Blackening song

by Thurlo, Aimée

  Ella worked the handle up and down a few more times to test it. As she brushed her hair away from her eyes, she caught a glimpse of a figure, high on the mesa behind the house.

  She stepped to one side, pretending to study the pump from a different angle, then stole another furtive look. She couldn't tell whether it was a man or an animal. All she could see was a vague outline.

  Ella made a snap decision. She'd face whoever was out there. First she draped her windbreaker over the handle. Maybe it was already dark enough that, from a distance, it would look like she was still working on the pump. Then she patted her waist where her pistol rested, for reassurance.

  Ella had never mastered the traditional hunting skills Wilson and Clifford set such store by, but she was light on her feet and had been trained to proceed cautiously, conserving her energy. She circled around the base of the hill

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  and reached the summit of the mesa less than five minutes later.

  The mesa's top sported only a few patches of waist-high gray sage and grass; it was impossible for anyone to hide effectively. Yet there was no one there. She realized she wasn't likely to find any tracks on the rocky ground.

  Still, she searched the slope that led downhill to the west. But it was just too rough, and in the low light, not even her own prints could be discerned.

  The howl of a coyote rose high in the air. The sound was so cold, it pierced her like a needle. Its pitch fluctuated like unearthly laughter.

  Turning toward the sound, she saw movement on the next mesa. The phantom figure was hard to discern. It was taller than the brush, but certainly not a man. Feeling unnerved, she fingered her gun.

  Ella glanced down at her mother's home. For the first time she was truly glad it had the added protection of the pollen blessing. If nothing else, the ones who were using traditional beliefs to create fear might respect that, if only to avoid revealing the fact that they were fakes. She knew she would be unable to get any closer to whoever or whatever was out there. Either there were two of them, or she was awfully slow.

  Ella looked back down the hill. The brightly lit house beckoned invitingly. More than ever, it looked like a haven. Frustrated, she was ready to go back. She'd lost this round.

  The coyote's cry rose again, mocking her. She was beaten for now, and she knew it. But tomorrow she'd see how fast she could turn the hunter into the hunted.

  Whoever was behind all these stunts was going to pay.

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  yellows, and browns, was only a momentary distraction. The longer the case went unresolved, the more it would sap her mother's strength. Ella needed to make real progress soon.

  Seeing flashing lights in her rearview mirror, Ella pulled over, her pursuer a dark blue pickup she recognized as Bla-lock's. The FBI man approached casually. Ella got out of the truck to meet him. "What's up?"

  Blalock regarded her for a long moment, as if trying to make up his mind about something. "I've been waiting for a chance to talk to you alone/' he said at last, looking up and down the empty highway. "Come sit in my car."

  Settling into the passenger seat, Ella tried to appear unconcerned, but she was intensely aware that no one knew where she was, or who she was with. If Blalock was one of her enemies, she was making a big mistake. "What's this all about?"

  Blalock reached under the driver's seat.

  Ella unobtrusively moved her hand closer to her side-arm.

  He pulled out a large padded manila envelope. "Here."

  "What's this?" she asked, opening it to peer inside.

  "A formal letter of apology to your mother for the incident at the church. Also, as keepsakes for her, I've had copies made of all the official letters of commendation you've received throughout your career."

  Ella smiled, disarmed by his blunt kindness. It was totally unexpected. "You didn't have to go to all this trouble." He was being uncharacteristically nice.

  "Yes, I did. Believe me, it's as much for me as it is for her. I've got to live with myself." He met her gaze. "And that's as close to an apology as you're going to get."

  "I appreciate this, and so will my mother."

  "I realize you've got a vested interested in this case, and the help you've given me so far has been useful. My problem is that I can't just ignore direct orders from the Albuquerque office. That's why I'm reluctant to tell you anything that can be traced back to me."

  "Look at it this way. It's to our advantage to work together. The sooner you close this case, the quicker you'll get transferred back to your kind of civilization. It doesn't take a mind reader to know you're unhappy out here," she said.

  "You're not totally at home here either; don't kid me."

  "That's true, but this is where I was born and raised. I may not like many of the things here, but at least I'm used to them."

  Blalock nodded thoughtfully. "Okay. We'll pool our information. I know you've been investigating unofficially. What have you uncovered?"

  "First, what have you got to trade?" Ella knew better than to trade something for nothing.

  "For now, not much at all. I admit, I'm at a standstill. But I'm pursuing a few angles that might pan out. For one thing, I'm trying to establish where everyone even remotely connected to your father was that night. It's taking some time, because names keep popping up."

  "You'll let me in on those?"

  "Count on it. What have you got?"

  "Nothing solid, just guesses and feelings. Add Wilson Joe to that list you're checking out, but please do that one yourself." Blalock nodded, and Ella continued, "It's not that I suspect him of anything, I just want to know where everyone fits in. Also, add Allison Begay to your list. I hear she used to be involved in some, let's say, 'superstitious' behavior around here. If I turn up anything else, I'll let you know."

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  Blalock glared at her. There's something you're not telling me."

  "It's nothing you can deal with, trust me."

  "If we work at cross purposes, we're going to jeopardize this entire investigation," Blalock warned.

  "Believe me, the leads I'm following are closed to non-Navajos. They involve our religious practices and beliefs."

  "Are they linked to the case?"

  "Probably not directly. I'll have to see it through and let you know."

  "You're still not playing ball. I made a gesture of good faith, and you're throwing it back in my face."

  "No, not at all. I am cooperating with you." Ella opened the door and stepped out of his car. "I gave you a name I'm willing to bet you haven't come across in your investigation. When I have something concrete, I'll contact you."

  "Yeah, sure, only I better not hold my breath."

  "I want an arrest made and this case closed as soon as possible. I have much more at stake here than you do. Don't forget that."

  As Ella headed back to her mother's truck, Blalock whipped his car around and drove off, leaving a trail of dust and the smell of burning rubber in the air. She hoped she hadn't just lost a valuable source of information. His instincts had been right—she was keeping things from him. Blalock would have laughed in her face if she'd mentioned skinwalkers, or he would have decided they were like a terrorist organization and turned the reservation upside down looking for them. Doing that would create a panic that would give even a stupid crook enough time to hide ... and her opponent was anything but stupid.

  Although Ella knew she'd done the right thing, she still felt a little guilty. Blalock had gone through a lot of bureau

  paperwork to make up that packet for her mother. He had even had the commendations bound into a portfolio. She leafed through the papers quickly, memories of past successes filling her mind and giving her confidence a much-needed boost. Ella took a deep breath. She slid the folder back into the envelope, set it on the seat, and resumed the drive home.

  When she got there, Ella saw her mother, sitting on the porch knitting, with Loretta in the chair beside her.
Ella felt her stomach muscles tense with nervousness. If her sister-in-law would give her a chance, Ella would try to mend fences with Loretta.

  It looked like she wasn't going to get that chance. Loretta had stepped off the porch and was walking away, in the direction of her home. "Don't go!" Ella called, hurrying to catch up to her.

  Loretta waited for Ella. Her expression was unforgiving. "I just came to visit your mother, and let her know she is welcome to stay with us."

  "What did she say to that?" Ella asked.

  "She changed the topic," Loretta admitted. "I don't think she'll come."

  Ella nodded slowly. "I figured as much, but it was nice of you to make the offer." She paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to proceed. "I've been hoping for a chance to talk to you. I want to apologize for what happened with FB-Eyes."

  Loretta's face lost some of its hard edge. "This has been hard on all of us. I know you're doing your best to help."

  Loretta looked as if she'd aged ten years since the last time Ella had seen her. Yet she was still hanging tough. In her own way, she was as proud as Rose, and wouldn't accept consoling words easily. "I'm going to do whatever it

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  takes to clear my brother's name," Ella said firmly. "But I need your help. I don't want dissension between us at a time when we need to maintain a united front." Ella paused. "I love my brother, though he makes me crazy sometimes."

  Loretta's expression softened and she smiled sadly. "You make him crazy too, you know. You're both too set in your own ways."

  Ella smiled back. "Okay, I'll admit that."

  "Truth is always hard to refute," Loretta baited her. "For me too. So forgive my anger toward you. There's no place for that now, as you say."

  Ella glanced back at the house. "How did Mom seem to you?"

  "She's a strong woman. You don't have to worry about her. She'll go on with her life. You already have her thinking of the future. She has many hopes for you and Wilson."

  Ella groaned. "There's nothing to hope for!"

  "Maybe, but it's a distraction, a pleasant one, that keeps her mind occupied. There's no harm in it."

  Ella wasn't convinced, but decided not to argue the point. "If you hear anything helpful, or if you need anything, please call me?"

  Loretta nodded. "I will. I want my husband back as soon as possible. I miss him."

  The words were spoken simply, but the raw emotion behind them communicated clearly to Ella. "Would you like me to walk home with you?"

  "No, it's not necessary. My uncle will meet me soon."

  Loretta headed up the mesa. Ella waved and went back to the truck for the groceries. Putting them away in the kitchen, Ella noticed three iced-tea glasses in the sink. Rose came into the room and rinsed the glasses.

  "Wilson drop by again? 7 ' Ella asked.

  Rose nodded. "I hope you two are getting along okay. He usually stays longer than he did today."

  Ella sighed. "It might be a good thing that he left early. If Wilson's around all the time, he's going to start interfering with what I have to do."

  "There's more going on between you than the search for answers. You know it as well as I do."

  She hated to do it, but she couldn't allow her mother to build false hopes. "Wilson and I are friends, but that's all it'll ever be. He loves the reservation, and his teaching post here. My career will always keep me away. We've both made choices, and my job is as important to me as his is to him. When summer's over and classes begin in the fall, we'll both be too busy to do anything but write an occasional letter."

  Rose shook her head. "You inherited every bit of your father's stubbornness, but he had more sense."

  Ella followed her mother to the living room. Rose sat in the easy chair next to the lamp and began to knit. The only sound in the room was the clicking of her needles. Ella picked up a crafts magazine from the coffee table and leafed through it.

  After an eternity, Rose glanced up. "I didn't mean to speak harshly to you."

  "It's okay, Mom."

  "I miss your brother—you know that—and Wilson's presence has helped. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come home. The house seems very, very empty when I'm here alone, yet this is my home, where I belong."

  Ella felt tears welling in her eyes. She remembered, all

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  too vividly, what it was like to face the death of your mate. After Eugene had died, she'd wandered aimlessly around their apartment. What her mother was going through was far worse. She'd lost the man with whom she'd shared her entire adult life. Her mother and father had been like counterweights that balanced each other, and now, with his senseless murder, everything was off-kilter.

  Ella gave her mother a hug. "We've both had our losses. After mine, I was lost too. But I learned there were many reasons to pick up the pieces and go on. You have even more hope and support than I did. You have Clifford and me, and your own home. Lean on us, but never give up hope. The hurting will stop."

  "You're right, of course. I'll eventually find new things to fill the empty spaces inside me." Rose walked to her husband's desk and sat down heavily. "But right now, our whole family is in trouble."

  Ella glanced at the commendation binder Blalock had given her, which she'd left on the table closest to the door. She considered showing it to her mother in hopes of distracting her, then discarded the idea. This was no time to remind her mother of that disastrous church service. As her mother turned to look out the large bay window, Ella placed the binder on a bookshelf.

  "Did my daughter-in-law tell you what's been happening?" Rose asked.

  "You mean about the police following her?" Ella said, gesturing for her mom to join her on the couch.

  "No. This is more serious. I think she's in trouble, though she doesn't fully realize that yet."

  "How so?"

  "After FB-Eyes came back to ask more questions, she in-

  sisted on leaving the hogan and moving in with her brother, Paul. They've both seen coyotes around the house at night. They stay just out of rifle range, in the shadows/'

  Ella suppressed the shudder that traveled up her spine. "They must be after the sheep."

  "Paul's not sure what to do. He called earlier, asking for you."

  "I'U go call him back."

  Rose shook her head. "He's not home. By now, he's at the chapter house. He said he'd be there until six."

  Ella remembered Navajo-style local government. Chapter houses were like grange halls in a lot of ways, places where many of the Dineh came together to voice problems and complaints. "Paul used to be one of the headmen. Is he still?"

  "Yes, and he has more influence than ever. He's the one who reports to the Tribal Council on local affairs."

  "I'll drive over to the chapter house and meet him there." Ella hadn't thought of Paul as a possible suspect because he idolized Clifford. But he was in a position of power, or at least influence, and that could corrupt almost anyone. There were enough politicians—on and off the Rez—to back up that notion. She assumed Paul was on somebody's list of involved parties and made a mental note to look at his file, if he had one.

  "Good idea. He said he was just going over to do some paperwork. You'll have all the privacy you need."

  "Mom, have you noticed anything or anyone around our home when I'm gone?"

  "No, nor when you're asleep. I keep watch sometimes."

  Her mother's admission that she hadn't been sleeping was distressing. "You know, if you ever want to talk, come and wake me. I don't mind, really."

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  Rose shook her head. "It's all a process."

  "Of grieving?"

  "That, and of learning how to cope with this new life I'm forced to lead." Her smile was broken, mirroring the pain inside.

  At that moment, Ella wanted to arrest the man who'd taken her father's life more than she had ever wanted anything in her life. She'd never seen anyone look so alone.


  "There's something else you should know. I think Paul's really afraid. If you weren't my daughter, I don't think he'd go to you for help. He's afraid of trusting anyone, particularly the police and that man, FB-Eyes."

  Ella nodded, remembering Blalock's behavior at the hogan. She couldn't blame Paul for his reaction, particularly given Blalock's history with Navajo suspects. "I'll be back as soon as I can, Mom."

  "Do your investigating and stop worrying about me. I'm not the helpless old woman you sometimes think me to be."

  "I never ..."

  Rose held up a hand. "Go. I'm counting on you to clear your brother."

  "I will do that, though it may take me some time if Clifford won't come forward and speak for himself. Don't lose faith in me, please." Ella knew she had failed her mother once, by not acting on the threats against her father. She wouldn't be able to stand it if her mother thought all her help would be so ineffective.

  Rose answered her unspoken thought. "You're my daughter. My love for you isn't measured in what you accomplish or fail to achieve. It's there. Always."

  Ella hugged her mother tightly. Knowing the strength of her mother's love revitalized her, but she wanted respect

  too. "Just hold on, okay? All this will end soon, and Clifford will return."

  A few minutes later, Ella drove slowly away, trying to make sure she didn't come across any hidden arroyos or holes as she headed cross-country. She'd save at least forty-five minutes going this way, if she could stand the bouncy ride, and she was eager to meet with Paul. Maybe he could give her a new lead. At the moment she was desperate to find a trail that would yield positive results.

  As she slowed down to traverse an area crisscrossed with rain-spawned furrows, she caught a flash of a mirror or windshield in her rearview mirror. Someone was tailing her. She drove over the next hill and stopped the truck, engine still running, near the cover of some boulders. She glimpsed Blalock's pickup coming up the slope behind her. In the blink of an eye, he killed the engine and coasted behind a cluster of tall brush, gliding out of her line of vision.