“It won’t take them long to figure out I’m Italian not Navajo.”
“When you discovered Jake was Coletti you should have issued him a warning, but you didn’t. Why?”
The Jackass’s pissy attitude wasn’t a valid reason, so I went with, “He broke our laws.”
“They have done so before and you never used your gifts.”
With a sigh, I admitted, “I know. There’s just something about him that pushes my buttons.”
“You’re attracted to him. It is time you took a mate,” Father replied.
My jaw dropped. “What? I’m only twenty-four and I’m not hooking up with that jackass.”
“The spirits have spoken,” Father said firmly.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Father ignored me and turned his attention to the Coletti warlords. “CeeCee will assist you in your investigation. She knows every inch of our lands and her knowledge of our people will be an asset.”
“Not to mention her unique talents,” Jake added snidely.
A spark of satisfaction lit the General’s eyes. “We welcome her help.”
Muttering curses under my breath, I opened the back door to the SUV.
“Where are you going, partner?” Jake’s tone was smug and delighted at the same time.
“To the new crime scene.”
“Teleporting is much, much faster.” Jake opened his arms. “Come to Papa.”
I set my lips in a stubborn line. “I’ll prefer to drive there. You try to stop me, and I will hurt you.”
“I’ll teleport you,” General Jones interjected.
My father said sternly, “Go with the General, CeeCee.”
“Fine.” I grabbed the murder kit from the SUV and stomped over to General Jones. “I accept your gracious offer.”
The General placed his hand on my shoulder and poof. We appeared at the crime scene.
Officer Tom Yellowhorse’s face was ashen. His partner, Yas Begay, was puking in the bushes. One look at what was left of the woman and my stomach roiled. Bloody body parts were scattered over the sand. The metallic stench of blood mixed with the putrid smell of ruptured bowls. Hundreds of flies crawled over the remains.
Jake teleported in with my Father. “Fuck.”
“Jake, I want you to do your magic with the witness while Elder Tsosie and I talk with the officers. Document the crime scene CeeCee,” the General ordered.
“Yes, sir.” I watched Jake stride over to a woman in her fifties, who was sobbing hysterically, and with one touch, she stopped crying.
The air shimmered like a rainbow around the body. I opened my psychic senses. Damn. The woman’s soul was still here. Trying not to breathe too deeply, I walked over to the woman’s ghost. She had been a pretty blonde in her thirties. “Hi, my name is CeeCee. What’s yours?”
“Kathy.” She stared blankly at her mangled body. “Am I dead?”
People could be as emotional in death as in life. “Why don’t we move over to that tree and I’ll explain what happened. Is that okay?”
She nodded.
I ushered her behind the tree and flashed her the image of the Chupacabra. “Is that the creature that attacked you?”
Horror filled Kathy eyes. “It hurt. It hurt so bad.
“Sssh. You’re safe. It can’t harm you any longer.”
“Promise?”
“Yes, I promise. Did you see where it came from?”
“It got out of an old, blue van. At first, I thought it was some guy in a costume. A shudder shook Kathy. “Then it attacked me.”
“Did you see the driver?”
“Yes. I think so. Everything’s kinda jumbled. I think it was an old Navajo woman. One minute she was there, then she wasn’t.” Anguish filled her eyes. “Why? Why did this happen to me?”
“I don’t know.”
“It’s not fair.”
“No, it isn’t, but know this, I will hunt that monster down and kill it.”
“Promise?”
“You have my word. Do you see a light?”
Kathy shook her head.
Some spirits who died violently needed help to cross over. Reaching out mentally, I connected with the esoteric plane and chanted, “Miraculin sepulcrum ibidem solus novum. Domum rotundam vivtorie construxit!”
An iridescent glow popped into existence.
“Your mother’s waiting for you.”
“She is? Where?”
“See the doorway?”
“Yes.” A big smile lit up Kathy’s face. “Mom.” She ran into the light.
I severed my link with the esoteric plane and frowned when I sensed Jake sneaking up on me. Had he seen the portal? Probably. My gaze fell on a turquoise shaman’s bracelet. Shit! That wasn’t a good sign. I quickly grabbed a pair of latex gloves out of the murder bag and pulled them on.
Jake demanded. “What are you doing?”
“Gathering evidence.” I picked up the broken turquoise bracelet and held it up for him to see. “Is that okay with you?”
Jake examined it carefully. “You think it belongs to our suspect?”
“Or another victim.” I knew the owner of the bracelet was Dezba Yazzie, a Navajo shaman and a close friend of my father. I prayed nothing had happened to her.
“My scanner registered a huge power spike and there was a bright light in the sky.” Jake cocked his head. “Any idea what caused those?”
I gave him a pitying stare. “The bright light is called the sun.”
“And the power spike?” Jake’s right eye twitched.
“Haven’t got a clue.” I put the bracelet in an evidence bag. “Get anything out of the witness?”
“No. The shuttle’s coming to pick up this body too. It might be a good idea to record the remains before they arrive,” Jake sniped.
“Yes, sir,” I said politely and had the horde of blow flies bombard Jake.
Jake swatted madly at the buzzing insects. “Is this another one of your shaman powers?”
I blinked innocently as the flies completely avoided me. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Maybe they like your stinky aftershave.” I picked up my scanner and began documenting the crime scene.
Jake followed me. “I’m not wearing any aftershave.”
“Oh. Maybe if you bathed regularly you wouldn’t have this problem.”
“You’re a real riot.”
“And you’re a jackass. Now go away.”
“You’re not what you seem to be,” Jake spat.
“What? A cop trying to do her job?”
Jake leaned down until we were nose-to-nose. “You’re hiding something, and I’m really good at discovering secrets.”
“Why don’t you use that talent to figure out what kind of alien is killing people and
