Chapter 7 Bear Trap #3
Kaya didn’t look convinced. “He could be lying, since Traitor Tiffany most certainly is in town.”
“I don’t think so.” There hadn’t been enough hesitation in his responses. “For now, I’m going with the assumption that your boyfriend’s father isn’t aware she’s in town, which is a point in favor of his innocence.” After multiple attempts on her uncle’s life, it was saying a lot.
“Whatever makes you happy, boss,” Kaya teased.
“The truth would make me happy.” April walked up to the evidence board in the hallway.
They’d created it by mounting a bedsheet to the wall.
They’d used safety pins to affix the photos to it.
In addition to the photos she’d taken inside the storm shelter, she’d pinned up her research notes about the dubious history between the Haywoods and the Dakotas.
Her notes included sketches — a woman named Chasity and her two young daughters, Hope and Patience.
The girls were very young in the sketches she’d run across in a book about Heart Lake’s founding families and earliest settlers.
The woman’s first husband had been Esau Haywood.
According to a crumbling newspaper clipping she’d found on microfilm at the library, Esau had died suddenly, and Chasity had remarried.
As sad as it was, the most interesting part of the story was that Chasity’s second husband had been a Comanche war chief.
Sadly, her family and friends had shunned her for marrying a Native American. Her children had been taken from her and raised by a sister. It wasn’t clear if the two young girls had been removed by force, or if Chasity had voluntarily relinquished custody. Either way, it was a pity.
In a twist of irony, both of Chasity’s daughters had followed in their mother’s footsteps years later by marrying Comanches themselves — on the same day, no less! News of the double wedding had created quite a scandal in their small town.
The aunt who’d raised them had reported it to the federal marshal, claiming they’d been “abducted in the same manner as their mother.” There was no record of a response from the federal marshal’s office, and the story ended there.
Maybe Bear could shed light on what happened next. He’d mentioned undocumented skirmishes between the Comanches and the Haywoods. Was this what had caused them?
The minutes ticked by and quickly turned into an hour. April glanced at the door, wondering where Bear was.
She finally gave in to her fears and dialed his number.
He picked up on the first ring. “I’m on my way up the stairs now.”
The stairs? “Is something wrong with the elevator?”
“Nope. Just familiarizing myself with the layout of the building.” He made it sound as if it were no big deal to be walking up a dozen flights of stairs instead of taking the elevator. Nor did he sound out of breath.
Seconds later, she heard a knock on the door.
She opened it, and there he was — all tall, sun-kissed, and clean again. She caught a whiff of woodsy soap as he held out a snowy white box to her. It was unwrapped and decently heavy.
“I considered bringing you flowers, but this felt more appropriate.”
“Thank you, Bear!” She accepted the package in wonder, not having expected a gift. Since Kaya was watching them like a hawk, April tried to keep her voice nonchalant as she swung the door wider to usher him inside. “Are you going to give me a hint what it is?”
“I can do that.” His dark eyes twinkled into hers. “Over the years, it’s been called everything from a light to a sword. More specifically, it’s been called sharper than a two-edged sword.”
“I know what it is,” Kaya sang out.
April didn’t. “I’m intrigued.” She lifted the cover off the box and was astounded to find a new Bible inside. Her name was etched into the bottom right-hand corner in gilded gold letters. The scent of leather and oil wafted up from the brown, intricately carved cover.
“This is amazing!” She raised her stunned gaze to him. “When did you find the time to get me a gift? A custom gift, no less?”
“Family connections.” He looked pleased with her reaction. “My niece, Miley, and her stepdad, Hawk, own a rawhide business. They design all sorts of stuff. Wallets, drink coasters, saddles, boots…”
“And Bibles. It’s so beautiful.” She lifted the Bible from the box to thumb through it. That’s when she made her next discovery. Bear had taken the time to underline several passages of scripture. She silently read the first one she came across. It was from the Book of Psalms.
My love for you will never end.
She found the next underlined passage in the Book of John.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you.
The next one was in I John.
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…
Her logical mind quickly latched onto the fact that each of the verses was about love. He’d essentially transformed his gift into a love letter.
It appealed to both her heart and intellect. It was wildly sweet of him, and infinitely classy. It was also the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her. She would treasure it for as long as she lived.
While she marveled at the Bible, he joined Kaya in front of their evidence board.
“We’re not sure if any of this is connected to what happened to Aunt Tiana.” She gestured at the board.
“I have a theory,” he announced quietly. “It’s something that’s remained at the back of my mind for years, though I’ve never had any proof.”
“Hold that thought, please. I’ll be right back.” April moved past them to set the gorgeous Bible on the nightstand. Then she returned to the evidence board in the entryway. “Okay. Let’s hear your theory.”
“It involves an ancient Comanche practice of replenishing their ranks after battle by abducting settlers.” Bear’s jaw tightened.
“It’s a dark spot in our history, so it’s not something people like to talk about nowadays.
The abducted settlers were usually children and young women.
They replaced warriors lost in battle and those lost to cholera and smallpox, all of which the Comanche blamed on the settlers. ”
He reached out to tap a finger against one of the sketches.
“Chasity’s sister tried to make a case that her sister and two nieces were victims of this ancient practice.
Remember those undocumented skirmishes I mentioned between the Haywoods and the Dakotas?
They began shortly after she made the claim.
Exactly three Comanche warriors were killed in retaliation — all members of the Dakota family.
An eye-for-an-eye and tooth-for-a-tooth brand of vengeance.
Afterward, the bloodshed ended, but the hatred continued.
The Haywoods and the Dakotas have been enemies ever since. ”
“I’m so sorry, Uncle Uri!” Kaya sounded overcome with remorse. “I knew things were bad between Ben’s family and our tribe, but I honestly had no idea why. No wonder it was so hard for you to hear we were dating.”
“Yeah, it was hard.” He hooked an arm around her and pulled her close. “But a brilliant forensic pathologist convinced me to extend a little grace to him, so I have. At least I’m trying to.”
“I know you’re trying.” She hugged him back. “That’s the real reason my boyfriend survived your initial meeting, huh?”
He didn’t crack so much as a smile in return. “There’s something else you need to know.” He met April’s gaze soberly. “It’s something both of you need to know.” He lapsed into a moment of contemplative silence before continuing. “Tiana was secretly dating a Haywood before she disappeared.”
Kaya gasped and pulled away from him to get a better look at his face. “Say it isn’t so!”
“I can’t.” He shook his head regretfully. “She told me herself the day before she, er…” His voice cracked. “You know…”
April’s heart ached for him so badly that it was hard to say what still needed to be said. She eyed the evidence board drearily. “Maybe that’s what all of this is about. Vengeance.” It made a horrible sort of sense — more sense than any of her other theories up to this point.
Bear spread his hands. “Maybe you can work your forensic magic and find something that’ll prove it.”
It was a tall order. “I’ll do my best.” However, there was nothing magical about forensics. It was purely science.
He grimaced. “In case I wasn’t clear, I find the practice of abducting settlers both immoral and indefensible.”
It still didn’t justify what the Haywoods’ ancestors had done to his ancestors. “So is taking vengeance into one’s own hands and massacring three innocent Comanches!”
“It’s only a theory,” he reminded.
“One I intend to unravel and chase to the bitter end,” she promised.
“I promised to get justice for your family, and that hasn’t changed.
” That someone might have harmed his sister in a fit of prejudice-laced malice was enough to make her blood boil.
The ugly history between the Haywoods and the Dakotas, however, would set the stage for something like that.
If the wrong person had found out that Tiana was secretly dating a Haywood, it would’ve been like lighting a match to a pile of dry leaves.
Another equally horrifying image flashed through April’s mind.
“Kaya!” She whipped her head in her assistant’s direction.
“Please assure me you understand the implications of what this could mean for you and Ben.” Her insides were trembling so badly that she might not let Kaya out of her sight until all of this was over.
Kaya covered her face with her hands, peeking out at April between her fingers. “My brain already went there.” She lowered her hands back to her sides. “I have a bodyguard, though, and Ben doesn’t. We need to warn him.”
“Do we?” Her uncle raised a single eyebrow at her. “Since the tragedies have been sorely one-sided, I’m not sure it’s a good idea to tip our hand.”
She looked wounded. “I trust him, Uncle Uri. If something bad is festering between our families again, he has no part in it.”