Ben pushed aside the journal he'd been reading and reached for another."Joseph was methodical, I'll give him that.But I'm not seeing anything that points definitively to a specific suspect."
"Keep looking," Kari urged."There has to be something here that connects the historical cases to what's happening now."
They were both silent for a few moments as they read.
"Here's a detailed description of the fifth murder scene," Ben finally said."Victim found at 'Chee hogan near Skeleton Mesa.'"He looked up."Chee?As in your family?"
Kari felt her pulse quicken as she reached for the journal.The entry described the discovery of the fifth victim—Laura Yellowhair, the friend Ruth had mentioned.According to Joseph's notes, her body had been found "arranged in ceremonial position beside the eastern entrance of the abandoned Chee family hogan, the same herb bundle placed in her mouth post-mortem."
"The Chee hogan," Kari repeated, the memories suddenly connecting."My mother once mentioned that Ruth lived in a traditional hogan when she first married Joseph.They moved to the current house when my mother was born."
"So the fifth victim was found at your family's former home?"Ben asked, looking concerned.
"Yes," Kari said, continuing to read Joseph's notes."Listen to this: 'A.Y.had no connection to academic research or documentation efforts, unlike previous victims.No apparent reason for targeting except proximity to investigation.Possible warning or threat directed at primary investigator.'"
The implication crystallized in Kari's mind with sudden, terrible clarity."Ruth wasn't just friends with Laura Yellowhair," she said slowly."Laura was killed in a location directly connected to my family.My grandfather suspected she was targeted because of his investigation—a warning to him."
"Or a substitution," Ben suggested grimly."What if Laura wasn't the intended fifth victim?What if the killer meant to target Ruth but settled for her friend when opportunity presented itself?"
Kari felt cold despite the room's warmth."Ruth knew," she whispered."That's why she's been so afraid, why she warned me away from this case."She looked up at Ben, the pieces falling into place."That's why she acted so strangely when I last saw her, why she was so sentimental.She was afraid she might not see me again—not because something might happen to me, but because something might happen toher.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Gravel spun beneath the tires of Kari's Jeep as she took the final turn toward Ruth's house faster than she should have.Ben gripped the dashboard, his face tense in the fading evening light.
"Copy that," Ben said, holding a phone to the side of his head.He ended the call and set the phone in the cup holder."We've got patrol units en route," he said."ETA five minutes."
"We'll be there in two," Kari said, her knuckles white on the steering wheel.
"Provided we survive the drive there."
Kari shot him a look—this was no time for jokes, not with her grandmother's safety on the line.
"Sorry, Kari," Ben said softly."Ruth is going to be alright.She's as tough as they come."
Kari said nothing.She just pushed the gas pedal harder.
The familiar silhouette of Ruth's home appeared against the darkening sky.Almost at once, Kari realized something was wrong—no lights illuminated the windows, no smoke rose from the chimney despite the cooling desert evening.Ruth was meticulous about her evening routines, particularly the small fire she maintained in the stone hearth from sunset until bedtime.
Ruth's pickup truck remained where it always was, parked beneath the juniper tree.But did that mean Ruth was here?
Kari was out of the Jeep before the engine fully quieted, her hand instinctively moving to her service weapon as she approached the front door."Shimásání?"she called out."Ruth?"
No answer came from within the darkened house.
The front door stood slightly ajar—another sign that something was wrong.Kari exchanged a quick glance with Ben, who nodded and drew his own weapon.
"Tribal Police," Kari announced, pushing the door open with her shoulder."Ruth Chee?"
The interior of the small house was shadowed and still.Kari flicked the light switch, flooding the main room with harsh illumination that revealed immediate signs of disturbance.The table had been overturned, its contents scattered across the floor.Ruth's prized Navajo rug lay bunched against one wall as if shoved aside in haste or struggle.
"Clear the house," Ben said quietly, moving toward the bedroom while Kari checked the kitchen.
"Kitchen clear," she called after a moment, returning to the main room where numerous small bundles of dried herbs lay scattered across the floor—not randomly strewn but placed in a distinct pattern that Kari recognized from her grandfather's drawings.A protection circle, hastily created.
"Bedroom and bathroom clear," Ben said, holstering his weapon as he returned."No sign of Ruth, but her medicine bag is gone, and it looks like clothing is missing from her dresser."
Kari knelt beside the scattered herbs, noting their specific arrangement with growing concern."She knew someone was coming," she said."She tried to protect herself."Kari's throat tightened."Did she leave voluntarily, or was she taken?"
