CHAPTER EIGHTEEN #2
They returned to the evidence room where Joseph's journals remained spread across the table.
Kari lifted the first notebook, running her finger along the worn spine before carefully opening it.
The pages, yellowed with age and filled with her grandfather's precise handwriting, crackled as they bent.
"I'll start with the earliest entries," she said, glancing at Ben across the table. "You take the later notebooks."
Ben nodded, pulling a lined notepad closer. "I'll document anything that seems relevant to our current case."
Kari turned pages slowly, absorbed in her grandfather's methodical documentation of the first murder.
"'Witness statements inconsistent,'" she read aloud.
"'Tribal elder initially reported seeing someone near the site at dusk, then recanted claim during formal interview.
Possible cultural reluctance to involve outsiders. '" She made a note on her own pad.
"Listen to this," Ben said, eyes scanning a page in the second journal.
"'Silver suggests spiritual elements should be documented separately from official reports.
FBI liaison dismissive of ceremonial aspects, focused exclusively on physical evidence.
'" He looked up. "Your grandfather and Silver were keeping dual records. "
Kari nodded, turning to the next entry in her notebook. "'Suspect Martin Wilson's alibi confirmed by bartender at Trading Post. Three witnesses place him in Gallup during estimated time of death.'" She sighed. "More leads that went nowhere."
They continued to compile the names of suspects investigated and cleared, potential witnesses who refused to cooperate, and theories that ultimately proved false. Joseph had pursued each possibility with rigorous attention to detail, only to encounter dead ends and jurisdictional barriers.
"Your grandfather was getting frustrated here," Ben said, pointing to an entry from the second year of investigation. "'Department resources redirected to highway accidents. Investigation time limited to four hours weekly. Silver suggests continuing unofficially.'"
Kari rubbed her eyes, feeling the strain of reading the faded handwriting under fluorescent lights. "He never gave up. Even when the department wanted to move on."
"He believed the murders would continue if the killer wasn't caught," Ben said, reading from another page. "'Pattern suggests ceremonial purpose incomplete. Fifth point necessary to complete configuration. Additional victims likely if perpetrator remains free.'"
"And then the murders stopped after the fifth victim," Kari said, looking through her own notes.
"Joseph never understood why." She flipped back through some of the pages she'd already reviewed.
"Joseph interviewed dozens of people, but physical evidence was minimal.
No fingerprints, no footprints clear enough to cast, no witnesses willing to testify. "
She turned another page and paused. "Wait.
Here's something about a suspicious vehicle seen near the second crime scene.
'Green truck with Flagstaff registration plates observed by multiple witnesses day before body discovered.
Vehicle linked to anthropology department at Northern Arizona University. '"
"Any follow-up?" Ben asked.
"Investigation blocked," Kari said, continuing to read. "'University administration required formal subpoena for vehicle logs. By time documentation received, all potential evidence compromised.'" She shook her head. "Another dead end."
Ben pushed aside the journal he'd been reading and reached for another. "Joseph was methodical, I'll give him that. But I'm not seeing anything that points definitively to a specific suspect."
"Keep looking," Kari urged. "There has to be something here that connects the historical cases to what's happening now."
They were both silent for a few moments as they read.
"Here's a detailed description of the fifth murder scene," Ben finally said. "Victim found at 'Chee hogan near Skeleton Mesa.'" He looked up. "Chee? As in your family?"
Kari felt her pulse quicken as she reached for the journal.
The entry described the discovery of the fifth victim—Laura Yellowhair, the friend Ruth had mentioned.
According to Joseph's notes, her body had been found "arranged in ceremonial position beside the eastern entrance of the abandoned Chee family hogan, the same herb bundle placed in her mouth post-mortem. "
"The Chee hogan," Kari repeated, the memories suddenly connecting. "My mother once mentioned that Ruth lived in a traditional hogan when she first married Joseph. They moved to the current house when my mother was born."
"So the fifth victim was found at your family's former home?" Ben asked, looking concerned.
"Yes," Kari said, continuing to read Joseph's notes. "Listen to this: 'A.Y. had no connection to academic research or documentation efforts, unlike previous victims. No apparent reason for targeting except proximity to investigation. Possible warning or threat directed at primary investigator.'"
The implication crystallized in Kari's mind with sudden, terrible clarity. "Ruth wasn't just friends with Laura Yellowhair," she said slowly. "Laura was killed in a location directly connected to my family. My grandfather suspected she was targeted because of his investigation—a warning to him."
"Or a substitution," Ben suggested grimly. "What if Laura wasn't the intended fifth victim? What if the killer meant to target Ruth but settled for her friend when opportunity presented itself?"
Kari felt cold despite the room's warmth.
"Ruth knew," she whispered. "That's why she's been so afraid, why she warned me away from this case.
" She looked up at Ben, the pieces falling into place.
"That's why she acted so strangely when I last saw her, why she was so sentimental.
She was afraid she might not see me again—not because something might happen to me, but because something might happen to her.