Night had fully claimed the reservation by the time Kari returned to her house, fatigue settling into her limbs after a day that had begun with herb gathering and ended with unsettling revelations.The stone Adakai had given her felt warm in her pocket, as if it had absorbed the heat of her body during the drive home.Ruth's herbal bundle, tucked into her medicine pouch, carried a subtle fragrance that seemed to intensify as she climbed the porch steps.
Inside, the house welcomed her with familiar silence.Kari moved through her evening routine mechanically—securing doors, checking windows, and setting her service weapon on the bedside table within easy reach.The habits of a detective living alone, ingrained after years in law enforcement.She had just started a pot of coffee when her phone buzzed with a message from Ben.
"Found something.Files are mentioned in archives but are not actually there.Checked with records clerk.Your grandfather's personal case notes were never integrated into official records.Signed out to Captain Yazzie's office last year during the digitization project, never returned."
Kari frowned.Why would Yazzie have her grandfather's personal case notes?And why hadn't he mentioned them when they discussed the case earlier today?
She called Captain Yazzie directly, hoping he hadn't yet gone to bed despite the late hour.He answered on the third ring, his voice carrying the distinct weariness of a long day's work.
"Detective Blackhorse.Everything alright?"
"Sorry to bother you so late, Captain," Kari said."Ben discovered that my grandfather's personal case notes on the 1973 murders were signed out to your office last year.I was hoping to access them as soon as possible, given our current situation."
A heavy silence stretched across the line.Finally, Yazzie sighed."I should have known Ben would find that record.When the digitization project began, I pulled certain sensitive materials that weren't appropriate for the general database."
"With all due respect, sir, these notes could be crucial to our investigation," Kari said, keeping her tone professional despite her frustration."Five professors were killed fifty years ago with the same signature we found today.If we're dealing with a copycat—or, somehow, the original killer—we need to understand the original pattern."
"I'm aware," Yazzie said, surprising her."I've been wrestling with this decision since I learned about the Reynolds murder."There was a pause.Then: "You should know, I don't have all of your grandfather's notes.Only some."
"That's better than nothing."
"I figured you would say as much.The notes are safe in my home—I'll bring them to you personally.Give me thirty minutes."
Before Kari could respond, he ended the call.
She poured her coffee and settled at the kitchen table, her mind racing with questions.Yazzie had deliberately withheld information about case files that might be critical to their investigation.That wasn't like him—in the months since her return to the reservation, he had shown nothing but integrity and transparency in his leadership.
What could be in Joseph Chee's personal notes that would make Yazzie hesitate to share them, even in the face of a fresh murder with the same signature?
Twenty-seven minutes later, headlights swept across her front window as a vehicle pulled into her driveway.Kari opened the door to find Captain Yazzie standing on her porch, a weathered leather document case tucked under his arm.His expression was somber, his normally straight posture slightly hunched as if beneath an invisible weight.
"Thank you for coming, sir," Kari said, stepping aside to let him enter.
Yazzie nodded, moving past her into the house.He paused in the living room, his gaze traveling over the changes she'd made to her mother's home."I haven't been here since Anna's memorial," he said quietly."You've made it your own."
"Trying to," Kari replied, gesturing toward the kitchen."Coffee?"
"No.This won't be a long visit."Yazzie placed the document case on the dining table, his hands lingering on its worn surface."Before I give you these, I need you to understand something.Joseph Chee was more than just your grandfather or a fellow officer to me.He was my mentor when I joined the force, fresh out of the army with more determination than judgment."
This was news to Kari."You never mentioned that you worked with him."
"Some connections are too personal to bring into professional relationships," Yazzie said."When you returned to the reservation, I didn't want my history with your family to complicate your transition back to tribal police."
Kari absorbed this information, connecting pieces that suddenly made more sense—Yazzie's immediate acceptance of her transfer request, his pairing her with Ben despite initial friction, his careful attention to her development as an investigator in this new context.
"Joseph kept two sets of records during the Shadow Walker investigation," Yazzie continued, opening the document case."Official reports that followed departmental protocols and satisfied federal oversight requirements.And notes like these—his personal observations, theories, and interview notes that weren't appropriate for official documentation."
He removed a bound journal and several manila folders tied with faded string.The journal's leather cover was cracked with age, the pages yellowed and slightly warped, as if they had once been dampened and then dried.
"Why weren't they appropriate?"Kari asked, eyeing the materials with growing curiosity.
Yazzie hesitated for a moment as a shadow crossed his face.
"Please, sir," Kari said."I need to know."
Yazzie sighed, as if in resignation."This journal documents aspects of the case that defied conventional explanation—aspects that would have undermined the credibility of the entire investigation had they been included in official records."
"You mean supernatural elements," Kari said, not a question but a statement.
