“Suffice to say, a rain of shit is going to fall down on Mr.

Sturgis—I just have to decide how hard. But we’ve got more important things to do right now. Besides, my badge needed polishing.”

They turned on Highway 380 and headed east. The sun was almost touching the horizon as they cleared the pass through the Azul Mountains. To the south, Watts caught a glimpse of a tiny trail of dust, illuminated in the setting sun. He stared. That was the start of the BLM road to High Lonesome.

“Hey, Agent Morwood?”

The agent looked over.

“Are your people doing any work over at High Lonesome?”

“Not yet.”

“Well, then, I think we’ve got a problem.”

50

NORA ARRIVED AT Corrie’s apartment just as the sun was setting over Sandia Crest. Corrie was waiting at the door, and she ushered her in. Nora was eager to deliver her news, but Corrie stopped her from speaking and led her into a second bedroom she had turned into an office, with a computer on a table and piles of manila folders and paper on the floor. A nearby trash can was overflowing with more paper.

“Sorry,” Corrie said, shifting the stacks out of the way. “I’ve been so busy with this case, I can’t find time to do anything else. You wouldn’t believe the paperwork an FBI agent has to do. There’s even more at the office.”

She pulled a chair up and positioned it next to the desk, in front of a tripod where she had set up her cell phone as a video recorder. “Sit down, Nora. I’m going to take notes and videotape your statement.”

“I always wanted to be a social media star,” said Nora, trying to lighten the mood.

Corrie didn’t smile. “I’ll sit here and ask questions.” She turned on the cell phone video and sat down. “Okay. Tell me about your journey to Nantan Taza and what you discovered. Everything you say is going to be logged as evidence in the case.”

This was a side of Corrie that Nora had rarely seen. She began by describing the horseback journey, finding the dying Taza, and giving him the bundle.

At this, Corrie abruptly paused the recorder. “Wait. You gave him the medicine bundle? You’re kidding, right?”

“No.”

“But …” Corrie could barely choke out the words. “That was evidence. Evidence. You knew that. Do you have any idea how hard I had to fight just to get that damned dirty old sack out of the frigging building?”

At this, Nora’s excitement faded behind an upwelling of irritation. “That ‘dirty old sack’ just happened to belong to someone. And I had to give it to him in order to get something in return. Something valuable.”

“Just how the hell am I going to explain this to my boss?” Corrie asked, raising her voice. “I’m already on his shit list. Your waltzing off with this piece of evidence—which I signed off on, remember?—is going to be the last nail in the coffin.”

“So now you’re trying to lay this on me?” Nora said, her own voice rising accordingly. “I didn’t ask you to show up at my dig site, with your sob story about how you’d messed up, begging me to drive halfway across the state to help you. I should have known better. I’m the one doing you the favor.”

“That doesn’t justify what you did. I trusted you with that evidence. I expected you to act within the law. And besides, once you saw the site I could barely drag you away from it!”

“That’s like a drug pusher blaming a buyer for getting addicted!” All the pent-up frustration and annoyance she’d been holding back—more than she’d realized—came tumbling out at once. “Well, guess what? You’re not the only one with work troubles. By wasting all this time helping you, I’ve put myself totally behind schedule on my dig … and I’ve risked losing a really important promotion. And that’s on you.” She stood up. “Whatever. I’m done. I’m out of here.”

“Nora—wait.”

“Go to hell.” She turned to leave the room.

“Nora, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize this was causing you such problems.”

Nora hesitated, breathing heavily.

“You said you got something valuable in return.”

“Yes.”

“Maybe I can use that as an excuse, keep us both out of trouble.”

Fury vented, Nora felt herself cooling down. It wasn’t like her to blow her top—that was more Corrie’s department. She wondered if she should demand an apology and realized she wouldn’t get one. Anyway, she’d been out of line as well.

Corrie continued. “It’s not considered unreasonable for an FBI agent to give something in exchange for information of value.”

Nora forced herself to turn and sit down again.

“All right,” Corrie said, “if you’re ready, let’s resume.” She turned the recorder back on.

Nora took a deep breath. “After I gave him the medicine bag,” she began once more, “Taza asked me to fetch a wooden box. Inside were two items: a heavy gold watch decorated with constellations, and a piece of parchment with a Native American drawing on one side and faded Spanish script on the other.”

“A piece of parchment?” Corrie asked, leaning forward with an astonished expression. “Was it cut in half ?”