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Of course.The reliable reservation intelligence network, faster than any police database.

“Thanks,” she said, taking the coffee.It was still hot, which meant he’d gotten it recently.Had he timed it for her arrival?The thought created a strange flutter of confusion.Three weeks of professional distance, and now coffee?

“You’ve met our FBI visitor,” Tsosie said, nodding toward the hallway where Daniels was now on his phone.

“We’ve known each other since I was a kid,” Kari said, settling into her chair.

Tsosie’s expression remained carefully neutral.“Will his having been your father’s partner complicate things?”

“I can do my job.”She took a long sip of coffee.“What did I miss?”

“Verified Natoni’s alibi, like I said.”Tsosie slid a folder across to her.“Credit card was used at a gas station in Scottsdale at 11:42 PM the night Harrington was killed.Security footage confirms it was him.”

Kari reviewed the grainy image from the gas station camera.It showed Natoni pumping gas, his features clear enough for identification.

“Scottsdale’s a three-hour drive from Canyon de Chelly,” she said, thinking aloud.“So even if he drove straight back after getting gas, he couldn’t have reached the canyon before 2:30 or 3 AM.”

“And the ME now puts time of death between 11 PM and 1 AM,” Tsosie said.“Makes him an unlikely suspect, especially when added to the multiple witnesses who saw him at the ceremony preparations until midnight.”

Kari nodded.Natoni remained a person of interest, but no longer their prime suspect.“What else?”

“Dr.Hatathli completed the full autopsy.”Tsosie opened another folder.“Confirmed cause of death as cervical fracture, but noted something unusual about the force required.Said it would take exceptional strength to snap the neck so completely—described it as ‘beyond typical human capability.’”

“Meaning what?Our killer is a bodybuilder?Military trained?”

“Or extremely angry,” Tsosie said.“Adrenaline can produce remarkable strength.”

Kari remembered Natoni’s words about the ceremonial arrangement:To protect everything else from what killed him.She hesitated, then shared what Ruth had told her about the herbs and positioning.

“My grandmother said the same thing as Natoni.That the arrangement wasn’t right—like someone trying to contain something dangerous, but doing it incorrectly.Mixing up elements from different ceremonies.”

Tsosie looked surprised, then thoughtful.“Your grandmother would know.She’s respected for her knowledge of the old ways.”

The absence of skepticism in his response was refreshing.In Phoenix, mentioning her grandmother’s spiritual insights would have earned eye rolls at best.

“What do you make of it?”she asked.

“That our killer knows enough about Navajo ceremonies to attempt one, but not enough to do it correctly.”Tsosie leaned forward.“That narrows our suspect pool considerably.”

“Someone with academic knowledge rather than lived knowledge,” Kari suggested.

“Exactly.Someone who’s studied our ways but doesn’t practice them.An academic, maybe, or just someone who’s read a few books.”

“What about an anthropologist?Or a professor studying Southwest cultures?”

“Someone like those academics at the Museum of Northern Arizona,” Tsosie said, warming to the idea.“They’re always documenting ceremonies without fully understanding them.”

Kari frowned.“My father works there, but he wouldn’t—” She stopped herself, realizing Tsosie hadn’t been implying her father was the killer.“Sorry.Defensive reflex.”

“I didn’t mean your father specifically,” Tsosie clarified, looking slightly uncomfortable.“Just that type of academic approach to sacred knowledge.”

Kari nodded, embarrassed by her quick assumption.“I’m meeting with him this morning to see if he might have insights into what the professor was looking for.”

“What time?”

She hesitated.“I’m not sure yet.”

“You haven’t reached out to him, have you?”

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