Shadow Bones (8 page)

Skye smiled. “I might have some thread in the truck,” she said. It might help them all pass the time. “I'll get it.” She went to the truck and got her basket of materials from behind the truck seat.

By the time she got back inside, Jake had disappeared.

Becca saw her quick glance. “Jake went back to see Wynne. They wheeled her by on the way to surgery, and you know Jake. He insisted on accompanying her so he could talk to her. Wynne looked too out of it to be much help in explaining anything.” Her frown was troubled. “The doctor says she'll be fine though.”

A flood of relief washed over Skye. “Thank God.”

“Amen,” Becca said. She smiled at Skye. “Are you going to teach us all how to make a dreamcatcher?”

“Sure, if you want to learn.” She set her small basket on the coffee table in front of an empty sofa. Molly crowded beside her on the sofa while Becca got on the other side.

Skye explained the knots. “Tell us about dreamcatchers,” Molly demanded.

“You've already heard the story.” Skye smiled at the child's eagerness.

“Tell me again. Becca doesn't know about them. I tried to tell her but I forgot part of it.”

Skye smiled. “The Spider Women, Asibikaashi, built dreamcatchers over the heads of children to catch the good dreams in the night. When the Ojibwa Nation dispersed to the four corners of North America, to fill a prophecy, Asibikaashi had a difficult time making her journey to all those cradle boards, so the mothers, sisters and grandmothers took up the practice of weaving the magical webs for the new babies. We traditionally use willow hoops and sinew made from plants.”

“Why is it in a circle?” Molly wanted to know.

“The circle represents how
giizis,
the sun, travels each day across the sky. The dreamcatcher will filter out all the bad
bawedjigewin,
or dreams, and allow only good thoughts to enter into our minds.”

“And all the circles?” Becca asked.

“As the dreams travel through the web, good dreams are permitted to pass through and flow to the feather's tip, to the owner of the web. Bad dreams become so lost among the maze that when the morning sun comes up, still lost in the web, they are destroyed by the strongest of the early morning light.”

Molly was practically bouncing with excitement. “I want one for over my bed.”

“And you shall have one. This one will be yours,” Skye promised. “But you know it is only a legend. Jesus keeps us safe. Bad dreams can't harm us.”

“I know.” Molly nodded.

Jake came back looking disgruntled as Skye finished the legend. “She doesn't remember anything else.”

“I tried to tell you.” Becca stood and went to the coffee station. She handed her brother a cup. “Sit down. It's going to be at least a couple of hours, the doctor said.”

He accepted the cup. His gaze collided with Skye's, and she wished she could ease the frustrated fear she saw in his face. She smiled, and his face cleared. He joined her on the sofa. “That's a pretty pattern,” he said.

Skye had been continuing her dreamcatcher knots without even noticing she was working. “Thanks.”

The sheriff's cell phone rang. He answered it and listened for a few moments then clicked it off. He looked at Skye. “You'd better get home, Skye. Your mamma called and someone broke into your shop. There's been quite a bit of destruction.”

T
he front door of The Sleeping Turtle hung ajar. Bits of shattered glass crunched beneath Skye's sneakers as she entered the shop. She felt as though someone had rifled through her journal or her private desk, and the violation made her feel physically sick. Jake's fingers pressing reassuringly against her arm was the only thing that kept her moving forward through the vandalism.

For wanton vandalism was what it surely was. There was a viciousness in the way her dreamcatchers had been ripped apart. Bundles of herbs looked as though they had been stomped on with deliberate and destructive glee. Glass lay smashed and papers from their files were tossed around like confetti.

“Who would do this?” Skye whispered. “Does someone hate me that much?”

“I know it looks bad, Skye,” Sheriff Mitchell said. “But it was likely just kids having a spree.”

“You can say that after the way she was attacked?”
Jake's voice rose, and he shot the sheriff a look of incredulity.

The sheriff raised his eyebrows. “I doubt it's related. We've seen this sort of thing before. School is almost out for the summer, and we often see kids vandalizing store windows and cars.”

“This goes beyond mere vandalism.”

Skye could hear the anger rising in Jake's voice. She managed a smile and pressed his hand. “It's okay, maybe he's right, Jake. Everything isn't necessarily connected.”

The skeptical look he gave her proclaimed his opinion on the matter, but he didn't say anything. “Can I clean it up?” she asked the sheriff.

“Let me check it out first. You can clean it up tomorrow.”

Meaning he didn't intend to look very hard. Skye suppressed a sigh. Maybe she and Jake could find some clues in the mess. Glancing at her watch, she nodded briskly. Jake needed to be back at the hospital when Wynne came out of surgery. Besides, if she stayed here, she was likely to throttle the sheriff and land in jail herself.

Her mother came rushing in the door. Peter followed her. Skye turned with a glad cry. “Mother!” She felt like a little girl who wanted her mommy to kiss the boo-boos and make it all better.

Her mother rushed to Skye and hugged her. “Oh, Skye, I'm so sorry. Look at this mess.” She sounded near tears.

“I know.” Skye tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but it kept bounding back. “All our work. This will take months to replace.”

“Oh honey, I wish I could fix it,” Peter said. He put a meaty arm around each woman.

Skye felt her burden ease with her stepfather's appearance. He would move heaven and earth to get them the supplies necessary to replace what had been destroyed. She could always count on him, unlike her real father. A fierce longing for her father swept over her at the thought, which made no sense. Peter had always been here for her.

She returned his hug with more enthusiasm than usual. He did so much, and she hardly ever thanked him for it.

“We'll see about getting you a loan to get back on your feet,” he said. “Minimal interest, too.”

“Thanks, Peter, but I don't think I'll need it. Surely insurance will cover it.”

“That's true,” he conceded. “I just want to do something to help.”

“Just being here for me helps in ways you can't imagine,” she said.

He patted her shoulder. “I'm glad.” He turned and saw Jake wandering through the rubble. “What's he doing here?” he whispered. “Have you been seeing him?”

“He was with me when I heard the news and came along to see if he could help out. We both seem to be targets lately.”

“I doubt it's related, though, unless someone is trying to warn you to stay away from him.”

“It looks more like it might be the other way around. Someone attacked me in the mine. The rocks were probably from the same person.”

Her mother chewed on her lip. “I'm worried, Skye. Maybe you should go stay with your aunt Margaret on the mainland for a while. It will take weeks for the insurance to release the money to repair the damage here. You could spend the time looking through stores to replace stock, go on a buying trip to New York, maybe.”

What her mother said made sense, but Skye shook her head. “I'm not running away. I want to find out who's doing this and why. None of it makes sense.” A thought occurred to her and she glanced up at Peter. “You said you would be willing to give me a loan. Maybe I'll take you up on that.”

She couldn't tell him what she would use it for just yet. A smile played at the corners of her lips.

“You look like you're up to something,” her mother said.

“I'm just excited about the future. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise,” Skye said, gaining control of her features.

She wanted to rush her mother and Peter out of the shop and call James. He would be thrilled at her idea.

He would be the only one in approval.

She brushed away the thought like a worrisome black fly. She knew it would work, too. James and Michael would make sure it worked. They were driven to turn
the mine around. They'd throw everything they had into the plan.

“There's not much we can do here now,” Skye said. “I'd better take Jake back to the hospital.”

Jake was near enough to overhear. He glanced at his watch in agreement. “Wynne should be out of surgery within another half an hour or so. I'd probably better get back.” He nodded to Skye's mother and stepfather. “I'm sorry about this.”

“Thanks for being such a good friend to our Skye,” her mother said. “You'll have to come to dinner one night. We like to get to know her friends.”

Surprise rippled across his face, and he flushed. “We've been trying to help one another out. I'm afraid I'll be too busy with the dig to make any social engagements.”

Skye thought the comment was meant to make it clear they were allies only, not friends, and certainly nothing more. She wanted to crawl under the counter. What must Jake think? He surely assumed her mother's comment meant Skye had told her mother things about their relationship that weren't true. No wonder Jake looked embarrassed.

“Let's go, Jake,” she said with as much brusqueness as she could manage. She would have to show him their relationship was strictly as associates with no personal stakes involved.

Jake nodded distantly and went to the door. His face was a stiff mask, and his jaw was tight. Skye wanted to cry or scream, she wasn't sure which. She hugged her mother and Peter and followed Jake out the door.

The silence as they drove back to the hospital was unnerving. Skye couldn't stand more than five minutes of it. “Look, I know how my mother's comment sounded, but believe me, I've given her no reason to think we have a relationship.”

Jake didn't reply for a few long moments. Skye held her breath, wondering if she'd gone too far by bringing things into the open.

“I'm sorry I was curt with her,” he said. “And you're a nice girl, Skye, but I move around too much to even think of getting into a relationship. I tried it once and that was enough.”

“What happened?” The words were out before she could snatch them back.

“I'd rather not talk about it.”

She'd been nicely slapped back into place. Skye bit her lip. “Okay. Sorry.”

He gave a heavy sigh. “No, I'm sorry. It's not something I like to remember. I dated a research student for a summer. I thought she would want to join the team on a permanent basis and travel the world with me. She informed me she wanted me to join the professor pool at the university in her hometown. She had the house all picked out near the campus.”

“I'm sorry.” Now more than ever, Skye could see there would never be a future for her with this man. She couldn't imagine leaving Eagle Island. It was as much a part of her as the color of her hair and the gray flecks in her dark eyes. Leaving here would be like ripping out a part of who she was.

“I was, too, for a while.” He grimaced. “It was for the best. I'm the rambling kind of guy. Maybe I always will be.”

At least he was warning her of the truth. That fact proved to her he felt some kind of attraction for her. It was a small crumb of comfort. “I could never leave here,” she admitted. “So it's just as well we had this little talk.”

She felt a small thrill of satisfaction when she saw the disappointment on his face. He'd evidently told her to see her reaction. Had he hoped she'd say she had always wanted to see the world? Some women would, she knew. Most of the women on the island complained about the small world the island offered and dreamed of far-flung, exotic locales.

She stopped the truck in front of the hospital. “I hope Wynne is okay.”

“You're not coming in?”

She shook her head. “I need to run out to the mine before the second shift men leave. There's something I need to discuss with Pop.”

“Why am I afraid?” He grinned. “You've got an expression that says something is brewing in that smart head of yours.”

“Maybe.” She found herself smiling back at him. Their little talk had cleared the air between them. Maybe they would now be free to be real friends. Though the thought should have made her happy, she found a trace of depression creeping in. She'd hoped for more, though she hadn't admitted it to herself.

“What are you up to?”

“I'm not telling yet. I need to see if it's a possibility. This day could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.”

He shook his head. “You're nuts.”

“Maybe. We'll see.” Giving a little salute with her fingers, she drove off and left him standing on the sidewalk. She looked in the rearview mirror and saw him wave as he headed toward the door.

 

She called James's house and his wife told Skye he was at the mine. She drove the ten miles out to the mine and parked beside James's car, then went inside.

James's feet sat atop a stack of papers on his desk, and he leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head. He saw her and sat up so sharply, he knocked the stack of papers over. “What are you doing here?”

“I might ask you the same thing, Pop. You work too hard. Though you don't look too busy at the moment.” Quickly she explained what had happened to her shop.

“Why are you looking so excited? I would have expected you to be upset.” He eyed her suspiciously.

“I was, at first. Then Peter offered me a loan.” She gave him a slow smile and winked.

His jaw slackened, and his mouth fell open. “Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?”

“Yep. The insurance money will cover replacing the store stock. Peter didn't say what I had to use the loan money for.”

“The Mitchell tube,” they said in unison.

James leaped from his chair and tossed her a high-
five. “You're brilliant! You realize he's going to be mad when he finds out you are opening the Mitchell tube?”

“I know, Pop.” She sobered. “That's the only thing about the plan I hate. Peter has been so good to me and Mother. He's just so stubborn on this subject. I know the tube badly needs to be shored up, but I think we can make it safer. And it won't take long to find out if we're right and the diamonds are there. If they are, we'll have no trouble convincing an investor to give us enough money to explore it properly.”

“I like the way your mind works.” James's face was flushed and his smile lit the room. “When can we get the money?”

“Peter talked like he could run it through right away because the insurance would take so long.”

“What about the store?”

“I'm okay to let it ride until the insurance money comes through. The things that will take the longest to replace are the dreamcatchers, and I have to make them myself, so they'll take months anyway. This will work.”

“I know it will.” He grabbed her hands, and they did a jig around the office floor. “I was beginning to think you were losing heart, Skye.”

“I was. But not any longer. We're going to do this, Pop.”

“I need to order the supplies.” He suddenly looked worried. “I hope Peter doesn't blame me.”

“I'll make sure he knows it was all my doing,” she promised.

“What about your mother? The mine belongs to her.”

“And she trusts me with the running of it.”

“What if she puts her foot down when she sees what we're doing and tells you to shut it down?”

“I think I can talk her out of it. She doesn't totally let Peter rule the roost at home. Remember how she let the paleontologists start digging over his objections? If she knows how much it means to me, she'll agree to let me try. It's not like we're doing a full extraction.”

“No, this is just enough to see if a full one is feasible,” he agreed. “But we both believe in it, Skye.”

“I know those diamonds are there,” she said. “Now we just have to find them.”