Tainted Mountain Read online

  Heather’s head rested on the center console, and Nora laid her arm over the girl’s shoulder. They’d barely made it to the highway before Heather fell asleep.

  Nora stroked Heather’s black hair, soothing the child as she slept. What a fiercely courageous girl with a committed heart. But so blind.

  At sixteen Nora had also been full of insecurity and angst. Abigail circulated in a world of Junior League fundraisers and cocktail parties. She introduced Nora to preppy boys in Izod shirts who were “going places.”

  And Nora snuck out the back door during formal dinner parties to hike in the foothills. She wore Birkenstocks and jeans with holes in the knees. Maybe to the world she looked committed to saving the Earth as she passed petitions for Green Peace and protested the Rocky Flats Nuclear Facility outside of Denver. She listened while friends ranted about the evils of capitalism, took hits off the passed joint, and nodded her head when they complained about how grades were just society’s way to control the creativity of youth.

  Then she went home and did her homework, studied college catalogues, and dreamed of a corner office on the eighteenth floor. Being valedictorian pleased her mother, disgusted her friends, and left her feeling like she usually did: without a place.

  Nora couldn’t offer any advice or answers to Heather. She was still a misfit—a nature lover trying to make a living off exploiting the land.

  But making snow responsibly wouldn’t ruin the mountain. Would it?

  Heather stirred and sat up. “Where are we?”

  “About ten miles from the interstate. Fifty miles and counting from the rez.”

  Heather nodded and stared out the window. “He said I was from a powerful clan.”

  “Who said?”

  “Benny. The clown. He knows who I am. He knows my mother. Children take on their mother’s clan.”

  “Is Cole’s friend the same Benny as the clown? How would he know about you?”

  Heather smiled with satisfaction. “I’m going to find out who I am.”

  They rode in silence for a while.

  “Alex said he loves me.” Heather’s voice sounded as weak as a melted ice cube.

  Nora thought about not answering but couldn’t keep her mouth shut. “Kidnapping you isn’t a good way to show love.”

  Heather swallowed hard. “I would have gone with him even if I hadn’t been out of it.”

  “He didn’t seem to have any trouble stealing your car. You sure he didn’t hurt you?” Nora asked for the hundredth time.

  Heather shook her head and studied the passing landscape. “Not this time.”

  That stabbed at Nora’s gut. “What do you mean?”

  “He’s scary. We had a fight about Big Elk earlier and he told me he’d do whatever Big Elk told him to do, that it’s time for Hopi to quit being passive and take charge.”

  “Was that on the roof today?”

  Heather nodded. “I tried to break up with him, but he wouldn’t let me.” She sounded like she almost couldn’t believe it had happened.

  Nora shifted her glance from the road to see Heather’s frightened eyes.

  “I don’t know what he’ll do, but he scared me.”

  “You have to stay away from him.”

  “He’s changed.”

  “Maybe you’re getting to know him better.”

  Heather’s voice hardened like cooled lava. “It’s Big Elk.”

  “Alex was probably a creep before Big Elk, but Big Elk knows how to bring out the asshole in people.”

  “I think we were warned about Big Elk. The prophecies say a pahana, a white guy, will try to destroy Hopi and we have to be strong and not follow.”

  “What prophecies?”

  “We have all these amazing prophecies from over a thousand years ago, and they’ve all come true.”

  “Such as?”

  Heather counted off on her fingers. “Roads in the sky. Those are jets’ contrails. They say there would be moving houses of iron, and those are trains. Horseless carriages are cars. They said we’d be able to speak through cobwebs. Pretty descriptive of phone wires, don’t you think?”

  “How do you know these were given a thousand years ago?”

  “They’ve been passed down in the stories. Here’s a scary one. They said that an upside-down gourd of ashes would explode in the sky and cause rivers to boil and bring disease that medicine can’t cure. That’s the atomic bomb.”

  “Okay, so back to the pahana one.”

  “I always thought it meant Poppy. It says the pahana will gather us under his wings and feed us and care for us because he sees something underneath that he wants. And soon we’ll be dependent on him and act like his servants and give away the Mother.”

  “I can see Barrett in that.”

  Heather shook her head. “But it could be Big Elk, turning the young men away from the true way. Even if he’s not the evil one in the prophecies, we need to stop him.”

  Except he slithered away from restraints like a snake. He stole pensions and stirred normal people to criminal acts, and still he sashayed out of prison like a prom queen at her coronation.

  “Yes, he needs to be stopped. But not by you,” Nora said.

  “Then who?” This girl may be adopted, but her determination and the look in her eyes made Nora think of Barrett.

  “What about the man dressed as a clown? He tried to talk reason to them,” Nora said.

  “Benny? Look how much good he did.”

  “But weren’t the other elders in the kivas? There’s got to be enough of them to calm the young ones down.”

  “The thing is, Big Elk has a point. We need to protect the peak for the kachinas. A lot of people are getting frustrated. They might see this as the time to act.”

  “What about the whole Hopi concept of peace?”

  Heather’s voice rose in frustration. “What has that gotten us? Sure, Hopi believe in peace, but we also need to keep balance and take care of the land.”

  “I thought you were against Big Elk?”

  Heather slammed her palm onto the seat. “That’s just it. I know Big Elk is wrong. But everything is out of control and something has to happen. We need guidance.”

  “Don’t you have a Tribal Council?”

  “The council can’t agree on anything.”

  “What about a chief?”

  “A kikmongwi? Each village has its own. In Hopi every person gets to make their own decisions. The government doesn’t make laws. People use persuasion and discussion to get agreement.”

  “What about that old man who helped me?”

  “What old man?”

  Nora felt a growing irritation, as if Heather wasn’t trying to find a solution. “That old guy who walked me off the mesa. He’s the same one who keeps trying to sell me kachina dolls.”

  “I didn’t see anyone with you.”

  “He’s little and wrinkled and old. He wears knee-length moccasins and a long tunic shirt.”

  Heather raised her eyebrows at the urgency in Nora’s voice. “I haven’t seen him.”

  How could she be oblivious? The man had been right there. “He wore his hair in a bowl cut and it looked sort of ragged. He looked so odd. I can’t believe you didn’t notice him.”

  Heather shrugged. “Sounds like a real traditional guy.” She hoisted herself to her knees and reached into the backseat. “Anyway. I got these for Abigail.” She turned around with a library book, plopped it on her knees, and started turning pages.

  Oh the resilience of youth, thought Nora. A minute ago Heather was ready to blow up, now she flipped pages like she was perusing a fashion magazine.

  A whole array of black-and-white photos passed under Heather’s fingers. She stopped at a picture of a little man standing in front of a dusty stone house. “Here is how they used to dress.”r />
  Nora glanced at the photo. “That’s him. That’s the guy.”

  Heather rolled her eyes. “They all look alike to you, huh?”

  This kid could be so annoying. “No. They don’t all look alike. This is the guy. He’s got that unique look in his eyes.”

  Heather stared at the book. “Can’t be.”

  “Why not?”

  “This is Nakwaiyamtewa. He’s one of the greatest kikmongwis the Hopi have ever known.”

  “That’s what I mean. You need him to straighten out the Hopi.”

  “Nora, he died like a hundred years ago.”

  Karate chop to the gut. Nora pressed the brakes and pulled the RAV4 to the side of the empty road.

  “What?” Heather’s eyes opened wide in alarm.

  “Let me see that.” The book lay on Heather’s lap and Nora pulled it close, studying the little man. No doubt. This was the same man, except in the picture, he didn’t wear the blue sash.

  That proved it. She was crazy. She dropped the book back into Heather’s lap and stared into the sandy desert.

  Heather touched her arm. “What’s the matter?”

  Nora didn’t understand it and didn’t want to tell anyone in case they locked her up. “I swear that is the guy.”

  Heather looked at the picture, then back at Nora, considering. “The spirits of ancestors can become kachinas.”

  Great. Now she was being haunted by an old chief. No, not chief. Heather called him a kikmongwi. Much better than an ordinary chief.

  “I’m sure there’s an explanation. Like maybe Scott’s kachina was Alex. And he didn’t really disappear, he went into the lava tubes.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Before he died, Scott said he saw a kachina in the forest who warned him not to make snow.”

  Heather stared at Nora. “It wasn’t Alex. He just made that costume yesterday.” Some tinny rap song blared from a bag in the backseat. Heather jumped and reached for her bag. “It’s probably Poppy. What time is it?”

  Nora glanced at the clock in the dash. “Three ten.”

  Phone in hand, Heather plopped back in the seat. Worry creased her forehead. “It’s not his number.”

  Damn it. Nora knew that expression. “Where does he think you are?”

  The phone continued to blare and Heather gave her a mischievous grin. “Spending the night with a friend. It’s okay—I told him I’d be home early and I’m only a little late now. No biggie.”

  No biggie, you just lied to your sure-to-be-irate father who I suspect already doesn’t like me much. Nora put the car into gear and pulled back onto the road.

  Heather thumbed a button on the phone and held it to her ear. “Hello. Hi!” she settled back. “You won’t believe what happened. This guy on the rez called me by a Hopi name. Sikyatsi. I think it means little bird or something like that. Anyway, he knows who I am. When I asked him about it, he wouldn’t tell me any more but I’m going to find out. Maybe from Charlie.” She listened a moment. “Because Charlie said he knows a lot of Hopi. Said he spent lots of time there when he was young. He’s got to know my real parents.”

  While Heather chatted in her animated way, Nora resorted to her constant state of worry. First, there was Big Elk and his followers. Should she go to the cops? They had no jurisdiction on the rez and had already proved they couldn’t keep hold of him. Then there was Nakwa-What’s His Name, the ancient kikmongwi. And that was too bizarre to figure out. Now she’d probably have to face a livid Barrett for bringing Heather home late and from somewhere other than where she was supposed to be: not her favorite thing.

  Heather tapped Nora’s arm with the phone. “It’s for you.”

  “What?”

  “Your mother.”

  The cherry on the top of a disaster sundae. Nora took the phone. “You have Heather’s number?”

  “Of course. I also have her e-mail and have friended her on Facebook. She’s my friend. You remember about having friends, don’t you?”

  The little Abigail inside Nora’s head banged a sledgehammer against the backside of her forehead.

  “It’s a good thing Heather had her phone. Yours is in the apartment,” Abigail said.

  One hand on the wheel and her eyes straight ahead, Nora said, “What do you want, Mother?”

  “Oh. Well. I just wondered when you’d be home.”

  The sledgehammer thudded inside her head. Dick Cheney and his gang had nothing on her mother. They could have conserved buckets of water if they’d used Abigail instead of waterboarding.

  “Cole called this afternoon. He’s such a nice man and so concerned about you. Really, Nora, he’s quite a catch.”

  “Mother.” The word packed so much warning Heather raised questioning eyebrows.

  “All right.”

  “If you only called me to matchmake with Cole, thanks but no thanks. I’ll be home later.”

  Abigail drew in a breath and let it out. “I have something I want to discuss with you.”

  “I thought you had your club meeting today.”

  Abigail let out a sigh. “I did. But your officer friend, Gary, decided to search your apartment.”

  “What?”

  Abigail lowered her voice. “Don’t worry. I put him off and he ended up taking me to town for questioning.”

  Thud, thud, thud. The tiny Abigail fiend worked on Nora’s brain.

  “Barrett sent his attorney to help me and when the man showed up, I excused myself to go to the powder room.”

  “That’s good, Mother.”

  “I didn’t have to use the facilities, Nora.”

  “Okay.”

  She paused. “I snuck out and ran to the club meeting and had Marilyn drive me home.”

  Nora snapped to attention. “You left a police interrogation?”

  “Just like Emma Peale. Now I’m home. What do I need to hide before the cops get here?”

  “You think I’ve got something to hide? You think I murdered Scott and his girlfriend?” Even calling Maureen Scott’s girlfriend made her heart feel like a bruised pear.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, darling. Of course you didn’t murder anyone. But everyone has something to hide. Like maybe,” she whispered, “a vibrator.”

  “Mother!”

  “Oh please. We’re both grown-ups. I don’t know where you keep yours, but I thought you might want me to get rid of it.”

  The Abigail in Nora’s skull found another sledgehammer and delightedly slammed them both into Nora’s head.

  “Wait.” Abigail said.

  Nora waited.

  “Someone is outside,” Abigail whispered.

  “Mother.”

  “Shhh.”

  “Mother!”

  “I’m going to hang up now.” Nora strained to hear Abigail’s words. “Hurry home.”

  “Call the cops,” Nora said.

  “I can’t do that. They think I’m in interrogation.”

  “I’m on my way home.”

  “One more thing,” Abigail still whispered. “Don’t tell Heather, I’m sure her father wants to be the one. But congratulations are in order.”

  Nora’s stomach now throbbed too.

  “Barrett asked me to marry him and I’ve accepted!”

  Thirty-Two

  Maybe Abigail thought she was playing some Cagney & Lacey game, but life didn’t mimic TV where everything always worked out. Scott’s and Maureen’s murders proved that. An hour ago Abigail told Nora someone lurked at the lodge. Abigail’s phone had put all messages to voicemail since then, and Nora had raced back to Flagstaff with growing concern.

  Now she and Heather sped up the mountain road toward home.

  A hint of anxiety crept into Heather’s voice. “Poppy’s going to be mad.”

  “Because yo
u ran off with your boyfriend and ended up in the middle of a lynch mob?”

  “Ex-boyfriend.” Heather rolled her eyes.

  “Parents can be so unreasonable.” Was Abigail alright?

  Nora whipped into the Kachina Ski parking lot and jumped out of Heather’s car. “For the record, I don’t blame him.”

  Heather followed. “Now you’re going to go all adult on me.”

  Her heart hammered while she rushed up the path. “Being irresponsible is not cool.”

  “That sounded just like your mother.”

  The mother she hoped would be waiting with musty mint tea and tales of outwitting the cops.

  Heather hurried beside Nora. “I really like your mom, but this whole dating thing with Poppy is creepy.”

  Even if it meant Abigail moving out, taking all her perfectly hung clothes on newly purchased hangers, packing the potions lining the bathroom counter, and eliminating processed foods from her refrigerator, the idea of Abigail with Barrett gnawed at Nora too. “Why do you say that?”

  “He’s my father and I love him and all that, but … ” A raven cawed while she hesitated. “He’s like a king. People always do what he says, even if they don’t want to. I’m afraid he’ll change Abigail. She’ll turn into a robot, like everyone else around him.”

  “Are you afraid that’s what will happen to you?”

  Heather laugh. “Poppy won’t ruin me. I’m so much like him I’m worried I’ll ruin other people.”

  Heather and Nora climbed the deck stairs.

  Charlie and Cole stood by the lodge door so immersed in their conversation that they didn’t hear Heather and Nora approach. They looked up, startled.

  “What’s going on?” Nora asked.

  Cole pushed his hair from his forehead. “Benny said you caused all kinds of trouble at the rez.”

  Nora shrugged. “I brought Heather home in one piece.” Barely.

  “Damn it, Nora. Why didn’t you tell me you were going to Hopi-

  land?”

  “Like you and Charlie tell me everything?”

  “Now, honey,” Charlie started.

  She interrupted him. “Where’s Abigail?”