by Aimée
“But that’s the key, isn’t it?” Lewis baited her. “I wasn’t there when the murder was committed. There’s no way you can place me there at the time of the murder.”
“You were sure there soon enough afterwards. You could have been hiding nearby, parked in some arroyo, waiting for our people to clear,” Justine challenged.
“Then why wouldn’t I have waited until all of you were gone?” he countered smoothly. “I heard all your calls on the scanner. I knew who was coming and going. You’re grasping at straws. Don’t underestimate my intelligence. I’m a lot smarter than, say, those idiots who drowned last night.” The smile he gave Justine never reached his eyes.
“You may have wanted to taunt us,” Ella suggested, ignoring his crude comment. “By coming out and putting on a show, you were doing what you do best—getting attention for yourself.”
His eyes flashed with anger. “I have certain powers and I offer them to our People. It’s what I do for them.”
“Oh, please! Cut the crap. Nobody has boots high enough to wade through that much manure.” Ella’s tone was harsh.
“Don’t insult me. You don’t want to turn me into an enemy.” His voice was monotone, lending it even more menace.
“You said that already, last night. Are you threatening me again?” Ella countered.
“It’s just a matter of logic,” Lewis answered with a shrug. “You need information from me. You’re going to lose all hope of getting it if you piss me off.”
Ella felt her temper rising. With effort, she kept it from showing in her expression. “If you have information pertinent to the crime, tell it to me now. You don’t want to be charged with obstructing justice, do you?”
“Some justice,” Lewis spat out. “You’re picking on me because I had the guts to try and shut down that church. It’s a place that no one without powers can approach with impunity. What happened there just proves my point.”
“But you can go there without endangering yourself, right?” Justine asked.
“You bet I can. I can control the forces there, even more so than those who rely only on their abilities as skinwalkers. I command the demons that fight the cross as well. They help me whenever I ask.”
“Why are you trying to run the Christians off from that site? What difference could it possibly make to you? You live off the reservation in Farmington,” Ella insisted.
“I’m trying to show Navajos a better way. Skinwalkers, Christianity—it’s all a search for power. I can show them how to get it.”
“There have been three murders on this reservation recently. After the way you acted at the church, and particularly in view of your beliefs and goals, tell me why we shouldn’t consider you a suspect.”
“I’ve read about the murders. I have no alibi that you would value. Kee Dodge was killed right before one of his classes, according to what I read. I’m usually in bed until noon. I don’t like mornings,” he added with a shrug. “Haske was killed in the early morning too.”
“Can anyone corroborate that you were in bed?”
He laughed. “You mean did I have one of my followers there to keep me warm?” He shook his head. “I don’t play those games.”
Ella watched him carefully. “What kind of games do you play?”
“You’re starting to bore me. I know you can only hold me for twenty-four hours without filing charges. Do you have anything to charge me with? If not, then I’m close to walking out of here.”
Ella met the challenge in his gaze with one of her own. “Oh, we’ll eventually let you go. We want you to have enough rope to hang yourself if you did murder those people.”
“I haven’t killed anyone,” Lewis answered with a thin smile. “But by all means, waste your time looking for evidence against me while the real killer runs free. Then people will see your incompetence. When people lose faith in their leaders, they look elsewhere for their salvation. I intend to be there to offer them a choice. With all these people dying lately, it may be sooner than you think.”
The words were so reminiscent of Peterson Yazzie’s that Ella regarded him bitterly. “That’s enough for now, Lewis.” She glanced at Justine. “Take him back to his cell until his twenty-four hours are up.”
He was playing with her, much like Peterson would have. She watched Justine handcuff and lead him out to return him to holding. Before the end of the day, however, she intended to know everything about Anton Lewis. If he was Peterson’s stooge, then Peterson had made a crucial mistake, and she intended to exploit it for all it was worth.
Big Ed came into the interview room and sat across the desk from her. “Is that our man?”
“Maybe. He fits the profile, and his shoe size matches. But the knife he had wasn’t the murder weapon.”
“If Peterson Yazzie is using Lewis, then that could be another of Peterson’s mind games.”
“That’s very true, but I can only work with the evidence I uncover. For now I’ll just have to continue gathering facts. Eventually the pieces will all start to fit together, then the weave of the pattern will be clear.” She stared at a spiderweb that filled the far corner of the room. “I’ve learned one thing over the years: To restore order, or harmony as my brother would say, one needs patience most of all.”
TWENTY-ONE
Shortly after ten-thirty that morning, Justine walked into Ella’s office. “I got the bureau report on the paint chips recovered from Haske’s clothing. It’s a factory finish on the more inexpensive Ford fleet vehicles, both sedans and trucks.”
“At least we can exclude trucks, based on the evidence we already have. But that doesn’t narrow our search much. Several tribal agencies use fleet vehicles from the interagency motor pool.”
“We can call around first to see if any vehicles have been damaged recently. If there’s no record, then we’ll have to go and check every single one,” Justine said with a shrug. “Shall I get on that?”
“Please. I’ve been trying to get hold of Peterson’s lawyer, Bruce Cohen, but I can’t get him either at the office or at home. I may end up having to go over there.”
Ella made one more call to Cohen’s office and finally a stranger answered. It was another attorney, a man named Bob Carpenter. According to him, Bruce Cohen had asked for police protection the moment Yazzie escaped. Within hours, Cohen had taken a leave of absence and left town, headed somewhere back east with his family. He wasn’t planning on returning until Yazzie was returned to confinement.
As her telephone began to ring, Ella picked it up and identified herself. Leroy Johnson, from the post office in Shiprock, was on the other end. “Can you stop by my office? I think you’ll want to see a letter we intercepted that’s addressed to you. Since it has no return address I kept it here like you asked, but it was mailed from inside the reservation.”
“I can be there in about forty-five minutes. Is that soon enough?”
“No problem. I’ll be here.”
Ella hung up the phone. “I think something’s up. Leroy just called from the post office. There’s a letter for me that might be from Peterson.”
Justine nodded. “What would you like me to do first, then?”
“Start on the fleet vehicles. I should be back in about two hours, then I’ll work with you. It’ll go faster with both of us checking things out,” Ella said.
“Great!”
Her relief was so obvious, Ella laughed. “I wasn’t going to abandon you to it,” she said.
“Good. Tracking down individual fleet cars in search of one in particular is going to be like searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack.”
“Maybe we’ll get lucky. We’re about due for a change.”
* * *
When Ella arrived at the post office, she found Leroy behind the counter sorting packages.
Seeing her come through the door, he gave her a worried smile. “I hope I haven’t wasted your time.”
“Don’t give that another thought. I’m grateful that you telephoned me
rather than just sending the letter out for delivery.”
Leonard led the way back to his desk, then reached into the bottom drawer to withdraw a plastic sack that held a legal-sized envelope. He handled it gingerly, as if it were tainted. “I wish none of us had ever heard of skinwalkers. Many people are coming here with fear in their eyes now that those youngsters are dead and Yazzie is still on the loose. People are wondering what will happen next.”
Ella reached inside her purse and pulled out surgical gloves. It was a slim hope, but maybe if they could lift another fingerprint besides Yazzie’s, she’d be able to track him down through whoever was helping him. Ella removed the envelope, slit it open carefully with her pocketknife, then pulled the letter out.
It took all her training not to let the vileness of the comments within show in her expression, but she didn’t want to alarm Leroy.
Ella
I hope you are sleeping well. You looked so tired last time we spoke. I want you to be rested when I come for you and put my hands around your neck. Speaking of strangulation, I could just feel my strength growing when I squeezed the life out of that pretty nurse—Isabel, was that her name? Maybe that’s the way I’ll kill you. Or do you prefer a knife to the heart? Perhaps I’ll let you choose, if you’re nice to me.
I believe the work of my novice student has attracted some of your attention, too. I had a good laugh when he described how he killed that quack Haske. I only wish I could have been there myself. He gave me all the details when he helped me escape that jail they call a hospital.
He wanted me there next time one of your friends dies. I told him I’d be delighted. You’re invited too, only I know you’ll be late, as usual. Ella, you’re getting too old and stupid to put a stop to us. Give up, and just wait there in your home. We’ll get around to you sooner or later. Just how soon will be our surprise.
Yours in every way imaginable—Peterson
Ella folded the letter slowly, taking care not to reveal her thoughts.
“It was from Yazzie, right?”
Ella nodded. “I appreciate your help. I wouldn’t have wanted this delivered to my home.”
“I heard this morning that you’ve caught the Packrat,” Leroy said.
Ella smiled, knowing the futility of trying to keep gossip from spreading. “We have a suspect, that’s all, but we can’t charge him at this point.”
“I don’t understand. I thought you’d arrested Anton Lewis.”
“How did you hear that?”
Leroy smiled, but shook his head. “I don’t want to get anyone in trouble. But for every police officer, there are mothers and fathers, and uncles and … Well, we all talk.”
Ella nodded. “Anton Lewis is a strange one, but I don’t have enough evidence to hold him at this point.”
“He’s one crazy Navajo. He should have stayed in Nevada with his father.”
“What can you tell me about him?”
“I know that his mother is Navajo and his father is an Anglo card dealer at some casino in Lake Tahoe or Reno. His mother and father divorced a few years back, when Anton was in his twenties. Some say Anton’s been on his own since he was seven. His parents never paid any attention to him unless he got into trouble.”
“Have you met Lewis?”
“Nah, the only ones who come into contact with him are his followers and the people who attend that Christian church on the Rez. Lewis gets his rabble to stand in the road or in front of the doors and block the way to the church services. He makes a big pain out of himself.”
“Thanks for the information. I appreciate it.”
Ella checked in with the dispatcher on the way back to the station, then was patched through to Justine. “What progress have you made?” Ella asked.
“I’ve narrowed it down some. My calls to the tribal government led to a few cars that had come in for servicing. I went to the garage, but none had front-end damage like we’re looking for. I then arranged for several departments to have their supervisors check each car for exterior damage as it’s driven in tomorrow. They’ll call us if they find anything. Last of all, I finally received permission to check the fleet vehicles the college uses. The campus is going to be my next stop.”
“I’ll meet you there.”
Justine gave her directions to the assigned area where the vehicles were parked. “Just drive up to the fence behind the library. I’ll be there by the time you arrive.”
“Expect me in thirty,” Ella said and increased her speed. The transit times were starting to wear on her. With Peterson on the loose, she knew there was little time to lose. Somehow she felt certain that the promise he’d made in his letter of another murder was not part of a mind game, but rather a very real possibility.
Ella stayed on the paved roads. It was after lunchtime, and the heat was oppressive enough to have made the roads almost deserted. People had a tendency to stay indoors when it was in the one-hundred-degree range.
Ella saw the distortions of objects nearby as heat seemed to shimmer off the pavement and rise up in curling waves. Poor Justine was probably cursing the investigation and Peterson Yazzie by now. Extremes in heat did little to improve anyone’s mood.
Ella drummed her fingers on the wheel, reviewing the case and listening to radio calls as she drove. She had to get a lead to Peterson soon. She had a feeling he was frantically trying to locate his remaining followers. The murders might have all been intended to keep her distracted while he escaped and regrouped his people.
That thought sent a shudder up her spine. She was no coward, but a fight with skinwalkers would always involve the trickery and illusion that were so much a part of their arsenal. As much as she hated to admit it, those things unnerved her deeply. She preferred cleaner fights, where toughness and skill determined the winner.
As she arrived at the college, Ella followed Justine’s directions and met her at the parking lot.
Justine opened the gate for her and led her to the cars. “I’ve got the first row done. The secretary couldn’t remember any vehicles reported as being in an accident, but their computer is down. Since there aren’t that many, I figured that I’d go through these one at a time and search for damage or attempts to fix or cover up something.”
“I’ll take the second row while you take the third, and we’ll finish the lot twice as quickly,” Ella said.
“I’ve also got some other news,” Justine said as they worked. “There was nothing particularly relevant about the rope used on Morgan, or the knots, or anything along those lines, but I did find one interesting thing about the chloroform. I suppose one could mail order it, but I found out that there are a couple of places that keep it on hand around here.
“One is the high school science lab. They’ve had one bottle for years. They don’t tend to use it very much anymore. The teacher checked, and no one’s tampered with it. Then I went by the Math and Science building here on campus, but I couldn’t get hold of anyone. I figured I’d try again later.”
“Wilson’s the chairperson of the math and science department. I’ll be happy to pay him a visit once we finish here.”
Justine smiled.
“What’s that grin for?” Ella asked.
“He really likes you. And if any civilian understands the demands of our job, he does. You should give him a break.”
Ella rolled her eyes. “I socialize with him more than with anyone else.”
“Which isn’t saying much, from what I’ve heard,” she teased.
“When was your last date?”
“I came across Furman Brownhat about an hour ago, and we had some iced tea in the student center. We talked about the case a little. He didn’t have much to say, except that he’d seen you here the other day.”
“That was when I visited Wilson Joe.” Ella lapsed into a thoughtful silence.
After several quiet moments, Justine glanced over at Ella. “By the way, don’t worry about my relationship with Furman, okay? I’m friendly with him, but it’s not like
we’re dating. I try to make sure he feels comfortable around me, but that’s just part of the job.”
“It’s a hard line to walk,” Ella observed.
“Yes, but I can handle it.”
“Out of curiosity, when was your last real date, Justine?”
Justine considered Ella’s question. “I can’t remember. Gee, boss, thanks for depressing me.”
“If you say that around my mother, she’ll fix you up before you can blink an eye.” Ella bent over the front of one of the cars in her row, searching for damage.
“Remind me not to,” Justine said with a wry smile.
Ella walked down to a white sedan parked two empty spaces away from the others, next to the fence. She edged against the fence, studying the front end. “Bingo. I’ve got something here.”
Justine joined her and noted the extensive damage to the right front of the vehicle. The hood and front fender had been dented, and half the plastic grille on that side was broken away. The signal light cover and headlamp trim were missing as well. “This car certainly hit something, and it wasn’t another car, or we’d see smudges of the other car’s paint somewhere.”
“Have it towed in and find out who drives it,” Ella said. “Also, see if any of the front-end fragments we recovered match the damage here. If it turns out to be the wrong car, we’ll return it, but I don’t want to leave it here unguarded another second.”
Justine nodded. “I’ll get on this right away. It shouldn’t take me too long to get a comparison done on the paint from this car and the chips from Haske’s clothing. If you okay it, I can have a courier get on a flight out of Farmington to Albuquerque.”
“Have Blalock put a rush on it like before. They’ll give it top priority then.”
Ella watched as Justine called the information in, then glanced at her watch. “I’ll meet you back at our office later. I’ve got several people to see.”
Ella took a few steps, then turned and came back to look at the damage closely. After a moment, she stood up and waved to Justine, who was still at her car.
