by Aimée
Only Justine and Big Ed would maintain surveillance on the hogan from carefully selected places of concealment nearby. Just to make sure she’d get some advance warning, Ella had ordered hidden video cameras set up, covering the area around the hogan for fifty yards. If anyone approached, the cameras would record them. Peterson’s skinwalker powers of illusion and misdirection might confuse a human being’s senses; the camera, however, could not be tricked as easily. It was a totally objective adversary that had a greater chance of remaining unseen while it continued its relentless monitoring.
Ella walked around the hogan several times, performing Naomi’s routine chores. Although she made sure she was visible, she always stayed close to cover. The time she spent waiting inside the hogan was the more difficult. The morning was cool, but curiously silent. She tried to let her fear work for her, attuning her senses. She had the battery-powered camera monitors there inside the small hogan and kept her eyes on them, searching, vigilant.
Minutes ticked by. Three hours passed. She had expected Peterson to act by now, or at least to show some sign of his approach. The stillness grated on her nerves. Suddenly, as she watched the monitors, she caught a flicker of a shadow. For a moment she wasn’t sure if she’d really seen it at all.
Her muscles tensed and she scarcely breathed. The next camera would be only yards from the hogan. She kept her eyes on the monitor and saw Peterson pass by, his body blending in well against the junipers and sagebrush.
Yazzie had selected his clothing with the precision of a soldier going on an assault, and would be hard to spot even out in the open. She checked the clip on her nine-millimeter pistol, reached down to touch the fetish in her pocket, then set a pot on the stove loudly, the clanking metal a warning sign for Big Ed and Justine.
Ella pressed her back to the thick log wall as she stood beside the entrance. An explosion, a short distance to the north, shook the hogan, loosing dust into the air and tossing Ella to the dirt floor.
Chaos erupted all around, and she heard loud voices everywhere. As she tried to scramble to her feet, the opening of the hogan went dark for a second, then Peterson slipped inside. He spun around in the semidarkness as if sensing her presence behind him and threw a cloud of fine white dust into the air.
Ella rolled behind the stove and held her breath, but she reacted a second too late. Everything in the hogan started to slant as if she were on a boat during a storm. She wanted to fire her pistol, but her finger was suddenly frozen in place.
Peterson’s laugh was low and deadly. “Now, it’s time.”
Through a slow-motion haze, she saw Peterson approach. He reached for the long dagger at his waist. “For you, Ella, the end will be quick. Your family won’t be so lucky. First will come their capture, then, eventually, their deaths.”
Before he could take another step, she saw the outline of a small figure in the doorway.
“Stop!” Justine’s voice cracked in the hogan like a whip.
“Okay. Relax. You’ve won.” Peterson turned around slowly, then with a flick of his wrist sent the dagger flying. It struck Justine just above her armored vest, near the collarbone. Crying out in pain, she fell to her knees, the pistol dropping out of her hands.
Ella felt as if her body was frozen. Yet seeing the attack on Justine allowed her to summon strength beyond the power of Yazzie’s drug. Swinging her pistol around, she fired three times.
Peterson stared at her in surprise as he crumpled to his knees. “I misjudged you. You are strong…” His voice faded, and he fell facedown.
Blood stained the packed sand, flowing quickly into a growing pool that coated the parched floor. Ella stumbled to where Justine was. Her cousin sat leaning against the hogan wall. She’d pulled out the dagger and was holding one bloody hand over the wound, her recovered pistol in the other. Big Ed rushed into the small room, pistol in hand. Surveying the scene in a glance, he quickly pulled out his radio. He called for paramedics and notified his officers to verify each other’s safety, then assemble near the hogan.
Crouching next to Justine, Big Ed lifted the handkerchief Ella had given her and studied the wound. “You’ll be okay, young lady. You were quick to react, and lucky as well. The knife missed your artery, thank God!” He glanced up at Ella, who was standing unsteadily behind him. “What the heck happened here, and what’s that strange odor?”
“I don’t know,” Ella admitted. At least the room had stopped spinning like a child’s wind-up toy. “He threw some powder in the air, then everything went crazy.”
Big Ed nodded, understanding. “Go outside. I’ll stay with Justine.”
Giving Justine an encouraging smile, Ella stepped out into the open. She took several deep gulps of the cool morning air. Although it helped, her legs still felt rubbery. As she leaned against the side of the hogan, Peterson’s last threat echoed in her mind.
Ella hurried back inside the hogan, and Big Ed looked up, startled. “Send more people to the hospital.” She quickly explained what Peterson had said would happen.
“All right. We’re also going to have to release the press statement now, to announce an arrest. The news has to reach Furman soon if we’re going to try to enact phase two of your plan. If we don’t act now, we’ll lose our advantage. Are you up to it?” Big Ed stepped out of the hogan and allowed Officer Philip Cloud to enter with a first-aid kit.
Ella forced herself to focus on the job that remained to be done. “Yes. Let’s finish this. We’ll clear out as soon as the paramedics take Justine in. Then I’ll release the story that the Packrat, our serial killer, has been caught, but withhold news of any death, or he’ll know that Naomi would never return here. We’ll also withhold any ID on the suspect, saying that we’re awaiting final confirmation of the Packrat’s identity.”
“The big headlines and TV program interruptions should enrage Furman,” Big Ed said. “It’s obvious from the newspaper clippings he had hidden in his apartment that he wants all the attention he can get. He won’t want to share it with some impostor. Hopefully he’ll come here and try to strike tonight or tomorrow morning. It’ll get really tough if he remains calm enough to wait.”
“His ego won’t let him wait long,” Ella said. “He’ll have to prove to us again how clever he is, and how stupid we are. He needs that as much as you and I need air to breathe.”
Ella looked down at her youthful partner. Officer Cloud had Justine’s bandage in place and had convinced her to lie down on his jacket.
“Justine won’t be here to back us up,” Big Ed said, pointing out the obvious. “Who do you want here instead?”
“Officer Neskahi knows this area better than all of us. I think he’ll want this opportunity.”
As the paramedics arrived, Ella and Big Ed moved farther away, letting them get on with their work. Ella saw Officer Cloud move as far away from the hogan as he could while remaining within sight of Ella and Big Ed. Now that Peterson had died here, Naomi would not be returning to the hogan. Everyone else would stay away too once word got around. Peterson’s chindi would be feared far more than Peterson’s abilities as a skinwalker ever had been.
Ten minutes later, certain Justine was stabilized, the paramedics lifted her onto a stretcher and carried her to the ambulance.
Before they could place her inside, Justine reached for Ella’s hand. “I did okay, right?”
Ella smiled. “You saved my life. I don’t think it gets more okay than that. Get that shoulder healed and get back on the job soon. I need you.”
* * *
Ella, now out of her disguise, weathered the pandemonium at the press conference with Big Ed by her side. The details they gave the reporters fueled a frenzy of questions that left her exhausted by the time it was finally over.
Afterward, Big Ed led her down the hall to her office. “I think I’d rather face an armed opponent.”
“Funny. I was just thinking the same thing.” Ella dropped wearily into her desk chair.
“I spoke to Officer Neskahi
. He’ll back us up. I’ll have patrol units in the vicinity, but no one close. We don’t want to spook Brownhat.”
“The three of us will be able to handle this. Furman will want to approach and catch me unawares, so he can follow through on his usual style of killing.”
“The monitors are still there, and the cameras. Their batteries are being recharged now. They served us well before, so I figured they could do so again.”
“Naomi Zah goes outside her hogan each night to do her stargazing. I’m going to follow her usual pattern. I’m not as worried about a high-powered rifle with Furman as I was with Peterson.”
“Once he gets close, he’ll recognize you.”
“True, but by then, he’s ours.”
Big Ed nodded once. “We’ll go out there separately and sneak our way in from different directions. Just remember that we’re in this together. We’ll take him down as a team.”
Ella watched Big Ed leave her office. The reporters were already long gone, hurrying off to get their stories into print. Ella called the hospital and asked for her mom. After several minutes, Rose picked up the phone.
“Are you all okay?” Ella asked.
“There’s been no trouble. We have extra men here now,” her mother answered noncommittally. “And your cousin is here in the next hall, right by the children’s ward, with an officer by her door. She’s asleep now, but she’ll be fine.”
Ella breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. Take care of everyone. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Remember what I warned you about?” Rose’s voice was whisper soft.
“About the danger to all of us?” Ella asked.
“It still exists,” Rose answered.
Ella felt her skin prickle. “Keep the officers right there, and Clifford. No one can strike in such a public place when you’re under such tight guard.” She knew her mother’s predictions were invariably true, but logic dictated that for now it would be all right. “Tell no one but Clifford that our old enemy is finally dead. My work isn’t over yet.”
“I understand.”
Ella hung up the phone as Big Ed came in. “It’s time.”
Ella nodded, and followed him out to the parking lot. Big Ed drove away first and she followed five minutes later.
The late afternoon heat set her nerves on edge. She was tired. Despite several cups of coffee, lack of sleep and tension were catching up to her, and at the worst possible time. She aimed the air-conditioner vent directly at her face. The blast of icy air helped.
By the time she reached the rough juniper and piñon plateau, it was the hottest part of the day. She parked her vehicle a few hundred yards off the highway, got into her disguise, then began the mile walk to the hogan. Heat blazed against the rocks and sand, and the body armor beneath her blouse accentuated every degree.
Ella arrived at the hogan twenty minutes later, glanced around outside, then went in. The hogan was cooler, but not by much. She reached beneath her skirt and pulled out her portable radio. “I’m here,” she said, using the same tactical frequency as before.
“So are we,” came Big Ed’s reply.
Ella drank some water from the plastic barrel that Naomi kept on hand, but it wasn’t much help. She forced herself to wait patiently, but her thoughts kept drifting to her family and to Justine.
Finally the sun disappeared behind the clouds, and twilight began to descend over the desert. Ella heard the night insects begin their incessant humming. Most times the monotony of the sound soothed, but tonight it got on her nerves as it obscured other sounds.
Ella studied the low-light monitors for an hour through bleary eyes. There was still no sign of anyone outside. Once the stars were out, she hunched over to hide her height and went outside holding one of Naomi’s crystals. With methodical precision, she repeated the pattern the stargazer had taught her. Everything remained quiet.
After a while, she walked back to the hogan. Maybe Brownhat had decided to wait. By now he might have become complacent, certain that he’d outwitted the police. Ella sat there, watching the monitors as the hours passed uneventfully. Toward dawn, she wrapped herself in a blanket to ward off the chill. The officers keeping watch had no such luxury, but Ella knew they were all wearing jackets.
Just toward dawn, the tension rose again, and Ella started pacing. She built a fire in the stove and started heating water, just like Naomi would do under normal circumstances. Sitting there, bleary eyes on the monitors, Ella tried to analyze the situation.
If Furman didn’t come within the next hour or so, he would probably not take action until the next evening. It would be hard for any of the cops to maintain their sharp edge if they had to sit up another night. It would also be harder to maintain security on the deception the longer time went by.
Ella reached down into her pocket and took out the badger fetish. It was cool to the touch, and her intuition told her that Furman wasn’t buying the trap. Still, she had to wait it out a little longer. Bored, she made herself some coffee. The men outside, around her, would have to wait for theirs.
Finally, at eight o’clock in the morning, Ella decided to call it off for the day. She pulled out her radio. “He’s not showing. Let’s stand down for a while.”
“I agree,” Big Ed answered back. Looking as discouraged and tired as she felt, he met Ella by the entrance to the hogan. “I’ll have our team report in, then work their way here, checking the area as they proceed.”
By the time he’d radioed his instructions over the tactical frequency, Ella had poured a cup of coffee for the chief. He took it gratefully.
“Thank you, Mrs. Zah. What do you think Brownhat is up to?” Big Ed wondered aloud, looking around the edge of the trees as he spoke. Some of the closer-positioned officers were now visible.
“Frankly, I’m surprised. Our security was pretty good, and I don’t think we tipped ourselves off during the night. Let’s see what the rest of the team has to say.”
Fifteen minutes later, all the officers made their reports. No one had seen any sign of Furman, or any other human, for that matter. The closest call any of them had was Officer Neskahi. A skunk had walked right past him, and it had been difficult to keep his position and not gag at the smell.
Ella removed her disguise while others collected the monitor batteries for recharging. They had to be ready for the next evening.
Anxious to check on her family and Justine, Ella went to her car while Big Ed briefed two new officers who had arrived. They would be watching the place during the day.
Ella reached the vehicle and picked up the cellular phone as she drove out to the highway. She got her mother within two minutes.
“Hello, Mother,” Ella said nervously. “How is everyone? Has Loretta had the baby yet?”
Her mother’s worried voice came through the air clearly. “Loretta is delivering the child now. The time has come.”
Ella drove with the bubble on top of her vehicle and the siren screaming. She thought of the last stillbirth. If anything happened to this child, she wasn’t sure how her brother and sister-in-law would weather it.
Forty minutes later, Ella raced into the hospital, flashing her badge at each checkpoint from the entrance doors to the elevator. Finally reaching Loretta’s room, Ella peered inside. Rose placed a finger to her lips.
Loretta was sleeping and Clifford sat by her bed. Her brother gave her a tired, proud smile. “Go see the baby. He’s perfect,” he whispered.
Rose led Ella down to the nursery. “Labor was short and difficult, but the child is healthy and strong,” she assured Ella. “For now, he must stay in a special incubator because he’s not full-term, but in a short time he’ll be home.”
Ella went inside the small room with her mother. Two nurses walked around, tending the infants.
Rose stopped by the small unit near the door and looked down at her grandchild. “Your nephew,” she said.
Ella looked down at the baby. A tiny silver chain hung around his neck, holding a
thick silver square that rested on the child’s breast. “Is that a gift from you?”
Rose shook her head. She reached for the nurse, who was passing by. “What is that chain on the child?”
“It might be a gift, but it doesn’t belong inside that incubator,” the nurse snapped. “I’ll have to remove it.”
Ella watched as the nurse took the chain off the baby. “May I have that?”
“Certainly, but no one is to put any jewelry on that child until he leaves this unit.”
Ella took the chain from her hand and studied it. “The ornament isn’t a medal of any kind. It looks like it came from a watchband.” Ella twisted the chain, so she could study the back without handling it. As Rose came to stand beside her, Ella saw that the initials R.C. had been carved into it.
Rose gasped. “That belonged to your father-in-law! It’s an invitation for his chindi to enter the child.” Rose’s voice was a horrified whisper.
Ella faced the nurse. “I want a list of everyone who came near this child.”
“Our staff goes in and out, and parents are allowed too.” The nurse shook her head slowly. “I’m sorry, but your request is impossible to fulfill.”
Clifford came into the room. Seeing the look on his mother’s face, he quickly turned to Ella. “What’s happened?”
“This was on the baby,” Ella said, holding the pendant up for Clifford to see.
Clifford grabbed it from her hand and threw it onto the floor. “My child will not be harmed by this. I will see to it.” His voice shook with emotion.
The nurse picked the chain up and handed it back to Ella. “You’re disturbing the other infants. Please take your problems outside.”
