CHAPTER ELEVEN
Kari met Maria at Phoenix PD headquarters at six-thirty in the morning, both of them running on coffee and determination.
The building was already active despite the early hour—the pressure of three unsolved murders in Paradise Valley meant overtime for everyone, extended shifts, and compressed timelines.
"Judge signed off on the phone tracking twenty minutes ago," Maria said, leading Kari through the bullpen toward her desk. "Tech team is running the trace now. Should have coordinates within the hour, assuming the phone's still active."
"And if it's not?"
"Then we hope the canvas teams got lucky overnight and someone else noticed our mystery woman.
" Maria dropped into her chair, pulling up files on her computer.
"I've got officers checking traffic cameras near Sheridan's neighborhood, seeing if we can catch the sedan leaving the area.
Also running missing persons reports, just in case our caller didn't make it home safely last night. "
Kari absorbed that possibility. If the killer had realized someone else was at Sheridan's house, if they'd been watching and waiting, the woman who called 911 might be in serious danger. "What about Hatathli?" she asked. "Where are we with him?"
"Still in custody. The chief is firm on charging him with all three murders at the press conference this morning.
" Maria's expression was grim. "I tried arguing that the third murder proves he couldn't have done it, but the accomplice theory is locked in.
They're going to present him as the ringleader of some kind of environmental extremist network. "
"Based on what evidence?"
"Based on political pressure and the need to look like we're in control.
" Maria pulled up crime scene photos from all three murders.
"But here's what we actually have: three victims, all connected to the Sunset Ridge Resort.
All killed with the same weapon—ballistics confirmed the bullets match.
And DNA evidence places Hatathli at the first two scenes, but not at Sheridan's house.
He has an iron-clad alibi of being in our custody. "
Kari studied the photos, looking for patterns she might have missed. Just then, she was distracted by the sound of raised voices down the hallway. She recognized the general direction—near the interrogation rooms—and the aggressive tone of someone who believed they had momentum.
"What's that?" she asked, already standing.
Maria's expression shifted. "Shit. Caruso."
"Who?"
"Detective Vincent Caruso. Homicide, twenty-three years on the job, thinks aggressive interrogation is an art form." Maria was up and moving toward the hallway. "He's been pushing to question Hatathli since the arrest, thinks he can break him into confessing about the accomplices."
Kari followed Maria down the corridor, the voices getting louder as they approached.
Through the small window in the interrogation room door, she could see Thomas Hatathli sitting at the metal table, his hands clasped in front of him, his face showing the strain of his time in custody.
Across from him stood a barrel-chested detective in his late forties, leaning forward with his palms flat on the table, invading Hatathli's space.
"—don't believe for a second you acted alone," the detective was saying, his voice carrying through the door.
"You want to protect your accomplices, fine.
But you're going down for all three killings whether you talk or not.
Only question is whether you spend the rest of your life in prison or if you cooperate, and maybe we can work something out. "
Kari pushed through the door before Maria could stop her.
"What's going on here?"
Detective Caruso straightened, annoyed. "Who the hell are you?"
"Detective Kari Blackhorse, Navajo Nation Police. I'm consulting on this case." Kari looked at Hatathli, seeing the exhaustion in his eyes, the way his shoulders were tight with stress. "Where's your attorney?"
"I asked the same thing," Hatathli said, his voice hoarse. "Detective Caruso said this was just an informal conversation, that I could answer a few questions without bothering my lawyer."
"There's no such thing as an informal conversation when you're in custody and facing murder charges." Kari turned to Caruso. "Does his attorney know you're questioning him?"
"His attorney isn't here, and the suspect agreed to talk to me," Caruso said. "I didn't violate any rights."
"So you're questioning a represented suspect without his counsel present."
Caruso smiled humorlessly. "I've been doing this job since before you were out of high school, Detective. I know what I'm doing."
Kari stepped between Caruso and the table. "Then you know that extracting a confession from someone who's been in custody without proper rest or legal counsel is a good way to get that confession thrown out."
Caruso's face reddened. "I got authorization from my lieutenant to question this suspect. I don't need permission from a consultant to do my job."
"You have authorization to conduct a legal interrogation," Maria said from the doorway, her voice carefully neutral. "But Detective Blackhorse is right that we need to be careful about the optics. Hatathli's attorney has already filed complaints about the conditions of his detention."
"Because his attorney is playing the system, trying to get his client off on technicalities.
" Caruso grabbed a folder from the table.
"This man threatened the victims publicly.
His DNA was at the crime scenes. He had motive, means, and opportunity.
The only thing he hasn't done is tell us who helped him, and I guarantee if I had another hour with him—"
"Another hour and you might coerce a false confession that destroys our case," Kari said flatly. "Innocent people confess under pressure all the time, especially when they're exhausted and scared and being told that cooperation is their only chance."
"So now you're saying he's innocent?" Caruso's tone was mocking. "Based on what, your cultural intuition? Your special insight into the Native American mind?"
Kari's jaw tightened, but she kept her voice level.
"Based on the fact that a third murder occurred while he was in custody here.
Based on the fact that the DNA evidence at the first two crime scenes is suspiciously minimal and perfectly placed.
Based on the fact that this entire case feels like someone's setting him up. "
"Or based on the fact that you don't want to believe one of your people could be capable of murder," Caruso shot back. "I've seen it before—cultural consultants who come in and make excuses, who try to explain away violence because of tradition or oppression or whatever the narrative is this week."
Maria's voice cut through the tension. "That's enough. Caruso, take a break. Get some coffee, cool down."
"I don't need—"
"That wasn't a suggestion." Maria's tone made it clear she was pulling rank. "We'll resume the interview later, with proper procedures."
Caruso glared at Kari for a long moment, then grabbed his folder and pushed past her toward the door. "This is why cases fall apart. Too many people protecting suspects instead of getting justice for victims."
He left, his footsteps heavy in the hallway.
Kari turned to Hatathli, who looked like he was barely holding himself together. "Are you okay? Did he threaten you? Make any promises or threats?"
"No. Nothing I could point to specifically.
" Hatathli's voice was shaky. "He just kept saying I was going to prison for the rest of my life unless I told him about the others.
Kept asking who was helping me, who planned it with me, who carried out the murders while I was in custody.
He said if I gave him names, maybe the prosecutor would reduce the charges. "
"That's not something he can promise," Kari said. "And anything you told him without an attorney present could be used against you, even if it's taken out of context or misinterpreted."
"I didn't tell him anything. I don't know anything." Hatathli's hands were shaking. "I didn't kill those people. I didn't plan murders with anyone. I protested the resort development, yes. I said things I regret now, things that sounded like threats. But I'm not a murderer."
Kari believed him. She'd interviewed enough guilty people to recognize the difference between denial and confusion. Hatathli wasn't trying to construct an alibi or deflect blame—he was simply bewildered by how his life had spiraled from legal protest to murder charges in less than a week.
"Talk to your attorney," Kari said. "Let him know what just happened. And don't talk to anyone from Phoenix PD without counsel present, no matter what they say about cooperation or looking guilty."
Kari looked at Maria. "Can we give him a few minutes? Let him make some calls?"
Maria hesitated, clearly weighing departmental politics against what was right. "Five minutes. But Kari, we need to talk. Outside."
They left Hatathli in the interrogation room and walked down the hallway toward an empty conference room. Maria closed the door behind them and turned to Kari with an expression that was part frustration, part sympathy.
"I get what you were doing in there. I agree, Caruso was pushing too hard.
But you need to understand the position this puts me in.
" Maria kept her voice low. "The department is under enormous pressure.
Three wealthy victims are dead, Paradise Valley residents are terrified, and the media coverage makes us look incompetent.
The chief needs this case closed, which means he needs Hatathli to be guilty.
Anything that complicates that narrative—like a consultant suggesting he's innocent—makes my life very difficult. "
"I'm not here to make your life easy. I'm here to help find the actual killer.
" Kari understood Maria's position but couldn't back down.
"Caruso was setting up a coerced confession.
You know how that ends—months from now, a judge throws it out, the defense claims police misconduct, and your case falls apart.
Better to do it right from the start, while the evidence is fresh. "
"Caruso has authorization to question suspects. His lieutenant approved it, which means the chief approved it. He wasn't breaking any rules, technically."
Kari thought about Hatathli's exhausted face, the way his hands had been shaking. "Even innocent people can break under enough pressure, especially when they're sleep-deprived and isolated."
"I know." Maria ran a hand through her hair. "I know, and I hate it. But the machine is in motion now, and stopping it would require proof that someone else committed these murders. Real proof, not just suspicion or theory."
"Then let's find that proof." Kari checked her watch—seven-fifteen.
Less than two hours until the press conference.
"The phone trace should be done by now. Let's locate our mystery witness and see what she knows about Sheridan's murder.
Maybe she saw something that can point us toward the real killer. "
Maria nodded slowly. "Okay. But Kari, stay away from Caruso. He's got connections in the department, and he's the type to hold grudges. You embarrassed him in there, and that's going to come back on both of us."
"I can handle Caruso." Kari opened the conference room door. "What I can't handle is watching an innocent man get railroaded because it's politically convenient."
They walked back toward Maria's desk, passing the interrogation room where Hatathli sat alone, probably trying to process how his life had been upended so completely.
The bullpen was more crowded now, the day shift arriving, detectives gathering around coffee makers and comparing notes on overnight developments. Kari saw Caruso near the break room, talking to two other detectives and gesturing animatedly. When he noticed her looking, his expression hardened.
"Told you," Maria muttered. "He's already building his case against you for interfering with his investigation."
"Let him try." Kari was too focused on the ticking clock to worry about department politics. "Where are we on that phone trace?"
Maria checked her computer, then smiled for the first time that morning. "Got it. Phone's active, currently located in the Sunnyslope area. Address is pulling up now—looks like an apartment complex on Dunlap Avenue."
"That's not far. Twenty minutes?" Kari was already mentally planning the approach. They needed the woman to trust them, to see them as allies rather than threats. Coming in aggressively would just make her run again.
"About that." Maria grabbed her keys and badge. "Let's go. But Kari, when we find her, let me take the lead initially. She's more likely to respond to a local detective than someone from tribal police. No offense."
"None taken. I'll follow your lead." Kari checked that her own badge was visible, her weapon secured. "But if she's scared enough to run from a crime scene, she's not going to be easy to convince."
"We'll figure it out. We have to." Maria headed for the exit. "Because if we don't find something to change the narrative in the next two hours, Thomas Hatathli is going to be formally charged with three murders he didn't commit, and the real killer is going to disappear while we chase ghosts."