Undercover Scout. Jenna Kernan

an ancient people had lived and farmed in this place, leaving behind the remnants of these communal residences. Her people called them the ancient ones, for they were here and gone before the Apache moved into the Southwestern territory.

      Funny that many Americans thought that settlement of this country began in Plymouth in 1622 when at that time this settlement of hunter-farmers was living in an ancient version of a condominium right here.

      The upper ruins were even older and of a different people. The Anasazi dwelt in cliffs and the whys of that were still mysterious. A drought? A new enemy? All that was known was what they had left behind.

      “How many cliff dwellings up there?” she asked.

      “Four, I think. More tucked all over the ridges around here.”

      Hemi was now on the move toward the winding path that led to the upper ruins.

      Ava knew that the tribal museum gave guided tours to these two archeological sites twice a week or by arrangement. She had never seen either, but she had seen ones like it.

      They hiked for thirty minutes up a steep trail. She saw tire tracks in the sandy places consistent with a bike tire. Her thigh muscles burned from the strenuous hike. She wondered how anyone could bike such a thing. The sweat on her body dried in the arid air, making her wish she had brought water.

      Hemi disappeared and then reappeared, checking on the progress of the slow-moving humans. They found her, at last sitting beside an expensive-looking mountain bike that lay on its side.

      “That’s not good,” said Ty.

      “That’s his,” said Kee, studying the bike with worried eyes. He reached and then stopped himself.

      She was glad because she didn’t want to talk like a cop in front of Ty.

      Ty glanced at Hemi, who lay with her paws outstretched toward the bike.

      “Trail ends here,” said Ty.

      “Definitely?” asked Kee.

      Ty glanced at Hemi, her tongue lolling as his dog looked to him for further instructions.

      “It ends here or goes where Hemi can’t follow.”

      They all stepped past the bike to look over the cliff. Below were rocks and trees but no obvious sign of Dr. Day.

      “Might have fallen,” said Ty.

      “With his bike way over there?” she asked. That didn’t seem right.

      “Stopped to take in the view. Lost his footing.” Ty shrugged.

      Was he trying to sell her on this scenario?

      “Either way, he’s not here,” said Kee. “We should call Jake.”

      Ty backed away. “If you’re calling tribal, I’m gone. They’re already trying to hang me for giving Kacey a ride. They’ll tie me up in this, too.”

      A ride? Is that what he called kidnapping? Ava could not keep from gaping.

      Kee stared at Ty. “What are you talking about?”

       Didn’t Kee know?

      Ty had been detained for questioning and released. He had not been arrested or charged. Tribal police would keep such matters private particularly if there was an ongoing investigation. She knew of Ty’s situation only because her chief had been told of a possible connection to the tribe’s gang and a known associate, Ty Redhorse. But the police here had taken steps to be certain Ty’s detention remained secret. She knew he was a suspect but Kee did not, which meant that his brother had not told him. Ty did not want Kee to know. Was Ty protecting him or hanging him out to dry?

      Ty shook his head. “Just tell them you found the car and followed the trail. That you know he bikes this route and you were checking. But I was never here. Got it?”

      Kee’s mouth was tight. “You want me to lie to the police?”

      “Omit,” said Ty.

      “It’s lying.”

      “Hey, you do what you want. Just don’t call me for help again.” He turned to Ava and gave her a two-finger salute. “Officer.”

      Then he disappeared back down the trail. Hemi followed, venturing out before him.

      Kee turned to her immediately. “Why did he call you—”

      “What’s that?”

      Ava spotted a tiny speck of canary yellow visible between the treetops below the cliff upon which they stood.

      Exactly the color Kee said Dr. Day had been wearing.

       Chapter Four

      Ava didn’t think Kee had pushed Richard Day, but she kept him in front of her on the descent. When they reached the bottom of the trail it was nearly six at night. The sun had disappeared behind the opposite ridgeline and the colors were gradually fading all around them. Kee tried tribal police but there was no cell service out here. He offered Ava the last of the water he carried and she took a long swallow before returning the empty bottle.

      “You know it will be really dark soon. We have thirty minutes,” she said.

      “Maybe we should go to the police.”

      Yeah, except she was certain how Detective Jack Bear Den or the chief of police would respond if they knew where her personal leave from her soon-to-be previous job had taken her.

      She’d interviewed. Been hired here, and Tinnin himself had briefed her about her first case. This case. The missing women from Turquoise Canyon, but he did not know that the last girl taken was Ava’s niece. The niece that she had helped raise. So Ava was not playing by the rules on this investigation. So for now, she couldn’t let either of those men see her. Not yet.

      “We could find him,” she coaxed. “He’s maybe ten minutes in that direction. It will be harder in the dark.”

      Kee hesitated, glancing in the direction of the lot.

      She gave one final push. “What if he’s alive?”

      That set him in motion. She pushed back the admiration. Kee seemed kind and conscientious and really sweet. But appearances could be deceiving.

      “Do you know if anyone would want to hurt him?” she asked.

      “No. I don’t. He’s only been here since early October. You think it’s him, don’t you?”

      “You said he was wearing yellow.”

      Kee looked back along the trail. The sky still held a few bands of orange but that wouldn’t last.

      “I don’t think anyone could survive such a fall.” He looked to her. “How can you be so calm?”

      Because she’d seen death before, too many times.

      “We should hurry,” she said, motioning. “Have you seen anyone strange around lately?”

      “Outsiders?”

      “Yeah. At the clinic or speaking to Day or maybe just in your neighborhood?”

      “We only treat tribal members.”

      Kee drew up short. “It’s him.”

      Ava came alongside him. It was a body, battered and bloody, and wearing yellow spandex that seemed to glow with unnatural brightness in the twilight.

      Ava had seen bodies in worse shape. Mostly natural causes, left inside a hot trailer for days before anyone went to check, and then there were the auto accidents. But her reservation was small and relatively quiet and flat. No one fell off anything high and she was not prepared for the damage to Dr. Day.

      His body had