The Ties That Bind (31 page)

"That's the woman?"

"Yes."

He nodded. "Better attitude than the fellow she's working with." He limped as he escorted us to the door.

"You have her number?" I asked as Kara opened the door.

"Nan does."

"Good." I stood looking at him, trying to figure out what more to say but felt awkward. I instead offered my hand. He took it. "Thanks for all your help."

He squeezed my hand in a grip surprisingly warm and firm. In his prime, this guy had been seriously strong. "Thanks for yours. Oh, hey--" he looked out the door at Kara, who was stroking Brutus's head while she watched us. "Let me give you Nan's cell number."

"Excellent," Kara said. She took her phone out of her pocket and entered it as Purcell recited it to her. Then she read it back and he nodded confirmation. Satisfied, she then pressed some more buttons, probably adding Nan to her "contacts" list. I stepped outside and closed the door behind me, following Kara to the car. She tossed me the keys before getting in on the passenger side.

"Are we speaking?" I asked as I buckled up.

"You're not. But I am."

I looked over at her.

"I will now lecture you on how wrong this whole freakin' day was and your role in making it that way."

I started the car and steered away from the house. "I already know how fucked up it was," I said with resignation.

"Jesus, Kase. Who the hell knew my sister was completely insane?"

"Excuse me? You're the one who wanted to follow Monroe in the first place. You and all your Nancy Drew shit."

"You could've said no."

I guided the car around the ruts. "So could you."

"Dammit, this shit is not funny." She jerked on her seatbelt for emphasis.

"I know. I agree with you. It's not funny. At all. In fact, it sucks giant ass. So how about this? If you hadn't suggested we follow Monroe, and we didn't, something might have happened to Purcell and we'd never have gotten the info we did. Plus, he might have gotten hurt. Or worse."

"The ends don't always justify the means," she muttered just loud enough for me to hear.

I stopped at the main highway, preparing to turn left back to Farmington. Before I pulled onto the blacktop, I regarded her. "I'm not going to argue philosophy with you. Sometimes you have to make do with what you're presented. We got an opportunity and used it."

"And you barged in on an injured guy and demanded that he tell you shit," she said, exasperated.

I turned onto the highway, equally exasperated, and accelerated. "You're right. I did. And I apologized. And offered him a ride."

She made a frustrated noise in the back of her throat.

We sat in silence for the next few miles, both stewing over our morning. Kara was right--I shouldn't have pushed Purcell. But on the other hand, I didn't feel I had much of a choice. Monroe going out to his place might have given us a little leverage with Purcell, though in my opinion, Monroe should have waited to go out there until he was sure Kara and I had left Ridge Star. Clearly, he hadn't read Nancy Drew. Or the Hardy Boys, for that matter.

By the time we hit the outskirts of Farmington, I hadn't managed to sort through all my thoughts, but I knew two things. I was drained and I felt badly about pushing both Kara and Purcell with regard to Bill's death. What the hell was wrong with me? I decelerated but didn't look over at her. "Kare, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry this happened. I'm sorry I pushed Purcell. I'm feeling a little edgy about this whole situation, as you know, and maybe a little desperate and I was a total bitch. Truce?"

She didn't respond for a few moments. When she did, she reached over and squeezed my shoulder. "Truce."

My shoulders relaxed and I imagined that the big black cloud that had been following me for the past couple of hours dissipated.

"So what's next?" she asked.

"I say we stop by the police station and see if Simmons is in."

"Okay," Kara said, wary, as if she was testing me to make sure I had all my marbles. "Sounds good. Then back to Albuquerque? I know we checked out of the motel already, but I'm sure there'll be rooms available for tonight. Not like Farmington is hoppin' right now."

I stopped at a stoplight, staring at the bumper of the car in front of me. "No. I just want to go home."

She didn't respond and I waited for the car in front of us to move when the light changed. I just needed to get on the road and away from this place, away from Monroe and Purcell, away from gas rigs and an industry that sometimes put profit before people, and away from dark forces and the beliefs that sheltered them. But first, I wanted to divest myself of information and put it in the hands of proper authorities. Chris was right. I had no business poking around in a murder investigation like this. I chewed my lip as I turned into the police department parking lot. No business at all.
Well, here's me getting out of the business
. I pulled into a parking space and turned off the engine.

Chapter Eighteen

CHRIS DIDN'T SAY anything for a while after I finished telling her about my day thus far with Kara. I winced, waiting for her lecture, which I deserved though I didn't think I needed at this point. I'd already kicked myself enough to feel a kinship with a soccer ball during the World Cup, but the years I'd known Chris, I could tell she was working up to a lecture. I imagined it forming in the long silence emanating from her end of the phone and I sank lower in the driver's seat of my car, bracing myself. I'd left the driver's side door open, and a breeze alleviated some of the eighty-five-degree heat.

"You know I should chew your ass," she said.

"Yes."

"And you know I want to kick that ass from Farmington back to Albuquerque."

I sighed and stared down at my feet, near the gas pedal and the brake. "Yeah."

"Shit, Kase," she said with a mixture of frustration and relief. "But knowing you, you've already been hard on yourself and dragged a cross up Tomé Hill and back again."

"Yep. Barefoot and half-naked."

"With the
Penitentes
flogging you?"

"Yep." I relaxed a little and looked out the windshield at the sand-colored structure of the police station and municipal court, sort of a mixture of faux-dobe and 1960s office box. Kara was talking on her phone outside, slowly walking up and back along the sidewalk.

"So anything I say is overkill," Chris said. "You know how I feel about this, but you told me yourself that you screwed up and you did the right thing when you went to Simmons and told her everything. Now will you please let her handle this?"

"Yes," I answered, like a kid pouting. I felt that way sometimes around Chris.

"Kase, come on. I have such huge respect for you and your work and how you go about collecting and interpreting information. Those are things you're good at and trained to do. But there's a lot more to police work than that."

Amen.
"It's not like I wanted this situation to end up like this." I took my sunglasses off the dashboard and put them on. They were warm on my face from the afternoon sun. "Damn. I don't go looking for crap like this. And yes, it's been a monster cluster-fuck. As soon as I talk to Sage and find out when she plans to head back to Albuquerque, Kara and I are outta here."

"Okay. And you'll do what when you get back?" She sounded like a grade school teacher running her students through a lesson.

"Call Melissa so Sage and River can get that stock portfolio shit figured out."

"And?"

"And leave Bill's murder investigation here in Farmington with Detective Simmons," I said in a sing-song voice. Then, more serious, "And I'm leaving the police work to the trained professionals, like Detective Chris Gutierrez, who's my best friend and ass-kicker."

"Your ass included," she said, warmth in her voice.

"Fine. After all, if I can't let
you
kick my ass, who
can
I let do it?"

"Exactly."

"Thanks, Chris. I'm sorry."

"I know. And I'm sorry you've had to deal with all this shit. I'll take you to dinner when you get back."

"Can you have
Abuelita
whip up a freak-be-gone herbal mix?"

She laughed. "I'm sure she's got one in her stash. Oh, hey. That's my work cell. Gotta go. Call me when you get back,
amiga
."

"Will do. Bye." I hung up before she responded so she could take care of her other phone and waited for Kara, who was still engaged in a conversation with whomever she'd called. My stomach rumbled and I looked at the clock on my phone. No wonder. It was almost two-thirty. I speed-dialed Sage while I waited for Kara.

"Hi," she answered. "How'd it go?"

"Um, okay. I'll fill you in when we get home."

"What happened?" she asked, concerned.

"Do you know how annoying it is to be madly in love with Madam Knows All, Sees All?"

"About as annoying as it is to be madly in love with Madam Know It All," she teased back. "What happened?"

"It's a long story and I'll tell you all about it later. Suffice it to say that Clint Monroe bailed on his appointment with us this morning so we improvised. How are things at Tonya's?"

"We just got here. She called and said she had to fill in at work for someone for an extra hour, so we went and got something to eat and now we're outside the place, waiting for her. It's on the way out of town toward Shiprock."

"So how long do you think you'll be?"

"Don't know. I want to be on the road by six, though."

That would put them back in Albuquerque around 9.30. At least they wouldn't be traveling at night the whole way. Maybe an hour or so, since it would still be light around 8.30. "Okay. How about Kara and I hang out and wait for you and we'll convoy back together?"

"Sweetie, you don't need to do that. I've got River with me, after all."

I hesitated. Killing another three hours or so wasn't that big a deal. On the other hand, I wanted to go home as soon as possible. "You sure?"

"Yes. And I know how much you want to go home."

I smiled as Sage seemed to read my mind again. "How about this? Kara and I haven't eaten yet so we'll grab a late lunch and I'll check in after that to see where things are."

"Honey, it's okay. You don't need to wait. But do call me after you eat so I know what time you leave Farmington."

Again, I hesitated. I didn't like the idea of driving back separately but for the life of me, I had no logical reason for it. Just irrational. Like weird feelings, freaky ju-ju, and creepy occurrences. "How about we eat and then meet you out at Tonya's?"

"How about you call me after you eat and we'll see where things are? I think you might scare her a little," Sage said with laughter in her voice.

"I scare her? Jesus, she could kick my ass with one arm tied behind her back."

"Just call me after you eat."

"Okay," I grumbled, watching through the windshield as Kara hung up. "Talk to you later."

Sage spoke again. "K.C.?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too. Talk to you after lunch."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye." I hung up and sat staring at the phone for a moment, and a little chill zipped up my spine. I dismissed it, figuring I was just wigged from the whole day. Nothing to worry about. Sage and River would hang out with Tonya for a while, go through Bill's things, and then get on the road and we'd all be back in Albuquerque that night, and Detective Simmons would continue working the case. Some time in the future, she'd call us and tell us that someone had been arrested for Bill's murder or she'd call and say they were still looking. Either way, we were done with it. Kara opened the passenger door and plopped herself into the seat.

"Let's eat," she said as she buckled up.

I nodded and shut my door, refraining from asking her who she'd been yakking with for the past half-hour. Shoshana, I guessed. I buckled my own seatbelt and started the car. It's none of my business, I chanted in my head. If Kara wanted to date freaky art chicks, that was her gig, not mine. "Mexican okay?" I asked as I steered toward the parking lot entrance.

"Yum."

"Cool. I saw a place near the motel."

"Sounds good. So how about we talk about our other sister and her latest project? That was Mom, by the way." She shot me a knowing look that I caught out of the corner of my eye, letting me know that she'd busted me in Dad mode. "And no, I didn't tell her what you'd been up to today."

I grinned. "Thanks. And yes, please talk to me about Joely's project. I feel like I've been in the Twilight Zone for the past few days. Normal family weirdness would suit me just fine." And I settled back on the way to the restaurant, Kara regaling me with imitations of Joely lecturing our mom about the vagaries of her two wayward younger sisters. By the time we got to the restaurant, I was in a much better frame of mind.

I HUNG UP with Sage and waited for Kara to exit the food mart of the gas station. She emerged, carrying a bottle of water and a scrap of paper.

"What's that?" I asked, gesturing at the piece of paper as she got in.

"Powerball. Hello! The jackpot's around a hundred million."

I shook my head and fastened my seatbelt. "Good luck with that."

"I figure it's worth a couple bucks when it hits a hundred million or more," she said as she got settled.

"So ninety-nine million isn't enough?"

"Not quite. A hundred million or nothin', baby." She held the cold water bottle against my thigh, startling me.

"Quit it," I whined like when we were kids. "Or I'll tell Mom on you."

"Wuss." She took the cap off and took a swig then held the bottle out for me.

"No, thanks." I backed up.

"So are we going to Tonya's?"

I shook my head and pulled into traffic. Such as it was. This was Farmington, after all. "Sage said she and River are almost done going through Bill's papers. It's a lot of bank statements and pay stubs, but he kept things pretty organized. There's a small box of pictures Sage wants to go through, but from what she said, River's not too keen on it."