Dark Summer

She frowned. 'What?'

'In every culture there are tales of a mythical drug or potion that can cure any illness.'

'Mythical is right.'

'But what power would a man possess if he could be the one in control of a drug like that? He could control life or death. Danner has always had a God complex. He wants to be worshipped and feared. The panacea would give him what he's been searching for all his life. To what lengths do you think he'd go to gain that power?'

'You're saying that's what's at the bottom of all this? Danner thinks he's found this panacea? Why?'

'Paco.'

'That's crazy. You mean because he was a shaman, Danner thought he'd discovered a way to create this cure-all?'

'Not at first. I think word of Paco's supposed magic was probably like the rustle of the wind in a cornfield in the beginning. But Danner and his people were keeping their ears to the ground and asking questions. He believed in the potential for native healing. Why not? It had made him rich. He had feelers out all over the world for any sign of an authentic breakthrough of any sort. Our reservation was no exception. Danner began to hear stories about Paco and started to pay attention.'

'What kind of stories?'

'There were occasions when Paco would visit someone terminally ill, give him an elixir, and he would get well.'

'Then they obviously weren't as ill as everyone thought.'

Marrok shook his head. 'Oh, they were that sick. I used to go with him and sit there on the floor with Ned and watch Paco do his thing. He always insisted that I had to trail along and learn.'

'You said occasions. It didn't happen all the time?'

'No. But enough times that he began to get a reputation. And that made him important enough to attract the big man to the reservation. Danner rented a house in town and began to come up here himself to talk to Paco. It was all done with great respect and courtesy.' His lips twisted. 'I even grew to like Danner. He treated me with the same respect as he did Paco. I was obviously not important to him, but he still spent a long time getting to know me. I didn't realize he was trying to pave the way to getting information about Paco's panacea if Paco couldn't be persuaded. Even after he found out how little Paco confided in me, he was still friendly, even fatherly toward me. Hell, he was a rich, important man who thought two no-account Indians were worth his time. I wasn't used to that.'

'Did he find out anything from Paco?'

'Not then. But he was a patient man. He was willing to watch and wait and make sure all the talk about Paco wasn't bogus. He invested six years doing that.'

She shook her head. 'That's a long time. You must have seen through him by then.'

'I wasn't there. I couldn't take the reservation life any longer and took off. I kicked around the world for a while and joined the SEALs. I came back occasionally to visit the old man, but he seemed the same and as contented as ever. I'd run into Danner now and then, and he'd greet me like a long-lost son.' His lips tightened. 'Now it's easy for me to read strangers. But Danner had worked himself into my good graces at a time when I was wild and needy and reaching out for any kind of understanding. He was very clever. He fooled Paco, too, until right before he died. But he must have gotten impatient and tipped his hand. One night I got a call from Paco, and he told me to come home. He said he thought Danner was going to kill him.' He drew a deep breath. 'He told me that even if he died, I wasn't to try to fight Danner. It would be useless. He said that I had to leave right away and protect the dogs. He said I had to promise. I thought he was out of his head.'

She frowned. 'What dogs? Ned?'

'Ned and three other dogs that Paco owned.' He grimaced. 'He didn't actually believe that he owned them. They were his friends. He didn't like people much. Dogs were a part of his life ever since I can remember. He said Danner would be after the dogs, and I had to make sure they were safe.'

'Why would Danner be a threat to them?'

He ignored the question. 'Paco was talking fast and hard by that time. I couldn't get a word in to find out anything. He said Danner was coming, and he couldn't talk much longer. He told me to look in his book of spells. He kept saying over and over that he'd had to do it, and there wasn't any other way to keep the truth safe. He'd already told Danner that he'd destroyed the formula when he'd realized the danger it would bring him. But he couldn't destroy the dogs, and he didn't know if he'd be able to hold out and keep from telling him. He might have to tell Danner about the dogs, that it was always the dogs…' His lips tightened. 'He hung up, and he didn't answer when I tried to call him back. I took off and arrived here within six hours. It was too late. He was already dead. When I came up here to the cave, I found that it had been ransacked, his medicine chest stolen, and everything else in shambles.'

'If you suspected he'd been murdered, why would you dispose of the body? You might have been able to tell from the autopsy what had-'

'Paco wouldn't have wanted his body chopped up and probed. He told me what to do with his remains. I did it.'

'At the cost of letting Danner get off scot-free?'

'That was never in question. Danner would probably have been able to buy his way out of any court in the country. I knew that. He couldn't be allowed the chance.' He added softly, 'I wanted to be the one. I had to be the one to kill him. I loved that old man. When he died, it broke me into a million pieces.'

She could see that he did. The passion vibrating in his voice was unmistakable. 'But Danner's still alive.'

'I had to obey Paco. God knows I never did much of that when I was growing up. But I'd made him a promise. Danner had to wait.' His lips twisted. 'Though I didn't think it would be this long.'

'The dogs,' she prompted.

'Ah, yes. There are four. Paco had acquired them through the years. He always seemed to have a dog running around him. Nika was a stray, Addie and Wiley he picked up from rescue shelters. Ned was a pup given to him by Hakan, the leader of the council, for casting a spell to cure his own dog. Addie is a golden retriever, Wiley, a German shepherd, Nika's a mixed breed, half-Weimaraner, half-boxer, and Ned. The last few times I visited him, they were constantly with him. He said they were helping him with a new spell and were much better apprentices than I'd ever been to him.'

'What did he mean?'

'I didn't know at the time. I thought it was just another one of Paco's usual scathing sarcasms. He was always telling me I should stop wandering and come home where I belonged.' He paused. 'One night he had me sit by the fire while he chanted and made his smoke dreams. I didn't mind. It reminded me of the old days. The flames jumping, forming shadows on the walls of the cave, the acrid smell of the smoke, Paco staring into nowhere and making me believe that the world was full of possibilities…'

He was living that night again, Devon thought, gazing at his expression. Or maybe he was reliving the entire life he'd rejected.

He shook his head as if to clear it. 'But the dogs didn't seem to be any better apprentices than me. They just lay around and slept and licked their balls.' He smiled. 'At least I didn't do that.'

'Where is this going?'

'Toward the end of the ceremony, he had me feed the dogs their dinner, and he put something from his pot into the dishes.' He lifted his hand. 'Nothing harmful. Paco wouldn't have done that.'

'Then what was it?'

'That's what I asked Paco. He answered, shii. It didn't make sense to me but he-' His cell phone rang, and he glanced at the ID. 'Walt.' He pressed the button. 'Trouble?' He listened for a moment. 'Shit. No, tell him to meet us at the ranch. I'm on my way.' He pressed the disconnect, stood up, shrugging into his shirt. 'Come on.' He pulled her to her feet. 'Walt will be picking us up in fifteen minutes. I have to get back to the ranch.'

'Why?'

'I have to smooth troubled waters.' He was striding down the slope. 'Dammit, trust Lincoln to show up now. Why the hell couldn't he have stayed on the other side of the water?'

She had to hurry to catch up with him. 'Who is Lincoln?'