Red Mesa (8 page)

Ella backed away, listening and visually searching the area around her, then turned and jogged back to the house. Leaving Dawn with Rose, she retrieved her service pistol and went back outside. Two hadn’t moved, nor had he sat down.

Ella went on ahead, moving carefully and searching for tracks. The dog finally joined her and stayed at her side, sniffing
the air.

Ella was thorough, but she found nothing. As she glanced down at the dog, she saw that Two had relaxed and his hackles were back down.

“I wish you could talk, Two. I’d love to know what it was you saw, or what your nose told you about who or what was here.”

They returned to the house without incident, but Ella was still tense. As she looked at Dawn, she tried to make sense out of her
child’s reaction. Dawn normally would have loudly protested being picked up quickly like that. Yet she’d remained quiet, her eyes glued straight ahead.

Ella sat down on the floor with Dawn, who was sorting her plastic blocks by color. “Daughter, when we went for a walk, did you see anyone out there besides Two?”

Dawn looked up, her dark brown eyes wide as she shook her head.

Rose watched them
for a moment. “What happened?” she asked as Ella sat back, lost in thought, idly handing Dawn one block at a time to place in the proper pile.

Ella recounted the events. “It was really weird, Mom. But there were no tracks at all.”

“At least not where you looked,” Rose said slowly. “Maybe you just didn’t search the right place. The only thing that will set Two off like that is when he thinks
one of us is in danger.”

Ella nodded. “I agree, but I found nothing.” She regretted not having checked to see if the badger fetish around her neck had felt warm at the time. That was always a certain sign of trouble.

Ella considered everything carefully. First there was the vehicle she’d suspected had been tailing her. Now this. She might have been able to discount one of those events as her
imagination, but not both, particularly in light of Two’s reaction. Of course, it could have been a wild creature that Two wasn’t overly fond of, like a snake, but she’d certainly seen no evidence of one anywhere.

The remainder of that afternoon, and throughout the evening, Ella remained restless. She went outside and looked around several times, and then one last time before going to bed.

Alone in her room, with Dawn tucked away and asleep after having to read two stories tonight, Ella turned on her computer and checked for mail. It was a comforting ritual, but tonight there were no letters waiting, just ads for things that held no interest for her.

Hoping for another instant message, she hung around online visiting some of her favorite Internet places, like a site she’d recently
found devoted to herbal medicines. After a while she began a search on-line and tried to locate “Coyote,” but a message on-screen said that there was no such member. Whoever Coyote was, he or she knew how to cover his tracks. She tried an Internet search using the key word
Coyote,
but only got listings for wildlife sites and a Web page for an actor.

Thirty minutes later, frustrated and having
nothing to show for her efforts, she turned off the computer and crawled into bed. The wind had come up outside. Gusts blasted sand and gravel against her window, and a mournful wail filled the room as cold air seeped through a crack in the casing. The almost human sound made her skin crawl. She hated dust storms, but it seemed a fitting end to a nerve-wracking day.

With a muttered curse, she
turned on her side, closed her eyes, and drifted off to a troubled sleep.

SIX

Ella came into the substation early the following morning hoping to talk to Justine before they got down to work. As she was walking down the hall toward the small forensics lab where her assistant spent much of her time, Big Ed appeared in a doorway and waved her toward him.

Ella stepped inside the chief’s office, and was surprised to see Justine there, looking restless and uncomfortable
in her best corduroy jacket and slacks. Both she and Ella were always dressed in civilian clothes except during special department ceremonies. Ella looked from one to the other, but it was impossible to guess what was going on.

“Why don’t you fill Shorty in?” Big Ed asked Justine, waving Ella toward a chair and taking his place behind the desk.

Justine looked at the floor, then finally up at
Ella. “I received a letter from my aunt Lena yesterday afternoon. She lives right on the border between Navajo and Hopi land, west of the community of Steamboat. My aunt believes that the nearby Hopis are stealing her well water and vandalizing her pump. She wants us to put a stop to it.”

“I’ve spoken on the telephone to the tribal officer that patrols the area,” Big Ed said. “He verified that
the pump had been vandalized just recently. He’d found vehicle tracks and some footprints, but so far he hasn’t been able to catch the perp. His territory is so large, he’s having a problem keeping a close watch on the place.” He paused for a moment, as if trying to choose his words with care. “Do you know Lena Clani, Shorty?”

Ella shook her head. “Not personally, but I know her by reputation.
Justine’s aunt is said to be one of our most gifted stargazers. I understand she’s been able to find things people have considered hopelessly lost.”

He nodded. “She’s an important member of our tribe. That’s why this could be a touchy situation.”

“I want to help my aunt,” Justine said, looking at Ella. “But Aunt Lena wants me to go arrest the Hopis who are doing that, and as you know, I can’t
arrest a Hopi unless I catch him inside our boundaries doing something illegal.”

“I don’t want Justine down there on her own because she’s personally involved, so I want you to accompany her,” Big Ed said. “I’ll also have the officer in that district meet you. That way Lena Clani will see that we trust our uniformed cops as much as our plainclothes officers. Give this as much of your time as
it requires.”

“Chief, almost anyone can go with Justine,” Ella protested. “Can you assign someone else? That’s a long trip, and I’ve got work to do here.” That wasn’t quite the truth. The fact was she just didn’t want to be far from Dawn and Rose now that she suspected someone was sneaking around the outside of their house. If she told Big Ed, he’d probably let her off, but she didn’t want to
raise a false alarm and she had no proof anything was going on.

“Your work can wait a bit longer,” Big Ed said flatly.

As they walked out of the chief’s office, Justine glared at Ella. “I’m sorry this is such an inconvenience, Ella. If you want, I’ll go by myself, and just omit that detail from my report. You can do the same and no one will be the wiser. Oh—I nearly forgot. You tend to go back
on agreements like those.”

“Believe what you want, but I never said a word to Big Ed until
after
he met with you. Since the only people at the convenience store were you, me, the perp, and the clerk, I have to assume that the clerk was the one who told the chief. Maybe he’s a friend or a relative.”

Justine hesitated, but wasn’t quite ready to capitulate. “Maybe so. But if you still think my
aunt and I are just wasting your time, perhaps I can get the new Hopi FBI agent to come with me.”

“You’ve heard about him?”

“Of course. Everyone’s talking about Paycheck.”

“You can’t take Payestewa, Justine, without going through Blalock. And this isn’t a federal matter. The reason I don’t want to go is not because I think it’s a waste of time. It’s because I’m worried about Dawn and Mom right
now.”

“Is there a problem at home? You know I’ll do whatever I can to help you,” Justine said quickly, although her voice was still taut.

“I’m not sure what’s going on yet. It’s complicated,” Ella said, shaking her head. “I’m not quite ready to talk about it.”

“Is it because after what happened the other night, you don’t quite trust me?”

“Justine, that’s bull. You’re blowing this whole thing
way out of proportion.” Ella recognized the expression on her young cousin’s face. Justine had made up her mind to assume the worst. It seemed like the incident had affected her a lot more than Ella had imagined. Combined with the growing tension several officers had also observed Justine was exhibiting, it made things unpleasant nowadays.

“I just don’t know why Big Ed was so insistent that
you
come. He could have easily assigned Sergeant Neskahi to this, or even Ralph Tache,” Justine said.

Ella shrugged. She’d wondered the same thing, and the only answer she had was that maybe the chief was aware of the tension between Justine and her, and had decided the long drive would give them time to hash things out.

They got under way a short time later, taking Justine’s unit. It was going
to be a long trip, and for over an hour neither spoke. Justine kept her eyes on the road, occasionally fiddling with the volume on the radio. As time went by, she seemed to grow even more agitated. Chuska Peak was already fading in the distance to the northwest when Justine finally glanced over at her.

“I heard talk around the station that Mrs. Yellowhair is using you as an example of a role
model for our tribe on some radio ads. Since when did you two become such good friends?”

“We’re not, though I do respect the woman for the way she’s handled herself through all the difficult times she’s had to face.”

“I was really surprised that she chose you instead of me,” Justine said pointedly.

Ella looked at her in surprise. “I hope you don’t think I had anything to do with that. I don’t
like being in the public eye.”

“Even if it might help counter some of that stupid gossip going around about you turning to evil?”

“So you’ve heard it, too?” She saw Justine nod. “The only way that’s going to die is if people get bored and go on to other things. But if I’m being held up as a public role model, it’s just going to fuel a lot more talk, not stop it. I really wish Mrs. Yellowhair
hadn’t mentioned me.”

“I wonder why she didn’t pick me. My mother would have been so proud! You know how she values everything Abigail Yellowhair says. But no, she had to go with the star of our team.”

Ella noted how Justine’s hands were gripping the wheel so tightly her knuckles were white. “You’re not the type to be envious of anyone, let alone jealous. What’s really bugging you?”

Justine
shook her head. “I admit I’ve been in a really bad mood, but I’ve got some legitimate gripes.”

“If they’re work related, take them to the chief, or talk to me about them at the station. When we’re in the field, it’s dangerous to let our minds wander.”

“I know my job.” She glared at Ella.

“One more thing, Justine. Don’t ever let me hear that you’re discussing police business with anyone outside
the PD. Is that
very
clear?”

Justine gave her a puzzled look. “Who said I was?”

“I spoke to Jeremiah Manyfarms and he knew about the shooting incident and the misunderstanding that followed, including us not getting along.”

“That’s not going to jeopardize any investigation,” Justine snapped. “Jeremiah happens to be a friend of mine, and I needed someone to talk to. I couldn’t exactly discuss
this with the chief. Or you.”

Ella was getting really annoyed with Justine, but she forced herself not to overreact. “Do
not
discuss anything that pertains to the police department and especially our morale problems with any outsiders. It undermines us with the public.”

“Jeremiah won’t blab it around. I trust him.”

“I’m not willing to join in with that trust, so don’t let me hear about the
department’s dirty laundry from him again.”

A long silence stretched out as they reached the turnoff to Window Rock, entering some of the more beautiful piñon and juniper hills and rock formations on the reservation. Soon they would pass through the Navajo capital on the way to their Arizona destination.

At long last, after Ella’s temper had finally subsided, she spoke again. “By the way, Samuel
Begaye is at large. I got the warning from the Marshals Service yesterday. They suspect he’s in the area and may come after us. Remember the threats he made when we tracked him down?”

Justine nodded. “He’s stupid enough to come after us instead of going underground. I’ll keep a sharp eye out.” Justine paused. “Is that why you didn’t want to leave Rose and Dawn?”

“Partly.” The truth was, she
didn’t see Begaye as one who’d watch their house before striking. He acted first, then thought about it later. But there was always that one chance in a million.

“Why did you wait to tell me about Begaye?”

The question irritated Ella. “I left half a dozen calls for you yesterday, but you never called me back, though you know members of our SI team are required to stay in contact. And today we
haven’t stopped arguing long enough for me to say anything.”

Instead of apologizing, Justine lapsed into silence, playing with the radio volume again. Ella glanced at her assistant, then back out the window. There had to be more to Justine’s attitude than the shooting incident and the aftermath. She was wound tighter than a drum all the time these days, like she was drinking too much coffee,
or was on uppers. But Ella knew Justine well enough to rule out anything such as amphetamines. She barely even drank beer, except at social events.

Hoping to get her to relax a bit, Ella tried to speak in as casual a tone as possible without appearing patronizing. “What can you tell me about your aunt? I know that she’s a traditionalist, of course, but I don’t recall anyone in your family ever
saying much about her. It would help to know a little bit about what she’s like before talking to her,” Ella said.

“I really don’t know much about Aunt Lena. I haven’t seen my father’s sister since I was about Dawn’s age, and my mom has only seen her a few times at ceremonials.”

Ella nodded. It wasn’t unusual. The father’s family usually didn’t play an important role in a kid’s life.

“I know
that my mother’s side of the family believes she’s gifted at stargazing,” Justine continued. “But most of them think she’s a little strange, too. These days she lives in a really lonely part of the Rez. From the way I’ve heard her home described, I can tell you that she doesn’t live at the end of the world—but one can see it from there.”