Anna had believed Evan discovered something on that land.Something valuable enough to kill for, and valuable enough to pay millions to cover up.
Now Ben had found his body, hidden in a ravine beneath a cave system that Evan had apparently been exploring when he died.And the crushed skull told a story that no amount of corporate money could erase.
Evan Naalnish hadn't died in an accident.He'd been murdered.
Kari watched as one of the FBI technicians photographed something on the ground, the camera flash pale and ineffective against the blazing sun.She thought about her mother spending her final weeks poring over case files, connecting dots that no one else had seen, building a theory that people were being killed to protect secrets.She thought about Anna driving out to some remote location to meet with someone, and never coming home.
If Evan Naalnish had been murdered, how many of the other sixteen deaths in Anna's files were murders too?And had Anna herself become the eighteenth victim?
"They're not going to find anything we didn't already know," Ben said."Skull fracture, blunt force trauma, obvious homicide.What more do they need?"
"Evidence that holds up in court.Chain of custody.Proper documentation."Kari kept her voice carefully neutral."All the things we compromised when you went over that fence without authorization."
Ben's jaw tightened further."I did what needed to be done."
"I'm not criticizing you.I'm explaining why they won't let us anywhere near the scene."She turned to look at him directly."You're lucky they're not pressing charges.Captain Yazzie had to call in every favor he had to make that happen."
"I know."Some of the tension went out of Ben's shoulders."I know.I just...I couldn't wait anymore.Every day that went by was another day Evan's family didn't have answers.Another day the people who killed him got to walk around free."
Kari understood.She'd felt the same urgency herself, the same desperate need to do something.Sometimes it landed you in hot water, sometimes it led to breakthroughs.
Sometimes both.
They'd been partners for almost two years now, ever since Kari had returned to the reservation after years with the Phoenix Police Department.She'd left the city for complicated reasons.Her mother's death was part of it, the need to be closer to family and homeland during a time of grief.But there was more to it than that.Phoenix had started to feel like someone else's life, someone else's city.The reservation, for all its challenges and limitations, was home in a way Phoenix had never been.
At thirty-four, Kari had finally stopped running from that truth.
A black SUV pulled up behind them, kicking up dust that drifted across the road in the light breeze.Kari turned to see a man in a dark suit emerge from the driver's side, his FBI credentials already in hand.He was young, probably early thirties, with the kind of clean-cut look that screamed federal academy graduate.
"Detectives Blackhorse and Tsosie?"He didn't wait for confirmation."Special Agent Rivera.I'm the field liaison for this investigation."
"We've been waiting for someone to brief us," Kari said."It's been three days since the investigation started and no one's told us anything."
Rivera's expression remained blank."The Bureau appreciates your department's cooperation in this matter.As you know, the location of the remains falls outside tribal jurisdiction, which limits your official involvement."
"The victim was Navajo," Ben said."His family lives on the reservation.They have a right to know what's happening."
"And they will be informed through appropriate channels, at the appropriate time."Rivera's tone suggested the conversation was already over."In the meantime, I've been asked to remind you that any interference with the federal investigation could result in serious consequences.The agreement that kept you, Detective Tsosie, from facing trespassing charges was contingent on full cooperation from your department."
Kari felt her temper flare but kept it in check."We're not interfering.We're standing on a public road, watching from a distance.That's not a crime, last time I checked."
"No, it's not."Rivera almost smiled."But it's also not particularly productive.My suggestion would be to return to your regular duties and let us handle this.When we have information to share, we'll share it."
He walked past them toward the gate in the fence, where a uniformed security guard checked his credentials before letting him through.Kari watched him go, frustration burning in her chest like acid.
"I wish Daniels was here," she said quietly.
Ben glanced at her."Your father's old partner?"
"He's not warm and fuzzy, but at least he respects what we do.He wouldn't freeze us out like this."Kari had known Paul Daniels her whole life.He'd been Uncle Paul when she was young, the FBI agent who brought her sweatshirts and taught her to shoot her first gun.Their relationship had grown more complicated over the years, especially when they'd worked cases together and found themselves on opposite sides of jurisdictional disputes.
But underneath all the professional tension, there was still respect.Still history.
"You could call him," Ben suggested."See if he can find out what's really going on."
"I've thought about it.But going around the assigned agents could make things worse.If they find out we're working back channels, they might use it as an excuse to shut us out completely."
Ben kicked at a rock on the roadside, sending it skittering into the brush."So we just wait?Do nothing while they decide whether or not to actually investigate a fifteen-year-old murder?"
