Authors: Beverly Barton
"Juststay the hell away from me for the next few hours, will you?'' Joe stalked past her, leaving her alone on the patio.
She felt as if he'd slapped her. She wanted Joe. She could even admit that she loved him. But unless they could come to terms with the pain and disillusionment of the past, they would continue going around and around in the same vicious circle that bound them together and yet kept them apart.
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Chapter 10
Tell him that he can't go," Andi said. "He hasn't recovered enough to be gallivanting all over creation."
J.T. shrugged. Joanna's eyes widened as she shook her head in a noncommittal gesture.
“Woman, I am going. And if you want to go with me, then stop giving me such a hard time." Joe narrowed his gaze until his eyes were mere slits. "I can and will leave you here."
"You're certainly not going alone. You aren't going at all." Andi huffed, completely aggravated with Joe.
"J.T. can send someone else with me.One of the Dundee agents who flew in from Atlanta this morning."
"I am one of their agents," Joe informed her. "We'll call Wolfe and Hunter in if we find anything in Black Rock."
J.T. interjected himself into the conversation as he laid his hand on Andi's shoulder. "Look, Andi, I don't think it's going to hurt Joe to ride over to Black Rock and take a look around. You can drive and he can rest."
Andi could have gone to Black Rock alone or with one of J.T.'s ranch hands or one of the Dundee agents, but Joe was being a stubborn jackass, as usual, and insisted on going. The phone call had come in thirty minutes ago, from a distant relative of Joe's father, a man named Aaron Tuvi, who lived in a small Arizona village on the reser-vation, just over the New Mexico border. Black Rock had a population of about three hundred and whenever strang-ers showed up, residents were bound to take notice. Aaron had overheard some men talking at the trading post about squatters having moved into an abandoned house on the outskirts of town. Someone had caught a glimpse of a teenage boy entering the old shack.
Aaron had immedi-ately thought about Russ and Eddie, because word had traveled throughout the reservation about the missing boys. Since Aaron was "family," he had gotten in touch with J.T. instead of the Tribal Police.
"I'm glad Aaron didn't try to confront the boys," Joe said. "If he had, they might have bolted and run. Or he could have frightened them and somebody might have gotten hurt."
"Since the rifle we found at the mine belonged to Mr. Lovato, same as the stolen truck, then we can assume the boys aren't armed, except possibly with knives."
Joe nodded.
"Let's just hope that someone else in Black Rock doesn't put two and two together and call the police,"
Andi said.
"All the more reason why we shouldn't waste time arguing," Joe told her. "If we head out now, we can
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be in Black Rock within an hour."
"Oh, all right." Andi knew when she'd lost a battle, and she had most definitely lost this one. Although he was still healing from a gunshot wound, Joe had no intention of letting anyone else spearhead the search for the boys.
J.T. and Joanna walked with them out to the Expedi-tion, and waved goodbye as Andi headed the SUV
west-ward. With every mile that took them closer to Black Rock, she prayed that the squatters Aaron Tuvi had heard about really were Russ and Eddie. And that she and Joe could reach them before they either fled or ended up in a standoff with the police.Or were tracked down by Bobby Yazzi's killer.
Joe seemed as reluctant as she to indulge in idle con-versation. They hadn't gotten more than five miles from Blackwood Ranch before he'd reclined his seat, pulled the Stetson he'd borrowed from J.T. down over his eyes and gone to sleep. The drone of the tires on the asphalt hummed a monotonous rhythm, mile after mile. Taking the back roads cut their traveling time by nearly fifteen minutes, and Joe had told her that they were less likely to be followed that way, since they could more easily detect a tail. J.T. had pointed out that it was only a matter of time before the police started keeping an eye on Joe and her, if they weren't already. Since the deaths of Ed-mund Kieyoomia and Charlie Kirk, half the law enforce-ment agencies in the two states had become involved, in-cluding the New Mexico State Police, the Arizona Highway Patrol and the Law and Order Division of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Andi checked the clock on the dashboard.Noon pre-cisely. She was making good time and had passed only three vehicles since leaving the main highway. She slowed the Expedition when she saw a narrow wooden bridge ahead. The old bridge spanned Chiz Creek, which meandered downstream between terraced limestone cliffs. A coppice of willows and alders edged the long, sleepy waterway.
"Something wrong?"Joe lifted the Stetson and glanced at Andi, but didn't raise his head.
"No, nothing's wrong. Just making sure there isn't any-thing coming from the other direction. That's definitely a one-way bridge." She nodded at the old wooden structure.
Joe raised his head just enough to take a look. “Want me to drive?"
"No, I do not want you to drive."
"Hmm."
Andi took the Expedition across the bridge.Slowly.Carefully. Then she breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the other side. Joe covered his eyes once again with the Stetson. Andi inhaled deeply and then exhaled, thankful that they had avoided another argument.
"You shouldn't have a problem finding the trading post," Joe said. "This road will take you straight into Black Rock. There's only one street in town, and the trad-ing post is the largest of the four buildings."
"Mr. Tuvi is meeting us there, isn't he?"
"Yes. He will show us the way to the abandoned house."
"You think the squatters are Russ and Eddie, don't you."
"I think there's a good chance that it's them."
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“Maybe, when we get to the house, you should let me go in first and see—''
"It's too dangerous for you to go in alone," Joe said. "If these squatters aren't the boys, anything could hap-pen."
"And if the squatters are Russ and Eddie, Russ isn't going to react in a positive way—''
"I know, I know. Then we'll go in together." He lifted the Stetson, pushing it back on top of his head as he sat up and glanced at Andi. “When we get to the house, you will stay behind me." When she opened her mouth to protest, Joe narrowed his gaze and said, “You stay behind me or you stay in the Expedition."
"Oh, all right. I'll stay behind you."
Within twenty minutes they arrived in Black Rock, which was by most standards nothing more than a wide place in the road. She pulled the SUV up in front of the trading post and killed the engine. When she started to open her door, Joe grabbed her arm.
"You stay here."
"Why?"
"People will ask fewer questions if I go in alone," he told her. "Aaron is the son of my grandfather's brother. He has no doubt mentioned that a cousin of his is coming by to pick him up today."
"Okay," Andi agreed. "It makes sense to me. Navajo sense, anyway." She understood that to the Navajos, fam-ily was everything.
While Joe got out of the SUV and went into the trading post, Andi bided her time. She thumped her fingertips on the steering wheel, then curved her head just enough to take a good look at Black Rock, which comprised John-son's Trading Post and three other weather-worn build-ings. And one of those structures appeared to be empty. There wasn't a sign of human life on the street—only a stray mongrel that looked as if he needed a good meal and probably a flea bath.
As the minutes ticked by, Andi became restless. What was taking Joe so long? All he had to do was bring Aaron Tuvi outside.
Suddenly, the door to the trading post opened. Andi sat up straight and peered through the windshield.
A man and woman, each carrying a sack, came outside and headed toward the lone truck parked alongside the Expedition. The couple stared at her, but neither spoke nor acknowl-edged her in any way.
She smiled at them. They did not return the friendly gesture.
A few minutes later, after the Navajo couple had driven out of town, Joe emerged from the trading post.
At his side was a small, dark man with long gray hair hanging almost to his waist. When they approached the SUV, Joe motioned to Andi, and for just a second she didn't catch his meaning. But when she did, she huffed disgustedly. He was instructing her to get into the back seat.A typical macho maneuver.
Don't lose your cool,she cautioned herself.Just get in the back and keep your mouth shut. You can always voice your opinion later, when you and Joe are alone.
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She opened the driver's door, hopped out, and then opened the back door. Before she had a chance to get in, Joe laid his hand on her shoulder. She tensed,then turned to greet Mr. Tuvi. Joe made the introductions hurriedly before the three of them got in the SUV. Then Joe drove out of town, following their guide's directions.
"This old house is out by itself," Aaron said. "There was another house close by, but it burned down ten years ago. No one has lived in this house for more than three years."
"We appreciate your contacting J.T.," Joe said. "We haven't gotten many leads."
"Then I hope those who are staying in the house are your nephew and Miss Lapahie's brother." Aaron glanced over his shoulder at Andi.
She didn't even consider correcting his error in calling her 'Miss Lapahie.' She might not bear her father's name, but she was as much a Lapahie as Russ was. She offered Mr. Tuvi a fragile smile. He nodded his head, acknowl-edging Andi in a friendly manner.
"Turn here," Aaron said. "You can see the house. There, to your right."
House?Andi thought.Shackwas a more apt descrip-tion.A small structure probably containing no more than four rooms. The outer clapboard walls had once been painted a brick red, but had faded and peeled until the color was a reddish mud-brown. The roof had caved in on one side and the two front wooden steps had rotted.
Joe parked the SUV in front of the crumpling building. When he got out, Andi quickly followed him. He didn't wait for her to catch up before he leapt to avoid the di-lapidated steps, bounding directly onto the porch. She reached his side just as he tried the doorknob. The rusty hinges creaked when the door swung open. With utmost caution, Joe entered the hot, shadowy interior. Andi's heartbeat drummed inside her head.
"Call out to Russ," Joe whispered.
"Russ? Are you in here? It's Andi. I'm here to help you."
Utter silence.
With Andi directly behind him, Joe strode from one room to the next and found the first three empty.
Then, when he entered the fourth and last room, he stopped dead still. Instinctively Andi knew something was wrong.
“What is it?'' she asked.
He didn't reply.
Andi sidestepped and went around him, then skidded to a stop when she saw the bloody rags lying in the middle of the floor. She moved forward and bent down, intending to pick them up, but Joe clasped her arm and pulled her away.
"That's blood on those rags, isn't it?" She could tell from the odd expression on his face that he was hiding something from her.But what? What did he know that she didn't?
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"Yes, I suspect that it's blood."
"If the boys were here, then one of them is hurt."
"Yes."
"Damn it, Joe, you'd better tell me what you know, and you'd better tell me right now!"
He grasped her shoulders and met her furious gaze with his calm, concerned expression. “We believe that Charlie Kirk shot one of the boys, back at the uranium mine."
Andi sucked in a deep breath as she tried to control her emotions. She wanted to strike out at something or some-one, and if she didn't stop herself that someone would be Joe Ornelas.
"How do you know?" she asked through clenched teeth.
"J.T. found drops of blood along the path the horses took when the boys left the mine," Joe explained.
"The police sent a sample to Albuquerque, but they haven't gotten the results back yet."
"You knew all this time and didn't tell me."
"You would only have worried."
"You had no right to keep this information from me."
Joe nodded."Probably not. But now isn't the time for another argument. We have to see if we can find any signs of where the boys might have gone from here."
"If they stole another car—"
"There hasn't been a car parked near this house any-time recently. If the boys were here—and I believe they were—then they're probably on foot."
"What can I do to help?" she asked.
"Go back to the Expedition and wait."
She started to protest but thought better of it, and hes-itantly followed his orders. She waited in the SUV
with Aaron Tuvi, a man of few words. When the afternoon sun beat down unmercifully, Andi moved into the driver's seat, cranked the motor and started the air-conditioning.
Joe came around from the back of the shack and walked over to her side of the vehicle. She opened the door and started to get out, but he stopped her.
"No sign of horses," he said.
"Does that mean they're on foot?"
"That's my guess. And if they are, they can't get very far, especially with one of them injured."
"So what now?" she asked.
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