Trace Evidence

He’d never felt a real connection to Cherokee Corners, except for that of his family. Even with them he felt a distance.

They were all into their own lives, with families and loved ones and they all worked at the Cherokee Cultural Center in their spare time, a place Clay hadn’t been to since he was thirteen.

It had been that fact that he and his mother had fought about the day before she’d disappeared. At the end of the summer, the cultural center always held a huge celebration where the entire town was invited. Rita had told him she wanted him to be a part of the ceremonies, that it was past time he took his place as a member of the Cherokee nation.

He had responded angrily with words that now he wished desperately he could take back.

By the time he reached the café his mood had turned darker than usual. It was just after four and he knew there wouldn’t be much of a crowd in the café. It was too late for the lunch bunch and too early for the dinner crowd.

That was fine with him. All he wanted was a booth to himself, a good hot meal and a moment of peace to enjoy it.

“Ah, if it isn’t my favorite CSI hunk,” Ruby greeted him as he walked through the door. Ruby Majors was a big woman with a bleached blond bouffant that spoke of a different era.

“Hey, Ruby. What’s good today?” he asked as he stopped by the register where she was seated.

“Randy’s having a creative day. I’d stay away from the chicken surprise and the meat loaf medley. Anything else on the menu is great.”

“Thanks for the heads-up. I’m just going to grab a booth in the back.”

“Your cousin Alyssa is back there with that painter woman,” Ruby said.

Tamara Greystone. He hesitated, unsure whether to go forward or just take a seat at the counter where he knew he would eat in solitude.

The decision was taken out of his hand. Alyssa spied him and stood up and waved. He loved his cousin, who he believed was the only person in town who had a soul more tortured than his own.

Even though he wasn’t in the mood to socialize, he drew a deep breath and ambled toward the booth where Alyssa and Tamara were having lunch.

“Clay.” Alyssa rose and gave him a hug. “Please, join us.” She sat back down and scooted over to give him room next to her.

“I was just going to grab something quick, then get back to work.” He turned his attention to Tamara. “Hello, Tamara. Have you spoken with Officer Rogers today?” He slid into the booth next to Alyssa.

“No, should I have?”

She looked as pretty today as she had the night before. Today she was clad in a sleeveless yellow dress that set off the bronze tones of her skin and made her hair look like a black curtain of silk.

He’d had trouble sleeping last night because he couldn’t get her out of his mind. He didn’t like it and he didn’t have time for it. “This morning I tested the blood from those claw marks that were in your classroom. Ed…I mean, Officer Rogers was supposed to get in touch with you and let you know it wasn’t human blood. It was animal blood, probably deer.”

“Well, that’s a relief, I guess. I mean, I’m grateful it wasn’t human, but I would have much preferred it to be ketchup.”

“I haven’t had a chance to check on the fur I found. Hopefully I can get to it in the next day or two,” he said. He’d thought her eyes had looked pretty last night, but today they appeared even more gray, a startling but attractive foil to her dark hair and cinnamon skin. He started to stand. “And now I’ll just let you two ladies finish your lunches.”

Alyssa caught his arm and kept him from rising. “Don’t run off. You might as well sit here and eat your meal with us instead of sitting all alone.”

He could smell Tamara’s perfume wafting in the air, the same subtle mysterious scent he’d found disturbing the night before. He didn’t want to sit with them, but before he could think up any kind of an excuse, the waitress arrived to take his order.

“How’s the case going?” Alyssa asked once the waitress had left the table.

“Which one? I’m working the serial case and, of course Mom’s case and the usual other cases that come in. And now, the vandalism evidence from Tamara’s classroom,” he replied.

“I hope you aren’t taking away time from the other two cases to worry about mine,” Tamara said.

He didn’t want to look at her because he liked looking at her. He couldn’t remember ever being so aware of a woman as he was her. “I try to work every case as if it’s top priority,” he replied and gazed at a picture on the wall just over the top of her head.

“Anything new on your mom?” Alyssa asked.

He turned his focus on her. “Not really.” He had told nobody but the chief of police that he’d discovered the same type of decorative pebbles around where his father had been hit and around where Riley Frazier’s father had been killed. “I don’t suppose you’ve had any helpful thoughts,” he asked pointedly.

Alyssa smiled. “Tamara knows about my visions, and unfortunately no, I haven’t had any more about Aunt Rita other than the one I’ve told you about.”

“You mean the one where you see Mom in her own bedroom.”

Alyssa nodded and her smile no longer lifted the corners of her mouth. “That’s all I’m seeing of Aunt Rita, but I’m having a lot of other disturbing visions.”

“Want to talk about it?” Tamara asked gently.

Alyssa shook her head. “No.” She forced a smile to her face. “We’re here to enjoy lunch, and it isn’t every day that I get to have lunch with one of my cousins and one of my newest friends.”

Their meals arrived at the same time. Clay had ordered a burger and fries, Alyssa had ordered a tuna salad plate and Tamara had ordered a chef salad.

For most of the meal Clay remained silent, listening to the two women visit with each other. He’d grown up with two baby sisters, so having girl talk swirling around him was nothing new.

What was new was the fact that he found Tamara Greystone and everything that fell out of her mouth fascinating.

He knew as a teacher she would be smart, but he hadn’t thought about her having a sense of humor. More than once she brought a smile to his face with something witty she said.

Brains, beauty and humor, she was a total package. A total package of trouble, he reminded himself. She was obviously a Native American woman in tune with the spiritual ties to her heritage.

He was a Native American man who wanted nothing to do with his heritage. Besides, he didn’t have time for any relationship, had always found relationships difficult in the past.

He’d come to the realization a long time ago that he was a man who would in all probability spend his life alone. And he’d made peace with that probability.

He finished eating first. Explaining that he needed to get right back to work, he left the two of them seated at the table. He paid the tab for the three meals, then was almost out the door when he heard Alyssa calling his name.

He turned to see her hurrying toward him, her brow furrowed with worry. “Can I talk to you alone for just a minute?” she asked.

“Sure.” He pulled her over by a coatrack where they would be out of the way of incoming and outgoing diners. “What’s up?”

“I didn’t want to say anything in front of Tamara, but last night I had an awful vision concerning her.”

Clay was ambivalent in his feelings concerning Alyssa’s visions. On the one hand, he knew of more than one instance when her visions had helped solve a crime by finding a missing person and saving a life or two. On the other hand, he also knew she sometimes had visions that never came true, never connected to anything and eventually went away.

“What was it about?” he asked.

“Tamara.” Alyssa’s eyes were troubled. “I saw her being chased by a monster and when the monster finally caught her, he…he ripped her heart out.”

Clay put a hand on Alyssa’s shoulder. “Alyssa, did you hear about the vandalism in Tamara’s classroom before you had the vision?”

She nodded. “Ed Rogers came into the Redbud and had a cup of coffee last night. He told me all about it.”