Red Mesa

by Aimée

“My office is a good place, then,” Ella said, leading her down the hall.

  Once in Ella’s office, Allison sat down. “Could we close the door?”

  Ella studied her expression. She felt no immediate threat from the woman, so she complied. “What can I do for you?”

  “First, I want you to know that I’m very disappointed in this police department. I told you what my husband was going to do so you could stop him. I was hoping you would talk to him before it escalated instead of waiting until he got ready to attack this station before doing something about it.”

  “Actually, the way things played out, I didn’t have any other choice. No one could even locate him until I found him leaving the Zah home, armed with a rifle, and heading for the station. His course was set. He might have been killed by an officer if he’d tried to come inside the station with that rifle.”

  Ella continued. “But he’s alive, and was charged with resisting arrest and assault with a deadly weapon. An additional charge of breaking and entering the Zah house near the station will probably be added to that as well, but a murder charge would have been far worse. Do you know if he had a specific target in mind?”

  “I don’t think he ever thought it through. He knew Thomas Zah’s relatives were here, hanging about, but I don’t believe he would have really shot anyone. Jimmy isn’t like the others in his family.”

  Ella nodded, but didn’t say anything. “Did you know he stole a rifle?”

  She nodded. “I believe that it belongs to Thomas Zah. I heard that Samuel contacted Jimmy and told him where to find it. Samuel was a friend of Zah’s uncle, and that’s the house Jimmy went to. Jimmy and Samuel figured that it would add something to the revenge if Jimmy used Thomas’ own gun against one of his clan.” She paused. “But at most, Jimmy would have wounded someone, not killed them.”

  Now Ella knew that Samuel Begaye was taking an active part in the events happening around him. Despite Blalock’s and Harry Ute’s efforts, the Begaye brothers had been in contact. If revenge was so important to Samuel that he’d risk meeting his brother, it was entirely possible that he was behind what had happened to Justine, too.

  “Samuel Begaye has sworn revenge on me and my cousin.”

  Allison’s eyes grew large. “If you think either of them is behind what happened to that woman police officer, you’re way off base. I know my husband and his brother. They can be cruel, but that type of gruesome murder is way beyond them.”

  Ella had heard the denial in the testimony of the loved ones of criminals too many times to take their character references seriously. Games were being played on all sides now.

  “I just want you to know one thing,” Allison said. “By having put Samuel and Jimmy in jail, you’ve made a very big mistake. You could have turned my husband’s clan into your friends by helping Jimmy. And they never forget a friend. But that isn’t what happened, is it?”

  “And they never forget an enemy? Is that what you’re really trying to tell me here?”

  Allison shrugged. “Let’s just say that they’ve got long memories.”

  “I’m supposed to consider this a threat?”

  Allison shook her head. “No, I just came to tell you that what you did was wrong—in every imaginable way. You know how the Navajo people believe that everything in life is connected?” Seeing Ella nod, she continued. “Well, what you did—or didn’t do—will catch up to you. You’ll pay your own price before the balance is restored and all of us find harmony.”

  Ella regarded her thoughtfully, recalling that Allison had avoided using Justine’s name. “You’ve learned much about the ways of the Dineh.”

  “I live here in the Dinetah. When I followed my husband to his home, I promised myself that I’d be more than just another outsider. I will never really belong here or be fully accepted, I know that now, but I can at least be aware of the customs and the way of thinking of those around me.”

  She stood up with dignity and, not giving Ella a chance to say anything else, walked out.

  Ella stared pensively across the room for a moment. Like Allison, she knew what it was like not to belong. Outside the four sacred mountains, she’d been a stranger who’d had to prove herself every step of the way. Then, when she’d returned to the Rez, she’d had to earn her place among the tribe again.

  It was worse, however, for those who were not part of the Dineh at all, yet still tried to live among the tribe. Her heart went out to Allison. She hadn’t chosen an easy life.

  Ella verified the information about the stolen rifle, though it wasn’t an easy task. Until recently, except for handguns, firearms weren’t officially regulated in New Mexico. Thousands of firearms owned by families had been passed down from generation to generation, or bought, sold, and traded among the citizens with no paperwork or records at all. The best she was able to do was confirm the theft through hearsay. Zah’s wife, who was still staying at the hospital with her child, verified it for her.

  Ella switched off the computer, then walked to Big Ed’s office. She felt restless and frustrated working on cases that weren’t nearly as important to her as what had happened to Justine. And if there was even the slightest chance that Justine was still alive, she had to give the case top priority if she was to have a chance at finding her cousin again.

  Knocking on Big Ed’s open door, she walked inside and accepted his invitation to sit down.

  “Shorty, I heard a very disturbing story early this morning. My aunt Dezbah was visiting at the trailer court north of here last evening. She said she saw you paying a visit to Paul Natoni.”

  “I stopped by there for a short time after my shift. I know he and my cousin were close, and I wondered how he was handling the loss.”

  “So it had nothing to do with police work?” the chief said slowly.

  “I would have gone while on duty if it was related to any of the cases I’ve been assigned.”

  Big Ed’s eagle-sharp gaze rested on her. “You’re walking a fine line, Shorty. My aunt also told me that she could have sworn Natoni had a Peeping Tom not long after you left.”

  Had the blasted woman spent all her time looking out the window? Ella said nothing.

  “Of course, I’m sure that if you’d found out anything that would have helped any police investigators, you would have shared it with this department.”

  Ella hesitated.

  “Look, Shorty, we all know you wouldn’t harm your cousin and that the circumstantial evidence against you requires that you do all you can to clear your name. But no charges have been filed against you, nor are they likely to be unless something really damning turns up. So don’t start holding back on me. I am on your side and you know it.”

  “Chief, what I have is speculation mingled with a lot of hope. Nothing you can use.”

  “But you found out something, didn’t you?” Not waiting for an answer, he continued. “Remember that I’m in a position to follow up on things like this, you’re not. I can make sure that this department uses all its resources and that the FBI does the same. Don’t try to handle this on your own.”

  Ella took a deep breath and then answered him, telling Big Ed about the scent of Justine’s perfume, Natoni’s discomfort, someone else’s presence in the trailer, and the theory that she couldn’t quite put out of her mind that maybe Justine’s fingertip had been left near someone else’s body to make them believe she was dead.

  “That’s quite a stretch, and I have a hard time buying in to it. But we should still keep an eye on Paul Natoni as a suspect in whatever happened. My aunt goes over to that trailer court quite often. Her daughter is living there temporarily. I’ll ask her to keep her eyes open for anything unusual. She has a lot of experience being a busybody. Even if Natoni catches her hanging around, he probably won’t think anything of it. In fact, he’s probably used to it by now,” he added with a chuckle. “Having a large family like mine can be an asset sometimes,” he said, reaching for the ringing phone.

  As the chief answered
the call, Ella stood and let herself out of the office. The chief’s words had given her an idea.

  Ella returned to her office. The one thing she hadn’t done was investigate Justine’s family. It hadn’t really occurred to her to do that until now. It seemed wrong, somehow, like an unforgivable breach of privacy, but she didn’t have any other options. She’d still uncovered nothing that would explain why Justine had been so on edge lately. Maybe it had been the result of family problems.

  Justine was the youngest of seven kids, but out of her entire family, only three remained on the reservation. There was Justine, Ruth, who was married and had two kids, and Jayne, who was the middle child, and a free spirit from everything Ella had ever heard. Almost every time they’d met, Jayne was just starting a new job or had a new man in her life. Jayne had a wild streak a mile long, and had always seemed a bit jealous of her younger sister Justine, the prettiest of the daughters.

  Ella started the background checks by accessing credit reports. Ruth owed some money, but nothing substantial except a home mortgage, which was currently paid up. Her husband was an electrician at the power plant and made a decent income, and Ruth herself worked in one of the elementary school cafeterias.

  Jayne was a different story. She’d maxed out several credit cards, and had recently been fired from her last job at the Totah Cafe where she’d been working as a waitress.

  Ella left the station and drove directly to the cafe. Justine and she had routinely stopped there for coffee, or for iced tea during the summer, and shared a jumbo order of French fries. Memories crowded her mind as she went inside the clean but otherwise typical roadside eatery.

  She started toward their usual table, but stopped halfway. She wouldn’t sit there again.

  Ella chose a stool at the counter, and before long Mary Lou Bitsillie, the new manager of the cafe, came over. Ella had known Mary Lou practically all her life.

  Mary Lou poured Ella a cup of coffee. “How are you holding up? I know this is a terrible time for you, but I want you to know that I’m very sorry about what happened to your cousin, and that I’m still your friend. If you need anything, just let me know. I don’t believe any of this crap I’ve been hearing. I know you too well.”

  “Thanks,” Ella said, glad to hear friendly words for a change. “There is something you can do. I need to ask you a few questions about a former employee, but it’s really important that you don’t tell anyone.”

  “You’ve got it. Ella, I still remember how you spent the better part of a semester helping me cope with the fact that my mom was dying. No one wanted to talk about death, and almost everyone started avoiding me because I was so depressed. But you never did and I’ve never forgotten that.”

  “I remember. No one meant to be cruel, but everyone believes, to one extent or the other, that words have power and even talking about death could call it to you.”

  Mary Lou nodded solemnly. “But you were there for me anyway, and that’s what counts. If you ever need any help, I’m here. Now, tell me who it is you need information on.”

  “Jayne Goodluck, my second cousin.”

  She sucked in her breath. “That could be a powder keg for you, Ella. Not many people like her, but she’s sure got a lot of sympathy lately.” Mary Lou looked around, then continued. “Good thing this is my slow time of the day,” she said. “What you ask will take more than a quick answer.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “I fired Jayne, though it wasn’t something I did easily. I like her family, and I know that Jayne was trying to get herself together. But she kept missing work and not calling in, or showing up late after I’d found someone to take her shift. A few times, Ruth came in to work in her place. I think those were probably times when Jayne was fighting a hangover.”

  “She drinks too much?”

  “Yeah, and she gambles constantly. She owes everyone money, including Justine. I heard she’d even bailed Jayne out of jail more than once.” Mary Lou looked around. “Does it bother you if I say her name out loud?” she added.

  Ella shook her head, not wanting to inhibit her friend at the moment. “Any idea where Jayne goes to gamble? We don’t have any casinos on the reservation, and the closest legal places are halfway across the state, except for scratchers and the lotteries.”

  “I think she goes to a small back-room operation in the Farmington area. She likes to play poker and throw the dice, but loses more than she wins. She got in over her head recently, but she kept gambling, believing each time that her luck was going to change. Then, when all the money suddenly disappeared from the cash register at the end of her shift one day, that was the last straw.”

  “Did you report it to the police?”

  “Sorta. I called Justine. She told me to total up the amount taken based upon the receipts, and I did. It was evening, and since I hadn’t made a deposit earlier that day, it came out to several hundred dollars. Justine came by a few hours later with a check and paid it in full.”

  “But you still fired Jayne?”

  “I had to. I couldn’t trust her, not after that. I think she’d tapped in to it before, since she always came up short. But at least I didn’t have her arrested.”

  “Good point,” Ella said. “And I don’t blame you for firing her.”

  “I heard later, from Ruth, that Justine also gave Jayne a cash loan to square her debts. But Jayne blew the money on scratchers and lottery tickets.” Mary Lou paused. “You know, when I first heard the rumor that Justine had disappeared, I thought that maybe Jayne had flipped out.”

  “Have you seen her get violent?”

  “I was at the Chapter House one night when she started throwing punches at Justine outside in the parking lot. Jayne had been drinking that night, and Justine had tried to get her to quiet down because she was embarrassing herself. I remember that night clearly because everyone was in a bad mood. There was a meeting going on about the power lines that were going to be built through our land.”

  “So other people saw this, too?”

  “Yeah. At first they pretended not to notice that Jayne had come to the meeting a little drunk, but she kept cussing and interrupting the utility company speaker. Justine escorted her out and then we all heard a commotion. There are windows facing the parking lot, so we all saw what was going on.”

  Ella considered it. This was certainly one reason for Justine to have been on edge. Jayne’s actions would have made it difficult for Justine to get any sensitive jobs within the department that required political approval along the way. Being protective of her sister and of her own career would have torn Justine in two. Maybe having to remain on her guard around Ella had put Justine on edge.

  “If I were you,” Mary Lou said, “I’d seriously consider Jayne as a suspect. Mind you, I don’t think she would have killed Justine on purpose, but her temper, particularly when she’s been drinking, is really something. She loses control of herself.”

  Ella left the Totah Cafe feeling even more unsettled than before. She needed to make some sense out of the crazy picture that was emerging.

  Ella drove back to the station and walked to Tache’s office, which connected to Justine’s small forensics lab from another hall. Ralph sat alone, going through photographs and reports from the crime scene.

  “Ralph, I need a favor,” she said, taking a seat in the generic plastic and steel chair across from his desk. He wasn’t a traditionalist, and she knew she could talk to him about Justine without making him any more uneasy than he already was.

  Tache looked up. “Name it, Ella.”

  “I need some information. You’ve got access to the most recent reports on Justine’s case, but I can only access what’s already been transcribed into the computer system.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Where was Jayne Goodluck at the time the body was being destroyed?”

  “Being a relative, I suppose you already know about the frequent arguments she had with Justine?”

  “Y
eah.”

  “FB-Eyes, Agent Blalock, questioned her yesterday, and I understand she was furious when she was asked to account for her time. She accused Blalock of trying to make her a suspect to take the blame away from you,” Ralph said.

  “That must have endeared her to him.” Ella smiled.

  “She didn’t help her cause when she picked up an ashtray and nearly threw it at him. Blalock made sure that detail went into his report,” Tache replied, looking through the updated paperwork that had been sent to all investigating officers. “Here it is. She said she was over at the Daily Double tavern in Farmington at the time. She’s working there as a waitress now.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Ella, if you go talk to her or her employers, you didn’t get this information from me, okay? Blalock didn’t want any leaks.”

  “No problem.”

  Ella was in her unit, heading east toward Farmington, when she saw a tribal vehicle behind her flashing its lights.

  Ella pulled over, and noticed Sergeant Neskahi getting out of his unit. A moment later they stood by the side of the road.

  “What’s up?” Ella asked.

  “I have a bit of news for you.” Neskahi had a deep voice, and when he spoke, it made him seem older than he really was. The sergeant was built like a wrestler, and his physical strength had come in handy on more than one felony arrest in the past.

  “Come up with a new development in the case, Joseph?”

  “No, nothing so earth-shattering. Just a sign of the way the wind’s blowing, at least the political hot air, anyway. Have you heard Yellowhair’s new ads on the radio?”

  Ella remembered that Abigail had used her in print and radio ads, pointing to Ella as a great police officer and role model for young Navajos. “Let me guess, my name’s been dropped?”

  “Yeah, and it’s pretty obvious. Everyone knew it was there before, and now that section has been replaced with something about putting a stop to crime on the Rez.”

  “I’m not at all surprised,” Ella said with a shrug. “She’ll probably end up calling for my resignation by next week.”