by Sharon Pape
“Hey, if she works nights there, maybe I can talk her into a part-time gig with me during the day.”
“It couldn’t hurt to ask. If Ruth is any example of the family gene pool, the girl could be a keeper.”
Two days after her interview, Bryn Albright showed up for her first shift. Jaye had decided not to tell her about Raffles. To account for any strange noises Bryn might hear from upstairs, she said that she had a clumsy old cat.
Within days it was clear that Bryn was going to be a resounding success. She loved the shop and was fascinated by the large array of crystals and gems. Whenever she saw Jaye, she had a dozen new questions about the different stones and seemed able to commit all the answers to memory. Sweet and soft-spoken, she was a big hit with the customers too. She even came up with new ideas for incorporating the stones into jewelry. The one she called “the Heart and Soul charm bracelet” quickly became a local and tourist favorite. Customers purchased one of the sterling silver link bracelets, then selected small crystals and gemstones to add on as charms. Since each stone was attributed with specific spiritual and healing properties, customers would base their choices on which ones best suited their individual needs. The hours Jaye had invested in studying those properties, as a supplement to her more traditional education, were proving to be time well spent.
Jaye worked alongside the younger woman until she felt Bryn was ready to run the store solo. When that time came, Jaye found it harder than she’d anticipated to leave her shop in Bryn’s hands, regardless of how bright and capable she’d proven to be. Bryn finally had to take charge and shoo Jaye out the door.
In an effort not to lose customers who came to Crystal Clear specifically because they’d heard about Jaye’s expertise, she left Bryn with a calendar listing the days and times she would be there. Unfortunately, Jaye’s absences were still bound to leave some tourists disgruntled, but if she had to serve time for a murder conviction, they’d be inconvenienced for considerably longer.
***
To date, Jaye’s impromptu conversations with shopkeepers hadn’t yielded a single decent suspect. Of course, she hadn’t dropped Adam Grayson from her list. Being the ex-lover could point to motive, but from the little she already knew, it would have been more likely for Peggy to have killed Adam than the other way around. Brock and Anastos were no doubt having an easier time with their investigation, since credentials and guns were helpful tools to have at one’s disposal when asking nosy questions. But since this wasn’t a competition to see who could solve the case first, Jaye was rooting for their success as well as her own. Until they found the real killer, she and Sierra were likely to remain at the top of their leaderboard.
After the detectives’ surprise visit, she’d talked Sierra into going to an attorney with her.
“Won’t it make us look guilty if we consult an attorney before we’ve been charged with anything?” Sierra had asked.
“I’m hoping it won’t ever come to that, but I think we need to be prepared. They’re clearly trying to pit us against each other.”
“But they haven’t tried to use that routine on me.”
“Maybe they want to keep us off balance, keep us guessing until one of us can’t take the pressure anymore.”
Sierra had smiled like the cat who ate the canary and found it quite delectable. “They don’t know us very well, do they?”
Since the only attorney either of them knew was the one who’d handled their real estate transactions, they made an appointment to see him.
“It’s a scare tactic. One of the oldest in the book,” Ron Lasko told them. He was well into his middle years, with a jolly, round face and a belly that jiggled when he laughed. If he ever grew tired of practicing the law, Jaye imagined, he could sign on as Santa’s younger brother.
Lasko reached across his desk to the three apothecary jars he kept there. They were filled with jelly beans, candy corn and malted milk balls, respectively. He plucked the top off the one with the jelly beans and offered them to his clients. After Jaye and Sierra declined, he shoved his pudgy fingers into the jar and helped himself to a handful, which he popped into his mouth between sentences.
“Just don’t let them get to you,” he said. His tone was solemn, but the chewing made his cheeks appear to plump up with unspent laughter. He was probably not the best man to defend them in a murder case. “I know, that’s easy for me to say,” he went on, “but it happens to be the truth.” He pitched a few more jelly beans into his mouth. “If it ever reaches the point where they charge you, I’ll hook you up with my law school buddy. He practices up in Flagstaff. The best criminal defense attorney you’ll find anywhere.”
“Well, I don’t feel any better after talking to him,” Sierra said as they walked out to the parking lot five minutes later. “How about you?”
“The only thing I feel better about is the fact that he didn’t charge us much for that sparkling advice,” Jaye said wryly. “I wonder what his candy of choice is when he has to appear in court.”
***
Since Mondays were generally slower at both Premier Navajo Tours and Crystal Clear, Daniel invited Jaye to join him on a trip up to see his mother in Tuba City. It meant Bryn would have to work the whole day and close up before heading over to Finnegan’s, but she assured Jaye she could handle it. Sierra offered to be on standby in case there were any problems. She always took Mondays off to inventory her supplies and restock anything she’d forgotten to order for the coming week. She also used the day to catch up on other errands, as well as to indulge in her new favorite activity—hiking the red rocks with Frosty, who’d proven to be quite the athlete. When Jaye started to have second thoughts about the trip to the Navajo reservation, Sierra refused to let her back out.
“You’re not all that indispensible around here, you know.” They were having tea in Jaye’s kitchen the night before the scheduled trip. Frosty was tucked under Sierra’s chair, Raffles under Jaye’s, as they continued to size each other up. Although the women had been concerned about a possible skirmish when the animals met, so far things had been cool but civilized.
“The timing is so bad,” Jaye said. “We can’t afford to lose even one day making the rounds and talking to people. Someone killed Peggy, and sooner or later we’re going to stumble over the right person, even if it’s by sheer accident.”
“First of all, I think it’s about time I took part in our investigation. Besides, why should you have all the fun?” Sierra added brightly, as if she were talking about going to a party, not trying to find a killer. “Who knows, maybe I’ll get lucky and have the case all tied up in bows by the time you get back.”
“I’d settle for you not getting yourself killed by the time I get back,” Jaye replied. “And what’s the second reason I have to go?”
“Raffles, of course. Daniel’s driving up to Tuba to see what he can find out about your new pet. The least you could do is go with him.”
***
Jaye was waiting in the parking lot when Daniel pulled in. She climbed into his Jeep, grateful that it wasn’t one of the open-air vehicles from his business. Mornings that time of the year were still downright chilly. Daniel had stopped for coffee on his way there. Two steaming cups filled the double holder in the console between them. “There’s sugar and phony sugar packets in the glove box,” he said. “I didn’t know if you like cream or not, so I compromised by putting in a little.”
Jaye plucked her cup out of the holder and wrapped her hands around it for the warmth. “As long as it’s hot, it’s perfect. Thank you.” She was relieved to see that Daniel was wearing jeans. She’d had a hard time deciding what would be appropriate for the trip. She’d never visited a “rez,” as Daniel referred to it. Sierra, who had, said jeans would be fine. Still, Jaye wasn’t sure. This was Daniel’s hometown. It was the place where his family lived, where he’d grown up. Maybe chinos would
look more respectful for meeting his mother. Then again, she didn’t want to appear overdressed and snobby either. After several wardrobe changes, she’d finally given up and gone with the jeans. Raffles had watched the little fashion show from the comfort of the bed, trilling occasionally as if to express her opinion.
“Oh, no,” Jaye said as they merged onto the highway. She’d been so worried about dressing properly that she’d forgotten something more important. “I can’t visit your mother for the first time without bringing her a gift. Can we stop before we get there?”
Daniel grinned. “Relax. I already took care of it. There’s a box in the backseat with two pounds of her favorite chocolate fudge.”
“Wow,” she said, “you think of everything, don’t you?”
“I aim to please.”
“Well, your aim’s awfully good.”
“In the interest of full disclosure,” he said, “whenever I go up there I bring stuff they need.”
Jaye laughed. “I already like your mom. Anyone who needs fudge is my kind of woman. So there aren’t any candy shops in Tuba City?”
“The word city isn’t very accurate. Tuba might be the biggest town on the rez, but it’s still real small.”
“It’s a strange name for a town, unless it’s a hotbed of tuba manufacturing.”
“It was named for the Hopi chief who first settled there. The Navajo name for the town was too hard for Anglos to pronounce. It means ‘tangled waters,’ probably because of the underground springs there.”
“Does your whole family live there?” They’d never really talked about family before, although she had mentioned that Sierra was all she had.
“What’s left of it. My dad was never around much even when I was a kid. He was an alcoholic. He’d show up when he needed money.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to be nosy.”
“Hey, we’re friends.—you ought to know more about me. And my whole sordid background,” he added with a grin. “My mom and most of my family still live in Tuba. My cousin George and I are the only ones who moved away. Some of them left the rez to finish school, but they all went back there to work—two teachers, a nurse, an electrician and a plumber.”
“Do you get any flak for leaving?”
“Sure. They ride us plenty about it—mostly in a good-natured way. But as much as I love them all, I’m still awfully glad to leave by the end of the day.”
“It seems to be like that with families,” Jaye said, basing the observation on books and movies, since she had no frame of reference from her own life. Whenever she tried to imagine herself interacting with her mom and dad as an adult, the screen in her mind faded to black. She could think of them only in the way she’d related to them at the age of seven. There was simply no way for her to extrapolate from there. She was glad when Daniel changed the subject.
“I hear you’ve been moonlighting as a PI, making the rounds, trying to figure out who killed Peggy,” he said as they raced northward on the nearly empty highway.
“So I’ve been outed. Who told you?”
“A few of the locals. You’re headlining the gossip circuit this week.”
Jaye sighed. “Well, I knew it was just a matter of time, but I was hoping to get some more unscripted reactions before the walls went up.”
“Hard to do that. But I’ll tell you what—I’ll keep an ear out for anything that might help you. I can even ask some questions myself. Real low-key and all.”
Jaye welcomed him aboard. They could use all the help they could get. And just like that her little team of investigators numbered three.
Chapter 12
Jaye’s first impression of Tuba City was of a dry and dusty stretch of blocks that more closely resembled a ghost town than any kind of city. They passed several schools, a gas station, a church, a supermarket, a MacDonald’s and a Taco Bell. There were a few government buildings, a plumbing supply store and a couple of motels, along with a branch of Diné College, a trading post, a small Navajo museum and a medical center. But in spite of all these businesses, the town had a forlorn and neglected look. Jaye realized it wasn’t just the lack of greenery or charming architecture that made the area seem depressed, although those things certainly didn’t help, it was the houses on Main Street with all their windows boarded up. When she asked about them, Daniel explained that the residents had moved out years ago due to asbestos concerns. Unfortunately, the government didn’t have the money to fix the problem, and the houses couldn’t be torn down, because they’d been designated historical buildings.
“Seeing them like that used to bother me,” Daniel said, “but I hardly notice them anymore. That’s how it is. You live with something ugly or broken and at first it’s all you can see, but then your mind throws a cloak of sorts over it and you don’t even realize it’s there anymore.”
Jaye knew exactly what he meant. She’d felt like the ugly, broken thing in her first foster home. She’d been so sad, unable to eat, crying every day. For the first few months, her foster family had tried to make her feel welcome and happy, but when she’d gone right on stuck in her misery, they’d eventually given up and stopped seeing her unhappiness. “When the economy turns around, I’m sure the houses will be refurbished,” she said, determined not to wallow in bad memories.
“I’d like to think so,” Daniel said as he turned off Main Street, but his tone lacked any real conviction. They drove away from the center of town, passing narrow streets dotted with small houses and mobile homes long past being mobile. Most of the residents had satellite dishes on their roofs and old pickups parked outside. When Daniel passed the last block of houses, Jaye began to wonder exactly where his mother lived.
“Just up ahead,” he said, as if he were reading her mind. “My grandmother Doli Joe doesn’t like crowds, and my mother doesn’t want to leave her alone now that she’s getting on in years.”
Crowds? Jaye thought. If his grandmother thought Tuba City was crowded, how would she react to a place like New York or Chicago? But she refrained from saying anything, since Daniel must have known how strange that sounded.
About half a mile beyond the last block they’d passed, in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, Daniel finally pulled to a stop in front of a small one-story house with an old green Explorer parked in front. The house had probably started life a hopeful, sparkling white, but over time had adopted the sandy hue of its surroundings. Aside from the color, the house appeared to be in good repair, courtesy of Daniel’s attentions no doubt. Behind the house, and partially obscured by it, Jaye could see an eight-sided log cabin with what looked like a tar paper roof.
“Is that a hogan?” she asked when she and Daniel got out of the car.
“Yeah, it’s my grandmother’s. She insists on living there even though it doesn’t have electricity or running water. It took years just to convince her to replace the dirt roof.” He handed Jaye the box of fudge he’d retrieved from the Jeep’s backseat.
As they approached the front door of his mother’s house, Jaye could hear women’s voices inside raised in argument. One of them seemed to be speaking English, the other a language Jaye couldn’t identify. Given where they were, she assumed it was Navajo. But with the house as a buffer, even the English was hard to discern. She stole a glance at Daniel, expecting to see a worried or chagrined expression on his face, but he was actually smiling and shaking his head.
“It’s nothing,” he said wryly. “Just my mother and grandmother having one of their debates.”
Jaye wondered if they were deaf. The decibels coming through the walls were impressive. “So it’s just a normal mother/daughter squabble?”
“Well, ‘normal’ might be a bit of an understatement,” he said, reaching for the doorknob.
Jaye put her hand on his arm. “Wait. Maybe we shouldn’t walk in on them. I don’t want
them to be embarrassed.”
“Maybe they should be,” he said turning the knob. The door opened without benefit of a key. So much for security. Jaye wondered if everyone on the reservation left their homes unlocked. But there was a far more pressing issue to deal with at the moment. She wasn’t convinced she should go traipsing into someone’s house for the first time when they were embroiled in what sounded like a highly-charged argument.
Apparently harboring no such concerns, Daniel had already stepped inside. With the door open, the English was easier to understand. “Of course I’m taking you seriously,” Jaye heard one of the women thunder. “But that doesn’t mean you’re right.”
When Jaye didn’t immediately follow Daniel inside, he turned back to her. “Aren’t you coming?”
“Why don’t you go tell them we’re here?” she suggested, feeling more uncomfortable than ever.
Before he had time to answer her, the shouting stopped, and a moment later Daniel was grabbed up in a fierce hug by a woman who barely reached his neck. She was wearing dark jeans, a long-sleeved chambray shirt and boots. Her black hair was pulled back in a single thick plait, her dark eyes underscored by the sharp flare of her cheekbones. Daniel was a considerably larger male version of his mother.
After releasing her son, she took his face between the palms of her hands and studied him. Apparently satisfied with her analysis, she smiled up at him. “You look well, my son.” She turned to Jaye. “Please, come in. I’m Kyah.” Her speech had the same exotic cadence as Daniel’s.
Jaye stepped inside, grateful that the situation had resolved itself, at least for the present. After telling Kyah how happy she was to meet her, Jaye presented her with the fudge.
“Thank you,” Kyah said with an embarrassed little laugh. “I see my son has told you about my terrible weakness for these sweets.”
“Well, I’m afraid it’s a weakness I share with you,” Jaye said.
“I’m so glad you were able to come. I don’t often get to meet my son’s friends,” Kyah said pointedly. Daniel winced at the remark, but didn’t try to defend himself. Jaye wondered if he would have kept his silence if he’d been alone.