Robert Tanenbaum - Malice

One more brushstroke and Gates exposed a lock of long, dark hair. She paused with her hand on top of the hair. "A moment of silence, please," she said. "I believe we've found Maria Santacristina."

As the others bowed their heads, the girl's father sank to his knees and wept. After a minute, Marlene and Jojola moved to his side and with Esteban, escorted him away from the grave.

"I want your memories of Maria to be those of a living girl," Marlene said, looking in his eyes. "That over there is a body we will treat with respect. But she is no longer there."

Katarain nodded and reached up to touch Marlene's cheek. He then turned to Jojola and shook his hand. "Thank you," he said. "I can never repay you for what you have done. Whatever happens from here on out, I want you to know that I am finally at peace."

Two hours later, the sun was getting low in the west as Gates prepared to climb out of the hole. She'd worked her way down to where the girl's chest and hands were exposed. "But I think we're going to have to call it a day and finish up tomorrow."

Although the clothing had mostly rotted into shreds, the anthropologist was surprised at how well the body was preserved with shriveled flesh still on the bones. "I'm guessing the soil is pretty sterile and that there are natural salts present, which have acted as a preservative," she said.

Lucy was staring down at the girl's hands, which were still tied together at the wrists and clenched in front of her. She was recalling the peyote dream when a man had leaned across her to start the car and she'd reached up to strike him and instead pulled something from his neck.

"Sasikumea!" Lucy shouted. The others looked up, wondering what she was saying. "Sasikumea," she repeated, and pointed. "Look in her hand."

Gates turned to Reedy. "Hand me a clean towel, Jim." She then placed the towel beneath Maria's right hand and with a bamboo probe, she gently pried open the fingers. Something dark fell out onto the towel.

"Good call, Lucy," Gates said, climbing out of the hole with the towel wrapped around the object. "That could have fallen when we removed the body. Then we might have been able to tie it to the car, but not necessarily to Maria."

The anthropologist walked over to the screen table, where she carefully rubbed at the sand and soil around the object. She then held it up for the others to see. It was a medallion in the shape of three interlocking triangles.

"A Valknut," Lucy whispered.

Gates turned the medallion over and rubbed at the back. "There's some initials," she said. "R.P."

As everybody turned toward him, R. P. Brown backed away with a wild look in his eyes and his fists held in front as if ready to fight. "It ain't mine!" he shouted.

"Don't worry about it, R.P.," Marlene said. "We know someone else with those initials. His name is Rufus Porter."

Brown lowered his fists with a look of relief. "Oh, I know that son of a bitch. He's always over at that Unified Church place. Piece of shit thinks he's real tough when he's hanging around with those assholes."

Jojola laughed. "Couldn't have put it better myself, old friend."

Brown grinned. "Thanky kindly."

Lucy walked up to Gates and hugged her. "We…she…was pregnant. Please make sure the baby is buried with her mother and grandmother." She then turned and walked away so that only her mother, who was closest, heard her say, "Me aflijo para usted y su nino… I grieve for you and your child."

"Katarain told me that he found a positive pregnancy indicator strip in Maria's trash," Marlene said to Gates, who nodded and turned back to her task. "By the way, where is Katarain?"

Jojola looked back to the road leading to the compound. He pointed to the figures of Katarain and Esteban, who were joined by the other four Basques, as they continued marching.

"Marlene, I think you better get to your radio and let Ireland know that trouble's on the way," Jojola said. He and Tran then took off for the van, jumped in, and roared off in pursuit of the Basques.

A few minutes later, Sheriff Steve Ireland winced as he looked up at the approaching van. The wound in his side, which was more than just a grazing and, he figured, was going to require a surgeon, was starting to stiffen up. However, they were almost done.

Most of the prisoners had been loaded onto the county jail bus and taken to the lockup. The bus had just returned for the last eight, who were the hardcores who'd holed up in the barracks.

He'd cut their power, which had left them with no communications, as cell phones didn't work on the property. He'd then given them a liberal dose of flash-bang grenades and tear gas, which had set off the barracks' sprinkler system.

Dumb thing to have, he thought as the temperature dropped and the shivering, stunned holdouts gave up and surrendered.

The eight were still shivering as they waited to board the bus when the van slid to a stop and Katarain and the other Basques stepped out with their rifles.

Ireland frowned. "I thought our deal was I wouldn't see you," he said to Katarain.

"Deal's off," Katarain said grimly. "We found my daughter. Now I've come for one of her killers. I think he's here." The Basque turned to the prisoners. "Rufus Porter, step forward and meet your justice in the name of Maria Santacristina."

Back in the line of prisoners, Rufus Porter blanched. Up to this point, he'd been playing the tough guy, threatening Ireland with all sorts of dire consequences "when my dad hears about this."

Ireland had just grinned and replied. "Your daddy's going to have his hands full trying to keep his baby boy from serving time in prison as some big hairy hillbilly's girlfriend."

Porter had scoffed and looked at his fellow prisoners. "We'll see who's bending over and taking it in the ass when this is all over."

Now Porter turned to Ireland with a sneer. "I'm your prisoner," he said. "Tell this spic to get lost."

However, before Ireland could do anything, the Basques suddenly pointed their rifles. "Looks like they got the drop on me and my boys," the sheriff said with his hands in the air.

Katarain spoke to the man behind him. "Esteban, the rope." The younger man stepped forward with a rope on which a hangman's noose had already been fashioned.

Porter blanched and started to tremble. "Sheriff, do something! I don't know what the hell he's talking about."

"Sorry, son," Ireland replied. "But your miserable neck ain't worth the lives of me or my men."

Porter stared bug-eyed at the lynch party. "Okay, okay, I was there. But I was only tagging along. That attorney, Barnhill, he called my dad and said Huttington had a problem he needed taken care of. I just got the boys together. Rick, Skitter, and Jonesy, they're the ones that did it."

Porter pointed to three other men in the group, who scowled and cursed him. "You're a dead man, Porter," Skitter spat.

"We'll hang them next," Katarain said as two of his men pulled Porter from the others and he placed the noose over Porter's head.

Porter was pulled roughly over to a large cottonwood tree where Katarain threw the end of the rope over a low branch and tied it off to the trunk. A pickup truck was brought over. Katarain climbed in and hauled the screaming man into the bed, where he was forced to stand.

"Oh God, Sheriff, don't let 'em lynch me," Porter cried as a dark spot grew in his underwear.

"Sorry, boy, nothin' I can do, and by the way, you pissed on yourself, tough guy," the sheriff said, and turned away.

"You buried her alive, sasikumea, you bastard," Katarain snarled into Porter's ear. "Quit trying to blame others, Huttington didn't know what you did to my daughter."

"Yes, he did. Yes, he did," Porter screeched in terror. "We sent him a photograph that Reverend Hamm took. Showed the four of us standing around the car with the girl inside. He's the one that mailed it to that girl I raped to scare her. And there's more…Huttington let Hamm and whoever he works for use the university's computers. I can tell you more, please, just don't kill me."