Written in Stone (A Books by the Bay Mystery)

She was just about to open her mouth and tell him about the puzzling objects on the memory jug when Harris came sprinting toward them hollering, “Chief! Chief!”
    The speed with which he moved and terror in his eyes told them that something horrible had happened.
    “It’s Talley!” he shouted breathlessly. “She took a few hits off her inhaler and then passed out.” He grabbed Olivia’s hand and squeezed it desperately. “It’s exactly like your description of Willis’s collapse! Hurry!”
    Without hesitation, they ran back to the tent. Inside, Olivia had to hold back the cry that rose up in her throat when she saw Talley lying on the ground, her long black hair fanning out around her inert torso.
    “We’ve already called for an ambulance.” Laurel’s voice was hoarse with dread. “But I don’t know what else to do.”
    Millay was on her knees next to Talley, murmuring to her and stroking her hair. Tears fell from Millay’s chin and dripped onto Talley’s dress.
    Harlan moved to her other side, checked her pulse, and then bent over her chest, listening intently. “Her breath is shallow,” he said as he stood. “We’ve got oxygen at the ranger station. I’ll go get it.”
    Olivia and Rawlings locked eyes. They were both experiencing a horrible sense of déjà vu, but this time, their helplessness was more acute. And this time, their surprise and shock was tinged by a white-hot anger.
    “Where’s her inhaler?” Rawlings asked Harris.
    Harris pointed to where Talley’s purse sat on top of a rubber storage bin. “We haven’t touched it.”
    That’s when Olivia noticed Fletcher and Annette standing in a corner of the tent. Fletcher had a cell phone pressed against his ear and Annette was leaning heavily against him, as if the only thing keeping her upright was the attorney’s sturdy shoulder.
    “What happened?” Olivia addressed the tribal chair.
    Annette shook her head. “I don’t know! She came in here after the last dance and was having a hard time breathing, so she grabbed her inhaler and seconds afterwards she just dropped.” Her voice trembled. “Judson ran off to find a doctor. There are a few from home here at the powwow.” She looked doubtfully at her cell phone screen. “Fletcher’s been trying to reach them but no one’s answering.”
    At that moment, Harlan burst into the tent followed closely by a uniformed ranger carrying an oxygen tank. Harlan placed the mask over Talley’s mouth and nose and everyone fell silent, listening as a hiss of oxygen flowed from the tank. “Her pulse is irregular,” Harlan told the ranger. He then placed his palm on her forehead. “Skin’s hot to the touch.”
    Olivia felt her panic rising. She turned back to Annette. “Is there some kind of medical condition in the Locklear family? A predisposition that could explain why first Willis and now Talley have collapsed?” She was shouting at the tribal chair, but she didn’t care. “Could that inhaler have caused this?” Gesturing at Talley, she moved forward until she was inches away from Annette. Towering over the smaller woman, she balled her hands into fists. “You
must
know something!”
    “I’m not a doctor!” Annette cried, her lower lip quivering. “I don’t know what’s happening to Talley! There are genetic issues in almost all native populations, but I don’t know which one this could be! I—”
    The ambulance sirens cut her off and Olivia was suddenly struck by an idea. Last spring, when she’d needed more information on North Carolina’s prisoner of war camps, she’d made contact with a history professor named Emmett Billinger at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He’d given her his cell phone number and they’d chatted a few times since her visit to UNC’s campus. Perhaps Billinger had a colleague who’d studied the Lumbee and could tell the paramedics why a young woman was dying for no apparent reason.
    Retreating to a corner of the tent, she dialed Billinger’s number, praying that he’d answer. On a late summer afternoon, he could be anywhere. Golfing, playing tennis, or taking his beloved greyhounds to the dog park. When she heard him say hello, she nearly cried in relief.
    Wasting no time on formalities, she told him exactly what she needed, and when he assured her that in fact, the department’s chair had done extensive research on the Lumbee and he would call him immediately, she had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep her