Skeletons Among Us: Legends of Treasure Book 2 Page 8

  “Do you need to sit down?” asked Ranger Ferlund.

  Stomach juices inched their way up Maria’s esophagus, and she tasted rancid heartburn in the back of her throat. If what they had found in the Superstitions was real, today had to be one of the worst days of her life. And that included her time of torture in Tehran. That had been done by her enemies. But deceit and lies from Rod felt like a knife to the heart. She had lov—

  Maria stopped herself mid-word. She had liked him. And that was bad enough.

  Numb and confused, Maria watched in a trance as Melissa approached them. “Hey,” she said in a voice twice as loud as her normal one. “The police are a couple of minutes away. Tom, Derrick, and Brian are waiting outside keeping a watch. Rep. Lankin had to go … home.”

  The truth was the minute Rep. Lankin realized a murder charge was about to go down with him in close proximity, he’d called for an “emergency driver” to come and get him out of there. No reason to “complicate” matters, he’d said. Valiantly, the rest of Rod’s friends had stayed, though none of them seemed overly friendly anymore. Except for Melissa. Her job as a criminal lawyer made her right at home.

  “Rod?” Melissa spoke again. “The police are going to take you to the Apache Junction jail. You’ll stay the night there. I’ll come tomorrow and talk to the judge about setting bail. Do you want me to call your parents?” She enunciated each word like a parent talks to a small child.

  Rod shook his head. “No, they’re … out of the country. You could try my brother, Grant. He’s traveling but not too far away. Maria?”

  Maria instinctively looked at him. Her heart wanted to break apart. He looked pathetic.

  “Maria, I didn’t do it. You believe that, right? Someone else did this. You have to find out—”

  “They’re here.” Ranger Ferlund hoisted up his pants as he continued to rearrange a rack of free maps. “I can hear their sirens.”

  Maria let her hand rest on Rod’s shoulders. Her mind lurched back and forth from thoughts of him as a murderer to conclusions it was all a set up. Thirty seconds crawled by and Maria, at last, picked up the sound of wails. This was it. Rod was going to jail. Like a criminal. Like a murderer. Like someone who could kill another person. In cold blood.

  More acid burned its way up Maria’s throat.

  Please, let today end. Maria’s fingers itched to call Beth, her best friend in Kanab. Beth thought Rod was one of the best of the best. A gentleman in every way possible. Maria need to talk to her. She needed reassurance this wasn’t what it seemed to be.

  Tom, Derrick, and Brian burst through the door. “The police are here, but so are some reporters,” said Tom. “They must have followed the sirens like a rat pack.”

  “Maria?”

  It was Rod again, trying to get her attention.

  “Yes?”

  “Maria, I … you’ll find out what’s going on, right? I need you to. I … I didn’t …”

  A group of armed men and women burst through the ranger station’s door. There were enough of them to take down a crazy, violent killer. Once they saw their suspect—a handcuffed, docile, confused man with a blanket about to fall off his shoulders—most of them stopped by the door.

  “Deputy Martin, will you please help the prisoner stand while I read him his rights?” said the uniformed woman in front.

  “Yes, Sheriff,” said the man behind her. He moved past her and grabbed Rod by the elbow, yanking him to a standing position.

  “Whoa,” said Maria. “Calm down, deputy. It’s not like he’s resisting arrest.”

  He glared at her.

  The sheriff cleared her throat and began. “You have the right to remain …”

  Maria’s mind drifted. She needed to keep herself together. She had to decide what to do. Did she go back to Kanab? Take a bus? Call Beth? Maybe Pete could come get her? When would she be contacted to give her testimony?

  Without Maria realizing it, the sheriff had finished the Miranda rights and the deputy was leading a confused-looking Rod outside. As he was being roughly escorted out of the ranger station, he turned to Maria, eyes pleading. “Help me.”

  ***

  The ranger station door shut. Only Maria and Ranger Ferlund were left inside. Melissa and the guys had gone outside to ward off reporters.

  Maria’s knees buckled and she fell to the ground.

  Tears streamed down her face.

  There was no sobbing. No unattractive noises.

  Maria had learned to cry in quiet. She could never let her captors know she was in pain.

  Ranger Ferlund sat down on the floor next to her, legs crossed. He put the blanket that had fallen off of Rod’s shoulders over hers, and he hummed. Nothing that Maria recognized. But it was soothing.

  He patted her back and, surprisingly, Maria let him.

  The two of them stayed that way for what seemed like ages. In actuality, it was only a few minutes until Brian and Melissa came back in the ranger station and offered Maria a ride back to Phoenix. Rod’s truck was being impounded. Not like the police would really find any evidence in it. Not six years after the crime.

  But Maria knew the routine. She understood how law enforcement had to follow the routine. It was that this time, she was on the other side of the system.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Sometime in the ensuing years, the Apaches had a change of heart because they offered to show Dr. Abraham Thorne a place where he could pick up gold. Thorne was an Army surgeon stationed at Fort McDowell, just north of Phoenix, and he had lived among the Apaches for many years. After curing several Apaches of some kind of eye disease, he was blindfolded for a twenty-mile trip deep into the mountains … When the blindfold was removed, he saw a pile of almost pure gold. It was apparent the gold had already been partially refined. The Apaches allowed him to take as much gold as he could carry. He decided one day he would try to find the mine on his own.

  —“The Dutchman’s Lost Gold Mine,” by Lee Paul. (Online)

  MARIA MUST HAVE WALKED fifteen miles between the hours of midnight and six a.m. By the time she returned to Brian’s house, she was drenched in sweat from the hot and muggy Phoenix night. She entered the mansion’s kitchen, looking for a drink.

  “Hey,” said Amy, “did you get any sleep?”

  Maria shook her head. “No.”

  “Why don’t you try to lie down. I’ll make you something to eat.”

  “Can’t. Melissa texted me. Rod needs his overnight bag. His migraine meds and contact solution is in it.”

  Amy waved her spatula. “Brian’s already taking it to him. You need some rest.”

  “Oh,” said Maria, surprised. “That was nice.” She truly was relieved. She should have been the one to take Rod his stuff, but she didn’t really want to face him yet. She needed at least a day to process everything.

  At least, that’s what she told herself.

  “Ready for some pancakes?”

  “Nah. I’m going to go upstairs and shower—make a few phones calls. But thanks. You and Brian have been great hosts. I’m happy to get a hotel though. I don’t want to keep putting you out.”

  “Absolutely not.” Amy looked firm. “You’ll stay here as long as you need to. This must be awful for you. If you need anyone to talk to, it’s what I used to do for a living.”

  “Thanks.” Maria nodded and walked out of the living room. She dialed Beth’s number as she climbed the stairs. What she really needed was “Beth therapy.”

  “Hello?”

  “Beth, it’s Maria.”

  “Hey!” A happy voice filled Maria’s ear. “How’s it going? You two having a romantic time?”

  “Rod’s been arrested for the murder of his ex-wife. It’s a long story, but I don’t know what to do. I …”

  “Rod’s been what?”

  “He was arrested last night. We found Dakota’s body, well her skeleton at least, in the Superstition Mountains. It’s all so crazy. I don’t even know where to start. I can’t—”
<
br />   Maria’s voice cracked. A tear started. She wasn’t going to be able to hold it in.

  “Honey, I don’t know what’s going on, but something very wrong has happened. Rod didn’t kill his wife. He didn’t. I know it. Listen, tell me where you’re staying. I’ll rearrange my clients and be there tomorrow morning to help you sort this out.”

  “Okay.” Maria gave her friend a few more details and then hung up. The thought of her best friend coming to Phoenix helped calm her enough to allow her a few hours of sleep.

  She woke up at 9 a.m., a swarm of skeleton ghosts in her room. They taunted her, lifting their skulls off and on. Beheading themselves while they laughed.

  Maria picked up her phone and with shaking fingers pushed a name in her “favorites” list. “Dr. Roberts?”

  “Maria? How are you?”

  “Not so good. You know my hallucinations?”

  “Y-yes.”

  “They’re back.”

  ***

  Maria spent the next night walking the streets again. This time she was prepared and wore only shorts and a tank top. Beth was on her way, and Maria could hardly wait to feel like she wasn’t alone. Maria had to give her deposition at the station today, and Rod’s bail hearing was set for that afternoon as well. If Melissa was right and Rod had loads of money, he would probably meet bail. Then where would he go? Back to Brian’s house with her?

  That was not an option. Beth had expressed her confidence in Rod, but she hadn’t been there. She hadn’t seen the skeleton. She hadn’t heard the awful entries from Dakota’s journal. It was like Maria had been dating Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

  Nothing made sense.

  Maria’s watch beeped at 5:30 a.m. Time to head back to Brian’s. As she rounded the corner, a Ford Escort parked on the side of the road about a block from Brian’s house caught her eye. The average-looking car was out of place in the high-end neighborhood. Brian was in the front passenger seat. A woman Maria didn’t recognize was behind the wheel. A hat masked her facial features. Even though Maria couldn’t see who it was, the woman’s long hair was a giveaway it wasn’t Amy.

  Maria ducked behind a well-groomed desert bush, keeping a watch on the Escort. Brian leaned over and embraced the woman. They took their sweet time. Maria stayed hidden as Brian finally got out of the car and walked down the street to the driveway of his own house. The car drove off, Maria noting the license plate. Disgusted, she sighed and shook her head.

  Once a playboy, always a playboy.

  But it wasn’t Maria’s problem. She had enough to deal with. She wouldn’t bring it up to Amy. Besides, the woman probably already knew.

  Men.

  Why do we bother?

  ***

  Beth sat in the waiting room while Maria gave her deposition to the investigating detective. The two friends had spent the entire morning going over every detail of the last few days. The only detail Maria left out was the part about her and Rod seeing Dakota’s ghost. Beth didn’t know that particular fact about her best friend. Maria had purposely left out her ghost-seeing abilities during their late-night chats.

  After the deposition, Maria and Beth were led into an eight by eight sterile room that contained four chairs and a table. Nothing else. Maria and Beth sat in silence waiting. Eventually Rod was led into the room, handcuffed and sporting an orange jumpsuit.

  It sent a jolt of pain to Maria’s gut to see Rod dressed that way. This was going to be harder than she thought.

  “Hey,” Rod said. Color was back in his face. His acute shock had worn off, only to have been undoubtedly replaced with chronic anxiety.

  “Hi.” Maria’s gaze dropped to the tile floor. She chided herself and raised them back up to meet Rod’s pleading look.

  “Thanks for coming,” he said. The guard that was holding Rod’s arm from behind pushed him forward to an empty chair across the table from the two women. Once Rod was seated, the guard took his place in the corner of the room.

  “How are you?” Maria asked Rod.

  “Been better.”

  “Yeah, me too.” Did she sound natural? No. There was no reason to engage in small talk if she was going to make it not even sound sincere. “Listen, I’ve got to know, did you kill her?”

  “Maria.” Beth spoke in her take-it-easy voice and rested a hand on Maria’s arm. “Why don’t we start with something a little less intense? For example, Rod, do you need anything?”

  Rod shook his head. “Brian brought me all my toiletries yesterday. I’m fine. And Maria’s right. She deserves an answer, which is absolutely no. I didn’t kill her.” He tilted his head back and looked at the ceiling. “All that stuff at the … where we found Dakota … it was crazy.” He sighed. “Maria, none of that was real. Someone put it there. We have to prove that.”

  Today he was acting like her old Rod. A clear-thinking problem solver.

  But was he also the world’s best liar?

  Suddenly, the door opened and Melissa walked in dressed in dark suit slacks and a business blouse. Her hair sat in a tight bun on top her head. “Lucky I was here.” She sat down by Rod. “I hate to have my clients talk to anyone not in my presence.”

  “It’s Maria,” Rod said. “When you told me not to talk to anyone, I thought you meant from the police.”

  “No,” Melissa responded, “I meant anyone, including old girlfriends.”

  Old girlfriends? True, their relationship wasn’t the best right now (okay, it was awful), but when did she become yesterday’s news? Besides that, Maria should get to be the one to break up with Rod, not the other way around.

  “You must be Melissa,” said Beth, holding out her hand and giving Melissa a hearty shake. “I’m Beth. I’ve known Rod forever, since we were kids. I can’t believe someone is doing this to him.”

  “That’s the same thing I want twelve jurors to say once this thing is all over.” Melissa opened up her notebook. “I guess there are some things we can discuss with … everyone … present. Dakota’s remains have been sent to forensics. They say it’s going to be a week for anything definitive, but from the condition of the bones they’re not hopeful there will be any DNA left.”

  The woman was all business. It amazed Maria that Melissa could so easily compartmentalize client from friend.

  “With no DNA or dental record match, the prosecution only has circumstantial evidence—the wallet, wedding ring—that sort of stuff. I know it looks bad to us, but jurors like science, not a tour through the lost and found. As long as Dakota’s skull doesn’t turn up, we’re …”

  Maria couldn’t listen anymore. One by one, a handful of decapitated ghosts had wandered into the already cramped room. Since they had no faces, Maria couldn’t tell if they were menacing or not. But their headless bodies were certainly no party to look at. Dr. Roberts had assured her it was an expected relapse because her stress levels were so high and she wasn’t sleeping. But she felt like a failure. Even the sharp pain throbbing in the toe that Joe almost cut off didn’t dull the images.

  Melissa continued to drone about all that Rod had “going” for him with the case. Rod appeared attentive, but every few seconds his eyes would dart to where Maria sat. Clearly he wanted to talk to her, not Melissa.

  “Even so,” Melissa continued, “they refused to set bail. They consider you a flight risk—probably because you have so much freaking money they knew no reasonable bail would keep you here.”

  “Hey,” Rod interrupted at last, “Maria only has a few minutes of visiting time left. Could we discuss this after she leaves?”

  “Oh.” Melissa sat back in her chair. “Certainly.” She looked back and forth between Rod and Maria as if to say, “Okay, so talk.”

  “I think I’ll step out now,” said Beth, clearing her throat. “Would you like to grab a water with me, Melissa?”

  The criminal lawyer scowled but stood. “Fine. But Rod, you’re not allowed to say one thing about the case, do you hear me? There are some things better left unsaid.”

 
As the two women left the room, Maria hoped the headless hallucinations would leave as well, but they didn’t. Don’t look at them, she told herself. They’re not real.

  Rod reached across the table in an attempt to hold Maria’s hand, but she pulled hers to her lap. “I’m not ready for that.”

  He swallowed loudly. “I’m sorry. I got the impression when Beth was talking that you didn’t think …”

  “Beth doesn’t think you did it. I … I don’t know. I like facts. Logic. Proof. Rod, you don’t have any of that to say you’re innocent.”

  “True.” His shoulders sagged and he looked like she’d broken his spirit. “But I can’t find any facts to prove I’m innocent while I’m in prison. Someone is going to have to do that for me. Maria, you’re the only one who can make this right. You’ve seen Dakota’s ghost. Talk to her. Ask her if I did it. Find out the truth, Maria. Because this,” he waved to his orange jumpsuit, “is not it.”

  Rod had a good point, if she could strike up a conversation with Dakota’s ghost, who looked much more real than the headless ghost saddled up to Rod right now, maybe she could get answers. At the very least, she could go back to the scene of the crime with a different focus—one to prove him innocent, not guilty. Who knew, she may uncover something. Or maybe she’d find something that would cement his guilt. Either way, she would know.

  “I’ll try,” said Maria, “but I’ll tell you right now, I haven’t seen Dakota since the sunrise we watched together. Maybe she was hanging around until someone found her body. She might be gone.”

  “She’s not.” Rod’s eyes grew wide and he leaned forward from across the table. “She’s got to still be floating around. And you’re going to make her talk to you.”

  Maria stood up to leave. “Okay. If I see her I’ll do my best to communicate. I’ll come by again tomorrow. I’m not sure how much more time I can take off work in Kanab, but I’ll do my best.”

  Rod placed his head into both of his hands. “This is going to work out.” He wasn’t talking to Maria, but to himself. “It has to.”