Tracking Bear

by Thurlo, David

  Never taking her eyes off the man, Ella picked up the weapon, noting it was the nine-millimeter Smith & Wesson she’d seen before, then placed it in her jacket pocket.

  Ella holstered her own weapon and reached for her handcuffs.

  “She’s still alive!” Franklin shouted, pointing.

  Ella turned her head. Bruno was scrambling to her feet, groping for something strapped to her ankle. As Ella drew her own weapon again, Bruno sprinted for the SUV. Ella shot out the front tire. Bruno swerved at the sound and leaped downhill instead.

  Ella turned to Franklin, at the same time forcing Shives down on the ground. “Shoot him if he moves. I have to go after Bruno.”

  “Be careful!” Franklin shouted, as Ella hurried away. “There are several open mine shafts around here.”

  Ella knew now that Bruno had been wearing a bullet resistant vest. It was the only way she could have survived. But after taking two point-blank shots, she was undoubtedly in great pain, and despite her murderous nature, had obviously never been in a real firefight where her opponent was in a position to defend herself. By now she was rattled and unpredictable.

  Ella slowed down slightly, recalling Franklin’s warning about the old uranium mines. She’d have to move carefully, but Bruno was a cop killer, and she was going down.

  Ella was a good tracker, but after the first fifty yards downslope, Bruno’s footprints became difficult to spot. Careful examination showed she’d stepped to the right, gone back, then jumped onto a rock to her left, scuffing off a little sandstone. From there she stepped onto a clump of grass before leaping away downhill at least fifteen feet before landing.

  Picking up Bruno’s tracks, she continued downhill, listening for movement. Within a few seconds she heard the faint crackle of pine needles underfoot just ahead and caught glimpses of Margaret moving through the underbrush, ducked down almost on her knees.

  Ella waited, pistol ready. Soon Margaret stepped out from behind cover less than ten feet in front of her, holding a small automatic pistol.

  “Drop it, Margaret,” Ella ordered.

  Bruno cursed and dived to her left, snapping off a wild shot that had no chance of hitting anything but sky as she disappeared into some brush.

  Ella waited, knowing that when Bruno came out into the open this time, she’d have to shoot her without warning before the woman finally got lucky. It would be the only way to stop Margaret now.

  Bruno sprang out of the brush like a deer, firing blindly as she dodged from left to right. Ella drew a bead on her legs. Just as she was about to fire, Bruno zigged to her right. There was a loud snap and crackle, like boards splintering, and in an instant, Bruno tumbled from sight. Dust flew up in the air, then slowly began to settle.

  Wary of the mine shaft that Bruno had inadvertently found, Ella proceeded slowly. Bruno could be dead, incapacitated, or lying in wait, ready to shoot her in the head at point-blank range once Ella peered inside.

  As she got close, Ella could see a few gray, decaying wooden planks on either side of the jagged opening Bruno had fallen through. The woman was cursing and moaning intermittently, but the sound had an echo, so she wasn’t very close to the surface.

  “Are you injured, Margaret?” Ella called out, keeping far enough back so she wouldn’t cave off the edge, either falling through herself or knocking debris onto the fugitive.

  “Yeah. My luck finally ran out. I think I broke my leg.”

  “Toss out your backup pistol, then I’ll consider helping you.”

  “I can’t. I dropped it when I fell. Look, I wouldn’t shoot you now even if I could.”

  “Yes, you would. You’re facing three murder charges, and that’s just at the top of a long list.”

  “Crap. Okay, I would shoot you. But I can’t do it without my damn pistol, can I?”

  Ella looked around and saw the automatic sitting on the ground three feet away. It was a .380. She reached over and grabbed it by the trigger guard to avoid smearing any prints, then stuck it into her pocket with Bruno’s other handgun.

  “You’re right about your luck having run out. I just found your .380. Don’t move. I’ll call for help.” Ella reached Justine on the handheld radio and gave her partner a situation report.

  “I’m up here with Dr. Franklin and Shives, who’s now handcuffed to the SUV. Where are you from the hogan?”

  Ella looked around, and could see Bruno’s SUV farther up the mountain. She quickly gave her position.

  “I’ll be down there in a few minutes,” Justine replied.

  “Ten-four.”

  Ella reached for the small penlight she kept in her jacket pocket, then moved closer to the opening, getting down on her hands and knees. From what she could determine, the eight-foot-wide shaft went straight down for about fifteen feet, then angled off perpendicular to the shaft into a side tunnel. One of Bruno’s legs was visible and, from its odd angle, it was clear the woman wasn’t lying about the injury.

  Ella removed her jacket and set it clear of the opening, then placed her own pistol and twenty-two-caliber backup derringer on top of it. The only way to get to Bruno was to climb down, but she didn’t want to risk her making a grab for a weapon in the confined space.

  “I’m over here,” Ella waved to Justine, who was picking her way down the slope. Once Justine waved back, Ella lowered herself into the shaft, sliding down to the dusty bottom and managing to miss the rotten lumber that had given way. She then crawled over to where Bruno was lying flat on her back. Her leg was twisted at an unnatural angle, and a check with the penlight showed Bruno’s face was covered with small cuts.

  “You look like hell,” Ella said.

  “Yeah? Good. Maybe I can tell my lawyer you beat me with a piece of lumber. Could get me a few years off.”

  “Or better yet, I can do as you suggested and beat the hell out of you, climb out of here, walk away, and tell everyone I just couldn’t find you.”

  “You’re too worried what other people might think. It’ll never happen. Just get me out of here.”

  Trying to get her bearings so she could find the best way to move Bruno out of that side tunnel, Ella aimed her flashlight around. As she saw what lay just beyond the tunnel she shuddered. On the ground, in the widened chamber just ahead, were the remnants of a sandpainting made with ashes. Human skull fragments were scattered over it. Hanging from a peg driven into the rocky wall was what looked like the skin of a coyote. “We have to get out of here quickly. Let’s go.”

  “Afraid of the dark?” Margaret asked, laughing nervously.

  “No, but this place…isn’t safe. It’s been used by skinwalkers for their rituals. Trust me, we don’t want to be here.”

  Bruno turned her head. “What the hell are skinwalkers? You superstitious?”

  Ella gave her a cold look. “Navajo witches can use magic and poisons, but they also carry knives and guns to kill their enemies—which is what we’ve become just by being here in their den. Dead is dead. Do you want to stick around? If so, I’ll be glad to leave you here.”

  Bruno looked behind her. “Oh crap, that’s a skull. Let’s go.” Bruno tried to sit up, then groaned loudly.

  “Lie back, and I’ll try to immobilize your leg first.”

  Ella used pieces of old lumber and their belts to fashion a quick splint for Bruno’s injured leg. Margaret never cried out, but she passed out once. Five minutes later, Bruno was awake again, cursing softly.

  Justine was above them now and had cleared away some of the rotten wood, then lowered a rope anchored to a tree.

  “We’ll have to do some of the work,” Ella warned Bruno. “I’ll tie a bowline around your waist, then I’ll stay below and help push you up. I’ll try to be careful, but with your leg the way it is, it’s going to hurt. Pull yourself up as much as possible with your arms. My partner will grab hold of you once you get close enough to the surface.”

  “The leg won’t kill me, but these crazies might, so let’s get going.” Bruno looked toward the s
ide tunnel again. “I heard something in there. Are you sure we’re alone?”

  “Hell if I know.”

  They struggled together, making progress slowly, but the woman had strong arms and was able to pull herself up hand over hand a foot at a time. When Bruno got within reach, Officer Michael Cloud was there with Justine to pull her, then Ella, out of the shaft. Officer Philip Cloud, Michael’s twin brother, handcuffed the prisoner and guarded her beside the opening as they waited for the paramedics to arrive from Shiprock.

  “I want this mine shaft covered up again as quickly as possible,” Ella told Justine, and explained what she’d found below.

  “We’ll take care of it.”

  “How did Franklin do with Shives?” Ella asked.

  “Just fine. When I arrived, Shives was spread-eagled on the ground, facedown. Dr. Franklin had the barrel of his rifle at the back of Shives’s head. Sergeant Neskahi is there now, but Shives didn’t have much to say, except worrying about ‘Meg,’ as he calls Bruno.”

  “Shives knows that he’ll be facing the death penalty for all three murders, either as the killer or coconspirator, if the .380 pistol Bruno was carrying as backup turns out to be the murder weapon. I’m sure he’ll want an attorney present before he says anything. My guess is he’ll fight it out in court every step of the way.”

  “Did you notice the rifle in Bruno’s vehicle?” Justine asked.

  “No. Don’t tell me it’s Wilson’s lever action Savage?”

  “Sure looks like it. Bruno must have thought she was above suspicion, carrying it around like that in the open.” Justine shook her head.

  As they approached the campsite, Dr. Franklin came to meet Ella. “I’m glad you’re okay,” he said.

  “Things worked out,” she said quietly. Seeing his rifle on the ground, she pointed to it. “You can unload that now.”

  He smiled, picked it up, and opened the bolt action, exposing the chamber. “It was never loaded. I knew I couldn’t shoot another human being—not even the one who killed my son.” Seeing the surprise on Ella’s face, he smiled sadly. “You were right about me. I came here to die. I had a feeling that Bruno would never confess, so I hoped to push her into killing me. Then I could join my son.”

  “I’m glad that didn’t happen. My plan was better,” she said with a gentle smile, “though it didn’t go exactly as we’d hoped. Our work is far from done—mine and yours. Your expertise is needed more than ever to keep the tribe from repeating past mistakes. Dineh like you will be our first line of defense if the nuclear power plant does open here.”

  “Yes, I suppose you’re right.”

  “By the way, we finally found your research papers in the storeroom,” Ella said with a smile.

  “I didn’t have the courage to destroy all that work, but I had to hide it. I didn’t want it to be misused to make more bombs. Shives was always my biggest threat. He’d guessed that I’d made a breakthrough in my research years ago and was covering it up. When nuclear power plants began to be discussed again as viable alternatives to fossil fuels, he apparently promised to deliver the process to Permian Energy Network. But Shives knew he had to discredit NEED—at least enough to make sure that the tribe would deal with Permian instead.”

  “That explains the NEED bumper stickers on the vehicles at the crime scenes.” Ella nodded. “Unless Permian got involved in the project, Shives was out in the cold. He certainly couldn’t deal with NEED—you’d find out as soon as his name came up.”

  “Delbert was running out of time, too. He started to panic about a week ago. I read his e-mail. Permian was pressuring him for details of the process so they could undercut whatever cost estimates NEED came up with. Redhouse was e-mailing him, too, asking for more payoff money or he’d also support NEED. But Delbert was running out of money and just couldn’t deliver on his own.” Professor Franklin shook his head.

  “We knew that the motive for all the break-ins was related to you in some way,” Ella said.

  Franklin nodded. “I’m sorry I deceived you from the beginning. I was trying to sort out things in my mind, and once I realized why my son and others were dying, I knew that I had to end this.”

  “It’s been a long, hard road since the killings began that night at the garage. Bruno shot your son because he’d recognized her,” Ella said thoughtfully. “But it’s over, and you’ve done what was needed. So what now? What will you do with the process?” Ella asked.

  “I thought about it while I was guarding Shives. I’ve made up my mind to patent the enrichment process and turn the rights over to the tribe. If nuclear power plants and uranium production in the US begins again, on the Rez or elsewhere, the tribe can license the process and make millions in royalties.” He gazed off in the distance for a moment before continuing. “I’ve come to realize that sooner or later, another scientist is bound to duplicate my findings. But if I do something now ahead of everyone else, I can at least make sure it’ll benefit the tribe.” He met her gaze. “It’s the best way I have of restoring harmony and walking in beauty. And maybe now it won’t be so hard to sleep at night.”

  Ella was the last to leave the crime scene. It was a little past noon, and the sheepherding camp, now deserted, was quiet as she walked back to her unit.

  Today had gone well—better than the disaster it might have turned into. Kee Franklin was a valuable asset to the tribe, and his process had the potential to open all sorts of doors to their people. Remembering the disk that he’d given her, she reached into her jacket pocket. Ella inhaled sharply as she felt the long tear and the piece of cloth that dangled where her pocket had been. She’d ripped up her jacket, probably when she’d been trying to pull Bruno out of the mine shaft, and the disk was gone.

  Ella grabbed her flashlight, and the rope that had been left in the sheepherder’s hogan, then hurried back downhill to the mine shaft. The last thing she wanted to do was climb down again, but there was no other choice. It was imperative that the disk not fall into the wrong hands.

  Ella removed the boards that had been replaced, tied one end of the rope around the same stout tree they’d used before, then lowered herself inside. She searched thoroughly, even running her fingers through the soft earth to see if it had been accidentally buried, but had no luck. Swallowing back the fear that spiraled through her as she went into the skinwalker’s den, she lowered herself even deeper, well past where the skull still sat among a frightening stack of human bones.

  She remained in the cave, searching, but thirty minutes later she still hadn’t found it. As much as she wanted to continue looking, Ella knew it was too risky to go into some of the adjoining tunnels beyond that central chamber, obviously a ceremonial center for the evil ones, without a ladder and special equipment.

  The badger fetish on her throat felt warm, indicating she was in danger, but she heard nothing, though the air seemed thicker and foul-smelling now. If the disk had fallen down into the depths of the mine, no one else would be able to retrieve it either. The thought gave her some comfort. And, by tomorrow, explosives experts would come by and seal off the entrance, caving in the tunnels.

  Ella returned to the police station, knowing that hours of paperwork remained before she could call it a day. Finally, as she made her way back to her office, she saw Dr. Franklin, who was getting ready to leave.

  Ella took the physicist aside and explained what had happened to the disk.

  “Don’t worry. I mailed a complete, updated version of my process to you here at this station before I met with Shives. It was my way of protecting the process in case things went wrong.”

  As he left, Ella went to her office. Her desk was covered with paperwork. She sighed wearily, and was trying to motivate herself to tackle the job, when Big Ed walked into her office.

  “I thought you’d want to know,” he said. “Margaret Bruno wanted to cut a deal for her and Delbert Shives. They’re hoping to get life instead of the death penalty, but in this state that was pretty much guaranteed already.
She told us that Shives knew Whitesheep because they’d both worked at the power plant, so they used him to introduce Shives to Billy Redhouse. Shives needed to find a way to get inside influence with the tribe, and that’s why they decided to bribe Redhouse.”

  “So why did they kill them?”

  “Redhouse got greedy and asked for a lot more money or he’d blow the whistle about their connection to Permian.”

  Ella nodded. “And once Redhouse was killed, they had to silence Whitesheep because he knew about their connection to Redhouse.”

  “Precisely,” he said with a nod. “One more thing. The Tribal Council has voted to meet with the NEED project leaders. If all the big questions concerning a nuclear power plant, such as funding, safety, waste disposal, and the environment can be answered, the council is ready to seal the deal with NEED.”

  “Can they do that?”

  Big Ed laughed, then shrugged. “The legal team told them that as an independent entity within the United States, they don’t have to be overly concerned with federal approval. I think they’re drawing battle lines. At least the lawyers will get rich.”

  “This could be a huge win for the New Traditionalists,” Ella said. “The tribe seems to be moving forward—even with the legacy of the past hanging on.”

  Big Ed headed for the door, then, without turning his head, added, “Oh and, by the way, good job.”

  Ella smiled, then picked up her cell phone and called Harry to share the news, but he wasn’t available. Disappointed, she left a voice mail.

  Too exhausted to do much else at the office, she decided to go home and get some well-earned rest. Ella walked outside, opened the door to her unit, then froze. On her seat was a human bone. Attached to it with a bright red ribbon looped through a hole in the corner, was a polaroid snapshot of the CD she’d lost in the mine. On the bottom of the photo was the word “Thanks.”

  Ella stared at it in horror. Her old enemies, the skinwalkers, had gone high-tech.