18

18Cope

Just as the sun was rising, Cope climbed into the van and buckled his seat belt. He was followed by Jude, Ten, and Everly. Ronan sat in the navigator's seat beside Fitzgibbon, who turned the key and started the engine.

Jude had filled Cope in on his late-night chat with the others. He agreed that Everly should come with them but that it had to be her decision. She'd been dressed and ready to go when Ten popped his head in the girls' bedroom door to wake his daughter up. Ten hadn't been surprised. Neither had Cope.

Ten had sat in the seat furthest back with Everly. He could hear them talking but couldn't understand the words. Cope assumed they were talking about Everly's freedom to walk away from the conversation if she needed to. Moments later, the pair were silent. Cope imagined they were meditating, which was exactly what he should be doing.

Closing his eyes, Cope began to breathe. He inhaled for three seconds, held the breath for three more, and then blew it out. Rinse. Repeat. Once his heart had slowed and he could hear himself think over the pounding beats, he focused on Rainbow, Silver Sky, and Dancing Leaf. He reached out with his heart and his soul, asking the spirits to speak with him. To help him find Prairie Moon and their remains.

Cope repeated his requests again and again, until Fitzgibbon parking the car and turning off the engine caught his attention.

"We're here," Jude said softly.

When Cope opened his eyes, it was to see Jude gazing out over Navajo Nation, the rising sun's rays blanketing the land in gold.

"We need to get out of the van, Daddy." Everly was on her feet and heading for the door. Ronan scrambled out of his seat and was there to help his daughter out.

Moments later, everyone was standing in a semicircle on the side of the road. "This way." Everly pointed ahead and began to walk.

"Do you know where she's going?" Cope asked Jude, who shook his head.

"No. I was hoping you did." Jude wore a worried look.

Cope had been tuned in to Everly, and he hadn't picked up anything from the little girl. He didn't hear the voices of the missing woman and had no idea where they were leading Everly. He figured so long as they could see the van, they'd be okay. No one had thought to bring water with them, which could be a problem. He pulled out his phone and set a timer for half an hour. By then, the sun would have been fully above the horizon, and with it would come scorching temperatures.

"This is it," Everly declared, stopping in her tracks.

"Does this place mean anything to your people?" Cope asked. The land surrounding them looked the same to him. The same sand, scrubby brush, and glints of mica were the same here as they'd been when they'd gotten out of the van.

"No," Jude said. "Maybe this is a better place to broadcast to the missing women and for you, Ten, and Everly to be able to receive their answers?"

It was as good an answer as any. Cope and Jude hurried forward to catch up with the others.

"We need to hold hands," Everly said, taking Ten's left hand and motioning for Ronan to take her left. "Now, everyone else."

Cope stood beside Fitzgibbon and Jude. Everyone linked hands just the way he'd done at a religious summer camp his father had wanted him to attend. They'd sung hymns around the campfire. Cope had been bored stiff. Bored from the religion and stiff from getting to hold Junior Masterson's hand. He could have died a happy, horny teenager then and there. Giving his head a small shake, he tuned in to what Everly was saying.

"We're going to need everyone's energy, got it?" Everly's eyes were on Jude and Ronan.

"Got it," Each of them agreed.

After taking a deep breath, Everly looked up to Father Sky. "Rainbow, Silver Sky, and Dancing Leaf, tell me how to find you. Please let us help you."

There was no response from any of the spirits.

Cope watched in awe as Everly tried again. Her tiny hand was practically crushing his own bigger one. He held on tight and used every ounce of his energy to reach the missing women.

"I am here." A young woman appeared in the center of the circle. Her long, dark hair fell to the middle of her back. She wore jeans and a pink Flagstaff Medical Center T-shirt.

Everly's eyes widened. "You're so beautiful, Dancing Leaf. Isn't she beautiful, Daddy?" She looked up at Ten, who nodded his agreement.

"Thank you, little one, but it is you who are beautiful. Your soul is full of sunshine, and your heart is full of love. I've heard you calling out for me, but I was afraid to come forward because you are surrounded by men. I did not know if one of them was the man who hurt me."

Tears streaked down Everly's cheeks. She let go of Ten's hands to bat them away. "This is my family. My daddies, Ten and Ronan, and my uncles Jude, Cope, and Fitz. They're police officers back home in Mass-a-shoe-fits."

Leaf froze, fear replaced the solemn look in her eyes. "I cannot stay here. I have to go." She began to dematerialize from sight.

"Leaf, wait," Jude called out. "We want to help you." He spoke several words in Navajo that Cope had never heard before. When Jude finished, Dancing Leaf was fully visible again.

"You are one of us, Jude."

Jude nodded. "My father was Running Eagle's son. I left the reservation when I was eighteen. You would have only been a baby at the time. I brought my family and friends out here to see where I grew up and to expose my son to our ways."

"Eagle spoke of you often and how proud he was that you'd found a place that would welcome you with open arms and family who would fill your life with love. I can feel that love here." Leaf set a hand over her heart.

"We think the man who kidnapped and hurt you is the same man who took Rainbow, Silver Sky, and Prairie Moon. I hope there is something you can tell us that will help us catch him. As far as we know, Prairie is still alive, but we're running out of time to save her. What can you tell us about the day you were taken?" Jude asked gently.

"I worked that day. I'm a maternity nurse, or was a nurse, at Flagstaff Med Center. I'd been anxious to get to work that morning to see a special baby who had been born nearly two months premature. He'd struggled but had made great strides. I was supposed to have dinner with my boyfriend later that night, but one of his patients had gone into labor, and he couldn't leave the hospital. I told him I'd meet him at home, and I left the hospital after spending a little more time with the babies. It's hard to walk away from them, you know?"

Jude nodded. "I do know. What happened when you left the hospital?"

"I walked out to my car and discovered it had a flat tire, so I ordered an Uber. My father had offered to show me how to change a tire a dozen times, but I always turned him down." Sadness marred Leaf's beautiful dark eyes. "Listen to your fathers, little one. They are always right."

Everly nodded. "I promise, but I won't like it when Dad tells me to eat my broccoli."

"That's my girl!" Ronan gave Everly's hand a squeeze.

"When the car arrived, I hopped in and told the driver where I needed to go. I was so busy texting my boyfriend and making notes for myself that I didn't realize we were heading in the opposite direction from my house. I tried to tell the driver to stop, that I wanted to get out, but he wouldn't listen to me. He turned the radio up as high as it would go and drove faster. I tried to open my car door, but it wouldn't unlock. That's when I realized there was a partition between me and the driver, like in a police car. We headed north on Route 89, and I knew I was in serious trouble. There's almost nothing out there but the trash plant. When he parked the car, he pulled me out by my hair and hit me in the face. It was then that he hurt me." Leaf bowed her head and dropped to the ground. Jude heard her sobbing.

Everly pulled away from Ronan and wrapped her arms around Dancing Leaf. "You're safe now. I promise you're safe.

Cope couldn't believe his eyes. Leaf wasn't fully materialized, but Everly was able to touch her all the same. He'd never seen anything like that in all of his days. Everly was so incredibly talented. He looked at Ten, who, based on the look of shock on his face, hadn't known his daughter could do this either.

"We're almost done," Everly said softly. "Just a few more questions and you can go see your mommy."

"My mother?" Leaf asked. "How is that possible?"

Everly pointed behind the spirit to the white light that slowly shimmered into view. From where he was standing, Cope could see several women who were crying happy tears and reaching toward Leaf.

"What else would you like to know?" Dancing Leaf asked, unable to take her eyes off the light.

"Do you know the man who hurt you?" Everly asked.

"I couldn't really see him very well. It was dark in the car, and when he pulled me outside, I was too scared and hurt to notice much aside from his dark hair."

"Dark hair like Uncle Fitz or like Uncle Jude?" Everly pointed to Fitz, who had dark hair that was more pepper than salt but not nearly as dark as Jude's, which was almost black.

"Like Jude," she said.

"Do you know where he took you?" Everly set a hand on the side of her face. "We want to bring you home to your family."

"We took a right turn onto a dirt road. When he pulled me out of the car, I could see the lights from the trash plant up ahead of me, maybe a mile or so away."

"What about Prairie Moon? Do you know where he would have taken her?" Jude asked.

Dancing Leaf shook her head. "I don't know where she is. I wish I did." She wrapped her arms around Everly and gave the little girl a hug. "If I find out where she is, I'll come tell you."

"You can visit anytime you want. My calendar is wide open." Everly giggled with the spirit.

"Thank you so much for everything." Leaf looked around the circle of men, her eyes landing on Ronan and Tennyson. "Your daughter will grow to be as wise as she will be beautiful."

Dancing Leaf turned and ran, laughing, toward the light. It glittered brightly when she entered and slowly winked out of sight.

"Does that help at all, Dad?" Everly asked Ronan.

"It does. Remember, Rainbow said she'd been driven up Route 89 too. Do you know where that dirt road is, Jude?" Ronan asked, lifting his daughter into his arms.

"I do. We can be there in half an hour." Jude's eyes landed on Everly. "We add an hour to that time if we drop Everly at the rental with Jace."

"I'm coming with you, Uncle Jude. You're gonna need me." Everly wore a determined look on her face.

Ronan nodded. "Remember what Dancing Leaf said about listening to me and Daddy. Promise me you'll do everything we tell you, and that includes Jude, Cope, and Fitz."

"I promise." Everly held out her pinkie finger. Ronan wrapped his around hers.

"We're going to find them," Cope said to Jude when Ronan had taken Everly out of earshot.

"Is that your optimism talking or your gift?" Jude wore a worried look.

"My gift. Tennyson saw it too. Those women have been missing for weeks." Cope gagged and turned his head to spit. "What are we looking at here?"

"By this point, all that would be left is bones and connective tissue, but also count on animal predation. The bones could be scattered. It may very well be that Everly can find them."

"Jesus," Cope muttered. "We can't let her do that."

"Let's get out there and see what we see. We'll let Ten and Ronan decide what we do from there. As soon as we get in the car, I'm calling John, Nathan, and Liam Flynn. I want them on scene before we even get out of the van."

"Good idea. I'll call Jace and let him know what's going on." Cope took Jude's hand as they hurried back toward the van.

Cope knew without a shadow of a doubt that they were going to find the bodies of the missing women, but where was Prairie, and how were they going to catch the man who'd done this to them? He opened his gift wide, hoping he'd pick up something that would lead to the killer.

Silence was his only answer.