A fat tear struggled to escape Nora’s eye. She clenched her teeth and inhaled, willing it away. Abigail kissed Nora’s forehead. “You need to decide what you want—a career or a life.”
Nora pulled away. “Drive safely.”
Abigail’s lips tightened and she glared at Nora. The stare-down lasted several seconds before Abigail narrowed her eyes. “All right, then.”
She swiveled toward Charlie and snatched the cookies from his hand. She stomped up the stairs, pausing at the screen door. Over her shoulder she said, “Charles. Will you bring my suitcases upstairs, please?”
19
A hard rain battered the deck outside the opened French doors of Lisa’s office. The afternoon faded toward evening. No wonder Lisa loved this office so much. With the open door and windows, it felt like working outside, except she stayed dry. She let her fingertips outline the blue and black inlay on Lisa’s box. She snapped on the desk lamp. Pictures of petroglyphs and pictographs panels covered the desk.
Nora lined them up side by side, looking for similarities. Lisa had carefully labeled the backs of the photos she’d shot with the location and date. She’d scribbled the site addresses on those she’d downloaded from the Internet. They showed the various figures Nora had seen all over—humans, animals, mazes, hand prints. The weird sunburst from Nora’s dream showed up in most of the photos, along with snakes and birds and even the profile of the person in a boat.
Nora replayed Lisa’s message. What was she trying to say? Nora typed Tokpela Ranch into her laptop and was rewarded with a livestock auction report. Tokpela Ranch sold six cows several days ago. A little more research revealed the location of the ranch to be about twenty miles south of Moab and that it bordered Canyonlands.
Nora’s phone vibrated, startling her. She checked the ID—Cole.
Her heart leapt and she smiled automatically. Then her heart plummeted with a bruising punch as she remembered her situation. Her hand was already halfway to the phone and she hesitated.
He was married. She shouldn’t answer it. Clean cut. Don’t make it worse, she told herself. Against her better judgement, she picked it up and said hello. He was seven hundred miles away. How could talking to him do any harm, she rationalized, even though she knew better.
There was a slight pause and he spoke in a strained voice. “I wasn’t sure you’d answer after this morning.”
She pictured the blush climbing his neck and burning in his cheeks. She longed to feel his arms around her but he belonged to another woman. What she really needed was a big dose of backbone. She mouthed the words to try to make it more real. He’s married. “I spoke to your wife this morning.”
He exhaled. “Oh.” “Oh,” she repeated.
“Nora.” The longing in his voice made her grab the edge of the desk. She held her breath.
“This thing that’s going on. This … marriage.” She swallowed, her skin hot.
“It’s … complicated.”
“Complicated? As in, my wife doesn’t understand me, but you do, let’s have an affair?”
He exhaled again. “No. Amber.” It sounded like he choked on the words. “My w-wife. I need to be careful. She’s dangerous.”
“Dangerous how?”
He hesitated, then the words spewed out in a decidedly unCole- like manner. “Please, trust me for now. Don’t give up on us. I love you, Nora. I know you love me. I’m going to fix this, but it’ll take a little more time. Can you give me that?”
No. She should end it, like she’d already ended it in Moab this morning. Why was she talking to him on the phone anyway? She’d trusted Scott years ago when he said his affair was over. That had been a stupid mistake. She should learn from that. “Yes. I can give you time. But not forever.” She smacked her forehead. Stupid, stupid, stupid. But Cole wasn’t Scott. She did trust him. “How’s your father?”
His tone brightened a bit. “He’s holding his own. The tough ol’ guy might just make it.”
There was that. He asked about Charlie and Abigail and she asked about the ranch, then the conversation stalled out. “Can I call you again?” He sounded sweet and shy. That vulnerability always undid her. Her gut told her it was authentic even as her head argued.
“Yes,” she heard the longing in her own voice. She smacked her forehead again. If she didn’t start having easier relationships, she’d give herself brain damage.
She sat for a long time after he hung up, listening to the rain patter on the deck.
20
Another sunrise on Lisa’s front porch. More corn dust tossed in gratitude for another day. Another appeal to the spirits of her father’s clan. More silence.
Maybe the kachina only showed up when Nora faced real, physical danger or when he had something he wanted her to do. But she’d like a personal deity to wrap some support around her. She’d probably lost Cole, someone she thought she’d love for a lifetime. Would it be so much to ask she not lose her imaginary spirit as well?
When the kachina first appeared to Nora on her mountain in Flagstaff, she’d been terrified. There are hundreds of Hopi kachinas that represent everything from animals and nature to ancestors. They generally show up for ceremonies and dances or appear in clouds to rain on the desert corn. The kachina that visited Nora was an old Hopi kikmongwi, or chief, from the 1880s. Benny said he was her grandfather of many generations past. Benny knew this because the kachina was also his grandfather and they were in regular communication. If Nora hadn’t experienced the kachina’s visits, she might not believed what Benny said. Choosing to go along with Benny’s explanation let her believe she wasn’t a complete lunatic.
He appeared to her in Flagstaff so she would stop the manmade snow on the sacred peaks. He’d inexplicably shown up in Boulder last fall, just weeks before the strict Hopi calendar dictated all kachinas return to the three mesas in Arizona. Then he’d had another mission for her. She tried to convince herself he was only a figment of her over-active imagination.
But he’d saved her life in a very tangible way.
Despite Utah’s rising sun warming her face, Nora shivered remembering the Rocky Mountain peak last fall. She’d felt the freezing air of Mount Evans in a snowstorm, seconds before dawn.
Trapped on a ledge, her arm useless from a gunshot, a terrorist dead at her feet, Nora had no choice but to step into the rifle sight of a killer. The gunman held his rifle up, sighting into the scope.
Nora caught her breath. She knew the killer’s next shot would tear her apart.
But the shot never came.
The kachina appeared behind the killer. He held his hatchet high.
She’d been to the mesas, listened to Benny’s stories about the Hopi and their migrations. She’d prayed with him and walked the trails where the Hopi had lived for centuries. But since that morning on Mount Evans, her kachina remained silent.
Maybe she didn’t want him popping out at her all the time, but it might be nice if he’d let her know he still watched over her.
She remembered Benny’s words: “When Hopi know things are wrong, they look to themselves for personal responsibility.”
What had she done to chase the kachina away? She’d planted corn in pots all over her apartment and office as the Hopi instructed. She hadn’t been living simply, though—not if that meant growing her own food and not using electricity or any other convenience.
Benny told her that Hopi would reach a point of confusion because the modern world clashed with the traditional one. This world was in its fourth revision. The three previous worlds had ended when the leaders were corrupted by greed and power. Hopi prophesies warned it could happen again. Was Nora too steeped in the modern world?
A cupboard door banged in the kitchen behind Nora and she was suddenly back in the bright morning on the porch. She studied the yellow bloom of the blazing star in the front yard, still looking for the flash of her kachina’s blue sash. He’d abandoned her.
The siren scent of bacon called to her nose. Abigail knew
Nora loved bacon and she’d be crisping slices in the microwave. The thought of her mother’s care lifted her heart a little. But if she wanted the comfort of the bacon, she’d best hurry inside before Abigail pulled her usual trick and blackened it.
The screen squealed open and banged softly behind Nora as she padded on bare feet to the kitchen in time to see Rachel slide a plate of bacon from the microwave.
Rachel’s stony face froze, then thawed slightly after a second. She banged the plate on the counter bar in front of Nora. “So, I hear you’re single now, too.”
It sounded harsh and the bacon wasn’t offered with gentleness, but it showed a modicum of sympathy. Nora plopped on a barstool. “Abigail told you.”
Rachel nodded.
“Single’s not so bad,” Nora said.
Rachel reached over and took a slice of bacon. She’d cooked it just the way Nora liked it, crisp enough to hold its shape but not charred.
“I don’t like single,” Rachel said.
Maybe she and Rachel could call a truce. “After my disaster of a first marriage, I can fully embrace living alone.” She tried to grin, but the words tasted bitter. She truly didn’t mind being single, but she hated the thought of losing Cole before ever really having him. She grabbed a piece of bacon and bit into it, tasting the salty, fatty goodness. An entire blue-ribbon pig cured and fried wouldn’t be enough to take away her pain, but this mouthful wouldn’t hurt.
Rachel stuffed a half a slice of bacon into her mouth, slid the last one off the plate and onto the counter in front of Nora, and reloaded the plate with raw slices. She covered it with paper towels and slapped it into the microwave to convert calories to comfort.
“I’ve never really been on my own,” Rachel said. She stared out the window toward Castle Rock.
Nora didn’t know much about Rachel. She’d come into Lisa’s life a few years ago. “What did you do before you met Lisa?”
Rachel’s inhale vibrated in her chest, as if she were fighting tears. She twirled around and checked the bacon through the microwave window. “I was married.”
Nora didn’t have to ask if Rachel was married to a man. Marlene was right; Rachel had not only stepped outside the lines, she’d leapt clear to another coloring book. Though if Rachel had been married before, it showed she had relationships with men in the past. Would it be such a stretch to think she might have another? And if so, why not an affair with Lee?
Nora tried to keep the suspicion from gaining a foothold. She needed to trust Lisa and Lisa had loved Rachel. “Will you stay here?” Nora asked.
The microwave dinged and Rachel reached in for the plate. “Where else would I go?” She didn’t sound defensive, and it appeared to be a legitimate question.
After the events in Flagstaff and she’d lost her husband, her business, and her entire direction in life, Nora fled to Boulder, where she’d grown up. She’d needed to back up before she could move forward. But Rachel had nowhere to back up to. And even though Nora had pushed him away, Cole had been there for her. Who did Rachel have?
Lee’s image popped into Nora’s head again.
Abigail’s footfalls sounded from the stairs. “What decadence do I smell?” She rounded the corner, coming to stand with her hands on her hips, surveying Nora and Rachel as though they’d broken into a bank. Abigail had sent a forlorn Charlie back to Flagstaff, insisting that she stay until Nora came to her senses.
Nora reached for the plate Rachel set on the counter and helped herself to another slice. “Ambrosia from the pork gods.”
Abigail lunged for Nora’s hand, but she quickly stuffed the bacon into her mouth. Abigail frowned at her. “You’ll never get Cole back if you let yourself get fat.”
“A few pieces of bacon aren’t going to ruin me. Cole doesn’t matter anyway.”
Abigail leaned toward the plate. “I suppose a little bacon won’t hurt.” She snagged a piece and savored a bite. “But you’re wrong about Cole. There’s an explanation for this alleged marriage, and when we find out, you’ll be sorry you were so hard on him.”
“Hard on him?” Nora choked out, wanting to start a tirade but realizing the futility and letting it drop. “So, you stayed in Moab to help me cope with my broken heart?”
Abigail made her way to the kitchen and reached for the coffee. “Absolutely not. There will be no feeling sorry for yourself. I’m here to make sure you don’t give up on Cole.”
“Do you have a plan?”
Rachel leaned back on the counter and watched their interplay.
Abigail measured coffee into a French press. She tapped the tea kettle on the stove, found the temperature acceptable, and poured the water on top of the grounds. “Frankly, I don’t know.”
Nora hopped off the stool. “Good. I’ve got a plan, then.” “And what, pray tell, would that be?”
“You can take me to some of the places you and my father visited.”
“Why would you want to do that?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it will make me feel closer to him. Maybe I can learn something about him.” Maybe a trip to Arches can take us to Fiery Furnace and I can figure out what Lisa wanted to tell me.
“Well, that’s just more of your woo-woo mystic lunacy.” Rachel’s eyes twinkled as though she watched a comedy.
She wouldn’t admit that her mother might be right. So far, Nora didn’t feel any real connection to her father and her Hopi ties felt shaky. If she didn’t find Lisa’s camera, she might lose her job. Cole was most likely a lost cause. Right now, the only things that felt solid were her connections to Abigail and the land. And her commitment to finding Lisa’s killer.
“Okay, then let’s just go to Arches and sightsee,” she told Abigail. Abigail depressed the plunger on her coffee. “Can’t we go shopping instead?”
Nora turned to Rachel. “Where were some of the last places Lisa filmed?”
Rachel pushed against the counter. Her eyes turned hard. “I don’t know. Why?”
“Maybe we could hit a few of the sites. Get some idea what Lisa was thinking.”
Rachel picked up the empty plate and banged it into the sink. Luckily, it didn’t break. “Lisa was thinking she wanted to change the world to better suit her own whims. The world had a different notion.”
Abigail opened a cupboard and plucked out a coffee cup. “It was an accident. It would have happened whether she’d been filming or picnicking.”
Rachel stared into the sink, her shoulders rigid. She didn’t reply.
Perhaps because she knew Lisa’s death wasn’t an accident?
“Let’s go to Fiery Furnace. It was a special place to Lisa.” Nora studied Rachel’s back. Rachel gripped the edge of the sink, but didn’t turn.
Abigail laced her coffee with hazelnut creamer. “I don’t suppose there’s a mall in Moab,” she said, trying to diffuse the tension.
Rachel turned slowly and glared at Nora. “Leave it alone.” “What is there you don’t want me to find?” Nora said.
Abigail scoffed. “Rachel’s only concerned you don’t torture yourself like this, Nora. Going to Lisa’s favorite places will only rub salt in the wound.”
Rachel and Nora didn’t move or acknowledge Abigail. Silence ticked in the kitchen. A mourning dove hoo-hoo-hooted outside.
Abigail set her cup on the counter. “Fine. If you’re so set on wallowing in death and pain, we’ll visit some of the spots your father and I went to. Now quit harassing Rachel.”
21
An hour later Nora held the Jeep door open for Abbey to jump in the back.
Abigail walked onto the porch and called back inside through the closed screen door. “I’ve got my phone, dear. Text me if you decide you need anything from town.” She hefted a wicker tote bag onto her shoulder and stepped down the porch. She wore khaki capris and walking shoes. Her cardigan sweater matched the pink T-shirt underneath as well as the trim on her socks and she looked like a catalogue image for tasteful outdoor-wear for older women.
“Re
ady?” Nora was more than anxious to get moving.
Abigail slid into the passenger seat of the Jeep and twisted around, settling her tote bag on the floor behind Nora’s seat. “I’ve brought sun-screen, snacks, water, an extra jacket, and a first aid kit. Anything else?”
Nora flung her arm over the seat back to look behind her. She backed down the dirt driveway, concentrating on the narrow passage. “I’ve got most of that stuff in here. I filled my water bottles at the house.”
Abigail raised her eyebrows. “I’m sure you’ve got all sorts of things in this vehicle. How you ever find anything is beyond me—looks like you haven’t cleaned it out in years.”
Nora pulled onto the road and slid the Jeep in gear. “Abbey and I spend a lot of time in the mountains. I have extra coats and gear in here for that.”
“Too bad they didn’t wash and detail your Jeep while it was at the shop.”
Just another verse of the old “Clean Your Room” ballad. “Where would you like to go first?”
Abigail reached around and dug into her tote bag, pulling out a granola bar. She unwrapped it. “I don’t care.”
They turned on the highway and headed toward Moab. “Let’s start at the windows arches. You and Dan hiked there, didn’t you?”
“You can call him your father. You don’t have to say his name.” “It’s just weird for me. All my life he was this guy that abandoned
us, so I didn’t want to feel any affection for him. Now I know he died, that he didn’t leave us voluntarily. I’d like to know him, even a little.”
Abigail chewed her granola bar and watched the tamarisk and willows on the river. Finally she spoke. “It was a long time ago.” She finished her granola bar and fidgeted, drumming her fingers on the seat belt buckle. If she felt as nonchalant as she claimed, she wouldn’t be eating compulsively and squirming like a five-year-old at church.
The Nora Abbott Mystery series Box Set Page 67
