21 
MIXED MESSAGES

By 2:25, there was no sign of Justine, and Darrius was pissed off. “I told her to be back by two,” he told his golf partner, who had offered him a ride back to the store. No way was he going to leave the area without knowing where she was. He thanked his partner, anyway. “No, she’ll be here. She just gets so carried away with her photography. I’m sure time simply got away from her.”

Darrius watched everyone leaving the course. Now completely alone, he sat on the pavement of the parking lot, waiting…and waiting. Twenty minutes later, his cell phone buzzed. “About damn time she called.” The phone had no number listed, but he heard crackling. He called her name into the receiver, but nothing came across, just more crackling. That had never happened on his phone before. He figured it to be mixed messages. The phone rang again and the same crackling noise came across. He practically screamed her name into the phone.

He dialed her cell, hoping to reach her. At that point, he didn’t care whether she was late getting back to him or not; he just wanted to know if she was safe. Her cell rang and then cut directly off. He looked at the display in disbelief, mumbling, “Out of calling range! What the hell is going on here?” Justine, where are you? In his mind’s eye, everything was going wrong. He could see her somewhere injured, unable to reach him. Then again, he knew his imagination was in overdrive, causing him to imagine the worst-case scenario. His intuitions were always right, however, and that’s what bothered him.

He looked to the sky in desperation, not knowing what to do. He was stranded there, lost in the middle of a golf course with nowhere to turn. What if she was in trouble? How would he get to her? He looked at the phone in his hand and almost threw it. Then he thought about Derrick. It was a long shot because Derrick was on his way to Roswell to collect more store items. But it was worth a shot.

Within an hour, Derrick drove onto the greens so fast he could hardly stop. He swung open the passenger door and Darrius swept in like a quick flame. “Thank God I got you before leaving for Roswell. Thanks, man.”

“What the hell could I do? My brother sends me a 911 call. How many twin brothers do you think I have? Anyway, have you thought about the places she may have gone?”

A distant look crossed Darrius’s face. “I can think of a few places, and heaven forbid if she went to one of them.”

Derrick stared at his brother’s stone-cold face. His voice turned cautious, quiet. “Where?”

“El Morro. I took her there yesterday for a picnic and took her near the ruins.”

“You did tell her not to go there, didn’t you?” he asked, pulling the truck off the grounds and onto the interstate.

“Yes, Derrick. She knows they’re sacred grounds, but she was just so fascinated by the idea of them. I know her, though, and I know that pesky inquisitive side she can’t help but give in to sometimes. She’s a photojournalist, for Christ’s sakes! There’s something in her that’s always hungry for more. I don’t fault her, but I don’t put looking danger in the face past her, either.”

“Come on, man! Give her some credit for having a little sense. I just don’t think she’d go against you.”

“It’s not that she would deliberately go against me, Derrick. Searching and investigating is a part of her.”

“I think you’re in her blood.”

“Yeah, and I hope that’s all.” Darrius stared through the windshield, hoping, praying his intuition was wrong.

* * *

Darrius’s phone buzzed again as Derrick turned onto the main road leading to El Morro. He quickly flipped it open. “It’s another 911, but I can’t make out the location. Justine? Is that you, hon? Come on, talk to me if you can.” The crackling noise returned and another message flashed across: out of calling range. “Damn it! Where the hell is she?”

“Calm down, dude! Maybe it’s not even her.”

“Who the hell else would send me an emergency call? Mom and Dad are both in Grants shopping for more tea items. How much danger can they be in doing that? Asinka is in summer school, and Jemez is working at some desk designing Mr. Torrez’s summer home. Yeah, that’s real dangerous work! No, I know it’s her. Come on, keep driving.”

“It could be one of your other friends; Donnie, Julius or even—”

“It’s not them, Derrick. I’m trying to tell you that!”

They finally pulled into the entrance of El Morro and Darrius’s nervous eyes searched the entrance for his white truck. The place was almost barren with the exception of a few campers, a Ford Escort and a Jeep Wrangler. His hands balled into nervous fists. “Drive around a bit, and then let’s get to those ruins.”

Derrick did as he was told. From what they could see of the grounds from the truck, the place remained barren due to it being a workday. At the entrance to the ruins, Derrick took extra caution in driving around the rugged terrain. Deeper into the ruins, they got out and walked carefully, not trusting the road under the pressure of a Chevy Silverado.

They looked over the landscape, walking as far as safety would allow them. All they saw were jagged cliffs, crumbling stone homes and mountain peaks. There was no sight of a white four-by-four or a silly girl with a camera in hand.

Desperation was now settling into Darrius’s heart. He sank to his knees and sifted dirt through his fingers. His voice was so low Derrick could barely hear him. “She’s got to be somewhere, man! I’m getting very bad vibes here, and I don’t know what to do about it.” He looked hopelessly into his brother’s concerned eyes. “I know she’s somewhere in danger. I can feel it in my spine, and it’s melting through me, settling into my heart. I’ve got to find her.”

Derrick knelt beside him, sifting dirt as well. “This is a large state to be looking for one single woman. I say if we don’t find her soon we go for help. We know officers who will search before the twenty-four hour waiting period, especially since you’re so worried. First, think about where else she may be. We haven’t been everywhere, you know.”

“She liked town quite a bit, loved the shops on Coal Avenue, but what’s the danger in those places?”

“She may not be in danger, Darrius. The calls may have been a mistake or something.”

“Will you stop with that? Who is the one who picked up on vibes when Dad fell from that second floor landing at the plant five years ago and couldn’t call anyone? He was alone there, but I knew what happened. I felt it! Who is the one who—”

“I get it already! You’re psychic! Now will you settle down?”

“No. Something’s wrong, Derrick.”

A fleeting hush came over the brothers, then Darrius stood to his feet, saying, “God, no! God, no!”

“What?” Derrick asked.

“Red Rock! Why didn’t I pick up on this before? She could be dead up there.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“We’ve got to get to Red Rock. Justine’s there.” He pulled Derrick by the arm as he walked towards the truck.

Derrick pulled away and got behind the wheel. “Why would she be there?”

“Because I told her not to. It’s just her way. I know and accept this about her. I just hope she hasn’t gone where I specifically told her to stay away from.”

“The other side?”

“You got it!”

“We’d better go.”

The idea of her being on or near the jagged reaches of Red Rock made Darrius both nervous and mad. He hated the fact that she may have gone up there to see the ruins. Yet, fear for her was a much stronger emotion. He knew she was there. He wanted to yell to Derrick to drive faster, but getting upset would only make matters worse.

Derrick glanced at Darrius at times, seeing the worry etched on his face, the stiffness in his body, his mind running a mile a minute. He cleared his throat and tried to take his brother from a temporary hell. “Why would she be there? Would she dare take pictures of the Navajo and the ancient Anasazi lands there?”

“I don’t think so. If anything, she would shoot landscape. At the very worst, she would simply view the forbidden places. I think she respects the land and legends too much to take pictures and exploit the place. I know her.”

“Yet you love everything about her. Am I right?”

Darrius stared at his brother with a look of fright and desperation. “Yes.”

“Then why did you think she would be at El Morro near the ruins when you told her not to?”

“As I have already told you, investigation is a part of her. She wouldn’t have taken pictures, and I told you that already. But if she is on those cliffs at Red Rock, I’m mad about it. I told her of the danger, and I hope she listened. Somehow, I don’t think she did.”

Twenty minutes later, at record speed, they turned onto the entrance of Red Rock. For the first time in Darrius’s life, the winding road leading to danger seemed exactly that—danger. And he could feel life draining away up there. He pointed ahead. “Go up there.”

Derrick looked at him. “You know the danger all three of us could be in if we do this. We may not be able to save her even if we do make it to the top.”

“When…when we make it up there, now get going.”

Derrick shrugged and drove on. “Must be love to make a man want to end his life.”

“It’s more than that and you know it. If she’s up there, I’ve got to save her.”

They soon reached the top and, sure enough, Darrius’s four-by-four awaited them. The driver’s door was open, and the motor was still running. Darrius quickly ran to the vehicle, shutting the engine off and looking inside for any evidence. Nothing. He and Derrick looked around the immediate area and then ventured to the other side. The pounding of his heart almost deafened him as they both curved along the hills leading to Navajo land.

Moving on, they entered rocky terrain, and Darrius was getting scared—not scared for himself, but scared of what he might see on the other side.

Now leading the way with Derrick behind him, he treaded closer to the flat sections hanging above the steep drop-offs. All along, he shook his head, not being able to believe Justine would go that far—if she had. Then where was she? For the first time in his life, Darrius wanted to be wrong, wanted to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was his mind playing games with him.

They both looked around the cliffs and hills, seeing nothing but brilliant sunshine and reddish-brown giants that were thousands of years old, at least dating back to the Mesozoic. Not a trace of anything. As Derrick turned to go back to the truck, he spotted a black bag on one of the cliffs near old ruins and pointed. “What’s that?”

“Where?” Darrius asked, almost with too much enthusiasm.

“To the left of us, but about twenty-five feet up. Don’t you see it?”

Darrius recognized it almost immediately. Without saying anything, he took off to the other side, almost sliding down a small hill.

Derrick called after him, hardly able to keep up with his suddenly speedy brother. “What do you see?”

“That’s a camera, and it looks like hers from what I can see.”

They had to circle one of the larger cliffs just to get to the other side. The ground was terribly rocky, the land unused for centuries. It was no longer fertile; the ground was barren and lacking nutrients. The land was land wasting away, but for unknown reasons. The place was dangerous. And there was a camera there, a most unwelcome visitor to ancient lands.

Now closer, Darrius now knew for sure it was Justine’s camera. He frantically searched around the area, but not being convinced she wasn’t there, he moved in closer.

Derrick tried pulling him back but lost grip as Darrius kept walking. Suddenly before them was an overhang that led to a small landing where the bag was. With careful steps, Darrius directed the rescue. “Hold my arm while I reach down and get it.”

“No, it’s too dangerous. Besides, you don’t even see her there.”

“Just do it!” He thrust his arm into Derrick’s hand. “She wouldn’t just leave it here. If I know her, she tried to get it. Besides, where would she go without the truck? Hold on tight or I’m dead!”

Slowly, Darrius lowered himself to the edge and reached over. Just beyond his reach was another landing. On that landing was a ripped sandal, part of a pink dress, and farther to his right, a scarred and bloodied hand with a familiar turquoise and spiny shell bracelet attached. “Justine!”

The sound of Darrius screaming at the top of his lungs almost caused Derrick to let go. Instead, he held on tighter; Darrius had found Justine. “Is she conscious?”

“Oh, my God! Justine!”

“Is she conscious?”

“I can’t see her face! Hold me tighter and follow me.”

“These rocks are brittle, Darrius. We could both fall.”

“I have to get her, Derrick!”

He held Darrius’s wrist tighter and slid to the edge. “Damn it! I hadn’t planned on dying today. Why is she even here?”

Darrius looked back up. “Look, either you help me or I do this alone. Either way, I’m going down there.”

Without another word, Derrick slid as far to the edge as he could, counting on his strength to hold out with possibly two people dangling from him.

The front of Justine’s dress was the only thing Darrius could grip with ease. However, it ripped and her lifeless body slumped back against a cracking rock. With determination creasing his face, Darrius stretched, trying to grab her wrist. At the same time, his eyes narrowed in on the slab of sandstone beginning to fracture with each move of Justine’s body. He called back to his brother. “Down a little more. This slab is ready to slide, and she’ll go with it.”

Now with added strength, Derrick held tighter, his boots digging into the crusted sandstone. “I’ve got you. Just stretch. Get her up, for Christ’s sakes, before we all tumble to our deaths.”

Darrius again reached for skin, finally grabbing the bracelet, and then the wrist. With a firm grip and a constant eye on the cracking slab, he stretched almost far enough to pull his arm out of socket. His words were silent, but his lips trembled, as if she could hear his nervous mumblings. Come on, baby, hang in there.

He slid her closer to him and finally saw her face. Her eyes were closed, forehead bleeding, neck twisted, streaks of tears staining her face.

With sweat rolling into his eyes, he bit down on his lip and pulled. Her body dangled in the air just as the slab of sandstone below her tumbled down, cracking into a million pieces against the bed of the cliffs. Without haste he pulled harder, praying Derrick could hold his grip. His and Justine’s fates were literally in Derrick’s hands.

Justine’s limp body brushed against a jagged cliff, tearing her dress and cutting into her thigh. Blood dripped down her leg as Darrius continued to pull her to safety. The last thing on his mind was a cut thigh; he simply needed to know if his lover was still alive. From the look of her bruised forehead, the chances looked dim.

Darrius soon took her into his arms once they were on steady ground and placed her on a small patch of grass. He brushed the hair and dirt from her face, looking for any sign of life. He felt for a pulse. Nothing. His only recourse was to perform CPR. He breathed as much life as possible into her, watching frantically for even the slightest movement. Derrick was talking in the background, but Darrius could hear nothing, could see nothing and could feel nothing but pain for a love that may now be gone, forever.

Compressions achieved nothing. Darrius pulled Justine into his arms, rocking her, calling to her as he tried to make life return to a hopeless shell. His tears mixed with the sweat on her skin. He looked up at Derrick and said, “Call 911.”