Whispering Spirits (3 page)

“I don’t know and…none of your business. I’ll
take care of it myself.”

“I’ve had enough lip from you. I’ll be back
tomorrow. Get some sleep.”

Summer closed her eyes and didn’t respond. “I
need to talk to you,
Nah’ah
,” she whispered. Questions
swarmed her mind. What if Jordan had been cheating with Ali? It
really didn’t matter to her. What documents? How strange, the man
on the phone kept calling her Summer as though he knew her. Could
it have been Joshua?

The door clicked shut…she jumped and snapped
her eyes open.

Chapter Two

Summer scanned the dimly lit room, but saw no
one. Her head pounded as her heart raced. What had she gotten
herself into? Had her mother been right about Jordan all along? No,
Summer couldn’t believe…she swallowed hard. Her lids grew heavy as
she struggled to bring his image to her mind’s eye.

She woke to darkness and an empty room. What
caused her to wake? Was that sweetgrass she smelled? Summer quickly
glanced around hoping to see
Nah’ah
…her gaze rested on a
white envelop on the bed table. She tore it open and found a small,
folded paper.

Opening it, she read, “Go back to your
people…it might be the only safe place for you. Trust no one.” She
refolded the paper in half, then noticed in tiny print, “The devil
can corner you in a house, but not in a tipi.”

Summer stared at the note. She recalled using
Herman Yellow Old Woman’s quote in her Native history thesis on the
Blackfeet in
Sitsikaa
. Who would know that? Was this a
warning or an attempt to scare her?

Inching the blankets to her chin, Summer
pulled her knees up and wished
Nah’ah
was there to make her
feel safe.

A nurse pushed through the door. “Looks like
you had a good night’s sleep. I’m sorry to wake you, but I must
take your temp and blood pressure. If you’re lucky, Doctor Wheat
will release you today. How’s that headache?”

Summer wanted to tell her she’d barely slept
a couple of hours. “I’d like nothing more than to go…home.” The
doctor wouldn’t release her if he knew she’d barely slept and her
head still pounded. There was no way she was spending another night
in this hospital room.

“I’m feeling so much better.” The lie rolled
off her tongue too easily. “What time will Doctor Wheat be coming
to see me?”

“You have time to eat some breakfast and take
a shower. He’s usually doing rounds on our floor around ten. No
temp but I see your blood pressure is still a bit high. Do you
usually have an elevated blood pressure?”

“No, but I’ve been under a lot of stress
lately.”

“Oh, your boyfriend was murdered, wasn’t he?
I’m sorry, dear.”

Summer nodded and looked away. Her
relationship with Jordan was over, but she never wanted him
dead.

“Did anyone tell you that you had a late male
visitor last night?”

“No. Did you let him come to my room?” Summer
suddenly clung to every word the nurse said.

“It was way after visiting hours. We never
let visitors disturb patients and certainly not around midnight. We
sent him packing.”

“What’d he look like?”

“He was a man around thirtyish, tall, thin,
and very handsome. He wore a nice black suit with a white shirt and
tie. Strangest thing though.”

“What?”

“He wore white Nike Air Force One sneakers. I
know because my son keeps hounding me for a pair and they’re too
expensive for my salary. Both Doris and I noticed. Maybe that’s the
style now days, but it still looked odd. Doris thinks he snuck back
up the stairs and into your room anyway. I really don’t think
so.”

Summer looked at the bed table and then night
stand. “No one came in here or I’d have noticed. Where’s the
letter?”

“Letter? You lose a card?”

“There was a white envelop on the table. You
didn’t see it? Maybe it fell on the floor?” She leaned over and
checked the floor.

The nurse looked under the bed. “I’m sorry,
dear, but I don’t see a white envelop anywhere. You sure you didn’t
dream it? Drugs can make you imagine all sorts of things.”

“I didn’t dream it. It was there because I
put it there. I read it last night and I know I placed it right
here.” She slammed her palm on the table top.

“Calm down or I’ll have to give you something
to take the edge off.”

“I don’t need…I’m sorry.” She drew in a long,
deep breath. She needed to get released and throwing a fit wasn’t a
means to that end. “Maybe you’re right. I could have sworn I read a
note, yet I can’t remember what it said. Maybe it was a dream.”

“There you have it. Don’t worry. I see these
things happening all the time. Go ahead and brush your teeth.
Breakfast will be here in no time.” She placed a small plastic
container, tooth brush and paste, plus a glass of water on the
table. “I’m sure a shower will make you feel much better, too.”

The nurse left the room and Summer
immediately searched the blankets for the envelope. Who could have
taken it? Why? The phone rang and she jumped.

“Hello?”

“I see you’re finally awake.

“Who is this?”

“Detective Buggeta. You sound tense. Did
something happen? You remember something? Work with me, Summer. I’m
here to help you.”

“Yes…no…I mean…I don’t remember anything I
haven’t told you. I’m just frustrated and still upset over
Jordan’s…death. I’m being released today.”

“I don’t want you leaving town.”

“Well I am leaving town. I’m going to
Browning to take care of my grandmother for the summer. You have my
cell number. I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t tell anyone where
I’ve gone.”

“You sure you’re not telling me
something?”

Summer considered telling him about the call
and the note, but remained silent. The stigma of trusting
napi’kwan
police stayed with her. They had the Bureau of
Indian Affairs on the res. White police weren’t needed, wanted or
trusted.

“If I think of something, I’ll let you know.”
She reached for the toothbrush and waited while Buggeta’s muffled
voice revealed he spoke with someone else.

Who did he have listening in on their
conversation? Was she really talking to Buggeta? Was this a trap to
see if she was talking to the police?

“We’ll keep in touch, Summer.”

“You do that.” She hung up and glanced at the
door in time to watch her father walk into the room. Suddenly
everything seemed like it was going to be okay.

“
Oki, itan
.”

Smiling at her handsome father, she answered,
“
Oki, Inn
.” She waited for him to place a kiss on the top of
her head, his usual greeting.

“It’s good to speak our language so we don’t
forget it. Too long we have talked the white man’s language and we
have nearly lost our own. I am now teaching at the school so our
young people will learn our language as well. Soon there will be a
lot of
nitsi-poi-yiksi
.”

“There are already a lot of people who speak
our real language. You must do what makes you happy.” He sat with
effort.

“Enough small talk. Tell me what you know
about Jordan’s murder. What’s this nonsense about you killing his
attacker?”

“I don’t know anything,
Inn
. I still
don’t believe I killed that guy with a fry pan. I hit him over the
head, yes. I know it knocked him out. But kill him? I don’t think
so. I hit him once.”

“
Napi’kwan
police going to charge you
with anything?”

Summer drew in a deep breath, then slowly
released it. “No, they believe I was trying to save Jordan.”

“Good. Your mother wants to take you on a
two-month tour of Europe.”

“I’m not going anywhere with her. Besides, I
thought you two decided I would take care of grandmother this
summer.”

“She thought you needed the trip more than
your grandmother.”

“Well, she’s wrong. I might not want to be at
the res this summer, but I’ll not turn away from
Nah’ah
. I
can’t stay here in Missoula…too many places remind me of what
happened to Jordan. I was planning on moving on at the end of the
month. We decided to remain friends. So my apartment lease is up in
a couple of days. If you don’t mind stopping there before we leave,
I’ll get my stuff packed up and—”

“Making plans to leave already? Sounds like
you’re feeling much better.”

Summer glanced over at Doctor Wheat standing
in the doorway. “My headache is nearly gone. I’m definitely ready
to leave.”

“I understand you were a bit agitated this
morning. You care to share that with me?”

She closed her eyes a second and shook her
head. “Nothing to share. I woke and was a bit confused. I think my
dream was so real…I quickly realized I was wrong. I think the
sleeping pill I was given hit me kinda hard.”

“No problem. It sounds like you’re doing
rather well now. You mentioned the headache was better. Does that
mean you still have it?”

“It’s there but way back inside.”

“Excellent. I see no reason your father can’t
take you home. I’d like to see you again in about two weeks. Sooner
if you’re having problems. You’re to stay calm and not get worked
up over this murder. Leave the catching of your boyfriend’s killer
to the police. You need to concentrate on getting yourself healthy.
How does that sound?”

Summer stared at him a moment and nodded. Was
he warning her…or was she imagining it? “Sounds perfect. Thank you,
Doctor Wheat.”

* * *

Summer adjusted the neck pillow and gave her
father a dowsy glance. He was the only person she felt safe enough
to sleep while he drove. The pounding in her head reminded her of
the powwow drums during the summer celebrations. Maybe she should
have been honest with Doctor Wheat and told him her headaches were
still bad enough to cause nausea.

“Did you get a good rest? We are almost home.
Nah’ah
is excited you are coming to spend time with her. She
talks of nothing else.”

“I’m looking forward to spending time with
her. I’m sure she isn’t too awfully upset Jordan is…gone.
Inn
, did you like him?”

“I only met him at Thanksgiving and…he seemed
like a nice young man. He…wasn’t afraid to share his opinions, but
that’s not all that bad. He…nothing.”

“No, be honest with me,
Inn
. I want to
know what you thought.” Summer glanced at her father and noticed he
appeared uncomfortable. “What is it?”

“A couple weeks ago I received a phone call.
I don’t know who it was. He wouldn’t tell me. He told me…no he
warned me to…stay out of your business.”

“What? What on earth are you talking about?”
Summer stared at him long and hard. She said nothing as he pulled
off the road into a wayside and parked under a tree. He turned
toward her and gazed into her face with eyes as penetrating as
those of an eagle.

“We hadn’t heard from you in a long time. So,
I decided to drive to Missoula and surprise you.”

“You came to see me a couple weeks ago? I
didn’t see you? What happened?”

“I…knocked on your apartment door and
Jordan’s brother, Joshua opened—”

“Joshua was in my apartment? Why didn’t you
tell me?”

“You see, I wasn’t certain what to think. The
young man told me he was Jordan’s brother and had just dropped off
a bouquet of flowers and a nice bottle of wine for Jordan. There
were flowers there, so why would I think it so odd?”

Summer remembered a dozen yellow roses from
Jordan three weeks ago. He’d said it was just because he
appreciated her friendship. “That was it? Why didn’t I get to see
you?”

“Joshua told me that you and Jordan had just
left for dinner and a Paul McCartney concert you had planned on
attending for months. He said Jordan was going to propose to you
sometime that night when the moment was right. I didn’t want to
intrude, so I left.”

“You’d never be an intrusion,
Inn
.
That’s strange, because Jordan didn’t ask me to marry him that
night. He wouldn’t have because…like I said, we decided to call it
off. We didn’t even go to that concert because he gave the tickets
to Joshua and his new girlfriend. I was so angry. I’ve always loved
the Beatles and Paul’s music has always touched me. I wasn’t happy
Jordan gave those tickets away when he knew how much I wanted to
go. I did get the flowers but…I don’t remember any wine. You sure
he said wine?”

“That’s what the young man said. I didn’t
wait around. I did some shopping for your grandmother, then went
back home.”

“You still haven’t told me about…being told
to stay out of my business,” she rubbed her temples with her
fingertips and drew in a long, steady breath, then released it.

“You feeling okay?”

“Yes, just frustrated. Please…tell me.”

He took a long, hard drink of water, then set
it down. “Two days after I got home…three in the morning the phone
woke me. I thought something was wrong and I answered it right
away. A man told me it’s bad manners to just drop over at a
person’s house, uninvited. Next time I should call ahead. Better
yet, it might be a good idea if I just stayed out of your business.
I heard a woman laughing in the background. I thought it was you.
It hurt me. I didn’t know what to say, so I hung up. I couldn’t
fall back to sleep. I couldn’t help wondering why you would behave
that way toward your
inn
.”

“You know I’d never behave that way toward
you, Father. Didn’t you wonder what was going on? Why didn’t you
just call and ask me? Is there anything else you can think of that
seemed odd or unusual?”

“I didn’t call…because I was…angry you’d
behave so uncaring toward me.
Nah-ah
said you wouldn’t. She
was right. There was one thing about that whole conversation that
really puzzled me.”