Four Corners War

by Ted Clifton

  “Our trip was arranged at the last minute,” Ray admitted, “but I believe we’ll be able to secure a car from Acting Sheriff Trujillo. If we can’t, though, we might take you up on that. By the way—how did you know we’d be on the flight with the governor?”

  Watchman smirked. “The governor himself told me. There’s a long story behind that. I contacted him almost a year ago about our nation’s president and Grimes, and what I suspected to be a major crime involving gasoline taxes. I also communicated that to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the FBI. Governor Johnson, being a very direct person, called me a stool pigeon. Thought that was a little crude. But maybe he was right.” His eyes hardened. “Still, I don’t give a fuck who it is—if you’re stealing from the Navajo people, you’re going to have to deal with me. Hard-charging the president could end up being my last act, though. I figured I ought to find some help.”

  Tyee jumped in. “You said you found this out a year ago?”

  “Not exactly, my friend. I meant to say I contacted the governor about a year ago. I’d been working on this for almost two years before I had enough to talk about it with anyone other than my wife. See,” he continued, leaning only a little closer, “I believe our tribal leader is a crook. He and Grimes have been working a deal for years. Grimes steals gasoline taxes from the state and the feds—how much I don’t know; it has to be millions. And he pays kickbacks to President Begay, who in return signs the falsified reports of how much gas gets sold on the reservation. The amounts are so stupid that anyone, involved or not, would wonder right away how that much gas could be sold on the rez. I don’t really know if they’re both that stupid or just that greedy. But the shit is just about ready to hit the fan.”

  Even given all that interesting information, Ray felt uncomfortable that Watchman seemed to be spilling his guts like this after they had only just met. It struck him as odd. “Is any of this connected with Sheriff Jackson or his wife’s death? Or the death of Martin, the councilman?”

  Watchman shrugged. “I don’t think so. Still, it could be. I don’t know who killed Martin, if that’s what you’re after. I can say that Jackson and Trujillo were never in the loop with the state people or the feds about Begay and Grimes. Reason for that is there was concern that one or the other could tip Grimes off. Now,” he raised an eyebrow, “the governor asked me to tell you all this because he seemed reluctant to tell you himself. I’ve known for a while that he’s delayed action that could have been taken because he’s trying to manage the outcome.” After that, Watchman appeared tired. He took a sip of his coffee. He seemed to be done.

  But Tyee pushed a little further. “Do you think Johnson’s trying to protect Grimes?”

  Watchman leaned back, shaking his head. “Just the opposite, if he could have done it legally, he would have strung the bastard up, right in the town square. I think he’s trying to protect the Navajos and the people who work in all of Grimes’s businesses. Pretty sure the governor hates ol’ Lewis Grimes.”

  Ray felt fatigued himself. There had been days while he was a sheriff when it felt like everybody was some kind of bad guy. That feeling was back. “What do you think will happen with Begay?”

  Watchman sighed deeply. “The FBI will charge him with who knows how many crimes. Once again, Johnson has his hand in this, even if he can’t stop them once they decide. For now, I think they’ve given the governor a couple of days to try and get something out of Grimes. Then they’ll move in.” He looked away. “This is going to be a major story once it breaks. The Navajos are going to look like shit, having a president stealing money just like American politicians.”

  Tyee shook his head. “What the hell is the crazy governor trying to do with Grimes?”

  Watchman shrugged. “My guess is he wants some kind of ownership change so the businesses can still operate after Grimes gets tossed into prison. I advised him, strongly, not to talk to Grimes and let the FBI handle this. He said something along the lines of I should mind my own fucking Indian business.” He curled his lip. “He’s a rude old devil.”

  “Yes, he is. He made it clear to me once that his family had a long history of killing Indians.” Tyee grinned. Perhaps partly for that reason he’d grown to like the crazy governor.

  Ray stood. “I need to find the governor and talk to him. I think talking to Grimes about some kind of deal is one of his dumber ideas. Could you take us to where he is?”

  “Might be too late. You know, he didn’t leave you at the airport by mistake. He doesn’t want you to interfere.” Watchman waited to see whether Ray would react. He didn’t. The captain went on, “Something else you should know.” He straightened up a little. “Acting Sheriff Trujillo was having an affair with Grimes’s wife, the one he calls Vickie. I believe Grimes knows. She’s much younger than him, gorgeous and greedy. If Grimes was ever killed, the first suspect would be her. The second would be Trujillo. Sheriff Jackson knew, too. He had pictures.”

  “Interesting. We know how attractive she is. We saw her—all of her—the day we visited Grimes. But how did you know that Jackson knew?”

  “He told me one day. I always made it a habit to stop by and see him, usually just to chat a bit about the town and any trouble he might be having with our tribal members. He just told me that day that his deputy was having an affair with Grimes’s wife, and he’d decided to fire him.”

  “When was that?”

  “About a month ago.”

  Ray pondered that while the waitress refilled their cups. “I’m almost afraid to ask, but is there anything else we should know?”

  “I’ve reason to suspect Vickie and Trujillo once searched the residence for a cache of money that Grimes is believed to have buried somewhere on the grounds.”

  Tyee leaned forward. “Buried? How much?”

  Watchman didn’t know. “You’ve met Grimes. So you know he’s a little strange. Rumor was, he stole money from himself to avoid paying taxes on it and buried it somewhere on his estate grounds. It’s just been a bar rumor for years, and I always thought it sounded bizarre. I mean, he’s eccentric, not stupid. If he wanted to hide money, he’d move it to another country or something. But the truth might be that he did both. Maybe he actually did hide some getaway money at his house. Apparently, his lovely wife thought so. Otherwise, why would she and Trujillo be digging up the yard?”

  Tyee added his thought. “Maybe to bury a body?”

  In another time and place that might have been funny.

  Ray was on the phone with the governor, and hot about it. “I just don’t understand. You asked us to help you, and yet you have a whole operation going on behind our backs. I think all we can do is go home and let your team take care of everything.”

  “Don’t get pissed about any of that shit, Ray. I didn’t tell you what they were doing because I didn’t want you mixed up in it. I still want a functioning sheriff’s department. Give me your recommendation on Trujillo, yes or no. Then, go home. All the rest is just one big mess, and you don’t want anything to do with it. Do you?”

  Ray paused. Johnson had him there. He wanted nothing to do with financial fraud or romantic affairs, or anything like that. “Okay. I’ll have a report, one way or another, tomorrow. Can we get a ride back to Albuquerque with you?”

  “Sorry, Ray. I’m at the airport right now—leaving in just a minute. Got another fuck-up to deal with back in Santa Fe.”

  Shit. No reason to get mad. It wouldn’t do any good. “What happened with Grimes?”

  “I gave him a week to transfer all his operating businesses into some kind of trust, or to his wife or something, so they could continue to operate if he goes to jail. That bastard just laughed. Told me I was an old fool. My god, he’s the old fool. Stealing millions from the state and the feds—what did he expect? Anyway, I gave him a week, then he’ll be arrested. In the meantime, we’ll keep an eye on him. If he tries to leave, the deal’s off, he’ll be arrested no matter what.” Johnson scoffed. “God, I hate that bastard. He
just kept laughing at me, like it was all a big joke to him. I think all of his years of drinking have rotted his brain. Gotta go. Get that report to me and bill me for the flight home. See ya.” Click.

  Ray walked over to Tyee, who stood staring out a window. “What’s he done to us now?” He sounded beat. The governor had defeated the Indians, once again.

  “He’s leaving. We’re stuck. Told him I’d have a report on Trujillo tomorrow, and then we’re done. I swear I will never work for that old war horse again.”

  “What’s your report going to say?”

  “I don’t know. Easiest answer: he should be fired. If Watchman’s right, he’s done enough wrong to be fired or arrested. Anyway, it would mean he’s not qualified to be sheriff. But,” he wondered, sullenly, “do we believe Watchman?”

  “I guess I do. And that’s not just Indian bias. I just think the guy wouldn’t lie to us. He could be wrong about some of what he says and thinks about Trujillo. But I don’t think he’s wrong about who the guy is. Trujillo’s lied to us, big time. And maybe he’s been plotting all along to steal his lover’s husband’s money.” Tyee formed opinions quickly.

  Ray sighed. “Do you think he’s connected to Martin’s death?”

  Tyee shook his head. “We don’t have anything to connect him. More than likely, the councilman killed himself. The coroner’s report isn’t completed for some reason—once we get the report, it will most likely be a suicide. And no, we don’t know why he’d kill himself. But we have nothing linking Trujillo to him. I think we should go ask Trujillo about Vickie and the hidden treasure. See how he reacts.”

  Ray inquired. “You want to walk?”

  Tyee scoffed. “I’d prefer to ride a horse, but I guess we can if we have to. If he’s not in, maybe they’ll loan us a patrol car. You know,” he went on while they started on their way, “we should get more respect than this. After all, we’re almost famous.”

  Ray pondered how, as big as Tyee was, he could still act like such a baby.

  “Fuck you!” Trujillo was in no mood to take questions about his married girlfriend.

  Ray was beyond being patient with him. He’d bounced between not being sure about him, then thinking he was a good guy, and at present dealing with facts that indicated he might be a bad guy. It was giving him a headache. “You’ll either answer my questions,” he said, flatly, “or I’ll have you relieved of your duties today, by authority of Governor Johnson.”

  “Maybe I’ll just quit. Then you can be sheriff. Or maybe you could appoint your Indian buddy.” Trujillo cast a smirk at Tyee, as if he thought what he’d said sounded clever.

  Ray burst upright, grabbed the acting sheriff’s shirt and pulled him out of his seat until they were nose-to-nose. “I’ve had all the shit I’m going to take off you. You are relieved of duty. I will have your badge and gun.”

  Tyee already had Trujillo from behind, in a clinch that kept him from moving at all. Ray slipped Trujillo’s sidearm from its holster. Tyee shoved Trujillo back into the chair. The anger in the room was so thick it made breathing difficult.

  Ray barked a question, “Were you having an affair with Vickie Grimes?”

  “Yes. So fuckin’ what? That’s between me and Vickie and Grimes. That’s not a crime.” Trujillo’s face turned red. But he kept still.

  “Did you kill Thomas Martin?”

  “Hell, no!”

  “Do you know who did?”

  Trujillo didn’t answer right away, appearing to calm himself down. “Look. My affair with her’s been over for months. It was all wrong. Caused all kinds of problems.” He sighed. “I just couldn’t resist her. I was stupid. My wife left me and took the kids to Phoenix to live with her parents. Now she won’t talk to me, and she’s filed for divorce. It’s ruined my life. But,” he almost pleaded, “I didn’t kill anyone. And I don’t know who killed Martin. I do know he didn’t kill himself. He was having the time of his life. He’d always been this straitlaced guy; and then the next thing I knew; he was out running around with old man Grimes. Every time I saw him in the last six months, that was all he talked about—the sex, the booze. Like suddenly he was one of the cool guys. He wouldn’t have killed himself.”

  “Was he involved in any business deals with Grimes?”

  “Not that I know about. His family had money, and both his parents died over the last two years. He inherited a lot. But I don’t think he would have gotten involved with Grimes when it came to business. He went wild, but he was basically an honest guy. He even told me a couple of times how he thought Grimes was doing illegal shit. I tried to get him to tell me what the hell that meant. But he’d say he couldn’t prove anything, then he’d clam up.”

  “Would Grimes have any reason to kill Martin?”

  Trujillo’s eyes narrowed. “Grimes is a bad, dangerous man. He could do almost anything. If Martin confronted him, he might have worried about him being a risk. There’s little doubt in my mind that Grimes wouldn’t hesitate for a second to eliminate a threat. But,” he admitted, “I don’t have any proof he was involved.”

  Ray and Tyee both sat back down. Nobody said anything for a minute until Ray spoke, “Thad, we’ve got a big mess, involving a lot of powerful people. Soon it’s all going to blow up, and some people in this town are going to be hurt. I have no reason to suspect you of any legal wrongdoing. I mean, you’re right, having an affair with the wife of the richest man in town isn’t a crime. But it does call your judgment into question. And I speak from experience—being a sheriff in a small town is a very difficult job. You’re dealing with your neighbors, friends, relatives, old classmates, and everybody’s connected. You cannot be anonymous, and you can’t hide. You have to lead by example.” Ray looked hard at Trujillo, but couldn’t tell what he was thinking. “On the other hand, a sheriff doesn’t have to be a saint. As a matter of fact, a saint would probably make a lousy sheriff.” He leaned toward Trujillo. “I need to make a recommendation to the governor about what he should do about you. I can say he should fire you, and he’ll send in some state police guy to run the department until an election. But that guy won’t have the stake here that you have. Maybe I should have asked this at the beginning: Do you even want this job?”

  Trujillo turned his eyes to the floor. “Thought I did, months ago. Today, I’m not so sure. Not sure I can handle the politics. Kissin’ up to people is not one of my skills.”

  “I had the same issue. But politics comes with the territory. You handle that by being honest and treating everyone with respect, whether it’s the richest guy in town or the poorest.” Ray realized he sounded to himself like he was preaching. He didn’t like that.

  Trujillo looked up at Tyee and seemed to relax. “Would you want to be sheriff?”

  Tyee glanced at the other two in turn. “Hell, no. You’ve got to be kidding. The pay’s lousy. One day, everybody loves you, and the next everybody hates you. I’d go back to being a fishing guide in a heartbeat.”

  Trujillo laughed, a bit solemnly. “You’re right about all that. But this is the job I want. I screwed up. But I know how to do this, especially in my hometown.”

  Ray nodded. “Even though I can’t say I don’t think there’s a risk in doing it, I’m going to recommend the governor appoint you sheriff. If something else jumps out of your past that I don’t like, I will come back and personally fire you. Now, you need to solve the murder of that councilman. We agree he didn’t commit suicide. Find out what happened, and fast.”

  “Thanks. I’ll do my best not to embarrass you, or Tyee.” Trujillo smiled, if apologetically. “I should tell you, there is someone who I need to talk to about Martin’s murder. But I have to warn you, that might cause some new conflicts.”

  “Who’s that?”

  “He’s on the Navajo police force. A Captain Watchman.”

  Ray and Tyee exchanged looks. “We’ve met him,” Tyee said. “How’s he involved?”

  “He and Martin butted heads. Watchman’s involved in a lot of stuff
in this town, some of it might have been illegal. Jake was investigating him when he went off his rocker. I know he’d discussed it with Martin, but I don’t know what was said. Jake hinted to me that Martin was the key to nailing Watchman.”

  Ray exhaled. “You’d better be careful. And you should put anything you have in writing and pass it along to the state attorney general, just in case you need some back-up. Document everything. Going after a captain of the Navajo Nation Police sounds like dangerous ground.”

  “Yeah. I knew Jackson was afraid of Watchman. Still, I never was certain about what was real with Jake.”

  Ray and Tyee headed out in a borrowed patrol car with little idea where to go. They only knew they needed to leave the sheriff’s department to allow Trujillo time to regroup.

  “An hour ago,” Tyee observed flatly, “Trujillo was almost sure to be arrested. And now you’ve decided to make him sheriff.”

  Ray almost snapped. “You have a better idea?”

  “Nah,” Tyee admitted wearily. “I’m as confused as you. Not sure what’s what. I thought Watchman was being truthful. I thought Trujillo was guilty of something. I’m even starting to question your motives.”

  Ray sighed and ignored the offhand remark about his motives. “I know. I just want to go home and forget about all this shit. I’m sure there are very nice people who live in Farmington. But so far, we’ve only met liars or worse. First, there’s Grimes, who’s a big-time crook and scumbag. He could be responsible for all sorts of things—who knows? The ex-sheriff had serious family and mental problems, killed his ex-wife in a fit of anger, and that was witnessed by his father who might not be his father, who’s some guy named Kee. Trujillo was having an affair with Grimes’s sexy young wife, Vickie. Barbara, the wife of the ex-sheriff, who was killed by her husband, was having an affair with Grimes and the city councilman Martin, who himself is, we strongly suspect, a murder victim whose killer we can’t identify. We don’t know whether Martin was involved with Grimes’s theft of gasoline taxes. And now we learn that Watchman may have something to do with something, but only on Trujillo’s word. Meanwhile, Watchman’s told us that Trujillo and Vickie have been searching for money buried at Grimes’s house. We have the mayor, who seems a little nuts, but has some connections with Trujillo and Martin. And the president of the Navajo Nation is somehow involved. Is that about it?”