“You’re whiter than white,” Ranger said, looping his arm around her waist to steady her. “You okay?”
The warmth of his body so close to hers and his strength reminded her of Life with a capital L.
“I’m fine,” she said, and moved away. “But how about it, detective? I’ll be glad to put all my clothes in a bag for you, if you’ll need them as evidence.”
“We will, yes. We’ll also need a scraping from under your fingernails before you leave. After that, you can go home and change,” he said.
“Can you have someone take me home, then to the police station?” She’d wanted her voice to sound composed, but her last few syllables trembled badly.
“You’ll need an escort, of course, considering the situation.” The detective looked back at Ranger. “You got another weapon just in case?”
Ranger nodded. “There’s another handgun beneath the seat of my truck. My concealed carry permit is current,” he added.
“Then go on and escort her to her residence. After the techs take the sample, that is,” he said. “The FBI agent will be ready and waiting with his own questions by the time you get to the station. Good luck with him. I know the man, and he’s like a pit bull once he gets started. Never lets go.”
“Harris?” Ranger asked.
“The one and only,” the detective answered.
Ranger blew out his breath in a hiss. “Should have known.”
Ranger and the detective exchanged a few more words out of range of her hearing, then Ranger joined her at the crime-scene van.
After the techs had finished with Dana, Ranger went with her back to his truck, his hand beside hers, but not touching. “Officer Nakai’s a good man. We got lucky. Otherwise, we would have been ordered directly to the station and you’d have ended up wearing an orange jumpsuit.”
That Ranger and Joe had known and respected each other was clear, but there was something else in play here. Maybe the officer expected Ranger to try to question her in a more relaxed setting, and hopefully get more out of her than he had. Information could always be shared. Of course if Ranger was trusted by the police that was certainly a point in his favor. Maybe she didn’t have to be quite so cautious around him. But it was too soon to make that judgment…and perhaps trusting every police officer she met might not be a good idea.
“What’s on your mind?” Ranger asked quietly.
“I just need a plan…” She hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but now it was too late to take back the words.
“A plan? For what?”
For how much to tell him-but she couldn’t say that, either. “It goes against everything I am, and everything I’ve become, to just sit back and wait for others to take care of me. That’s never worked well for me in the past, and I have no intention of repeating my own mistakes.”
“What exactly are you saying…that you want to go after Trujillo ’s people?” he asked.
“Not with guns blazing, no, but by taking care of myself and making sure that those who end up going after them have all the information I can provide,” she said firmly. And by finding a man who went by the name of Hastiin Dííl and giving him the names that were now burned into her memory, she added silently.
“You’re holding out on me just as you held out on the detective. I feel it in my gut,” he said firmly. “If you know something, now’s the time to come clean. The kidnappers that are still free want to stay that way and you’re a threat to them. To protect you adequately, we’ll need to know what you do.”
Dana saw the open distrust in his eyes as he gazed at her. He didn’t trust her any more than she did him. Considering the stakes, it was the only logical option.
“I don’t get it,” he said, continuing to press her. “You want the men caught. You’ve proven that. And you know that’s what I want too. But you won’t tell me what I need to know. How’s that make sense?”
There was something earthy and solid about Ranger that made her want to trust him. He was direct, and honest about what he wanted from her.
“Take me home,” she said. Not knowing where they were, she gave him the address instead of directions.
The drive out of the mountains to the town of Shiprock took about forty minutes. Another fifteen, and they reached her remodeled farmhouse east of Shiprock, just off the Navajo Nation.
As he turned down the gravel road, she gestured ahead. “Second house down, past the apple orchard.”
They arrived moments later and she led the way inside, across the covered porch. Realizing he’d have to wait for her, she offered him something to drink. He’d certainly earned some refreshment after what they’d been through. Ranger opted for a cup of her mint tea, and took a seat at the kitchen table.
As she placed the kettle on the stove, she glanced back at him. “I couldn’t help but notice your reaction when the detective mentioned the FBI agent’s name. Can you tell me more about Harris?”
“You’ll see for yourself soon enough. Basically he’s a stickler for facts, and he doesn’t know when to back off. On the reservation aggression like that’s seen as a lack of respect, which guarantees he’ll make more enemies than friends.”
She nodded slowly. Things were different on the reservation. Outsiders often expected the rez to be nothing more than a quaint place steeped in history, or something out of a Hollywood western, but it was far more than that. There were cultural rules of conduct, and transgressions from outsiders were countered with silence and isolation. Word traveled fast on the rez, too. Any outsider who disregarded Navajo ways and stepped on toes would find their reputation often preceded them.
“I answered your question. Now answer one for me,” he said. Seeing her nod, he continued. “What’s your plan? I know you have one now.”
“What makes you so sure?” she asked. She’d never been that easy to read.
“Your attitude. You’re no longer distracted or uncertain. You’re on a mission. It’s written all over you.”
Dana took a deep breath then sat down in the chair across from him. “I’ve seen more violence and death since I stepped out of my classroom today than I have in my entire life. You and I seem to have a mutual friend, and that’s why I’ve already told you what I’ll be telling the FBI in a short while. You should be grateful for the courtesy. It’s more than you had any right to expect.”
“Tell me just one more thing. Why was the medicine man meeting with you at that particular time and day?” he countered smoothly.
It took her a second to process the question. When she did, Dana stared at him in horror. “You think I’m working with the kidnappers?” Though on one level she knew that he had no reason to trust her, the implication filled her with a cold rage. “He came to attend a parent/teacher conference regarding his grandson. Kevin’s parents were called away on an emergency,” she said, her tone as cold as a lake in winter. “Check it out for yourself.”
“I will.”
His reply just infuriated her more. She wanted to throw something at him but, instead, she went into her bedroom and shut the door resoundingly.
This was the worst day of her life-and it wasn’t even midnight yet.
RANGER WATCHED her go. Instinct assured him that her sense of outrage had been as real as they come. But, without facts, he still had nothing. He needed answers-and fast.
One thing continued to nag at him. Her name sounded very familiar to him, but he couldn’t pinpoint why.
Irritated, he decided to take a look around her place. He walked into the small den, checking out her desk and the bookshelves, and noted that the room was beyond neat. There weren’t any stray papers around, something he’d associate with a middle school teacher, and not even a pen or pencil visible. There wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere, either, not even on the windowsill. Considering the wind storms they’d had recently, that was nothing short of a miracle.