Dance of the Bones

“But how did you know the José family was involved in smuggling diamonds?” Agent Howell insisted.

As far as Gabe knew, the four diamonds he had taken from the peanut butter jar were still hidden in the pocket of his jeans. Gabe had almost died for those diamonds. I’itoi had told him they were his, and he didn’t want to give them up.

“I saw one,” he said. “I couldn’t see what was so important about a jar of peanut butter, so I took out a spoonful and spotted one of the diamonds.”

Gabe had actually seen more than one of the stones, but that was a lie he could live with.

“You’re sure you had no idea about the diamonds before that?”

“Agent Howell,” Delia Ortiz said firmly before Gabe had a chance to reply. “This interview is over.”

“But—­”

“Gabe has explained that he was helping a friend without the slightest idea of what was really going on. It sounds as if you’re coming dangerously close to accusing my son of being actively involved in a smuggling operation, so the next time you speak to him, it will be in the presence of our attorney. In the meantime, I suggest you get the hell out of his room and start doing the rest of your job, like tracking Dr. Walker-­Pardee, for instance.”

Gabe looked at his mother in surprise. He had never before heard her use her tribal chairman tone of voice outside of council meetings, not even when she was angry. He looked back at Agent Howell. She seemed poised to voice an objection, but then thought better of it.

“Yes, ma’am,” she said, slapping her notebook shut. “We’re on it.”

Gabe waited until Agent Howell left the room before turning to his mother. “This is all my fault, isn’t it? If I hadn’t walked off the mountain . . .”

“Hush,” Delia said, hugging him close. “None of this is your fault.”

“Mr. Rojas was going to kill us, wasn’t he?”

“Yes,” Delia said. “I believe he was.”

“And now he’s going to kill Lani.”

“I hope not,” Delia said.

Gabe was silent for a moment. “Where are my clothes?” he asked. “There’s something in the pocket that I need to have.”

“Those clothes are filthy,” Delia objected, but Leo was already on his feet.

“They’re out in the tow truck,” he said. “I’ll go get them.”

Leo left the room and returned a few minutes later carrying a black plastic yard waste bag. When Gabe opened it, the stench was enough to make him gag and set his eyes watering, but he found the jeans and gingerly extracted the four diamonds.

“What are those?” his mother asked, eyeing his closed fist.

“They’re my divining crystals,” Gabe said. “I need them.”

HENRY KNEW THAT THE COPS had to be looking for Dr. Pardee’s car by now, so he couldn’t just drive around in the bright red Fusion forever, but he couldn’t afford to show up at Jane Dobson’s house empty-­handed, either. He had left the original jar of peanut butter, the one with the diamonds in it, locked in his garage. He needed a replacement in the very worst way. That meant going to a grocery store where there would be ­people, surveillance cameras, and most likely at least one off-­duty cop. Right that minute, though, he was actually more afraid of Jane Dobson’s reaction than he was of facing down a shopping center security guard.

He knew the woman kept large amounts of cash in her home because that’s how she’d paid him and Max and Carlos José—­in cash. He’d hand over the goods, and she’d reach into that huge purse of hers, drag out a stack of bills, and count out whatever was due. That meant she probably also had some kind of weapon. It would be either on her person or else nearby, and she would know how to use it.

So tonight, when Henry handed over the peanut butter jar and she reached for the purse, that was the moment when he’d have to get the drop on her. If he didn’t nail her then, he wouldn’t get a second chance. And if things went as Henry hoped, he’d have a pile of cash and a new escape vehicle as well. The cops would be looking for a missing Fusion, not Jane Dobson’s Acura.

He stopped in the far corner of the parking lot of a down-­at-­the-­heels mall that held a dead gas station, a Fry’s, a struggling Target, a barbershop, and a check-­cashing store. Pulling in behind a shuttered taco truck, he glanced over at Lani. She was still out cold. That was good. Carlos and Paul had come around a lot sooner than this, but then again, they were almost twice her size, and size probably made all the difference.

His phone rang. “Hey, Francisco,” he said. “What’s the word?”

“We’ve got a guy named Manuel who built a new tu

It was a lot of money—­money Henry didn’t actually have right that minute. “It’s okay,” he managed.

“You want help going farther south than that, you’ll need to deal with Manuel at the time. He’s good, but he’s not cheap.”

“Where do I meet him?”

“Can you make it to Benson by midnight?”

“Sure.”

“Exit the freeway at the first Benson exit. There’s a dead bowling alley just to the left after you come off the exit. Wait there. Someone will come by, pick you up, and ditch your vehicle. ¿Comprendes?”

“Got it,” Henry said.

He looked at his watch, estimated the distance to the store, and looked at Lani again. He couldn’t risk having her wake up too soon and cause some kind of attention-­getting fuss here in the parking lot. He only had three syringes left and four glass vials. Would that be enough to take care of both Lani Pardee and Jane Dobson? He certainly hoped so, but if he had to get more physical than that, he would. After all, he had taken out both Carlos and Paul, hadn’t he? Maybe the next ones would be easier.

Still, just to be on the safe side, he reached into the gym bag on the floorboard of the passenger side of the vehicle and located one of the remaining vials, then plunged the needle of a loaded syringe into Lani’s upper arm. The way she jumped when the needle penetrated the skin made him think that maybe she wasn’t as far under as he had thought she was, but he hoped that would hold her for a while. If he left her here sleeping, he might have time to pick up the peanut butter and maybe even some new duds. If someone was sending out an APB on him, it might be a good idea to have a ­couple of changes of clothes.

CHAPTER 26

WHEN WINTER CAME, THE INDIANS returned to their village in the desert. But the next summer, when they brought their horses and cattle back into the foothills, they returned to the deep water hole near Baboquivari. And even before they reached the charco, they could hear the sound of Shining Falls, singing and laughing.

LANI AWAKENED TO THE SOUND of a door slamming shut and the smell of peanut butter in the air. Peanut butter? Why peanut butter? Was Henry hungry and making a sandwich?

She looked around. The car was parked in the driveway of a two-­story house with lights on downstairs. There were houses on either side with no lights showing in either one and very little traffic on the street. She guessed that they were in a residential area somewhere in Tucson, but she had no idea where. Then her eye caught the slowly moving lights of a descending airplane. That put them in the southwest side somewhere near Tucson International Airport.

Lani tried pulling her arms loose, but the tie wraps didn’t give. Her shoulders were screaming in agony from being trapped in one position for such a long time. How much time had passed since Henry had given her that first shot? Long enough for him to drive from Sells to Tucson. And after the second one? Long enough for night to fall.