Whispering Spirits

By Rita Karnopp

ISBN: 978-1-77145-343-1

http://bookswelove.net

Copyright 2014 by Jamie Hill

Cover art by Michelle Lee Copyright 2014

All rights reserved. Without limiting the
rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the
prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above
publisher of this book.

* * *

Dedication:

To my children

My daughter, Jamie, who is always there for
me to bounce ideas off and who is unselfishly supportive when I
need it most. There are times when I wouldn’t get that spark
without her classy comments and clever input. Thank you for always
being there for me.

My son, Christopher, who is always first to
say how proud he is I’ve written seventeen books, and counting. He
never tires asking how it’s going or giving me that added strength
and encouragement it takes to be an author.

With children this supportive and proud of me
…I can’t help but feel accomplished and fulfilled. I’m so very
blessed to have such loving children.

Chapter One

The steady beep…beep…beep wore on Summer’s
dazed mind. She forced her eyes open. A quick glance revealed a
hospital bed and numerous attachments to her and various
machines.

“Well it’s about time, Summer. You had me
worried.”

“What are you doing here?”

“It’s where a mother should be when her
daughter needs her. What happened? I couldn’t get a thing from the
police or from Joshua Perkins, who by the way is as aggravating as
his brother was.”

Summer stared at her mother and wished she’d
leave. “I don’t know what happened. Jordan’s dead. You’re right.
Joshua isn’t helping, if anything he’s blaming me even
though…I……knocked the man out—”

“You did more than that, Summer Timber Wolf.”
A man stood in the doorway. “Or do you wish to be called
Nii’po
O’mahkapi’si
.” He stepped into the room. “I’m glad to see
you’ve come around. It’s time we had a little chat.”

“Summer may look fine, but she still isn’t up
to a lot of questions.”

“Well, Summer, Derek Wallace died as a result
of the blow you gave him to the back of the head. Whether you’re up
to it or not, we need to talk.”

An image of Derek unconscious on the floor
raced through her memory. “Oh…no! He couldn’t have. I hit him
hard…but…not that hard.”

“Well, I’m afraid it did the trick. Can’t say
we blame you for trying to save your boyfriend. I’m sorry for your
loss. I’m sure Jordan Perkins was a fine young man. No one’s
accusing you of murder. Did you know Derek Wallace?”

Summer fought the nausea that threatened to
surface. “Who are you?”

“You don’t remember me? I’ll try not to take
that personal. I’m Detective Tom Buggeta. We met the night of your
boyfriend’s murder.”

“Oh, I guess I do remember you…sort of. You
look different somehow.”

“That must be your way of saying I cleanup
well. I’d been up about twenty hours by the time I arrived at Mr.
Perkins’ apartment that night. Well, did you know Derek,
ma’am?”

“Call me Summer. No, I didn’t know the guy
who shot Jordan. Never saw him before…how long have I been here?”
She glanced over at her mother and noticed her eyeing up the
detective.

“You’ve been in a coma ten days, dear.”

“Ten days! That can’t be!” Summer closed her
eyes, then quickly reopened them. “Why did Derek want to kill
Jordan? I don’t understand.”

“That’s what I’ve been hoping you could tell
me, Summer. “ Detective Buggeta pulled up a chair and sat. “What do
you remember from that night?”

“I got a call from Jordan—”

“What time was that?”

“Around two in the morning. It seemed
strange.”

“How so,” Detective Buggeta leaned
forward.

“Jordan didn’t ask me to come over to his
place, he told me…almost ordered me to get there.”

“What were his exact words?”

“’Get over here now.’ He hung up before I
could even respond. I almost called him back to ask why he sounded
so rude. His call seemed so bizarre I got up and headed over to his
place right away. Now I’m starting to question whether it was
Jordan calling…what if it was someone else?”

“Good question. What then?”

“Well, I realized his door was slightly open,
and again I remember thinking how strange. Jordan was a harpy on
keeping doors locked. I entered slow and quiet and then realized
Jordan was on the floor fighting some guy for a gun. I ran into the
kitchen…and that’s when I heard the shot.”

“How many shots did you hear?”

“Just one. I grabbed the cast iron pan off
the stove and hit…the guy over the head. I didn’t mean to kill him,
I just wanted to—”

“Don’t think about that right now, Summer.
You have to concentrate on getting well.” Her mother stepped
forward and smoothed her hand across Summer’s forehead.

She cringed from her mother’s touch. When had
she become the dotting parent? “Is
Nah’ah
coming to see
me?”

“Why? Aren’t I enough? Why do you always seem
to need her?”

“I’m not trying to start a fight, Mother.
I…just wondered if Grandmother was coming.”

“Excuse me, ladies, but I really would like
to finish this up. Summer, Jordan’s brother, Joshua was at the
apartment when we arrived. Do you know when he got there?”

Summer thought the night through in her
minds-eye. “I hit the guy over the head and he dropped to the
floor. I swear I heard him moaning. I turned my attention to Jordan
and realized he…he was dead.” She swiped at the tears on her
cheeks.

“I never really believed he was the right man
for you, Summer.”

Winter reached over to sooth her brow again.
Pressing into the pillow, Summer recoiled from her mother’s
touch.

“Why would you think that, Mrs. Timber Wolf?”
Detective Buggeta pulled out a notepad.

“Just call me
Stoy-ii.
”

“What?”

“Winter.”

“Your name is Winter and your daughter’s name
is Summer? Cute.”

His comparison joke was old, and Summer’s
head throbbed. She hated it when her mother decided she was
Blackfeet enough to speak it. No doubt she wanted to impress him.
“Listen, Detective Buggeta, I really don’t feel all that well. If
there’s nothing else—”

“Well, actually I do have a few more
questions. Like, when did you realize Joshua Perkins was at the
apartment?”

“Oh, I guess you did ask me that. I…was
leaning against Jordan…and Joshua told me to release my grip on
Jordan’s shirt. I looked up and he was just glaring at me with such
a cold stare. I asked him what he was doing there.”

“You and Joshua didn’t exactly get along?”
Detective Buggeta glanced down as he wrote.

“No, he…didn’t feel an Indian girl was good
enough for his brother. I told him to leave me alone.” Summer
closed her eyes, trembling from the memories.

“Did he leave?”

“No, he said he wasn’t leaving his brother
there like that. Then he asked me what the hell happened and why
that guy killed Jordan?”

“Did he seem to know Derek?”

“I don’t think so. I…just wanted Joshua to
leave me alone so I could spend…just a few more minutes with
Jordan. I kept expecting him to wake up…but he never did. I asked
Joshua why he was at the apartment at two in the morning.”

“What did he say?”

“He said Jordan called all upset and told him
to come over right away. Said he couldn’t discuss it on the phone.
Joshua asked me what it was about, but I didn’t know. Joshua didn’t
believe me.”

“What was your relationship with Jordan? Was
it more serious than just dating?”

“We had decided to split after I got my
degree. We were more friends…than a couple. Don’t get me wrong, we
still cared about each other.” She glanced down and tears blurred
her vision.

“What else do you remember?”

“Joshua wanted to know who the guy was that
killed Jordan. I told him I didn’t know him. That I’d never seen
him before. Then Joshua asked if Jordan had gotten into
something…illegal?”

“Had he?”

“No! That wasn’t Jordan. That was more like
Joshua if you want the truth.”

“What happened next?”

Summer drew in a deep breath. Joshua called
911 and you showed up.”

“Was that it?” Detective Buggeta looked up
from his notebook.“Joshua shouted at me that I was compromising the
crime scene and I could be screwing up important evidence. Then he
said the strangest thing…it’s wasn’t about Jordan…it was about what
I knew.”

“Do you know what he meant by that?”

“No…I really don’t. I asked him to explain
himself and he walked out of the room.” Summer swiped at the tears
on her cheeks.

“Anything else you can remember?”

“I remember some lady detective was helping
me get up…away from Jordan…and I slipped and fell. That’s really
all I remember.” Summer swallowed hard.

“I’m sorry to put you through all of this
again, Summer. I know this can’t be easy. Do…you know who Ali
Murdown is?”

Summer looked down at her fingers and back up
at Detective Buggeta. “There were rumors that she was after
Jordan.”

“What do you mean by
after
?”

“The hots…uh…she wanted him. I didn’t really
believe he responded because he commented several times she was
trash.”

“You two discussed—”

“Does it matter what we discussed? Jordan’s
dead. I don’t know why she’d even come up in a conversation unless
you think she’s involved with his murder.”

“No, we don’t think that. You don’t
remember…we found a woman…stabbed to death in Jordan’s shower that
night?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Summer
fought the nausea that threatened to explode.

“Ali Murdown was that woman.”

“I…I…what are you suggesting?”

“Were Ali and Jordan friends or…do you think
they might have been having a little fling?”

Summer stared at him. A single tear rolled
down her cheek. “I don’t have a flipping idea what Ali was doing in
Jordan’s shower. Maybe you should ask Joshua about that one.”

“Why would I want to do that?”

“I’d heard they were dating.”

“Why would she be in Jordan’s shower?”

Summer clenched her teeth, tensing her jaw.
“You’re the detective, you figure it out.”

“Dear, there’s no need to be rude to
Detective Buggeta. He’s only doing his job.”

Summer cast an icy glare at her. “Why don’t
you let Detective Buggeta and I finish our conversation alone,
mother.”

“I guess that would be best. I could use a
cup of coffee. Would you like a cup, Summer? Detective
Buggeta?”

“No thank you, Mother.”

“I only have a few more questions, so I don’t
think so. But thank you, Mrs. Timber Wolf.”

Summer knew underneath the cool exterior, her
mother seethed. She left the room with an air of indifference.

“Is it my imagination, or don’t you and your
mother get along all that well?”

“I don’t think our relationship has a thing
to do with your investigation, Detective Buggeta. I have a horrible
headache, so if we could finish this up quickly, I’d appreciate
it.” Doubts about Ali and Jordan rose and she fought them from
surfacing.

“We were discussing Ali being murdered in
your boyfriend’s shower. Do you have any idea what Derek Wallace
might have been after?”

“I’m confused about everything. Maybe…maybe
Jordan wasn’t there with Ali. Maybe Joshua was.”