Riddles that Kill Read online

  Showing bravery beyond her four years, Brenna unclenched her hands from around Maria’s thigh and took a step to the side. Maria wrapped the holster straps around the gun, getting it ready to toss. All three kids whimpered softly. All were trying to be brave. Their timid cries distracted Maria, slowing down her thoughts.

  The man couldn’t get her gun. That was all there was to it.

  Maria aimed and tossed. The holster and gun landed to the side of the man on top of a patch of light-colored Kanab quicksand.

  It was too far away for him to reach. He took a side step, dragging Justin with him. As he stepped onto the unstable ground next to the gun, the weapon sunk into the muck with a recognizable slurp.

  The man lunged for it, letting go of the knife which also fell into the hungry quicksand. That was all Maria needed. With lightning speed, she snapped up a palm-size rock from out of the water and launched it directly at Karl.

  Without being told, Justin leaned to one side. Half a second later the rock found its target—the man’s temple.

  Crack.

  Karl faltered and almost fell.

  “Run, Justin!” Maria sprinted toward Karl who teetered on the unstable footing. The sand smothered his ankles, making it all the harder for him to balance.

  Justin did what he was told. He bolted away and ran straight for Brenna who was sobbing, but not as loudly as the woman named Roxy, who stood in the creek shivering, arms wrapped around her middle.

  With Justin safe, the knife gone, and the gun no longer an option, the playing field had just gotten a lot more level. Maria let out a quiet sigh.

  Karl’s lips curled back, like an attacking dog. He pried himself from the quicksand and jabbed his arms in the air, a warning to Maria of what she faced if she came any closer.

  Maria calmly demanded, “Get down on your knees and put your hands behind your head.”

  Karl roared with laughter.

  He wasn’t going to come willingly, which mean a fist fight in front of the kids.

  Not good.

  Hopefully it would be quick since Karl’s beer buzz had dampened his reflexes. As if he knew she was thinking about him, Karl rushed toward her, both hands spread out in front of him to wrap around her neck.

  Maria sidestepped him and slammed her body into his side. He stumbled but did not fall. Instead, he spun around and connected his foot right in the middle of her gut.

  Maria’s abdomen spasmed violently and she felt like puking. The guy might be slow, but he was still strong.

  Another kick came, but this time Maria leaned away from it. She raised her arms to barricade her face.

  Two more kicks from Karl.

  Two more leans from Maria.

  They were getting nowhere, except Karl was getting winded. That was part of Maria’s plan. Wear him out. Then attack.

  He leapt, missed, kicked, and punched. He was definitely out of breath.

  It was time to make her move. Maria slightly bent over and charged at Karl like a bull would to a matador. She connected with his shoulder. He hollered and faltered backward. But for once the mud seemed to work in his favor, keeping him upright.

  With his fist, Karl swung at Maria’s face. It only nipped her ear but it stung. She felt a trickle of blood.

  Maria rammed her shoulder into his chest again, getting enough leverage to lift him off the ground and flipping him over. He landed square on his back.

  Thud.

  But as Maria approached, she lost her footing in the mud and tripped. She got back up quickly only to find that Karl, too, was on his feet.

  A sneer. More taunts.

  Maria didn’t listen to any of it; instead she only heard the children’s screams behind her.

  This time Karl attacked with a full frontal. He came swinging his arms. Left, right, left, right. Maria couldn’t dodge them. Instead she backed away, sensing the unsure footing.

  He tried to battle-ram her, and she locked her arms with his. They were like two male deer in mating season—antlers locked, twisting back-and-forth. It was less about strength and more about stamina at this point.

  The two rocked sideways a few more times until Maria was able to get the angle she wanted and throw Karl to the ground. Again he slammed into the mud. A groan escaped his lips.

  Maria was on him like a hyena to its kill. Even though Karl kicked his legs and flailed his arms, she gained the upper position. It was classic fight moves from there. She grabbed both his feet and twisted them a full one hundred and eighty degrees.

  Karl flipped over onto his stomach, face in the muck. Maria took full advantage of his surprise and jumped on top of him. She yanked his right arm back, hearing something snap as she did.

  Karl screamed out in pain interspersed with a few profanities.

  “Keep your mouth shut, Karl. You’re in big enough trouble as it is.” Maria barked the order.

  “Maria?”

  The familiar voice of her police partner startled her. She looked up. Fifteen feet above, on the creek’s upper bank next to the highway, stood two darkened figures. The sunlight behind them made it difficult to see their features, though one of them had a shaved head and slight bulge at the middle.

  “Pete?” Maria asked.

  “Yeah, it’s me.”

  Both figures dropped to ground and slid on their backsides down the sandy ledge. When their faces came into view, Maria’s throat hitched.

  Not only was it Pete, but Rod was at his side. She hadn’t seen him much since returning from their horrific trip to Arizona. As usual, he looked rugged and handsome—his hair cut short and a few days growth on his face.

  The children cheered and ran to Rod’s side. He bent down and hugged all three at the same time, wiping Brenna’s tears and rustling Zach and Justin’s hair.

  “Rod?” Maria stepped on Karl’s back even harder, making the man gurgle more creek water. “I thought you were out of town?”

  Rod dropped his eyes to the ground. “I got in this morning. Just a quick layover before heading back down to Phoenix to testify at Dakota’s trial.”

  “Oh.” Maria tried not to sound hurt. Lately everything seemed to revolve around the trial of his ex-wife and former friend Brian. But it was hard to blame him. The two people he trusted dearly had tried to kill him.

  “Yeah.” Rod squirmed. “It was kind a last minute thing. I went by the station to see you but—”

  “But you were out at the creek mud wrestling,” interrupted Pete. “Want a shirt, Maria?”

  “A shirt?” she asked. She then looked down and gasped. No wonder Rod had been avoiding eye contact.

  Pete picked up Maria’s t-shirt, dirty and wet on the bank, and handed it to her on his way to Roxy who was still shaking, shivering, and sobbing. He cuffed her and then respectfully wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, leading her to the duffle bag with the narcotics. Picking it off the ground as evidence, Pete pulled on Roxy’s arm. “Come on. We’re going to get you into my car.”

  Maria, now dressed, also had cuffs on Karl, who screamed obscenities at her and tried to shake free. She yanked his arms back even harder and he yelped. Rod distracted the kids by walking away from the scene to fetch Justin’s bag of pollywogs that bobbed up and down in the water further up the creek. Justin appeared shaky and in shock, but Rod was doing a fabulous job of calming him.

  Maria couldn’t help but note the way Brenna wrapped all five of her tiny fingers around Rod’s one index finger. Zach ran ahead while Justin stayed at Rod’s side like a loyal dog.

  “Maria?” Pete’s voice pulled her attention away from Rod and the kids. “I’ve already called the sheriff as this is technically his jurisdiction. He’ll want to—”

  Pete droned on. Maria knew she should pay attention. It was all very important information. Instead, she gazed at Rod, who had picked up Brenna and now bounced her up and down in his arms, changing her tears into squeals of joy.

  “… so that about sums it up.” Pete hoisted his police trousers an inch or
so. “These two are headed out of here with a pair of new bracelets.” He rattled the cuffs around Roxy’s wrists and held up the drugs.

  Maria nodded and then said, “Thanks for coming to find me. You were fast.” She tried to take her eyes off Rod but couldn’t.

  “You bet. Once I heard you say you were at the north end of the creek, I grabbed Rod, who was waiting for you at the station, and we drove up Highway 89. I ran the license number on the truck parked not too far from here and it came up as stolen. That’s when I figured we’d found you.”

  “I owe you one, Pete.” Maria led Karl to a dip in the bank where Pete and Roxy climbed up. “I can’t believe this all happened in front of the kids.”

  “No problem. That’s what partners are for.” Pete shot a sincere grin her direction. “And don’t worry about the kids. They’re resilient.”

  Maria shuddered. At the top of the bank she dragged Karl to the patrol car, opened the door, put her hand on top of his head, and pushed him inside. Once the car door was shut, Maria whispered to Pete, so none of the kids in the creek below could hear, “The man had a knife to Justin’s throat. I’m thinking the poor kid may need to see a psychologist. That would have freaked me out when I was eight.”

  Pete’s eyes widened. “Still would freak me out. What a dirt bag.” He shook his head. “I don’t know how you manage to get yourself into so much trouble. It’s like you’re a magnet for it.”

  “I know, right?” Five years ago it would have been fine to be in the middle of crime, intrigue, and danger. In fact, in the CIA, being in constant peril was a sign you were doing your job right. But now? In Kanab? With Beth’s kids? This was supposed to be Maria’s recovery from her failed CIA mission.

  So far, it hadn’t turned out as planned.

  Pete got in the driver’s side. The tires of his car threw out dust as he pulled off the dirt shoulder and back onto the highway. Sirens blared. Lights flashed.

  Maria was a mess. In the hot sun, the mud caking her body was drying, making her feel as though she was a ceramic pot cooking in a kiln. Another few minutes and she might crack apart. Worse, however, was her worry for Justin, Zach, and Brenna. She hoped they would be all right. And she hoped that Beth didn’t kill her when she heard what had happened to her kids. If not, their best friend status might be over.

  Just then, Rod’s head popped onto the horizon from the creek below. Next came the kids. He had Zach and Brenna laughing. Justin tried to smile, but the poor kid was clearly still in shock.

  “Is the bad guy gone?” asked Zach.

  “He is,” Maria answered, walking toward the group. “Off to jail where we’ll never see him again. We’re all safe. How are you feeling, Justin?”

  “He’s fine,” answered Zach for his brother. “He’s tough.”

  Unfortunately, the flash of shame in Justin’s eyes told Maria better. He wanted to be strong, but he’d experienced true panic. As the older brother, he probably felt he couldn’t admit his fear. At the young age of eight, he already wanted to be the macho man.

  “I want you to know I felt scared, even though I knew it would turn out all right. It’s okay to feel worried.” Maria linked eyes with Justin.

  “That says a lot.” Rod spoke, his serious but kind tone grabbing the attention of Beth’s children who hung on to him like a life preserver. “Because if there is one thing I know about Maria, it takes a lot to make her scared. The good news is everything is going to be fine. You’re safe—completely and totally safe.”

  Rod glanced at Maria, who gave him a reassuring nod.

  Maria would definitely be talking to Dr. Roberts tonight about Justin. She would make this up to Beth. Somehow.

  “You guys ready for that hamburger now?”

  “Yes!” said Brenna and Zach.

  Justin shrugged. Maria bent down and held out her hand to the young boy who took it and deliberately squeezed it three times. Maria looked Justin in the eye and asked, “What does that mean? The three squeezes?”

  “It’s a code.”

  “For what?” The child had piqued Maria’s curiosity.

  “I love you. One squeeze for every word. Mama does it with us.”

  Maria tightened her own hand around Justin’s, squeezing his hand four distinct times. “Did you feel that?” she asked.

  “Yes, but what did it mean?”

  “I. Love. You. Too.”

  Chapter Three

  The history of the indigenous people of the Southwest contains significant mysteries. One of them, the widespread withdrawal of the Puebloan people [Anasazi] from large established pueblos from 1150 to 1450, is still being researched. In the last century archaeologists in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico have discovered considerable evidence of this mysterious migration.

  “The Mysterious Migration: Early Puebloans Abandon Their Pueblos” by Jay W. Sharp, Desert USA, https://www.desertusa.com/ind1/ ind_new/ind12.html

  Maria set down the Kanab Daily News. The newspaper had almost gone under after the main reporter, Sherrie Mercer, died in the cave explosion almost seven months ago, but the owners had finally found a new journalist named Mark Lyon who’d kept the paper afloat. He had taken to the job quickly and within months seemed to know everything about Kanab even though he’d only lived in town a year. Just a few days ago, Lyon had requested an interview from Maria about the arrests down at the creek two weeks ago, but she’d put him off. She didn’t want to entangle Beth’s kids in the media.

  Maria had been horrified when the Phoenix New Times had printed an article about her after Dakota’s return to the living. That piece had made Maria seem like some kind of a nutty psychic, with its half-true quotes given by Rod’s kooky friend Derrik.

  But Maria’s effort at anonymity in the Kanab newspaper had been useless. Lyon had pieced together the story about Karl at the creek from the locals around town and police reports. However, in the article he made Maria out to be the town hero, which was wrong since it was really Pete who had come and cleaned the whole mess up. But what had bothered Maria the most was the very last paragraph of the article.

  Las Vegas authorities confirmed Thursday that 37-year-old Karl Fossum has jumped bail. His whereabouts are currently unknown.

  “Unknown.”

  The word ate at Maria’s inside like it was made of acid, not ink.

  Why had authorities in Las Vegas given Karl Fossum, a man who had threatened a child with a knife, bail in the first place? Was that truly the best Vegas could muster? As a result of their incompetence, Fossum was back on the streets—or in creeks.

  Disgusted, Maria promised herself next time she wouldn’t be so fast to get criminals back to the gambling capital of the United States. The place might know how to run a casino, but a criminal justice system? Clearly not.

  Maria’s phone rang, and she saw it was Beth. “Hello,” she said in the most chipper voice she could muster. She hoped Beth hadn’t read the newspaper article.

  “Hey, just wanted to check and make sure your hair still looks good.” Beth spoke above the noise her children were making in the background.

  “It looks awesome. You’re a magician, you know that?”

  Beth laughed. “So are you ready for your date with Rod tonight? I know you’ve been excited about it.”

  Maria winced. “Am I that obvious?”

  “Yes, and I’m glad. It’s good to see you in …”

  “In what?”

  Beth stumbled over her answer. “In . . . in . . . I’m not sure what to call it. I guess you’re ‘in like.’ ”

  Maria was much more than “in like” with Rod, but she hadn’t told anyone else that, not even her best friend. “What’s ‘in like’ supposed to mean?”

  Beth laughed. “You know.”

  “No, I don’t. You forget I’m relationship challenged.” Maria took a deep breath and then asked the question that nagged at her daily since the pollywog fiasco. “How are the kids doing?”

  “Good. The child psychologi
st your Dr. Roberts referred us to in St. George is amazing. Please tell him thanks again for pulling strings to get us in so quickly. All the kids really like her, and they’re making great progress. Their bad dreams are already calming down.”

  Maria let out a sigh of relief. “You don’t know how glad I am to hear that. Again, I am so sorry—”

  “Knock it off. It wasn’t your fault. Everybody knows that but you.” Beth interrupted. “What time is Rod picking you up tonight?”

  “Seven.” Maria let out a sigh. “And I’m nervous. It’s stupid. I mean, we used to see each other almost every day before … well, before Arizona.”

  “Give him time. A little goes a long ways.”

  Beth was right, and Maria knew it. But patience had never been one of her strengths. There was a bang on the other end of the phone and Maria heard Beth say something to one of her kids.

  “Everyone okay?” asked Maria.

  “Yeah. Looks like I gotta go clean up a mess. Have fun tonight, okay?”

  “I will,” answered Maria. “Thanks for calling.” She hung up the phone and stared at the screen, deep in thought.

  She’d hardly seen Rod since Arizona, which to her now seemed like a bad memory even though it was only two months ago. Rod’s multiple trips back to Phoenix to get his legal work in order after Brian, his so-called friend, had tried to scam him of millions of dollars had dampened their dating life. Rod had also spent a fair share of time in a neurologist’s office in Salt Lake to make sure there were no residual effects of the brain infection that almost killed him.

  The last time they’d gone out together, Rod had been distant. After analyzing the situation in depth, Maria had concluded that Rod was trying to figure out the legal ramifications of his ex-wife still being alive and that his “trust-o-meter” was on the fritz. Both were things that could only be fixed with time.

  As usual, Beth was right.

  An hour later the doorbell rang; Maria swallowed down on the hard lump in her throat.