by Ted Clifton
Tyee had something to add. “There is the question of what the governor knows. Also, what do the FBI and the BIA know? Or the attorney general? It seems odd to me how the governor can grant a man, accused of stealing millions from the state and federal governments, a week to decide what to do. Wouldn’t it make more sense to arrest Grimes, and then sort things out? And anyway, does the governor have the authority to do what he said he did?”
Ray peered over the steering wheel. “Our buddy the governor might not want to talk to us about all this horseshit. Why don’t we just go ask Grimes? If he causes us any problems, I’d be in the mood to beat the truth out of the old bastard.”
“Giddy-up! And watch out, all you fuckers!” Tyee smiled. He thought Ray was joking. Or, maybe not.
They rang the bell on Grimes’s huge door. No response.
Ray looked around. “Looks like all the armed warriors got the day off.” In fact, they hadn’t seen anyone.
“Could be a warrior holiday.”
Grimes showed up behind them, abruptly. “What the hell do you two want?”
They jumped a little. Ray cleared his throat. “How about a chat?”
Grimes sneered. “Fuck you. I’m going to Albuquerque. Gonna meet with my lawyer. No time to chat with cowboy and Indian.” Just to make his point, he shot Tyee a dirtier sneer.
Ray kept his cool. “Won’t take long.”
“Look, you want to talk to me? Ride to Albuquerque with me. Or don’t. I don’t give a fuck.”
“Ride, in a car?” Ray wasn’t sure about getting into a vehicle with someone as old as Grimes behind the wheel.
“Hell, no. Got my own plane. I’m the best goddamned pilot who ever flew. Come on. It’s just a short flight to Double Eagle II in Albuquerque. I won’t kill ya!”
Was it smart to get on a plane with a maniac? Of course, their truck was parked there, so accepting the offer would solve some logistical problems.
Grimes had turned and was headed to the side of the house where the garages were. They had little time to make up their minds.
Ray could see Tyee turning pale. “What do ya think?” He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to go, and all but positive Tyee would refuse.
Instead, he put on a confident yet nervous front. “What the fuck? I’m ready to get the hell out of here. If he does anything stupid, I’ll just strangle him and figure out how to land the damned thing myself.”
Ray called Trujillo to tell him they were at the airport and they would leave the patrol car there. He hung up before Trujillo could ask any questions.
The plane was beautiful, new, and probably worth more than a million bucks. Ray clung to those facts for reassurance that everything would be okay. Grimes barked, “All aboard!” With ill-advised and probably illegal speed, he fired it up, turned it onto the runway, and was airborne before you could say “here we go, ready or not.”
Ray knew pilots were supposed to inspect planes, run up the engines and notify the tower first. Grimes had done none of those things.
“Did I ever tell you guys,” Grimes shouted over the noise of straining engines and scratchy protests crackling over the radio, “that I used to be a fighter pilot in the Navy? Landing on an aircraft carrier in high winds was some of the most fun I ever had.”
Tyee lost all his natural color.
Grimes leveled off at cruising altitude, completely at home flying his airplane. He talked about the plane itself, a twin-engine Cessna 425 Conquest, telling his thunderstruck passengers it was one of the best on the market. From there, he went on to detail the many upgrades and improvements he’d made to the plane and how all of them had cost him an arm and a leg. A matter he discussed in particular, concerned the lengths to which he’d gone to reinforce its landing gear. Ray and Tyee exchanged looks of dread. They could only imagine one fearful reason why a plane would need its landing gear reinforced.
But they never got a chance to ask about it, because Grimes dominated air time. He kept talking about the plane and circled back to tell stories of his experiences as a Navy pilot. It became clear they weren’t going to discuss anything to do with Farmington.
“Hang onto your seats, boys,” he announced abruptly. “Let me show you what it feels like to land on a carrier.” With that he put the plane into what felt to Ray and Tyee like a nose dive. Grimes, smiling broadly, called to the tower and seemed to get clearance for his crash landing. And although Tyee and Ray felt certain they were in a nose dive, they weren’t. Still, their angle was absurdly steep for an approach to an airport. From Ray’s point of view, sinking into his seat, it certainly looked like Grimes indeed would crash the plane straight into the runway. It was at this point he extended the landing gear. The plane reacted to the additional drag by seeming to go into a steeper dive, or so it felt. Grimes, meanwhile, grinned like he was at his own birthday party, having a great time. At the very last instant, he pulled up and leveled off. The Cessna slammed into the runway in what without question was the hardest landing Ray ever experienced. It was more like a controlled crash.
“Fuck!” Grimes crowed, “Another perfect landing. How the fuck did you like that?”
Ray and Tyee just stared at him, each silently thanking God they were still alive. Grimes whipped the plane this way and that until it parked, at last at rest.
Tyee jumped up, flung the door open, flipped the stairs down, bounded out of the plane and sprinted for the terminal.
Grimes watched him with a smirk. “Guess the Indian doesn’t like flying.”
Ray thought about a punch to the arrogant bastard’s nose but didn’t want to hang around that long. “Fuck you.” He went to find Tyee.
Tyee came out of a bathroom and walked up to Ray to announce firmly, “I quit!”
Their trip to T or C was silent.
“My god, Ray,” Sue sighed after he told her about their plane ride with Grimes, “that is terrible. Where’s Tyee now?”
“As soon as I parked, he got out and just walked off. I don’t know if he was just going for a walk or leaving.”
“You just let him walk away? Jeez. Men!” She went outside, calling for Tyee.
Ray was never much of a drinker but knew he needed something. He poured some scotch, added a touch of water, and sank into a chair. It had been years since the last time he’d been shit-faced. He was giving the idea some real thought when Sue came back in.
“He’s in the annex, working on his computer,” she reported. “Said he didn’t want to talk about anything. Just wants to be alone.” She poured herself a shot, no water, and took a slug. “Something’s going to have to change, or you and Tyee are going to lose your friendship. And that would be terrible.”
Ray sank deeper into his chair. “I know. I also know you’re pissed at me, and Big Jack is pissed at me. Tyee said he quit. And given another minute, I might have said the same thing. I’ve already said I wanted a break, but maybe it’s more than that. Maybe I’m just done. Seems like the crazy-people population is growing too fast for me to deal with. I just want to be here with you. I want to hide from the crazies.”
Happy, Ray’s dog, came up and put his head in Ray’s lap, knowing something was wrong. It made Ray smile, and he relaxed a little.
Ray made his way to Big Jack’s bait shop, now run by Tyee’s cousin Chester.
“Hey, Chester.”
“Mr. Pacheco! Great to see you. Big Jack’s out on the dock.” Chester got closer to whisper, “Glad you’re here. He’s started drinking earlier and earlier. Now it’s a beer before coffee. He needs someone to talk to, before this gets worse.”
Ray looked toward the door to the dock, then changed the subject. “Store sure looks great Chester. You’ve done a wonderful job. Smells good, too.”
“Well, I try. Big Jack complains about the smell. Says he liked it better with the mystery odor.” Chester frowned dubiously. “Do you think he really means it?”
Ray shook his head, smiling. “Probably not. More than likely something else is bothering h
im and he doesn’t want to talk about it. You just keep doin’ what you’re doin’.”
Chester smiled. He didn’t get many compliments from Big Jack. Hearing Ray say good things made his day better.
Ray and Happy headed out to the dock. As soon as Happy saw Big Jack, he burst into a mad dash towards his best friend, other than Ray, of course.
“Hey, ya old mutt. Where the hell have you been?” Big Jack gave Happy an aggressive rub-and-hug greeting. Happy wagged his tail as hard as he could. Jack squinted up at Ray. “What the fuck do you want? Come to scold me about something?”
“Beer for breakfast? Pretty soon you’ll be a slobbering old drunk who nobody wants to be around.” Ray replied, matter-of-factly.
Big Jack shrugged. “Fine with me.”
“Well, if that’s gonna be your attitude, guess I’ll join you.” Ray reached into the cooler and pulled out a beer. He could see a slight smile on Big Jack’s face. They sat and sipped a bit, saying nothing until Big Jack decided to own up.
“Okay. I’m all fucked up. So what? I’ve always been that way. I just can’t be a mayor anymore. I don’t want people to talk to me or act like they know me.” He frowned bitterly. “It’s just creepy. They come up to me and talk about their toilets for god’s sake, or some problem with the road in front of the house. I don’t care. Why can’t they understand that?”
“You know; I’ve heard this story before. So quit.”
“I’ve been thinking for over a month that I would do just that,” Big Jack confessed. “I just didn’t know how, until now. I’ve made a decision. This has been hard for me, because in a strange way, even though I hate all that, I didn’t want to leave. And it’ll still be hard. But I’ve got to, or I’ll go crazy. This is what I’ll do: I’m going to name Beverly acting mayor. She’ll love having all these people talking to her about their damned toilets. And maybe then she won’t be mad at me for leaving. And I’m going to sell the store to Chester—well not sell, right away. We’ll enter into a partnership that won’t cost him anything. He runs the store for five years and sends me a small percentage of revenue. After that, the store’s his, free and fuckin’ clear. As for me, I’m going to Albuquerque and open a small office; get back into law. Once I’m back up to speed, I’ll move to the biggest town I can find, open a law office and be completely invisible. What do ya think?”
Ray laughed. a genuine belly laugh. They clicked beers. “Good for you. Do it!”
Next stop for Ray and Happy was to see Tyee. He knew the last thing Tyee had said to him came out of frustration, fright, and anger at Lewis Grimes, but only because he was part of a whole situation that had forced its way between them. Nancy had left, and Tyee wanted her back, but he hesitated to make an ultimate commitment to marriage. Pile too much uncertainty on, and a man gets surly. And boy, had Tyee been surly.
He found Tyee at his computer.
“I think you should quit,” Ray said without preamble. “Big Jack’s going out to Albuquerque because he hates being mayor. I’m yelling at people I care about because I’m tired of dealing with all these crazy assholes. We’ve got to make changes. I know you don’t want me to tell you what to do, but I don’t care. I think you should go see Nancy, tell her you love her, but also tell her you’re not sure about getting married right now. And ask her what she thinks. She might surprise you. Might say she never wanted to marry you. What I mean is, don’t just ignore the issue. Deal with it the best you can, and see what happens.” He paused for a deep breath. Tyee had not turned away from his computer screen. “But first—yes, but first—we’ve got to honor our commitment to our asshole governor. I wanted to just recommend Trujillo and walk away, let the rest of it be a problem for someone else. But I can’t. I don’t think you can, either. How can we recommend Trujillo to be sheriff when we’re not sure he wasn’t involved in at least one murder, or in financial fraud, or in whatever else might be going on? I don’t want to do it. But I’ve got to go back to Farmington and clean this mess up, once and for all. I’d like you to come with me. If you say no, I understand. We’ll still be friends. And we’ll go fishing every time we get a chance.”
Tyee turned to look at him. “Well, none of that surprises me. When are you going?”
“Day after tomorrow. Leave early. Gonna drive. About five hours. So, leave about seven and get there around noon.”
“I’ll be ready.” Tyee stood up and offered his hand. Ray instead gave Tyee an unexpected hug.
He let go and left quickly. He didn’t want Tyee to see his tears.
Ray sat in the breakfast nook sipping tea and watching Sue make lunch. He felt more content then he had in a long time. He’d told Sue about his decisions and his talks with Big Jack and Tyee. She was pleased.
“Saw Beverly this morning,” she said. “I dropped by the Lone Post and she was having coffee. She told me about Jack and how she was going to be appointed mayor. She seemed happy and sad all at once. But she was already in politician mode, greeting everyone and telling them he’d asked her to handle things for a while. People were telling her all their problems and she was actually offering solutions. Who knows? She could be good at it.”
“What did she say about Big Jack leaving?”
“Not much. I could tell she’s sad. I guess they had more or less ended their relationship a while ago; they just didn’t talk about it with anyone. So it might even be a relief for her to have him leave.”
“What do you think’s going on with Nancy?” Ray was genuinely curious.
“She and Tyee are in love, but they’re both afraid of a commitment. And I believe she left because she realized how much she wanted to stay and be with Tyee, and it scared her. She didn’t want to take the emotional risk. Tyee really feels the same—he wants to be with her, but doesn’t want to go all in because he’s afraid she’ll say no. So everybody withdraws to their respective corners and waits. You know it’s possible for people to be so damaged they can’t form another relationship.”
“You were hurt,” he observed, “but you got over it.” He wasn’t comfortable discussing these matters. He didn’t want to just shrug and move on, either.
“It wasn’t easy,” she said. “When I met you, I’d been running away from anything that looked like a serious connection. And that was the case for years. Then, all of a sudden, it seemed okay. I think—and don’t get all sensitive on me here—it had to do with you being so vulnerable. You were obviously a catch for some woman, and you didn’t even know it. Because of your long-term successful marriage, you were completely innocent. What woman wouldn’t be attracted to that?”
Ray blushed. “Innocent, huh? Guess I didn’t see myself that way.”
“Of course you didn’t. You were a perfect match for me, and I found you right here in T or C, New Mexico, at the counter of the Lone Post Café. How romantic.” Sue pretended to swoon. She could see Ray was still embarrassed. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell this to anyone else. Your secret is safe with me.” She giggled. Ray grabbed her hand. They went into the bedroom. Happy stayed in front of the fire.
“Good morning.” Ray greeted Tyee while he climbed into the truck.
Tyee grinned. “Good morning. Sure feels a lot better about going to Farmington in this old truck. Beats flying.”
“Yeah,” Ray cleared his throat. “No carrier landings for this old rig.”
Tyee switched the subject. “Had some beers with Big Jack yesterday. His whole mood’s different, talking about his new office in Albuquerque and how he was going to pick up some criminal cases. He seemed better than I’ve seen him in months. Soon as he gets settled, I’m going up to see him.” He nodded. “Called Nancy. Asked if she’d see me. She sounded glad I called.” A grin tried to work its way back onto his face. “Said of course she wanted to see me. I guess maybe I imagined she was hating me or something. Guess not.” He glanced at Ray. The next part was tough to say. “Thanks for helping me with that little nudge to call her.” He paused. Ray blushed. “So,” he continued,
“what’s the agenda in Farmington?” Investigative stuff felt like much safer conversation ground than personal matters.
Ray relaxed. “First, go see Trujillo. Called last night; didn’t get him. Left a message saying we’d be there about noon. That will be our first item, to see what’s been going on while we’ve been gone. Then want to talk to Grimes’s wife. Next is Watchman. Got to find out the truth about what Trujillo said. We know someone’s lying and we have to find out who. And last but not least, we still need to talk to Grimes. Might even bring him in to the station and question him. That’d really piss him off. And I’ve got this idea that might lead to him saying things we need to know. If we’re still alive after all that, we could circle back around and go see the mayor again, and then try to see the Navajo president. That ought to shake something loose.”
“Sounds like White Man’s plans involve attacking anyone standing and hope someone confesses to all of their sins—or points fingers at other sinners.”
“Indian is wise beyond his years. If we had horses, we could ride in with guns blazing.”
“Not so sure about the blazing guns part.”
With their long list of interviews, all with people who didn’t want to talk to them, they entered Farmington sharing a sense of dread. They knew it was the right thing to do, but it still felt like something bad could happen. Without delay, or lunch, they headed to the sheriff’s department.
Ray was smiling at the young woman at the front desk. “Would you let Sheriff Trujillo know that Ray Pacheco and Tyee Chino would like to visit with him?”
