Enemy Way

by Aimée

  Ella reached for her flashlight, found nothing, then remembered hearing it fall from her pocket as she’d dived forward earlier. She felt around until she found a wall, then checked for a light switch. A few moments later she found what she was looking for, and the darkness was replaced with the bright glow of a single incandescent bulb. The first thing Ella saw was a teenaged boy lying in the middle of the oil-stained concrete, his throat slashed. She didn’t recognize the victim.

  Ella called in dispatch, reported her situation, and requested an APB on any gang members spotted in the area. She also asked that the hospital be put on alert for anyone coming in with a gunshot wound.

  As Ella crouched next to the victim, waiting for her backup to release her from the locked garage, she began to investigate the scene. She suspected from his red sweatshirt that the victim had been one of the Many Devils. A glance at the crude MD carved into the back of his hand confirmed it.

  She noticed a small wrecking bar in his hip pocket, along with a penlight and yellow rubber gloves. There was no wallet apparent. It didn’t take a genius to guess what he’d been doing here. But who had surprised the young burglar? The people in this neighborhood were not offering any resistance that she knew of and, despite their apparent tough attitude with Mrs. Peshlakai, they hadn’t done anything publicly to retake control.

  She retrieved her flashlight, wondering about the occupants of the house next door. They must have heard the chilling screams and her gunshot. Were they home, and if so, why hadn’t they reacted by now? An oppressive silence encased her. Ella went to the main overhead door, but it had been locked from the outside.

  Her two-way crackled to life and her call sign came over the air. Ella answered the summons. Officer Jimmy Frank was trying to locate her. He’d found her Jeep, and now was searching for the garage. Ella called out to him and heard him respond almost immediately.

  Jimmy Frank wrenched something away from the side door, then pulled it open. Jimmy’s boyish looks were deceptive. He was a seasoned officer, though he looked no older than some of the boys in the gangs. He would have made a wonderful undercover officer if the kids didn’t know him so well.

  “Seal off the garage. I’m going to see if the owners of this house are okay. And take a look at the victim. Maybe you can ID him.”

  Once outside, she looked around and noticed that some of the neighbors had finally turned on their lights. If the presence of the police was what had given them courage, maybe some progress was being made in the area after all.

  As Ella walked across to the house, she used her flashlight to study the ground for evidence. Athletic shoe tracks were clear but, a little further from the door, about halfway to the house, she noticed the now familiar cane-like dots and scuff marks left by moccasins. Anger filled her.

  The person making the marks, old woman or not, was obviously playing mind games with her. Ella was no longer willing to assume that any or all of the trails she had found at the crime scene had been made by an innocent elderly person. Of course, it was entirely possible that the purpose of the cane prints all along had been to distract her from something really important.

  Ella knocked at the back door of the house, and identified herself. Nothing happened. No lights came on and there were no sounds coming from inside. Apprehension filled her, and she aimed her flashlight beam toward a window. Perhaps there had been more than one murder here tonight.

  Ella studied the lock and doorjamb, trying to see if there were any signs of forced entry. Not seeing any, she walked around to the side of the house. She soon found a window that had been forced open.

  Radioing Jimmy Frank that she was going inside while he remained with the crime scene, Ella climbed through the opening, every nerve attuned to possible danger. Cabinets and drawers in the bedroom had been emptied, their contents scattered all over the floor. The mattress had been lifted, and now lay askew, but looked like it had not been slept in recently. There was broken glass everywhere. If the owners had been away when their house had been burglarized, they’d had better luck than Lisa Aspass.

  The silence was deafening as Ella went through the house, room by room, feeling relief each time she failed to find blood or a body.

  “You okay, Ella?” Jimmy Frank asked over the radio.

  “Yes.” She returned to the living room and unlocked the front door to meet the officer outside. “It’s clear. Someone made a hell of a big mess, but at least it seems no one lost their lives here. We need to locate the owners and have them make a list of everything that’s missing.”

  “I didn’t recognize the body. Maybe somebody on the team will know who it was.” Jimmy shrugged.

  Hearing approaching sirens, she walked out to meet the additional officers. To her surprise, Justine’s vehicle was the first to pull up. Tache and Ute were in the van behind her.

  Standing near the edge of the driveway, she greeted them. “I should have known that you all would still be on duty, too.”

  “Neskahi is out looking for the Many Devils,” Justine said. “With luck, he’ll locate and haul in at least one of them for questioning. I told him to check at my aunt’s home first.”

  Ella gestured toward the garage. “The body’s in there. Has Carolyn been notified?”

  “Yes. I took care of that. She should be here shortly,” Justine answered.

  As Tache and Ute proceeded to the crime scene, Ella took Justine aside. “There’s something I want you to see.” Ella led her assistant around to where she’d found the cane prints.

  Justine’s eyebrows rose. “Someone’s taunting us,” she said quietly.

  “My feelings exactly. I want a list of all the people in this neighborhood who use a walking stick, and their relatives, too. Say it’s a potential witness we’re trying to identify, nothing more. And make sure we get good data on the pry mark on the garage, then see if it matches up to the Aspass break-in.”

  Carolyn drove up as Justine walked away, intent on her new mission. Ella went to meet the ME. Carolyn pulled out her medical bag and spoke to Ella as they walked to the garage. “The mortality rate for these kids is going up.”

  “Yeah, and to tell you the truth, I’m not so sure we’ll be able to stop it.”

  Carolyn gave her a surprised look. “I know you’re tired. Heaven knows neither of us seems to be getting our beauty sleep lately. But I’ve never known you to doubt your abilities as a cop before.”

  “We’re not dealing with isolated murders, or even a serial killer. Gang violence has spread throughout the country like the plague. On or off the Rez, it’s not a problem that’s easily stopped.”

  “Even here?”

  “It’s not that much different here than it is on the outside, except in scale. Unemployment, parental neglect, and keeping bad company are all part of it. Our kids are simply emulating what they’ve learned from the gangs outside the Rez.”

  Carolyn crouched by the body, studying the victim and speaking into her tape recorder. As she pushed aside a torn spot of his sweatshirt, she abruptly grew silent.

  “What’s wrong?” Ella asked, aware of Carolyn’s change of mood.

  “This boy has recent burns on his chest.”

  Ella crouched beside Carolyn. “Maybe this kid got burned when Lisa Aspass was being attacked,” she said thoughtfully. “Get me all you can on the burn, what you think might have caused it, and anything else you can think of. The rubber gloves and the pry bar fit right in with her case. We may have one of the killers here.”

  Carolyn studied Ella’s expression silently. “I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”

  Ella left Carolyn and went next door to where Justine had just finished talking to the neighbors. “Stay sharp,” Ella warned. “There’s still danger around here. I sense it.”

  Ella went back over the fence, where she’d seen a third individual making their escape. She searched the ground every step of the way with her flashlight, yet there were no tracks on the ground. It made no sense. The ground was s
oft enough that some imprint should have been left behind by the shadowy runner she’d seen.

  Ella crouched down, holding the flashlight closer to the ground, determined to find some trace of a shoe or boot. As she reached the fence, she saw the barest imprint right at the spot the figure had pushed off from as they leaped. The mark was so slight she could barely make it out, and it was impossible to tell much, including the foot size.

  Ella knew that certain types of moccasins, worn by someone familiar with the old ways, would leave only a vague trail. But the gang kids didn’t have the expertise or the interest in the old ways to have accomplished this.

  Ella reviewed the things she knew. The gangs were at war, but the robberies were mostly the work of the Many Devils. The circular walking stick imprints seemed to tie her mother’s accident in with whatever was happening here, but there was no reason to believe the prints were anything more than a way to make her crazy. If it wasn’t just that, then she was up against an adversary whose power transcended the gangs.

  Neskahi approached her. “Nothing on the boys so far. They’re hiding out, and doing it well.”

  “We need to get the Many Devils together. There’s a possibility that their burglaries have made them an enemy that they can’t fight. Two of their gang have been caught and then brutally killed, though the MO on each was different. This has nothing to do with gang members killing rivals either. The worst part is that I believe more deaths will follow.”

  “How on earth are we supposed to find these kids?” Neskahi demanded. “They’re avoiding us because they know they’ll probably be taken to the station for questioning and maybe even arrested. If you think we’re going to get them to turn themselves in to help us, you’re not facing reality. We’re the last people on earth they’d help because of what it would do to their reputation among the other kids. And let’s face it, in spite of the different circumstances, it’s still possible some of them killed the Nahlee boy and this kid.”

  “It’s also possible that the kids responsible for the burglaries are in mortal danger from someone who is not affiliated with any gang at all. This kid killed tonight might well have been one of those at the Aspass house, maybe even her killer, and someone else might have found that out, too. I grant you, I have no proof of this, but we can’t discount the possibility that Navajo witches were involved in the murders of these two boys.”

  Neskahi remained silent a long time before speaking. “I can understand your concerns, but you realize that without evidence, the police can’t officially go around warning kids about skinwalkers. They wouldn’t believe us, for one, and some of our guys are traditionalists. They’d rather cut off their tongues than discuss that subject.”

  “Put the word out that I want to meet the leaders of the Many Devils and the North Siders. I’ll go alone if I have to.”

  “That would be ill-advised. Note that I’m being diplomatic. Those aren’t the words that came immediately to mind,” Neskahi said.

  Justine approached from behind Ella. “I have to second that, especially after the Chapter House arrests and the battle near the high school. Some of those kids could be gunning for the cops after all the arrests we’ve made. That doesn’t even count the ones in the hospital that are going to face charges if they recover.”

  Ella exhaled softly. “These kids have to be worried now that they’re taking losses, and that could motivate them to take a chance with me. They’re not only fighting each other. After they hear about this, I have a feeling they’ll wonder who besides the other gang might be out to get them. If I can talk to them, maybe I can slow down the bloodshed, if not prevent it altogether.”

  “But meeting them alone…” Justine mused.

  Ella looked at her teammate’s expressions. Clearly they thought she had a screw loose somewhere for even contemplating such action. And they were right to be worried. There was no predicting what she’d be walking into.

  “I’ll bring that up with Big Ed when the time comes. Meanwhile, let’s get back to the business at hand for now. This is going to be a waste of time, undoubtedly, but while the team continues to work the crime scene, I’m going with Justine to try and talk to the neighbors,” Ella said. “Maybe someone saw something.”

  Ella went to the house on the other side of the crime scene, the one Justine had not yet visited, and knocked on the door. It took several attempts before she got a response and the lights came on. An elderly woman and her husband came to the door. Both were in robes.

  “Woman, it’s almost two in the morning,” the man snapped. “What do you want with us?”

  Ella identified herself. “A murder was just committed next door to you. Did you see or hear anything?”

  The woman’s eyes grew as big as saucers and she took a step back. Her husband stood his ground. “We didn’t see anything, or hear anything. We were asleep. Now leave us alone,” he said, and shut the door in Ella’s face.

  The reception they received at the next few houses was similar. Finally Ella and Justine arrived at Lillian Peshlakai’s and knocked. Nobody was home, the car was gone, and the curtains had been taken down from the windows. Graffiti had been sprayed on a side wall. Wherever Lillian was, it wasn’t here. Ella sighed, remembering how frightened the woman had been after being terrorized by Thomas Bileen and his gang friends.

  Checking her watch, Ella stopped at the end of the walkway and glanced up and down the street. Hopefully, her team would have better luck canvassing the neighborhood tomorrow. Forcing the issue at this late hour would only make people dig in their heels. She’d have a uniform come out tomorrow, someone who hadn’t been around the body. Maybe that would elicit more cooperation.

  When they returned to the crime scene, Justine said she needed to finish her sketch of the area, noting the places where evidence had been found. “We still don’t know who he is, by the way,” Justine added. “I think I’ve seen him before, but I just can’t place him. I’ll make a pass through the yearbooks we have at the station when I get back. His photo should be in there.”

  “Then if you don’t need me, I’m going home,” Ella said. “You can get ahold of me there if anything comes up.”

  “Get some rest. I’ll be heading back to the station in a few minutes, too. There’ll be an officer stationed here all night,” Justine said. “I have a feeling we’ll all be working longer and longer hours until these murders are solved.”

  Ella nodded in agreement and walked to her Jeep, wishing the department could afford to hire more people. When crimes occurred her team was asked to show almost superhuman stamina. It was true that they could have months of relative peace, without much to do except stay sharp. But when things shifted, they were expected to work pretty much around the clock. There was nothing fair about it—for them, or the tribe they served.

  As Ella crossed the street, a strange sensation enveloped her making her skin prickle. She looked around her quickly. She could feel someone watching her, but none of the officers present seemed to be paying particular attention to her, and no civilians were visible. She continued to her Jeep, listening, attuning herself to Wind, trying to find a scent or a sound that didn’t belong.

  The sensation persisted after she’d started her journey home. Ella checked her rear-view mirror several times, but no one was following her. As she got closer to home, the sensation intensified. Ella considered not going to her house yet, but she could see no one around, and her sixth sense wasn’t warning her of imminent danger. She just felt as if she were being studied, like one did with an enemy before striking. After calling in to check with the patrol officer handling the area, she went inside her home.

  * * *

  Ella woke up early the following morning. Dressing in a wool sweater and warm slacks, she went to the kitchen to fix herself and Two breakfast. She’d just set the dog’s dish down when the phone rang. Ella picked it up. It was Big Ed.

  “We have several problems. First of all, the kid they call Lobo, from the North Siders, died last
night at the hospital. The other kids there, from the MDs, are going to face charges. Next, we still don’t have an ID on last night’s victim, and nobody has reported anyone missing. But we did get word that a young kid from Shiprock High was beaten up badly last night. It’s Rudy Keeswood, the boy that was cruising around with his gang friends and encountered you and Justine. He’s at home now.”

  “Who beat him up?”

  “I don’t know. Apparently he’s not saying.” Big Ed gave her directions to his home.

  “I’ll go talk to him.”

  “I’ll have Justine meet you there.”

  Ella left Two outside and, grabbing some fry bread as a quick breakfast, went directly to the boy’s home. When she arrived, Justine wasn’t there yet. A middle-aged woman came hurrying out to her car. After checking to be sure she had a tape recorder tucked in her jacket pocket ready to record, Ella went up to the woman and identified herself.

  “You officers here to see Rudy again? Go on inside. I’ve got to get to work. I’m already late.”

  “I’d like to speak to you, too, Mrs. Keeswood,” Ella said, then remembered Big Ed ordering her to work with Justine. “Could you wait a few minutes until my assistant arrives?”

  “Sorry, I have to go right now. He hasn’t been driving again since that night, and I’ve tried to keep him out of trouble.”

  “Don’t you want to be here? I have to ask him some questions about his gang affiliation.” Ella tried to stall.

  “I really don’t get along much with my oldest son anymore. There’s nothing I can tell you except that he probably won’t have much to say. He sure won’t talk to me.”

  “Do you have any idea who jumped him?”

  Mrs. Keeswood stopped, her hand on the door handle. “I don’t think it was anyone he knew from school. Not from that other gang.” She lowered her voice. “I overheard him talking to one of the boys. They were saying something about crazy people.”