Aimee Thurlo - Black Raven's Pride

Nick paced around the room, his thoughts racing. “Okay, so now we concentrate on getting it back. Any idea who’d want the diary? Before, it was used against our father, but now that he’s gone…”

“I don’t think this has anything to do with our family’s past this time. Those matters are settled,” Jake looked at Annie and his daughter, love and relief etched clearly on his face.

“But there are other families—and other secrets,” Martin said. “There’s a skeleton in almost everyone’s closet, if you look hard enough.”

“We have to figure out who in this community knew about that diary,” Nick said. “This house obviously wasn’t broken into by some stranger or you would have seen evidence of it before now. We have to backtrack, and check who’s been here recently.”

“Everyone knows about the existence of that diary these days,” Martin answered with a shrug. “It came out in the trial that convicted your father’s killer.”

“Then let’s narrow down the times when it could have been taken, and figure out who was around then. When was the last time any of you remember seeing the diary?”

Annie spoke first. “I was dusting in here last Wednesday, or Thursday. I would have noticed it missing then…I think.”

“You don’t take the books out every time you dust, do you?” Nick asked.

“No,” she admitted. “I stand on the ladder, and move the books back and forth. But I really think I would have noticed the diary missing. Jake showed me where he’d put it so he wouldn’t be the only one to know.”

“I’m no help on this,” Martin said. “I come in here at least once or twice every day, but I don’t pay much attention to what’s on the shelves. All I look at are the ranch’s business ledgers, the breeding records, and things like that.”

Jake took a long, deep breath. “Then I guess I was the last one to see it. I read the first few pages about a month ago, the day before Noelle’s naming ritual, to be exact. Then, I put it back on the top shelf, with the book jacket in place.”

“Tell me, who came to Noelle’s naming ritual?” Nick asked.

“Almost everyone we know stopped by that day—either before, during, or after. And any of the guests could have come in here,” Annie said.

“I came at dawn in time to see her presented to the sun,” Nick said. “If I remember right, my boss, Captain Mora, arrived right after that. After we all returned to the house, Elsie Mueller, the pueblo’s nurse practitioner arrived.”

Annie nodded. “Elsie helped us bathe Noelle, and was there when Blue Corn Woman and White Corn Maiden were thanked for bestowing a soul on the baby. After that, everyone else dropped by.”

“Think in specifics,” Nick persisted.

“Your uncle Thomas was here briefly with his girlfriend, Theresa Redwing. All the ranch hands came, too, even recent part-time help like Daniel Hawk.”

“I thought Daniel worked at the Cultural Center,” Nick said.

Jake nodded. “Here in the mornings, there in the afternoons.” He paused. “Our list of guests that day is almost endless. Martin, of course, was here, and so was Mrs. Chino. Our family lawyer came, the Kormans, Samuel Runningwater, some of our best clients from Santa Fe, the Winter Chief and the Summer Chief. I really think that everyone from the pueblo or connected to it visited that day at one time or another.”

Nick weighed the information then, at last, spoke. “As far as I’m concerned, no matter how many came, our uncle should be at the top of our suspect list. Thomas admitted to us months ago that he’d been sneaking into the house for years when our father wasn’t around and searched every room, hoping to find that diary. He’d intended to use it to get leverage over people. In my opinion, it’s very possible he’s gone back to his old tricks.”

“Let’s go over there and pay him a visit. Knowing you’re a cop should rattle him, even if nothing else does,” Jake said.

“Slow down, Jake. We don’t want to go in there like gangbusters, tip our hand, and let him know the diary’s missing. Although we have to know if he’s got the diary, we also have to be careful not to give him any more information. If he discovers the diary’s gone, even if he didn’t take it, he could play on people’s fears who have secrets they want to keep hidden. Let’s think this through before we take any action.”

“We’ll think on the way,” Jake said, grabbing his keys from the desk. “You always move too slow, brother.” He gave Annie a quick kiss, and Noelle a tiny peck on her forehead.

“And you always rush out, leading with your chin. That’s why it ends up on the ground so often.” Nick glanced at Martin, who just shook his head, knowing that neither brother would win this perpetual competition.

They took Jake’s truck, Nick having decided to keep his presence as unofficial as possible, despite Jake’s protests.

As Jake drove past a familiar tree-lined path that led seemingly nowhere, Nick’s thoughts drifted to Eden. There was an old house down that lane that had been gutted by a fire decades ago. These days he saw it as nothing more than a burned-out shell, but back then, meeting with Eden there had made it seem like high adventure.

Relationships hadn’t seemed so complicated in those days and he’d moved faster then, too often tripping over his heart. But nothing had been more important to him than stealing time to be with his girl. It had been a time of discovery, a time of first love. But those days were gone.

“What’s got you so distracted?” Jake asked.

Nick shook his head. “The past haunts me,” he said cryptically, then continued. “But let’s stay on track here,” he added, suddenly all business. “Do you, by any chance, know if Thomas has a job these days? If he’s pressed for cash, then that would give him a motive for stealing the diary. He’s always seen it as an easy way to make money.”

“He’s always pressed for cash,” Jake answered. “What I’d like to do is search his house from top to bottom. If we do, I’d be willing to bet we’d find that diary.”

“Forget it, Jake. Legally we can’t do that. We have nothing to stand on since we have no actual evidence against him.”

“Sure we do,” Jake insisted. “His lousy track record counts for something. He admitted right in front of Captain Mora once that he’d broken into our home many times while our father was still alive. I should have pressed charges then, but I didn’t. His past tells us exactly what he’s capable of doing.”

“Logical, but not legal. We need facts, not a history lesson.”

“How about an unofficial search, then, like he did at our house? You keep him busy outside and I’ll go in and look around. Even if he catches us, he won’t do anything about it. He owes us and he knows it.”

“Think, Jake. Don’t tip your hand so easily. If we’re careful, we can find out if Thomas has been sneaking into the ranch house again without ever letting him know anything’s missing.”

“All right,” Jake said. “But I really like an in-your-face type of confrontation a lot better. It’s more satisfying.”

Nick grinned. Jake may have become a family man with responsibilities, but certain things never changed. Trying to divert some of Jake’s compressed energy, he brought up the subject of the letter Eden’s grandmother had written her.

“According to that, ‘Tall Shadow’ was connected to the crime which resulted in her parents’ death,” Nick said. “As you know, Tall Shadow was Dad’s nickname, and, if that’s true, our father ruined an entire family. Eden’s mom and dad are dead, but Eden is still paying for what happened, so our family could owe her big time.”