The Sheriff of Silverhill

by Ericson, Carol

  THE FOLLOWING DAY, Rafe swung by Auntie Mary’s to pick up Dana for their mission in Durango. While Dana strapped on her holster in the bedroom, she listened to Kelsey’s bright chatter with Rafe.

  Thank God Kelsey had recovered from her scare last night. She hadn’t succumbed to another vision, but her strong sense of foreboding regarding Dana had frightened her.

  “My mom is flying back with me to Denver tomorrow morning.” Kelsey glanced up at him through lowered lashes. “Will you come visit me?”

  “Absolutely. I have to watch that dance show with you to find out who wins.”

  “Then what?” She jerked her thumb toward Dana. “What’s going to happen with you and Mom?”

  “That’s for us to figure out.” Dana playfully yanked Kelsey’s ponytail.

  Rafe placed a hand on Kelsey’s head. “Whatever happens, I’m your father, and I’m going to take that very seriously. Is that okay with you?”

  Kelsey nodded, grinning ear to ear.

  When they got into Rafe’s squad car, Dana turned to him. “She adores you already. Thanks for reassuring her. She needed to hear that even though we might not be together, you’ll be there for her.”

  “About that…”

  Dana’s breath hitched in her throat, and she dug through her purse for some lip gloss to hide her expression of hope. He’d mentioned something about not blaming her right before he took Kelsey home and all hell broke loose. She’d been holding those words close to her heart, afraid of bringing them into the light and examining them too closely.

  As the silence stretched, she stole a glance at his strong hands, gripping the steering wheel as if ready for takeoff. Then he blew out a breath.

  “I found out that Pam knew about your pregnancy and that she used intimidation and threats to keep it from me and drive you out of town.”

  She dropped her purse, its contents spilling onto the floor of the car. Had Pam confessed everything to put her own spin on it? From the tone of Rafe’s voice, Pam hadn’t put a very successful spin on her side of the story.

  “D-did Pam tell you what happened?”

  “Yeah, but not out of the goodness of her heart.” His lips twisted into a bitter smile. “My brother forced her into it.”

  Rafe then launched into Rod’s discovery of a McClintock half brother and how he’d overheard Pam talking to Ralph about Dana’s pregnancy and the means she had used to convince Dana to keep the baby a secret.

  “You have another brother out there somewhere?”

  Rafe jerked the steering wheel. “That’s not the point. When I found out about Kelsey, why didn’t you tell me Pam knew everything and threatened you?”

  She shrugged. “What was the point of that? I went along with it. I deceived you, and I continued to deceive you even after Pam no longer held any sway over me.”

  “You took all the blame onto yourself.”

  “I deserved the blame.”

  The buzz of her cell phone saved Dana from hearing whether or not Rafe agreed with her, but the voice on the other end of the line did nothing to calm her nerves.

  “Dana, it’s Steve. Meetings are over, and I’m flying back tomorrow.”

  “Sounds like bad news.”

  Rafe clutched her arm. “Kelsey?”

  She shook her head. Rafe was getting a crash course in the perils and pitfalls of parenthood. “Steve, I’m in the car with Sheriff McClintock. Can I put you on speaker?”

  He agreed and she switched her cell to speaker.

  “Hey, Sheriff. The Bureau is not happy with the investigation. It’s not a reflection on you or your department or Emmett. The fact that Dr. Simpson withheld information from an autopsy didn’t help, although my bosses were impressed you got that out of him. We had that serial killer on an Indian reservation several years ago and we never caught the guy. The FBI took a black eye on that one, with Native American groups accusing us of insensitivity and taking a cavalier attitude because the victims were Native Americans. We’re not too anxious to go down that road again.”

  Dana clenched her teeth. She didn’t want to give up this investigation—not when they were so close. “That was years ago, Steve. We’re on our way right now…”

  Rafe squeezed her thigh and put his finger to his lips. “I get it, Steve. When’s the new task force coming down?”

  “In about a week, Rafe. Look, I know it’s tough when the Bureau moves in on local law enforcement, but this is a delicate situation. Of course, we’re going to set up meetings with you and Emmett to review the cases.”

  They spent the rest of the drive into Durango on the phone with Steve. Dana marveled at Rafe’s restraint. She figured he’d be hitting the roof of the car about now. But at least Steve’s call gave her a reprieve in discussing their own delicate situation.

  They ended the call as they pulled into the parking lot of one of Joshua’s clubs, Bare Elegance. Dana slipped her cell back into her purse. “Why didn’t you want to tell Steve about our lead?”

  “Let’s see how it pans out first. We have no solid evidence the killer wore a ring when he strangled those women, and even less evidence that the ring was one of the seven Ute tribal rings. All we have is you, and if that flying arrow last night means the Headband Killer has figured out you’re using the gift to track him down, we need to stop him now or get you out of Silverhill.”

  “I’m not leaving. I’ll be staying on with the task force, so get used to it.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  They dropped the subject when they entered Joshua’s opulent club, all mirrors, red velvet and black leather, but questioning Joshua’s employees got them nowhere. He either elicited fierce loyalty or they knew nothing about his ring.

  After their fruitless questioning, they drove across town to the Durango Museum of Cultural Arts, hoping to get a line on the missing seventh ring.

  Dana approached the information counter while Rafe studied a rock painting.

  “I’d like to see the curator, Adam Reynolds.” She flipped out her FBI badge.

  The woman at the desk picked up the phone and two minutes later, a tall, spindly man with long silver hair wearing hiking sandals and socks scuffed across the polished floor.

  “Can I help you…?”

  “Agent Dana Croft.” Dana thrust out her hand. “And this is Sheriff McClintock from Silverhill.”

  They shook hands and Mr. Reynolds led them back to his messy office, crammed with books, magazines and boxes. Dana exchanged a look with Rafe. Was he thinking what she was thinking? Had he stored the rings in there with all this other junk?

  Dana scooped up a stack of file folders from a chair and dropped them on Mr. Reynolds’s desk before settling in the chair. Rafe stood, wedging a shoulder against the doorjamb.

  “I’m going to get right to the point, Mr. Reynolds.” Dana folded her hands in her lap and leaned forward. “We’re looking for the seventh Ute tribal ring. We know Ben Whitecotton, curator of the Southern Ute Cultural Center, now has five of the rings in his possession, and we know the location of a sixth ring, but nobody seems to know where the seventh ring is.”

  Mr. Reynolds spread his hands. “I can’t help you. I’ve searched for it before, but nobody has stepped forward. I helped Ben round up a couple of those rings, but we never could locate the seventh.”

  “That’s the second reason why we’re here. We’d like the information about who had these rings. Can you provide us with that?”

  Reynolds spun in his chair to face a four-drawer filing cabinet. “I know it may not look like it to you, but I have a rather precise filing system here.”

  Rafe rolled his eyes at Dana while Reynolds pawed through one of the filing cabinet drawers. He withdrew a thick manila folder. “I’m afraid I’ll have to make a copy of everything in the folder before handing it over to you. That could take a few hours, and my assistant doesn’t work on Sundays. Can I get it to you tomorrow?”

  Biting her lip, Dana glanced at Rafe. She’d be on an a
irplane tomorrow taking Kelsey home.

  “I can come back tomorrow to pick it up.” Rafe shoved off the wall and shook hands with Reynolds. “Thanks for your help.”

  “I’m sorry I have to make you wait because I gather this is a matter of some urgency. However, I’m rather particular about security issues, believe it or not.”

  “I’m sure that’s why Ben entrusted the tribal rings to your care until he opened the cultural center.” Dana replaced the file folders on the chair. Wouldn’t want to disrupt his precise filing methods.

  “Excuse me?” The curator raised his brows as he pushed back from his chair.

  “The five tribal rings. Ben told me he put them in your care for safekeeping until the opening of the Southern Ute Cultural Center.”

  Reynolds shook his head. “You must’ve misunderstood, Agent Croft. I helped Ben locate those tribal rings over a year ago, but I never had possession of them. As we found each one, Ben kept them locked in a safe or something. I never actually inquired. He had a lot of priceless artifacts under his care. The rings comprised just another asset to be secured.”

  Rafe slammed the office door he’d just opened and the beveled pane of glass in the door trembled. “Are you telling us Ben Whitecotton had those five rings for over a year?”

  Reynolds’s gaze darted between Rafe and Dana as his white skin grew paler. “N-not all of them. It took us several months to locate all five of the rings.”

  “But he had at least one of the rings for the past three months?” Hunching forward, Rafe gripped the back of the chair.

  “In the past three months? All but one, I believe.”

  They thanked him for his time and information and practically ran out of his office. When they burst outside the museum, they both spun toward each other.

  Rafe cursed. “Ben had those rings all along.”

  “And even more damning is that he lied to me about it.” Dana hugged herself in the chill that was spreading with the rapidly sinking sun.

  “We need to make a return visit to the cultural center and ask him why.” Rafe dug in his front pocket for his keys.

  “I can’t believe it. Why would Ben want to kill those women? He’s all about preserving our Ute culture, why would he murder Ute women?”

  “Think about those women, Dana.” Rafe cranked on the engine. “They weren’t pure. In some way, they sullied the proud Ute culture. Even Alicia wound up pregnant and unwed. Ben must’ve hated that.”

  “Ben must’ve gone off the deep end. I wonder if it started when his wife left him.”

  “I don’t care when it started or how. We need to stop him. Who knows how many impure Ute women he’s eyeing right now?”

  Dana dug her nails into her palms as Rafe sped down the highway. “Maybe it’s not Ben. Maybe somebody took a ring from him. That seventh ring is still missing.”

  “Then why did he lie to you about the whereabouts of those rings? He had them all along, at the time of all the murders. Did he know you were coming here today?”

  “I—I don’t think I mentioned it.”

  As they cruised to the edge of Silverhill, Dana’s cell phone buzzed and she frowned at the unknown number on the display before flipping open the phone. “Hello?”

  “Dana, it’s Auntie Mary. I’m at Margie’s house. She’s having a terrible time with her arthritis.”

  “Is Kelsey with you?”

  “No, that’s why I’m calling. I left her next door with the Johnsons.”

  The tightness in Dana’s chest eased. “We have a stop to make, but if I get back before you do let the Johnsons know I’ll pick up Kelsey.”

  “That’s just it, Dana. Kelsey’s not with the Johnsons anymore.”

  “Where is she?” Dana placed a hand across her stomach to calm the sudden flight of butterflies.

  “She’s with Ben at the cultural center.”

  DANA ALMOST DOUBLED OVER in the seat next to him. Rafe’s hand shot out to sweep the hair from her face. “What’s wrong?”

  She clamped the phone against her thigh and choked on a sob. “Ben has Kelsey.”

  The blood pounded in his ears and his foot jammed on the accelerator. Ben knew about Kelsey’s gift. He’d witnessed it last night and knew what it meant.

  Dana managed to calm her voice and finish the conversation with Auntie Mary, and then she dropped the phone on the floor of the car. “Auntie Mary left her with the Johnsons while she visited a friend, and Ben came to the Johnsons to ask if Kelsey wanted to go to the cultural center with him.”

  “And they just let her go?”

  “They’ve known Ben for years. We all have.” She buried her face in her hands. “He knows, doesn’t he? He knows about both me and Kelsey. He tried to kill me last night with that arrow, and he must have figured I’d check out his story at the Durango museum. What’s he going to do to Kelsey?”

  “He’s not going to lay a finger on her, not while I have one breath left in my body.” He stroked Dana’s heaving shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll get her back. We need to act like law enforcement here, not parents.”

  Dana wiped her face and blew her nose. “Should we call Emmett or Brice?”

  “At this point, I’m sure we can get there before they can. Besides, what are we going to tell them? So far we have no evidence that Ben has done anything wrong.”

  “He took Kelsey.”

  “With your aunt’s permission.”

  “Do you think he really brought her to the cultural center?”

  “I don’t know, but that’s the first place we’re going to check.”

  Rafe swung his car into the darkened parking lot of the cultural center. Without the lights and crowd, the setting felt eerie. Yeah, now that he knew the curator was a killer…and had his daughter.

  As they crept up the front steps, Dana pulled out her weapon. Blinds covered the windows in the front, but a soft, flickering glow emanated between the slats.

  Rafe tried the front door, which was locked, and whispered, “Can you see where that light’s coming from? Is it the back office?”

  Dana jumped from the veranda and crouched next to a side window. She twisted her head to the side, her brows knitted. “It’s coming from the patio, and it looks like the light is from a fire.”

  “We can get to the patio from the back of the building.” Rafe pulled Dana behind him. “Follow me.”

  They slid along the side of the building until they got to the stucco wall that surrounded the outdoor patio. Low murmuring wafted over the wall, and Dana grabbed Rafe’s back pocket.

  “That’s Ben’s voice.”

  He took her hand and led her around the corner. He remembered a gate in the back, probably how Ben slipped out of the party last night to get into position to shoot that arrow at Dana.

  The black wrought-iron gate stood open to the wild underbrush that encircled the cultural center. Tucking Dana behind him, Rafe approached the gate and peered into the patio.

  His hand tightened on his gun as a blazing fury engulfed his body. Ben was seated on one side of the fire pit, pointing a gun at Kelsey, seated across from him, her eyes wide.

  Ben raised his voice, “Come in, Rafe. I’ve been expecting you. Dana too.”

  Dana cried out as she stumbled around Rafe and onto the patio. “What are you doing? Let her go.”

  Ben smiled. “I can’t do that. Do you know, Dana, our particular Ute tribe is the only one where the gift is concentrated in females only. I’ve been doing a lot of research in setting up this cultural center, and I’ve discovered that some of the other Ute tribes forcibly wrenched this power from the females. Now I have the perfect opportunity to try it out. I’ve been dabbling, you know, but the wolf spirit didn’t like it.”

  “Ben, why did you kill those women?” Dana took a step toward Kelsey.

  Ben raised his weapon. “Both of you need to drop your guns and shove them over here. If you don’t, I’ll shoot your daughter and will just have to give up on my scheme of transferring her
power to me. But then you won’t have a daughter anymore.”

  Dana dropped her gun immediately and kicked it toward the fire circle.

  Rafe clenched his jaw. He didn’t even have his backup weapon with him, but he couldn’t risk Kelsey’s life. He tossed his gun under one of the benches.

  “Very wise decision.” Ben waved his gun at Dana. “Join your daughter. Now I’ll be able to pull the power from both of you. In your case, two is better than one because it’s most likely weak since it’s so diluted. You’re only half Ute, Dana, and you tainted your daughter’s blood even more by saddling her with a white man as a father.”

  Dana settled next to Kelsey and gathered her in a hug. “It’s okay, sweetie.”

  Kelsey buried her head against Dana’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Mom. I knew I shouldn’t have come with him because I had bad feelings about him and this place, but I thought maybe I could help you.”

  “It’s not your fault.” She stroked Kelsey’s ponytail. “If we transfer our gift to you, Ben, will you let us go?”

  Ben snorted. “You know I committed those murders. I can’t let any of you go. As soon as you started showing interest in those rings, I knew my mission was over. I never feared Emmett or the FBI would catch me, but when you showed up, I figured you were here to use your powers to find me. Nobody had linked the rings to the murders until your daughter reacted last night when I brought them out. Then you started asking questions about them. I knew it was only a matter of time before you discovered I had the rings in my possession at the time of the murders.”

  Rafe exchanged a glance with Dana. “Did you kill those young women because they didn’t meet your standards of a proper Ute? Did you fancy yourself one of those old chiefs, keeping everyone in line? You should do a little more research, Ben. They didn’t murder members of their own tribe.”

  “Shut up, Rafe. I don’t need an outsider to tell me my cultural history. Sit on that bench behind Dana and your daughter where I can see you while I perform my ritual.”

  Rafe lowered himself to the bench, his knees almost touching Dana’s back. If he had the chance, he’d lunge forward and take the bullet for her or his daughter.