by Vella Munn
Closing his eyes, he mentally cursed himself for briefly thinking like a detective. Dr. Gilsdorf had antagonized a number of people. His brother was far from on top of that list. Floyd as a suspect wouldn’t have occurred to him if he hadn’t been on the receiving end of Floyd’s short fuse.
When they were boys, he’d discovered he could push his younger brother’s buttons to the point that Floyd started throwing punches. Jay had usually come out on the winning end of their arguments, which infuriated Floyd even more. Then Uncle Talio had sat him down and told him that deliberately making his brother lose his temper wasn’t the Hoh way. If Jay wanted to grow up worthy of his bloodline, he needed to start acting responsibly.
It had only taken that one lecture. Jay stopped goading Floyd, and they’d become best friends—at least, they’d been close until Jay had taken off to explore the world and Floyd had started reaching for a bottle.
“Floyd, I need to ask you something. Are you aware of anyone who might be so resentful of what the professor was doing that he’d want to actually kill him?”
Silence stretched out, making Jay uneasy. Was his brother trying to frame his response? A killing wasn’t something anyone would brag about.
“Not a Hoh. Ah, I haven’t said anything to you about this because you work for the federal government but…”
“What haven’t you told me?”
“The reason I’m considering getting on the tribal council—it’s mostly older men.”
“Yes.”
“Who take forever to make a decision and are stuck so far in the past they can’t find their way out.”
“What do you hope to accomplish?”
“Something. Anything. Dr. Gilsdorf didn’t put the screws to you, did he?”
Much as he liked having a conversation with his brother, this wasn’t what he’d prefer. “What are you talking about?”
“Nothing. Forget I— All right. A few weeks ago, he said he was trying to get those grant people to fork over enough money so he could hire a Native to help him at Ghost Totem.”
“No Native would do that. At least, I hope they wouldn’t.”
“But if he offered enough money—”
“Yeah.” Jay shook his head. “I hear what you’re saying. Money talks.”
Floyd sighed then sighed again. “Dr. Gilsdorf is dead, but someone else might take over. We have to keep strangers away from where they have no business being.”
Before one of them finds Grandparents Cave. “Murder isn’t the answer.”
When again his brother didn’t immediately respond, Jay wondered if the amount of beer he’d put away had slowed his ability to process.
“Our uncle believes the spirits will tell us what to do, but that isn’t enough. We have damn little. We have to hold onto what’s precious.”
“I agree, so what—”
“Maybe we start by getting the council to insist the courts get involved.”
“That might take a long time.”
“There’s a lot of wilderness out there. A person could get lost. Never be found again.”
“Don’t go there.”
Floyd snorted. “Why not? That would solve everything.”
Minutes later, Jay stood staring at but not seeing the dark green wall all around. He hadn’t said anything to his uncle, because he hadn’t wanted to make it real, but Floyd was becoming more and more unpredictable. It wasn’t just his short fuse. Floyd now insisted that anyone who didn’t believe as he did was wrong. Jay didn’t buy that his brother was serious about wanting to become part of the tribe’s governing body, and even if he was, there weren’t any current openings. On the other hand, Floyd could be persuasive, especially with the young men he hung around with. What if Floyd had convinced one of his friends that Dr. Gilsdorf posed a danger to Ghost Totem, or even worse, what if a liquored up Floyd had decided to do the job himself?
No! His brother wasn’t capable of murder.
Was he?
His head pounded, and when he pressed on his forehead, the gesture took him back to when Winter had done the same thing.
Was she in danger?
Probably not. At present, she was simply a visitor who’d found the anthropologist’s body.
A visitor who wanted to continue what Dr. Gilsdorf had started.
Who could endanger Grandparents Cave.
Whose sweet lips and soft body made him forget everything else.
* * * *
The shower stall was so small Winter had difficulty turning around in it, but getting clean felt wonderful. Her ability to relax came in part because the wolf mask was safe in her trunk. Thankfully, Jay’s sense of responsibility with regards to standing guard over Doc’s cabin had taken priority over helping her unpack.
Jay and she had kissed. She’d held onto him, felt his warmth invade her, come alive during those brief but precious seconds. She refused to analyze the why. Accepted. Put the experience into a protected corner of her mind.
Her cabin was larger than the one Doc had been staying in, but the difference didn’t ease her memories of what his had looked like. She was both relieved to have Jay out of her sight and more unsettled than she wanted to admit. She had to decide what to do next. Taking over for Doc was more than an intimidating prospect. She’d only been working for the university for a few months. Granted, she’d worked with Doc while he had been formulating his proposal, but that didn’t count for much.
“Your obsession goes beyond Doc’s project,” she told the empty room. “All these years of being obsessed with wolves, and now—now what?”
Her hand on the tattoo, she let the thought in. How could she leave where Wolf lived?
“So how do I make it possible for me to stay here?”
She didn’t have the answer, but the longer she thought about what had taken place between the spirit—yes, that was what Wolf was—and herself, the stronger her need to stay in Olympic became.
She had Dr. Wilheim’s cell phone number but didn’t want to talk to him. He’d say a few things about how horrible it was that Doc was dead, but he wouldn’t really mean it. The timing wasn’t right for asking him if he’d advocate for her with the grant people, but maybe in a few days—what?
Feeling as if she’d come up against a brick wall, she shook her head. She had to tell Doc’s son Pearson about the robbery, but it might be better to wait until she’d talked to law enforcement.
Robbery? She wasn’t convinced it was as simple as some opportunist taking advantage of the compromised lock.
Mentally replaying what had taken place prompted her to pull out her laptop. She pushed back in a musty-smelling recliner and started jotting down everything she remembered of what she’d seen at Ghost Totem so she could give the investigator all possible details. Reliving her first sight of what was left of Doc made her sick to her stomach, but she forced herself to continue.
She’d been in a grand total of two fights in her life. Both had taken place while she was living in a state-run group home. One had been with a boy who’d teased her about her Native American features. She probably would have lost it if staff hadn’t pulled them apart. The second time, she’d opened the door to her room to discover a girl going through her meager belongings. As had happened with the boy, anger had ruled her. By the time someone had intervened, the other girl had a bloody nose, and her cheek was scratched. They’d both lost privileges.
Scratches were nothing compared to what someone had done to Doc.
Once she’d exhausted her memory, she picked up her cell phone and punched the number for her good friend Carolyn. Her university coworker answered after the first ring.
“I should have called you,” Carolyn said by way of hello. “But then I thought maybe I should wait until you had a chance to get in touch. He’s really dead? Murdered?”
Keeping her explanation as condensed as possible, Winter told Carolyn what had happened. Carolyn started to explain that rumors were running rampant and she’d do her best to temper
them with the facts, but Winter interrupted her.
“I need you to do something for me. I might want to get a hold of whoever administered the grant. Could you get me some names and numbers?”
“You want to get the funding transferred to you?”
“Yes.”
“Good luck. Of course you might have to compete with Dr. Wilheim. Speaking of, he flew up there last month during the break.”
Winter sat upright. “He never said anything to me.”
“One of the grad students saw him at the airport. Wilheim pretended he didn’t see him. The student noted which flight Wilheim got on. You take care, all right? There’s some crazy shit going on there.”
After saying goodbye, Winter stood and paced. Why hadn’t Doc told her about Dr. Wilheim’s visit?
“I can’t ask you,” she muttered. “I’ll never be able to ask you anything again.”
Her legs ached from all the walking she’d done, but the recliner’s musty smell put her off. Besides, she preferred to be closer to the window where the light was better. As soon as she sat in one of the two kitchen chairs, she questioned her decision. Her view was less than reassuring. Instead of the path and its relative connection with civilization, all she could see were trees. Massive, oppressive trees capable of hiding a human being. Someone could be watching.
Someone who’d murdered once and might again.
Briskly shaking her numb hands, she got up and headed for the front door. She hadn’t been concerned for her personal safety when Jay was around—Jay, with his large and competent body. Maybe she should go to Doc’s cabin so she could ask if there’d been any updates from those investigating Doc’s murder. The investigators could have found a clue the killer had left behind and were planning to make an arrest.
Angry with herself for getting freaked out, she pressed her hands together to stop their shaking. She’d been twelve or thirteen the first time she’d slept on the streets. At first, she’d been scared, but between the comforting presence of a baseball bat and her keen senses, she’d made her peace with the night. Not once had she been robbed—not that she’d had much—or raped. Doc had called her a survivor, something he’d failed at.
“No one gives a damn what you do,” she reminded herself. “There’s no reason for anyone to want to kill you.”
She’d explore Potlatch. Do something with her restless energy until she could talk to the investigator. Maybe she’d run into Jay, which would give her the opportunity to properly thank him for everything he’d done for her. Just because he didn’t approve of what Doc had been doing didn’t mean they couldn’t, what, get along? No, it was more complicated than that.
More personal.
Her hand went to her lips, and she stroked where Jay’s mouth had been. She wasn’t sure which of them had made the first move.
Still lost in the memory, she stepped outside. She didn’t expect to find Jay waiting for her, but that didn’t stop her from being disappointed when she realized he wasn’t around. In the short amount of time they’d been together, he’d slipped under her skin. Coming back from Ghost Totem, she’d been acutely aware of the strong presence walking ahead of her. Before that, she’d been in too much turmoil to think of him as a man, but now that she had, she didn’t know how to stop, or if she wanted to.
Where had Doc found the wolf mask?
The question caught her unawares. Pushed thoughts of Jay to the back of her mind.
Needing answers about the mask had played a sizeable role in why she’d come to Olympic. Before the nightmare of finding Doc’s body, she’d been looking forward to hearing how it had gotten into his hands. She might have asked if it had affected him like it had her.
Then again, maybe she wouldn’t have.
Did Jay know where the mask had come from? And if he did, would he tell her? Maybe he’d accuse Doc of—no, he couldn’t!
Why not? It wasn’t as if Doc had any right to it.
Her wandering took her close to the office. She was debating whether to remain near it or go somewhere else when she spotted several men trudging toward the parking area. As her gaze settled on the black bag they were carrying, nothing else mattered.
Barely stifling a moan, she wrapped her arms around her waist.
“I’m sorry you had to see this,” a familiar male voice said from behind her.
She whirled around. “What are you doing here?” she asked Jay.
He frowned. “You sound as if you don’t want to see me.”
“It isn’t—I don’t know what I want.” She tightened her hold on her waist.
“That’s understandable.” His expression softened. “Christian called to give me a heads up about when to expect them. I was hoping you were still in that cabin.”
“I couldn’t. The walls were closing in on me.”
“More than the forest does?”
Realizing he’d noted her uneasy awareness of her surroundings made her feel even more vulnerable. “I’m getting used to the forest. Maybe Wolf is helping.”
His expression became introspective, maybe envious. “If he is, I’m glad for you.”
Even though having Jay there helped more than she wanted to admit, she focused on the laboring men and their burden. A solid hand settled on her shoulder. “You don’t have to watch this.”
Warmth spread throughout her, making talking difficult. “Yes, I do. It’s the only way I’m going to be able to make everything real.”
“You don’t hide from reality,” he said as he drew her back against his chest and looped an arm around her. Instead of feeling trapped, gratitude for his strength and caring nearly overwhelmed her. Even the question of whether he’d still want anything to do with her if he learned Doc had taken—stolen—an artifact did nothing to lessen his impact on her.
“I need to talk to Christian again,” he said after a short silence. “Find out if there’s anything else he wants me to do.”
“What about— What’s going to happen to Doc?” She couldn’t bring herself to say the word ‘body’.
“Do you want me to ask?”
She nodded then shook her head. “I need to do this.”
“Don’t push yourself.”
Jay was being so good to her. It took everything in her not to let him support her. She again reminded herself that their fragile relationship would shatter if he learned she had something she had no right to and that probably meant a great deal to his tribe. Regardless of her connection to the mask, she had no intention of keeping it, but how could she get it into the right hands without destroying Doc’s reputation?
Before she had a chance to learn whether it provided a link to her past.
So much to concentrate on. So much to absorb.
She hated it when the men lowered the body bag to the ground near the stairs to the office. No matter that it wasn’t practical for them to take Doc inside, she wanted him to be treated better than that.
Wolf. I need you.
“Have you called his son again?” Jay asked from behind her.
Irrationally hoping Wolf had heard her, she struggled to concentrate on Jay’s question while not being distracted by his body. “I’m waiting until I’ve talked to the investigator. It’s going to kill Pearson learning what happened to his dad’s belongings.”
“You’ll handle it.”
She made no attempt to say anything, only watched as the law enforcement officers gathered around a lean man of medium height wearing a long-sleeved dark green shirt and jeans. She guessed this was Christian Turney. Much as she hated needing to have anything to do with him, she respected him. Like Jay, he appeared in tune with his world.
“Damn,” Jay muttered.
“What?”
“Booth is with them. If you don’t want to talk to him, I’ll tell him to leave you the hell alone.”
Chapter Twelve
The park historian had separated himself from the group and was heading their way. Judging by how he walked, he was dealing with blisters. Con
cerned Booth might misinterpret her closeness to Jay as more than him offering sympathy, she straightened and stepped away.
It was better like this.
“Do you think he knows?” she asked Jay. “About what happened to Doc’s cabin.”
“I told Christian, so I wouldn’t be surprised—unless he had something to do with the theft. In which case, that was old news.”
“It that possible?”
“He’d want back what was in there.”
“He wouldn’t be that obvious, would he?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
As she mulled over their exchange, she wondered if she and Jay should discuss possible suspects not just for the break-in but for Doc’s killing. However, not only was she ignorant about how investigations were handled in the real world, she didn’t dare forget that many Natives hadn’t wanted Doc there. She couldn’t ask Jay if he suspected his friends or relatives. That would destroy their fragile—whatever it was.
Booth gave her a weary smile. “You look better than I thought you would. I applaud your stamina. Of course you’re younger than me.” His smile fading, he acknowledged Jay. “I couldn’t help but wonder if the night the two of you spent together might lead to something physical.”
“Don’t,” Jay said. “I was comforting her, that’s all.”
All?
“I’m glad you’re here for support.”
Jay stared at the man.
“You weren’t involved in opposing Dr. Gilsdorf like some of your tribe members were,” Booth continued, “but I’d be surprised if you didn’t agree with them. With him dead”—Booth shuddered—“you must be wondering what’s going to happen to his project.”
“Everything’s on hold.”
“But maybe not for long,” she said.
Booth focused on her. “Have you talked to Dr. Wilheim?”
“You know him?”
“Oh, yes. I met with him every time he was here.”
Every? It looks as if there’s a lot I don’t know about my boss.