Eagle's Last Stand (17 page)

“We still have to do this, and we can’t depend on help from anyone else,” Paul said. “No Navajo would go searching for a body under these circumstances, at least no Traditionalist.”

“Let’s get a few hours of sleep, then start first thing in the morning,” Rick said, stifling a yawn. “Kim, we’d all understand if you want to sit this one out.”

“Give me a good strong cup of coffee and I’ll be ready when you guys are,” she answered.

Rick’s phone rang. “It’s two in the morning. This can’t be good.”

Chapter Eighteen

Rick identified himself to the caller and immediately recognized the rough voice at the other end.

“It’s Ray,” he said, no longer using “Mike,” the name Kim had given him. “Detective Bowman let word out that he was looking for Nestor Sandoval and I’ve found him. He’s in Hartley, lying low, but I know where he is.”

“Give me the address,” Rick said quickly.

“The numbers aren’t there anymore, but it’s the abandoned building behind the gas station on Pine. The station is closed for the night but there’s a light in the alley. I saw Sandoval go in through the back. He hasn’t left, so he must still be inside. He’s also alone, from what I can tell.”

“How do you know Sandoval?” Rick asked.

“He’s the guy I bought a combat knife from—a KA-BAR. I needed a weapon to defend myself if it came to that,” Ray answered.

“Can you keep an eye on the place until we get there?” Rick asked.

“I’ll stay here by the pay phone and follow him if he leaves.”

“Observe, but don’t engage. Is that clear?” Rick said crisply.

“Copy,” Ray answered, all business now, as if the soldier in him had awoken. “Avoid approaching using the street north of the station. He’s placed boards with nails and broken glass all over the ground to discourage visitors.”

“You know a better way in?”

“Affirmative,” Ray replied. “Approach from the east and circle south around the gas station. That’ll screen your approach and place you on the east side of the house. There’s a vacant lot full of weeds there, and no road access, so he won’t expect anyone to come from that direction. You’ll have darkness on your side, as well.”

“Good job, soldier,” Rick said, then ending the call, filled everyone in.

“I can call for police backup,” Preston said, “but going through channels will come at a cost. You all know I prefer to go by the book, but this may be our last chance to get Sandoval. I don’t think we can afford to wait for SWAT and risk losing the element of surprise.”

“Then let’s move,” Rick said.

“He won’t come easily,” Daniel said. “He’s facing three strikes now.”

“At least there’s less risk to the public. That area is commercial and industrial and at this hour nobody should be around. We’ll do what we have to,” Preston said.

“I’ve seen combat, I can help,” Kim said.

“No. This is an entirely different situation, and there are different rules to follow,” Preston said.

“Why don’t you come and watch our backs in case someone tries to sneak up behind us?” Rick asked.

“Consider it done,” she answered.

* * *

P
AUL
WAS
ASSIGNED
to cover the northern approach, a likely escape route for Sandoval considering he knew where he’d placed the obstructions. Rick and Preston would approach from the east, as advised, while Daniel moved in from the southwest corner to prevent any exit south. There were no west-facing windows or doors.

They all carried radios with earplugs, remaining in constant contact as they advanced. There was a full moon, so they wouldn’t be groping around in the dark, at least.

Rick reached the east wall of the single-story building first, staying low to avoid being seen from any of the building’s windows. Preston was to his right, farther north along the same wall. Each was approaching a window. The plan was for one of them to enter through whichever opening offered the easiest access, while the other provided cover.

Rick noticed a heating unit on the ground close to the southernmost window and silently pointed it out to Preston. He then contacted Kim, who was back at the corner of the garage, watching both north and south with infrared binoculars provided by Daniel.

“You’re all still clear,” she said.

“I’m going in,” he whispered into the radio before climbing onto the unit and through the window.

A minute later he was crouched low beside the open doorway of the room he’d entered, listening and watching the hall as Preston climbed in. The room was unlit, but the moon was bright, the windows large and the walls light-colored. There was no way he’d miss seeing a man-size figure. As his brother lowered himself onto the floor, his shoe landed on a chunk of glass, making it crunch loudly.

Rick turned and waved him toward the corner just as footsteps raced down the hall. Aiming a pistol into the room from out in the hall, Sandoval fired blindly, not presenting a target. Two bullets hit the wall beside the window.

Rick shifted his aim, but the shooter’s pistol, which had been barely three feet from him, disappeared before he could acquire a target.

“Go,” Preston ordered over the radio, signaling for Paul and Daniel to close in. There was the sound of footsteps as Sandoval ran down the hall.

“Police! Put down your weapon and give up before you get hurt!” Preston called out. “The building’s surrounded.”

“I’m not going back to prison,” Sandoval yelled from somewhere inside.

Rick took a quick look out to his left, seeing only a blind corner, and stepped into the hall, hugging the far wall. Weapon aimed, he looked over at Preston.

“Got your back,” Preston whispered.

Rick inched down the wall to the corner, ducked low and took a quick look. Sandoval was crouched behind a stack of wood pallets, his pistol aimed right at him. Rick ducked back just in time. Two bullets came his way, one taking a chunk out of the corner.

Rick leaped across the hall and through an open doorway, firing toward the pallets as he moved. Once inside the room, he glanced around. It was empty and smelled of mold and damp wood, probably the results of a leaky roof.

From his position near the door, Rick looked back at Preston and nodded, ready to provide cover.

Preston crept to the corner where Rick had been just seconds earlier and looked up at the shot-out chunk of masonry.

“Move in carefully, guys. I’m going to draw his fire,” Preston whispered over the radio. “I got a look at his weapon. It’s a revolver. Two more rounds and he has to reload.”

Preston stuck out his pistol and then pulled it back.

Sandoval fired once, hitting the wall.

Rick put his pistol back in its holster and looked across the way at Sandoval. He’d turned to look out a north window just as Preston fired two more shots, striking one of the pallets.

Sandoval fired back, then Rick heard a click. Sandoval was out of ammo.

Rick rushed into the room, leaped across the pallets and tackled Sandoval.

Sandoval went down, Rick on top. In a matter of seconds Preston was there, along with Daniel and Paul, both carrying bright flashlights to illuminate the scene. By then Sandoval was on his back and Rick had pinned him to the floor.

Preston cuffed him and read him his rights. “Come on. I’m taking you in.”

“You know who we are?” Daniel asked Sandoval.

“Yeah, and you think I had something to do with the explosion at the restaurant,” he said, looking at Rick.

“Let me guess. You’re completely innocent,” Rick said.

Sandoval stood as Preston held on to his arm. “No one over the age of five is completely innocent.”

“Did you know what was going down or not?” Rick prompted.

“Hell, no. I had nothing to do with your old man’s disappearance. I do have information to trade, if you’re willing to cut me a deal.”

“Let’s go to the station,” Preston snapped, leading him out the north side toward Main Street. “We’ll talk there.”

* * *

R
ICK
WATCHED
P
RESTON
get into his cruiser, parked at the curb one block down from the gas station, and drive off. Paul and Daniel left next.

Rick met Kim at the SUV, which had been next to Paul and Daniel’s vehicle. “Have you seen Ray?” he asked.

“Not since we arrived.”

“I’d like to try to find him.”

“He probably didn’t go far. We’ll have better luck on foot,” she said.

They set out together, walking down the alley on the north side of Main Street. They’d gone halfway down the block when Ray stepped out of the shadows. “Looking for me?”

The change in him was subtle, but nonetheless there. He stood straight, his gaze steady.

“Sure am, Ray. We wanted to tell you personally how much we appreciate your help tonight.”

“No prob, and thanks to you guys, too. You reminded me what it was like to have something important to do again,” he said. “I got in touch with an organization that helps local vets. Now I have a place to sleep and a job. As it turned out, one of the volunteers over at Warriors in Transition is an old friend. He runs a dog-training operation at the edge of town. He and I were both handlers and loved working with the dogs,” Ray said. “He’s invited me to teach basic obedience classes for problem dogs.”

“Congratulations,” Rick said, shaking his hand.

“Me, too, Ray,” Kim said softly.

As Ray walked off, Rick smiled. “The man’s taking control of his life again. He’ll be okay now.”

“I think so, too,” she said. “You made a real difference when you treated him like an equal and asked for his help.”

“Everyone needs a hand at one point or another. I’m glad I was there. The road back is tough, but the first step is the hardest.”

Rick walked with her to the SUV. “Let’s go find out what Sandoval’s holding back.”

“Do you think Preston’s going to offer him a deal?”

“Eventually, but first he’ll want to make sure the information is worth it.”

* * *

K
IM
WAS
LOOKING
through the two-way glass, listening to what was going on in the interrogation room. Preston and Rick had gone inside and Daniel had gone home, but Paul was keeping her company.

“My brother has strong feelings for you, Kim,” he said. “I’ve never seen him relax around anyone except us—until now. He needs you.”

“I need him, too,” she said quietly. “If you’re worried I’ll hurt him, please don’t be. What we have isn’t exactly Romeo and Juliet, but it is right for us.”

He nodded. “Good to hear.”

Looking at Sandoval, who was handcuffed to a table, they focused on what was being said inside.

“I want full immunity,” Sandoval said. “Give me that and I’ll steer you in the right direction.”

“Do you know who cut the gas line at the Brickhouse?” Preston demanded.

Kim looked over at Paul. They already knew that answer.

“Patience,” Paul whispered. “Preston is good at this.”

“No, but I’ve got a pretty good idea who was behind it and why,” Sandoval responded.

“Keep talking. We need to know that what you have is worth something,” Preston said.

He shook his head. “No way. You first.”

“Okay, I’ll drop the charges for attempted assault on a police officer,” Preston said. “Your turn.”

“No weapons charge, either,” Sandoval said.

Preston shrugged. “
If
what you’ve got leads to a conviction on an attempted murder case, I’ll take this to the D.A. Otherwise, no deal.”

“Maybe you should rethink that. I’m also probably the last person to have seen your foster father alive, and it wasn’t under the best of circumstances. I was there to take something back, and he caught me.”

As she watched, Kim saw Rick’s face turn to stone. His jaw was clenched and so were his fists.

“I went to retrieve something for Angelina Tso—now Curley.”

“We already know she recorded some of his Sings,” Preston said.

“There was more to it than that. Angelina also went through your foster father’s stuff and took photos of other things, like the list of Plant People who could harm. He caught her and demanded she erase everything, but she refused. He grabbed the cell phone but couldn’t erase the images without knowing her password. He refused to give it back until the photos were erased.”

“Why didn’t he just take the memory card?” Preston asked.

“Maybe there wasn’t one, or he didn’t know how to delete the files. Anyway, Angelina hired me to steal the phone back, so I did. The old man caught me, though, and we had a...confrontation. He lost and I took the phone.”

“You—” Rick dived toward him, but Preston got in the way and pushed him back. “Not now!”

Rick pulled himself together in an instant. Only the deadly set of his jaw revealed the rage inside him.

“Do you believe Angelina retaliated against Hosteen Silver after that?” Preston asked.

“Yeah. He threw her out, so she couldn’t become a medicine woman. Angelina was really pissed off. She didn’t think she’d done anything wrong, since she’d paid to learn from him. When you came back home,” he said, looking at Rick, “she offered me a new pickup if I got rid of ‘the marked man.’ She said you were the only one who could connect her with his disappearance. I told her to go fix her own problems.”

“You turned her down? Why should I believe that?” Preston asked.

“Taking on one of you amounts to taking on the whole damned family. I’m not afraid of jail, but I’m not stupid,” Sandoval said.

“You seem to know a lot, Sandoval,” Rick said. “How was my father poisoned?”

“Angelina’s niece—Bonnie—likes to talk, so I can make a good guess. Before she became his apprentice, Angelina and Hosteen Silver were friends,” he said. “He loved breakfast burritos, and Bonnie sold homemade ones with
naniscaadas—
handmade tortillas. Angelina would deliver some to him every morning when she came for her instruction. One time, after a rain, she got stuck driving through Copper Canyon. I understand you dug her out,” he added, looking directly at Rick.

“Was she still bringing Hosteen Silver food at around the time he disappeared?
After
they’d had the falling-out?” Preston queried.

“She wasn’t welcome there anymore, so no, but Angelina often helped get the orders ready and it’s possible her niece continued with the deliveries to Hosteen Silver.”

Rick turned to Preston. “We done here?”

“For now,” Preston responded, standing.

“What about me?” Sandoval asked.

“Once we confirm your story, we’ll discuss the deal,” Preston responded.

They were leaving the room when Rick’s cell phone vibrated, indicating a text message.