Whispering Spirits (26 page)

“This picture captures Worthington fleeing
the room. Look at his hands!” Summer released the picture and it
fell to her lap. She stared out the car window—into the pitch black
of night.

“You’re right, this is beyond proof
Worthington was not only there…his hands are covered in blood.”
Running Crane gathered the pictures and placed them back into the
computer cavity. Let’s check out these other documents.” He hoped
to take her mind off the horrid pictures they’d just seen.

Summer turned her attention back to him.
“Good idea. I’m beyond curious what’s here that will incriminate
Borden.”

“Here’s a birth certificate that…Lawrence
Anderson Borden—”

“What?”

“That boy was the son of Winter Lilly
Anderson and Lawrence Robert Borden. This just keeps getting better
and better.”

“This is about revenge. Their son is dead and
they want Worthington to pay. Why didn’t they just turn these
photos over to the police?”

“That would be too easy. They want him to
suffer. Running Crane, I think they’re going after Domonique.”

“But why? At ten she can’t be held
accountable for anything that man made her do.” He dropped the
birth certificate on top the grotesque pictures.

“I saw the two of them together at Stonehouse
and I’m telling you right now, they have a strained relationship,
but it’s obvious he actually loves her. I think my mother and
Borden are blinded by their hatred for Worthington. He murdered
their son and the best way to make him pay—”

“Is to kill his only child and make him
suffer the loss they’ve felt all these years.” Running Crane
nodded. “We have to find her and—”

“She’ll never believe us. She thinks we’re
out to get her father and of course rescue
Nah’ah
from him.
Besides, how is all this connected to the land deal—”

“Well…well…well, lookie what we have here,”
Running Crane handed a stack of papers toward Summer. “I knew there
had to be more involved than oil leases on Blackfeet land. It
appears Lawrence Borden, the hardest working Democrat Senate member
working for the Blackfeet people, is the owner of a huge Texas
refinery.”

“No way! But Borden said nothing could be
traced to him…that everything would point to Worthington. He has
oil rigs in Texas, too.”

“This agreement and these sketches reveal
plans to bury tons of drums of hazardous waste on Blackfeet
Reservation land. Hazardous waste has to go somewhere at a
staggering cost…but having an oil rig on the edge of Blackfeet
land, little control, and even less scrutiny—”

“Until
Nah’ah
.”

“My thoughts exactly. Borden is setting
Worthington up here. He’d most likely never serve a day for that
child’s murder. It happened…what? Twenty years ago and without a
witness…statutes of limitation and all that. They had to find
another way to make him pay.” Running Crane handed over a document.
“Here’s the original land contract that buys the northernmost area
of the Blackfeet Reservation. Borden’s right, it’s signed by
Worthington and Kevin Wild Horse.”

“So, Worthington was in-fact looking for oil
property to lease. My guess is Borden made sure Worthington found
out about oil leasing in Montana. After seeing the land core sample
results, he bought the land for the rich vein of gold instead.”
Summer flipped through the land contact. “He doesn’t have a clue
Borden and my mother are spear-heading this deal…setting
Worthington up for a lifetime behind bars.”

Running Crane reached down and pushed the
driver’s seat back. “I think you’re right. My guess is he talked
Domonique into getting Bradley Wild Horse interested in her so she
could manipulate the land deal.” Summer looked up and nodded. She
looked incredibly soft and alluring in the moonlight and he
struggled to keep from kissing her.

“But after seeing the way she pleaded for
Bradley’s life, I’d say she never meant to fall in love with him,
but she did. Once Bradley was involved, he had to convince his
father to sell Blackfeet land—”

“With enough money to replace every school in
Browning with a brand new one. One hell of a deal…if you don’t know
about the gold.” Running Crane flipped through the Montana Toxic
Waste Prospective Plan. Sketches showed miles of buried toxic waste
drums nestled deep in the depleted gold mine. “The toxic waste
angle is a clever one.”

Summer stretched her neck, right and then
left. “I agree. They’ll expose Worthington’s unscrupulous ways of
obtaining Blackfeet Reservation land. After stirring up bad
feelings there, they’ll reveal his ultimate plan to use the land to
bury toxic waste drums from Texas, saving him millions of
dollars.”

“I see there are typed-in party agreement
lines on the toxic waste plan, but no actual signatures. But along
with Worthington’s shady purchase of the land and this plan
conveniently nestled in the same envelop, who is going to question
it?” Running Crane closed his eyes for a moment.

“It won’t hold up in a court of law
without—”

“Worthington’s signature.”

“That’s it,” Summer turned enough in her seat
to face Running Crane. “
Nah’ah
is going to be one credible
witness. And that will add kidnapping to Worthington’s long list of
offenses. They’ll get him to sign that toxic waste plan by
threatening Domonique.”

“You’re a genius!”
Running Crane bent over and kissed Summer hard on the lips. “That
brings us back to the conclusion Domonique’s life is in danger.
Once he’s signed that plan, she’s dead…and his suffering
begins.”

“I think you’re right.”

“Do you have any idea where we might find
Domonique?” Running Crane dropped the remaining documents back into
the computer cavity. “We have these documents—”

“We’re not showing her those pictures. We
should destroy them. What good would come of her seeing…no Running
she would be—”

“I don’t think she stabbed her brother, I
think she was staged with that knife and all that blood. I think
Worthington did the deed and made sure those pictures were taken.
What he didn’t expect is being caught running from the scene with
blood on his hands.”

“Oh, I…never thought about that. I really
believed Domonique…that poor child. Again, I don’t think she needs
to see those pictures. I think it would devastate her. We should
just burn them—”

“We’re not destroying any evidence. There’s
no reason to show her those pictures. We can show her the birth
certificate, the land purchase, plus that waste plan. She’ll
believe she’s in danger once she sees them. Let’s sit outside for a
while. “He got out of the car and walked around, opening the
passenger side for her.

Summer headed straight toward a large
cottonwood tree and leaned against it. “I hope so. We should head
back to Missoula first thing—”

“No, I’m tired of driving around in circles.”
He stood next to her and pulled out his cellphone and pressed a
button. “It’s me. Text me Domonique Worthington’s cell number. I’ll
explain—later.” He hung up and gave Summer a glance. She looked as
exhausted as he felt.

“This has been the craziest couple of weeks
I’ve ever experienced. If we live through this, I’m taking a month
off with
Nah’ah
, just like she wanted. I have so many
questions about our people. I can’t help worrying about her.”

“She’s tough, just like you. I think she’ll
be happy you want to do that. I’d love to be your protector,” he
smiled. Moving toward her, he pulled her into his arms and lowered
his head. He loved how she met him half-way, their lips asking for
satisfaction.

His phone buzzed and he reluctantly released
Summer. “Hello…who is this?” He took in the scene, following the
creek as it meandered across the land. He loved this place; the
peacefulness and the strength it gave him.

Summer grabbed Running Crane’s phone. “Summer
Timber Wolf. I know I’m the last person you expected to hear
from…but…you have to know your life’s in danger.”

Running Crane pressed the speaker button and
listened to the conversation.

“I heard you and that BIA guy were sent off
to find that paperwork. Oh…you found it—didn’t you?”

“We need to talk.”

“Come on, tell me where you found it. Do you
realize how many guys have been scouring around for that? It’s
almost humorous a woman found them. Guys think they’re so tough and
all that.”

Summer glanced over at Running Crane. “Like I
said, we need to talk…and yes, we found the land contract and some
other interesting documents. Don’t tell anyone we found them or
where you’re going. Like I said, we believe you’re in danger.”

“Where do you want to me to meet you?”

Running Crane leaned closer to the phone. “I
know you’re not all that familiar with Montana, but a bit over
twenty-three miles north of Browning you’ll find Buffalo Lake. Just
take highway two-thirteen and you can’t miss it.”

“I’m not driving miles and miles across
Montana, I’ll be coming by helicopter.”

“We’re at the northeast corner of the lake.
There’s a circle drive on the point you can’t miss. We’re parked
nearby.”

“I…guess that works. Are we…going to the
mine?”

“We need to talk.” Running Crane cleared his
throat. “You can decide what you want to do when all is said and
done.”

“Something tells me I’m not going to like
what I find out…am I?”

He could hear the hesitation and even sadness
in her tone. “I’ll be honest—it’s not going to be what you expect
and…not what you’ll want to hear. Whatever you do, don’t tell
anyone where we are or where you’re going. And, Domonique…”

“Yes?”

“Don’t tell your father.” Running Crane
waited for her response.

“Why?”

“Just know he’s in the middle of all this…and
before you make any decisions, you need to see the evidence and
come to your own conclusions.”

“Okay, expect me around eight tomorrow
morning. You better not be trying to trick me to get Summer’s
grandmother back. You try anything like that and she’ll be dead
before you can find her.”

“We’re not trying anything…we want to save
your life,” Summer said.

“I’m not sure why, but I believe you, Summer.
You help me and I’ll see what I can do to get your grandmother back
to you safe and sound.”

Running Crane smiled at Summer. “You can
count on us…and I hope we can count on you.”

“We’ll see…won’t we?”

A dial tone announced Domonique had hung up.
“I’m not so sure she’s as grateful as we thought she’d be. I can’t
blame her for thinking we’re up to something. You think we made a
mistake by calling her and letting her know where we are?”

“I sure hope not. I guess if a chopper full
of gunmen show up…we’ll have the answer to that, won’t we?”

* * *

Summer woke to the chirping of birds and
early morning light filtering through the car window. She spotted
Running Crane under the cottonwood. First he faced east and sang
his song asking for help for
Natosi t
o rise. He raised
a braid of burning sweetgrass in the four directions, pulling the
smoke over himself. She knew the smoke purified him and
let 
Ihtsi-pai-tapi-yopa
, the Essence of All Life,
Creator, to hear his prayers.

Waking with
Nah’ah
on her mind, Summer
felt an urgency to make her grandmother safe. Stretching, Summer
didn’t want to disturb Running Crane while he prayed. She noticed a
paper cup with a toothbrush resting in it, and realized he’d
already freshened up for the day. She set his toothbrush on the
dash and filled the cup with some water and quietly got out of the
car, walked to the back side, and quickly brushed her teeth.
Refreshed she returned to the car and retrieved her brush and
pulled it through very matted shoulder-length hair. She couldn’t
help regretting the twelve inches she’d had cut off last year. She
wanted to appear more-white than Native, which wasn’t all that hard
to do. She remembered when she was young; it hurt to look more
napi’kwan
than Blackfeet.

Summer tossed the brush into the car and
crossed the distance to the shoreline. She stood taking in the
beauty of Buffalo Lake, the smooth water mirrored the shoreline.
The early stillness hovered a kind of eeriness, birds chirped in
the distance, and the cool morning air reminded her why she loved
Montana. Running Crane’s chanting stopped. She glanced over at him,
and said, “Good morning. I see why you like this place.”

“Can you imagine what large bulldozers and
tunneling equipment will do to the landscape? What was Kevin Wild
Horse thinking?”

“Maybe he didn’t have a choice, or maybe he
signed that contract so they’d believe he was one of them? Maybe he
wanted the inside scoop or with his son in love with the buyer’s
daughter, he felt he had no choice. Who knows?
Nah’ah
trusts
him, so I trust him.”

“I agree with you on that one.” He rolled off
his knees and sat, then motioned for her to join him on the
grass.

Summer smiled and snuggled up against him.
“I’m worried about
Nah’ah
and I just pray she’ll be safely
with us after today.” She waited while Running Crane thought things
through, before speaking.

“Today is going to be an interesting one.
We’re going to get some answers…I just hope it’s the answers we
want.”

She looked into his warm brown eyes and held
still. She’d fought against even liking Running Crane for so many
years and here he was…making her heart pound. He excited her and
she drew in a breath to slow down her breathing.

Before she knew it, his soft lips covered
hers and she melted into his embrace. She couldn’t stop him even if
she wanted…and she didn’t want.

He kissed a hot line down her jaw, neck, and
past her collar bone. He seductively flipped several buttons open,
then slid the edges of her bra down before taking her firm, full
breast into his mouth.