"Which we can ask him about tomorrow."Kari paused."Is there anyone who would know about mask collections?Someone who tracks cultural items for the tribe?"
"David Lomatuway'ma would be the person to ask.Cultural preservation is his job—he'd know which families have significant collections, if any items have been reported missing recently."Polacca pulled out her phone."I'll call him first thing in the morning, set up a meeting."
"Good.And we should ask the museum too—Dr.Sekaquaptewa might know if any masks have gone missing from their collection."
They stood for a moment in the quiet parking lot, the cold night air sharp in their lungs.Kari thought about the ceremonial mask, about someone using sacred items to hide their face while committing murder.There was a symbolism there, a meaning she couldn't quite grasp yet.
"Get some sleep," Polacca said."We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
Kari nodded, though she knew sleep would be difficult.Her mind was already churning through the details, looking for patterns, connections, the thread that would unravel everything.
She was climbing into her Jeep when Polacca's phone rang.The officer answered, listened for a moment, and her expression changed.
"When?"Polacca asked."How long ago?"She listened again, her jaw tightening."Okay.We'll be right there."
She ended the call and looked at Kari through the Jeep's open window."That was dispatch.Someone just reported an abduction."
"Who?"Kari asked."Who was abducted?"
"Jake Honanie."
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Jake Honanie's workshop sat at the edge of a small cluster of buildings, its windows still glowing with light despite the late hour.The front door stood open, a rectangle of yellow spilling onto the dirt parking area where two tribal police cruisers were already parked, their light bars casting red and blue strobes across the scene.
Kari pulled up beside them and was out of her Jeep before the engine fully stopped.Polacca emerged from her own vehicle a second later, both of them moving with the focused urgency of people who knew every minute mattered.
A young tribal officer—his nametag identified him as Officer Lomaquahu—met them near the workshop entrance."Witness is inside.Name's Thomas Pavatea, owns the silversmith shop next door.He saw the whole thing."
"Walk us through it," Kari said.
"Mr.Pavatea was closing up his shop around nine-thirty when he heard what sounded like a struggle.Came outside and saw two men near Jake Honanie's truck—Jake and another man.The other man had Jake in some kind of hold, was forcing him toward a dark-colored SUV parked on the street.Got Jake into the vehicle—shoved him in the back seat—then drove off heading east."
Officer Lomaquahu gestured toward the main road."Mr.Pavatea called it in immediately, maybe two minutes after the vehicle left.But by the time our units got here, there was no sign of them."
Kari nodded, unsure what to make of this.The bad news was that Jake's life was in danger, assuming he was still alive.The good news was that, once again, the unsub was acting recklessly, making mistakes.It was only a matter of time before they caught him.
"Let's go talk to the witness," she said.
They found Thomas Pavatea inside the workshop, sitting on a stool near Jake's main workbench.He was a man in his sixties, his hands shaking as he held a cup of water an officer had given him.His face was pale, his eyes still wide with the shock of what he'd witnessed.
"Mr.Pavatea," Kari said gently, approaching slowly so as not to startle him."I'm Detective Blackhorse.This is Officer Polacca.Thank you for calling this in.Can you tell us exactly what you saw?"
Thomas took a sip of water, then set the cup down carefully."I was locking up my shop—it's right next door, the silversmith place.Everything was quiet.Then I heard a sound like someone falling, something heavy hitting metal.I looked out and saw Jake on the ground next to his truck, and there was a man standing over him."
"Can you describe the man?"
"Tall.Taller than Jake, anyway.Maybe six feet or a bit more.He was wearing dark clothes—a jacket, jeans maybe."Thomas's brow furrowed with the effort of remembering.
"Jake was trying to get up, and the man grabbed him.Got behind him, had his arms wrapped around Jake's chest.Jake was fighting—I could see him struggling, hear him yelling."
"What was he yelling?"Polacca asked.
"Let me go.Help.Things like that."Thomas's voice shook."I started moving toward them, shouting that I was calling the police.But the man—he was so strong.He just dragged Jake to this SUV that was parked on the street.Dark color, maybe black or dark blue.Couldn't see much detail in the streetlight."
"Did you see the license plate?"
"I tried, but they were moving fast, and the angle was bad.Only got part of it."Thomas pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket—he'd written down what he'd seen."I got the first three characters before they turned the corner.G-N-7.That's all I'm sure of."
