"My partner," she explained to Ruth, stepping outside to take the call."Detective Blackhorse," she answered.
Ben's voice came through with the terse efficiency that signaled a serious situation."I've been trying to get a hold of you.Where are you?"
"With my grandmother.Sorry, my phone was on silent mode—I didn't feel it vibrating.What's up?"
"We've got a body at Cold Water Canyon.Male, mid-fifties.Arranged with ceremonial elements."
The peaceful feeling Kari had cultivated throughout the morning evaporated instantly."Ceremonial how?"
"Herbs.Tell you more when you arrive.Captain wants you here ASAP."
Kari felt a cold weight settle in her stomach."Text me the exact coordinates.I'll be there in thirty minutes."
When she ended the call and turned back toward the house, Ruth stood in the doorway, her expression revealing she had already intuited the nature of the conversation.
"You need to go," Ruth said.It wasn't a question.
"Yes.There's been a murder."Kari hesitated."With ceremonial elements, apparently."
Ruth's face remained impassive, but something flickered in her eyes—concern, perhaps, or resignation."Be careful what you touch," she said."Not all ceremonies are for healing."
"Will you be alright finishing the preparations alone?"Kari asked, already reaching for her keys.
"I prepared medicines before you were born," Ruth reminded her."I can finish without you."
As Kari climbed into her Jeep, Ruth's warning followed her.Whatever awaited Kari at Cold Water Canyon, the old woman had sensed its significance without hearing the details.
As she drove away from Ruth's home, Kari glanced in the rearview mirror.Her grandmother stood motionless on the porch, watching her departure with an expression that suggested she was seeing something beyond Kari's understanding.
Something that had been set in motion long before this day and would continue long after
CHAPTER TWO
Kari parked her Jeep beside Ben's department SUV, noting the growing collection of vehicles—tribal police cruisers, the medical examiner's van, even Captain Yazzie's personal truck.Whatever had been discovered here warranted significant attention.
Cold Water Canyon lived up to its name even in the July heat.The nearby natural spring kept the air several degrees cooler than the surrounding desert, the temperature difference creating swirling eddies of wind that whispered through juniper trees and sage brush.In winter, locals said, the canyon walls trapped cold air so effectively that frost could linger in shadowed crevices until noon.
Today, however, it wasn't natural frost that had brought a chill to this scenic spot favored by hikers and photographers.
Ben waited for her at the trailhead, his tall frame silhouetted against the late morning sun.At thirty-six, he carried himself with the quiet confidence of someone who knew the reservation's landscape as intimately as his own home.In the months since Kari's return, their partnership had evolved from professional wariness to genuine trust—a balance of her analytical training and his traditional knowledge that had proven remarkably effective.
"Morning," he said as she approached.No pleasantries, no wasted words.Like Ruth, Ben valued directness over social niceties."Body's about half a mile up, at the western overlook."
"You mentioned ceremonial elements," Kari said, falling into step beside him as they headed up the trail."What exactly are we looking at?"
"White male, mid-fifties.Single stab wound to the chest.But here's where it gets unusual—his mouth is stuffed with herbs."Ben glanced at her."Not random vegetation.Specifically arranged bundles that look deliberately prepared."
"Any identification?"Kari asked, her mind already cataloging potential scenarios, precedents, and analogous cases.
"Wallet still in his pocket, untouched.Martin Reynolds, fifty-three, professor at Phoenix College.According to his faculty ID, he teaches art history."Ben ducked beneath a low-hanging branch."Expensive camera equipment still at the scene, car keys in his pocket.Doesn't appear to be robbery."
"Who found him?"
"Couple of college students hiking at sunrise.They're still here—pretty shaken up, but coherent.Hiked back down to call it in once they had cell reception."
Ben paused at a bend in the trail."Kari, the herbs...they're specific types used in healing ceremonies.I recognized sage, cedar, and juniper right away, but there's something else mixed in that I couldn't identify."
The information settled uncomfortably in Kari's mind, connecting to the day she'd just spent gathering those very plants with Ruth.Was it coincidence that a murder involving ceremonial herbs occurred the same day she'd been learning about their traditional uses?Experience had taught her that such alignments rarely happened by chance.
