Red Mesa

by Aimée

  “Except loitering—unless you state your business here.”

  “Oh, come on! You’ve got to be kidding. Don’t you have any real criminals to hassle today?”

  “Either answer my question or leave the building right now.”

  “You can’t kick me out.” Natoni clenched his fists down by his sides and moved closer to her, squaring off like a pro wrestler in a staged confrontation.

  Ella smiled slowly. “I started out in a rotten mood this morning, but you’re brightening my day.” In a lightning-flash move, she brought him to his knees with a painful pinch hold on the back of his hand. As he groaned, she twisted his arm behind his back, easing the pressure only slightly so he could stand. “Get up. You’re leaving the building now.”

  As Ella hurried him down the hall, she wondered if he was somehow connected to their new prisoner, Zah. Slipping a man into the building to listen in on conversations and learn the layout would have been a good strategy.

  As she reached the entrance, the officer on duty opened the door so they could pass through. Once Ella had forced Natoni outside, somebody in the group gathered on Zah’s behalf recognized her as one of the officers who’d transferred him from Window Rock. Two women began hurling insults at her. She studied the faces casually, and slowly concluded that there was nothing to worry about yet, though it was clear that Zah’s supporters blamed the police for his arrest.

  Ella let go of Natoni’s arm. “Go join your friends,” she said, taking a step back away from him.

  “You think I’m part of that crowd?” He shook his head. “These sheepherders mean nothing to me.”

  “So what were you doing inside the building?”

  Natoni smiled. “I’m still not going to answer that.”

  “And I don’t have time to play games.”

  Ella went back inside and strode down to the chief’s office. His door was open as usual. As she knocked lightly on the door, the chief waved at her to come in.

  She sat down on the chair across from his desk as he finished some paperwork. After a moment, he looked up. “Blalock has already briefed me by phone on the support you and Sergeant Neskahi gave him earlier. Good job. Now, what can I do for you, Shorty?”

  “I wanted to warn you that many people in that crowd outside were involved in the disturbance at Window Rock when Officer Goodluck and I picked up Zah. So far they’re playing it cool, but it may be a good idea to have some extra cops standing by just in case.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ve been keeping an eye on things. You noticed we’re already controlling access to the building? There are more people in the offices, out of sight, but ready if they’re needed.”

  “By the way, I saw a small-time hustler named Paul Natoni hanging around in the hall. He was one of the original Many Devils gang members several years ago. Any idea what he was doing in the building?”

  “Maybe something to do with Zah?”

  “I thought that, too, but he denied it. On the other hand, he also refused to tell me what he was doing here.”

  “Natoni is bad news waiting to happen, Shorty. Run him out anytime he’s not with another officer. I don’t want him hanging around unless he’s got specific business.”

  “I escorted him out this time,” Ella said.

  “Good. Let me know if you see him hanging around again.”

  “Will do.”

  Ella returned to her office. Today she had intended to look over all the arrest reports and files concerned with ongoing investigations. Maybe she could get a better feel for the trouble she sensed brewing.

  After filing a quick report on the earlier assist at the farmhouse with Blalock, Ella went over every pending case in their area, but no matter how thorough her research, she simply couldn’t find any signs of any conspiracy, or even of a link between cases that would hint at a greater problem.

  It was midafternoon when Ella decided to take a break and walked to the vending machines down the hall. A moment later, after pulling the lever for a chocolate nougat bar, she heard quick footsteps coming toward her and turned around.

  “I’ve been looking for you,” Justine said coldly. “I heard that you ran off a friend of mine earlier today. Is that true?”

  “That depends. Who’s your friend?” Ella asked cautiously. She had a sinking feeling that it was Paul Natoni.

  “The officer monitoring the door said that you forced Paul Natoni to leave. He was waiting for me in front of my office.”

  “The officer is right. I saw Natoni hanging around and I asked him what his business was here. He refused to give me an answer, so I escorted him outside.”

  “You had no right to do that.” Justine’s voice rose an octave. “He was waiting for me, and we were going out for a late lunch. I was the one who told him to wait by my office. Now you’ve managed to make me look like a fool.”

  “Keep your voice down, Justine,” Ella growled, seeing three cops by the soft drink machine. “Paul was the fool. All he had to do was tell me the truth.”

  “You’ve crossed the line, Ella. You’re my boss, but I have a right to a personal life.”

  “Which may be all you have if you keep falling apart like this on the job,” Ella snapped.

  “You can’t fire me, Ella. That’s not the way things work around here. So mind your own business.”

  Ella took a deep breath, struggling to keep her temper in check. “Listen to me very carefully, Justine, and this time, understand what I’m saying. Natoni is bad news. You and I both know that he’s always around when there’s trouble. That raises a lot of questions and none of them good.”

  “I know Paul has made a few mistakes, but what right do you have to smear his reputation?” Justine demanded. “He’s my friend and, unlike you, a part of my personal life. So back off! I have a right to meet him for coffee, breakfast, or any other reason I can think of.”

  “Paul’s attitude created the entire incident. Deal with it.”

  “I don’t have to listen to you—not on something like this.”

  “Justine, you’re becoming insubordinate, and that I can’t tolerate. Either go to my office or get back to work. Your choice.”

  Justine spun around and stormed off, heading toward the rest room, cursing under her breath.

  As Ella walked away, she heard Joseph Neskahi comment from the office he shared with two other sergeants. “What the hell’s gotten into Justine? She flies off the handle all the time for no good reason these days.”

  “I think she’s taking too many coffee breaks with Natoni,” Sergeant Eddie Ben retorted. “It’s either sleaze rubbing off, or way too much caffeine and sugar.”

  Ella spent the afternoon in departmental meetings with Big Ed and managed to avoid having to think about the problem for a while. The entire Tribal Police Department was being restructured, and everything, including patrol assignments, was being affected. Using the result of the latest stats, areas of concentrated population and greater criminal activity were being assigned more police officers. Since there were no additional officers, that meant shifting assignments and trying to take cops away from other, less populated areas with little crime.

  By the time the last meeting was over, Ella felt ready to tackle any case—so long as it took her out of the station. As she returned to her own office to do paperwork, she saw that a note had been slipped under her door. She read it immediately.

  It was a message from Justine asking Ella to meet her at Beautiful Mesa, a place not far from Ella’s home, later that evening. She wanted a chance to talk to her privately so they could settle their problems.

  Ella breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe Justine would finally tell her what had been bothering her. Ella called Justine’s office, but the message on voice mail informed her that she’d left for the day.

  Ella checked her watch. It was almost time for her to leave, as well. Grabbing her keys, she headed for the entrance. The groups of people involved in the Zah arrest had dispersed, at least for the most part, and t
he officer monitoring the door had obviously gone back to his regular duties.

  Today, as she did every Wednesday, she’d go pick up Dawn and take her to visit her cousin Julian. While the kids played, Clifford would teach her about herbs and healing. She’d discovered an interest in herbs not long ago, and her brother had offered to teach her what he knew, which was considerable, supplementing what Ella could learn from Rose.

  Ella was driving down the highway when a prickling sensation ran up her spine. She checked ahead on both sides of the highway, then looked in the rearview mirror. Sometimes cops developed radar for trouble, and that was the feeling she was getting now.

  It wasn’t dark yet, so she was able to study the cars behind her. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Braking quickly, she turned off the main highway and headed up a dirt track, constantly checking the area behind her. Any car joining her would raise a second cloud of dust into the air. Though she kept a careful watch on the track behind her, the only dust trail she could see was coming from her unit.

  Still, the sensation persisted. Ella tried to ignore it, wondering if she was scaring herself more out of restlessness than any real threat.

  Suddenly a huge flock of blackbirds rose from a field to her left, and Ella flinched, nearly swerving the Jeep to avoid the imagined threat. Chiding herself, she struggled to stay cool. Yet, no matter how she tried to reason it away, she could still feel a watcher’s eyes on her.

  She reached up, instinctively clasping the badger fetish at her neck. It felt hot. But of course, it would. It was warm in the car, and the sun had been shining directly on her since she’d turned west off the highway.

  She took a deep breath, forcing her brain to rely on logic and push the irrationality of fear back. If someone were watching her from outside the vehicle, he would have selected high ground, but the hillsides around her were little more than contours in the terrain. Higher mesas were miles away.

  She turned around and drove back toward the highway, then took another sudden, unexpected course to the north down an oil well service road. Again she failed to spot any vehicle following her, and in this section there was no place for anyone to hide, unless it was among the steady traffic running parallel down the main road a half mile to her right.

  She thought of Begaye and the possibility that he’d decided to come after her now that he’d gotten enough money from the bank robbery to purchase suitable weapons. But Begaye had been an in-your-face fighter, and this cat-and-mouse game was just not his style.

  Perhaps it was someone else who was part of the conspiracy she’d been warned about. But that was reaching. She had no idea what the supposed conspiracy was all about, or if it really existed at all. She’d certainly found no evidence of it so far.

  Ella opted to remain vigilant, but to proceed as planned to her house. She’d accused Justine of being on edge, but clearly the problems at work were taking their toll on her, too.

  Fifteen minutes later, Ella found Dawn in the living room playing quietly on the rug with all her stuffed animals. Rose was in the chair, asleep.

  Ella saw her little girl look up and smile. “Shimasání sleepy.”

  Ella sat down on the floor and hugged her daughter. “You wore her out, didn’t you, you stinker?”

  Dawn laughed, and Rose woke up.

  “I guess I must have dozed off,” Rose said slowly.

  “Mom, Dawn’s an active kid, and she can wear anyone down. I sure wish you would let me hire someone—”

  “No.” Rose’s tone was final. “That’s not open for discussion, daughter. I am more than capable of looking after my granddaughter.”

  Ella said nothing, but made up her mind to talk to Clifford about it later.

  “Will you be going over to your brother’s hogan for your lesson on herbs?”

  She nodded. “I’m running late already, but it couldn’t be helped. Anything unusual happen around here today?”

  Rose shook her head. “It’s been quiet, and Two has been sleeping almost all day. I called Herman Cloud and he’s going to replace the back door tomorrow, if it can’t be fixed permanently.”

  “Sounds good. Just keep yourself safe, and listen to Two if he starts barking again. I’ll be at my brother’s for a few hours.” She looked at Dawn. “Let’s go play with your cousin.”

  “Cousin!” Dawn said happily.

  Ella smiled. “She adores my brother’s son, and he’s so kind to her. He plays with her, and he never gets tired or impatient.”

  “I’m glad you take her over there to visit. Sometimes I wish my daughter-in-law would bring my grandson over to play more often, but I think she and your brother are having troubles.”

  “I’ve felt the tension between them, too, and I’m afraid I may be part of the problem.”

  Rose shook her head. “No, the real reason is that your brother has too many patients. He doesn’t know how to stop working.”

  Ella nodded. “I certainly understand that. I’m that way, too.”

  “It’s more so with Clifford. You make time to be with your daughter, but he’s always working, and that seldom leaves time for his wife or his son.”

  “But that’s the way it tends to be in very traditional Navajo families anyway. Are you sure you’re getting both sides of the story?” Ella asked, wondering if Loretta had come to complain.

  Rose nodded. “My daughter-in-law hasn’t said a word to me, but I have eyes and I see what’s been happening. When a patient comes to your brother, he’s there for them, and that’s how it should be. But I think he should send some of them to another of the healers in the area.”

  Ella nodded. “Let me guess what this is leading to. You want me to talk to him?”

  Rose smiled. “He might listen to you.”

  “He’s going to think I’m butting in, and he would be right.”

  “It’s for my grandson’s sake that I ask, and for his parents’ marriage.”

  “I know, but in all fairness, I understand how my brother feels. I have a job that often seems to take all my time. It’s even more difficult for my brother. People go to him when they need a hataalii because they know he’s the best. Turning them away goes against everything a hataalii is.”

  “But he has to find a way to cut back. There are others who can step in and fill whatever void he leaves. He may have forgotten it, but he needs his wife and his son to be happy.”

  “Okay. I’ll mention your concerns, but that’s as far as I’ll go. He’s never meddled in my personal life, and I owe him the same courtesy.”

  “All right,” Rose said at last. “Be careful when you drive over there. It isn’t far, but it’ll be night soon, and the desert has its own dangers.”

  TEN

  Ella strapped Dawn into her car seat, then started down the road to Clifford’s home, which was farther from the highway than her mother’s place. She had a feeling Loretta would welcome her visit as much as she would the plague. Her sister-in-law these days resented anyone and anything that took some of Clifford’s precious time away from her and their son.

  Her complaint was legitimate. Yet once or twice when Ella had suggested to Clifford that maybe they should cancel or at least scale back the lessons, her brother had been adamant about continuing. Ella suspected it had become a matter of wills, both of them determined to have their own way.

  Ella pulled up to her brother’s house a short time later. Loretta was outside, dressed in a traditional long skirt and velveteen blouse fastened at the waist with a woven belt. Her hair was in one long braid down her back. Loretta was playing catch with Julian, using a rubber ball. After she saw Ella’s vehicle, her expression became one of barely disguised hostility.

  The second Ella set her daughter down, Dawn ran toward Julian, a slender boy nearly four years old. He seemed just as happy to see her.

  “When is this all going to end, Ella?” Loretta said bluntly, joining her. “I understand that you and my husband plan to give talks together on herbs and healing at the college
.” Loretta crossed her arms over her chest.

  “We hope to begin next semester. It will be a way to show the tribe that we aren’t having any trouble getting along. People are looking for a reason to distrust both of us. Surely you’ve heard the talk.”

  “I know what people suspect. When you pushed my husband off that roof last year, you saved his life. Yet before long, the rumor got started that you’d meant to hurt him instead, and that your family’s legacy was catching up to you both. Now that you’re spending more time together, they’re convinced you’ll corrupt him.”

  “You’re his wife. You should know that’s a vicious lie.”

  “Yes, I know the truth, but people delight in gossip. If you weren’t so focused on protecting your own image, you’d stay away from here before this ruins his reputation.”

  “I refuse to allow these lies to cow me, and I think my brother feels the same as I do on this.”

  “He wants to show everyone that you haven’t turned to evil—that he’s not the only force for good left in the family. And you’re allowing him to continue to do this—no matter what the cost to him—because you’re afraid. You want to wear that badge proudly, and the more the gossip spreads, the worse it becomes for you.”

  “Sure, I love my job, but I’m not sacrificing my brother so I can make things easier on myself.” Ella saw Loretta’s expression and knew her words had fallen on deaf ears. Her sister-in-law was young, pretty, and almost as stubborn as her husband.

  Clifford came out of the hogan finally, and seeing the children, picked up Dawn. Julian remained by his side, tugging at Clifford’s pant leg. Then Clifford put Dawn down and picked up his son, ruffling his hair.

  Loretta glanced at her, and Ella saw the anger on her face. “Why is it that his own family never comes first with him?” she asked quietly.

  Clifford put his son back down, and as the two children moved off to play, he walked over to join them. “It’s good to see you’re finally here, sister,” he said, a mild reproach in his voice.

  “I ran into a bit of trouble earlier and got held up.”

  “Don’t worry. He’ll always make time for you and your daughter,” Loretta said harshly. “Now all I have to do is explain that to a son who never sees his father.”