Aimee Thurlo - Stargazer's Woman

“I don’t claim anything of the sort. You’re the detective. I have no idea why those men came after us. All I can give you are the facts,” she said, aware that he’d yet to mention anything about the platinum. “I’ve answered all your questions to the best of my ability, Detective Lassiter. Now I want some answers from you. Why was my sister killed? The police still haven’t clarified that for me and I’ve got a right to know.”

When he didn’t answer her right away, she took another tack. “From your questions, it’s clear that you think I’m somehow involved in what happened to Tina. So what harm is there in telling me the current theories floating around the Sheriff’s Office?”

He leaned back in his chair, stared at some indeterminate spot across the room, then looked directly at her. “I’ve already helped you. I’m also a marine, a reservist. That’s why I haven’t come down even harder on you, Ms. Reynolds. A courtesy, if you will, so take it as a win.”

She studied his expression. Lassiter’s brow was furrowed, his lips tight. He seemed to be at odds with himself. “And you also don’t believe I’m guilty of anything,” she said, taking a stab at it.

“Personal opinions don’t count for much around here unless they’re backed up with hard evidence,” he answered. “But you’re right, I can’t see it. First, I knew your sister and I’m one-hundred-percent certain she handled herself with honor till the end.”

“I appreciate your faith in Tina,” she answered with heartfelt gratitude.

He met her gaze and held it. “Now I’m going to tell you the same thing I once told Tina. You’ve chosen real bad company. The Navajo man you’re with left law enforcement a year or so ago, and, since then, his activities are a complete blank. He says he’s working for the tribe, but nobody I’ve spoken to seems to know exactly what that means. Something’s not right there.” He paused as if intending to say more, but then just shook his head.

“What are you trying to tell me?” Kris inquired.

“Do you think he had something to do with what happened to Tina?”

The detective hesitated. “Maybe he’s a righteous guy, maybe not. But, one marine to another, check your six.”

Kris recognized the jargon—watch your back. She nodded. “Count on it.”

Lassiter stood, then walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. In the stillness that followed she could hear Max being questioned in the next room. Scarcely breathing, she made it a point to listen.

“Come on, Natoni,” Lassiter snapped. “Spill it. You figured to make a small fortune in platinum, but Harris double-crossed you and your partner. Though you walked out of the hospital, she ended up dead. Harris is also dead now, maybe run off the road by his remaining partner or partners, but what happened today suggests none of them managed to end up with the platinum. That’s why the other members of the gang are coming after you. They think you know where it is. Tell me I’m not on the mark.”

“John Harris is dead? You guys are sure of that?”

The detective gave Max an incredulous look. “The guy’s toast. What’s left of him is sitting in some cardboard box at the morgue. But here’s the thing. Unless you come clean, you’re likely to end up as dead as your partner. If I were you I’d spill my guts rather than have someone else do the job for me. Prison trumps death.”

“Finding the reason those idiots tried to grab us is your job, Lassiter, not mine.”

“You were a police officer once. What happened to you? Your word’s sure not worth much these days.”

Their gazes locked and the tension in the room escalated. He knew Lassiter was pushing his buttons. No one had ever believed how he’d solved his last case. Despite the life he’d managed to save his credibility had been compromised. But he had few regrets. That one incident had drawn him back to the Rez and made him who and what he was today. The “who” he could live with, but the “what” part of that equation still gave him more of a problem.

“You don’t really expect me to believe that you have no idea who the men were?” Lassiter pressed.

Max paused for a fraction of a second, remembering the voice. He could have sworn it had been Harris’s. Yet the police were convinced Harris had burned to death, trapped in his vehicle after running off a mountain road.

He’d heard a dead man…for all the sense that made.

“They were wearing masks and didn’t exactly stop and introduce themselves,” Max answered at last.

“What if I tell you that the woman’s account of today’s events doesn’t match yours?”

“Then I’d say that you’re either lying to me, or you need to take a closer look at your source. She just came back from overseas—deployed for over a year in a combat zone. That means she probably brought home a boatload of emotional baggage. No telling how many casualties she saw along those roads. Then just a few weeks after she gets stateside, her sister gets shot to death not fifty miles from home. You expect a calm, completely accurate story from her?”

“So you’re saying that what happened at the nursery was the result of some penny-ante crooks looking to jack a car, not something connected to you two and the missing platinum?” Lassiter glared at him. “Coincidences are for fools, Natoni, and neither of us fits the mold. You’re neck deep in whatever’s going on. Come clean and save us both some time. Otherwise, we’re going to be in here for a long, long time.”

“Knock yourself out. I’ve told you all I know. Meanwhile, the bad guys are another mile down the road.”

SHE’D LISTENED CAREFULLY and knew that there was a lot Max hadn’t told the detective. For example, he’d never mentioned her gun. He hadn’t lied, not from what she’d been able to tell. He just hadn’t volunteered information, even when pushed.

The man was a pro—but at what? She needed more information. The problem was she had no way of getting it…except directly from him.

“Tina, what did you get me into?” she whispered in the silence.

A second later Detective Lassiter came back into the room. “Your attorney is here, and we’re releasing you.”

“My…what?”

“Tribal attorney Emily Largo is here.”

“But—”

Before she could say anything more, a petite Navajo woman in a blue suit with long black hair tied back at the nape of her neck came into the room.

The woman made a faint gesture with the palm of her hand, indicating that Kris should withhold any more comments. “My client is free to go, correct?” It hadn’t been a question as much as a statement.

“Absolutely. But we ask that she stay in the area,” Lassiter said.

Kris looked directly at him. “My business is here, and so is every dime I have, Detective. Where else would I be?”

“You tell me,” he answered.

“That’s enough,” Emily said, looking at Kris and shaking her head slightly. To emphasize the need to end this conversation, she gave Kris a gentle nudge out the door.

As they stepped out into the hall, Kris saw the tall redheaded man who worked for Jewelry Outlet. “Mr. Talbot,” Kris said in a cold voice. Now she knew why he’d been coming around. He’d bought into the conspiracy angle as well.

“You may be leaving for now, but this isn’t over,” Talbot said. “The sheriff thinks you may be involved in the theft of tribal property, and so do I.”

“Ignore him.” Emily nudged her toward the side door. “Let’s get out of here.”

As they reached the exit, Emily stopped, then gave her a stern look. “I’m going to get Max. Wait here and speak to no one while I’m gone. Clear?”