George Custer rode with Thomas Begay and Charlie, who drove his own truck, and led the way out.
The Colombian woman and the last of the graduate students were passengers in the follow-up vehicle, which was loaded with more gear and driven by Harley Ponyboy. When assigned the task by Professor Custer, Harley neglected to mention his lack of a driver’s license. He had already driven the professor’s Suburban into town once—and that while drunk—he thought it reasonable to assume he could do as well sober. Harley had no confidence in drivers not schooled in the rigors of reservation driving. The graduate student was from the city and not of a proper temperament, in his opinion. The Colombian woman did not drive at all.
Thomas knew Harley didn’t have a license but kept silent. He, too, thought Harley the best candidate.
The little convoy had gone no more than two miles when Charlie spotted Hastiin Bahzhoni headed their way across a small sage flat. He was traveling quite fast for an old man on an old horse and was stirring up quite a cloud of dust in the process. Charlie gauged their point of convergence, slowed his truck, and came to a standstill just as the old man pulled his horse to a sliding stop. Thomas Begay was impressed and hoped he could still ride as well, should he reach that age.
Thomas rolled down his window and greeted the old man with a questioning tilt of his chin. He could see Hastiin Bahzohni was in a hurry to tell them something and skipped the niceties.
“Grandson,” the old man said in Navajo, trying to catch his breath, “in the middle of the night I got up to check the sheep—something had gotten into them. A coyote maybe. While I was still up and taking a pee, I happened to look down here to the road and saw headlights heading back into your camp.” The old man had recovered his wind, slowed down, and now took his time—as older Navajo will eventually do when telling even the most desperate story. “I didn’t think too much about it at the time. I supposed it to be one of your people coming back late from a trip to town.
“I had no more than settled the sheep and gone back to sleep when a great thunder shook me out of my blankets. I first thought one of those airplanes that cross in the night had fallen down near your camp. That was the direction the noise came from.” The old man took another deep breath. “Again, my silly sheep scattered, and this time it took the dogs some time to gather them. That speckled dog is not as young as he once was and sometimes gives out, leaving the other to do both their jobs. I could not sleep after that and, not long after, I saw the lights coming back this way, and it occurred to me those lights were too close together to be a pickup, probably more like a jeep or some other off-road vehicle.”
Thomas interrupted the old man, though he would not ordinarily have done such a thing. “Acheii, I do not mean to be rude, but it is important we know who was at our camp this morning. Our camp is gone now, and we wonder why, and who might have done such a thing.”
“I was afraid of that.” The old man shook his head and looked for a moment in the direction of the ruins. “But it was not those people in the jeep that did it.”
Thomas snorted in surprise and stared at the old man. “Why do you say that, Grandfather?”
“Those people did not have time to even get to your camp and return by time I saw them coming back out again.” He frowned. “Maybe they became frightened when they heard that big noise and turned back, but they did not have time to reach your camp and return in the amount of time that passed.”
Thomas knew the old man had spent his life in this country and knew exactly how much time would be required. He repeated in English for Professor Custer what Hastiin Bahzhoni had said.
Dr. Custer studied on this. “If that is so, it could mean someone in our own group engineered that blast, which could explain why Harley and I didn’t spot anyone coming in from the outside. The bugger slid in from inside our own camp.”
Charlie Yazzie nodded thoughtfully and was also now convinced their antagonists had yet another confederate among the crew. How many could there be?
10
The Reprisal
In Cortez, the professor directed that the graduate student and the Colombian woman were to be reunited with their fellow crewmembers at the motel. The group was further instructed to take the two university vans and return to Albuquerque the following day. He did not mention that he, Charlie, and both Thomas and Harley would continue on to Aida’s ranch in a continuation of the original investigation.
At the motel, the undergrad student who had driven the earlier van reported that he had delivered the injured people to the hospital for treatment and was awaiting a report as to their condition and release status. “Neva Travis had me drop her off at the bus station. Said she had ‘pressing business’ to attend.” He said this last part somewhat doubtfully, as though he was not entirely convinced. “She did say she would be in touch, however, and to give everyone her best.”
Dr. Custer looked up sharply at this. “Did she mention notifying the authorities, as I asked?”
“Not that I recall, though I guess she could have done that after we dropped her off at the bus station.”
Charlie darted a quick glance at the professor and went directly to the office phone.
Professor Custer questioned the student further, “Did you check with Bob Mills about Tanya Griggs while at the hospital?”
“Yes, I did. Bob said she was doing as well as could be expected. I told him I was sure you would be up to check on them.”
“That’s our first stop after leaving here,” the professor confirmed, looking past the young man at Charlie, who was still on the phone. After arranging double accommodations for everyone, (except the Colombian woman, who was given a room to herself), the professor went to stand by Charlie, still engaged on the phone.
Thomas and Harley came in with the group’s personal luggage, and most were then off to hot showers. They’d had makeshift showers back in camp, but water was scarce and most had been anticipating the real thing.
Charlie nervously played with the phone’s spiral cord as he waited for the FBI agent in charge to come online. He lowered the receiver momentarily to look at the professor. “Neva contacted no one that I’ve talked to so far. The FBI agent is checking now, but doesn’t think he has had anything reported, either. He’ll get right back to us to.”
The Professor shook his head and thought unkind thoughts about Neva Travis.
By the time the FBI did finally return his call, Charlie and the professor were in their room. Charlie listened intently for several minutes before he thanked the agent and turned to George Custer. “Her bus already arrived in Farmington, and she may have made the afternoon flight out to the Albuquerque hub. They have an agent on the way there to verify.”
Custer sighed heavily and, taking the phone, called the hospital to talk to Tanya Grigg’s doctor, and hopefully speak to Bob Mills as well. Her doctor, when he finally came on the phone, was encouraging, saying Tanya may not have had the heavy dose of venom her admitting physician first thought. “Tanya told us the Hopi priests sometimes ‘milk’ the snakes of their venom before handling. This may well have been the case in this instance. For whatever reason, she is recovering beyond our expectations and is almost certain not to require any form of amputation as first reported. The young doctor who was on call and did the original workup is new here. That was his first snake bite case—he learned a lot.”
“When can she be released?” Custer was relieved but still anxious for a resolution to the girl’s ordeal.
“Two days, maybe. I think that’s a reasonable projection.” The doctor seemed confident, and this in turn allowed the professor to regain a measure of his own self-confidence. Tanya’s doctor said the other two members of the crew would be released the next morning and be able to return to Albuquerque with the rest of their disbanded team. The doctor went on to say that visiting hours were over for the evening, but they could drop by in the morning. “The hospital is quite strict about visiting hours,” he said.
After leaving
a message for Bob Mills, in which he advised him to take a break and come to the motel for a good night’s sleep, Custer hung up the phone in a much improved frame of mind. “She’s going to be all right.”
Charlie, too, was relieved but thought to himself, It’s not over for Tanya, and I’m not sure she’s “all right” as long as the perpetrators are still out there. She could still be in danger.
The professor, buoyed by the new information, chatted on, “I’m sure we’ll see Bob shortly. He definitely needs the break.”
“George, do you really think it’s okay to leave Tanya alone in the hospital with ‘those people’ still unaccounted for?”
“Oh, I think so. The other two crew members room is right next to hers, according to the doctor, and they’ve promised to keep an eye on her.”
Charlie still had his doubts but gave way to the professor’s ebullience of spirit, and mentioned it would be nice to have one last get-together with the crew.
“My thoughts exactly. A nice breakfast in the morning would be just the thing. It’ll give me a chance to thank everyone for their loyalty and hard work—those that are left, anyway.” Here he grimaced, realizing the incongruity of the remark. “In the morning I’ll give Aida Winters a call, too. We’re long overdue for a chat.” Again, Charlie was doubtful. Dr. George Custer’s behavior was perplexing. He is suddenly back to his old state of enthusiasm, and with a newfound confidence. It is no wonder his colleagues find him so disconcerting. This must be what great men were made of then—the indomitable courage of their convictions.
Early the next morning, Charlie, Thomas, and Harley gravitated to the motel’s breakfast nook for first coffee.
The professor, still in a rare good humor, soon joined them, “Spoke to Aida this morning, and she has agreed to let the four of us bring a small camp into the canyon for further evaluation of the kiva. I explained what went on at our previous dig and who we think is involved.” Here he paused, to look directly at Thomas. “There is no doubt in my mind that Aida’s relationship with you and your children played a part in her decision, even though I would like to think there was more to it than that.”
The professor smiled and went on. “We’ll go into the canyon with a tent and enough gear and food for a week. I have told her we should be in and out in five or six days. There’s no excavation required to speak of, and I have all my notes from the last survey to expedite the procedure. We’ll not concern ourselves with other than the kiva and, even then, only the information pertinent to our primary investigation.”
Charlie hesitated, then brought his thoughts to the table. “What about security?” He studied his three companions “The FBI should have something on the people we’ve reported very soon. I can’t help but believe they will have at least some of them in custody shortly. As I’ve mentioned, all authorities are giving high priority to this case, and several agencies are working on it as we speak.”
The professor looked Charlie directly in the eye. “So I assume the question is… do we wait for the perpetrators to be apprehended or go in now with no assurances of our own safety, or that of the site?” Here the professor raised a questioning eyebrow for the others’ input. Everyone had a personal stake in the security issue. “Aida mentioned we could camp there in her barn and make use of her facilities, but I couldn’t see leaving the kiva unprotected. And while our security measures didn’t help much at the last site, this time there’ll be fewer things to worry about; this time we won’t have to worry so much about our own people being complicit.”
Harley had said nothing during the exchange, but now chimed in, “I think, maybe, Thomas should stay there at the ranch with the kids, at least until we know a little more about where those sorry-ass people have gotten off to.”
Charlie agreed. “Aida and the kids need someone around until these people are out of the picture.”
The professor held up a finger. “I’ve thought of that. Tanya Griggs gets out of the hospital tomorrow morning, and Aida says she and Bob can stay there at her place a few days, at least until Tanya’s feeling well enough to travel. That way Bob would be right there in the house. Bob’s ex-military and can handle himself. He and Thomas both could stay there, and Charley, myself, and Harley can take care of things up at the dig.” And then he said, almost as an afterthought, “Aida has a cabinet full of hunting rifles that belonged to her husband. She says we can borrow what we want, should we feel the need for that sort of thing. We can drop my vehicle off at the hospital this morning, and Bob and Tanya can follow tomorrow morning.”
~~~~~~
When the four men arrived at Aida’s ranch, they found Aida in the front yard pruning her rose bushes while the children still slept.
She met them at the gate and told the three Navajo there was coffee in the kitchen and that she had made pies the night before—they were welcome to try them.
Thomas grinned at Harley. “Let’s try some of that pie, chubby.” He gave Harley a little dig in the ribs. “Charlie don’t like pie, do you Charlie?”
Charlie smiled and marshaled the two up the steps and into the house, calling back to Aida, “I’ll try to see they don’t eat them all.”
Professor Custer stayed behind with Aida. “I don’t suppose you’d care to come up to the dig with us at some point would you, Aida?” He coughed discreetly. “I thought you might want to be there when we opened up the kiva.”
Aida, who had resumed her pruning, turned with a quizzical expression and, disregarding his question, asked, “What were those flowers all about, George?”
“Well Aida, they were just a little token of appreciation. You needn’t read in to them any more than that, if the thought offends you.”
“What more could I read into them, George?” She turned her full attention to him. “George, you’re a womanizer and a drunk. What more am I to make of that?”
The professor drew himself to his full height and looked her calmly in the eye. “Yes, Aida, I am all of that, and more. But I have better expectations.” His gaze did not waver, “I have not had a drink in a while, now, and have thought of only one woman since I was last here. I am determined to be a better person in the future.”
Aida cocked her head at George Custer. “I wish I could believe that, George, if only for your own sake.” She turned back to the roses. “We shall see, George. We shall see.”
Thinking this was as good as it was going to get for the present, the professor nodded pleasantly, and followed his companions to the house—he was fond of pie himself.
~~~~~~
By afternoon, Charlie and Dr. Custer, aided by Harley, had set up a snug little camp near the trickle of water wending its way down the canyon floor. The dirt track Aida’s great grandfather had scratched out with team and wagon ran right alongside the stream. Tall ponderosa pines sheltered the front of the cave-like alcove that had been home to so many for so long. It was as near an idyllic setting for an Anasazi settlement as could be imagined. It faced mostly east and was so situated as to catch the first rays of the sun in winter, yet was shaded in the heat of a summer afternoon.
The alcove, carved over eons by ancient winds and water, was neither unusually deep nor overly shallow, but suited the masonry dwellings exactly, without crowding. Nor did the declivity allow for more than two stories, except in the exact arch of the center, where a round tower rose like the turret of a medieval castle, which it would have been well suited for in another time and place. It might have been named Cliff Palace, if that name had not already been taken.
There is an old Ute legend that tells of a party of hunters chancing upon their first such village. They returned to their band with a story of “little people” who ran into holes in the rock cliff at their approach.
The early Ute, before the horse, were a poor people, and there were never enough of them to pose much of a threat to the more numerous Anasazi in their easily defended villages. In time, in fact, they developed a nearly symbiotic relationship with the Pueblo. The Ute, accom
plished and far-ranging big game hunters, commonly traded meat and hides for corn and other produce. Like their Paleo-Indian ancestors, the Ute may have snatched the occasional stray woman or child, yet never seemed to assimilate much of the their culture. Farming just wasn’t in the Ute genes (as the U.S. Government was to discover some thousand years later).
One could see from the exposed streambed that water had once run much stronger in the canyon, with high water probably lasting well into the season. There were little sage plots on either side of the watercourse, and a good bit of corn, beans and squash would have been grown there. This was further evidenced by the remnants of low stone retention walls to collect and channel water, and irrigation ditches to further distribute the life giving flow.
On the mesa top, above the ruins, were large meadow-like flats. In a good snow year the drifts piled wide and deep on the surrounding ridges and provided ground water enough for fine crops the following spring—not every year mind you, but often enough to fill the granaries every few seasons.
At first thought, some might surmise these were a peaceful and quiet little people, simple agrarian farmers. But they would be wrong.
~~~~~~
George Custer had warned Aida that she might only want to hear about what was in the kiva, rather than actually see it; that might prove an entirely different experience.
Aida, for her part, decided otherwise. She wanted to know what her grandfather, and later her father, thought she was better off not knowing.
“Bob and Tanya have offered to watch the children when they get here in the morning.” Aida was adamant. “I will go horseback across the top. It’s shorter that way and I’m overdue to check the cows up there, anyway.” She stopped midsentence, obviously irritated, “Thomas insists he should come with me—won’t take no for an answer. We should be at the ruins by noon. It will be a nice little ride, and we’ll get some work done at the same time.”
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