Tracking Bear

by Thurlo, David

  “I don’t think I’m going to be able to get any evidence out of clothing that’s been dry-cleaned. But I should be able to match the fabric to what we found at the crime scene—or rule it out altogether.”

  “Good. I’ll also want to know ASAP if there are any prints—in particular, George’s—on the claim check. If it’s not his ticket, and he’s never handled it, then his prints shouldn’t be on it. If they are…” She shrugged. “Well, that’ll mean we’re closer to solving both murders.”

  The remainder of the day went by slowly. Justine was working in the lab. Ralph Tache was conducting a search of the Redhouse home, with Emily looking over his shoulder, and later would be searching Billy Redhouse’s office.

  Unless something turned up in the lab work or from those searches, like a stash of payoff money, for instance, they still didn’t have much to link a particular suspect.

  Too restless to sit around catching up on the paperwork while the rest of the team was in the field, Ella decided to check with her brother, Clifford. Maybe he’d heard something that could help her.

  Ella had only gone a short distance south from Shiprock when she got the distinct feeling she was being tailed. Looking back in her rearview mirror, she saw nothing suspicious, just an eighteen-wheeler coming up behind her, obviously in a hurry to get to Gallup. The company logo on the spoiler matched a big chain superstore she knew had recently opened in that near-reservation city.

  The badger at her neck began to feel hot against her skin. Unwilling to disregard what had always been a reliable warning, she studied the area. There was a vehicle about a quarter mile ahead, and she remembered it having pulled out before her west of the San Juan bridge about five minutes earlier. She considered it for a moment. If someone wanted to keep an eye on her without raising her suspicions, it would have been smart to lead the way and simply keep an eye on the rearview mirror.

  Ella decided to go in for a closer look, but she moved slowly so she wouldn’t tip off the driver in case her suspicions were right.

  Ella gained a little ground, but then lost it again as the vehicle, a light yellow sedan, matched her increased pace. It had New Mexico tags, but she was too far away to read them.

  The fact that the driver was keeping his distance sent a warning bell off in her brain. There was a chance it was all coincidental, of course, but she’d acquired a suspicious mind after all her years in law enforcement.

  Ella got on the radio and called Dispatch. “This is SI-One, Dispatch. Do we have any officers with a twenty south of Shiprock on 666?”

  “Negative, SI One, but we can send a unit from Window Rock, if you need backup. ETA about forty–fifty minutes.”

  Ella had already suspected she’d be on her own for some time. Window Rock held police headquarters, but it was southwest of her location, just inside the Arizona state line. Having another unit intercept the car ahead of her would be possible, but only if she factored the delay into her plan.

  She quickly weighed her choices. The car ahead was exceeding the speed limit slightly, but was the driver really a threat to her, or was she getting paranoid? Taking meager tribal resources and manpower for what could turn out to be nothing more than an eccentric motorist would be pointless. On the other hand, the payoff could be big if it led to the killer or killers.

  “Dispatch, send that Window Rock unit to 666 and have the officer inform me when he’s in position.”

  Dispatch confirmed her instructions as Ella slowed her own vehicle, allowing the eighteen-wheeler to overtake and pass her within the next three or so minutes. Once the big truck was ahead of her, she increased speed again and used it as cover to conceal her location.

  Ella kept the sedan under surveillance, checking its position whenever the road curved. Within a few minutes, she realized the driver of the sedan had increased his speed to match that of the eighteen-wheeler behind him. Had the driver been keeping an eye on her, he would have let the semi go past him, too.

  A little less concerned, she decided to change the rules and see what the driver would do. If it turned out to be nothing, she’d save the unit from Window Rock a wasted trip.

  Placing her emergency light on the dash, she accelerated quickly and whipped out around the truck, which slowed immediately, seeing the flashing red light. Moving at pursuit speed, she narrowed the distance between her unit and the sedan.

  Instead of running for it, the driver slowed and pulled off onto the shoulder. Ella pulled in behind the sedan, reading the tags. According to the small bumper sticker near the plates, the car was a rental.

  She waited, watching the driver, who remained calmly seated behind the wheel while Dispatch confirmed the status of the vehicle, which belonged to a Farmington rental agency.

  Ella climbed out of her unit and approached the sedan carefully, her right hand near her handgun, and her left hand holding her identification out so the driver could see her badge in the rearview mirror.

  As she got within ten feet of the car, she saw the driver’s face in the side mirror. It belonged to that police consultant, Margaret Bruno. Relaxing, she eased her hand away from her weapon.

  Bruno stuck her head out the window and looked back at Ella. “Inspector Clah, don’t tell me the department has you patrolling the highways, too. Just so you know,” she added with an easy smile, “pulling me over is no way to get extra credit in my workshop.”

  “I saw you just ahead of me back over by Shiprock, and when you stayed on the same route I was following, I got curious,” Ella said, still wondering what the woman was doing here, if not trying to keep an eye on her.

  “Didn’t know it was you, Inspector. Sorry if I sent up those cop antennas of yours, but I can understand why you got concerned. Cops rarely believe in coincidences.”

  Bruno was smiling, but Ella was still not convinced. “Headed to Gallup, or just sight-seeing?”

  “Actually, I’m going to go take a look around Window Rock. I’ve never been there before, and I have a workshop Wednesday for some officers at the department headquarters.”

  Ella stepped up closer to the yellow sedan and, as she glanced toward the backseat, saw it was filled with the same boxes and papers Bruno had used at their workshop the other day. On the passenger seat cushion was a semiauto handgun in a holster, a big nine- or ten-millimeter nickel-plated model.

  “Smith & Wesson accompany me on all my road trips,” Bruno said, noting where Ella was looking. “A woman, alone, on the road… Sometimes a cell phone just doesn’t provide enough backup to comfort me.”

  “Better make sure the officers at Window Rock don’t discover that weapon by accident. Those out in the field are a bit paranoid nowadays.”

  “Aren’t we all?” Bruno laughed, brushing her shoulder-length blond hair away from her face.

  Ella smiled. She knew Bruno was referring to Ella having followed her such a distance. Had Bruno done this just to give her a hard time, or was it really just a coincidence?

  “As long as I’ve got your attention, maybe we should try and set up the next training session?” Ella suggested, realizing that the woman was going to be roaming around the Navajo Nation until her contract was fulfilled. Bruno was dangerous, and seemed like the kind of person who felt the need to prove herself constantly. Maybe that was why she was no longer a cop.

  “Well, Wednesday morning is out unless you want to join us in Window Rock?”

  “It would take our officers away from the community for too long, how about Tuesday, tomorrow, midmorning or early afternoon?” Ella suggested. “Unless we’re on a call, of course.”

  “Okay. I’ll give you a call tomorrow around ten to confirm, and at the same time, let you know where I want us to meet. It’ll be a surprise, but don’t worry, it’s not far from Shiprock.”

  “Woman of mystery, huh?”

  “Right. Got to keep you guessing in order to make the workshops useful. Is that it, Ella? I was thinking of dropping by tribal headquarters and introducing myself to the staff. But i
t’s getting late.” Bruno looked down at her watch.

  “Go ahead,” Ella replied, stepping back.

  Ella waited until Bruno pulled out onto the highway again before she walked back to her unit. Just as she climbed inside, she got a radio call from the Window Rock officer who was now in an intercept position farther down the highway.

  Grumbling, Ella canceled the call, thanked the officer, and turned around, heading back toward Shiprock.

  She arrived beside her brother’s hogan thirty minutes later. Moments after she turned off the engine, Clifford stepped out from behind the heavy blanket that served as a door and waved her inside the dark, cozy structure. “If you’ve come to ask if I have anything for you, unfortunately the answer is no. But I’ll continue to try.”

  “Thanks.” She lapsed into a long silence that he didn’t interrupt, then finally spoke.

  “This case is making me crazy, brother. Usually I can rely on my intuition about people, but when I try these days, I get nothing, or a false alarm.”

  Clifford exhaled softly. “Maybe you’re trying too hard and misinterpreting what you get. You like to analyze things, and logic and feelings are seldom compatible.” He paused, weighing his words. “The children in our family have always been given a special gift by the Gods. By treating yours as just part of your training, you’ve dishonored our Gods and yourself. You have to learn to embrace the fact that you’re a Navajo woman.” He glanced down at her waist. “You still don’t wear your medicine bundle, do you?”

  “I’ve got one.”

  “It doesn’t belong in a drawer.” He took one from his belt. “This is mine. It holds a great deal of power. In it is the essence of who we are—as a clan and as a tribe. It has soil from the four sacred mountains, and other collected items. Wear it on your belt, or place it in your pocket, and remember that you are more than a cop. Then you’ll walk in beauty.”

  Ella nodded and accepted it. “Thank you.”

  Clifford stood. “And keep that fetish around your neck at all times. It will always serve you well.”

  Ella reached up and touched the stone badger, now cool and comfortable to the touch. “I know.”

  “I’ve got to go now, sister. I’ve got a patient in Tohatchi I have to drive over and examine.”

  “Won’t you need a medicine bundle for yourself?”

  “I’ll make another before I leave. I have everything I’ll need already. I never go anywhere without protective charms and a blessing song.”

  Ella thanked Clifford for his efforts, then walked back out to her unit. Her brother was right. For years, she’d tried to ignore the fact that she was Navajo. She’d even left the reservation in an attempt to forget, wanting no part of what she’d termed superstition.

  Now she was back—a little older and a lot wiser, but still trying to figure out exactly where she fit in. She’d embraced more of her culture, but the truth was that a part of her would always belong to the world outside the Rez. Maybe one day, when she found the balance point between being an Anglo-trained cop and a Navajo woman, she’d finally know peace.

  As Ella drove back toward the main highway, her cell phone rang. “Hey it’s me.”

  Ella knew Harry’s voice as well as she knew her own now. “Hey, yourself, Deputy Marshal. You’re in earlier than I expected. Are you in Shiprock already?”

  “Close. There was a change of plans because some court dates were moved up. I’m going to have to head back tonight with the prisoner. Any chance of us getting together for an early dinner?”

  “Sure. Where and when do you want to meet?”

  “I’m en route right now to the Totah Café. Are you close enough to town to meet me there within the hour?”

  “I can make it there in twenty,” she said. “Have you noticed that it’s never candlelight and roses for us?” she added with a chuckle.

  “You into that sort of thing?” There was a pause. “Or is that a stupid question? I just never saw you as the pampered sort.”

  “The fact that I carry a gun and handcuffs throw you off track?”

  “Yes. I mean no. It’s just that you’ve always struck me as totally practical.”

  “I am. But I’m also a woman—just in case you hadn’t noticed.”

  “I’ve noticed, I’ve noticed.”

  “See you soon.”

  Ella arrived at the café near the center of Shiprock, just east of the river, a short time later. As she pulled into the parking lot, she saw Harry standing beside his white government-issue sedan.

  Seeing her, he walked over, looked around quickly, then stole a kiss as soon as she’d stepped out of the SUV. “Hey, you look really good today. I’ve missed you.”

  She smiled at him. “Same here. Why don’t we just get jobs with regular hours?”

  “It wouldn’t work for us. We’ve been spoiled by the wealth and high prestige that comes with law enforcement.”

  She laughed out loud. “Oh, yeah. And don’t forget the glamour.”

  Laughing, they walked inside, Harry holding the door open for Ella. As they entered the lobby area, Ella saw Kevin and Ernest Ration walking away from a table in the dining area and coming in their direction.

  Kevin saw her immediately and smiled. Then he saw that Harry was right behind her. Kevin’s expression darkened as he came over, Ernest staying an arm’s length behind him.

  “Ella, how are things with my daughter?” he asked, acknowledging Harry with only a barely perceptible nod.

  She would have thought Kevin was above this kind of macho posturing. She glared at him—the kind of look meant to drill holes through a person, but Kevin didn’t react. Trust a politician to be immune. “Dawn is fine. Give her a call when you find time.”

  “I’ll call her later this evening when you’re back home.”

  She found his presumptuousness unbelievably irritating, but she tried not to show it. The last thing she wanted to do was create a public scene. “I wouldn’t wait too long. She goes to bed early. Now, if you’ll excuse us, I’m really hungry tonight.” As she stepped around him, a rotund Navajo man in his early fifties came rushing up.

  “Hey, Councilman, I want to talk to you.” The man, wearing jeans, a white Western shirt, and a black cowboy hat, pushed his way around an old Navajo couple. “You seem to change your mind on where you stand every time an important issue comes up for debate. Are you capable of making a decision and sticking to it, or are we expecting too much?” he called out.

  Ella sighed. She and Harry knew Jonas Buck. He was a Tribal Council member from the White Rock area who was always confrontational. Yet, despite his in-your-face-type of attitude, he was all show and not at all violent.

  As Ella glanced back at Kevin, she caught the change in Ernest Ration’s expression as Buck got close. “Don’t worry Ernest. He’s—” Before she could warn him off, Ernest sprang forward past Kevin, and, in a lightning move, slammed poor Jonas face-first against the wall.

  The embarrassed look on Kevin’s face almost made Ella burst out laughing. Ernest’s move had taken Kevin by complete surprise. “Let him go,” Kevin blurted in a choked voice.

  “Sir, he was about to get in your face.” Ernest eased up a bit on Buck, and swung him back around, but didn’t let go of the hold he had on him.

  “It’s all right. He wasn’t going to do anything. Let him go—now!” Kevin said quickly. “Councilman Buck, I’m terribly sorry. My security man didn’t know who you were, and you come on strong sometimes.”

  Jonas Buck moved away from Ernest quickly, straightening out his clothes and hiking his belt back up beneath his substantial stomach. “Is this the way you show respect to another member of the Tribal Council—hire bullies to beat the snot out of anyone who dares to disagree with you? This isn’t some ditch behind the schoolhouse.”

  “Please accept my apologies. It was simply a mistake.”

  As Kevin and Jonas walked out the door, Ernest following, Ella and Harry exchanged glances. “If I were Kevin, I’d leas
h Ernest,” Ella said, once the others were outside.

  “I didn’t see that coming. Man, that’s one fast Navajo.”

  “Yeah. I’d hate to have to try and take him down,” Ella answered.

  “My money would still be on you,” Harry replied. “He’s tough, but you’re meaner when it comes to a fight.”

  Ella elbowed him in the ribs. “Your sweet-talking needs work, Deputy.”

  Ella and Harry went to their favorite booth—one that gave them a view of the river valley to the west, with the mountains framing the horizon, and sat down. Both of them knew the menu by heart, and ordered as soon as the waitress came over.

  “Harry, tell me something. Don’t you ever find yourself missing the Rez? Family and friends, if not the place itself.”

  “There’s always a trade-off with any job. When I was here, I worked with a good team. You know that—they were your people. But being a deputy marshal gives me the challenges I need, and I get to travel all over the Southwest. One day is always different from another, whether it’s transferring a prisoner or tracking down a federal fugitive.” He paused, gathering his thoughts. “But it’s more than that. I wanted to live outside our borders and see what it was like. Do you realize that this is the first time I’ve been off the Rez for more than a few weeks at a time?”

  “And you want to know if you can make it in the Anglo world, even though it means playing by someone else’s rules,” Ella said, understanding.

  He nodded slowly. “Yeah. You had the opportunity, and proved yourself. Now it’s my time.”

  They ate the meal in comfortable companionship, sometimes talking, often just smiling back and forth. Ella really liked being around Harry, but she was beginning to suspect that wasn’t a good thing. She knew Harry liked coming and going as he pleased, with no ties or responsibilities other than to himself.

  She, on the other hand, had Dawn to love, raise, and protect. Responsibilities defined her world now more than they ever had.

  Harry and she were at two very different stages in their lives. The realization saddened her, because she knew there wasn’t anything she could do about it. It was clear that Harry loved his life as much as she did hers.