by Joyce Lavene
It wasn’t surprising that she’d dreamed about Stella’s ghost. Just the subtle hints of movement where there shouldn’t have been and Stella’s jacket flying up in the back seat of the jeep on her cue was enough to convince her. Not that she was difficult to convince. She’d grown up in the mountains with Native American lore and magic alongside mountain magic.
The dim light coming from the windows in her bedroom told her it was morning even before she glanced at the clock on her dresser. The light also picked out a visitor she hadn’t expected.
“I can’t believe you got out of the kennel again,” she said to the wolf, who was sitting on her bed. “I think you might be magical too. I know wolves are smart, but I don’t know if they’re that smart.”
The little wolf took that as an invitation to lie down. He curled up on her blanket, his nose touching his tail, his eyes watching her.
“You definitely need to be reintegrated into the wolf population. Maybe you’re confused. I might be able to help you find your parents. Because wolves don’t live in houses with people and they don’t sleep on their beds.” Bonnie shook her head and smiled. “And I’m talking to you. Let’s get up and make breakfast for Mom for a change.”
But even though it was early, Rose was already in the kitchen smiling and humming as she cooked. It made a shiver run down Bonnie’s spine when her mother turned and said, “Good morning. Pancakes for breakfast?”
It was exactly like her dream except it was her mother instead of Eric Gamlyn.
“Is something wrong?” Rose asked, a frown developing between her fine brows.
“No.” Bonnie poured coffee into cups for both of them. “I woke up having a strange dream and found the wolf on my bed. I don’t understand how he’s getting out of the kennel.”
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Sit down and eat some pancakes first. I’m sure you have a busy day ahead of you.”
Bonnie grabbed some chicken pieces out of the fridge and went to the laundry room. The door to the kennel was open. “Okay. You know the drill. Get back inside, and I’ll feed you.”
The wolf sniffed and seemed to nod before he went back inside.
She closed the kennel door without feeding him. He stared at her inquisitively, cocking his head to one side.
“Let’s see if we can figure out how you’re doing this.” She put the chicken pieces on the floor outside the kennel. The idea was that he’d escape to get the chicken and she could figure out what he was doing. She sat cross-legged on the floor and waited.
He stared back at her, waiting too.
“Bonnie,” her mother called. “Your pancakes are getting cold. What are you doing back there?”
“I’ll be there in a minute, Mom. I’m trying to figure this out.”
Fifteen minutes later, she was still waiting—and so was the wolf.
Her cell phone rang from her bedroom. She ignored it. Then the house phone rang.
“It’s that nice police chief from Sweet Pepper,” her mother called. “I ate your pancakes, but I’m making more. Are you almost done?”
Bonnie sighed. So much for her experiment. She put on the gloves and gave the chicken to the wolf, making sure to latch and lock the kennel. Not that it would do any good. “There you go. I guess you’re too smart for me. Enjoy your breakfast. And if you can understand me—stay in your kennel. It won’t be long now, and you’ll be free again.”
He stared at her a moment longer before he started eating. She got off the floor as there was a knock on the front door. Rose answered it and happily allowed Matthew into the house. Bonnie, who was still in her pajamas, scooted quickly into her bedroom and closed the door to get dressed.
By the time she’d come out, Matthew was already on his second plate of pancakes. Rose was delighted to have people to feed and was happily making more.
“Good morning,” he said cheerfully when he saw Bonnie. “I thought I’d let my brother handle a few sales today and tag along with you.”
Great. She sat at the table across from him and thanked her mother when she put down another plate of pancakes for her.
“What about Peter?” she asked as she tried to think of a nice way to tell him that she didn’t want to talk about the old Cherokee man or her magical relationship with animals.
“School went back today. I already dropped him off. I thought you could use the company and maybe you might need a good tracker since you’re still looking for the person who killed Harvey and you haven’t been around for a while. The area has changed. You might get lost.”
“Isn’t that nice?” Rose smiled at Matthew. “You’d make someone a wonderful husband.”
Bonnie kept her head down and ate her pancakes. Maybe if she ignored her mother’s matchmaking, it would stop.
“Well, Bonnie,” Rose said. “Are you going to thank Matthew for his very generous offer to show you around the area while you’re working?”
Her phone rang again. Chief Rogers sounded put out that he had to call back. “Crime scene is done with your Hummer. You can get it whenever you’re ready. Have you spoken with Harvey’s family about the ruby and the beach house?”
“Not yet, but I’m on my way over there.”
“Better find another driver. Max towed your pickup, but that still leaves you with two vehicles to get to your place—unless you want to leave the Hummer with me. Stella has practice today. I have some info from the coroner too.”
Bonnie glanced up at Matthew, who was grinning. Chief Rogers had a loud voice. She was sure he could hear him speaking.
“I’ll take care of it. Thanks, Chief.” She ended the call and put the phone in her pocket. “Did you know about this?”
“How could I? I can’t keep up with the crime scene people. Let’s just call it an educated guess.”
“I’d say that works out for the best,” Rose said. “If we get any tree customers, I’ll give you a call. Have a good day.”
“I’ll be back for lunch,” Bonnie told her as she got to her feet. “Thanks for breakfast. I’ll bring something home for lunch.”
“Don’t be silly. You know I love to cook. Maybe you could help me. You were a very good cook when you lived at home. Men really like women who can cook.”
Okay. Maybe she couldn’t wait for her mother’s matchmaking to go away. It was already embarrassing. Bonnie wasn’t ready for a new relationship yet. She was still getting over Saul.
“All right. Well, I’ll see you later anyway. Call if you need anything.”
“Maybe some chicken,” Rose said. “That little wolf has quite an appetite.”
Bonnie and Matthew said goodbye and went out to her brother’s truck.
“I have to see Harvey’s family before I go to Sweet Pepper.” She opened the driver’s side door.
“I know. I heard what Chief Rogers said.”
She started the engine. “I don’t want to talk about your tribal elder and his ideas about me.”
“Sure. I understand.” He chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
“I think you may have picked up some hitchhikers without realizing it.” He nodded to the hood.
There were three hawks standing on the hood staring at her. One of them was holding his wing at an unnatural angle.
“What are they doing?” she asked.
“You told me not to talk about it.”
Bonnie frowned at him. “I don’t understand.”
“I’d say they’re looking for Unega Awinita. One of them needs help. The old stories tell of the animals coming to the white fawn when they were injured. But you told me not to tell you that.”
She left the engine running and got out of the truck. The three brown-tailed hawks swiveled their bodies as she moved so they were still facing her. The one with the injured wing stepped away from the other two, closer to her. His head moved so that he was looking at her closely.
“Even if I wanted to, I don’t know how to set a wing,” she told Matthew as he got out and stood beside
her in the snow. “We’re taught to help injured animals but not specific things like that. Besides, it would probably fly up and peck out my eyes if I tried to touch it.”
The hawk, as though understanding her dilemma, jumped on her arm, its talons lightly holding on to her. Bonnie was startled but stayed very still. The bird stayed where it was.
“Okay.” She watched it suspiciously. “Any suggestions?”
“How different could it be than setting a human arm?” Matthew was still grinning.
“My mother has some art supplies in the house,” she told him. “See if she has a popsicle stick. Maybe that would work, though I don’t know how I’ll keep it in place.”
Matthew did her bidding and returned with her mother, some twine, and a thinner piece of wood than a popsicle stick.
“Oh my stars!” Rose exclaimed when she saw the hawk on her daughter’s arm. “Remember that time you tried to help the baby sparrow that fell out of the nest too early.”
“He died, Mom,” Bonnie said. “Maybe not a good example.”
She moved very slowly and carefully to hold the hawk’s wing in her free hand. “I’m sorry I’m hurting you. There might be a better choice of human to take care of this for you.”
The hawk screeched but didn’t move.
“I think he wants you,” Matthew said. “He seems pretty sure about it. I wish I had my phone. I could take a picture of this and send it to Facebook. Thomas and I share one so he gets it when he’s working.”
“Probably not a good idea anyway,” Bonnie said as she looked at the injured wing. She straightened out the wing, got the thin slice of wood next to it, and attached the wood with the twine. “I don’t think you’re going to do any flying with this,” she warned the hawk. “But maybe it will help it heal right.”
“Won’t it die if it can’t fly?” Rose asked.
“Maybe he’ll come back and let me feed him,” Matthew suggested. “Better make that more chicken than you planned for the wolf. Did you pick out a name for him yet?”
Bonnie held out her arm, and the two hawks that had remained with the injured one helped it glide up to the roof of the house near the chimney.
“No. He’s not a pet.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m going to look around the island today to see if I can find any wolf tracks. Maybe they’ll lead me to his family, and I can reintegrate him.”
“Good thing Thomas can get by without me today.” Matthew nodded. “I can see we’re going to have a busy day.”
Chapter Fifteen
Bonnie stopped first at the old Wildlife Agent’s office. Even though most of the snow had melted away, the place still looked rough. The roof not only sagged but had leaked badly as the sun had turned the snow into puddles of water.
“This is where they expect you to work?” Matthew asked as he glanced around the dilapidated building. “I think this used to be an old logging cabin. That means it’s been here a long time.”
“I’ll say. We used to play here when we were kids. I suppose the state allowed the feds to use it so they wouldn’t have to do anything with it.”
“I’ll help you fix it up, if you like. I have a friend with a bulldozer.” He chuckled at his own joke.
“No thanks. It can fall down on its own. I just want to get Harvey’s stuff out of here. I’m going to work in my brother’s office at the house. At least there’s running water there.”
They gathered up everything they could find that seemed as though it could have something to do with Harvey’s job as a Wildlife Agent. Bonnie was careful to look in every tiny place in the building where Harvey could have stored a large ruby.
“But why put it here?” Matthew asked. “Wouldn’t he have kept it in a bank safety deposit box or something secure like that?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t know him well enough to say. It seems like he was hiding it, so maybe this would be a good spot.” She put her hands on her hips as she looked around. “Maybe he thought no one would look here.”
“And yet this must’ve been the first place Vince looked. Maybe it wasn’t such a secret.”
“Let’s get the last of this stuff out of here, and we’ll go ask his family. After that, we might know where the ruby is—if there really is a ruby.”
“There must be.” He hefted a large box of files and pictures, balancing it on his shoulder. “He had to figure he was buying that beach house with something.”
Bonnie didn’t disagree. When the office was clear of everything but useless debris, she closed the door, for all the good it did, and they got in the truck to head to Harvey’s house.
“Looks like it’s gonna be another good day for melting.” Matthew glanced out the window at the ice and snow still dripping from the trees. “I hope that means tree sales are gonna pick up. Not long now until Christmas.”
“I suppose there aren’t many sales after that,” she quipped.
“Then there’s only work thinning the trees and planting new ones. None of the fun stuff until next year.” He shook his head. “I noticed you have a large blue spruce in one of your fields. You might want to take a picture of it and see if the White House is interested. It’s a big deal to be chosen. Your farm gets national attention, and you get a free trip to Washington to meet the big guy.”
“My family had one, remember?” She smirked. “But I thought they came to you or something. I didn’t know you had to submit something.”
“Thomas wants to be on a plaque in the general store in the worst way.”
“What about you?”
“It would be okay, I guess.” He shrugged. “But it’s a one-time shot. The real business is day in and day out. That’s what I try to focus on.”
They’d reached Harvey’s house. Bonnie had planned to go inside alone to speak with Jean Shelton, but she and her children were getting ready to leave, which made her talk to them outside before they could go.
“I’m sorry to bother you again,” Bonnie said. “I just have a question about your husband’s plans to retire.”
Mrs. Shelton was pale, her eyes red-rimmed from crying. “Yes? What possible difference do his retirement plans make now?”
“Chief Rogers learned that Harvey bought an expensive beach house on Hilton Head Island the same week he came to visit me in Alabama.” Bonnie felt uneasy asking personal questions like this of a grieving widow. “The police want to know how he could afford something like that on a federal agent’s salary.”
“I just don’t understand why that makes any difference now.” Mrs. Shelton dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “Harvey’s dead. He’s never going to see his dream come true.”
“I really think you should look for my father’s killer,” Gerald said in a gruff voice. “Standing out here in the cold, asking my mother stupid questions when she’s on her way to pick out my father’s coffin, seems counterproductive, Agent Tuttle.”
“She’s just doing her job,” Abigail argued. “This is how they find the person who killed Dad.”
“Well, not right now.” He opened the door of the SUV, whose engine was warming up in the driveway. “Come back later, Agent Tuttle. Have some answers for us, and maybe we’ll have some answers for you.”
As they were getting in the car, Bonnie poked her head in the open doorway by Harvey’s widow in the back seat. “Did your husband mention that he found a large, valuable ruby? Did you know about that? It might be why he was killed.”
Gerald instructed his mother to close her door. The SUV’s tires spun up snow and gravel in his haste to get away.
“I’d say the son knows about the ruby and the beach house,” Matthew said as she got back in the truck. “But not the mother or the daughter.”
“How can you tell?” Bonnie asked, fastening her seatbelt.
“Well for one thing, it was good you weren’t standing behind that SUV. I think he would’ve gone through you to get out of the drive. He doesn’t exactly look innocent to me.”
“Even if he knows about the ruby and th
e beach house, that doesn’t mean he killed his father.”
“No. But he might have hired someone to do it.”
“At this point, anything seems possible.” She put the pickup in reverse and left the Shelton home.
Traffic was brisk going up and down the treacherous winding mountain road. Every sharp turn had a car or a truck in the other lane. Some people were better than others at staying on their side of the yellow line.
“I hope you’ve reconsidered letting me tell everyone that you’ve seen Dustu. People would be very excited to know someone had seen him.”
“I don’t want to spread around these ideas,” she told him. “It’s bad enough that you believe them.”
“What’s not to believe? Were there three hawks waiting for you on the truck this morning or not? Does the little wolf listen to you like you’re his mother or not? These things don’t just happen. If Dustu says you’re the white fawn, you’re the white fawn.”
“That’s what I’m talking about.” She found a spot near town hall to park the truck for her meeting with Chief Rogers. “I don’t want people waiting around to see what I’m going to do next. I just want to do my job.”
“I understand, but—”
Bonnie opened the truck door to get out. “That’s it. I really don’t want to talk about it, and I don’t want to see an article about it in the Sweet Pepper Gazette. I’m sorry, Matthew. I don’t want people looking at my life that closely.”
“I think you’re wrong. Unega Awinita is a figure of hope. The return of our shaman is the same.” He got out and closed the door. “I’m going to get some coffee while you talk to Chief Rogers.”
She knew he was disappointed about not being able to spread the word, but her past had made her vulnerable to people speculating about her life. She never wanted people to spend time gossiping about her again.
Her mind in turmoil, Bonnie didn’t see the woman standing at the door to town hall until she had almost walked into her. “Excuse me. I didn’t see you.”
The other woman was about her age with shoulder-length, brown hair and a white jacket with matching boots. “Oh, that’s okay. I have whole days that go by, and I don’t see anyone else.”
