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Emma hesitated.“My grandmother would say there are places where the boundaries are thin.Where the physical world and the spiritual one overlap.”She looked uncomfortable.“I know how that sounds to someone with scientific training.I have that training too.But I was raised to understand that some knowledge isn’t meant to be documented or studied from the outside.”

Kari recognized the worldview—the same one her own grandmother espoused, that she herself had been raised with during those weekend visits to the reservation.“The formation Dr.Harrington wanted to photograph—what makes it sacred?”

“It’s associated with very old stories,” Emma said carefully.“Emergence stories, but not the common ones taught to tourists.Darker ones, about what existed before humans.About beings that still exist in the in-between places.”She shook her head.“Natoni takes these traditions seriously.That’s why he refused.”

“Do you think Dr.Harrington went to that location anyway, without a guide?”

“Definitely,” Emma said without hesitation.“He had the GPS coordinates.He showed me on his maps exactly where he planned to set up his equipment for the moonlight shots.”Her voice caught.“He said it would be the centerpiece of his exhibition.”

“When did you last speak with him?”Kari asked.

“Last Thursday.He came to the lab to review some samples we’d been analyzing.”Emma paused.“He seemed… I don’t know, more intense than usual.Said something about this project potentially changing our understanding of the region’s geological timeline.”

“Did he mention anyone else who might have been interested in his research?Other academics, local experts?”

Emma thought for a moment.“He’d been corresponding with someone from the Museum of Northern Arizona about incorporating some of his findings into an upcoming exhibition there.And he mentioned interviewing some elders about local knowledge of the formations, though I got the impression those conversations hadn’t gone well.”

“Anyone specific?”Kari pressed.

“No names that I recall,” Emma said.“But Dr.Harrington kept detailed field notes.Everything would be in his office or on his laptop.”

“I’ll need to look at those,” Kari said.“Can you show me his office?”

***

Harrington’s office was exactly what Kari would have expected from an academic with dual passions—one wall lined with geology textbooks and journals, another covered with framed photographs of spectacular rock formations.His desk was cluttered but organized, with stacks of papers weighted down by rock specimens serving as paperweights.

“His laptop would be the main source,” Emma said, pointing to an empty space on the desk.“He always took it with him on field trips.But he kept backup files on the external hard drive in that drawer, and paper notes in these folders.”

Kari began a methodical search, starting with the folders Emma had indicated.They contained meticulous notes on the oxidation patterns Harrington had been studying, along with maps marked with the locations of similar formations across the Southwest.One folder, labeled “Canyon de Chelly—Moonlight Study,” caught her attention.

Inside were detailed topographical maps with GPS coordinates marked in red, photographs of the area taken during previous visits, and notes on the best times to capture the moonlight on the rock surfaces.But what really stood out were the copies of emails between Harrington and various officials requesting special permission to access restricted areas of the canyon.

“He was determined to get to this specific formation,” Kari murmured.

“Almost obsessively,” Emma agreed.“Especially in the last month or so.”

At the back of the folder, Kari found a handwritten account of Harrington’s argument with Natoni Begay.The professor’s frustration was evident in his aggressive pen strokes:

“Guide refused access despite approved research permit.Claims site is ‘not for outsiders’ especially during what he called ‘Náhásdzáán Yee Adees’eelígíí’ (apparently translates to ‘The Walking Earth’).Superstitious nonsense about boundaries ‘thinning’ during the full moon.Tried to explain the scientific significance but met with stubborn refusal.Will proceed with alternative arrangements.”

Below this, Harrington had added a note:“Spoke with ranger station.No overnight permits without certified guide.May need to work around official channels.Too important to delay another lunar cycle.”

“He was planning to go without permission,” Kari said, looking up at Emma.

The graduate assistant nodded unhappily.“I was afraid of that.Dr.Harrington didn’t always… respect boundaries.”

Kari continued searching, finding more notes about the specific formation—Yé’iitsoh Bitsilí or “Monster’s Hand,” according to Harrington’s translation.His scientific interest seemed focused on unusual blue-black veins of manganese oxide in the sandstone, which he believed indicated a previously undocumented geochemical process.

As she was about to close the folder, a business card fell out.It was for the Museum of Northern Arizona, with a name circled: Dr.James Blackhorse, Anthropological Research Division.

Kari froze, staring at the card.James Blackhorse.Jim.Her father.

“Is something wrong?”Emma asked, noticing her reaction.

“No,” Kari said automatically, tucking the card into her pocket.“Just another lead to follow up on.”She closed the folder.“I’ll need to take these materials as evidence.”

Emma nodded.“Of course.Do you need help gathering everything?”

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