“She has family on Standing Rock?”
“Shirttail relatives. She had to move to Eagle River after her mother died and her aunt was named her legal guardian.” Director Shenker put both hands on the conference table. “Here’s why it’s a sensitive situation. Arlette’s aunt is Triscell Elk Thunder, married to tribal president Latimer Elk Thunder.”
Silence. Then shifting in seats. No one spoke.
“And while the tribal president would like to avoid the appearance of impropriety, chances are, it’s inevitable.”
My thoughts rolled back to my nephew and how frantic I’d been after he’d been missing for only a few hours, not a few days. I’d tried to call out the cavalry, but no one had listened, so I understood Elk Thunder’s intention to do whatever it took to find her. Still, it bugged me. Three days is a long time in a missing persons case.
“What’s the plan?”
I glanced at Turnbull. The shrewd man defined rah-rah! FBI. The gleam in his eye indicated he was as antsy to get out of the office and into the field as I was.
“The plan is, you and Special Agent Gunderson will meet at the tribal police station at Eagle River first thing tomorrow morning. It’s too late to do anything today. I’ll pass along updates as needed. Any questions?”
“Will we be actively searching for the girl?” I felt Turnbull’s eyes on me. Due to a cosmic debt I owed to the universe for being brought back from the dead, I’d become a sort of divining rod for the newly dead. Since Turnbull had pointed out this phenomenon to me before we’d become coworkers, I needed to know what role I’d be playing in the investigation.
Again, Shenker shrugged. “I can’t honestly say what tack they’ll take. Make no mistake-you two will be there in a secondary, not primary, capacity.”
Agents Thomas and Burke stood, as did Agents Flack and Mested. At this point the case didn’t affect them.
But Shenker wasn’t finished. He gestured to the four men. “Not done with you guys. Turnbull and Gunderson, you’re free to go.”
Yippee.
Outside the conference room, Turnbull faced me. “You’ll be all right in the field tomorrow?”
“Yes. Will you?”
He frowned. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
I flashed my teeth at him. “Because you’ve been benched babysitting me since I finished Quantico. Just want to make sure you remember field-duty protocol, since this is my virgin voyage.”
“Chances are high we’ll be sorting through paperwork, so don’t get excited you’ll actually get to pull your gun, Gunderson.”
“Dream crusher.”
Turnbull jammed his hands in his pockets as we waited for the elevator. “I don’t have to remind you not to talk about this case with Sheriff Dawson.”