by Aimée
“I do it every time they bake pecan pies. Everybody around here knows that. I ordered this particular piece when we were in the cafeteria yesterday, just before leaving for the Chapter House. I was treating the entire team to coffee and juice. Several orderlies who’d helped us load up were also there. And that list doesn’t include whoever was on break, or visitors who had come to check on a patient. The cafeteria is open to the public, not just staff.”
“You’re not helping much.”
Carolyn smirked. “I just ruled out everyone else in the world who wasn’t here. I’m just lucky whoever did this did a sloppy job. They should have realized I’d know it wasn’t a heart attack.”
“That doesn’t mean you would recognize the poison. How were you able to diagnose it so quickly?”
“I did a lot of research on native plants and herbs when I was looking into Angelina’s death. I wanted to make sure that my report meshed with the toxicologist’s, so I got volumes of toxicology books. They’re still there in my office.”
“Who normally has access to those books?”
“The entire hospital, practically. Dr. Charlie is our toxicologist and she makes most of her books available to any doctor who needs them.”
“I’ll see what I can do to unearth the scumbag who did this. In the meantime, take care of yourself. You really scared me, you know. I thought I was about to lose another friend.”
She smiled. “No way. I’m too stubborn to die.”
Ella walked down the corridor, her fear now giving way to cold anger. Someone had tried to kill her best friend. One way or another she was going to find that person.
Howard Lee met her coming the other way. “I just heard! Is Dr. Roanhorse okay?”
She gave him a long look. “She’ll be fine.”
“That’s great news!” he said, visibly relieved.
“I thought you two were having your differences.”
“That’s true,” he said, without hesitation. “But believe me, I had nothing to do with this. I need her well. If she doesn’t give me a passing grade, my medical career is going to be stalled for a whole semester. Since she’s our only M.E., the only way I have to get my grade up is to work with her until the end of the semester and convince her that I can do the job. If anything were to happen to her, at best, I’d get an incomplete. Or if the professors weren’t sympathetic, they’d let my current grade stand.”
Ella had hoped for a fleeting moment that she’d had her man, but logic now dictated she look elsewhere. Lee was laid-back, as her conversations with Carolyn had revealed, and killing his teacher for getting a low grade wasn’t too credible a motive. He was the type to travel down the easiest path and, for that, he needed Carolyn.
“Do you have any idea who might have done this?”
“What poison was used?” he asked logically. “Something from the pharmacy?”
“It was monkshood, they believe.”
“I could research it for you and see where it grows and where it might be available. But right off the bat, I can tell you that the people who know the most about the use of herbs are those who run health food stores, or our own medicine men.”
She looked at him directly, uncertain whether he was intimating that her brother had been involved somehow. “There aren’t any health food stores in the area I’m familiar with. What do you know about our local medicine men?”
“Some older hataaliis who live in the regions where we were giving the inoculations are not too happy with Dr. Roanhorse. In fact, our team had a bit of a problem with one of them yesterday.”
“Who?”
“John Tso. Do you know him?”
She nodded. John had to be in his early nineties. He was a formidable man and a born leader, even now. She was also certain, however, that he was incapable of harming anyone. Most important of all, he wouldn’t have had the opportunity, unless he’d come to the hospital for some unfathomable reason.
“How could he have contaminated the pie?”
“One of his patients was brought in. He made quite a ruckus about it, too, saying we were responsible for what happened.”
“How so?”
“The man got sick just a few hours after he was inoculated. It didn’t appear to be a reaction to the shot, either. It’s some kind of bacterial infection. Tso is up on the third floor, watching over old man Todacheene, if you want to track him down.”
“Thanks.”
She didn’t like it, but she was too good a cop to knowingly ignore any lead. Yet off hand, she couldn’t think of anything that would cause a bigger stir than the police questioning a respected hataalii about a murder.
She entered the cafeteria and saw Neskahi writing something down on his pad. Noticing Ella, he went to meet her.
“You want it in a nutshell?” Seeing Ella nod, Neskahi continued. “Anyone could have walked into the kitchen. They have a meeting every morning and the doors to the kitchen stay unlocked. They had a heated discussion over budget cuts this morning so nobody heard anything.”
“I want you to ask specifically if anyone saw John Tso in the cafeteria this morning.”
“The hataalii? Why? He’s practically a hermit nowadays. He lives down by Big Water Spring—” He saw the expression on her face. “He’s not one of the meningitis victims, is he?”
“No, but he’s here with Frank Todacheene. I’m going to go talk to him now.”
As Neskahi moved off, Justine came up to Ella. “I keep thinking about the note you found where Randall Clah threatened your family. Maybe this is an offshoot of that. Everyone knows you and Dr. Roanhorse are friends.”
“Randall Clah is dead,” Ella said firmly, but she couldn’t suppress the shudder that traveled up her spine. Memories sometimes were more powerful than the death of those responsible for creating them, and someone was using that against her.
TWELVE
Ella went to the third floor and found John Tso sitting by the silk flowers in the waiting area. His long gray hair was kept in place with a red bandanna, and his deeply wrinkled face was tanned saddle-leather dark from decades of New Mexico sunshine.
Ella approached and sat beside him on the well-worn sofa. She waited, not interrupting his thoughts.
After several minutes he spoke. His voice was deep and his words were spoken slowly, with a slight hesitation between phrases. It wasn’t his English that was at fault, but rather his age. “The medicines they bring to us don’t cure. They just create new problems. Your brother would know this. Do you?”
“Your patient’s illness has nothing to do with the vaccine.”
“That’s what they say, but he’s still sick and he wasn’t before they came. So what have they accomplished?”
Ella said nothing, and allowed the silence to stretch out.
“I heard about your friend the doctor,” Tso commented. “She says she wants to protect us, but she doesn’t even know how to take care of herself.”
“She was poisoned with an herb.”
The old man smiled slowly and mirthlessly. “Do you come to me for advice or with accusations?” He shook his head. “I am not The People’s enemy.”
As a nurse approached, Tso stood up. “What is wrong?”
“I’m so very sorry, Uncle,” she said, using the term out of respect, not to denote kinship, “but your friend has died.”
John Tso fell back down heavily onto the sofa with a deep sigh. The nurse immediately bent down and, taking his wrist, tried to take his pulse.
He pulled away. “No. I am all right. I protect myself in the old way.” He shot Ella a stern glance. “You and many others have grown up thinking the new is better than the old. But look clearly at what happened here today. We’ve lost neighbors before, but when they died, they did so with dignity, in their hogans. What dignity is there in dying in a place like this, surrounded by strangers, with tubes sticking into your body? Even the air they give you comes from a machine.”
Ella watched helplessly as Tso stood and walked a
way slowly. She started to go after him, but the nurse grabbed her arm gently.
“Your questions can wait a little bit longer. He needs time alone to grieve for his friend. Give him that.”
Ella felt her heart sinking with sorrow. “How long has he been here?”
The young woman shook her head slowly. “I know what you’re getting at, but there’s no way he could have been responsible for poisoning Dr. Roanhorse. He hasn’t left this floor since his patient was brought in. He’s so old, all the shift nurses have been keeping an eye on him, too. We’ve brought him food and something to drink, and made sure he was okay.”
As Ella went downstairs she considered what she’d learned. It was possible that the nurses were covering for him. John Tso was not only well liked, he was also a very respected member of the tribe. Her gut was telling her to look elsewhere, though. A hataalii pledged his life to one of gentle healings and teaching, not death. It would have been totally out of character for him to harm anyone.
Ella returned to the cafeteria as Justine finished the last of the interviews.
“I’ve got zip,” Justine said. “But it’s time for me to go meet Raymond Nez. Maybe I’ll find out something there. Would you like me to go alone so you can continue here?”
Ella shook her head. “No. We’ll proceed as planned. Where were you supposed to meet him?”
“It’s a hogan in the middle of nowhere, northeast of Beclabito, about halfway between there and the river. He says that’s the only place he’s reasonably sure nobody can follow him without being seen, and a place where we can talk without either of us endangering the other one.”
“He’s right, but it’s going to be tough for us to do anything except listen in. If you get in trouble, it’ll be awhile before we can reach you.”
“I won’t get in trouble,” she assured. “I think he’s glad to have someone to talk to. He’s a leader, and sometimes it can get lonely for people in those positions.”
Ella smiled. “People in leadership positions often are nothing more than experts at manipulating others.”
“He’s a potential informant. I can handle this.”
Ella sighed. Young officers were always so tremendously confident, often with nothing substantial to base it on except for their boundless enthusiasm. “Tell Neskahi to get you some gear and find us a lookout point. I’ll pick him up at the station. We’ll set out twenty minutes after you and stay as close as we can, but we’ll have to hang back and go in on foot in case he’s got a lookout.”
“Okay.”
As Justine hurried down the hallway, Ella stopped by Carolyn’s room one last time. Carolyn seemed to be breathing easier now. “Hey, you’re looking better by the minute.”
“I’m improving,” she admitted, though her voice was still shaky. “Come up with anything?”
“I’m considering an interesting theory. Maybe the person who poisoned you was the same one who wrote the Randall Clah note threatening my family. You’re almost family, you know. It’s obvious that person wants revenge, and by hurting you they would be striking out at me.”
“You’re reaching. This is connected to Yellowhair. I’m sure of it, though he wouldn’t be stupid enough to do it himself.”
“Or it may not be linked to him at all,” Ella answered, palms upward. “I’ll see you soon. I’ve got to get back to work.”
Ella went to the parking lot, then, after switching on the sirens, made record time to the station.
Neskahi was making one final check of the listening equipment as Ella entered the lab. The wire had been taped to Justine’s skin and was hidden by her shirt. “You’ll be okay, but don’t fidget so much. You’ll give yourself away.”
“It’s uncomfortable.”
“It’s not leisure wear.”
“Right.” Justine glanced at Ella. “I’ll do my best to get some answers.”
“I know you will, but watch yourself.” Ella went with her cousin as far as the door, then watched Justine drive away.
“Do you think she really can handle this?” she asked the sergeant.
“I’m not sure. Nez is one smart cookie. I think she’s underestimating him, and that does concern me. I’ve got a good location picked out for us, though. It’s just on the other side of a ridge east of the hogan. We’ll be shielded, but should be able to pick up the transmission.”
It took over an hour for them to get in place. Though they were on time for Justine’s meeting, Ella felt uncomfortable cutting it so close. Neskahi adjusted the receiver and the static disappeared. Justine’s voice came through clearly.
“For a while I wasn’t sure I could find this place,” the young officer said clearly.
“It’s out of the way but, like I said, that’s what makes it safe.” Nez’s voice was easy to recognize.
“Are you afraid for yourself? Are you in danger?”
Nez laughed. “We’re all in danger at the mine, but your boss is only making things worse. You’ve got to find a way to get Clah to back off. Every time she comes around things get even more tense. People are afraid she’ll be arresting them for murder. Or worse.”
“I can talk to her about that if you give me something to work with. Tell me what’s happening there. Who are the members of The Brotherhood? Are the Fierce Ones the bad guys or the good guys?”
“In my opinion, neither side is completely right. But if I have to side with someone, I’ll side with our own people. How about you?”
“Why don’t you tell me more first?”
“None of us know who is part of The Brotherhood, but we do know that they’ve got paid informants among The People. That’s the real danger. Distrust breeds violence more often than not.”
“That’s precisely why my boss insists on keeping a close watch on the mine.”
“The more she stirs things up, the worse it gets for those who, like me, are trying to keep trouble from escalating.”
“We keep coming back to the same thing. If you want the department to stay away you have to help us.”
“How? I have no answers to give you. I have my hands full making sure I keep everyone’s tempers in check during my shift.”
“Who leads the Fierce Ones?”
“I truly don’t know—wait, you didn’t think it was me, did you?” He started laughing. “Oh, little one, you’re even younger than you look if you believed that!”
“Why couldn’t it have been you? Don’t you think of yourself as a leader?”
Ella looked over at Neskahi. “That’s a score for Justine.”
Neskahi nodded.
“To lead, you have to believe in what you’re doing. To be truthful, I’m not sure the Fierce Ones aren’t responsible for Bitah’s death. Maybe they wanted to get rid of him for their own reasons. The Fierce Ones are cut from the same mold as The Brotherhood, though they have opposing philosophies. Both groups advocate violence as a justifiable method to effect change. I can’t condone that.”
“Then help us. Find out who the members of the Fierce Ones are, and who is in The Brotherhood.”
“No. I won’t do that.”
“Because you’re afraid?”
“Yes, but not for the reasons you think. I won’t get involved in anything that furthers division among the miners. That will bring the mine down. It may end up closing for good if the company running it bails out. My job is to keep things from reaching that point.”
“But if you helped us—”
“I am, but not in the way of your choosing. I strongly suggest you make sure my message gets through loud and clear to your boss. If she chooses to disregard it and continues to interfere with what we’re doing behind the scenes, there will be a price to pay.”
“By who?”
There was silence for several long moments. Finally, Justine’s voice came over the transmitter. “Nez has walked off, and I still have no answers.”
Ella smiled, wishing she could communicate with Justine but knowing it was impossible at the moment. “She do
es have answers. Nez talked about what ‘we’re’ doing behind the scenes. I’d bet my last dime he’s a member of the Fierce Ones, and that the warning was a veiled threat from them.”
“Nez is a strong-willed man. I wouldn’t assume it’s a bluff.”
“I’m not. We have enemies on all sides, and they’re gaining power quickly. Our job is to break that hold, but to be honest, I’m not sure how.”
As they returned to her vehicle, the cry of a single coyote rose high in the air. Ella kept her eyes on the path ahead, refusing to give in to fears she couldn’t support with logic. Coyotes were not to be trusted, according to traditional beliefs that linked them with Navajo witches and bad luck. She saw Neskahi look around, but keep walking.
It was a coyote, nothing more, nothing less. Ignoring the way her skin prickled, Ella strode quickly to the Jeep with Sergeant Neskahi.
* * *
Ella met with Justine back at the office. She could see from Justine’s expression that her assistant was disappointed with the results of her meeting. “You did well,” she said, explaining what she’d surmised. “You don’t threaten him, so he may contact you again with some information.”
“That’s not quite what I’d hoped for. I wanted answers now.”
“Patience.”
Neskahi came in, a triumphant look on his face. “I’ve got news. I’ve been following up on the caller who first made the report of the drunken driver, the one who led us to Angelina.” He glanced first at one of them, then the other. “I played a hunch and contacted all the gas station attendants between Shiprock and Farmington. Nothing happened for a while, but I just hit pay dirt. I got a call from the man who owns the Last Stop on the road to Farmington. He admitted he had made the call when he saw the girl driving erratically. He said he’d known it was the senator’s daughter from her fancy red car, so he’d decided not to leave his name.”
“Now we have another witness. Good job,” Ella said.
“Maybe we can talk to her parents and learn who she may have met in Farmington, or between there and Shiprock. She wasn’t gone that long, judging by the time the accident occurred, so we can narrow down the places she may have been,” Neskahi suggested.
