by Aimée Thurlo
Although she’d told herself all along that memories would be enough, she knew differently now. Her heart would break and she’d never be the same again.
She swallowed hard. When the time came, even if that final goodbye took a piece of her heart and shattered it into a million pieces, she’d find the strength to do what had to be done.
Taking a deep steadying breath, she brought her thoughts back to the case. Work…for such a long time it had been at the center of her life. Now she realized that, by itself, it would never be enough.
Misinterpreting her silence, Luca asked, “Second thoughts?”
“None.” She reached deep inside herself for courage. It was time to fulfill her duty. Brushing aside everything else for now, she became Detective Jonas once again. “It’s time to put things into play. Where do we start?”
“I need to make a few phone calls.”
IT TOOK SEVERAL HOURS to get everyone in place. Members of the Brotherhood and deputies of the Sheriff’s Department had been deployed. Since the operation would begin on the university campus, the campus police had also been brought into play. The Albuquerque police department, which had city jurisdiction, was patrolling closely just outside the campus perimeter.
What normally would have taken days or weeks of red tape had been done in a matter of hours. As Luca had said, when the Brotherhood of Warriors got involved obstructions simply disappeared.
Valerie had taken great care with her makeup and clothing. Her disguise would fool just about anyone. She was about the same size as Lea Begay and was wearing clothing virtually identical to what the woman had worn on the night she’d been killed.
Originally, she’d hoped to wear the same bloodstained clothing found on the victim. Although she would have required permission to remove the items from the evidence locker, she’d been prepared to argue the point—until the Brotherhood members, and even Luca himself, had told her that they would refuse to work with her if she did that.
Standing before the mirror in the campus police station’s restroom, Valerie carefully added the theatrical blood—borrowed from Albuquerque Studios—to the light-colored blouse and the jean jacket she was wearing, making sure the stain was directly over her heart. She’d already applied the realistic mix to the fabric at the center of her back. At a distance it would look like blood from the victim’s fatal wound—a match with the crime scene photos. She’d also borrowed a phony finger with a gory, missing joint, from the special effects department of the movie and television production studio on Albuquerque’s south side.
Valerie left the restroom, and met Luca in the office across the hall. He was dressed like a student, wearing sneakers, jeans, a loose-fitting jacket and carrying a book bag.
“Does it look real enough, you think?” she asked, turning around in a circle, then holding up her “wounded” hand.
Luca’s lips were drawn thin. “Yes, it looks real—too much so.”
“Then let’s get to it,” Valerie said, bracing herself for what lay ahead.
“You look…top heavy. I hope that means you’re wearing the special ballistics vest,” he said.
“Yeah, thanks to one of the female guards at the county jail.”
“Good,” he said. “Their vests provide better protection against edged weapons than our own. Regular law enforcement vests are great against bullets, but edged weapons can slip between the protective fibers.” He clenched and unclenched his hand, then with a tightness to his voice, continued. “For this to work you may have to let the killer get within striking range when you whisper the word we taught you.”
“Yenaldlooshi—skinwalker—I’ve got it,” she said.
“Even if he realizes then that you’re not Lea, he’ll know he’s been identified.”
“I’ll be ready.”
“At the beginning, you’ll be walking away from him, and your back will be to him. If he decides to attack before you actually turn and face him—”
“You’ll stop him,” she finished in a firm voice.
“The danger’s still there,” he said. “Let someone else do this,” he added in a raw whisper.
She shook her head. “This is our job. If caring for each other means that we can’t fulfill our duties anymore, we’ve sacrificed the best part of ourselves—what drew us to each other in the first place.”
Accepting the truth didn’t make things easier. Luca consoled himself with the fact that he’d be there to protect her every step of the way. No one would harm her—and live.
EVERYTHING had been meticulously planned. Since Becenti was the most likely suspect, they’d be concentrating on him first. If their role-playing trap didn’t get a reaction from him, they’d move in on Finley, who was scheduled to be in the library until late with one of his study groups.
Becenti’s last class of the day was held in Woodsman Hall, one of the older buildings southeast of the anthropology building. Plainclothes officers had been keeping watch on Becenti since he’d arrived on campus.
It was already 8:30 p.m. and getting darker by the minute. Information gathered from former students and instructional assistants had confirmed Becenti’s routine. He stayed behind until all the students left, locked the classroom then walked to the faculty parking area and drove home.
The plan was for her to wait outside in the shadows until Becenti’s class ended and he came out. Luca and the others were already in place along the planned route, ready to back her up in an instant.
Her phone vibrated and Valerie flinched. Cursing her nerves, she flipped open the phone. They’d decided not to use radios tonight because linking devices belonging to three departments and their various communications systems had proven problematic. Instead, all the major parties had been equipped with cell phones.
The caller was Roger, the campus officer who’d been placed inside the anthropology building. “Dr. Becenti just left his office.”
“Acknowledged. Thanks,” Valerie said.
Valerie took off the hot Windbreaker she’d worn and adjusted her jean jacket and light-colored blouse to give the fake blood—which retained a moist sheen—maximum impact. The next person to leave the building, if their plan went as expected, should be Dr. Becenti.
Valerie brought out her handgun, checking it one more time before returning it to her jacket. Fear was part of police work, but knowing Luca was out there, watching and guarding her back, bolstered her courage.
Valerie focused on the building before her. Seconds passed with agonizing slowness. Finally she spotted Becenti coming out the double doors of the department’s main building.
Here we go. She stepped over to the sidewalk and walked slowly away from the building, hearing Becenti’s quick footsteps behind her as he narrowed the gap between them.
Not knowing if she was walking too fast or too slow, she continued down the sidewalk, crossing the big grass lawn that surrounded most of the campus structures.
She hated being a target facing the wrong direction. It went against all her instincts. Only the fact that she knew Luca had her covered kept her going.
As she neared the area where the darkness was the greatest—the spot where she’d be turning around to face the suspect—she braced herself. They’d know soon enough if Becenti was the skinwalker killer and a true believer in skinwalker magic.
As he was closing in on her position, she stepped partially out from the shadows. “Yenaldlooshi,” she said clearly.
Becenti stopped, startled. “Are you okay, miss?” he asked, trying to get a clear look at her despite the semidarkness.
Valerie repeated the word.
“Yes, that’s what I teach, though your pronunciation leaves something to be desired,” Becenti said matter-of-factly. “Come by my office tomorrow if you’re interested in my classes. It’s late now and I’m on my way home.” Becenti walked past her, looking back over his shoulder once, then continuing on toward the parking lot.
Surprised, Valerie watched him go to his car, then drive out of t
he faculty lot and down the street.
Hearing footsteps behind her, Valerie turned and saw Luca jogging up. “In my mind I saw all kinds of scenarios playing out, but this one took me by surprise. Are you okay?”
Valerie nodded, her heart still hammering in her chest. “Yeah, I’m fine. I guess he’s not the one.”
“Or else he’s playing it cool…. APD officers will follow him home then stake out his building.”
“I better head over to the library so I can try this again with Finley,” she said, as her heart rate returned to its normal rhythm.
“I’ll walk you back,” Luca said.
“No, you go ahead and get into position. If he comes out early and we’re seen together, it could blow the plan.”
As Luca walked away, Valerie made her way down the sidewalk toward the library, occasionally looking over her shoulder out of habit. Luca was still there watching over her. She could feel him close by. There was lighting in pools below each lamp but it was quite dark in other places, especially beneath the trees. She was near the corner of the old, western wing of the building when her cell phone vibrated again. She stopped, brought it out and from the number saw it was Roger, the campus cop.
“Detective Jonas,” she said.
“Gotcha!” Becenti said, his voice coming from the telephone speaker—and from directly behind her.
Valerie whirled around to see Becenti in a hooded sweatshirt holding a bloodied hunting knife with a deadly looking curved blade. “You thought you could trick the Trickster, woman? I’ve already slit one throat tonight. Now let’s see if you’re any quicker than that campus cop.”
Valerie kicked out, her foot catching Becenti’s wrist and knocking the knife from his hand. As the knife flew into the air, Becenti cursed and reached for a small pistol in his waistband.
Suddenly Luca appeared out of the shadows, crashing into Becenti with a bone-shattering tackle. The two flew off the sidewalk onto the grass.
Valerie, her own pistol in hand, circled around the two men locked in battle, but it was too risky to shoot. When Becenti pressed his forearm over Luca’s windpipe, she knew she had to do something fast.
“Kick him off, Luca, give me a clear shot!” she yelled, maneuvering for the right angle.
“I’ve got this—he’s mine,” Luca growled, breaking the hold in a burst of sheer strength.
Luca twisted free, punching his attacker in the gut and doubling him up. Becenti ducked his head and lunged, reaching for Luca’s holster.
Luca grabbed his outstretched hand, twisted Becenti’s arm around with a sickening crunch then chopped the man across the neck with the side of his hand.
Becenti groaned, then his body sagged to the ground, his eyes closing as he lost consciousness.
After cuffing Becenti, Luca’s gaze instantly fastened on her. “Are you okay?” he asked, quickly drawing closer to her to see for himself. Fear had ripped into him when he’d seen Becenti threaten her with the knife. After that, all he’d felt was rage and the need to protect her at any cost.
“He didn’t hurt me,” she answered with a gentle smile. “Someone had my back.”
“And I always will.”
As other officers came running up, tears burned in her eyes. Their case had at long last come to a close. Luca and she had finished what they’d set out to do. Their future was now in the hands of destiny.
Chapter Twenty-Three
It was close to dawn by the time Valerie completed the preliminary paperwork. The crime scene team was still sorting though the damning “souvenirs” and other evidence, like the snake capture stick the killer had hidden at his home. She’d be adding their findings to her report later. At that time, she’d also include the results of the interrogation still in progress.
Browning was now in stable condition, and they’d have a statement from him soon. The members of the Brotherhood, along with the one who’d managed to render lifesaving first aid to the campus cop, had long disappeared. She knew it was only a matter of hours before Luca, too, returned to the world he knew. While she’d been working, he’d packed up the gear he’d left at the apartment and had brought his duffel bag to the station.
“You’ve been avoiding me for the last few hours,” Luca said, coming up to her desk. “We have to talk.”
The time she’d dreaded had finally arrived, but she couldn’t bring herself to say goodbye. “It’s all this paperwork, and you had to be debriefed—” She stopped and sighed. “Yeah, okay, I confess. I just stink at goodbyes.”
“We need to talk,” he repeated, gesturing to the back door.
She couldn’t bear to see him go. Already a huge lump had formed at the back of her throat. “Just…do and say what you have to. I don’t want to draw things out. It’ll just make it worse.”
“I’m not saying goodbye.”
“I know, I hate that, too,” Valerie answered. She would not cry. They were adults and they’d known this day would come. “This isn’t really the end for us. We can call each other. Of course our careers will get in the way, but we might still find some weekend time together. Who knows? Maybe in a few months…”
Brushing aside her objections, he took her hand and led her outside to the old cottonwood that stood by the side of the station. As the moonlight filtered through its leaves, he cupped her face in his hands.
“What we’ve found is worth fighting for,” he whispered, then took her mouth in an impossibly gentle kiss. “Ayóó ninshné,” he said, drawing back slightly to look at her.
“What does that mean?” she asked, suspecting the answer. “And after that bone-melting kiss, it better be ‘I love you.’”
He laughed. “It is. I’ll teach you other words later…as I show you what each means,” he whispered in her ear.
A delicious shiver ran up her spine, but nothing could distract her from the one word he’d just spoken. “Later?”
Hearing the building door open and seeing Captain Harris coming their way, Valerie took a step away from Luca, hastily wiping a tear from her eye.
“Welcome to the department, Nakai,” Captain Harris said, then walked past them toward his private parking slot.
Valerie looked back at Luca instantly, her heart in her throat. “What did he say?”
Luca smiled slowly. “I was just getting to that. I’m needed here. A lot of Native Americans live in and around the metro area, and someone who understands their special needs should handle cases that involve them. I brought the matter up with my brothers and, a few hours later, I was placed on permanent loan to this department.”
She jumped into his arms. “I thought you were going home!”
“I already am. Wherever we’re together, that’s home,” he said, pulling her against him.
With a contented sigh, she settled in his arms, her head resting over his heart.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-3826-2
NAVAJO COURAGE
Copyright © 2009 by Aimée and David Thurlo
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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