Red Mesa

by Aimée

  Rose saw she was being watched. “It should be around here somewhere. Everyone I know around here has their own tools for gathering firewood. Why would anyone run off with it?”

  While Payestewa took one last look around the front yard, Blalock joined Ella, a worried frown on his face. “I wish we could find that axe.”

  “You and me both. If it turns up somewhere, I’ll let you know.” Ella shook her head slowly. “I don’t like the coincidences we’re starting to find, Dwayne.”

  “Neither do I. But you still might find it somewhere else, maybe where you last went to gather firewood.”

  “You’re probably right,” Ella conceded. Though she knew it was probably hopeless, they checked in her and her mother’s vehicles, but the axe wasn’t there either.

  By the time Blalock left, even Dawn seemed uncharacteristically quiet. Two went back over the ground the men had checked, sniffing every inch of their paths. The tension in the air was impossible to miss.

  While Dawn, wide-awake now, played with her stuffed animals, Rose sat down wearily on the couch, adjusting a cushion that had been replaced backward.

  “Things are worse for you now that they know the axe is missing, aren’t they?”

  “Yes, but it’s not your fault, Mom. Maybe we’ll remember where it is and everything will be fine.” Seeing Rose nod, but with her expression no more optimistic, Ella continued. “Someone is out to get me, and the problem is that I don’t have a clue who that could be.”

  “When your brother was learning to be a Singer, he often got frustrated because he couldn’t remember things exactly right and he was always making mistakes. What he learned—the hard way—was that the only way to get things right is to start at the beginning and make your progress one step at a time.”

  Ella considered her mother’s words, then at last nodded. “You’re right. I’m going in too many directions at once and getting nowhere. I have to rethink everything from the moment I first noticed that things were starting to change between Justine and me.”

  “It’ll be hard. You’re scared. I can feel it. Your intuition won’t help you either, not at a time when everything in your life is out of balance and without order.”

  Ella stood at the window. The house was quiet now, but she could still feel Blalock’s presence in the trace scent of cigars that always lingered on his clothes.

  A while later, after putting Dawn to bed, Ella went back to her office, though it was getting late. Here she could focus solely on the investigation and try to lay out a clear plan. She could use the break-in of her home as a starting point, or the missing axe, or Two’s poisoning, or, lastly, Justine’s private life.

  After weighing all the options, she decided to start with the latter. She’d begin by talking to Natoni about Justine, though it would have to be an unofficial visit since she was no longer on the case. With that in mind, she checked her watch, then stood and headed out of the building. Now would be a good time to catch him at home.

  Ella got his address from the phone book, then drove to an area where several old trailer homes were clustered. Discarded washing machines and derelict cars littered the area. Each trailer space was defined more by the trash around it than the pieced-together chicken wire that usually held a family’s thin, feather-impaired hens and a wooden crate or two that served as their shelter. The glare of her headlights only served to highlight the ugliness of the place, though she suspected that in daylight it probably looked even worse.

  Disgust and anger filled her as she looked around. She knew that hopelessness and poverty reigned here. When The People’s spirit was broken, they stopped caring. The worst part was that children grew up in areas like these never knowing that they deserved something better.

  She’d never liked Natoni, but she knew where he’d come from, and why he was still here. Poverty wasn’t inevitable, but for some, it was a lifetime excuse to strike out at those who’d worked harder or made smarter choices.

  Ella knocked loudly on the front door, trying to be heard over the television set. She thought she heard a woman’s voice, but she couldn’t be sure. It might have only been the TV.

  A few minutes later Natoni finally came to the door. His shirt was open and he held a can of beer in one hand.

  He looked at Ella in surprise, brushing his oily hair away from his eyes. “You’re the last person I expected to see. Now that everyone’s convinced you’re guilty of the crime, the police chief should have had enough sense to take away your badge.”

  Ella wanted to smash his nose, but using all the willpower she had, remained perfectly still. She even managed a smile.

  “I have a few questions for you.”

  “About Justine? You are off the case, right?”

  “Not quite,” she answered, refusing to acknowledge what he was saying. Not waiting for an invitation, she brushed past him and climbed up the steps.

  Natoni laughed. “Come into my humble home, won’t you? Just don’t expect me to offer you a beer.”

  “What was happening to my cousin? There was something wrong with her the last few weeks of her life. If you were around her as much as she said, you should have noticed it, too.”

  “Oh, please. What’s next, bad Karma, or a lesson about the perils of not walking in beauty and living in a state of disharmony? Justine was just being Justine. You just couldn’t accept that she was different from you. Face it, Ella. You didn’t want an assistant—you wanted a clone.”

  Natoni was baiting her, and there was no way she would let him get to her. “Save the sarcasm. I just want to know what part you played in my cousin’s troubles.”

  “I was the one who tried to help her. From what Justine told me, you were hell-bent on undermining her career and her life. You wanted to make sure she didn’t advance too quickly and steal your thunder in the department. You obviously have an ego problem,” Natoni sneered.

  “She knew me better than that. This sounds more like something you were trying to drill into her head.” Ella leaned back on the sofa, feigning ease. The scent of something familiar came from the worn fabric. “Look, I have no other commitments tonight. If you want to entertain me with your witticisms for the rest of the evening, that’s fine by me.”

  Suddenly his expression changed. “You’re not staying long.”

  “Why? What’s so important? Expecting company?”

  “I have a life to lead, and you’re not going to become part of it.” Natoni crushed the empty beer can with his hand, then tossed it into a wastebasket.

  “I don’t know about that. Actually, I’m just starting to feel at home.” Ella put her feet up on the narrow coffee table.

  “Look, all I know is that Justine said she was tired of being number two to you, always your gopher and backup. She wanted more responsibility, and not just in the lab. But as long as you were the head of the team, she knew she’d never get a chance for promotion. You never treated her right.”

  Ella stood and began to walk around the small room, decorated with prints by Navajo artists she recognized and a small rug probably from a local weaver. As she reached the hallway, she heard the sound of someone moving on the other side of the thin veneer door. It was open a crack, but as she tried to peer in, Natoni stepped in her path.

  Ella turned away, wondering if it had been a trick of her senses. She could have sworn she’d caught a whiff of Justine’s perfume. Maybe it was just something that had lingered in the air from her last visit.

  She started to step around him, but Natoni blocked her way again, pulling the door shut.

  “You’re leaving, Investigator Clah. You have no right to be here, and let’s face it, if I complain, you’ll be in a mess of trouble.”

  Ella knew he’d won this battle, but the war was far from over. “If I find out that you had anything to do with what happened to my cousin, my one goal in life will be to ruin yours. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

  “Your threats mean nothing to me. Now, get out or I’ll call the r
eal police.”

  As he reached for the phone on the wall, a current of air brought a gentle violet scent toward her. There was no doubt in her mind now that it was the same perfume Justine always used.

  Of course, Justine wasn’t the only woman who wore that scent, but it wasn’t available locally. It had been her cousin’s one luxury, and she even carried a small vial of it in her purse. Stores in Albuquerque carried the perfume, but none around here. She knew, because she’d tried to find it for her one Christmas. What if Justine was somehow still alive?

  As she stepped to the door, Ella heard footsteps coming from the hallway. She looked straight at Natoni, then decided to check for herself. Natoni crossed the room in a flash, blocking her way.

  “Who I entertain in my home is none of your business,” he snapped.

  Ella knew she could have forced him to his knees with one well-placed kick. Unfortunately, she’d forfeit her job for a stunt like that, unless whoever was behind that door solved the case for her right then.

  It wasn’t worth it without more to go on. Suspension without pay pending a hearing was the last thing she needed now. She didn’t have enough savings in the bank to take care of her mother’s and daughter’s needs.

  Reluctantly she left the trailer, never once looking back at Natoni. Seeing a smug, self-satisfied look on his face would have been more temptation than she could bear, and she was certain she would have tried, and succeeded, in wiping it off.

  Ella stood by her unit, trying to decide if she should just sit there until someone had to come out, or drive off and stake out the trailer from a distance. Knowing Natoni was watching her, Ella got into her unit, then drove out of the area. Once she was a hundred yards past the last trailer, she went off the road and parked behind some junipers. In the darkness no one would be able to see the unit among the low trees. But this wasn’t all she planned to do.

  She considered her next step very carefully. On nothing more than the scent of a particular perfume and the sound of movement, she was going to risk her career by going back to peek in Natoni’s windows. If he or a neighbor caught her, or the woman with him complained, she’d be explaining herself to the police—and eventually to Big Ed, who would not be very understanding at all.

  Yet her visit to Natoni’s trailer had uncovered a new, exciting possibility. What if Natoni was keeping Justine prisoner, perhaps drugged, while the police were being led around in circles? The body they’d found could have been somebody else’s, and the fingerprint comparison faked somehow by switching records at the station.

  Although deep down she suspected it was only wishful thinking, she knew she had to go check things out more closely or she’d never have another moment’s rest.

  Ella jogged back to Natoni’s trailer, staying in the shadows. The willingness to take a risk was what had always made her a good cop, and this was no time to shy away from that.

  The trek back took Ella nearly a half hour, because she proceeded slowly and carefully, not wanting to set off an alarm by frightening a chicken or other animal. Fortunately, she hadn’t seen or heard any dogs. By the time she reached Natoni’s trailer, the lights inside were off. Ella could see a figure walking around inside, but just the one. It looked like Natoni and he seemed to be alone. As she brought her ear close to the window, she overheard him on the phone.

  “I’m telling you she’s trouble.” Natoni paused. “No, there’s nothing for her to find here—not anymore. I’ve taken care of everything.”

  Ella knew that her instincts had been right. Someone else had been in the trailer earlier. But that person was no longer there, perhaps having left out the back door. Either that or she was still inside, asleep or drugged.

  But it was all conjecture. Ella still had nothing to offer Blalock. Fear gnawed at her. She’d have to do better. If she didn’t, she’d soon learn all about the dismal fate of a cop in prison.

  SEVENTEEN

  Ella arrived at her office an hour early, resigned to the grisly task of tracking down Justine’s killer. Her excitement over the possibility of her cousin still being alive had disappeared with the morning and a reexamination of the physical evidence.

  She had to face the truth head-on, and expend her energy on finding Justine’s killer. It had been absurd to muster any hope at all based upon the lingering scent of a perfume, which proved nothing.

  Today she wanted to access several databases, but without any interruptions. With a chocolate-covered doughnut and some black coffee beside her, she studied the police records of everyone Justine and she had investigated this past year. From what she could see, Justine had made enemies, but no more or less than any other cop.

  The phone interrupted her analysis, and grumbling, Ella picked it up on the third ring.

  It was Carolyn Roanhorse. “I’m calling to let you know I’m going on vacation as of today, Ella. The medical examiner’s officer in Albuquerque will take care of any autopsies that are needed as the result of a crime. They handle the rest of the state anyway. I’ve also managed to get a forensic pathologist to take my place if needed in a crisis. He works for the Public Health Services and is based in Colorado, but he’ll fly down if it becomes necessary.”

  “Go and have a great time. Forget all about work for a while. Believe me, if I could, I would.”

  “You can’t. You’re not wired that way. And neither am I. I’ll be away from my office, but my mind will be here.”

  Ella thought for a moment about what had been bothering her, then decided to go ahead and bring it out one last time. “Carolyn, I need to ask you something. Are you still very certain that the body we found was Justine’s?” Immediately she realized that she’d slipped up and said the name out loud for the first time since she’d heard it was Justine who’d died, but Carolyn was beyond allowing that to upset her.

  There was a long silence. “Why does this sound like a trick question?”

  “Just answer me.”

  “Based on the evidence, yes, I believe that was Justine. The print taken from the fingertip we recovered matched those we have on file for her. Fingerprints are, essentially, one hundred percent reliable. The bones dug up were no help, and the tooth fragments were just too incomplete to do any comparisons with dental records. The same with the portion of the skull we recovered.”

  Carolyn thought a moment, then continued. “Anyone arrested for killing Justine wouldn’t get any forensic help from me, that’s for sure. The physical evidence, probably all that a prosecutor really needs, is there.” There was another pause. “But let me guess. You’ve found something that appears to contradict that?”

  “Maybe.” She told Carolyn what had happened at Paul Natoni’s trailer the night before.

  “That perfume isn’t common, but it isn’t unique either,” Carolyn said slowly. “It could have been stolen from her and is now being used by another woman. But if Justine is somehow really alive, what you’re talking about is an elaborate conspiracy that would need a lot of convincing evidence to mislead the police.”

  “I know. It would involve chopping off Justine’s finger and using somebody else’s body. It’s a stretch, and maybe I’m just wishful-thinking here, but if it happened to be true, that would mean Justine could be somebody’s prisoner right now.”

  “If someone is keeping Justine alive somewhere, there has to be a reason. And maybe it’s not just to frame you, Ella. Anyone disturbed enough to do something like this could be out to hurt a lot of people.”

  “That’s a given. But what could they hope to achieve?”

  “I don’t know.” She paused, then added, “Want me to cancel my vacation?”

  “Don’t you dare. You’re only going to be gone for two weeks.”

  “One week,” she corrected. “That’s the most I can manage with a minimum of guilt.”

  “You’re hopeless.”

  “Look who’s talking,” Carolyn replied.

  As Ella hung up, she felt the ripple of fear that had become her constant companion
. She didn’t like fighting battles like these. Since the day she’d given birth to Dawn, her whole outlook had changed. The exhilaration and the thrill of the chase were always tempered by what she stood to lose if she got careless, and by her responsibility to her daughter. Being maternal had disadvantages to a cop, including the uncomfortable bullet-resistant vest she now wore beneath her blouse.

  Ella continued looking through the arrest records and old files, searching for an enemy cunning and motivated enough to generate a scheme like this. Fortunately, the most dangerous people she could think of were already dead or locked away. But that left her without viable suspects. After another hour, she still had nothing, not even a possible owner of the dark-colored pickup that had passed by that evening. All the neighbors had been ruled out. She was forced to return to the facts. Justine was dead, and a killer was out there to be found.

  Hearing someone at the door, Ella looked up. It was Big Ed. He glanced at the half-eaten doughnut on her desk with envy.

  “Have you got anything more for me on Jimmy Begaye’s attack on the station?”

  “I’m going to try and track down exactly where Begaye got the rifle he was carrying. All he owned was a hunting bow, supposedly. What we have against him so far is the break-in at the house of Zah’s relative, which I was a witness to, and his stealthy approach to the station. It’s pretty open and shut.”

  “Good. Then explain that to his wife. She’s here and wants to talk to you.”

  Ella took a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll bring her back here.”

  “Afterwards, come to my office. There’s another rumor I want to talk to you about.”

  “Rumor?”

  “Later,” Big Ed said. “You have to talk to Allison Begaye now.”

  Ella walked down the hall to the lobby area. She’d expected Allison to be Navajo, but the woman who met her in traditional skirt and turquoise jewelry was a petite blonde with ice blue eyes and a somber expression.

  “I need to talk to you, but in private,” she said.