Page 8 of Close

“Any signs of struggle at the scene?”she asked, keeping pace with Nez.

“Hard to tell.Ground’s disturbed, but could be animals.”Nez glanced back at her.“There’s equipment too.Camera stuff, looks expensive.”

“Tourist then, most likely,” Tsosie said.

“Maybe,” Nez conceded.“But tourists usually stick to the trails, especially after what the guides tell them.”

“Which is what?”Kari asked.

Nez shrugged.“The usual.Stay on marked paths.Respect sacred sites.Don’t wander around at night.”

Nez stopped abruptly, pointing to a rock formation ahead.“The body’s just beyond there.I’ve marked the approach with yellow tape.”He hesitated, seeming reluctant to go further.“You might want to… prepare yourselves.”

Tsosie nodded his understanding.“We’ll take it from here.”

Nez seemed relieved.“I’ll be back at the vehicles.Radio if you need anything.”He turned to go, then stopped.“One more thing.Whatever did this… I don’t think it was human.”He opened his mouth to say more, then thought better of it.He headed back down the trail, leaving Kari and Tsosie behind.

The two detectives continued forward, following the yellow crime scene tape that marked the path.The terrain grew more rugged, the rock formations casting long shadows across their path.In the distance, the distinctive spire of Spider Rock rose from the canyon floor like a watchtower.

“You know the legends about this place?”Tsosie asked unexpectedly as they walked.

“Some,” Kari admitted.“My grandmother used to tell me Spider Woman lived on top of Spider Rock.That she would catch disobedient children and take them to her home on the summit.”

Tsosie nodded.“The old ones say she taught the Diné to weave.But there are older stories too.About what was here before.”

“Before Spider Woman?”

“Before everything.”Tsosie’s voice had dropped.“Stories my grandfather wouldn’t tell near nightfall.”

The conversation settled into silence as they rounded the final bend.The yellow tape formed a perimeter around a small clearing between two large boulders.A high-end camera tripod stood tilted to one side, its owner nowhere in sight.

“Ready?”Tsosie asked, snapping on a pair of latex gloves.

Kari nodded, doing the same.Together, they approached the edge of the taped perimeter, carefully scanning the ground for evidence.At first, all Kari could see was the abandoned equipment—a camera bag, a water bottle, what looked like a light meter.

Then Tsosie stopped suddenly, his body going rigid.

“Shit,” he breathed, the word barely audible.

Kari followed his gaze to the shadow between the boulders and felt her breath catch in her throat.Officer Nez’s warning—“like nothing I’ve seen before”—suddenly seemed grossly inadequate for what lay before them.

CHAPTER THREE

The first thing Kari noticed was the blood.

It had soaked into the red sandstone, darkening it to a deep burgundy that an untrained eye might have mistaken for a natural mineral variation.But Kari had worked homicide for five years in Phoenix.She knew better.

“Close the perimeter to fifty feet,” she said, her voice automatically shifting to the measured tone she used at crime scenes.“And call for the ME.”

Tsosie nodded, already reaching for his radio.

Kari approached the body carefully, stepping where Nez’s footprints had already disturbed the ground.Detail by detail, she took in the scene, compartmentalizing her reactions like she’d been trained to do.

The victim lay between two large sandstone boulders, partially shaded from the rising sun.Male, Caucasian, mid-forties to early fifties, wearing hiking clothes—khaki pants, sturdy boots, a lightweight long-sleeved shirt now torn and soaked with blood.His body had been arranged in a very specific position.

“He’s facing east,” Tsosie said quietly as he joined her.

Kari nodded.The body lay on its back, arms at its sides, palms up.The head had been turned to face the rising sun.It would have looked peaceful if not for the violence evident across the rest of the corpse.

---