Free Eagle's Last Stand by Aimée Thurlo Page B

more about that note,” she said, taking a seat on the hearth. “If I read you right, there was something else about it that troubled you.”
    He nodded slowly. “My gut’s telling me that Hosteen Silver wrote that after he knew he was dying. Since I’m the youngest, he probably put me last on the list when it came to his final message. I think that’s why his handwriting was so shaky,” he said. “I know Hosteen Silver was trying to tell me something, but he always overestimated my ability to understand him.”
    “I have a feeling he knew exactly what he was doing when he deliberately chose you to do what needed to be done,” Kim said. Rick could be gentle, but his strength never wavered. Remembering the way he’d kissed her, she felt her skin prickle. “How are you different from your brothers?” she added, forcing herself to focus on the conversation.
    “They prefer team efforts, but I like working solo. That’s why I volunteered for undercover work.” He stood by the side of the window, pulling back the heavy curtain to look out into the canyon. The desert was bathed in moonlight and every rock and patch of open ground wore a faint, glowing blanket.
    “You’re fine working with your brothers, though,” she said.
    “That’s because I trust them, but I still like taking point.”
    “Wow, talk about double-speak. Or is it ego?”
    He chuckled. “Maybe both.” He walked to the note Hosteen Silver had left for him, picked it up off the table, folded it and placed it in his back pocket.
    “What I don’t understand is the reference to Eagle. Who or what is he?” Kim asked.
    “That’s also linked to our Traditionalist beliefs. Hosteen Silver gave each of us a special fetish, and mine’s Eagle. The spirit of the animal is said to become one with its owner, and by sharing its special qualities, it enhances my own.”
    “You mean you can see things that are far away?” Kim asked, trying to understand.
    “No, it’s not like that. Eagle stands for vision and power through balance. It’s not distance vision, however, it’s the ability to see the overall picture, something any investigator has to learn to do.” As he checked the monitors, he added, “Eagle’s about honoring knowledge by knowing when it’s okay to share it and when it’s better to withhold it.”
    “Sometimes I get so sidetracked by details, I lose the overall perspective. I wish I had Eagle’s ability to see the whole picture.” Kim took a deep breath. “When I lost my job at Angelina’s I was terrified. Having my apartment wrecked after that made things even worse.
    “Now that I have a new perspective,” she added, “I realize that getting fired from Silver Heritage was one of the best things that ever happened to me.”
    “Angelina made it that tough?”
    She nodded. “I liked to take time to talk to the customers, to get a feel for what they were really looking for, but Angelina was all about making the sale—” She stopped abruptly and her eyes widened. “I just recalled something that may be important.”
    Rick nodded. “Go on.”
    “About three weeks ago there was a curious incident at the store. An Anglo man in his late forties came in. He was a professor at a college in Durango. He asked if we could connect him to a local Navajo medicine man who was said to occasionally use Hopi fetishes in blessings for protection.”
    “Did he mention Hosteen Silver by name?”
    “No, but I was sure that’s who he meant, so I suggested he speak to Angelina. At the time, I didn’t know about the bad blood between her and Hosteen Silver. The instant I mentioned her by name, the professor politely declined and left the store. That’s the last time I saw him.”
    “You don’t have a name?”
    “Sorry. I never asked, but I’d recognize him if I saw him again. If he’s still teaching up in Durango, there’s got to be a photo of him somewhere.”
    “Good thinking. We’ll look that up in the morning.”
    They kept