Now he stood, arms out as the crowd cheered. Smiles and nods of approval filled him with so much delight. The first act was his favorite—shooting a fire arrow through a hoop into a target. The crowd cheered at everything he did. The feeling of control filled him with such joy that he couldn’t hold back a proud grin. Hotah bowed and left the stage, wondering what his dad would think of him now. He was sure he was off somewhere living the life, making love with celebrities, making millions. Or maybe he was a spy, like James Bond. He’d never met his father, but he knew he was a great man, nothing like his whore of a mother.
He threw open the door to his dressing room and placed his bow in a large safe. It was the most important thing in his life. Sometimes he felt like it was magical, the way it made his arrows fly true no matter what. He ran his fingers over the handmade arrows in his quiver. He’d made every one himself. Though his patience was short with everything else, he felt peace when he sat down in his wood shed and made arrows. It was an art. His grandmother taught him that by doing so, magic connected the maker with the arrow. He didn’t believe it at first, but now he did.
Closing the safe, he took off his costume and began wiping off the war paint. His chest was hairless and smooth. He was never in to working out, so his body was not well muscled like some of the other guys his age. But he knew that the real power was in the will, the gut. And his gut was strong.
He heard someone go in the next dressing room and his heart sped up. He deserved a reward, something to celebrate his success. Going out into the hallway, he barged into the next room. In front of the mirror was Mika’s little intern. What was her name? Skal? Skah? Whoever she was, she looked delicious.
“Hey, babe, good show, huh?” He ran a hand down the center of his own chest.
Skah turned and stared at him in disgust. “This is not your dressing room and I’m not your babe.”
Hotah walked in and slid his arm around her waist. She smelled like lavender, making him want her. Skah twisted away and Hotah laughed. He’d always thought Skah was hot, though a little young for him. But her body wanted him—he could read the signs.
“Get out.” Her voice shook, and he could see how scared she was of him. Now he wanted her even more. Taking a step forward, he reached for her, but she dodged and pushed him.
“If you touch me, I’ll tell Watters.”
Hotah snorted. “He said that I had his blessing. We’re supposed to get married this spring. Didn’t you hear? I just want to know what I’m getting. You know how it is—give the old horse a test drive.”
Her face fell—or did it brighten? “You pathetic liar.” She spat. Hotah started to unbuckle his belt, and she ran. He stood there in her dressing room shocked and confused. Why would she do that? He gritted his teeth and walked into the hall. Two dancers were coming his way. He slid his knife out of its holster and forced them into Skah’s dressing room.
He wanted dessert and he was going to get it one way or another.
I SPENT HALF THE day sniffing around the Golden Nugget, asking about Lina Sever. Her mother was a housekeeper at the hotel, but hadn’t come to work that day. When I called her, I couldn’t hear much past the sobbing and the accusations that Watters didn’t keep any of his waitresses safe. Then she told me that Timothy needed to rot in hell and hung up. I spent a little time with one of Lina’s friends, who told me more about her than I expected. She was broken-hearted and wanted a shoulder to cry on, which I provided. I learned that Lina dreamed about becoming a home designer and was taking classes online. She’d had a boyfriend who she broke up with, but he’d moved away shortly after that. Her friend had no idea why anyone would want to kill her.
I spend the rest of the day going through my e-mail. Joshua sent over a ton of information and most of it was on tribal law. At the end of the day, I had a lot of little puzzle pieces in my mind, but no clue how I’d put them together.
Frustrated and sore from sitting on hard chairs, I stood up and stretched. Maybe it was time to find some supper and catch up with Mandy.
My phone buzzed. “Sarah, Sarah,” Yona yelled on the other end of the line. I pulled the receiver from my ear, afraid she’d burst my eardrum. She sounded desperate, and scared.
“What?”
“Meet me in the Golden Nugget parking lot. Now!” Then she hung up.
I rushed down the hall and met her in the circular drive. She’d already pulled up to the doors. I jumped in and she sped off, tires screeching. “What is it?”
“Just wait.” She ground her teeth and wiped tears from her cheeks. Horrible scenarios flew through my mind, but I knew better than to ask. “They’re meeting us at my house.”
“Who is?”
But she clammed up again.
When we got to her house, she ran through the doorway, me shadowing her. Mika and Skah were pacing in front of a large stone island.
“Mika, what’s going on? Are you okay?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
Skah spoke up, her voice cracking as she wiped her face with the back of her hand. “He killed them—there was blood everywhere. Why did he have to kill them?” She shook her head and looked at me as if I had the answer.
“Who? What happened?” I pulled out a bar stool and made the smaller of the two girls sit. Yona poured water in a kettle and took out a box of loose-leaf tea.
“Start over so Miss Steele can hear the whole story,” Yona said. “She is Skah, and that’s Mika.” She motioned to them.
“Yes, we’ve met,” I said. Skah cried in silence for a moment before Mika took her in her arms. I dreaded the story she was going to tell me.
Skah took the mug of hot tea Yona handed her and drew in a few labored breaths. “It’s Hotah. He came in—”
“Did he touch you?” I interrupted, livid.
“No. He tried to goad me. You know him—he’s always trying to get girls to sleep with him, but we all think he’s a creep.”
“He is a creep,” Mika mumbled. Yona handed her a cup and one to me. I took it and wrapped my cool hands around the rim, glad for its heat.
“So he made a move on me. I’d seen him gawking at me the last few weeks and knew it would happen sooner or later, but he was drunk and being a total jerk.”
The phone started ringing and Yona glanced at me, but didn’t make a move to answer it.
“I tried to throw him out, but he wouldn’t go, so I ran. I was lucky…” Skah choked up again and put her head in her hands. “He killed them.”
Mika took over, holding Skah’s hand. “Skah found me and we went back to her dressing room together. We found them—dead. There were two of them. One had an arrow in her chest, and the other looked like her head was almost cut off.” Mika clenched her jaw, and I could see the anger boiling just under the surface. This was Lina all over again.
“Did you call the police?” I said.
Mika shook her head. “No. I went to Watters, and the casino security took over. They told us to keep quiet until they figured out what to do.”
“What to do?” I exploded. “It’s simple! Call the police!”
This time Yona spoke up. She’d been quiet the whole conversation, but I saw how upset she was now. “They will just cover it up. Two girls are dead—how many more are going to die before we do something?”
How could they not see that if they wanted change, they’d have to do it? “Mika! Remember when you wrote about love and justice?”
She nodded miserably. “Now I’m writing cheesy lines pitting Injuns against the white men. I hate it.”
“Than change it!” I was about to spout out a Gandhi quote, but figured it’d be too much. “Could it be much worse? One out of three girls gets raped . . .”
Yona turned sharply. “Not by our men. It’s psychos from every state within five hundred miles who know they can get away with anything here. The Justice Department never prosecutes.”
Skah chimed in. “Only one man has been convicted of rape in the past three years, and he got off on par
ole. We don’t even have the money at the women’s shelter to buy rape kits anymore. That’s why we had to—” She cut herself off, suddenly embarrassed. What’s going on?
I raised my eyebrows. “That’s true, but it’s one of your own who’s murdering. And we’ve got to stop him. What are you willing to do to change things here?”
They looked at each other, making a silent agreement. “Anything,” they said.
The phone rang again and Yona finally answered it. She fell silent and then said “yes,” “no,” “yes,” “yes,” and hung up.
“An emergency council meeting has been called. I have to go.” She stood.
“I’m going with you,” I said.
Yona shook her head.
Skah and Mika stood and said in unison, “Us too.”
YONA TRIED TO KEEP Mika, Skah, and me from going, but we were having none of it. We all got in her car and she took off.
We were almost back in town when Yona made a turn on a dirt road and started heading the other way. I looked out at the lights in the distance and wondered where this council met. As if reading my mind, Mika touched me on the shoulder.
“The council likes to meet out away from everything. It’s part of the old ways. Under the stars, back to our roots. It brings peace.”
“Yona?” I asked. “Can Skah and Mika go into the meeting as witnesses? Skah’s story could help prove that Hotah was at the scene of the crime.”
Yona nodded. The dust made a cloud behind us and I smelled it through the car window. “They will accept them as witnesses, but they may not listen to them. We’ll have to see.”
I coughed. “But there’s no way they’re going to let me in, so I think I have an idea.” I’d been racking my brain the whole ride over, trying to scheme a way into the council meeting. “Skah, do you have a phone? I don’t have mine on me.”
“Yeah.” She pulled out a new iPhone. “Why?”
I took it, checked the battery, and sighed. It had only 15% power left. “Yona do you have a cell phone?”
Yona shook her head. “I left it at the house.”
“Blast.” Mika’s phone had 50% so hers would be good, but the iPhone was going to be a problem. I hit the power button and closed out all the open programs in the hopes of conserving juice.
“What are you doing?” Mika asked.
“Getting me into the council meeting.” I handed her phone back and said, “I’ll call you once we get there. Put me on mute and put the phone in your pocket. I’ll listen in with this phone. All you have to do is try to speak up and get as close to the action as you can. You think you can do that?”
Mika nodded.
“Good. Now let’s just hope the battery holds out.”
I HIT SEND AND connected with Mika. All three girls were walking up to a stone archway into a huge building. The moon was big and cast long shadows over the landscape. I snuck around to the side and made my way up a small rise. I found a small outcropping that had a good view of the meeting below.
Yona walked through the archway and into the middle of an open square. Broken stone walls surrounded the square and a few side rooms were still intact. A fire burned in the middle and I counted twelve people, including Yona.
“Yona, glad you could make it. Please sit.” The voice was clear—I thought it sounded like Watters. From my vantage point, I couldn’t make out faces, but I could guess who was who.
Watters wore a headdress and a dark suit. He hugged Yona, and I could feel the tension from here.
“This has to stop, Watters. We have to do…” Her voice trailed off, and a young man without a shirt stood up. The firelight cast an eerie light across his bare chest. His body was one of a teen boy.
“What is he doing here?” Yona asked. Behind her, Skah straightened up.
Chaska stood. “He’s my apprentice, as I see you’ve brought yours.” He motioned to Skah and Mika. The young man winked at Skah, and I knew it was Hotah.
“We are all here. Everyone, please sit, and the council meeting will come to order.” Chaska sat at the top of the circle, and Yona and the girls found a spot and sat on the ground like the rest of the council.
Drums resounded through the small building.
“That is Hotah,” Yona whispered so I could hear it. “He is here to mock us, to rub it in. He thinks he is invincible.”
I looked down at the phone I held and saw that the battery was at 12%. I cursed.
The drumming abruptly ended and there came a chant that I heard up the hill. The meeting was getting underway and I was nervous. Or I should have been, but that dark thing inside was more excited than nervous.
“THEY’RE LYING!” HOTAH WAS on his feet again, screaming at Skah and Mika. “Skah has tried to get me into bed a few times, and I turned her down! She wants what she can’t have and it drives her crazy.”
“You bastard.” Skah lunged toward Hotah, and he spread his arms and laughed. “You would have raped me if I hadn’t gotten away.”
“So you say, whore.”
Chaska held up his hand, and Tahatan moved as if to strike. The big man was wound tight. “Enough. This is childish. We have heard your testimony, and I am heartbroken about the events of this night. There are two dead because of this tragedy, and it has put our whole tribe is at risk. The last thing we need is for the outside to come in and mess with what we have worked so hard for.”
Yona stood and spoke up. “Hotah is out of control. We all know he’s Watters’ lapdog, killing at his command. Watters needs to get him back on a leash. This feud is over—it ends tonight. I am sick of all the fighting, the killing—when will it end? When will it be enough?”
Watters sat in silence as if the council meeting was a sports game and he was a half-interested fan. When he stood, Yona sat, and everyone looked toward him. A calming mood fell over the council. “I have sat in many council meetings. My family has been a part of this tribe from the beginning. I was once a proud member. I saw my bloodline as a blessing, but now it is a curse. All I hear is accusations, lies, and stories.”
Grinding my teeth, I fought my rising anger. The council members shot fearful looks at each other and the mood of the meeting turned. Yona and Chaska were the only ones who seemed immune to the trance Watters managed to put on the rest of the council. True power was not in money, but in what people thought of you. Even if it was a created illusion, Watters knew his people well, and just what to say to get them to bend to his will.
“We have a scorned woman lashing out at our own Hotah. Did anyone see him attack Skah? Did anyone see Hotah kill those women? No. The fact is that we have a murderer on the loose and all this meeting is doing is wasting time. As we fight and bicker, there is a killer out there, maybe killing again right now.”
Chaska held up his hand and Watters sat. “I agree with Yona—this feud needs to end. I do not want to have more bad blood between us. This, as you know, Watters, has cost us much. But you have to face the truth—you have to be happy without control of the council.”
“We shall see, brother,” Watters said with a dismissive wave of his hand.
Chaska leaped to his feet in a rage and Tahatan reached to stop him. I was already on my feet and running. The council meeting was not going to get past the families’ blood feud, meaning a killer was going to walk free. That was something I couldn’t sit by and watch.
THE CONTROL OVER MY inner monster was still there, in place and strong. But I just didn’t care anymore. Dodging sagebrush and rocks, I vaulted a low part on the broken wall and shot through the archway. The council members turned to stare at the crazy white woman who had just busted in on their meeting.
“This is ridiculous,” I shouted. “You have the killer right here.” I pointed to Hotah and he lifted his head, smiling.
Skah and Yona were huddled together, scared, but Mika had a fire in her eyes, like she was cheering me on. Two other men I had never seen before held Chaska back. “What’s the meaning of this, Miss Steele? How dare you come into the
council? This is an affront to—”
I crossed my arms. “Skah was assaulted by him today, and an hour later two girls are found dead in her dressing room. What more proof do you need? Hotah’s arrows stopped the hearts of two girls. Don’t you think he should be the first suspect?”
Hotah jumped up. “They were stolen from me! Anyone can walk into my changing room. People out there are jealous of me, and this is a clear setup to ruin my good name.”
“Liar.” I marched to stand beside Tahatan, pointing at the people in a circle. “And whoever hired him needs to be his cell mate.”
Tahatan swore and grabbed my arm, spinning me around. He pulled me close and growled in my ear. “Watch yourself. Steele. There’s only so much I can do to protect you.”
This threw me. I saw the man as an enemy. Why would he warn me? “Let me go.” I could feel my own heartbeat where his hand gripped my arm.
“Tahatan, I demand you arrest this woman,” Watters said in a voice that rang throughout the room. “She is an outsider and is trespassing on sacred ground.” Watters lost his stone-like countenance. Hotah sat to his left and had a huge smirk on his face.
“Arrest me? Really?” For a wild minute, I considered fighting Hotah right there, right then, and seeing who would come out alive. “But you have the real killer sitting right behind you. Arrest him and let Timothy go. It’s clear he’s not the killer.”
Watters took three steps forward and backhanded me across the face. Hot tears rushed to my eyes. I yanked free of Tahatan’s grasp and hit Watters in the throat with the palm of my hand.
Someone yelled, and it sounded like I was about to be run down by a stampede of cattle. I turned to see Yona pushing past a tall man, trying to reach me. He threw her to the ground.
Watters yanked my hair, and I hit the broken concrete hard. My knees burned. A palm to the throat would put most men down, but he acted like I had only slapped him.
The Steele Collection Books 1-3: Sarah Steele Legal Thrillers Page 34
