Outside, the sun was beginning to crest the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink.Kari and Polacca walked to their vehicles in silence, both processing what they'd just witnessed.
"The timing of that reaction is suspicious," Polacca said quietly.
"Extremely suspicious," Kari agreed."But if his alibi checks out..."
Kari pulled out her phone and looked at the time.Five-forty in the morning.Too early to call the chairman—she'd already woken him once in the middle of the night recently, and calling again before six AM to ask about a council meeting would strain whatever goodwill remained.Better to wait until a reasonable hour.
"We wait until seven to call the chairman," Kari said."Verify David's alibi.If it's solid, we move on to other suspects.If there are any holes in it..."
"Then we come back with a warrant and tear that house apart looking for evidence."
They stood in the cold morning air, both exhausted from the long night but too wired to consider sleep.The case felt like it was reaching a critical point—pieces were moving, connections were forming, but the full picture remained frustratingly out of reach.
"Let's go back to the station," Kari said finally."Review what Lucas sent us from Patricia's files.See if there's anything in the genealogical data that explains the bigger picture.Then at seven, we make that call."
"And either we discover David has been lying to us," Polacca said grimly, "or we go back to looking for suspects.And hope the killer gets even more sloppy than he already is."
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The genealogical files were spread across Kari's laptop screen in a series of overlapping windows—DNA analysis reports, family tree diagrams, participant consent forms, and Patricia's meticulous notes documenting everything she'd discovered.
Kari had been reading for over an hour, her coffee long since gone cold, her eyes burning with fatigue.But the exhaustion fell away as she absorbed what Patricia had found.
The data was extraordinary.Patricia had collected DNA samples from over sixty families across multiple Hopi villages, then cross-referenced the genetic markers with historical records, oral histories, and genealogical documentation.The result was a complex web of ancestry that revealed just how interconnected the Hopi people were—not just with each other, but with neighboring tribes as well.
Many families had Navajo ancestors.Some had Zuni or Apache heritage going back several generations.A few had surprising connections to Puebloan groups from New Mexico.The genetic evidence showed centuries of intermarriage, trade relationships, and cultural exchange that had been somewhat obscured by modern tribal boundaries and enrollment requirements.
It was beautiful data, really.A testament to the rich, complex history of the Southwest's indigenous peoples.
But Kari could also see why it would be threatening.
Tribal enrollment was often calculated by blood quantum—the percentage of ancestry from a specific tribe.If someone thought they were "full-blooded" Hopi but DNA revealed significant ancestry from other tribes, it could affect not just their identity but their legal status within the tribe.
She found the Namingha family data.Patricia had been careful to anonymize it in her notes, referring to them only as "Family 7," but cross-referencing with other details made it clear who she was discussing.The chairman's daughter had married a man of mixed Hopi-Navajo heritage.Their children—the chairman's grandchildren—were enrolled as Hopi, but their actual genetic ancestry was more complex.Not enough to automatically disqualify them from enrollment, but enough to raise questions if someone wanted to challenge their status.
Kari made notes, looking for patterns, for anything that might point toward a specific person with a specific motive.But the more she read, the more she realized the problem was thattoo manypeople had motives.Dozens of families were represented in this data.Any of them might have secrets they wanted to keep hidden, histories they didn't want exposed.
She was deep in a section about historical migration patterns when she noticed the time on her laptop: 7:14 AM.Late enough to call the chairman.
She pulled out her phone and dialed his number.It rang four times before he answered.
"Yes?"
"Chairman Namingha, this is Detective Blackhorse.I apologize for calling so early—"
"What is it now, Detective?"He didn't bother hiding his annoyance."I'm about to leave for a meeting in Flagstaff.I have maybe two minutes."
"I need to verify some information about the tribal council meeting last night.The one that ran late."
A pause."What about it?"
"Was David Lomatuway'ma present for the entire meeting?"
Another pause, longer this time.When the chairman spoke again, his voice was colder, more guarded."Why are you asking me this?"
"I need to confirm the specific timeline.He mentioned giving a presentation around nine-fifteen—"
"He did.I was sitting directly across from him for most of the meeting.He gave his presentation on cultural preservation protocols at nine-fifteen, then participated in the discussion for the rest of the evening.We didn't finish until nearly midnight."The chairman's tone was emphatic."David Lomatuway'ma was at that meeting from the moment it started until the moment it ended.Is that clear enough for you?"
