Two Wolves Dancing, page 25
“Wow. Look at her. She’s sleeping so peacefully beside Bradford,” Chelly said.
“Will you take her home for me? Mom, please go with them.” Paul moved to the bedside to lift Alina into his arms but she startled and was awake.
“Paul and Chelly will take you home.” Galilani told her daughter. “Grandmother will come too and give you a nice warm bath. You can come back tomorrow.”
Alina looked at her mother. Without speaking she turned back to her father, stroked his face, touched his eyes, his mouth his nose, as if to memorize the contours of his head. Wrapping her arms around his neck she placed her lips close to his ear. “I love you Daddy.”
Galilani’s heart raced and she struggled to keep control of her emotions. Alina slid from the bed, took Paul’s hand and said, “I’m ready.” From the doorway she looked back at her father, lying motionless in the bed. “Bye Daddy.”
Tears wet Wenona’s cheeks when she kissed Paul’s forehead and walked out of the room. Galilani hugged and kissed her daughter good-night before Paul led her out the door. When she was certain her daughter was out of earshot her control deserted her and she burst into tears. Chelly held her friend close. They didn’t speak. Galilani calmed down and told Chelly that she wanted to spend the night.
“Call me if you need me,” Chelly said and left the room to join Paul, Wenona and Alina.
The child sat in the chair with her head on Paul’s shoulder. Her eyes were wide open, no tears fell; her sorrowful look stopped Chelly in her tracks.
“Your daddy is holding steady, Alina. We will come back tomorrow. I’m sure he loved having you here.”
***
After the others left, the only sound in Bradford’s room was the ventilator. I am so tired. I feel like I’m a hundred- years-old. Galilani sat on the bed beside her husband. She took his hand and placed it on her belly. “Your baby needs you.” She placed her head next to his on the pillow, moved his hand from her belly and held it. She drifted into an exhausted sleep; the slight pressure of his hand on hers was comforting.
At two in the morning, monitors ringing, nurses appeared in the room like magic, coming from nowhere and surrounding the bed. Galilani jumped up in a haze. She stared blankly as the nurses firmly propelled her from the room.
Bradford Talliador had flat-lined.
CHAPTER 52
Marc stood in the apartment. He arrived first then called Peter Rizzuto, his new friend.
“Good morning to you, too,” Rizzuto answered. “A little early isn’t it?”
“I’m at Zakariah March’s apartment. I believe he killed Martin Talliador. You should get over here.”
Marc wanted to look through Zachariah’s papers before Rizzuto arrived and exercised his authority to take the evidence. The detective arrived a short time later, but before the two men could speak, Marc’s cell phone rang. It was Chelly. “Okay. I’ll be back as soon as I’m finished here. Thanks for calling.” He ended the call, put his cell phone away and leaned on the windowsill, shocked by the news.
“Trouble?” Rizzuto asked when Marc turned.
“You now have another homicide to hang on this guy. Bradford Talliador died from his injuries early this morning.” Marc sighed and shook his head.
“Sorry,” Rizzuto said and turned away. He leafed through page after page in the diary on the desk. “This guy really had it in for the Talliadors.”
“Sure looks that way.” Marc looked at the corkboard above the desk. There were pictures of the Talliador brothers, Galilani, her mother, Alina, Gerald, Chelly and Paul. There were other names and pictures that Marc didn’t recognize. Some bore a strong resemblance to Galilani and her mother. “What do these people have to do with the Talliadors?” Marc asked. “What about this one?” He pointed to an attractive woman whose picture, like that of the Talliador brothers, had a red line through it.
The detective looked at the picture. “That’s Stephanie Howard. A leading attorney in Austin and a member of the Golden Hunters’ Club. Like Martin and Gerald, they search for lost treasures. A pretty serious bunch too, from what I understand.
“Ms. Howard was found murdered in her house a few days ago. At first glance it looked like a random home invasion, but when we searched the place it looked like Ms. Howard had some kind of bizarre, maybe kinky other life. We found wigs and masks and all sorts of clothes locked in a closet…you just never know about people.” Rizzuto shook his head. “I get the feeling that once we read through this guy’s papers we will find them connected – at least in the mind of Zakariah March.”
Detective Rizzuto looked at Marc. “You know I have to bag all of this. While I take the board apart maybe you would like to look through the diary if you haven’t already.” Rizzuto smiled and pointed to the latex gloves covering Marc’s hands.
Marc met the younger detective’s eyes. Just like his father and he doesn’t mind working outside the box. He knows there is more to this case than I’m telling him. Marc nodded his thanks.
“When you have it wrapped up, I’ll buy you dinner and fill in some of the missing pieces. Nothing you need to know now for the investigation and nothing that will impact your conclusions.”
“You’re on. Will you stay for Bradford Talliador’s funeral?”
“If the wake and funeral take place in the next few days I will. Then back to New York, but I’ll be here in a few weeks with my wife. I’ll call you and set up a dinner date.”
Marc spotted an old fax/copy machine in the corner of the room. Rizzuto followed his gaze, turned his back and slowly took the board apart. The machine droned making copies.
***
The funeral luncheon was held at Galilani’s house. After the last guest left, Chelly and Wenona sent Galilani to her bedroom to rest while they cleaned away all remnants of food and drink. They suggested holding the luncheon at a restaurant but Galilani insisted it be held at home.
Chelly was irritated. Where are Paul, Gerald and Marc? Exasperation became annoyance. They should be in here helping us clean up. As if they read her mind, the three men appeared in the kitchen and gathered the trash and recycling bags for pickup.
“Where is the vacuum?” Paul asked. “Let’s finish up so we can sit in the living room. We must read Bradford’s will now because…”
“Is this really the right time?” Chelly snapped. She just buried her husband. Can’t this wait?”
“Chelly, there are legal matters that won’t wait.” Paul shook his head. Under his breath he muttered. “You of all people should understand.”
“It’s in the hall closet.”
Disoriented Paul asked, “What is?”
“The vacuum. What is wrong with you?”
***
Darkness descended before everyone gathered in the living room. Alina was asleep in her mother’s bed and Galilani sat on the couch leaning on her own mother for comfort. Once the terms and conditions of Bradford’s will were read Galilani told Paul to draw up the necessary papers.
“Let’s get it done. Bradford would want that,” she said.
Marc cleared his throat. “It may seem like pile on, but this is important. The police waited until the funeral was over. They will question you and there are things that you should know, things that I’ve learned.”
“What could the police want from us? What is there for us to tell them? My husband and his brother are dead. Murdered. The police should be telling us what happened, not asking us.” Galilani’s voice was hoarse from emotion.
“Do we have to do this now?” Chelly asked.
“Yes we do. It can’t wait. The fact is the police wanted to talk to all of you days ago, but I know the lead detective and I persuaded him to hold off.”
Will this nightmare ever end? Chelly whispered at Marc then moved over to the couch next to Galilani.
Marc opened a manila envelope and began. “Mrs. Whitefeather,” Marc addressed her formally. “You may be familiar with the people in these photographs.”
Wenona took the pictures and drew in a sharp breath. “These are pictures of my family.” Looking at Galilani she added, “Our ancestors. What do they have to do with any of this?”
“Zakariah March was obsessed with the legend that Antonio Tagliadoro betrayed Oukununaka, known to us as Great Eagle. He believed the tribe endured terrible hardships and deprivations because Antonio denied them their share of the gold while the Talliadors lived in wealth.” Marc knew the next part would be particularly painful.
“Zakariah became fixated on Galilani. When he found out she married a descendant of the man who murdered Oukununaka, he became enraged.” Marc paused, watching the others absorb this information.
Wenona spoke up. “Our people suffered a lot at the hands of the white settlers. Most of our histories aren’t taught and aren’t well-known. When kids today hear about Indians, they think of galloping horses, buffalo hunts and scalping or wild dancing, whooping and hollering.
“In spite of that, I don’t see how Zakariah held someone in the twenty-first century responsible for what happened over one-hundred years ago. It’s sad; it’s pathetic that he carried so much hatred.” Wenona sighed.
“It goes deeper.” Marc told them. “Zakariah had a dangerous job working in construction. He worked in demolitions. He learned his skills from his father and grandfather. At seventy, his father was badly injured setting explosives.”
“Seventy? Why was he still working with explosives at that age?” Galilani asked.
“He couldn’t afford to retire. He stopped working when he blew off two finger tips setting a charge, leading to his fingers being amputated. The old man was forced to move in with Zakariah and his family. For years he drank hard and repeated the story of Oukununaka over and over. In time his liver failed. He needed a transplant; they couldn’t afford it. Eventually, Cirrhosis turned to cancer.” Marc took a breath.
“After his father died, Zakariah found the letter from Antonio to Oukununaka telling him to come back to Texas to ‘settle matters.’ He also found the coin from the Dahlonega Mint. It belonged to Black Crow and was passed down with the stories from generation to generation. He decided that the rest of the gold should be his. More tragedy followed.
“I believe that after his wife left him and his little boy died tragically when he fell out of an apartment window, Zakariah became unhinged. He constructed an elaborate plan to find what was left of the treasure and take his revenge on the Talliadors, whom he held responsible for all his sufferings. Searching for the descendants of Antonio Tagliadoro wasn’t difficult because of the bank, and Zakariah wanted what was left of the Confederate treasure.”
The impact of the story took its toll. Marc looked at Galilani. Tears streaked her face. Wenona, a woman who normally wore her years well, looked every bit her age. Her face was pasty white; the lines etched around her mouth and eyes appeared to be deeper.
“After his little boy’s death, Zakariah left Oklahoma came to Austin and stalked Martin and Bradford. My guess is he was in Austin more than a year before he made his move. Meanwhile, he learned everything he could about Antonio Tagliadoro’s life: how he built his bank and became a powerful local entity. He pieced the story together, but now we know he had it wrong. Antonio did not kill Great Eagle.”
Galilani jumped off the couch and paced. “Damn that old Indian.”
“Galilani, don’t say that,” Wenona’s tone was a mix of fear and anger.
“Why didn’t he appear to Zakariah, or someone else in the family or in the clan? Why didn’t he tell the story earlier? How many lives might he have saved?” Galilani doubled over, wracked by sobs. “It’s my fault. My family killed Bradford. He was the love of my life. I can’t live without him.” She collapsed on the floor.
Chelly sat on the floor with her friend. “It is not your fault.”
“Mom, do you remember the first time I brought him home?”
Wenona moved to sit on the floor with the two younger women. “I remember. I saw immediately that he was the one.”
“He was my soulmate.” She looked up at Gerald. “You always said Martin told you it was love at first sight for Bradford, too.”
“Yes he did, and Martin loved you like a sister.” Gerald’s voice was thick with emotion. Galilani’s anguish didn’t leave a dry eye in the room.
“Mom, you and I talked about the family story, about Oukununaka and the story about Antonio, but you said nothing about him being responsible for Oukununaka’s disappearance.”
“There was no proof. It was a story, a legend. And I don’t believe the sins of the father should be visited on the great-great-great grandson. It was so long ago.”
“Why didn’t Great Eagle do something to stop this horror?” Galilani became infuriated.
Wenona pulled Galilani half onto her lap and stroked her head. “Oh my darling daughter, the light of my life. The ways of spirits are not understood by us.” Brushing hair off Galilani’s face, Wenona continued. “It isn’t your fault. It isn’t our family’s fault just as past events weren’t Bradford’s or his brother’s fault.”
“What good is to know things are going to happen if you can’t stop them from destroying people?”
Galilani’s words sparked Chelly’s memory. When Natasha appeared to me she told me why. There must have been a reason he waited. It doesn’t make sense. Chelly felt something was missing.
Wenona helped her daughter off the floor and guided her to her bedroom. Chelly got up slowly.
“The sixth moon. Look after the sixth moon.” The words froze her in place.
Chelly looked at the others. Sniffles and throats being cleared were the only sound in the living room. No one looked up or made eye contact. No one else heard it.
The words were whispered again from behind her: “The sixth moon. Look after the sixth moon.”
“Paul. Let’s go. I need to go home,” Chelly blurted. She grabbed her purse and the car keys.
“We can’t leave yet. They may need us.”
Chelly didn’t answer. She walked out of the house. I need to get home. She felt her husband’s eyes boring holes into her back.
CHAPTER 53
She parked the car and walked straight back to the boulder. The full moon shone brightly illuminating the man sitting cross-legged atop the enormous rock. He looks real, not at all like a spirit. That thought made her angrier.
“Why didn’t you show yourself to your brother or his children, or grandchildren or any of his descendants? Why did you wait? How many people are dead because you didn’t.” she yelled.
“How do you know I didn’t?”
“What are you saying?”
“Don’t be naïve, Chelly.” His tone was sharp. “Not everyone is capable of receiving or understanding messages from beyond; not everyone is receptive. You do not pursue communication with spirits, but when contact is made you are able to handle it. You know that. I tried to show them. They ignored the signs. They were too entrenched in their own conclusions to open their minds to other possibilities.
“When the line of your future became woven into the Talliador family through Alina, I waited. You came. I knew you would be accessible. And there is the sixth moon.”
“You keep saying that and I don’t understand.”
“Shame on you.” It was Oukununaka’s turn to be angry. “The sixth moon will shine brighter that those who came before her.”
“What is the sixth moon?” Chelly asked in exasperation.
“Wrong question. Not what, who?”
Confused, Chelly walked around in a circle. What is he talking about?
As if he read her thoughts he said again, slowly. “Not what, who?”
“Who? Who?” Chelly’s exasperation surfaced. “Are you an owl?” As soon as the question left her lips she made the connection to the white owl. He remained stone-faced; only his eyes smiled.
“Think. Who are the Five Moons?”
“The only people I’ve ever heard referred to as moons were the five great American Indian ballerinas.” She stopped talking and caught her breath. Understanding came down on her like a ton of bricks. Her mouth hung open. “Alina…?”
He smiled and nodded. “Your destiny is complex and you have a lot to learn. There are many challenges ahead of you. There will be both joy and heartbreak. You need to be strong and Alina is part of your destiny. Guide her well.”
Chelly blinked. The rock stood empty in the moonlight. Its presence strong; it held secrets of the ages.
She walked back into the house. Knowing about Alina’s path made her heart flutter with excitement and fear, but there was something else waiting for her that was as important as Alina.
CHAPTER 54
The stick lay on the tissue. The box said ‘results in 3 minutes.’ They were the longest three minutes of her life. She’d bought the test days earlier but didn’t have the courage to do it. She held her breath and looked. The plus sign was strong. Chelly’s emotions were churning as violently as her queasy stomach. If this is accurate, it’s too early for morning sickness – it must be nerves.
The door slammed. Chelly jumped. Paul was home and walking toward the bedroom with a heavy tread. She grabbed the stick and the tissue paper and threw them in the trash.
“What the hell has come over you?” he shouted, walking into the bathroom without knocking.
“I needed to get home. I heard those words again. ‘The sixth moon.’ Great Eagle was waiting on the boulder when I got here. Now I know what the words mean.”
Paul paced back and forth, running his fingers through his hair. His voice was unnaturally quiet. “Tell me. What do the words mean?”
“The sixth moon is Alina and part of my destiny is to guide her dance career.”
