Whispering Spirits (24 page)

“Is that true, Joshua? You bastard! Candice
is at work, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, guess she is. But you gotta
understand, I’m being pressured…and I need to find those
papers…or…they’re pinning Derek and Stuart’s deaths on me. They say
they got proof and what proof they don’t have they’ll provide. I’m
looking at life. I…I can’t go to prison.”

“Well, some of the truth is finally coming
out. Why not just be honest with us?” Running Crane shook his head
in frustration.

“Cause…I
did
kill Derek. I hit him
over the head twice with that fry pan after Summer scrambled over
to Jordan. The double-crossing bastard killed my brother and I let
him have it. She had her back to me and never even noticed. But,
I’m telling you right now, I didn’t have anything to do with
Stuart’s death.”

Running Crane wondered if this was Joshua’s
attempt at finding out if Stuart was in fact dead. “What if I tell
you Summer and I both know Stuart isn’t in the picture
anymore?”

“You saying you killed him?” Joshua
asked.

“I’m saying he’s out of commission, and we
know you didn’t kill him.”

“You’ll testify to that?”

“We will if you don’t cross us again. We
catch you in one more lie and you’ll go down for killing Stuart.”
Running Crane gave Summer a quick glance, then glared back at
Joshua.

“Then I guess you might want to know they
have John Timber Wolf, too.”

Chapter Twelve

Summer hurried back to Running Crane’s side.
“What do you mean they have my father, too?” She glared at a man
she never liked much, and disliked even more now.

“Uh…well just after you left with your
grandmother, Worthington had his guys get your father and—”

“Where’d they take him, Joshua? Why?”

“Don’t shoot the messenger. I heard they took
him and Kevin Wild Horse to some logging camp where they’re
clearing the land for mining. Guess it’s someplace on Blackfeet
land. They needed them to…make it look legit, I guess.”

“Why didn’t you tell us this before? You said
my father wasn’t at the house…you knew…I have no words. Get out of
my sight.”

“I didn’t have to tell you at all. You said
if I…was honest, you’d make sure you’d have my back. I told you
what I know.”

Summer drew in a breath and slowly released
it. “You’re right. That was information we needed to know. Is there
anything else you think might be worth sharing?”

Joshua looked down at his shoes and then back
up. “Your grandmother’s been moved to the same place.”

“By the same place, you mean the logging camp
north of Browning? Who’s doing the people shuffle, Worthington or
Borden?”

“You see, now that’s where I’m getting
confused. I was sure Worthington was behind the kidnappings, yet
Borden seems to be calling the shots. They’re working together but
I think they’ve got a power-play going on.”

“The first one to get their hands on all that
paperwork will be in charge. They need each other to pull this
thing off, but neither like taking orders from the other. I get
it.” Summer glared at Joshua.

“So who do you plan on giving those papers to
when you find them?” Running Crane asked.

“I’m leaning toward Borden since he’s from
Montana and has a lot of connections.”

“Whose name is on the land deal?” Summer
asked.

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen those papers.
I’m thinking it’s Worthington.”

“That would make sense, since Borden said
nothing can be traced back to him.” Running Crane drank some water.
“That’s why Borden had your mother get the scoop on Worthington. He
can control the man without looking guilty.”

“If my mother got the goods on Worthington,
why wouldn’t she know where those papers are? Wouldn’t she have
given them directly to Borden? Did someone steal them from Borden
after he had them?” Summer’s mind reeled at the possibilities.
Joshua was right; most everything they knew was more of a guess
than factual.

“You need to go find Jordan’s car. In the
meantime Summer and I are going to sit down and do some
fact-finding. Things just aren’t adding up. We’re missing something
and if we don’t sit down and think this thing through, we’re going
to miss it completely.”

“Whatever you do, don’t be telling
Worthington or Borden I’m working with you. They’ll shoot me on
sight.”

“Just keep in mind who’s going to try and
keep your ass out of prison, Joshua.” Running Crane sat back on the
couch and shook his head. “I’m not making any promises, but if you
don’t help us, you can count on spending time in prison.”

Summer went back and sat on the other end of
the couch across from Running Crane. “What time does Candice get
home from work?”

“A bit after five, why?”

“We’ll be gone before she gets home. Don’t
tell here we’re here.” Running Crane dug through a stack of papers
on the coffee table until he uncovered a notepad and pen, then
settled back into the oversized cushions.

“Why?”

“What she doesn’t know…she won’t be able to
share with anyone. You might keep that in mind if Worthington or
Borden were to get ahold of her.”

“I get your point.” Joshua slammed the front
door behind him.

“You think he’ll call Candice the minute he’s
out of eyesight?” Summer asked.

“If he’s smart, he’ll keep her out of this as
much as he can. Could she be the missing link?”

“Candice? I don’t think so…we met in my
forensics class and realized we lived barely blocks from each
other. We shared…so much.” Summer paused and stared through the
leaves of the tree and found it soothing. She brought up the steady
beating of drums in her mind…and drew strength from them. “I
wouldn’t have guessed she was after information about
Nah’ah
and my father. All my new friends here in Missoula were…using me. I
don’t know how I didn’t see it.”

“I know it seems that way. You know you can
trust me.”

Summer smiled and nodded. “Let’s get our
heads around this thing. It started with
Nah’ah
finding out
Worthington was buying that land instead of leasing it. Do you
think Kevin Wild Horse told her what was going on?”

“I’m not convinced he was taking money for
himself, but wanted Worthington or Borden to believe he was willing
to accept kickbacks. I think he did that so he could find out what
they were up to. I think Kevin told
Nah’ah
and together they
conspired to find proof.” Running Crane turned and leaned his back
against the side cushion.

“You think Kevin encouraged Bradley to get
involved with Domonique in order to get the proof he wasn’t privy
to? I believed him when he said he was undercover.”

“I’m wondering if Jordan uncovered something
he didn’t expect. He hid the documents because he didn’t want to be
a part of what was going on. Joshua decided they could blackmail
for more money. This put them in a dangerous position.”

Summer gave his comment some consideration.
“We need to figure out…what if…” She jumped to her feet. “Running
Crane…what if the empty computer bag was Jordan’s way of saying we
should find his computer?”

“I get your drift. Why carry around an empty
computer case? All of Jordan’s things are in the basement. Come
on.” He led the way into the kitchen and looked around for a
door.

Summer glanced over at the garage door, then
noticed a stairway to the right. “It looks like it’s this way,” she
said. By the time she flipped the switch, Running Crane had stepped
in front to take the lead.

“Would you look at this pile of stuff? This
could take all day.”

“We have about three hours before Candice
gets home. It should be easier now that we know what we’re looking
for. You start on the backside and I’ll start here. Joshua’s right,
they’ve torn through everything. Let’s give this some thought. My
father verified the computer bag was empty when he was at my
apartment. That tells me he either hid it somewhere…before or after
he got to my place.”

“Are you saying you don’t think he would have
hidden his computer at his place?”

“He was a smart guy. What makes more sense
than hiding something of value right in plain sight? I don’t think
he hid it at all. Thing is, with his death and my finishing
school…our normal living areas changed dramatically. It would have
been difficult to notice if anything was missing.”

“That’s true. You didn’t notice Jordan’s
computer at your place?” Running Crane pulled a box out from under
a pile of clothes and opened it.

“My father helped me toss my stuff into his
car without much tidiness. He sent me immediately to the chopper
before I even had a chance to unpack much less pack for my summer
with
Nah’ah
.”

“So even if your belongings were searched,
they wouldn’t be looking for Jordan’s computer. If we don’t find it
here, we need to go to your dad’s house and check through your
stuff.”

“I agree.” Summer didn’t feel comfortable
going through all Jordan’s belongings. They kept at it for two
solid hours before realizing Jordan’s computer wasn’t in the
pile.

She stretched her back and looked over at
Running Crane. “Well, guess we’re heading for Browning, huh? You
think we have time to shower. I’ll borrow a change of clothes from
Candice and you can find something among this pile to change
into.”

“That’s the best idea you’ve had all day.” He
led the way upstairs. “We’ll grab some food and eat on the way. We
should get there around nine.”

* * *

Summer pulled on a white jacket she took from
the closet. She didn’t feel guilty for choosing Candice’s favorite
eight dollar jeans or the sixty dollar, pale yellow, silk blouse.
She glanced over at Running Crane’s clean jeans and tee-shirt and
nodded in approval. “You’re right, this was the best idea I’ve had
all day. We can park Borden’s baby a couple blocks from Enterprise
Rent-a-Car and walk there. Unfortunately if anyone spots it,
they’ll know we rented a car.”

“We’ll leave Borden’s car out front of his
headquarters. I’ll have one of my friends meet us there with a
car.”

“I like that idea. It’s kinda in-your-face.”
She walked over to the window and peeked between the blinds out at
the street. “Hey, we need to leave right now. Candice is parking on
the street.” Following Running Crane, she raced to the garage.

They waited to hear the front door close
before hitting the garage door opener, start the car and race away
before she could see who was in her house.

“I’ll bet she’s one upset, scared woman. Then
again, being around Joshua it might not be all that strange.”
Running Crane laughed. He pulled out his cellphone, punched in a
few numbers. “Meet me outside Borden’s headquarters with an
unmarked car. Can’t miss us…think Packer yellow.”

* * *

Summer opened her eyes and was surprised to
find they’d just pulled to a stop in front of her house. No lights
shone…and the fact her father wasn’t there struck her hard.

“I’m sorry I fell asleep and didn’t help keep
you awake.” She didn’t want to say what really was on her mind.

“I wasn’t tired. Besides, it gave me time to
think. I’m more than anxious to look through your stuff and see if
you have Jordan’s computer. We’ll get a lot of answers once we find
those papers.”

“I agree.” Summer opened the car door and
immediately heard drums beating in the night. “I think we’re being
warned.”

“Warned?”

“Don’t you hear the drums? Every time I hear
them…it’s like I’m being told to be careful or hide. It’s like the
time we dropped to the ground when Stuart and Bradley were walking
by. I heard them again and I looked out and thought I saw you at
the tree line at StoneHouse. I don’t understand it…but I’m starting
to believe
Nah’ah
when she said my ancestors want to help
me. I’m starting to listen to them.”

“You have no idea how good that makes me
feel. I know you’ve been pulling away from the People for a long
time. It saddened me because I could never go down that path…and I
wanted you in my life.”

“How come you never came to me? Why didn’t
you give me some sign that you were interested?” She stopped at the
front steps, turned and looked at Running Crane. He moved in close
and she held still. He lowered his head and she stretched her neck
to meet him half-way. The tenderness he kissed her with sent
longing way beyond mere kissing. She wanted him…all of him. He
pulled away and already she missed him.

“To answer your question, I did try to let
you know I was interested. You weren’t having anything to do with
me. You weren’t exactly the easiest person to try and be close
to.”

Summer couldn’t help laughing. “I guess you
have a point there. I really did have my mind set when it came to
you. I think I was protecting myself from admitting I found you
handsome and charismatic.”

“Did you just use charismatic in describing
me?” He laughed and led the way up the stairs. “Is this heap all
yours?”

Summer looked over the clothes and personal
items piled high, filling one side of the enclosed porch. “Wonder
if they had fun going through all my stuff. I feel violated
somehow.”

“Would you rather go through them
yourself?”

Summer glanced over at Running Crane and
realized she’d somehow offended him. “I really didn’t mean you…just
those thugs that ripped through just about everything I own. Why
don’t you flip on that light by the doorbell and we’ll get at it.”
Summer crawled to the back side and the most disgusting whiff
filled her senses. Fear engulfed her. “
Inn
,” she cried
out.

“Come back over here…I smell it too. Why
don’t you go inside the house and make sure everything is okay
there. I’ll check…this out.”

“You don’t think my father—”