by Aimée
A short time later, after helping Justine to her office and making arrangements to have her assistant’s vehicle brought in from where they’d left it parked, Ella settled down in her office. She was trying to decide which of the overdue reports to tackle first when her intercom buzzer sounded.
“Get in here, Shorty.”
“Will do, Chief.” Ella stared at the stacks of files, grateful for the interruption, but depressed to realize they’d still be there when she returned.
As Ella passed the soft drink machine in the hall she spotted Sergeant Neskahi. She went up to him quickly. “I’ve got to meet Big Ed right now, but can you come see me tomorrow morning? I need to talk to you.”
“No problem. I have to meet with a suspect’s lawyer tomorrow at nine anyway, so I’ll be around.”
“My office at eight?”
“Sure.”
“One more thing. After four this afternoon, go down to the morgue and pick up a set of tissue samples from Dr. Roanhorse. I want you to hand deliver them to the state lab today, so arrange for a flight out of Farmington. These samples are from the Yellowhair case and you are not to discuss what you’re doing with anyone not working with my office.”
“Understood. I’ll call to make sure the lab people will have someone there to meet me. It’ll be after hours.”
“Good thinking, Sergeant. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
Neskahi nodded, then walked away to make the arrangements.
Ella hurried down the hall and, knocking on Big Ed’s open door, went inside. Concern was mirrored on his features as he glanced up, a muscle beat at the corner of his mouth, echoing his heartbeat. A big barrel of a man—about a head shorter than Ella who was tall for a Navajo woman—he delighted in calling her Shorty.
She sat down on the chair nearest his desk. “You heard about Justine?”
He nodded. “And I’ll be reading all about it soon in your report, correct?”
That hadn’t been a request and she knew it. “It’ll be on your desk tomorrow, but I can fill you in right now if you’d like.” Seeing him nod, she gave him a full report, detailing everything she’d learned to date.
“That explains why the senator’s aide came to pay me a visit earlier. He was pressuring me to drop the case.”
Ella started to answer when a loud knock sounded behind her. Senator James Yellowhair paused in the doorway, then made his grand entrance, sauntering to the front of Big Ed’s desk and leaning vulturelike over it.
“Chief Atcitty, I insist that you remove Inspector Clah from my daughter’s accident investigation,” he said, treating Ella as if she weren’t in the room.
Big Ed stood up slowly. “This is my department, Senator, not the merry roundhouse in Santa Fe. Nobody tells me how to assign my people.”
“Your investigator is biased because of her friendship with Dr. Roanhorse, the Medical Examiner. I believe that the doctor falsified the autopsy results but, until I can prove it, I want someone on the case who’ll conduct the investigation quickly and honestly.”
“I can take care of that.” Big Ed looked at Ella. “I want you to be honest and efficient, Investigator Clah. Understood?”
Ella almost burst out laughing, but managed to stifle the urge. “I’ll do just that, Chief Atcitty.”
Senator Yellowhair looked at Ella, then back to Big Ed. “You’re treating this as a joke. Both of you.” He dropped his voice to a fierce, frigid whisper. “If you continue to cross paths with me on this, you’ll find I can be a bad enemy. You’ll learn the hard way what kind of pressure I can bring down on your department, Chief.” Anger locked his jaws. His dark eyes, always intense, shone with rage. “In politics we learn to get what we want.”
Ella watched the senator storm out. “Political retaliation can be nasty business, Chief. He controls a lot of bureaucrats. Maybe you should have let him have his way.”
“I’m in charge of this department, not him.” His gaze locked with hers. “Go out there and get answers for me. Recruit an extra person into your division if need be, but don’t let me down.”
Ella squared her shoulders. “I won’t. You can count on it.”
NINE
Ella sat in the window seat inside her darkened bedroom staring outside at the mesa illuminated by a rising moon. Even her nightly game of solitaire had failed to calm her tonight. Big Ed had taken quite a chance, probably placing both their careers in her hands.
She’d certainly come a long way in the department, yet the threat of political retaliation was not something to be taken lightly. The most vulnerable area was the department’s already strained budget. Then came the more obvious focus of attack. As police chief, Big Ed got credit for successes, but failures weighed heavily on him, too. She would not let him down.
Ella heard a light knock on her door. “Come in.”
Rose walked into the room, making use of the moonlight that streamed from outside instead of turning on the lights. “I thought you were still up.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “What’s disturbing you, Daughter?”
“The cases I’m working on right now. People I care about are involved and the answers I find, or don’t find, will directly affect them and their jobs. That scares me,” Ella admitted.
“You’re expected to do your best, that’s all.”
“People have placed a lot of faith in me, Mom. I have to live up to it.” She told Rose about Big Ed.
“He was standing up for himself as much as he was for you. The senator left him no other choice.”
“The senator’s been making some pretty wild accusations against Carolyn. This is going to be a tough time for her. She’s not likely to have many allies to stand with her throughout all that lies ahead.”
“She’s more alone than most Navajos, it’s true, but that was her choice. Her abrasive attitude doesn’t do much to help her, either. The woman is argumentative, overly independent, and just outright rude sometimes. And that’s with people she likes. She treats her enemies even worse.”
Ella smiled. “Yes. But she’s my friend.”
“Naturally,” Rose answered. “You’ve always been on the side of the underdog.”
“It’s more than that, Mom. Carolyn has a lot of courage, and she’s doing a thankless but vital job. In many ways, she and I are alike. We’re both driven to do the jobs we’ve chosen and we both need to feel that what we’re doing makes a difference. We take pride in our work and it cuts deep when someone like the senator attacks our professionalism or our competency.”
“Yes, I imagine so. Lies can hurt, but eventually, truth shatters them. And the truth always comes out, often when you least expect it.”
“I hope I can find answers soon.” Ella watched a rabbit foraging in the garden outside. Two was snoring noisily in the hall, obviously uninterested in hunting tonight. “It’s so quiet and peaceful right now.” A coyote howled in the distance and Ella shuddered. “But there’s always that undercurrent of danger out there, wandering around, even in the stillness of the night.”
“There’s something else bothering you, Daughter.”
“It’s nothing.”
“It must be more than that if it makes you this tense,” she said, glancing down at Ella’s hands which were curled into tight fists.
Ella exhaled softly. “I got a note today from my former father-in-law.”
Rose inhaled sharply. “Impossible.”
“Yes, I agree. But someone’s playing mind games with me and I don’t like it. There’s something nasty brewing out there, Mom, I can feel it.”
“Then trust your instincts, Daughter, like I do mine. You and I are right far more often than we’re wrong.”
“When I was at the accident site, the place where the senator’s daughter died, I felt danger all around me. I could feel someone was out there, watching me, but I couldn’t see anyone.”
“Then it’s starting again,” Rose said sadly. “The problem is that we’ve never really defeated all of our enemies. We’ve won
battles, but the war continues, and will probably go on as long as the Dineh exist. It’s by understanding the role darkness must play that we find harmony.”
“Finding the pattern, then walking in beauty,” Ella said thoughtfully.
Rose stood. “Get some sleep. You’ll need it to work with a clear mind tomorrow.”
As Rose left Ella lingered by the window seat. The sounds of the night filled the room, making her uneasiness more pronounced. She kept her fear at bay by assuring herself that there was no logic in her response; there was no immediate threat here, except for the cost her insomnia might have on her the following day.
Ella crawled into bed and closed her eyes. Slowly her thoughts receded and blended into gray, brooding landscapes woven by the pattern of her dreams.
* * *
Ella went out to her car shortly after seven the following morning. Her mother was already in her herb garden weeding and watering the parched ground, while Two searched around for the elusive rabbit. If only the much delayed rains would come. Hard times would be upon them soon unless the drought conditions eased.
When Ella arrived at the police station Justine was already there. Justine hit the vending machine with her crutch, trying to get it to relinquish its booty, and almost fell.
Ella caught Justine just in time and steadied her. “You shouldn’t waste your time with this bandit. It has never worked quite right.”
“No kidding.”
“Why do you put money in it when you know it malfunctions?”
“It has always delivered for me. Will you hit it again, right above the dent where everybody else hits it?”
Ella complied.
A second later the candy bar dropped. “See? It’s just slow sometimes,” Justine said. “We just have to prod it along a bit.”
Ella walked with Justine down the hall. “Anything new?”
“I have the photos you took of the area after the van almost ran us down.”
“Anything interesting?”
“Interesting, yes, but I have no answers. Those quarter-sized imprints with that strange center are unusual. I haven’t been able to determine what they are.”
“Did you get anything from the handwriting comparison?”
“You’re not going to like the answer,” Justine warned. “I can’t prove it’s a forgery. The handwriting is that close.”
Ella felt a shudder travel over her. Justine was right. She didn’t like this one bit. “We know my father-in-law is dead, so that means whoever wrote that must have known the chief well. He must have handwriting samples to mimic, too.”
“That doesn’t narrow it down much.”
“Not yet, but it’s a start.”
Sergeant Neskahi was waiting in Ella’s office by the time she walked in. “Good morning,” she greeted. “How did your delivery to Santa Fe go last night?”
“No hitches. I signed everything over to their senior tech. The paperwork was all completed according to procedure.”
“Great. Now let’s hope we get the results back before the turn of the century,” Ella smiled.
“I better be on my way,” Justine said.
“No, stay,” Ella said. “This will concern you as well.”
Justine hobbled to the nearest chair and dropped down heavily.
Ella crossed over to her desk and sat down in the tall-backed swivel chair. “I’d like to have you on my team again, Sergeant. How do you feel about that?”
“Will it be a permanent assignment?”
“No. Would you like it to be?”
Neskahi considered it. “I don’t know. I’d have to give that some thought. But for now a temporary assignment is fine with me.”
Ella knew from talking to Neskahi before that he loved being out on the Rez, with its endless vistas and lonely roads. But he had always sought out more responsibility. He was a good cop and he knew it without being proud: an admirable trait for any Navajo. She pointed to the cork bulletin board on the wall above her desk. “The employees on that list that don’t have a red tack next to their name need to be checked out. Also, do you have any contacts at the mine?”
“I have a cousin who works there. He doesn’t talk much, but if you need something specific I think I can persuade him to cooperate.”
“We need a good, solid lead on Bitah’s death. The mine is in a state of siege and we need an inside source. See what you can do.”
Neskahi stood up. “I’ll get started.”
As he walked out Ella glanced at Justine. “I’m going to talk to Frank Smith this morning. Bitah and a lot of other Navajos didn’t like him, but the Anglos claim he was a good worker known for minding his own business. I want to get a handle on him myself. In the meantime, I want you to continue the background reports and get anything else you can on Bitah or his associates.”
Ella finished the reports she’d promised Big Ed, then after verifying Smith’s whereabouts, left the building. Knowing Smith would be working today, she’d obtained permission to talk with the man during an early coffee break.
Then she phoned Blalock and asked him to meet her at the small lunchroom attached to the metal field office and first-aid station.
Ella arrived at the visitor’s parking area of the mine an hour later. Blalock’s car was just ahead of her as she pulled into an unoccupied slot.
“Well, for once you didn’t beat me here,” he said with a rueful smile. “I’ve already done a background check on this guy and I know you’ve done some homework on your own. There’s nothing there to justify this visit. So what are you hoping to find out?”
“I’m not sure. But he had problems with Bitah, and until I catch the killer everyone who did is a suspect. Even if they’re not very good ones.”
“So we play the cards we’re dealt. To add to my personal joy in this case, Senator Yellowhair has been talking to my supervisors and making lots of noise in Washington. They’re really leaning on me to get results.”
Ella shrugged and said, “Welcome to the club.”
They walked up to the gray, metal portable building and Blalock opened the door below the blue painted sign identifying the lunchroom. A tall, dark-haired man wearing a denim jacket and jeans was seated alone at a wooden picnic-style table. In his hand was a half-eaten glazed doughnut. A wall of vending machines and two more tables were all that occupied the rest of the brightly lit room.
“You’re here to talk to me about the murder, right?” the man asked. “This explains why I got my coffee break early today.”
“Your first name is Frank?” The man nodded, and Blalock flashed his ID. “We’ve got a few questions for you, Frank,” he said, sitting in the bench opposite Smith.
Smith looked at Ella and she took out her badge. She had jurisdiction here, too.
“This is about Bitah, right?” Smith asked.
Blalock nodded. “We understand that you had a lot of trouble with the man.”
“He hated Anglos, pure and simple. Then he got it into his miserable bigoted head that I was out to get him. I wasn’t. He never quite understood that I’m not interested in anything involving him or this mine if it isn’t work related. I’m only here to punch in, work my shift, punch out, and collect a paycheck.”
“That makes you a real exception nowadays around here, I understand. How do you stay so focused?” Blalock snapped.
Smith shrugged. “You can believe me or not. I don’t care. But that’s the truth.”
“What exactly was the problem between you and Bitah?” Ella asked.
“It started one afternoon when I went to my locker and found some gear in it that belonged to Billy Pete. I didn’t put it there, and it wasn’t mine, so I tried to return it. Pete wasn’t around so I dropped it in front of his locker. Just then Bitah came up. He figured I’d broken into Pete’s locker and was trying to make off with his stuff. There were cameras installed after that, but I’m not sure whose idea that was.”
“Have you ever heard of The Brotherhood?” Ella asked.
/> “Was that the movie about all those crooked lawyers?”
She gave him an incredulous look. “Try again.”
He shrugged, his eyes focused near the top of her head. “Like I said, I do my work and come home. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Any idea who might?” Ella prodded.
“Talk to the Navajos who work here. They’re the ones with an organization. I think it’s called Hashké Nein, or something like that?”
Ella blinked. “Hashké means fierce, or someone who is angry. The other word … could you mean, neiniihii?”
“That’s the one.”
“It means one who metes out anger. Where did you hear that?”
“Around work. The group is Navajos only.”
Ella stared at Smith. “You say these Fierce Ones are the counterpart to The Brotherhood?”
“I never heard of The Brotherhood, so I couldn’t say.”
Ella started to ask him more, when her pager went off. She glanced down. “I need to use my cell phone,” Ella said, leaving Smith to Blalock.
Stepping outside to her Jeep, she dialed quickly and got Justine on the line. “What’s up?”
“Big trouble. A Navajo worker, Noah Charley, has disappeared. He didn’t report to work today and nobody can find him anywhere.”
“That’s not necessarily a sign of trouble. There are many possible explanations.”
“I thought so, too, at first, but Neskahi’s cousin told him some of the workers believed Charley was being paid off by The Brotherhood as an informant. His aunt also came by the mine, asking if anyone had seen him. Nobody had. She’s really worried because he hadn’t stopped by her home to pick up some food she’d baked for him.”
“Where does Noah Charley live?” What followed were the type of directions common only in rural areas across the country. Ella was to drive south on the highway toward Gallup until she reached the historical marker for Shiprock. On the opposite side of the road was a dirt track. She was to follow that track to the old watering tank, not the new one, then left along the fence line to a big gully. Noah Charley’s house could be seen in a field just west of where the road crossed the gully. He had a new GMC pickup, either green or blue.
