The Value Of Valor - KJ3 (12 page)

CHAPTER SIX

e’re not getting anywhere this way.” Trystan blew out a

“W frustrated breath. “We’ve been looking for hours.”

Darkness was almost upon them; both Trystan and Terri were frantic and frazzled.

“If you have a suggestion, I’m willing to listen.” Terri was worried about the forecast and the fact that Alexa would freeze if she were out overnight. The temperature was predicted to dip down into the low twenties.

Grasping at straws, Trystan offered, “We could get others involved, put together teams, and comb the canyon floor.”

Terri shook her head. “I’ve been trying so hard to limit Alexa’s exposure to others. The fewer people who know of her, the less likely that someone could mention her presence to the wrong people.”

“Amá,” Trystan’s tone was incredulous. “It’s not like our community is so big. Do you honestly believe there’s anyone on this part of the reservation who doesn’t know about her?”

“I don’t know. I’ve just tried so hard to protect her. I haven’t even let folks see what she looks like.”
And now she’s out here somewhere in
danger of freezing to death.

“I know you have,” Trystan soothed. “Let’s look a while longer. If we haven’t found her in an hour, I’ll grab one of the four-wheel drive vehicles and search with headlights.”

Twenty minutes later, they reached a fork in the trail. “You go left, and I’ll go right. We’ll meet back here in thirty minutes, regardless of what we’ve found, okay?”

“I don’t want to lose you, too, Acheehen.”

Trystan laughed easily. “You couldn’t get rid of me if you wanted to.

Half an hour. Look at your watch,” she called as she started off down the right fork.

It was about twelve minutes later when Trystan noticed a slightly different pattern to the leaves on the ground. Carefully, she examined the area, trying to make sense of it. She stepped off the path, following a hunch. There, just off to the side shivering from the cold and curled up in
Lynn Ames

the fetal position on a large, flat rock was Alexa. Trystan wasn’t sure whether she wanted to hug her or strangle her.

“Hi,” Alexa offered meekly.

Definitely hug her.
Trystan hesitated only for a fraction of a second before enveloping Alexa in a heartfelt embrace. With her mouth against Alexa’s ear, she whispered fiercely, “God, I’ve been so worried about you.”

“I’m okay,” Alexa offered bravely.

“You’re so cold.” Alexa’s skin felt like ice. “Here, put this on.”

Hurriedly, Trystan removed a flannel shirt she’d thrown on over her long-sleeved T-shirt and helped Alexa slip into it. “What are you doing out here? No,” Trystan held up her hands before the other woman could answer. “Let’s get you out of here, then we can talk about the rest.”

Alexa stiffened. “I don’t want to go with you.”

“What?” Trystan tried hard to read Alexa’s eyes in the near darkness.

“My presence is putting you and your mother in danger. I can’t do that anymore.”

Trystan felt as though a fist had closed around her heart. “Alexa, you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Trystan tried to help her down from her perch, but Alexa wouldn’t budge.

“I’m serious, Trystan. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to either of you, or anyone else for that matter, because of me.

If I just disappear, so does the danger.” Alexa tried to ignore the lump in her throat at the thought of being all alone in a world where she knew no one—not even herself.

A cold fear gripped Trystan at the thought of losing this woman she had just found. She cupped Alexa’s face with both hands. “My mother and I are more than willing to take the risk, Alexa. We knew what we were getting into, and we chose to take you in anyway. More than that, we’d do it all over again given the choice. You have to believe that,” she added vehemently.

Alexa shook her head, trying to free herself from Trystan’s tender grasp. It was so hard to think surrounded by that kind of caring.

Unfortunately, moving her head from side to side sent a bolt of white hot pain shooting through her skull, and she gasped as her world spun.

Immediately, Trystan was beside her, anchoring her in place. “Come on, Alexa. Let’s take you home.”

This time, Alexa didn’t hesitate. The thought of a warm bed almost made her weep.

“Can you walk?”

“I think so.”

Trystan lifted Alexa off the rock and helped her stand. She was a little wobbly at first but seemed to get her bearings after a moment.

The Value of Valor

“Let’s go. Mother will be worried sick by now.” Trystan checked her watch—she’d been gone twenty-three minutes.

Slowly, deliberately, the two women made their way back to where Trystan and Terri had split. When they finally arrived, Terri was pacing in circles.

As soon as she spotted her daughter and Alexa, she rushed forward.

Ever the consummate healer, she immediately began examining Alexa for signs of hypothermia or injuries.

Seemingly a little embarrassed by all the attention, Alexa squirmed.

“I’m all right, Terri. Really.”

“No, you’re not, but we’ll deal with that once we’ve gotten you back in bed. Right now I’m worried about us being able to find our way in the dark.”

“I know this area like the back of my hand,” Trystan boasted. “I’ll have us out of here in no time.”

True to her word, Trystan did lead them out of the area and back to Terri’s house in less than forty-five minutes. Both she and her mother undressed an exhausted, clearly overtaxed Alexa, putting her in bed and bringing some extra blankets with which to cover her.

Terri spent some time examining her patient more closely for signs of injury. It appeared she had aggravated her tender ribs and shoulder. In addition, the physical and emotional strain of her foray into the wilderness had left Alexa with a severe migraine. Terri gave her a shot to relieve the pain and help her sleep, and Alexa was out in seconds.

As if by mutual agreement, mother and daughter met in the kitchen.

“She thinks she’s endangering us—says she’s a burden. She wants to leave,” Trystan began, pacing agitatedly around the small space.

“That’s ridiculous.” Terri made a dismissive motion with her hands.

“You and I are in complete agreement on that, Amá, but she means it.

She didn’t want to come back with me—she wanted to leave the reservation right away.”

“Where did she think she would go?” Terri, who was coming to view Alexa as a second daughter, was frightened at the prospect of the young woman alone and lost in a world that could be less than kind.

“I don’t get the sense she’s thought that far or that she cares, as long as she doesn’t jeopardize the tribe anymore.”

“How did you convince her to come back with you?”

“It wasn’t me so much as it was her injuries. She shook her head, and I think she saw stars. After that, she wasn’t in much of a position to resist when I insisted she return with us.” When Trystan paused in her pacing and looked at her mother, tears welled in her eyes. “I know she’ll bring it up again.”

Lynn Ames

Terri was thoughtful for a few moments before she spoke next. “Even after she’s healed physically, she must stay here for her own safety until her memory is restored.” She looked at her daughter. “Unless and until she knows who those men were or why they were trying to kill her, she’ll be an easy target anywhere she goes.”

Trystan’s lips formed into a grim line. “I’ll just have to convince her to stay then.”

Terri put her arm around her daughter and squeezed. “We both will.”

Silently, she wondered if they could succeed.

Kate sat down at the light oak desk in her home office. The space was completely empty with the exception of five sheets of paper sitting directly in the center of the wooden surface. She’d been over the names on these pages four times already but hadn’t found what she was looking for. She took another swig of Diet Pepsi and arranged the pages side by side until they covered the width of her desk.

When Peter had faxed a copy of the invitees to the New York Inaugural Ball to her earlier in the evening, he’d instructed her to look for anyone who seemed out of place or anyone who might have had a grudge against her or Jay. Kate recognized dozens of names on the list; after all, the ball was attended by a veritable “Who’s Who” of New York politics, business, and the media, in addition to high level donors from across the country and the Washington power elite.

She ran her finger down the list. There were her former bosses at WCAP-TV and DOCS, every member of the president’s inner circle from when he was governor of New York, talk show hostess Wanda Nelson and her husband, the famous biographer Ted Graham, Bob Hawthorne from the DNC, Michael Vendetti, and a slew of others who Kate had never heard of before.

She stared at the names until they blurred together. Could one of these people have killed Jay? It was inconceivable to her. She ruled out all the names she recognized; none of them had a motive to harm Jay.

That left the other three pages of names she didn’t know. Disappointed that she couldn’t find anything obvious, she picked up the phone and paged Peter on his beeper.

Less than five minutes later, the phone rang.

“Hey, Technowiz.”

“You sound discouraged.”

Kate ran her hand through her hair, making it more disheveled than it already was. “I am. I’ve been over this list five times, and I can’t come up with anyone who makes any sense as our suspect. I’ve divided them into groups—people I know on a personal level, work acquaintances, and strangers.”

The Value of Valor

“Okay.”

“None of the folks I know personally have any reason to target Jay.”

“Do they have any reason to target you?”

“What do you mean?” Kate asked warily.

“I mean the best way to get you is to hurt Jay. It’s not like your relationship is a secret.”

Kate thought about it. “True.” She scanned the list again, this time looking for anyone who might have had a reason to hate
her
enough to kill the woman she loved. “Peter?” Her voice was animated.

“Yes?”

“What about Michael Vendetti?”

“What about him?”

“Think about it for a minute.” Kate warmed to the idea. “Here’s a guy who was the governor’s press secretary for two terms. I walked in the door and everything changed for him. The governor started inviting me to dinner to talk about policy issues, among other things. Then as candidate for president, he named me his lead spokesperson. Finally, as president, he named me press secretary and relegated Vendetti to the number two spot—working for me.” Kate paused to take a breath; she had never thought about how Vendetti might feel about being, in essence, demoted.

“Sounds like he has a motive or at least a reason to be jealous of you.”

“But jealous enough to kill someone?” Kate asked.

“It’s hard to say. I don’t suppose you can recall if he was anywhere in the vicinity when you and Jay were talking to the president.”

Kate searched her memory. “There were so many people there...” She blew out a frustrated breath. “I can’t say for sure.”

“That’s okay. We’ll put him down as a possible while I do a little poking in his business,” Peter said.

“What are you looking for?”

“I won’t know until I find it. Unusual activity in his bank account, interesting phone calls to or from folks that seem out of place—that sort of thing.”

“Okay. How am I supposed to work with this guy every day now?”

Kate asked.

“We don’t know anything yet either way. So just treat him like you always have.”

“It’ll be hard, knowing that there’s a chance he could have had something to do with Jay’s death.”

“I know, but look at it this way—if you start acting differently around him, you might tip him off.”

“And he could start covering his tracks.”

Lynn Ames

“Exactly.”

“Okay.” She could hear a loud hum in the background on Peter’s end.

“Where are you, anyway?”

“I’m at Quantico, running the list through their databases to check for criminal records.”

“Oh, good thinking. Anything yet?”

“It’s still processing. I’ve found a few parking scofflaws, a couple of DWIs, and one interesting notation.”

“What’s that?”

“Do you know a guy by the name of Kirk Hexall?”

“Never heard of him.”

“Me either. His name comes up with a fingerprint match; when I open his file, it gives me a list of priors, including manslaughter, and the jurisdiction of the crime.”

“Okay.” Kate drew out the word.

“That’s it. It doesn’t give me anything else.”

“That’s unusual?”

“You bet it is. It says there’s no record on file.”

Kate still wasn’t following. “What does that mean?”

“It means somebody deleted the details of the crime and the disposition. Somebody has something to hide.”

“Kind of odd for someone with that background to be at an inaugural ball, don’t you think?” Kate asked.

“I think it certainly makes me curious.”

“I take it you’re going to do something about it?”

Peter chuckled. “You know me, I hate unsolved mysteries. I think I’ll take a little trip to New York City and ask a few questions about the mysterious Mr. Hexall.”

“Is that where the crime was committed?”

“You got it.”

“Okay. What do you want me to do?” Kate asked.

“Nothing. Just sit tight for now. I’ll get answers just as soon as I can.”

“I know you will, Technowiz. Have I said thank you lately?”

“For what?”

“For everything—for being my best friend, for helping me through all this, for investigating Jay’s death.” She still choked on the words, even more than a month later.

“Oh, that. You know I want answers as much as you do, right?”

“Yeah,” Kate said.

“We’re going to get them, sweetheart, I promise you. And when we do, I’m going to make sure the sons of bitches pay.”

“I’d rather just have Jay back,” Kate said softly.

“I wish I had the power to make that happen, Kate. I really do.”