CH. 6 Secrets Of The Night
Leland Stottlemeyer and Randy Disher were having snoring wars, almost like "Dueling Banjos" but not quite as musical. Adrian had somehow managed to find fits of sleep through the concert. It was the next fit of sleep that was disturbed again, but not by the two bears across the room. A hand clamped over his mouth while at the same time the feel of very cold steel met his throat. Adrian didn't make a sound but turned his eyes to see Daniel kneeling next to him. When Daniel knew Adrian recognized him through his grogginess, he removed the threat and his hand. He stood, quietly and motioned for him to follow. Adrian swung his legs over his cot and gave a look to Stottlemeyer and Randy. Daniel nodded consent as Adrian pulled his socks and boots on. He then grabbed his coat and woke Leland and Randy from their sound sleep.
"Daniel wants us to follow him," Adrian whispered. Slowly the two detectives pulled themselves awake, clothed, and met Daniel and Adrian outside. Daniel then led the way out of the camp. The moon was full, making seeing where they were going fairly easy. It was knowing where they were going that bothered the three detectives. After about an hour of maneuvering across the scrublands and avoiding various low hanging branches from Joshua trees, they finally reached Daniel's destination. He laid his body against the ground and peeked over a ledge. Leland and Randy joined him, but Adrian, as usual, balked at the idea of coming into close intimate contact with nature, especially dirt. Daniel kept waving Adrian over, but Stottlemeyer had to explain.
"Daniel, he doesn't handle dirt well." He glanced back at his friend in sympathy. "It's one of the dark clouds inside him," he said in hushed tones. Daniel looked at the dirt in front of his face, then looked back to Adrian. He understood fear.
In the Navajo belief system, when one left the Tribal society and joined white man's society, memories and touch were inherited. The past was not to be held onto, especially the dead. But often, when young people from the tribe joined society, especially when joining the military, they were bombarded with death and negative energy. They often had to be counseled when returning home, and helped to be cleansed through prayer, so they could carry on in the tribe again and move forward with their lives.
Daniel gave Adrian a nod of understanding. Stottlemeyer relayed to Adrian what he could just make out in the moonlight below them, where Daniel was pointing. Adrian made sure he wasn't too close to the edge, not only due to his fear of heights but also because he didn't want to be seen by whoever or whatever the group was observing below. He elected to squat on the balls of his feet.
"It looks like people are appearing and disappearing down there," Leland said quietly.
"What do you mean?" Adrian needed clarification.
Randy's eyes were a little better than his Captain's and made an educated guess. "It looks like a cave."
"A Cave?" Adrian's curiosity was overriding his fear of dirt now and he moved in next to Stottlemeyer and crouched down. He still couldn't see, so with a quiet groan, he lowered himself to his belly and peeked over the edge. "You're right, Randy."
"I am? I mean, yeah, right. I knew it." He grinned big enough for the moon to glint off his teeth.
"Can we come back tomorrow?" Adrian asked Daniel. "Take a look from a different vantage point?" Daniel nodded. The four men backed away from the precipice before getting to their feet and returned to the camp. Adrian knew in the moonlight there was no way to really determine what was going on or who was there. He was glad Daniel showed them there was something going on though. This was a clue to what may have happened to his tribe, of that, he was sure.
Adrian never went back to sleep. Instead, he sat at a picnic table where he assumed the community took their meals, head in his hands, waiting for the sun to rise, while Stottlemeyer and Randy resumed their snore-fest in the Hogan. Adrian's mind switched between Natalie and the case before him. Somehow, this whole excursion and Natalie were connected. Eventually he'd see it. But not now. Ben came up to him silently and gave him a hearty pat on the back. Adrian nearly jumped from the bench.
"Stealthy," he commented to Ben, unamused by the sneak attack.
Ben grinned at Adrian. "You'll learn much, the longer you stay."
"I could use the sneak factor in my line of work."
"So why does sleep keep itself from you?"
"I don't know, maybe it has something to do with trying to solve this case."
"Maybe it has something to do with fear," Ben ventured as he sat himself across from Adrian. Adrian looked at him. He was tired of fear and tired of hearing about it. He thought he was over fear, but the fact that he obsessed over losing Natalie and obsessed over so many other things that were really inaccurate perceptions on his part, made him wince.
"You need rest Adrian."
"Well, if you can tell me where to find rest, I'll go there." Adrian shifted his shoulders. Rest sounded so good. Rest was something he really longed for, but it was something that kept eluding him.
"An old father of the white man's faith said, "'Rest is the repose of a heart set deep in God'." He looked intently at Adrian who was contemplating the grain of the wood picnic table in the ever-encroaching dawn. He felt Ben's gaze and met it.
"The Great Creator," Adrian said.
"One and the same."
"Who said it?"
"Drummond."
Adrian nodded, vaguely knowing the name. He'd run across it in some of Trudy's dairy entries. She would often quote the Bible and some of the greats of the Christian faith to bring her thoughts into clarity or illustrate her feelings. She even wrote some of her poems about God. He loved reading her poetry and loved listening to her recite it to him. Now he regretted never probing deeper into her feelings behind some of that writing. He felt he may have missed something. "So how do you know this quote so well?" Adrian asked.
"My father taught it to me when I was little. He felt it very important that I get it into my spirit. It has helped me through many trials." Adrian looked at him with still another question in his eyes and Ben read it. He continued. "My father was sent to the Sherman Indian School in California, back when he was a child. Some came out bitter people, but my father; he was wise even at that young age. He chose to make the best of it and only take away what was good."
"I read about that school. I'm sorry for how your people were treated," Adrian apologized humbly.
"Like I said, there was good in it. The bad we leave behind. If we don't, it stays with us like a dark cloud."
"I don't know how to find rest."
"The longer you stay,"
"The more I will learn," Adrian finished.
"Just trust the Great Creator. Keep your eyes open."
"My wife Trudy told me that once; to trust God."
"Maybe it's time. You are not here by accident. And maybe it's time to let go of the past."
'How much more confirmation did he need? He kept hearing everyone around him say it. Why wouldn't he listen? Especially to Trudy?' He thought to himself.
Ben stood and motioned to the rising sun. "Come and eat, the grandmothers have breakfast ready, I'll get your friends up. Everyone needs to see the sun rise." He smiled big, indicating he would enjoy waking Randy and Stottlemeyer.
Adrian smiled back, wanting more than anything, the peace and rest that Ben and his father seemed to have, even though there was some strange attack going on in the clan. He thought of Daniel. He shared the dark cloud Adrian carried. Maybe they could help each other. At the very least, Adrian wanted to help Daniel, even if he couldn't help himself. Adrian glanced back at the Hogan and saw Ben go in, cloaked in a bear- skin. Adrian couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of what was coming. He stood up and leaned on the table, waiting. Suddenly screams from grown men erupted in the Hogan, followed by Randy and Stottlemeyer emerging frantically from the building in their skivvies. Before they knew it, they were in the middle of the camp with the eyes of the grandmothers, Daniel, Ben, Thomas and Adrian on them. They all began to laugh at the two frightened men before them. Adrian laughed the hardest. He let it out with all his being. It was really funny to him. Stottlemeyer and Randy looked around, sheepishly, seeing Ben pull the bearskin off. They quickly and quietly walked back to the Hogan to dress for the day and try to get past the embarrassment of the moment.
Adrian turned to Ben with a big grin as he approached. "Thanks!"
"Laughter is good medicine," Ben shrugged. He clapped his hand on Adrian's shoulder and directed him to the food. "Eat, you'll need your strength."
An elderly woman handed Adrian a plate of vegetables, meat, and frybread. He took it gladly with a smile and headed back to the table to wait for his friends. Daniel and Ben joined him and finally Stottlemeyer and Randy. Leland came up to Adrian with a firm slap on the back right as he put a spoonful of food in his mouth. The food shot out back onto his plate. Payback for the laughter.
"Morning Leland," Adrian said wiping his mouth. He scooped up another spoonful and as he put it to his mouth, Randy repeated the greeting. At this rate, Adrian was going to go without his meal. "Randy," he greeted.
"Good morning, Adrian!" his friend answered with sarcasm and humor.
"Look guys, it wasn't my idea," he tried to explain. Ben snickered. Adrian looked at his Captain, whose eyebrows were raised in suspicion and Randy, whose expression declared he didn't believe a word of it. Adrian glared at Ben now. Ben shrugged again.
"Thanks," Adrian said again. He watched Randy and Leland walk to the grandmothers to get their plates and ate as much as possible, as neatly as possible before they returned. The boys walked back with full plates, sat down at the table.
"So where are we going today, Adrian?" Leland quizzed, seriously, as he shoveled his breakfast into his mouth.
Adrian squirmed a little adjusting another kink out of his neck and looked at Daniel. "Well, I think we need to find a safe vantage point to that cave. Maybe across the canyon. Find a way down there."
"Daniel knows this land like the back of his hand. I taught him," Ben spoke up proudly, grabbing the back of Daniel's neck and roughing the boy up in fun. Daniel allowed a smile to cross his lips, which made Adrian smile.
He rose from the table and returned his plate to the women with a nod of thanks. A thought crossed his mind. A shower would be nice. He returned to the table. "Ben, where can I get a shower?"
Ben smiled. "Here, the women bathe the men," he teased. Adrian looked at him, horrified. "Has your woman never bathed you?"
"N, n, no," he sputtered.
"How badly do you want a shower?" Stottlemeyer and Randy were enjoying the teasing at Adrian's expense.
"Okay, well, thanks. Come on guys, let's get going," Adrian said, trying to keep shock from settling into him. He staggered slightly toward the Hogan to retrieve his things, not sure what would be worse. The slow death of not being able to take a shower for God knew how long, or the even slower death of humiliation by being bathed by a woman. He vowed to find a small body of water. Maybe that scenario wouldn't kill him, unless he was bitten by a Water Moccasin. Which in that case, at least he wouldn't die with of embarrassment.