She watched Ben's face, looking for signs of skepticism or dismissal. But he just nodded slowly, processing.
"My father went through all her research files," Kari continued. "Spent three months analyzing them. And he thinks she was right. That these deaths are connected, that someone's been systematically silencing indigenous people who threaten corporate interests."
"And your mother's death?" Ben asked quietly.
"Might fit the pattern. We can't prove it. But the timing, the circumstances, the way the investigation closed so quickly..." Kari's voice trailed off. "It's suspicious."
Ben leaned back, his eyes on the distant mesas. "That's a hell of an accusation. Corporate murder conspiracy spanning two decades."
"I know how it sounds. Believe me, I know. That's why I wasn't sure whether to bring this to you. It sounds like paranoid conspiracy theory, like I'm seeing patterns that aren't really there because I can't accept that my mother just made a mistake and died from exposure."
"But you don't think it's paranoia."
"No. And neither does my father, and he's the least paranoid person I know."
Ben was quiet for a long moment, thinking. When he spoke, his voice was measured. "Okay. Let's say your mother was right. Let's say there is a pattern of murders disguised as accidents. What do you need from me?"
The question caught Kari off guard. No skepticism, no demands for more proof, no lecture about the difference between correlation and causation. Just: What do you need?
"I'm not sure I should involve you," Kari admitted. "If this is real, if someone really is killing people who get too close to the truth, then investigating it puts you in danger. It might have gotten my mother killed."
"Kari." Ben leaned forward, his eyes serious. "We're partners. That means when one of us needs backup, the other one shows up. No questions, no hesitation. You've had my back more times than I can count. Let me have yours on this."
The simple certainty in his voice made Kari's throat tighten. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak for a moment.
"So," Ben said. "What's the plan?"
Kari pulled out her phone, opening the photos she'd taken of Anna's notes. "Most of these cases are years old. Evidence is gone, witnesses have moved on or died, and we'd be fighting corporate lawyers if we tried to reopen investigations. But there's one case that might be different."
She showed him the photo of Evan Naalnish, explained about his disappearance fifteen years ago, about the suspicious land sale three weeks later, about Anna's theory that Evan had discovered something on that land that got him killed.
"Nobody was ever found," Kari concluded. "Which means if we could find his remains, we might be able to figure out how he died. If he was murdered, we might be able to get concrete evidence of foul play. It would validate everything Mom was investigating."
"Fifteen-year-old remains in remote wilderness that's now privately owned and locked down," Ben said slowly. "That's a long shot."
"I know. But it's the best shot we have." Kari leaned forward, urgent now. "All the other cases, the victims were found. Thedeaths were ruled accidental. We'd have to prove those rulings were wrong, prove someone staged the scenes, prove a pattern across multiple jurisdictions and decades. But Evan? He's just gone. If we find him, if we find evidence he was murdered rather than lost in the wilderness, that's one case we can prove. And proving one validates the pattern."
Ben nodded, following her logic. "What do we know about where he disappeared?"
"His truck was found at a trailhead on the eastern edge of the reservation. He'd told his sister he was exploring an area with unusual geological formations, maybe evidence of mineral deposits or underground water. But the search teams never found his body, his camera, or his field notes."
"Because someone cleaned up after killing him," Ben said. "Took anything that would show what he'd discovered, hid the body somewhere it wouldn't be found."
"That's my theory. That's what Mom thought too." Kari pulled up more photos from Anna's research. "She'd mapped out the area where Evan was last seen, tried to identify caves or ravines where remains could be hidden. But she never got a chance to actually search—three weeks after Evan disappeared, Devco Holdings bought the land and immediately restricted access."
"Convenient timing."
"Very convenient." Kari zoomed in on one of Anna's maps. "Devco paid four times market value for land that supposedly had no development plans. They put up fences, hired security, threatened trespassers with prosecution. Why do all that if there's nothing there worth protecting?"
"Could be they're hiding whatever Evan found. Mineral deposits they don't want other companies to know about, maybe. Or evidence of environmental contamination they don't want regulators to discover."
"Or both." Kari set down her phone. "The point is, if we can find Evan's body, we prove he was murdered. And if we can recover his camera or field notes, we might prove what he found that got him killed. That gives us leverage to reopen the investigation into Anna's other cases."
Ben stood, walked to the edge of the patio, looking out at the desert landscape. "Okay. So we need to find a fifteen-year-old body in terrain that's been locked down for nearly as long. Where do we even start?"
"I don't know," Kari admitted. "That's why this is a shot in the dark. We could spend months searching and find nothing. The body could be anywhere—buried, hidden in a cave, scattered by animals. Even if we knew exactly where to look, accessing the land without permission would be trespassing. Devco could have us arrested."
"Not if we don't get caught."
