Tracking Bear

by Thurlo, David

  “You’re probably right, but just stay alert. Okay?”

  Rose nodded, then began stirring a kettle of soup cooking on the stove. “I always am, more so than you’ve ever realized.”

  Ella stood up, her mother’s words troubling her. Sometimes the people you thought you knew best were the ones who surprised you the most.

  Six

  The memorial service was a simple affair, in Dr. Franklin’s home. The large buffet table in the dining room was covered with all kinds of food and drink that neighbors and friends had brought with them.

  Dr. Franklin greeted everyone as they entered, then moved among the gathering, giving them time to eat. After about a half hour, he stood at one end of the room and cleared his throat. The people grew silent.

  His voice, weak at the beginning, grew stronger as he spoke. “I want to thank you all for coming—my son’s friends and fellow officers, and those who have known our family and have come to pay their respect. My son was a man of courage who always stood up for the tribe and, in the end, he gave his life for The People. Although I will miss him every day for the rest of my life, I know he died doing exactly what he wanted to do—serve as a police officer.” Professor Franklin paused and swallowed from the cup of water he held in his shaking hand.

  “Today I want all of us to celebrate his life, not mourn his passing. He would have wanted it that way.”

  The chief stood to say a few words. Officer Mike Kodaseet would follow and speak about what the department meant to Jason.

  Ella glanced around the room, watching those who had come. She recognized all of the department staff from the station, and a few of the officers that had come a long way from their patrol areas in Arizona.

  Regardless of their rank, their eyes all mirrored the same emotions. Their shared sense of loss, their shock, and their anger all drew them together, and gave them strength. What had happened to Jason could have easily happened to any of them, and they knew it. That knowledge would compel all of them to work tirelessly until Patrolman Jason Franklin’s killer was brought to justice.

  An hour later, Ella was walking to her unit, when Justine caught up to her.

  “Most of the civilians inside who aren’t with the department are anti-NEED advocates. I spoke to several of them, but there was one kid hanging around in the back of the room who particularly caught my attention. Did you see him? About seventeen or so, with a headband and wearing baggy jeans. He seemed pretty restless in a roomful of cops.”

  “I saw you with him after the chief finished speaking.”

  “His name is Albert Washburn. Officer Franklin apparently helped him out once when some gang members came after him, and the kid never forgot it. Albert’s paid him back by keeping his ears to the ground and passing on any information he thought Franklin would be interested in hearing. I understand Officer Franklin made a point to meet with him every Thursday evening during his rounds.”

  “Where? At the garage?”

  “No such luck,” Justine said. “They changed the site every week because Albert didn’t want to be seen with a cop. He says he’s not active with the gangs anymore, but he still knows a lot of people.”

  “Did Albert know anything about the murder?”

  “No, but he did tell me that Officer Franklin had seemed distracted lately. Last Thursday, they were supposed to meet near the hill where the high school seniors arrange whitewashed rocks to form the number of their graduation year.”

  Ella nodded.

  “But Franklin didn’t show up. Albert saw him later and went up to him. Franklin told him that he’d had to meet his dad and hadn’t been able to keep his regular meeting with Albert. The kid said that it had been totally out of character for Officer Franklin to put personal matters before business.”

  “Was there a problem we don’t know about between Kee Franklin and his son?”

  “I don’t know. I think we should speak to Belinda again. If she’s no help, and we still haven’t heard from the former Mrs. Franklin or are unable to get any help from her, then we need to come back tomorrow and talk to his father.”

  “I agree.”

  Saying good-bye to Justine, Ella drove directly to Kevin’s home, which was, like her mother’s home, southwest of Shiprock.

  Though the drive to Kevin’s was uneventful, she stayed alert for any sign that she was being tailed. As she turned down the gravel road that led to his home she noted that his porch light was on. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a shadow moving around Kevin’s sporty sedan. Whoever it was had something in his hand, but she couldn’t make out what it was from this distance.

  Ella had just picked up her cell phone, hoping to be able to warn Kevin, when she saw the outline of a man holding what looked like a rifle come out of the house onto the porch. Ella hit her sirens at the same time, and the figure behind Kevin’s car suddenly took off running up a hillside.

  A second later, Ella reached the house, and seeing it was Kevin with a shotgun, ordered him to stay on the porch.

  Familiar enough with the area around Kevin’s home to know her vehicle couldn’t cross the narrow, dry arroyo on the other side of the hill, Ella jumped out of the car with her flashlight and ran after the fleeing man, who’d disappeared over the hill. As she reached the top of the hill, she heard a thump, and aiming her light, she spotted a figure on the other side of the arroyo, running parallel to it. The arroyo’s width was at least fifteen feet, and the caved-in earthen wall on the far side told her the perp had barely made the jump across the gap.

  Ella followed at a jog, making sure of her footing, knowing that the arroyo narrowed even more ahead, and she’d be able to jump over a lot easier and run the perp down.

  Using her ears to track the person, she listened for his footsteps, and knew from the sound that she was closing in on him. Then there was another, hollow thump, and Ella knew he’d probably jumped down into the arroyo to hide. She stopped, slipped down into the steep-sided natural ditch, which at this point was only ten feet across. It was deeper than she was tall, but she could hear the sound of the person moving ahead, and the clank of something mechanical.

  Ella stopped, took out her weapon, and proceeded carefully up the narrowing, claustrophobic pathway, wary of an ambush. The arroyo was as crooked as a desert rattler here, and the perp could easily be waiting for her around the next corner.

  She heard an electrical whine, then the cough of a motorcycle starting up. Ella sprinted ahead, but had barely gone twenty feet before she caught sight of a red taillight, then the single beam of a headlight as the perp roared off on a motorcycle, fishtailing slightly in the soft ground.

  Ella called for backup using her handheld radio, though she knew that the chances of getting an officer in position between here and Shiprock within the next fifteen minutes was slim. And if the cyclist went south, or took a side road…

  She had to face it. Chances were good that the perp had made a clean getaway.

  Ella climbed out of the arroyo and walked quickly back to Kevin’s house, about three hundred yards away. When she came down the hill, she could see Kevin, flashlight in hand, crouched by the tires.

  “He got away on a motorcycle. That’s the sound I heard, right?” As she nodded, he continued. “Do you see this?” he pointed to the slashed tires with the beam of his light. “Branch’s talk shows are going to bury me yet. On tonight’s program he kept hammering me with innuendo and, at one point, said that I was sure a well-off Tribal Council member judging by my nice home and fancy car. But, Ella, I worked my butt off for everything I’ve got.”

  His eyes narrowed as he searched her face. “Did you happen to get a good look at him, or call in for backup so someone can intercept him on the road?”

  “Kevin, hasn’t anyone on the Tribal Council been paying attention? I made the call, but there are probably no backup units within miles of this place. And manning a roadblock takes calling in cops from patrol areas, and that could take an hour or
more. We can’t justify it for vandalism, and it would take too long to do it anyway.”

  “I should have filled his pants with buckshot.”

  “Bad idea.”

  “Why? He was vandalizing my property. I’m allowed to defend myself.”

  “You might have killed him, then what? You’re a lawyer.”

  “I’m not that lousy a shot.” He muttered something unintelligible under his breath, then added, “I know things are tough for the police right now. I’ll see if there’s anything I can do to help. Maybe I can shake some money loose if I make some concessions on other issues.”

  “Because you need us now?” Ella asked cynically.

  “No, it’s more personal than that. I don’t want the mother of my child killed because of the way things are.”

  “I don’t want the mother of your child killed either,” she said with a thin smile. “What really worries me is that people are soon going to be doing the same thing you just did—taking matters into their own hands because they can’t count on the police.” Ella took a deep breath. Almost every household on the Rez had a rifle or a shotgun.

  “That bastard sliced all four of my tires. Leaving the porch light on wasn’t enough. I’m going to have to get someone to guard my property while I’m sleeping. Or maybe I’ll just get a big, mean dog.”

  “Then it’ll bite you, too.”

  “Probably—particularly the way my luck’s been going.” He cocked his head toward the house. “Come on in. The damage is already done, so there’s no sense hanging around out here in the cold. I’ve got Dawn’s present inside, so I need to get that for you. Can you stay a while?”

  Ella shook her head. “I really should be getting home. I just came from the memorial service, and there are a few things I need to work through in my head before tomorrow.”

  “Things are always complicated for you and me—both at work and in our personal lives. I wonder if that’s why we stink at relationships?”

  “Probably, but neither of us is going to change,” Ella answered with a shrug.

  “Good thing Rose isn’t here to hear you say that.”

  Ella laughed. “Someday she’s going to finally understand that being single works best for me.”

  He shook his head. “Just because her life is changing doesn’t mean she’s ready to let go of the hopes she’s had for you,” Kevin said with a smile as they stepped up onto his front porch. “She’s still your mother.”

  “I know, and that’s why it’s hard for me to accept this new side of her.”

  He grew serious. “You really should be very proud of your mother. She’s becoming a force to be reckoned with, even at council discussions.”

  “Yes, but she’s also putting herself in a vulnerable position—being in a leadership position always carries a risk.”

  “That’s true. She made a name for herself on the gaming issue last year, but along the way she picked up some enemies, too. But I expect what worries you the most now is that she’s made her position on the NEED project very public.”

  “What do you mean ‘very public’?” she asked, following him inside, but not sitting down.

  “Haven’t you heard?” Kevin shook his head. “Never mind. You should hear it from her, not me.”

  “Kevin, you started this. Finish it.”

  “George Branch interviewed her today on the air.”

  Ella stared at him in muted shock. She was getting to loathe surprises, particularly when it came to things involving her mother. “That weasel? Give me the highlights.”

  “Rose came across as very intelligent and logical, Ella. You would have been proud of her. She said that she wasn’t as much against NEED as she was for the rights of the tribe, and that she wanted to make sure all the safety and environmental concerns were answered satisfactorily before any decisions were made on the new power plant. But Branch kept pressing her, you know how he is. Finally, she admitted based on what she knew at that moment she could not in good conscience stand in favor of a nuclear power plant on the Rez.”

  Kevin paused, then continued. “And that, unfortunately, is all people will remember. It was the sound bite Branch was looking for.”

  Ella closed her eyes, then opened them again. “So those who are against it will see my mother as their ally—and those for it will become her enemies.”

  “That would be my assessment.”

  Ella sighed. “I’ve got to get going. Do you have Dawn’s present ready?”

  “Hang on. I’ll be right back.” He came out a moment later with an enormous box covered with bright ribbons.

  “What on earth is in there?” Ella asked.

  “It’s a tricycle. The plastic kind with the big wheels so she can go across soft ground. I had them find a box big enough, and then wrap it up because I thought it would be more fun for her.”

  Ella smiled and shook her head. “You really should stop being so extravagant with her.”

  “I enjoy doing things like this for her, Ella. She’s my only daughter. I know you don’t approve, but sometimes it’s the only way I have of reminding her how special she is to me. I don’t get to live with her like you do. If you were in my shoes, you’d do the same.”

  She couldn’t even imagine not having Dawn with her. “She’s crazy about you, Kevin. Even if you never give her another present, she would still think you’re the best thing since Barney and Big Bird.”

  “Thanks…I think.”

  “In Dawn-speak, that’s a big deal,” she said.

  “Let me help you carry it out,” he said.

  “Thanks,” she replied, opening the front door for him. “By the way, I intend to let the officer who’s assigned to this area know about the problem here tonight. He may be able to make additional passes during his patrols,” she said, as he put the tricycle in the back of her SUV.

  “That would be Philip Cloud,” he said with a nod. “I’ve seen him around.”

  “Is there a problem between you two?” she asked, noting his tone. Whenever Kevin’s voice became too neutral, that usually meant he was trying to cover his feelings.

  “The Clouds—Philip, Michael, and Herman—are all against anything that will cause the uranium mines to be opened again.”

  “I wasn’t aware of that.” She couldn’t help but wonder if her mother’s stand on the issue had been influenced by Herman.

  “Okay, you’re ready to go,” Kevin said, once the box was secure.

  “Dawn’s going to flip when she sees this present,” Ella said. “I’ll put her on the phone for you tomorrow after she opens it.”

  “You’re not going to give it to her tonight?”

  “Are you out of your mind? She’ll probably be asleep when I get home. And even if she’s not, I’m not going to give her something that will get her so excited she won’t go to sleep at all. Riding a tricycle around the house at midnight? No thanks. Tomorrow will come soon enough.”

  Ella drove home, troubled. Knowing that her mother had been interviewed on the air by George Branch had unsettled her. Ella knew Branch was no fan of hers, and she didn’t doubt for one minute that he was capable of going after Rose as a form of payback.

  As she pulled up to her house and parked, she pushed the thought from her mind. She’d take things one step at a time.

  The next morning, Ella sat in the kitchen drinking coffee with Rose. Dawn was already outside, bundled up in warm clothes, playing with the tricycle Kevin had given her, though it would soon be time for her to go off to day school.

  Dawn had been undeniably disappointed that her father hadn’t come to give her the present personally, but Ella had done her best to explain that, for now, her father couldn’t visit, but she could talk to him anytime on the phone. That prospect had soothed Dawn somewhat, particularly after Ella had called Kevin up so Dawn could talk to him.

  Rose kept a sharp eye on Dawn as she drove the yellow-and-blue tricycle up the hard-packed gravel driveway. “She’s too young for that thing.”
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br />   “She’s fine. She can’t go very fast in the gravel anyway.”

  “But if it tips over—”

  “Mom, she’s fine. That cycle is so low to the ground her coat drags along behind her like a lizard’s tail. Let’s get back to what we were talking about. I want to know what happened with that self-promoting windbag—Branch.”

  “I had no plans to be interviewed, but that windbag, as you correctly name him, called me here at home and asked me to go on his radio program. I said no at first, but from his questions, I got the feeling he was still trying to make up his own mind on the issue, and that tempted me. I knew I could help him, and others like him, by explaining the counterarguments and the dangers. But what really got me to agree was when he asked if I was afraid to face him on the air. There was no way I’d ever allow him, or anyone else, to think that, so I consented.”

  She met her daughter’s gaze. “You know all the pros and cons, daughter. You’ve heard the talk, read the papers, and listened to our professor friend. Where do you stand on this?”

  “I honestly haven’t decided. But I do know that the police department needs funds badly. We can’t operate safely and effectively without reliable equipment, and we can’t overwork the officers we do have to the point of exhaustion because of a lack of manpower.”

  She nodded thoughtfully. “That’s one of the reasons I’ve tried hard to keep an open mind about the power plant.”

  “I heard that your close friend and his two sons are against it.”

  “Bizaadii lost his brother to Red Lung. It was a long, difficult death. Now Bizaadii worries about his brother’s children, and the long-term effects it would have on them. Back when the mines were open, his brother would often bring home big chunks of uranium ore into the house so his kids could see the rock glow—fluoresce—after they turned out the lights. They didn’t know that he was exposing his family to radiation. No one can say what harm that has already done, or what will show up in the future. For that reason, I can assure you that he’ll fight the power plant and anything that will reopen the uranium mines with his last breath.”