Sam called back, “They’re not paying a social call.”
Jolene mumbled under her breath as she plucked the comforter from the floor. “They could be a little more respectful.”
She yanked open a nightstand drawer and pulled out a dog-eared paperback. She tossed it on the bed, no better than the cops who’d trashed the place earlier. The book had been covering a box of condoms and some... Jolene picked up the silver bottle and squinted at the blue label—intimacy lotion. Jolene dropped the bottle. Good thing she was wearing these gloves.
Whatever Melody had been up to, she’d been getting more action than Jolene had.
As she shoved the drawer back into place, it stuck. Jolene jiggled it, but the drawer wouldn’t close.
She pulled it out as far as it would go, and then stuck her arm into the drawer, her fingers wiggling toward the back and through the space at the end.
The folded edge of a piece of paper met her touch. She couldn’t fit her thumb into the gap, so she pinched the paper between the pad of her middle finger and the top of her index finger, the gloves giving her a little traction. She worked it loose and pulled it free.
“What are you doing in here? I called you three times.” Sam appeared, framed in the doorway, grasping the doorjamb on either side with gloved hands.
“Trying to get this piece of paper wedged behind the drawer.” She shook it out, and scanned a list of names, most of them crossed out. Melody’s ex’s name was on the list, conspicuously not crossed out. “Ugh, I hope I didn’t just stumble on a list of Melody’s conquests, although it must’ve been before she bagged Gabe because his name isn’t marked off—and it looks like she was into girls, too. Maybe it’s something else—AA members or something.”
“Can I see that?” A crease forming between his eyebrows, Sam launched into the room and snatched the paper from Jolene’s hand.
“No need to get grabby. I’m happy to show you the paper, Sam...”
“Shh.” He flapped the notepaper at her. “Jolene, this is a list of mules.”
Her heart skipped a few beats, and she pressed a hand against her chest. “Drug mules? What was Melody doing with this list? Her name’s not on it, is it?”
“It might as well be.” He flattened the paper on the bed and smoothed his hand across it. “These are the people whose bodies I’m looking for—this is the list of the dead.”
Chapter Fifteen
Sam stared at the familiar list of names, as Jolene gasped and dragged a pillow into her lap.
“Missing. You said they were missing persons.”
“They’re dead, Jolene. We know they’re dead.” His mouth twisted.
“Gabe Altamarino is on your list? Melody’s ex-boyfriend?”
“This list is slightly different from mine. She has names on here that aren’t crossed off, and yet they’re on my list. She has others, like Gabe that I don’t have at all.”
“What’s she doing with these names, Sam? Melody was no drug mule.” She dropped the paperback book into the drawer and slid it closed.
“She wasn’t but Gabe was, and she definitely knew what was going on at the construction site.” He backtracked to the bedroom door and picked up the item he’d dropped. “I made my own discovery. That’s why I was calling you.”
“An arrow?” Jolene’s hands curled into fists. “The same kind of arrow in the snake head Chip brought inside.”
“Looks like Melody, not Wade, was trying to warn you away from interfering.”
“But at the end, she texted me El Gringo Viejo. She must’ve had second thoughts, or was so wasted she wasn’t thinking at all.”
“Maybe once she knew I was helping you, she figured she’d drop his name.” The feathers tickled his fingers as he ran his hand along the end of the arrow. “We need to find Gabe Altamarino.”
“I always had a suspicion Melody never stopped seeing Gabe, despite Wade’s best efforts.” Jolene flicked her finger at the paper. “With his name on this list, do you think he’s in hiding? How’d he get away if he was carrying Pink Lady across the border while the others disappeared? That was over two years ago, and he certainly wasn’t in hiding when he was dating Melody.”
“I don’t know. Maybe he was one of the first, and the dealer wasn’t being as thorough at that time.” Sam lifted his shoulders. “Do you think Melody stole the map from you for the same reason? I’d feel better knowing she was the one skulking around your house.”
“I would, too, but I doubt she was the one who fixed my brakes, so someone other than Melody wants me to back off...us, wants us to back off after what happened last night.” Jolene carefully folded the sheet of paper. “I’m sticking this in my purse.”
Sam had a strong urge to snatch the paper from her again and burn it. He didn’t want Jolene to be in possession of any of this stuff. “Don’t go waving that around. Put it in your safe.”
“I can do that.”
Sam nodded at a suitcase in the closet. “As long as we’re here, you should probably go ahead and pack up some of Melody’s clothes. Maybe pick out something for her burial and make good on that lie.”
Jolene’s dark eyes sparkled with unshed tears as she nodded. “Are you going to try to find Gabe? Like I said, I think he moved to Tucson after the breakup, or the pretend breakup.”
“I’ll use the resources back at the station. I can drop you off at Granny Viv’s with Melody’s suitcase, if you want to go there.” He waved the arrow. “I’m going to toss this.”
Ten minutes later, Sam took Melody’s suitcase from Jolene and carried it down the stairs. He stashed it in the trunk of his car and they drove to the reservation.
He pulled up beside the Nighthawks’ shiny Tesla and cut the engine. “I’ll help you with the suitcase, but I’m not
