Tattered Legacy (A Nora Abbott Mystery) Read Online Free PDF

Jeep sat alone on the side of the road. Nora let Abbey in, placed Lisa’s box on the floor of the passenger side, and climbed behind the wheel. She glanced up the quiet road and twisted to see the area behind her. Two lanes stretched in both directions, empty. About a quarter of a mile to the south, the road curved east. A slight rise to the north blocked the view after several yards. Nora hadn’t seen any traffic on her walk from the trailhead. Like much of the area around Moab, this was a lonely stretch of road.
    It was the emptiness Lisa had found so compelling. The vast swathes of rugged spires and canyons and stunning red rock formations resulting from millions of years of wind, ancient oceans, and the hands of the gods spoke to Lisa. She felt compelled to protect them from the modern world. Lisa raved about the archaeological sites with their petroglyphs and pottery shards much like other women might babble about their babies.
    Nora inserted her key into the Jeep, and as she turned it, a squawking noise startled her. For a moment she thought she had a problem with her engine, then realized it was her phone. Fay, one of the staffers at the Trust, had programmed Nora’s phone with bird calls. This one sounded like an angry raven. She reached into her pack in the back seat and pulled it out.
    Along with the announcement for the incoming call, Nora noticed six new voicemails. She punched a button to answer.
    “Etta here.” The no-nonsense blast from the chairwoman of the Board for Living Earth Trust sent the usual ball of snakes into Nora’s gut. “I’ve been thinking about Lisa Taylor and this situation.”
    Did Etta think the Trust should make a tribute? A grant in Lisa’s name or tree-planting event would be nice. Maybe gather money from the staff for a memorial. “What situation?”
    “The film, of course. We’ve invested well over a hundred thousand dollars so far. The committee vote is in three weeks, so they need to see this film tomorrow, if not yesterday.”
    Nora’s grief left little space to worry about the film. “The screening is scheduled in two weeks. I’ll be back in the office on Monday. Can I call you then?”
    Etta exhaled. “Today is Thursday. I don’t feel we have days to waste. How close was Lisa to completing the film?”
    Nora stared out her windshield at the yellow wild asters and tried to sound like a smart and savvy executive director. She failed with her first uh . “I haven’t seen much of the footage. Lisa wanted to edit it and show it to me when it was done so I’d get the full impact.”
    “Oh,” Etta said and paused. “I would have thought you’d be in on thewhole project.”
    Nora lowered her voice to sound more confident. “Lisa was close to being done.”
    “Good. Bring it back to Boulder. I’ll meet you on Monday, and we’ll see what we need to do from there.”
    The last thing Nora wanted to do was to confront Rachel and ask for Lisa’s work. “I’m not sure I can do it that soon.”
    Etta’s long-suffering sigh wafted from the phone. “I’ll get an early flight from DC and be at the office Monday.” Etta didn’t wait for Nora’s reply. The phone went dead.
    Nora tugged on Abbey’s ear. “You don’t think it would be awkward to ask Rachel for the film on the day of her wife’s funeral, do you?” Abbey’s eyes drooped at the massage.
    Nora tapped at the voicemail retrieval and entered her password. “Hey, Nor,” began the first message. Her heart stopped, and her hand holding the phone turned to ice.
    Lisa.
    When had she called? And how had Nora missed it?
    Lisa’s voice sounded strained. “I really need to talk to you. You know those petroglyphs I told you about? In Fiery Furnace?”
    Nora couldn’t focus on the words. Lisa’s voice sounded so alive. Nora’s eyes came to rest on the box of ashes.
    “The Mormons are—well, it’s at the Tokpela Ranch. There’s this—oh, shit. I’ve got to go.”
    There was some fumbling on the other