Books by Linda Conrad

by Conrad, Linda

  But he couldn’t prove it. They weren’t using normal Skinwalker weapons or tactics.

  “While we wait for your pal, you mind telling me what you know about the Black Mesa mine?” she asked out of the blue. “Explain the trouble to me so I know the right kind of questions to ask the manager.”

  Lucas would’ve rather she’d wanted to talk more about the Bird People. Or maybe more about the Skinwalkers and their war. But talking about anything was much preferable to sitting here wishing he could take her in his arms again.

  “All right.” His mind flashed on a picture of her face all flushed and rosy as he’d worked his tongue down her body. “Look off down the main highway. You see that green thing that sticks about fifty feet up in the air?”

  “Huh?” She squinted off in the distance. “Hey, yeah. What is that? It looks like a giant caterpillar.”

  “It’s the slurry conveyor for the mine. It actually runs for 273 miles. From the mine to the power plant. The last slurry line in the U.S.” He watched her slender throat work as she swallowed and his hands began to shake.

  “Ugly, isn’t it?”

  “You haven’t seen an open-mine coal pit yet,” he told her. “Now that’s what I call ugly.” The woman sitting beside him, however, was still a beautiful work of art in his opinion.

  “Can you explain what a slurry line does?” She shifted in her seat and the white long-sleeved blouse she’d worn stretched across her breasts.

  His heart thumped so loudly in his chest he was afraid she’d hear it and know how badly she was getting to him. That would not be good for their relationship.

  “I can explain from the viewpoint of a Navajo,” he managed after swallowing hard. “Good enough?”

  “Sure. Go with what you’ve got. I’m supposed to be coming to you for that part anyway.”

  “Well, a coal-slurry line operates a lot like the old gold-mining lines did. After the coal rocks come out of the ground, they’re ground up into nugget-size pieces as if they had been through a garbage disposal. Those nuggets are then mixed with water…lots of water. And the whole water/crushed-rock mixture is sluiced through that big over-ground pipeline you see up there.”

  “And it pushes it for 273 miles? That must take huge amounts of water.”

  “Yeah. That’s where we come back to the Navajo point of view.”

  Teal’s eyes widened and she heaved a sigh as she sat back to pay attention. He almost lost his entire train of thought. She had to stop looking and breathing like that if he was going to finish.

  “Uh.” He, too, shifted in his seat. “The coal mine and the electric plant it supplies employs hundreds of Navajo workers. And the People do need the work. Plus, the Navajo Nation as a whole earns millions a year in royalties from the coal-mine operation.

  “But most environmentalists and traditionalists in the Nation would prefer it if the operators stopped tapping the underground aquifer for their slurry line. Our scientists have proven that’s what causes water levels to drop.”

  “So…I imagine feelings run high on the subject,” Teal said thoughtfully. “Economics versus health. Money talks, but without water there is no life.”

  “Right.” He was amazed at how perceptive of his views she was for someone not raised on the reservation.

  Was that their predestined connection at last showing up? The two of them fell into private thoughts, and Lucas once again wished he could read hers.

  Why had he been dreaming about this woman for most of his life? It had to be more than just his destiny to protect her. That was already a given.

  His emotions where she was concerned seemed confused and unclear. He wanted her, no question. He would protect her, no question about that, either. But what else was going on between them?

  Just at that moment, a Navajo Nation police patrol unit pulled up behind them, and Hunter Long stepped out of the all-white SUV heading in their direction. Lucas put his confusion aside for the time being. What Teal needed from him now was his knowledge and protection.

  That he could handle.

  “Yes, I agree,” Hunter said from the backseat of Lucas’s SUV. “Those sparkly bits do look like gold flecks. Or maybe fool’s gold.”

  “That’s what I thought, too,” Lucas agreed.

  They were all still sitting in Lucas’s SUV under the Russian olive trees with the windows rolled down. Teal had been fascinated by the Navajo tribal cop when she’d met him. A tall lean man, his long straight hair was pulled back in a bun at the nape of his neck and his skin was the same copper color as her own. But his eyes were a soft gray and they made him look like the half-breed she was sure he must be.

  The overall picture Hunter projected was pure gorgeous. But still, he didn’t capture her attention the way Lucas had right from the very moment she’d first seen him.

  She must be slipping not to fully fantasize over such a fabulous hunk as Hunter, even considering that the man was wearing a gold band on the third finger of his left hand.

  Finally, the words he’d said sank in to her daydreams. “Gold? Somewhere on the reservation? I thought you folks only mined oil, coal and uranium?”

  “There’s no substantiated gold,” Lucas told her. “Nearly a hundred years ago now there were rumors of a lost gold mine. But it was never found. Most people think the thing was simply a big hoax.”

  “Most people do,” Hunter agreed. “But not all of us.”

  “Really? Do you know where it is, then?” Teal wasn’t interested in gold, but a lost mine might be a good spot to check for suspicious activity.

  Hunter shook his head. “As much as I’ve been out on the land, I’ve never spotted anything that would even resemble a gold mine. But I do have a few ideas about where one might look.”

  “We’re running short of time right now, Cousin,” Lucas said. “But when Teal is finished with her interview at the Black Mesa mine, maybe you can go over a Dinetah map with us. We’d like you to point out all the places near Black Mesa where water can be found at the surface during this time of year.”

  “Yes, I can do that. And I’ll mark off a few places that might also have hidden gold along with the wet spring or seep. You can hunt there first.”

  A short time later the three of them were standing amidst huge rolls of orange-colored cable at the central warehouse for the Black Mesa mining company and talking to Micah Taylor, one of the mine’s managers.

  A blond man with a large hooked nose and ruddy complexion, Taylor seemed to be answering the questions as truthfully as he could. “We’ve had legitimate environmental protestors around the mining operation for as long as I can remember. But these new so-called accidents have only been happening for the last few months.”

  “I’ve read some of the reports,” Teal told him. “But can you tell us all again what kind of accidents you’re talking about?”

  “Oh, they don’t really look much like accidents. Whoever is responsible wants to be sure we know it’s being done on purpose. It’s crazy stuff, like a supposed freak lightning strike on a records shack that burned the place to the ground. And like a rusted-out spot on a metal shaft that had just been inspected. Then last week, one of our cables snapped and sent three men to the hospital. We’d never had a bad cable break before in the entire history of this mine.”

  “Had you ever met the man who was murdered? Eddie Cohoe was his name.”

  Taylor smirked at her. “Yeah, I heard you were now the fed in charge of the murder investigation. I guess the whole reservation has heard about you by now.”

  “Can you please just answer the question?”

  “Sure. I knew Eddie. He stopped in to see me a few weeks ago. Wanted to tell me he was investigating the accidents for the Navajo Tribal Council. I guess he imagined himself to be undercover or something, but apparently he wasn’t under far enough.”

  Hunter took a step closer to the mine manager. “If the Tribal Council had thought it was going to be that dangerous for a man to infiltrate an environmental gro
up, they would’ve sent a lawman with more experience. Before your men ended up in the hospital, a few inconvenient accidents would not normally have suggested murder was next on the agenda.”

  “I didn’t mean to sound like a smart-ass, Officer Long. I wasn’t suggesting he brought on his own demise or anything. It’s just…”

  Lucas also stepped closer to the tight little group and tried to encourage the Anglo manager to continue with his thought. “Just what?”

  “Well, I told Eddie this same thing. A few of the accidents were, I dunno, strange.”

  “Strange how?”

  “Somebody managed to tamper with our property while it was being closely guarded. Or, they did it while security alarms were in place and operating just fine. One of the cases happened when a guard with a dog was on duty and he never heard or saw a thing. Weird stuff like that.

  “It bothered me at the time. One of my guys was joking about ghosts being responsible—or maybe that a superhuman flew in, did the damage and flew back out again. Real creepy stuff.”

  Teal noticed Hunter and Lucas surreptitiously throwing each other cautionary glances. She knew exactly what they were thinking. But she had no intention of letting talk of witches interrupt her investigation.

  Instead, she asked the manager if he knew the leaders of the environmentalist groups that frequented picket lines or community meetings concerning the mine. The manager gave her a couple of names and then excused himself to go back to work.

  On their way back to Hunter’s car, Teal decided she needed to mention witchcraft to these two Navajos and get her feelings on the subject out in the open.

  “You two are thinking it had to be those Skinwalker dudes that perpetrated those strange accidents, aren’t you?”

  Lucas opened his mouth to make a comment, but Hunter spoke up first. “Be careful throwing words around that may be dangerous for you, Special Agent Benaly. Our cousin tells me he has explained the war to you so you will not make rash statements when talking to the People. I would heed his advice if I were you.”

  Teal almost made a smart remark back to the tribal cop, but changed her mind. She didn’t need to make an enemy out of any of Lucas’s friends. Not in the middle of a tricky investigation anyway.

  She opened her mouth and stuck her foot in it instead. “Can either one of you please tell me why just being able to change over to animal form should be so bad? All you people love animals, don’t you?”

  Lucas hesitated. “The way we understand it is hard to put into words. But I guess I can say that changing over is bad simply because it’s witchcraft. And witchcraft is a reversal of the Navajo Way. A witch is automatically out of hozho, out of balance, and needs to be made beautiful again.”

  “Besides that,” Hunter interrupted to put in his own opinion. “These Skinwalkers are bad guys who change over only to do misdeeds. Like stealing and murdering. That should say it all.”

  That should say it all, Teal thought. But in her opinion, there was a lot more to be said on the subject.

  Later. Much later, however, when she and Lucas could be alone and when he trusted her more than he did now.

  Of course, there were a few other things that she wanted to say…or do…with Lucas first. But those would have to come later, too.

  Much later. When she trusted him more.

  10

  T en days later, after trekking to four rock-filled caves and interviewing five different environmentalists—a couple of whom were sharp activists and the rest wacko nutcases—Teal still wasn’t clear on whether Lucas trusted her or not. And she was definitely waiting for a night of pleasure until she felt absolutely sure of him.

  Today they were skipping interviews to go to two of the most distant potential water sources. Both of which Hunter felt also had the capability of being gold-mining spots.

  “You sure these shoes will be okay on the rocks today?” she asked Lucas as the two of them headed down Navajo Route 98 toward Page, Arizona.

  They weren’t going all the way to Page and the Navajo power plant, though. Today they were going off-road to scout a canyon that Hunter had marked on the map where the murdered man might have been walking in both mud and gold dust.

  “Positive,” Lucas said as he slowed the SUV. “I haven’t been anywhere near Sour Water Canyon in years. But from what I remember, it’s got more sand than it does granite or basalt, and more rounded hills rather than the steep slot canyons. Your shoes should be fine.”

  He watched her nod sharply at his remarks and knew she was remembering how he’d saved her life in Many Caves Canyon. Lucas was remembering it, too. And vowing to do everything in his power to keep her from harm today, as well.

  She had been brightening his dull and lonely life. It was only fair that he could save hers. Actually, it seemed odd how her presence in his house and studio had suddenly made the place feel much more like a home. No one else had ever spent much time there.

  Lucas always thought the reason for that was that everyone wanted to give him the time and space to be creative—to work on his art pieces. But now, he wondered if maybe the others just hadn’t wanted to spend that much time there because of his differences.

  Teal didn’t seem to mind though. She’d made herself at home and seemed to love sitting outside under the cottonwoods and piñons, watching him at the silver forge. Her companionship had been hard to adjust to at first. But now he wondered how he would ever be able to go back to creating all alone.

  She bent down to pull her BlackBerry out of her pack, then studied her electronic files for a moment.

  Staring through the windshield at a distant eagle and several other raptors circling on a hunt out over the desert and canyons, Lucas began feeling completely comfortable for the first time in days. Oh, he still was a little unsettled and as turned on by being close to Teal as ever. But it was a nice day to be headed outside in the sunshine with such a beautiful and intelligent companion.

  “How do you feel your investigation is going so far?” he asked her to keep his mind on the point.

  “Not so hot, really. Not one of the people we’ve interviewed has had any idea who might be behind the ‘accidents’—let alone who might have committed a murder.”

  “Yeah, well, I told you murder is not something any Dineh would ordinarily think to do.

  “But what about Old Woman Tanchee Begay?” he steered the conversation back to Teal with the question.

  “What about her? What’s her real name anyway? I can’t put ‘Old Woman Begay’ in my report.”

  “Sure you can. It’s what she’s known by. I told you about our childhood nicknames, didn’t I? Well, sometimes we get a nickname later in life that sticks with us. I doubt if she even knows her Anglo given name anymore.”

  “Hmm. Sounds disrespectful.”

  “Believe me, calling someone old is a form of respect in a land as hard as ours.”

  “Whatever. The names wouldn’t matter if we’d been able to get any useful information.”

  “What they told you was useful,” he insisted. “Not one of those people has any idea who might’ve been causing the accidents. They all swear it isn’t anyone in their respective environmental groups. And I believe them. Old Grandmother Tanchee Begay never lied a day in her life.”

  “You believe them, do you?” Teal said with a friendly roll of her eyes. “Are you reading minds again?”

  “Not since you showed up,” he admitted. “But I know you put a lot of faith in those gut instincts of yours. Let’s just say that my instincts are working every bit as well as yours. None of those people was lying to you. They were all as surprised by the accidents as they were by the murder.

  “That should be excellent information to have,” he added wryly. “Isn’t being able to eliminate suspects every bit as good as adding them to the list?”

  She turned off her BlackBerry and jammed it into her backpack without a remark. Driving off the two-lane highway onto a private gravel road that would lead them to the canyo
n, Lucas tried to judge her mood.

  He knew his mood had been becoming more and more irritable every day. Was she feeling the stress of their living and working close to each other without touching the same way as he was?

  Lucas decided that later tonight he would speak to her about their growing relationship and where it was headed. He knew for sure where he wanted it to go. But…what did she want?

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” Teal said as she jammed her hands on her hips and stared into the empty opening. “You think this is really it? We actually found the old lost gold mine?”

  “Take it easy, Bright Eyes.” Lucas had been hit by a sudden chilling premonition of darkness, even though the late-afternoon sun was still high and warm in the sky. “If the murder victim was killed here, maybe we should go slow.”

  “The place looks deserted. What could happen?”

  “I just think it would be wise to be cautious, that’s all. Some of the old gold-mine stories talked about booby traps—set by the prospectors to keep people from stealing their gold.”

  Bending to gather some wet sand and dirt, he crushed it in his palm. “Looks like we found the right spot. Hunter’s map guess was right on. This mud is the same as what we found on the victim’s boots. Same gold flecks and everything.”

  “Where’s that water coming from anyway?” Teal asked.

  A trickle of water was leaking right out of the side of the rocks at the mine opening. “It’s known as a seep. Water naturally comes up from the Navajo Aquifer in spots. Sometimes it forms a spring, other times it just trickles out and forms mud.”

  Teal pulled her gun out of its holster at her back and used it to point toward the direction of the mine. “Booby traps or no, we need to check out the inside. I have a feeling about this place.”