Lone Wolfe Protector (6 page)

Chapter Nine

It was clear and cold outside the Inn. The three-quarter moon hung suspended in the star-studded sky, lighting up the darkness in a crazy silver glow. A beautiful night.

Hunching her shoulders, Maggie walked in silence next to Koda down the bumpy, cracked sidewalk of Main Street.

After Zane had walked out of the dining room earlier, the atmosphere had deteriorated in a matter of seconds. Candi had begun to cry, and Koda had risen to put his arms around his aunt’s shoulders, who stood staring after Zane as if unable to believe he’d gone.

“He’ll be back,” Koda had said. “He always comes back.”

“But what if he doesn’t?” Ara’s voice had stirred something inside Maggie’s heart. “How many times will we have to wonder?”

“He’s too much of a pain in the ass to
not
come back.”

But Maggie had noticed a deep frown had settled over his mouth.

“Let’s hope so,” Ara had said. “For his sake.”

The rest of the evening had passed uneventfully. Candi said her good-byes shortly after dinner, refusing Koda’s offer of a stroll around the block.
It’s clear,
he’d said.
No fog, no rain. No telling when we might see the sky again.

Maggie supposed it might have been his way of trying to make things better again. She was beginning to see this was part of his very nature. The peacemaker. The one who made things right for everyone.

Ara had also turned him down, and after hugging them all good night, had headed somberly upstairs.

Koda kicked a rock now, and it went tumbling down the sidewalk and into the gutter. Maggie glanced at him, but he didn’t look back. He seemed lost in thought, his face smooth and expressionless.

“You know,” she said, breaking the silence, “Aimee was a wild child, too.”

He turned toward her, his eyes shining in the moonlight. “Yeah?”

“She was always staying out all night, going with guys she didn’t know. Making her parents crazy. Trying to drag me along with her.”

She now had his full attention, but she kept her head down, watching one of her sneaker laces bounce along the cement.

“I know,” he said. “I’ve read the OSP reports. But honestly, I’m surprised to hear you say it. You’ve never mentioned it on TV or in the papers when you described her. Or your friendship with her. And some of that stuff was pretty in-depth.”

Maggie glanced over, her mouth going dry. She hadn’t meant to bring Aimee up, and now that she had, felt the need to defend her. “I couldn’t bear the thought of them saying she might have run off or that she went willingly with someone and might have deserved what happened. Even so, they dug up some things and tried to hint at it. She didn’t go willingly, Deputy. And she sure didn’t deserve what happened to her.”

“I know she didn’t.”

Those four little words covered her like a warm blanket. It felt good to have him on her side, even if it was just this one small admission.

They walked in silence for a minute longer, their breath crystallizing in the air.

“You know,” he finally said. “We’ve had dinner together. You’ve witnessed my little brother’s total lack of common sense, and you’ve eaten my aunt’s world-famous roast beef. I think you can probably stop calling me Deputy, now.”

She smiled. “Does this mean we’re friends?”

“Let’s not push it.”

“Acquaintances?”

“Consider yourself lucky. I don’t make acquaintances easily.”

“Neither do I.”

“
No
.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she said, shivering despite her down jacket. “I’m so nice. You just have to get to know me. Funny, too. The whole package, really.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

Is he flirting with me
? She slid him a look, resisting the urge to elbow him in the ribs.

“But you also have a rather large chip on your shoulder,” he added.

“Wouldn’t you? Under the circumstances?”

“Yes. But I wouldn’t necessarily ride into town hell-bent on proving that everyone here is a murderer.”

“I’m not.”

“Oh, come on. Tell me you’re not just itching to accuse the first hillbilly you see who didn’t have an alibi that night.”

“Not true.”

“Is true.”

“No.” Frustrated, she crossed her arms over her chest and took a deep breath. “Can we please just call a truce and agree to disagree on some of this stuff that doesn’t really matter? Maybe we can work as a team to try and find out what happened to Aimee.”

Stopping, she turned to him. For a second he just stood there, staring up at the moon. Then he faced her. “I’ve been thinking a lot since last night,” he said. “You were right. We shouldn’t have cut you out of the investigation altogether. I think, under the right circumstances, you might be able to help a little.
If
I decide to work closer with you on this, you’ll have to listen when I tell you to back off. Got it?”

Maggie beamed. For the first time since arriving in Wolfe Creek, she felt a faint glimmer of hope. Like she might not end up flopping around like a fish out of water after all. Candi had said the deputies around here might be able to help. And she’d been right.

She nodded, wanting to hug him.

“And this is more of an OSP and FBI investigation at this point than anything else. You have to accept that. We’re
assisting.
Those guys don’t like their toes stepped on. It doesn’t do to piss them off. Understand?”

“Yes. Perfectly.”

“One more thing. And you’re probably not gonna like this one.”

“Anything.” Maggie trembled.

“If you’re going to be my sounding board on some of these theories, you’re going to have to try and see this from a cop’s point of view. Not a friend’s. You’ve got to try and see the big picture.”

“Yes. I—”

He cut her off. “You
have
to open your mind to the possibility of things not happening that night like you thought.”

Maggie understood. He wanted her to be prepared for a rough ride and a painful ending. As incredibly difficult as that might be.

“I’ll be open-minded. I promise.”

His face relaxed a little. “Good.”

“Thank you, Koda. Can I still call you Koda?”

“We’ve had dinner together. It seems weird for you to call me Deputy now.”

Grinning, she rubbed her hands together. “Where do we start?”

“We start by not telling anyone we had this conversation. Even though I think most people in this town are good people, your hillbilly assessment was fairly on the money. There are some folks who wouldn’t like it if they knew you were being given information about this case.”

Goose bumps that had nothing to do with the cold sprouted along Maggie’s arms. And there it was again. A warning. She found herself wondering just what they would do if they found out. It scared her. Plenty. But she did feel a little safer as an acquaintance of Koda Wolfe’s. And without thinking about it, she stepped closer. The constant feeling of being watched was always stronger next to these woods.

“The less digging you do on your own, the better,” he said. “We need to be smart about this. I’m not going to jeopardize your safety, period.”

“Got it.”

“Okay.”

She was trying to keep her teeth from chattering.

“Cold?”

“A little.”
What a lie.
She was freezing her privates off out here.

“Should probably think about heading down the mountain to get some warmer clothes if you’re going to be spending the winter here,” he said, looking at her shoes.

“What? You don’t like Sketchers?”

“I don’t like the thought of your toes falling off from frost bite, no.”

“Why thank you, Deputy Wolfe. As much as I like to shop, and I
do
like to shop, that would require me to get in my car again, and I’m traumatized for life.”

Frowning, he eyed the cut on her forehead. “I guess you would be. If you’re worried about it, you could always go with Candi. She heads that way every now and then.”

Maggie nodded. The thought of hanging out with Candi for a few hours sounded good. She hadn’t really prepared herself for how lonely this adventure was going to be. Even now she was dreading going back to her room at the Inn with only the nightmares to keep her company.

She wiggled her toes. They’d passed numb ten minutes ago and were now working on frozen. Next up? Boots and cozy socks. Things were slowly looking up. Maybe, just maybe, she’d end up accomplishing something by coming here after all.

“Can I ask you something?” she said, as they turned to walk back the way they’d come.

“Shoot.” He was closer than before, his arm brushing her shoulder. The feel of it warmed her everywhere, and before she could help it, she was wondering how his bare skin would feel next to hers.

“What’s this legend I’ve been hearing about?” She looked over, so engrossed in his profile that she tripped over a bump in the sidewalk.

Koda took her elbow, his hand strong and reassuring. “You okay?”

She nodded, embarrassed.

“The legend. God. Who told you about that?”

“I went with Candi to the mechanic’s. He said something about it.”

“I’m surprised she didn’t tell you.”

“She said it was an urban legend and not to pay any attention to it.”

“Huh. I doubt she’d admit it, but I think she believes some of it herself. This is a small, isolated town, Maggie. People here can be…superstitious.”

It was the first time he’d called her by name. She snuck a glance in his direction again. He was so striking under the light of the moon that she had to consciously look away or risk falling flat on her face.

“What about you?” she asked. “Are you superstitious?”

He paused, and for a second, the only sound was that of their shoes scuffing the cement. “It depends on what you mean,” he finally said. “I wonder about things, yeah. I think that’s probably a given, especially coming from a family like ours. You’re born with questions, and I guess you never really stop asking.”

She glanced over again, confused.

“But I’d try and consider the source, if I were you,” he continued. “I wouldn’t put too much stock in what you hear from Gary Pruit. The guy practically swims in his Corona.”

Maggie laughed. “I got that about him.”

Koda smiled, but didn’t offer anything more. He obviously wasn’t going to elaborate. Maggie considered this for a minute, and couldn’t help but see the similarities in Candi’s explanation yesterday. Short and sweet, and that was it. Even when they’d had coffee afterward and had plenty of time to talk about it, she didn’t mention it again.
Why?

She balled her hands into fists, caught between not wanting to irritate him, and dying to know. She settled on irritation. A proven Sullivan method.

“So…what exactly is it? Native American folklore?”

He sighed. “Sort of.”

“Okay.” She waited, but he remained quiet. “And?”

“And, it’s just some talk from a bunch of people who sit around drunk in front of campfires.”

“Uh-huh. What else?”

Stopping, he turned. “You’re not going to let this go.”

“Nope.”

“You’re stubborn. Has anyone ever told you that?”

“I’m Irish. You should meet my mother.”

“Ah.” He nodded, smiling down at her in the darkness.

“So?”

“Fine.
Fine.
The legend…it all goes back to my family. I have ancestors who settled here more than a hundred years ago.”

“The photos at the Inn,” she said, immediately picturing the couple whose eyes were so haunting. “Are some of those people related to you?”

“They are. My great-great grandfather Bastien settled here before the turn of the century. He was French Canadian. A businessman.”

Maggie nodded, captivated.

“He was well off and came to southern Oregon with the intention of developing. You can guess how well that went over. A rich white man wanting to take over Tututni land. I think you could probably have thrown a rock at a hoedown and hit someone who hated him.”

“I’m not sure I’ve ever met anyone who used the word ‘hoedown’ in a sentence.”

“Well, you obviously haven’t spent enough time with me, little lady.”

She laughed. “Go on.”

“Things got worse when he met my great-great grandmother. She was the daughter of the chief. Very beautiful, very willful.”

“I’ve seen the pictures. She was gorgeous. And he was…”

“Powerful,” Koda finished. “The story goes that when he saw her for the first time, he fell in love immediately and was obsessed with having her.”

Maggie listened, hanging on every word. She’d even forgotten about her frozen toes for a minute before remembering and wiggling them again.

“He convinced her to marry him. Of course this was against the chief’s wishes. He was infuriated. The tribe was divided. Some welcomed the marriage, thinking that with her connections to his money, it would trickle down and eventually help their people. Others despised him for taking one of their own, and despised her even more for going willingly.”

“Oh my God.”

He smiled, and she could clearly see the ancestral resemblance. The same straight nose, high cheekbones, dark eyes as in the photograph. It seemed like his great-great grandmother had spanned the decades to come to rest inside this Indian prince standing right here in front of her. The thought was enough to make her unsteady. Or maybe that was just the bump on her head.

“Right after the marriage, she started showing with her first baby. The chief supposedly said that if his daughter was going to dilute the Tututni blood by allowing a white man to father her children, then the children would pay. The family would suffer.”

Maggie shivered.

“And that’s where it gets weird.” He raised his brows. “Still want to hear?”

“Yes. Go on, please.”

“The story goes that with the help of an old woman who practiced witchcraft outside the tribe, he put a curse on their descendants. The sons in particular.”

Prickly goose bumps marched up Maggie’s legs. “Why the sons?”

“The chief knew that Bastien wanted boys. He wanted sons to carry on his name.”