“After the anonymous and rather mysterious tip came in while you were out of the office---that didn’t make any sense---and prompted Jimmy to send Dale there in the first place,” Gemma added, beginning to follow the line of logic.
“Knowing full well I wasn’t at the station and wasn’t part of the decision-making process.”
“Because you were out of action due to those pills Suzanne gave you. Maybe someone out there wants to weaken your position, strip you of your allies, and try to make you look bad. Weird. It’s almost like every step since Mallory died has created chaos, the old divide and conquer approach.”
“And that’s why I love you. I love being able to run this stuff by you, run these crazy theories I have in my head. You seem to always pick up on my train of thought.”
She ran a hand across his back. “Glad I’m your sounding board. I like the idea of that. While you were gone I read one of Gram’s diaries. Like Rima, she mentions a summer when terrible things started happening and people she knew died. It’s eerie knowing that two women during that time were spooked enough to talk about the experience---Rima in the present, and Gram mentioning it in her journal. It makes me wonder if others in town would remember it the same way. Were they afraid they’d be next? Were they afraid to go out at night?”
“We could ask around.”
“I think I will. So what do we do about Dale?”
“Make sure his DVR kicked in when he said it did.”
“There’s a record of that?”
“You bet. It’s not a rock-solid alibi, but at least it backs up his activity that night after he signed off.”
“Why would anyone want to frame Dale, though?”
“The same reason they’re trying to pin it on you. Muddy the waters until you don’t know which way to row toward shore.”
“Did you tell Dale about Greendeer?”
“Never came up. Why?”
“I think I’ll stop by his place in the morning and let him know we still support him.”
“You have that kind of faith in Dale even though most people in town will think he killed Mallory? You’d still want to be around him?”
“Hey, before that, they thought it was me. Besides, someone has to tell Dale about the band. And moral support always helps a person feel better, especially when they’re getting kicked around.”
17
Moral support came in the form of a bag of chocolates and a large mocha espresso over ice.
By eight o’clock the next morning Gemma stood in front of Dale’s apartment on Harbor View across from the middle school. She had to knock several minutes before Dale answered the door. When he did, he looked out of sorts. “I brought goodies to make you feel better.”
“You’re incredible. Thanks. Come on in.”
She entered a small living room where classical music drifted from a 1950s Packard Bell console stereo, an old system that played vinyl records. One wall of shelving held Dale’s massive collection of albums. The excess lined the floor and other bookcases.
The rest of the room was a music lover’s paradise. An upright piano sat in one corner next to an electronic keyboard. She glanced at all the posters on the walls, each one depicting famous piano players. She wasn’t sure which face took up more space, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or Elton John. She shoved the mocha in his hand. “You, my friend, are an interesting collector.”
“I like old records and sheet music and books about musicians. I’m surprised you’re still talking to me.”
“Oh, please. We don’t think you killed Mallory.”
“Really?”
“Stop being stupid.”
“But Lando suspended me.”
“With pay, same as he did with Louise. You boffing Mallory puts you in the ‘connection to the victim’ category and gives you an immediate pass to stay clear of the case. Period. End of story. Stop feeling sorry for yourself.”
“But I let Mallory play me.”
“Everyone gets played at one time or another. Mallory was an artist when it came to manipulation. Learn from it. Do everything you can to make amends to Denise. She’s a keeper. Although don’t be surprised if she never lets you get within ten feet of her again.”
“I don’t think I have to worry about that. She won’t return any of my calls. And when she hears I’ve been suspended, she’ll never speak to me again, not even in the grocery store.”
“So you’ll shop at the Kwik Mart from now on. Big deal. They have great tamales there anyway. The owner comes from Santa Fe originally and makes the best in town. Don’t tell Leia I said that.”
That last part finally brought a smile out of Dale.
“Giving you a pep talk isn’t the only reason I stopped by. It’s about the band.” She told him about Greendeer’s betting pool. “We’re gonna have to find another venue. Did you know about what he was doing?”
“Not me. But I bet Bosco did. Bartenders always know the juiciest gossip.”
“You’re right and he never said a word to clue us in.”
“Are we really leaving Greendeer? That would be awkward for Bosco. Where would we play? Bodie’s Outpost is old-time country with a lot rougher crowd than at the Duck & Rum. That only leaves Thackery’s Pub. And we all know Louise staked that place out as her own a long time ago.”
“You’re right. Greendeer did offer us a raise not to leave, but you should know he sold you out without a moment’s hesitation. Greendeer is Denise’s cousin. And she was the witness who saw you fighting with Mallory.”
“Ah, and she told Adam. Jeez, I’ve burned a few bridges cheating on Denise, haven’t I? So what do we do about Fortitude?”
“I don’t know. Meet and take a vote, I guess. I just don’t like the idea that Greendeer started that pool. It’s like he was waiting on the sidelines for Lando and me to break up. The entire bar was taking bets on it. I’m not sure I have the same enthusiasm for singing that puts money in Adam Greendeer’s pocket knowing that.”
“I’d miss the band---playing was always our escape from our jobs---but I understand how you feel.”
“Look, I don’t want to be the reason we don’t play. If you guys come to a decision, I’ll abide by whatever it is.”
“Okay, I’ll get in touch with Radley and Jimmy. I’ll save Bosco for last.”
“I suggested a different venue of our own, but Lando says that would require money, filling out a lot of paperwork to get a liquor license, and waiting a long time for it to happen.”
Dale’s eyes widened with interest. “But we’d have complete control then. That’s not a bad plan.”
“Maybe. But right now, it’s nothing more than a once a week gig. I doubt it would be financially practical in the long run to have our own place. What will you do with your time off until this thing is over?”
“Get some practice in on the keyboard, I guess, and go to work at the body shop for my dad. That’s the sort of work I was doing when Lando approached me about joining the force. I certainly screwed that up.”
“Stop it.”
“It’s true. That’s what my dad will say. That’s why I refuse to sit around twiddling my thumbs. It’ll drive me nuts just sitting here.”
“Having you nuttier than usual is no good,” she teased. “Look, I gotta run. Don’t get down on yourself, Dale. Everyone has setbacks. Before you entered the picture, the rumor mill was all about me killing Mallory, remember?”
“I do. But no one really believed that.”
“You’d be surprised. Now buck up and don’t get so down on yourself.”
“Thanks, Gemma, for dropping by. I feel a lot better about things.”
“Good to hear it. Let me know what Bosco has to say for himself. Okay? I’m curious how he’ll explain not mentioning the pool. It would’ve been a joke then. Now, it’s not that funny.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll get to the bottom of it.”
She turned to go and stopped. “Paloma offered me a piano. I’ve been thinking about taking les
sons. If I take it, would you be able to show me a thing or two about the keyboard in your spare time?”
“Me teach you piano? I’d love to.”
“Great. And I’m not trying to take your place in the band. I just thought I’d make Fortitude a little better if I was more musically inclined.”
“You have a voice most people envy. You don’t need any more than that. But I’m a real believer in branching out music-wise. Everyone should love music as much as I do.”
“You know, you could always teach piano. It’s just a thought, you know, if…”
“I get it. If I never get back on the force, I’ll need to think outside the box. You’d be my first student ever.”
“Are you telling me a girlfriend or two never nagged you to teach her a song?”
He smiled again. “Maybe. But you’d be the first to actually want to learn.”
She left Dale’s place and headed out to Zeb’s stables. If she didn’t take the ride out to the canyon today, she’d miss the opportunity to go alone. The weather was nice enough and she didn’t feel like dodging Lando any longer. For days, he’d nagged her about not going alone. But it was simple---she didn’t want to wait for the weekend. She wanted to do this herself. In fact, it was essential that she encounter Aponivi alone, just as she had with Kamena.
Inside the barn, she saddled Gypsy herself and did everything she could to avoid encountering any of the stable hands. Climbing aboard her horse, she led the way outside. Just when she thought she’d succeeded in her subterfuge, she spotted Willow waving her down.
“Taking her out for a ride in the middle of the week? How wonderful! Want me to come with you?”
“No need. You’re probably busy and I’ve been hoping to get Gypsy all to myself for a little one on one time.”
“Super. I wish more owners did that. Any special destination today?”
“Uh, maybe out to the canyon and back, just a jaunt to get some exercise. It’s a beautiful day for a ride.”
Willow frowned. “That trail’s a little rocky. Are you sure you want to go it alone?”
“Positive,” Gemma said, kicking Gypsy into a trot toward the same path she’d taken on Sunday, leaving Willow with her mouth agape.
It felt good to be outdoors in the fresh air and even better to sit atop her own horse and ride into the wilderness. Somewhere a plover called to its mate.
Scrub brush lined the trail as the ridgeline---beautiful layered rock formations---beckoned on either side. Serpentine outcrops helped form a landscape that could only be described as a stony, greenish- to bluish-silver overlay of boulders, the color changing depending on where the sun hit the wall. The height of the cliffs made for the perfect natural shelter from the elements, shade in the heat of summer, a buffer against the harsh northern winds in winter.
Her sense of history kicked into overdrive. She imagined a band of brothers and sisters camping in the shade of a manzanita and the forest of thick gray pine.
A red-tailed hawk swooped down from its nest, momentarily startling Gypsy.
“Whoa there, girl. It’s okay. He won’t hurt you, he’s just looking for lunch.”
She crossed through a rocky, mossy wash and up a steep incline where penny grass waved in the summer breeze. There in the middle of the field was a herd of whitetail deer, nibbling their way across the meadow.
Approaching the arroyo where the cave could be seen from the trail, she guided Gypsy down into a narrow gulley, following the winding banks of the rambling brook.
She stopped to let Gypsy drink from the stream before moving on through the thick copse of gnarly pinyon pine. They made it past the yucca and onto a flat extension of the canyon where the cave waited, its mysterious formation carved out perhaps centuries earlier.
Dismounting, she wrapped Gypsy’s reins around the branch of a redbud tree and grabbed a flashlight out of her saddlebag. While making her way toward the entrance, she had time to think about what she wanted out of this trip.
The cave had to be a significant place for her native ancestors, a refuge used for lodging during a storm, a spot where babies might’ve been born, a place for lovers to hide away for some alone time.
She wasn’t prepared for the bats that burst out of the blackness barely missing the top of her head. Ducking just in time, she realized this certainly wasn’t the same kind of serene experience she’d had at Mystic Falls. Kamena had offered comfort. Confronting the holder of truth wouldn’t be for the faint of heart. The fact that she was no quitter kept her from chickening out altogether.
The cave was smaller than it looked, cramped in size and smelly. The musty odor came from a slow trickle of water that dripped down from somewhere above her head and streamed across the rocks to form a small pond.
When a snake slithered across her boot, there was an instant of panic before she decided this dank place had nothing to do with Aponivi.
As soon as she stepped out of the cave, a wind kicked up. Even though the sky had been an Easter-egg blue not fifteen minutes earlier, it was now cloudy with blue-black storm clouds forming to the west.
“Is that rain moving in? That’s all we need right now,” Gemma lamented to Gypsy as she untied the reins. The horse whinnied in response. As if in warning, the mare shied away, ready to bolt.
Gemma patted the pony’s ribs to settle her down and then rested her head on the horse’s mane. “Easy, girl. It’s just the wind whistling through the canyon.”
She’d barely gotten the words out when the gust picked up in strength, whirling, scattering leaves and dirt around them. An upsurge of hot air felt like someone had switched on an oven. The force magnified, creating a vortex.
She held onto Gypsy as the powerful gale took over, blowing her off her feet. The swirling jet of air became night, encircling her and the horse.
As the brown haze churned around her, a strong voice called out. “I am Aponivi. Kamena has told me of your existence. There’s no reason to be afraid. Your quest comes through me. From this moment forward, I open my mind and heart to you. You must do the same. Learn to trust your instincts. Always be on guard against false witness, for people around you depend on the truth.”
She tried to get her mouth to work but nothing happened. Not until she realized the dust had settled and she could let go of Gypsy and be just fine.
“I need to see who murdered Mallory Rawlins. That’s part of my quest---to find out the truth of what happened. Please help me find the truth.”
“You have already seen the truth. Accept the dark past. Right the wrong that’s been done.”
The voice faded but the image it produced became crystal clear. She saw the same five people she’d seen in her vision in the courtyard at her house.
They stood before her, those five, carrying weapons---high-powered AK-47s. Their faces were hidden behind black ski masks, menacingly pointing the guns at…something in front of them. As gunfire rang out, Gemma even ducked to keep from getting hit. She heard swearing and cussing as one of the men yelled instructions. The sound of more gunfire pinged off metal. Round after round shattered glass. The shards littered the concrete roadway.
The wind suddenly calmed and the five men with guns vanished. Daytime returned. She caught the sound of birds chirping away in the redbud as if nothing had happened.
She heard a voice, its familiar angry tone droned in her head. She looked up to see Lando riding Bandit, making his way toward the cave.
“What are you doing out here by yourself? I told you to wait.”
“I needed to do this…alone. Was that so terrible? I knew you didn’t have time. I’m fine. I’m a grown woman, perfectly capable of riding to the canyon by myself.”
“Oh really? You’re white as a sheet. What’s wrong? What happened?” Lando growled.
She dropped to her knees. “I’m just a little shaken. I saw it twice, the same scene. I think it was a robbery, but it was outdoors, on a highway maybe. What kind of robbery is outside like that?”
�
�What are you talking about? You saw two visions of the same thing?”
“Five men, all wearing masks, carrying AK-47s, shooting at…I don’t know.”
“Come on, baby. Let’s get you back. I really came out here to give you hell for not waiting until the weekend. I’m sorry.”
“S’okay. Let’s not argue about this right now.”
“Can you ride?”
“Absolutely.”
He gave her a hand up and then lifted her onto Gypsy. “But for the record, even Theo Longhorn said it’s not a good idea to go riding alone. Ever. Too many hazards. Anything could happen on the trail. Good thing I went looking for you. Lianne told me you rode out here. Then Willow confirmed your destination.”
“Stop preaching at me, okay? I heard Aponivi’s voice and then saw those five men with guns. It was like I was in the middle of a war zone. Just like before, I thought they might be shooting at me.”
“Like a premonition?”
“No. Like something that already happened a long time ago. Aponivi mentioned I needed to right a wrong.”
“Correct an injustice? What does that mean?”
“Beats me. I’m thinking of giving up this quest, this pursuit to enhance my psychic ability. I might’ve aced law school, but this is a whole new ballgame. When it comes to ancient shamans, I’m in over my head.”
“Did you get anything out of the cave experience at all?”
“From Aponivi? No. Where Kamena was all warm and fuzzy, Aponivi was downright…scary.”
“As a kid, the stories about Aponivi were always kind of creepy to me.”
Gemma finally smiled. “Knowing that somehow helps. Were you really worried about me, enough to leave your investigation and come rushing out here to find me?”
Lando blew out a pent-up puff of air. “Murder makes any cop jittery about the safety of his significant other. Are you feeling any better?”
“I am. Thanks. On the ride out here, I realized this trip holds a lot of memories from when we were kids.”
Shadow Canyon (A Coyote Wells Mystery Book 2) Page 18