Then when we were back at the apartment and getting ready to go out to eat, Charlie and Jackie showed up with Mary Ann, the wife of the guy who broke into our apartment. We had a long talk with Mary Ann about her husband, Adam. We told her that we’d like to talk to him and try to help find out what his problem was. But, I knew that most of what we’d heard from Mary Ann were lies.

We finally made it to the La Placita Dining Rooms for dinner.

On Tuesday I had taught my first two classes. And all in all, it went well. After I’d taught my two classes, I’d gone to my graduate level class, then I found the nearest pay phone and called the Albuquerque Police Department and asked for Detective Roberts. When he answered, I told him that we’d met with Adam Wainwright’s wife, Mary Ann, last night and we felt that she was not truthful with us.

Then what Detective Roberts told me blew me away.

Since it was the first day of classes, I didn’t have to meet with Dr. Joe to work on the research project. So I headed to the apartment, changed out of my teaching clothes into a pair of shorts, a blouse, and a pair of moccasins. Then I made lunch, worked on my class notes for tomorrow, and went over the quiz that I’d given. I wouldn’t see Amy until I picked her up at the ER at three.

At three o’clock I was in the ER waiting room waiting for Amy. When she finally walked out to where I was, she asked, “So how was your first day of teaching?”

“Not bad. I’ll fill you in over dinner.”

She then gave me a puzzled look, and said, “There’s something else. You’ve got that little smile that tells me that something is going on.”

“Oh. There’s something that Detective Roberts told me that’s interesting.”

“What?”

“I’ll tell you when we get home.”

“Tell me now.”

“No, when we get home.”

It was a quiet and quick walk to the apartment. When we closed the door, Amy said, “Tell me!”

“Don’t you want to change first?”

“Kai!”

“Okay. Okay. But, you’d better sit down.”, I said.

Amy and I walked over to the couch and sat, and she said, “Okay. I’m sitting. Tell me.”

I sat next to her, and said, “We almost got suckered in.”

“Suckered in. Suckered in by what?”

“More like who.”

“Mary Ann?”

“Give that woman a kiss.”

I went to kiss her, she stopped me, and said, “Will you please tell me!”

“Well, Detective Roberts told me something that just blew me away. He said that when they were checking on Adam’s background, they’d talked to the police department in his hometown. And the court there has issued a felony arrest warrant for him for burglary.”

“No!”

“Yes, and there’s more. While Detective Roberts was still talking to the other police department, they told him that Adam worked with a girl called Mary Ann Russo. Wainwright is Adam’s last name, and they’re not married.”

“You are kidding me!?”

“No. And there’s still more.”

“More?”

“There’s also a felony arrest warrant for Mary Ann. And the other city will extradite both of them.”

“Wow! So do they have them?”

“Yes. Detective Roberts said that they had the hospital call Mary Ann this morning and tell her that Adam was ready to be released. And when she showed up, they were waiting for her, and they arrested both of them on the outstanding warrants.”

“So that’s why people were talking about all the police cars at the hospital, and people being taken out in handcuffs. So they’re both in jail?”

“Yes. Detective Roberts also said that Mary Ann was even bragging about fooling us into helping them and that she had called us stupid Indians. Then I guess Detective Roberts told her that we’d caught on to her lying right off and that we were leading her on.

“He also said that Adam and Mary Ann are talking about fighting going back to their hometown. But they’re being held here without bond because of a possible flight risk.”

“Serves them right. And wait until Charlie and Jackie here this.”

“Think that they might be home?”

“We can find out. But let me change first.”

Amy ran upstairs and changed into shorts, a blouse, and sneakers. Then we walked over to Charlie and Jackie’s apartment. I knocked on the door, and Charlie answered the door and said, “Oh. Hi, you two. Come on in.”

As we walked in, I asked, “Is Jackie home?”

“Yes, she’s upstairs.” Charlie walked over to the stairs and yelled upstairs, “Honey, Kai and Amy are here.”

“Oh. Okay. I’ll be right down.”, we heard Jackie say.

A minute or so later Jackie came down the steps, and said, “Hi guys. What’s up?”

Amy said. “Do we have some news for you guys.”

“News about what?”

“Adam and Mary Ann.”

“Have you talked to Adam already?”

“We don’t have to.”

“Why not?”

“Like Kai said when she told me, you’d better sit down.”

“Oh. Okay.”, Jackie said.

We sat. Then Charlie asked, “So, … what’s going on?”

I started with, “I talked with Detective Roberts of the Albuquerque Police Department today. And he had some interesting things to say about both Adam and Mary Ann.”

Charlie and Jackie just looked at me.

Then I said, “It appears that they both have felony arrest warrants from back home for burglary. And Wainwright isn’t there real last names. It’s Adam’s last name. But Mary Ann’s real last name is Russo. And they’re not married.”

“Mary Ann sure had us fooled.”, Jackie said.

“Us too.”, Amy said. “At first.”

“At first?”

“When you brought her over to talk. Kai got a bad feeling about her and figured out that she wasn’t telling us the truth. And it turned out that Kai was right.”

“But you were so nice to her.”, Jackie said.

“I was trying to lead her on and see what she would tell us.”, I said.

“I’m shocked that she’d do that.”, Charlie said.

“So were we.”

“So Kai how did you know she wasn’t telling the truth.”

“To start with there was something about her demeanor that bothered me. Then she told us, basically strangers, things about herself and Adam a little too easily. Like it was practiced. And she didn’t look at us when she was talking. And there were other little things.”

“I can’t believe it. Mary Ann seemed so nice.”, Jackie said.

“With some people, you just can’t tell.”, Amy replied.

We talked a little more, then as we were saying so long, Amy said, “See you in class tomorrow, Jackie.”

“You're my instructor?”, Jackie said.

“Yes, I have the list of the students in my class, and you're in my nine o’clock class.”

“Is that going to be okay?”

“I don’t see why not. I won’t show favoritism, and I might even be harder on you.”, Amy said with a smile. “But if you’re uncomfortable with it, the other grad assistant is teaching the other two sections of the class.”

“I guess we’ll see what happens.”

“It’ll be okay, Jackie. Just don’t call me Amy in class.”

“Yes, Miss Young.”

“See you tomorrow, Mrs. Hamilton.”

We walked back to the apartment and put together our dinner. And as we ate, I filled Amy in on the two classes that I’d taught. When I told her about the guy almost knocking me over and then calling me sweetheart, she said, “I’d better keep an eye on you. There are too many good looking guys on this campus. You're likely to find one that you’d go for.”

“Nope.”, I said. “None of them are my type.”

“Your type.”

“My type is five-two, blue eyes, blond, great figure, who dyes her hair black so that she can look like an Indian maiden.”

“I only know of one guy that does that. And that’s you.”

“I wasn’t thinking of a guy. I was thinking of a girl. You.”

“I do that?”

“Yes, you do. And you do it very well. And you’re the only one that I go for.”

“So, did anything else happen?”

“Oh yeah.” And I went on to tell Amy about the two Navajo boys who were saying some not so nice things about me in Navajo. And their reaction when I told them off in Navajo and then told them that if they didn’t like me as their instructor that the Dean of the Engineering College was sitting in the back of the room.

“It’ll be interesting if they ever figure out that you’re The Kai Nez.”, Amy said.

“I don’t think they will.”, I said.

“We’ll see.”

“Is there anything that you’d like to do this evening?”

“Go watch the Sunset somewhere.”

We ran upstairs and put on our hiking gear, grab our canteens, tossed them in the backpack, and headed for the garage. As I backed out of the garage, I saw someone pull into the driveway. I stopped, looked, and it was Naainish. We got out of the car and walked back to the pickup truck. Naainish got out of the pickup, and said, “I’m glad that I caught you.”

“Why?”, I asked. “Is something wrong?”

“No. But I feel that you two are not at peace with the death of your grandmother.”

“I guess we’re not.”

“I know. And I want to help you.”

“How?”

“I want to take you to a special place.”

“Now?”

“Yes. Now. It is the full Moon.”

“Oh!”

“Don’t worry Kai Nez. The spirits are your friends, and the magic of the Moon will guide and help you.”

“Would you like me to drive?”

“That would be fine.”

After we got in the car, I started following Naainish’s directions. We went west, crossed the Rio Grande River, and eventually ended up on some dirt roads that led into an area with cliffs. He guided us to a place to park, and there were six or eight other cars there. As we parked, I asked, “Naainish, where are we?”

“This is Boca Negra Canyon.”, Naainish replied. “You will find some interesting things here.”

As we got out of the car, I saw the sign. It warned of rattlesnakes. Naainish said, “Kai Nez if you have a blanket, bring it, and follow me.”

I retrieved the blanket out of the trunk, and Amy and I followed Naainish down a trail, and we began to see things, and I asked, “Naainish, what are these drawings?”

“They are carvings made by our ancestors' many Moons ago. We call them Tse’ Hone or the rock that tells a story.”

We followed Naainish for about a half a mile, and then he took a side trail. Amy and I followed. About a hundred yards down the trail, Naainish stopped, pointed to a stone that had a drawing on it, and said, “Sit here.”

After I had spread the blanket on the rocky ground, Amy and I sat on it cross-legged. Naainish walked a short way from us. Amy and I knew what to do. We meditated.

Then we heard Naainish begin to chant quietly. Soon Amy and I were both chanting softly with him. I don’t know how long we sat there, but it was getting dark when Amy and I stood, and I folded the blanket.

We followed Naainish back to the car, I put the blanket away, then I said, “Thank you, Naainish, for bringing us here. It has helped us.”

“As it should, Kai Nez.”

As we drove back across the Rio Grande River, I asked, “Naainish, how do I … we know the chants?”

Naainish replied, “Others try to learn the chants, and can only learn a few. Kai Nez. Ajie Nez. They are in your heart. You will know them when you need to know them.”

“Why Ajie?”

“She is in your heart, Kai Nez. And you are in hers. You are very special to each other. You share everything.”

The rest of the drive was in silence. As we were pulling into the driveway, I noticed Charlie and Jackie sitting on their patio. We said hágoónee' (see you later) to Naainish, and after I pulled the car into the garage, instead of going into the apartment through the garage door, we walked over to talk to Charlie and Jackie.

As we walked up, Charlie said, “Hi you two.”

“Hi yourself.”, I said.

“Who was that?”

“An old friend. Naainish Yazzie. He’s a Navajo median man.”

“Oh.”

“He’s helping us get over our grandmother’s passing.”

“That must be hard for you two.”

“It is. He took us to a special place tonight, and that helped.”

“You two know your way around here.”, Jackie said. “Don’t you?”

“We know the area northwest of Santa Fe better, but we’re learning the area around here.”

“We need to get you to show us around.”

“We could do that one day.”

Later as we were saying goodnight, Amy said, “See you at nine, Jackie.”

“You sure will, Amy.”, Jackie replied.

Later as we were cuddling together in bed, Amy said, “So we’re in each other's hearts?”

“I believe it.”, I replied. “Think back to the four years that we were separated. And even before that. And, even now, I feel so close to you that it's wonderful.”

Amy rolled over, gave me a little kiss, then said, “You know, Naainish is right, we do know what’s in each other's heart.”

“Yes, we do.”

“Tommy, make love to me.”

The next day was Wednesday, and we were up early. Today Amy was teaching her first class at eight, and mine wasn’t until nine. We were both dressed in our teaching clothes, and as we walked to the university, I said, “You know, We’ve been out here three months.”

“It doesn’t seem that long.”

“I know. Do you think it’s because we like it here so much?”

“It could be. And maybe the spirits have something to do with it.”

“You might be right.”

“I want to kiss you so bad right now.”

“It might not be a good thing right in the middle of campus.”

“Spoilsport.”

“Wait ‘till tonight.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

As we walked up to the door to Amy’s classroom, I said, “I’m going to leave you here. I’m afraid that if I go in there with you that your students will see something that they shouldn’t.”

“You think?”

“I know.”

As I walked away from Amy, I said, “I’d wish you good luck. But you don’t need it. You’ll do great.”

“You will too.”, Amy said. Then she whispered, “Ayóó anííníshní.” (I love you.)

I smiled, and whispered, “Ayóó anííníshní aldó’.” (I love you too.)

I was glad there was no one else in the hallway.

I walked over to the bookstore to check on the books for my classes, and they weren’t in yet.”

I told them that I was working in the engineering building this afternoon and that I’d stop on my way home and check.

I taught both of my classes in Electronic Circuits and Systems, and they were basically like yesterday’s classes. Both the Dean and Dr. Joe sat through both classes. I first helped my students get over the idea of having a woman instructor. Then I told them about the books and everything else that I'd told the classes yesterday. They had their short quiz, took their handout, and were free to go.

After the second class, I had time to talk with both the Dean and Dr. Joe. Finally, Dr. Joe said, “Kai, why don’t you and I get some lunch, and we can talk about the research project. Then we can go to the lab, and we'll take a look around.”

“Sounds good to me.”, I said.

As we sat at one of the tables in the faculty dining room, Dr. Joe said, “Kai, after listening to you teach those four classes, the Dean and I agree that you are going to do a great job.”

“You haven’t heard me teach anything yet.”, I replied.

“Yes you have, you taught those students that you, a woman, was going to be their instructor and that you’re there to help them learn. And I think that you can do a better job of it than I can.”

“Dr. Joe, neither you or the Dean have heard me lecture. I may be as boring as hell.”

“Kai, you are anything but boring. None of those kids thoughts wandered when you were talking.”

“Yeah. They were to busy looking at me.”

“Some were. But they were still listening to every word. Even though we’ve heard your opening remarks four times, the Dean and I didn’t get bored listening to you.”

“Wait until Thursday to make your final decision on that.”

“We’ll see.”, Dr. Joe said. “So, did you get a chance to look over the paperwork on the research project?”

“Yes.”, I replied. “Can I finish eating before we talk about it?”

“That bad?”

“I think so. But who am I? Just a lowly grad assistant.”

“Kai. Maybe you’re a lowly grad assistant. But you’re a wise one. I agree, from what I read that Dr. Kilmer was doing one bang-up of a bad job.”

“I know. Wasn’t there anyone overseeing him?”

“I have no idea. But if there was, whoever it was was doing a worse job than Dr. Kilmer was.”

“Are we going to have to start over?”

“We may have to.”

“Sounds like some late nights coming up.”

“Let’s hope not.”

We finished lunch then walked over to the engineering college. We found the lab where we were going to be working and started looking at what Dr. Kilmer had been doing. And it was crap.

I asked, “Didn’t Dr. Kilmer have any grad assistants working with him?”

“From what I’ve learned.”, Dr. Joe said. “He couldn’t keep any.”

“I can see why. And I’ll bet that he didn’t want any. He had to hide what he was doing. Or not doing.”

“I think you’re right. Wait until we talk to the Dean.”

“We?”

“We’re in this together.”

Dr. Joe and I went downstairs to the Dean’s office, and after we waited for a few minutes, we were able to go back to Dean Rutherford’s office. Being the Dean of the College of Engineering, he was responsible for any research projects in the college.

As we walked in, Dean Rutherford said, “You two don’t look happy.”

“We’re not, Dean.”, Dr. Joe said. “We’ve looked over all the paperwork that Dr. Kilmer had and looked at the project in the lab. And, we feel that Dr. Kilmer wasn’t doing much. What he’s done isn’t worth a plug nickel.”

“That bad?”

“Yes, sir. Miss Nez and I agree on it.”

“I see. What are we going to do?”

“Start over.”

“We don’t have long to finish this.”

“I know. We’ll just do the best we can.”

“I can’t ask for anything more. And if you need anything, ask. You may hear from the universities legal department over this. They may want to go after Dr. Kilmer. So don’t destroy anything, and keep all the records.”

“Everything was under lock and key, and we’ll keep it that way.”

“And I don’t want either of you in that lab alone. That way you can cover for each other encase Dr. Kilmer says that you sabotaged the project.”

When I got home, Amy was waiting for me, and she noticed that I wasn’t very happy. So she asked what was wrong, and I filled her in on all the gruesome details of what Dr. Kilmer had done or hadn’t done. And she was worried that it would hurt my master’s degree program. I told her that I didn’t think it would, but that it was going to mean some late nights to meet the deadline.

Then Amy said, “The hospital want’s me to work three to eleven tomorrow.”

“Well.”, I said. “I guess we won’t see much of each other tomorrow. Will we?”

“Just in the morning for a little bit.”

“I’ll pick you up at eleven.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Yes, I do.”

“You’re sweet. Oh, by the way, the bookstore called, and the books are in and will be on the shelf tomorrow morning.”

“Yes!”

I was exhausted, so it was an early night.