Red Mesa

by Aimée

“Yeah, well, I went over to the Yellowhair home a little earlier today. Mrs. Yellowhair’s hosting a political party and wants to hire a handful of off-duty cops to provide security and take care of gate crashers.”

  Ella looked at Joseph, who seemed to be preoccupied. Neskahi wouldn’t have pulled her over just to give her a status report on someone’s party, or talk politics. She knew him pretty well, and those issues didn’t rate high on his list of priorities.

  “While I was there, offering my services, Abigail Yellowhair had me step into her office. She asked me privately about you—how you were holding up under the gossip and suspicion.”

  “And you told her I was fine, I hope.”

  “Yeah, but I kept it vague, and told her if she wanted to know how you were, she should ask you. She took my advice and asked me to bring you a message. Mrs. Yellowhair wants to meet with you unofficially, at your convenience. She said she’d be at home all day today, and if you could drop by, she’d be grateful. She specifically asked that you don’t call her on the phone, but come in person instead.”

  “Interesting. Did she give you any idea what it was all about?”

  “No, not really. But I don’t think she’s your enemy. On the other hand, she doesn’t appear to be your friend either. She wouldn’t have taken your name out of her ads if she was.”

  “Abigail Yellowhair has her own agenda. That’s very clear to me.”

  “Then be careful. There’s something not quite right about that woman. She’s a real mixture of contradictions. She’s supposed to have traditionalist leanings, yet she’s going after her husband’s job in politics. She also offers to shake hands, and looks you straight in the eye, like an Anglo or a preacher.” Joseph paused. “It’s like she’s trying to be all things to all people, and I can’t bring myself to trust anyone who is that changeable.”

  Ella nodded. She’d felt that way, too. “I appreciate you delivering the message, and thanks for the warning. I’ll go see what she wants,” Ella said, then went back to her vehicle.

  She’d intended on paying her cousin Jayne a visit next, but now thought she should go see Abigail Yellowhair first. The way the woman had gone about setting up the meeting was making Ella undeniably curious.

  Ella reversed direction and headed back to the reservation. She arrived at the Yellowhair residence, a fancy Spanish-style home not far from Big Ed Atcitty’s, thirty minutes later. The only vehicle there was a sedan she knew Abigail drove. The late senator’s BMW, one of his prized possessions, so she’d always heard, had been sold shortly after his death. It was commonly believed that the man’s chindi could contaminate the things he loved, so his car had been sold to an Anglo family off the reservation.

  Abigail’s new car was a nondescript light blue Ford. It was a simple, durable car that matched Abigail’s no-nonsense style well.

  Apparently having heard Ella’s vehicle coming up the long graveled drive, Abigail came out to meet her. Ella parked beside the sidewalk and got out of the Jeep warily. She had nothing against Abigail Yellowhair, but this nearly clandestine meeting was making her skin crawl.

  “I understand you wanted to see me, Mrs. Yellowhair,” Ella said, not knowing if saying her name aloud would bother the woman.

  Abigail waved her inside. “Call me Abigail, Ella. I’ve been meaning to talk to you, but my situation is, well, delicate. I wanted to pick a time when there weren’t others around to overhear or to spread gossip later on.”

  Unsure of what to say, Ella opted to remain silent and took a seat.

  Abigail sat on the soft leather sofa opposite Ella’s chair. “I’ve heard what some people are saying about you. I was wondering how you were holding up under all those thinly veiled accusations.”

  “I can take the heat, if that’s what you’re asking, but I also intend to find out who’s behind the murder, no matter what that may do to my career. I loved my cousin, and no one is going to kill her and get away with it.”

  Abigail smiled. “That’s what I hoped you’d say. You caught the person who murdered my husband, and that case was very complex and sensitive, not only to the tribe, but to the entire country. I have no doubt that you can find the truth now as well.”

  “Was there another reason why you wanted to see me?” Ella asked.

  “You and your cousin helped me out during a very difficult time in my life, and I won’t forget your hard work. I can’t support you publicly right now. I still have an election coming up next year, and advisers in my party say I shouldn’t take a public position on your situation. But I still have a considerable amount of influence here on the Rez without the politics. I wanted you to know I’m on your side, and I’ll work on your behalf behind the scenes whenever the question comes up. If things really get bad, all you have to do is let me know, and I’ll do whatever I can.”

  Mrs. Yellowhair stood up. “In the long run, I think you’ll see I can do more good for you if I stay behind the lines. I’ll exert much greater influence over events that way.”

  Not to mention that she wouldn’t get dirty by association with all the innuendo and accusations facing Ella. It was a good politician’s ploy. She’d look good no matter what happened to Ella. But Ella had never figured Abigail for a game player. Maybe Abigail had learned far more from her double-dealing husband than anyone realized.

  Abigail smiled. “I know what you’re thinking—that I used to be much more direct than this. That now I’m playing a game. And you’re right, I am. I’m a fast learner. You see, I believe I can accomplish what my husband never could. I can pull the different factions here together. That will make our tribe stronger and better able to face the future. But for me to get the chance to do that, I’m going to have to learn to outplay the boys and use their own rules to get what I want.”

  Ella thought about Abigail’s words as she got back to her tribal unit. In a way, they weren’t so different from each other. They were both women who had learned to do whatever it took to accomplish the good they set out to do.

  Ella headed away from the Yellowhairs’ home, dust trailing behind her vehicle. She had work to do, and like Abigail, she intended to do whatever it took to win.

  EIGHTEEN

  Ella parked outside the Daily Double tavern, a faded-looking cinder-block building on the eastern outskirts of Farmington. The self-proclaimed sports bar did a reasonable amount of business, judging from the dozen or so pickups and cars that nearly filled the small parking lot.

  Ella went into the dimly lit establishment, and stood by the entrance until her eyes adjusted to the darkness. There were at least thirty customers, and only two tables unoccupied. Most were eating lunch while watching a baseball game on the large-screen TV.

  Jayne was nowhere in sight, and Ella began to wonder if she’d be showing up for work at all today. Jayne was a modernist, like her sister Justine, but might still be keeping a four-day mourning period out of respect, or at least for appearances’ sake.

  Ella checked with the waitress who hurried to bring her coffee, a young Anglo girl whose name tag said “Annie.”

  “When does Jayne Goodluck start her shift, or is she coming in today?” Ella saw the girl tense up when she saw the pistol under her unbuttoned jacket.

  “Are you a cop? Do you have some identification?”

  “Yes, but this isn’t an official call.” Ella flashed her badge to satisfy the employee. “I was a friend of her sister’s.” Ella had hoped that proving she was an officer would make the girl relax, but she still looked guarded and uneasy.

  “If you don’t know when she’s supposed to be at work, maybe you can ask the manager for me?” Ella added.

  Annie glanced over at a door with a sign that said “Employees Only,” then shook her head. “Don’t need to. Jayne called this morning and said she was coming in for work. As a matter of fact, she should have been here about two hours ago. I’m not sure if the manager noticed, or if I managed to cover up for her. But please don’t bring it up now if he comes out of his office.”


  “Then you’re a friend of Jayne’s?”

  Annie nodded. “And she really needs this job right now.”

  “She owes a lot of people, doesn’t she?” Ella observed, using a technique that often worked well for her. When you pretended to know more than you actually did, people tended to open up a lot easier. “I bet you’ve had some really nasty-looking guys coming by, looking for her.”

  “Oh, you bet. And our manager, Mr. Serna, hates that. Jayne almost lost her job last time it happened.”

  Ella was thinking that perhaps Jayne didn’t deserve Annie’s loyalty, when another thought occurred to her. “When did Jayne start working here?”

  “Let’s see. For a while she came by once a week, just to ask Serna to hire her, and prove she was really interested in the job. Serna had learned she’d been fired from her last job and didn’t want to take a chance. But after a month of that, he hired her. That was around three weeks ago. And today she’s late.”

  “Was Jayne here last Wednesday?”

  Annie hesitated. “That was the day her sister was killed, wasn’t it?”

  Ella nodded. “Did she work that night?”

  “I…”

  “She asked you to cover for her, didn’t she?” Ella observed. “I wouldn’t do it, Annie. This is a murder investigation, and no real friend would ask you to lie to the police. You could end up in jail yourself.”

  “I thought you said this wasn’t official.”

  “On this matter, it is.”

  Annie started to leave, but Ella grabbed her arm gently. “Annie, you could face charges if you’re caught in a lie. Is that what you want?”

  Annie shook her head slowly. “Look, Jayne helped me out when I needed a place to stay and had no other place to go. My dad … well, he drinks too much and things can get rough at home. I owe her.”

  “So you covered for her today. That’s one thing. But to give her a false alibi in a murder case—well, that’s something else, and you could end up facing a truckload of trouble.”

  Annie nodded. “Jayne knew people would ask, and she begged me to help. But I wasn’t lying—just stretching the truth. She had been here. All I was supposed to do was fudge a bit on the time.”

  “When was it that she actually asked you to do this favor for her?”

  “The evening after the murder. I’d read about Justine in the paper, so I wasn’t expecting to see Jayne here at work. But she stopped by during my shift. She said that all kinds of people were mad at her, and if she revealed where she’d been the night of her sister’s murder and what she’d been doing, everything would come apart for her.”

  Ella weighed what Annie was telling her. A new possibility was emerging. Even if Jayne hadn’t committed the crime, it was possible someone associated with her had, either by mistake, in retaliation, or as a warning. It all hinged on how much trouble Jayne was actually facing.

  “Jayne never told me where she’d been that night and I didn’t ask,” Annie continued. “My guess is that she was off gambling somewhere and didn’t want anyone to know.”

  “Do you have any idea where she goes to gamble?”

  “No, not really. There’s the race track, but I don’t think she goes there very often. She told me before that she prefers places that are less public and that’ll give her credit if she runs out of money.”

  “Thanks, Annie.”

  “Look, don’t tell her that I said anything to you, okay? Jayne has really been a friend to me and I’d like to keep it that way. I know she has a problem with gambling, and borrowing money, but she’s a good person. She just has big dreams and puts too much hope on getting lucky and making a bundle of money.”

  “I’ll keep your name out of it. Don’t give it another thought,” Ella said.

  As she walked back out to the parking lot, Ella tried to think of a way to get a fix on her cousin Jayne. She was turning out to be more of a puzzle than Ella had ever dreamed.

  Maybe Jayne had been responsible for most of the pressure Justine had been under. She was almost certainly responsible for part of it. Somehow, Ella had to find out exactly how much trouble Jayne was in. Maybe Jayne’s tactic of blaming Ella had been an attempt to hide her own involvement in what had happened to Justine.

  Ella drove back to the reservation. She had to tell Blalock what she’d learned. He had the resources to follow up on something like this that was taking place outside reservation borders. He also had jurisdiction, which she did not.

  Ella stopped at a gas station in Shiprock to fill up the tank. As she went inside to pay the clerk, she saw her cousin Ruth back by the dairy case picking out a gallon of milk.

  Seeing Ella, Ruth came up to her. “I want you to know that I don’t believe that what happened to my sister was your fault in any way.”

  “Thanks, that means a lot to me. I really enjoyed working with her. We were very close until about a week ago when her whole attitude seemed to go downhill in a hurry.”

  “I can’t understand why my sister was having so much trouble with you—and everyone else—recently. We all saw how she’d started to change.” Ruth’s voice was uneven.

  “I tried to talk to her about that more than once, but I didn’t have any luck getting a straight answer. Now I’m thinking at least part of it had to do with Jayne.” Ella kept her voice low so that only Ruth could hear.

  Ruth’s eyes widened. “How much do you know?”

  “She does have quite a problem with gambling,” Ella said, not answering directly.

  Ruth sighed. “We’ve all been trying to help her, Mom included, but Jayne’s got a mind of her own. She’s addicted to gambling, though she can’t see it. To her, the only problem is that she’s had a streak of bad luck.”

  “It’s often that way with compulsive gamblers.”

  “I’m just glad that the Rez doesn’t have a casino like most of the pueblos along the Rio Grande. I don’t think Jayne could handle that.”

  “Do you have any idea how much she’s in debt?”

  “Jayne’s lost her car, all her jewelry, and even hocked some of Mom’s, which she had no right to touch. And she had a problem with my sister because—” Ruth stopped, then turned away. “No, I’m not going to say any more. I know where this is leading, and you’re wrong. Jayne couldn’t have hurt her own sister, for money or any other reason.”

  “Can you say the same about the people Jayne owed money to?”

  Ruth stared wide-eyed at Ella. “I can’t help you, I’m sorry.”

  “Can’t or won’t?” Ella pressed.

  “I would if I could, but I just don’t know the people Jayne hangs around with. We live in separate worlds.”

  “Even one name…”

  “There was one man Jayne knows who came to the house once. Mom threw him out. But I don’t remember his name.”

  “Was he Navajo?”

  “He was Indian, but not Navajo. Maybe Pueblo, but I don’t know. He had a Spanish name, let me think. Oh, yeah. It was Bobby Lujan. I remember because it seemed like a real friendly name. But the guy sure was creepy.”

  “Why did your mom kick him out?”

  “She turned around to use the phone, and he began to wander around the house, snooping. Mom found him in my sister’s room and she was furious.”

  “Did you ever see him again?”

  “No. When Jayne came home, Mom told her what he’d been doing. Jayne said not to worry. She promised that the guy would never come by again. She must have talked to him, because he never returned.”

  Ruth paid for her purchase, then walked with Ella to the door. “You know, I’ve been wondering if what happened to Justine”—Ruth whispered the name, knowing four days still hadn’t passed since Justine’s death—“wasn’t a case of mistaken identity. Maybe someone was after Jayne and grabbed my other sister instead. The two of them looked a lot alike.”

  “I suppose they did,” Ella said slowly. Both wore their hair in the same style and both were petite and nearly the
same age. Then there was the family resemblance. “But the fact is that Justine was driving her patrol vehicle that night.” Ella said her cousin’s name softly, as Ruth had.

  “But it’s unmarked, like yours, and in the dark resembles my mom’s SUV.”

  Ella nodded thoughtfully. “Good point.”

  “Do you want me to talk to Jayne? I know she said some really nasty things to you, but I don’t think she meant them all. You don’t know her like I do. She’s just scared. She’s in a huge mess with these people because of her gambling debts, and I think that deep down she’s terrified that somehow this led to Justine’s murder.”

  “I hope for all our sakes that isn’t the case, because that means the danger isn’t over yet. Jayne could become the next target.”

  “I don’t think any of us can help Jayne. She won’t allow it. But it’s Mom I worry about most. I know she’s a strong woman. That’s how she made it after Dad left. But my brothers and sisters are everything to her, and it’s hard enough for her to accept that Justine’s gone forever. If on top of that she found out that one of her other daughters had a hand in her death…” Ruth shook her head. “That’s just too awful to think about. And if something happened to Jayne, as well, I don’t think Mom would ever recover.”

  “Do you have any idea where Jayne is right now?” Ella asked.

  Ruth glanced at her watch. “None of us can afford to take any more time off from work, especially Jayne. She should be at the Daily Double, over in Farmington. She usually works a lunch-to-dinner shift. But if she’s not there, check the Bull’s Eye, out on the Bloomfield highway. According to Jayne, they have a small-stakes crap game in the back. But I don’t know how you’ll get in if they don’t know you. I tried to find her there once, and couldn’t get past the bartender. He looked at me as if I were crazy and swore there wasn’t anything in the back except cases of booze. But Jayne had the family’s SUV and it was parked outside.”

  “Thanks. I’ll let you know if I find out anything new.”

  Ella returned to her vehicle. Talking about Justine in the past tense seemed wrong, and having to whisper her name to avoid danger from her chindi was even worse. Maybe part of her was just trying to deny reality, but she couldn’t quite accept the fact that Justine was truly dead.