Chapter 4 Inner Circle #2
Kaya tried to look pitiful and failed.
Gil waggled his eyebrows playfully at them. “Just giving you two ladies a taste of your own medicine. If you want to be in our inner circle and know what we know, the communication has to go both ways.”
April flushed as she grappled with the curious mix of mortification and appreciation his words stirred in her.
“Just for kicks, what would you have done if I’d told you about my findings first, then immediately told you I was driving across town to meet with Bear?
Alone.” She wanted to clarify that they still wouldn’t have been invited.
She’d had one shot at grabbing some face time with the retired councilman.
She wouldn’t have done anything to blow it.
“We would’ve thanked you,” he returned evenly. “You made contact with a person of interest. You succeeded where we failed.”
Luke snorted. “The thanks he was referring to would’ve been loud. Every breakthrough in a case is cause for celebration around here. If you’ve never heard a cowboy cheering squad in action, get ready. Oh, and bring your earplugs.”
Gil nodded, growing serious again. “We also would’ve offered you backup in case anything went south.
When I said we’re in this together, I meant it.
” He waved a finger between himself and Luke.
“We may run a small-town operation, but I think you’ll find our combined resources are very much up to your big-city gal speed. ”
She frowned thoughtfully at him. “You say that as if your resources are at my disposal.”
“As long as you’re a team player, yes.” He gave her a firm nod.
“If it’s something we don’t have immediately available, we’ll get it for you.
Armored vehicles, bulletproof vests and jackets, weapons, surveillance equipment, K-9 search-and-rescue dogs, stakeout teams, SWAT teams, air evacuation, you name it. ”
She was amazed. “Does Bear know about this?”
“You mean Running Bear?” Gil raised a single eyebrow at her.
“Yes, but he wants to be called Bear from now on.”
“Okay, I’ll bite.” He looked puzzled. “Why?”
“Because he asked us to.” Kaya gripped the arms of her chair, clearly eager to be included in the conversation. “He didn’t tell us why. He also chopped off most of his hair and didn’t tell us why he did that, either.”
Before the lawmen in the room jumped to the erroneous conclusion that the retired councilman had gone off the deep end, April cautioned, “From a kinesics standpoint, I interpreted it as an emblem representing change.” She spread her hands. “Renewal. Rebirth. Rebranding.”
“I guess that makes sense.” Gil mulled it over for a moment. “He’s been through a lot lately.”
“And most of it tragic.” April shared how he’d cleared his schedule to assist with the case in his own way.
“Which brings up something he specifically requested that we share with you.” She scooted forward to the edge of her seat.
“According to him, there’s bad blood between the Haywood family and the Comanche tribe. Bad blood that goes way back.”
Gil and Luke exchanged a troubled look. “We’ve heard rumors along those lines,” Gil said cautiously. “Rumors that have been around for years. I’ve never put much stock in them.”
“Maybe it’s time we did.” April watched his expression closely. “In the bad-blood context, the Haywoods’ housekeeper’s so-called eyewitness report concerning Bear feels less like an arbitrary error in judgment.”
“So-called?” Gil gave her a challenging look. “Do you think she was lying?”
“I’ve never met the woman, so I’ve yet to form an opinion about her.
” April drummed her fingers on the edge of Luke’s desk while her thoughts on the topic simmered and steeped.
“Here are the facts. She made a claim that was untrue. Either she was mistaken, or she fibbed. I’m inclined to think she fibbed, since Bear claims he’s never met her.
Between her lie and her connection to the Haywoods, we might need to add her to our person-of-interest list.”
“Agreed,” Gil sighed, “which makes it a lead we need to follow up on while we wait to get a search warrant for Callie Haywood’s barn and property.”
“Agreed,” Luke echoed. “The housekeeper’s claim begs another question. What does her lie accomplish?”
Kaya touched April’s arm to get her attention.
“It throws suspicion on my uncle, for one thing. When word gets out that the bones belong to a distant family member, people will naturally question whether he had a hand in her death. From there, it’s an easy jump to speculate whether he also killed his sister.
Her lie tosses him into the jury of public opinion, which can be a dangerous place. ”
“Exactly.” Gil pointed a finger at Kaya. “Now we’re beginning to sound like a team.”
She beamed in appreciation at being included in his statement.
“Speaking of my assistant’s role in the case…
” April filled them in on Bear’s request for her to keep Kaya close.
“Before we head back to the morgue to finish the report I promised you, we’re going to swing down to Bear’s place to grab her suitcase.
I’m assuming you have no objections to adding her to my hotel reservation? ”
“None at all.” Gil’s voice was adamant. “I promised you whatever resources you need. If that includes a personal assistant…?”
“It does,” she said gratefully, knowing Bear would be pleased when he found out.
Gil crinkled his eyes at them. “Considering what’s at stake, I wouldn’t mind shuttling you ladies down there in an armored vehicle.
” He turned his attention to Kaya. “We take personal security seriously, especially when it involves an up-and-coming attorney offering pro bono services to our community.”
She snickered. “That sounds so much nicer than lab assistant impersonator.”
“It’ll get you less jail time, too.” He winked at her to soften his words.
Gil spent the drive to the Comanche reservation telling Kaya about his friend Dave, another one of the partners at Lonestar Security. “He was a corporate attorney before he joined our team, and he’s been kicking around the idea of taking on an intern.”
Her eyes sparkled with interest. “I know a law student who’d love to throw her hat into the ring of candidates.”
“Polish up her resume,” Gil advised, “and I’ll drop it on his desk.”
She was glowing with hope by the time they drove up to Bear’s tiny house.
The front door of the rustic little cedar house was propped open. A fuzzy squirrel was perched on the threshold, nibbling on an acorn.
April shot a questioning look at Kaya. “Doesn’t he normally lock his front door?”
She made a wry face. “Yes, but we left in a hurry. I’m the one who kicked it shut without locking it. Maybe it bounced back, and I didn’t notice it?”
Someone had obviously taken advantage of her oversight.
Gil pushed open the driver’s door of the armored SUV. “How about I go in first and make sure it’s clear?”
“Yes, please,” April said meekly.
He elbowed her good-naturedly before exiting the vehicle. “It’s not too rotten of a deal having a guy like me on your team. Just admit it already, Dr. Solo.”
“If you’re fishing for compliments,” she didn’t bother hiding a shiver, “prepare to squeeze your colossal head through the door of Bear’s tiny house. I’m wildly grateful you’re on the scene, Sheriff.” She didn’t mind giving him a big head about it.
“Me, too.” After Gil took off, Kaya propped her feet on the dashboard. “A personal chauffeur with room service to follow? Yes, please! I could get used to this kind of treatment.”
“Stay humble, esquire.” April swatted Kaya’s feet to get them off the dashboard. “I’m beginning to understand why your uncle might nix the idea of you scooting around in a Porsche.”
Kaya gave her a bored look. “You guys are two peas in a pod. I mean it.” Her face lit up as another thought occurred to her. “Hey! You’re also single, just like him.”
April caught her breath. “Wherever your impish mind is going, yank it back.”
Kaya’s expression grew sly. “From the idea of you dating Uncle Uri? Too late!”
“Please don’t,” April said faintly. It was a dangerous conversation to have with the niece of the man she was crushing on.
Gil jogged back to the SUV and pulled open the door. “It’s clear.” He was frowning ferociously. “In a manner of speaking.”
They soon discovered what he meant. The moment April stepped inside Bear’s living room, she sucked in an alarmed breath. His home had been ransacked. There was no other word to describe it. Every drawer in every cabinet had been pulled open, its contents strewn haphazardly across the floor.
Curtains were ripped from their rods. Sofa cushions were torn open. The legs on his two kitchen chairs were snapped clean off. Every can and jar in the pantry had been opened, crushed, or emptied out. Ketchup and mustard were dripping down the walls.
Unfortunately, there were no security cameras behind the shop like there were on the higher-traffic areas of Hawk’s property. Everyone knew Bear was an unplugged kind of guy. His tiny house — with nothing of monetary value in it — had been an easy target.
It was an angry scene. April could practically feel the malice hanging in the air. Her instincts told her that whoever had done the deed hadn’t found what they were looking for. She shared her thoughts with Gil.
“I’m inclined to agree.” He reported the break-in to the rez police and stayed until they arrived to process the scene.
That’s when they made another, even more frightening discovery. A single human bone was found beneath the bed in Bear’s bedroom — a bone that April was certain would fit somewhere on the skeleton at the morgue.
“Someone is trying to frame him for murder,” she breathed, pointing out the bits of dirt still clinging to the bone. It possessed all the earmarks of having been recently dug up.
“Looks like,” Gil agreed grimly. “And the longer he stays gone, the guiltier he’s going to look.”
By design. April knew it deep in her gut. Whoever had planted the bone under Bear’s bed had done it while he was away, then ransacked the place to ensure that whoever walked in next would call the police.
And find the bone.
“He didn’t do it,” Kaya said flatly. “I mean, really! Why would he? Both Willow Chaska and my aunt were as poor as church mice. My aunt didn’t even have life insurance.
I checked. The day she disappeared, my uncle lost someone he loved dearly.
Somebody he’s never stopped mourning. He’s also never given up hope of finding her alive. ”
“Let’s prove it,” April announced briskly. Yes, things looked bad for Uri Dakota, but the best they could do for him right now was to get back to work. One missing college girl at a time. One bone at a time. One dirt sample at a time. One strand of DNA at a time.
“So much for packing a suitcase,” Kaya mourned to April as they gazed around them at the shambles.
“We’ll go shopping,” April promised. It was something else she could do for Uri Dakota. She would look after his niece as she’d promised him she would.
“Only if there’s a thrift store in town.” Kaya looked down at her well-worn hiking boots. “Starving college student here, remember?”
“Not anymore.” April scrambled for something to say that would lift her spirits. “Gil promised to provide us with whatever supplies we need, and clothing is essential.” She glanced toward the retired sheriff for affirmation and received a thumbs up. No hesitation.
Seeing his response, Kaya averted her face, blinking rapidly to hide the glint of tears. “He did say that, didn’t he?”