Was there a black mass or just shadows? For the second time since we had arrived to do the investigation, we were being watched. I had no doubt.
r />   When Ava stopped at my side, I glanced from the woods to Ava. “I’m driving.”

  “No, you’re not. There’s no way Jillian’s going to let you drive her SUV after you just had an accident in your favorite truck.”

  My jaw dropped. “It’s not like people have train accidents every day. I would never wreck her vehicle. I know how crazy she is about it. Hand me the keys.”

  “Forget it. I promised her, and I’m sticking to it.”

  Once again one of my partners didn’t trust me even though she’d just stated she did two minutes ago. Why stay here and not reenlist? What good would it do me to work in the agency if they didn’t feel they could rely on me? “Fine.”

  I stomped to the other side of the SUV and climbed in. It took a lot to keep from crossing my arms tight against my chest and leering at Ava.

  I chose instead to stare out the window. The surrounding trees dripped huge droplets of water. I had this adulting thing in the bag today. I took one big breath and let all my frustration drain away. Jillian was sensitive about anyone driving her vehicle. This wasn’t personal.

  I returned my attention to the trees. Someone peered back and I jumped. Tony. Instead of retreating, I glared at him and held his gaze. The sun shone through the clouds at that moment and picked up the sheen of rain on his bare chest and abs. Stepping backward, he slowly disappeared into the forest undergrowth like a ghost moving into the shadows.

  We had a stalker now? “Ava, Tony was over there watching us.”

  She turned to look in the direction I pointed as she drove to the exit. “Hmm. So he’s going to be a problem that won’t go away. Put him at the top of the suspect list.”

  27

  Christopher

  When was I going to stop falling for Leona’s traps? I ground my teeth and stared at her. She stood so close I nearly choked on her flowery perfume. Why didn’t she see I wasn’t interested? Why couldn’t she stop bothering me all the time? Didn’t she get it that I would never be interested in her?

  I put a few feet between us as we stood in the front of the medical examiner’s office a block away from Main Street. The heat had sucked up the torrent of rain from earlier and turned it into an oppressive cloud of humidity.

  The blank stare on Shauna’s face spoke volumes. And I wanted to wipe it away with a surety that Leona had no place in my life.

  Leona held up a paper against her more-than-ample chest. She pointed at the picture of a knife in the middle, and I gulped. “See this one? I can’t say for one hundred percent certainty, but I believe this is the size of knife that may’ve been used to stab Mr. Newen. See the length of the blade? But then again, it’s quite possible that the blade is a lot shorter than this one. Because of the body’s ability to retract, it might be a little shorter.”

  I tried to stare at the paper and not the outline of her chest—as usual, Leona’s stab at attention. I almost laughed at the pun.

  The ME in front of me held up her index finger and continued to prattle on. “Now, I’m not suggesting that I totally believe that it was definitely this knife because technically, I can’t tell you with certainty. I can only guess, but this is the right size.”

  Shauna crossed her arms and relaxed back on her heels. “That’s very helpful. Thank you. Do you mind if I snap a picture of it to send to Jillian? Hold it up straight for me, please.”

  “Of course.” She pulled it away from her body. “Can you see it well enough?”

  Shauna busied herself with finding her phone and took a picture of the paper.

  I moved closer to Shauna, putting even more distance between me and Leona and averted my eyes from the paper. On the outside. I managed to put on an act like this was no big deal, but on the inside, I was struggling not to let my imagination go wild with thoughts of the pain Dad suffered the night he died. Clearing my throat, I ran a hand over my chin.

  Leona was clueless. She held the paper out to me, but I looked away and swallowed, and she jerked back, crumpling it in an attempt to fold it. “I…didn’t think…I’m sorry. You wouldn’t want to see that, and I didn’t think about it.” She looked hard at me. “I should just give it to Shauna.”

  She thrust the paper at Shauna, and Shauna missed it as it feathered its way to the ground. “Uh, thanks.”

  Pointing across the street to the sub shop, I took Shauna’s elbow and guided her a few steps away from Leona. “We’ll see you around, I’m sure.”

  “Hey, not so fast. I didn’t get a chance to tell you what I found in his system.”

  I stopped my retreat. Now she had my attention. “In his system?”

  “Since the detective told me Mr. Newen ordered a large amount of herbal remedies and supplements, I checked for the most common ones that cause problems in people.” Her whole face lit up. “It seemed safe to assume that he probably took them as well, and that’s why he would be willing to sell them. So, it led me to do a series of tests to discover he had a high dose of St. John’s Wort in his bloodstream. If he hadn’t bought it from a reliable source, he may not have been warned of the dangers of taking it with other prescription medications. It really can’t be mixed without causing some major health issues or reactions.”

  Why would Dad take a pill with such a weird name? “What is it?”

  The smile on Leona’s face held true mirth as if she had discovered something no one else could have. “It’s an herbal remedy to help with depression. But what people don’t generally know is it can also be an analgesic for joint pain and things of that nature. The problem is certain heart medications don’t interact well with St. John’s Wort, making it dangerous. And your father was on heart medication.”

  I shuffled from foot to foot. My father was depressed? Since when?

  Shauna tilted her head to the side. “Can you trace that back to being intentional or unintentional?” She pulled out her phone and texted something into it then turned to Leona. “Do you think somebody gave him the dietary supplement and didn’t tell him its effects on purpose?”

  “Anything’s possible. Or it might be a coincidence. Right now, I don’t have any way to link it to his murder.”

  We stared at each other for a moment. She said Dad took a high dose, which sounded more intentional than not.

  Leona didn’t seem to be in any hurry. “You should find the person who sold it to him, Shauna.”

  “I will.”

  I took the halt in conversation as an opportunity to get out of there. “We better go. See you around.”

  “Don’t forget about our dinner date.”

  She would try to make the business meeting look like a date, wouldn’t she? I glared at her. “Yeah, I’ll see you for our meeting later. It’s only a meeting. Nothing more.”

  Shauna blanched as she averted her eyes to the ground and stuffed the paper into her pocket. What must she be thinking? That I played the field? That was a bad impression to leave anyone.

  I couldn’t get to the shop quick enough. We walked away and left Leona standing on the sidewalk with her mouth open. “I’m starving. How about you?”

  Shauna looked from me back to Leona who hadn’t moved. “She’s very persistent, I’d say.”

  “Oh, you have no idea.”

  If Shauna thought I really was going on a date with Leona, I needed to staunch the thought. But then again, why did it matter whether she did or not? Only days ago I didn’t care what anyone thought.

  At the counter, I breathed in the meat locker smell mixed with fresh yeasty bread, tapped the glass top, and waited for someone to take our order. Shauna hadn’t dropped the suspicious glances. I drew back and stopped tapping. Better change the subject. “The Reuben is really good here. That is, if you like that kind of sandwich. Otherwise, the roast beef is amazing. But you might not like that kind either.” I was messing this up for sure. “You might enjoy the ham and Swiss.”

  Shauna scanned the menu over the counter and laughed. “The ham and Swiss sounds the best right now. Thanks for all your suggestions.�
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  At least she wasn’t being too complicated. And that’s what I liked about Shauna. Her easy-going nature and lack of judgment.

  A server came to the counter and welcomed us to the sub shop. “What can I get for you?”

  I rattled off the special of the day, but he put up his hand. “Let me guess, you want the usual sides.”

  “That’ll be nice.” I didn’t give Shauna’s order to the server. As uncomplicated as she may be, she wouldn’t appreciate me taking over like that.

  The server waited for Shauna to tell him what she wanted. She pointed to the picture of the ham and Swiss sub. “I’ll take that one with a soda, please.”

  My parched mouth made my tongue stick to the top of it. “I’ll take the biggest drink you have.”

  We found an empty table and sat. All the old photos on the walls, even one of my dad with the owner, sent a wave of nostalgia through me. Good. Some things should never change.

  28

  Shauna

  I wanted to knock that smile off of Leona’s face when we were talking about the case before lunch. That woman had the upper hand, and she knew it. Good thing Christopher had ended the conversation and hurried to the restaurant with me before I did something I wouldn’t be able to take back. That woman had her manicured nails sunk two inches deep into Christopher. Was it useless even considering there was a possibility he might be into me? Did I want him to be? It wasn’t the first time I’d considered what it would be like for him to be a part of my life, but it wasn’t fair to drag Leona off him and make a move, not with so many unanswered questions about my future.

  I squirted a hefty amount of mustard across my sub and took a huge bite before I said something I would regret.