The Sheriff of Silverhill

by Ericson, Carol

  Dana’s heart galloped with fear. This had to stop…now. She couldn’t allow this vision to take control of Kelsey’s mind. She pushed Rafe aside and shook Kelsey by the shoulders. “Kelsey!”

  The crowd murmured and parted around them.

  Dana plucked some ice out of her drink and ran it over Kelsey’s cheeks. Kelsey bucked against her, and then her body went limp and she choked out a sob.

  “Is everything okay?” Ben took a step forward, closing his hand around the ring.

  Rafe scooped up Kelsey in his arms, clutching her to his chest. “Kelsey’s not feeling well. I’ll take her outside.”

  While she followed Rafe’s solid form outside, Dana shot a worried glance at Auntie Mary, who held a finger to her lips.

  Rafe settled Kelsey on a bench bordering the dance circle and held her hand as he smoothed her hair back from her forehead. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.”

  Kelsey whimpered as she clung to her newfound father. No doubt finding the same strength and reassurance in his low voice that Dana discovered years ago.

  After several minutes, Kelsey sniffled and wiped her eyes. “I felt weird, Mom. I saw scary pictures in my head.”

  “Try to forget about it, honey. It’s not important.”

  “I’ll take her to get a fruit punch, and then you need to take her home.” Auntie Mary had joined them on the patio, leaning heavily on her cane.

  “I’m not a baby.” She tilted her chin. “I—I want to stay and watch the Bear Dance.”

  Rafe pinched her earlobe. “You can see the Bear Dance another time. You know, I’m not a baby either, but I’m really tired and I’d like to leave. Will you let me take you back to Auntie Mary’s? I think your mom should stay here with Auntie Mary, since she’s the guest of honor.”

  Kelsey’s eyes brightened and a little color crept back into her cheeks. “Okay. Can I have a fruit punch first and a cookie?”

  “You can have two cookies.” Auntie Mary took Kelsey’s arm and led her into the building.

  Crossing her arms, Dana bit her lip. “That was scary.”

  “You shouldn’t have focused attention on Kelsey’s condition by shouting her name like that. It’s bad enough Ben brought up the Redbird gift with half of Silverhill in the room.”

  “I had to get her out of that trance. Are you blaming me for putting Kelsey in danger?” A rush of heat claimed her chest, suffocating her.

  “I’m not blaming you, Dana…for anything.” He skimmed his fingers down her cheek, his cool touch almost sizzling against her warm skin. “We need to talk.”

  Rafe’s eyes, no longer as hard as blue glass, sent a thrill of hope to her core, weakening her knees. Did he forgive her?

  He cupped her face with his large hand. “Do you think you can stay here while I take Kelsey back to Auntie Mary’s house? We need to find out who has that seventh ring and where Ben got the other rings. Do you feel up to that task?”

  She briefly rested her cheek against his palm before straightening her spine. “I’m an FBI agent, Sheriff McClintock. I know my job. Besides, I think Kelsey is better off in your company right now. The three Redbird females do not need to be feeding off of each other’s vibes.”

  “Did you see what Kelsey saw? I didn’t want to ask her, didn’t want to probe into what upset her.”

  “Good. Because I did get a glimpse of her vision and it wasn’t pretty.”

  “Nothing useful?” Rafe sliced his hands through the air. “Not that I want to go there with her.”

  “I know that.” She trailed her fingers along his forearm, tracing the corded muscle beneath his crisp white cotton shirt. She couldn’t be leaving Kelsey in better hands. “Kelsey’s disjointed visions had no meaning.”

  “The tribal rings prompted Kelsey’s vision, didn’t they?” Rafe’s gaze strayed over Dana’s head to the crowded room.

  “I think so.”

  “Then we need to know who had possession and when.”

  Auntie Mary and Kelsey returned just as the party began to move to the patio for the performance of the Bear Dance. Rafe made sure his brother had a ride home and then left with Kelsey, clutching a pink-frosted cookie in her hand.

  Dana didn’t take a deep breath until Rafe bundled Kelsey into his truck and pulled away from the cultural center. Then she wandered back inside and hung around the edges of the crowd watching the Bear Dance.

  She didn’t want to alarm Kelsey…or Rafe, but the atmosphere of the cultural center had been affecting her all night. Evil hovered in the corners of the high-ceilinged, expansive room, evil she hadn’t felt before on her visits here. It must be the rings.

  Or maybe she needed a pink-frosted cookie too.

  She broke away from the performance on the patio and sauntered to the dessert table. As Dana selected a cookie from the tray, a waiter refilled her wineglass. Great—red wine and a cookie. That should make her feel a whole lot better.

  Turning, she took a bite of her cookie and her gaze locked on the display case containing the tribal rings. The drums from the performance outside reverberated in her chest. Her dry throat made it almost impossible for her to swallow the cookie, so she took a gulp of wine. And another.

  The wine propped up her sagging confidence and she strolled to the display and peered inside. The majestic rings gleamed from the backlighting in the case. Dana gripped the smooth wooden edges of the case as her gaze darted from one ring to the next.

  Did the malevolence emanating from the rings come from the intentions of the one who bestowed them on the tribe or from their more recent use by a serial killer?

  A hand grabbed her arm and she gasped and spun around.

  Joshua’s handsome face split into a grin. “Whoa. I called your name three times. Were you in communication with the tribal rings or something?”

  Dana licked her lips. “Don’t be ridiculous. The gift passed me by, remember?”

  “I remember you said that an hour ago.” Joshua’s smile remained in place but his eyes narrowed. “But that’s not what I remember from when we were kids. You told me then you had the gift and hated it.”

  “That’s right.” Dana crumbled her cookie in a napkin and glanced at the crowd breaking up as the dance ended. “I hated the gift so much, I blocked it. I’m a totally useless shaman today.” She tapped the glass. “Why won’t you give your ring to Ben?”

  “Didn’t you hear? I don’t have the ring anymore. Your stepfather cheated me out of it, and then your boyfriend confiscated it. By the way, I was surprised to hear you two have a child. You never gave it up for me.”

  Dana tossed her wine in Joshua’s face. “When did you become such a pig?”

  Ben stepped between them and handed Joshua a napkin. “Is there a problem?”

  “No problem.” Joshua formed a gun with his fingers and shot at Ben. “And when I get my tribal ring back from the sheriff, maybe I’ll give you first dibs…for a price.”

  Joshua ambled away and Dana shook her head. “What is his problem?”

  “He’s greedy. I knew his family had one of the tribal rings, but when I approached him about loaning it to the cultural center he demanded money. None of the other owners of the rings asked for money.”

  “You have no idea who has the seventh ring?” Dana gripped the stem of her wineglass.

  “Sadly, no.”

  “What about the other rings?”

  Ben cocked his head. “What do you mean?”

  “Who had those and when did they arrive at the cultural center?”

  A few other guests clustered around the display case to view the rings as Ben reeled off several familiar Ute family names who donated the rings. “But the rings didn’t arrive at the cultural center until this morning.”

  “What?” Dana jerked up her head.

  “All of the rings, except the two not in my possession, have been safely stored at the Durango Museum of Cultural Arts.”

  Biting her lip, Dana hunched over the display case to study each ring. She
hadn’t felt anything at all from the ring Rafe took from Lenny and Joshua, but the minute she’d stepped through the doors of the cultural center tonight her senses had been on high alert. Maybe the entire atmosphere had ramped up her susceptibility to the gift. But what about Kelsey?

  Dana sighed and stuffed the rest of her crumbled cookie into her mouth. She didn’t know how her superpowers worked. She’d never been interested…until now.

  Flawed superpowers aside, she planned to pay a visit to the Durango Museum of Cultural Arts. At this point, she trusted Ben Whitecotton about as much as she trusted her childhood friend and her stepfather.

  WHEN RAFE GOT KELSEY BACK to Auntie Mary’s house, Kelsey pleaded with him to let her wait up for her mother and aunt. He didn’t figure she’d last that long since the long eyelashes she’d inherited from her mom were already drooping over her eyes.

  She wheedled some microwave popcorn out of him and snuggled next to him on the sofa, subjecting him to her favorite dance competition show on TV. After several minutes, he couldn’t take it any more and started poking fun at the dancers and trying a few moves himself, which made her dissolve into fits of giggles.

  Once they’d demolished the popcorn, he sent her to brush her teeth while he picked up their mess. Frowning, he glanced at the clock on the wall. Dana had better come back bearing news about the whereabouts of those rings, or the FBI would be moving in and taking over his investigation. He and Emmett needed a big break—any break.

  Glass shattered, and Rafe dropped the kitchen towel and stumbled toward the bathroom, the blood roaring in his ears.

  Kelsey was standing at the sink, clutching the edge of the vanity. The white face in the mirror had him gulping air and rushing to her side. “Kelsey! What’s wrong?”

  “No, no, no.” She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head from side to side.

  Was she going into a trance? Dana didn’t want Kelsey to have any visions, and he didn’t plan on failing his first time alone with his daughter.

  He grabbed her shoulders, shaking her gently while repeating her name. Dana had used ice at the cultural center. Should he splash her face with cold water? As Kelsey continued to moan, Rafe yanked on the faucet, wet his hands and patted her cheeks and brow.

  Her eyelids flew open and she met Rafe’s gaze in the mirror. Her dark eyes cleared and she spun around and grabbed his shirt.

  “We have to save Mom.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Dana wandered out to the empty patio, dark since Ben ordered the fire in the pit extinguished. She’d have to get Auntie Mary home soon, but her aunt was enjoying the limelight as guests continued to pepper her with questions about the Ute culture and traditions.

  She couldn’t understand why the five tribal rings on display had affected both her and Kelsey, while the ring belonging to Joshua had left her cold. Maybe the killer had possession of the missing seventh ring…and had it with him tonight.

  Rubbing her arms against the sudden chill, she extended her arms toward the burning embers still glowing in the fire pit. She raised her head at the loud voices coming from inside the center. She thought both Lenny and Joshua had left. She hoped they weren’t going at it again.

  The doors to the patio burst open, and Rafe stormed outside shouting her name. Swiveling her head around, she caught a quick movement out of the corner of her eye. Before she could focus on it, Rafe wrapped his arms around her body and tackled her to the ground.

  As she fell, a whining noise passed close by her ear and something landed with a thunk against one of the wooden benches. Rafe’s body crushed hers as they toppled to the ground.

  Her nose pressed into his neck and she smelled popcorn along with his usual clean, fresh scent. Had the man lost his mind?

  Shocked voices and a few screams echoed around the patio, and she struggled to sit up.

  One voice rose above the rest. “Good God. Where did that come from?”

  Rafe finally edged off her body and pulled her against his chest. She looked over his shoulder at the horrified faces crowded at the door. She tracked the path of their gazes and cried out, digging her fingernails into Rafe’s back.

  A long arrow, still quivering, was embedded into the back of a wooden bench. That’s what had whizzed by her head when Rafe tackled her.

  She gulped in breaths of air. “Where’s Kelsey?”

  “She’s safe at Auntie Mary’s neighbor’s house.” He kissed her throbbing temple.

  “Someone must’ve stolen that from the supply room.” Ben strode across the patio and reached out to the arrow.

  “Wait.” Rafe rose, his arm still supporting Dana. “Don’t touch it. There might be fingerprints.”

  Ben tossed his ponytail. “You expect to find fingerprints on file from some teenager?”

  “Teenager? Do you think this was a practical joke?”

  Dana’s knees almost gave out, and she sagged against Rafe. If he hadn’t removed her from the path of that arrow…

  “W-what else? Some of the boys tonight were really interested in the weapons. They probably stole one of the bows and arrows and thought they’d try it out.”

  “Does that look like target practice to you?” Rafe leveled a finger at the deadly arrow impaling the wood.

  “You’re not implying someone actually used a bow and arrow to try and take out Dana, are you?” Joshua stepped into the circle that was fast forming around the bench. “Why would someone want to kill Dana?”

  Dana gritted her teeth and fixed Joshua with a stare.

  “In case you’ve forgotten, we still have a serial killer on the loose and Dana is working the case.” Rafe settled her on another bench and rubbed a spot on her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

  “Yeah, but a bow and arrow isn’t his M.O. and you’re working the case too, along with Emmett and that other FBI guy.” Joshua crossed his arms and tapped the toe of his boot. “Unless the killer thinks Dana’s using her gift to discover his true identity.”

  “If I could do that, I would’ve done it a long time ago and saved a few lives. You’re an idiot, Joshua.” Dana ran her hands through her hair. “The more I think about it, Rafe, the more I think Ben might be right. Some of the boys kept trying to handle the weapons. Let’s check it out.”

  Emmett had already gone home, so Rafe called him to help canvass the area. After reassuring Auntie Mary and sending her home with one of her friends, Dana followed Rafe outside.

  She told him about the tribal rings and Ben’s claim that the five rings had been locked up at the Durango Museum of Cultural Arts until that morning. “That means the killer didn’t have access to any of those five rings, and it has to be Joshua’s ring or the missing one that the killer is wearing when he strangles those women.”

  “Or Ben’s lying.”

  Rafe gave voice to her own worry. Dana brushed her hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear. “That’s why I plan to take a trip to Durango tomorrow.”

  “And I’m coming with you. I have a few questions I want to ask Joshua’s employees at his clubs.”

  “Okay, now tell me what you’re doing here?” She bunched the folds of her skirt in her hands. “How did you know I was in danger?”

  “Kelsey. She had a vision or something when she was in the bathroom brushing her teeth.” Rafe looked down and kicked the ground. “I never should’ve left her alone in there.”

  She laid a hand on his forearm. She’d done this to him—made him doubt himself as a father. “Believe me, she’s been brushing her teeth alone for years. The important thing is you brought her out of the trance and saved my life.”

  “If she hadn’t felt your danger…” Rafe crushed her to his chest and laid his cheek against the top of her head. “I might have lost you forever.”

  His heart, sure and steady, thudded against her own. “Does this mean you forgive me, Rafe? I made a terrible mistake.”

  He placed two fingers against her lips.

  The gravel crunched behind them and they ju
mped apart. Emmett strode forward, shaking his head. “On top of a serial killer, we have some nut running around with bows and arrows? Have you canvassed the area yet, discovered the bow?”

  Reluctantly, Dana left the safety of Rafe’s embrace and for the next hour she, Rafe, Emmett and one of Emmett’s officers searched the area around the cultural center and the supply room inside.

  Emmett found the bow used to launch the arrow shoved into the branches of a bush, but they didn’t find any fingerprints on the bow or the arrow, even though someone had stolen both from the supply room.

  Rafe questioned the guests, but nobody noticed anyone near the supply room and there were too many people coming and going for anyone to notice any one guest’s absence.

  As the last of the detained guests left and the catering staff cleaned up after the revelers, Dana, Rafe and Emmett huddled on the patio. Emmett tossed a stone into the fire pit. “The person who took a potshot at you is just as stealthy as our Headband Killer. Do you think he’s one and the same? He warned you when you first got here, Dana. I guess you didn’t listen.”

  “I think it is the same person. Listen Ben, Rafe and I are onto something involving those tribal rings. Do you remember the round, red mark on the victims’ necks?”

  Emmett narrowed his eyes, his gaze shifting between the two of them. “You think one of the tribal rings made that mark?”

  “Maybe.” Rafe placed a hand on the curve of her back as a warning.

  “Did the rings scare your little girl tonight?” Emmett sawed his lower lip with his teeth.

  “She had an upset stomach from too much sugar and excitement, Emmett. That’s it.” Rafe laced his fingers with Dana’s and tugged. “Now her mom wants to make sure she’s okay.”

  Rafe bundled Dana into her car. “I’ll follow you to Auntie Mary’s, and then I’ll pick you up tomorrow for Durango.”

  Dana sensed he didn’t want to let her out of his sight…and she liked it. “I’m just going across the reservation.”

  He kissed her on the mouth and smacked the roof of her car. “Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of.”