by Aimée
Ella took the report with her into Big Ed’s office. He glanced up as she went in, then leaned back in his massive chair. “You’re a disaster area when it comes to tribal vehicles, Shorty.”
“My Jeep wasn’t damaged this time,” she protested, “though it still needs some paint touched up.”
“Yeah, well, the van that blew up was a tribal vehicle that had been reported stolen two days ago.”
“Anything on the source of the explosives?”
“Sam Pete recovered traces of packaging material and explosive residue that indicated it’s the same type and brand of low explosives used by the mine—ammonium nitrate.”
“I figured things would lead there, sooner or later.”
“Have you got something for me, something tangible I can present to the politicians who are crawling all over this department?”
“Good news, and bad—I suppose.” Ella told Big Ed about the state lab confirming Carolyn’s autopsy results, but also had to point out the poison in Neskahi’s coffee cup.
“But we still don’t have evidence to tie to a particular suspect.”
“I’m working on it, but I’m not going to insult your intelligence by making promises I can’t keep. I’m one man short, and that’s not making things any easier. Neskahi will be out for another week, at least. And I can’t see him going back on this case and working long hours even after he reports back in.”
“I can’t spare any other officers right now. I’ve had to increase patrols around the mine, and I’ve got to keep my units as visible as possible.”
“I know.”
“And you haven’t heard the worst of it.” Big Ed rubbed his whiskerless chin. Like most Navajos, he didn’t have to worry about five o’clock shadow. “The M.E. is under fire again.”
She felt her heart sink. “What now?”
“It seems that people have begun getting sick in droves after visits from Dr. Roanhorse and her medical team. Word is spreading like wildfire that the doctor carries the chindi, and that evil follows her. That poison in the coffee cup isn’t going to help change anybody’s mind either.”
EIGHTEEN
Ella was on her way to the hospital to talk to Carolyn personally when her cellular telephone rang. Annoyed with its incessant tone, she sighed, then answered it.
“This is me. I heard what happened.”
She recognized Billy Pete’s voice. “I’m sorry I missed our meeting. When can we reschedule?”
“How about right now? Same place.”
“I was on my way to the hospital, so I’m almost at the cutoff. I can be there in fifteen minutes. But it’s past five. What if Kevin shows up?”
“He won’t.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I checked.”
Ella drove to the prearranged spot, watching carefully. She wasn’t sure Billy hadn’t set her up before so she was going to be extra cautious this time. She wanted to get whatever information Billy had for her if he really was being honest, but she was also eager to talk to Carolyn. Ella was determined to find out once and for all what was at the root of the problem between the senator and her friend. It was time to get tough with her friend.
Ella slowed down as she turned up the dirt track that led to Tolino’s. As she drove up, Billy Pete came out from cover and stood by Kevin’s loafing shed, two cans in his hand.
She got out of the Jeep slowly, and glanced around. It didn’t feel like a trap, but after all she’d been through, she decided a little caution could go a long ways.
“You were warned to stay out of it,” Billy said, coming to join her. “Now you see why. Here, have a soft drink.” He tossed her a can.
Ella caught it in midair. “What’s going on, Billy? Blowing up that tribal vehicle makes no sense.”
“Unless you’d gone up with it.”
“Was that the intent? I wondered for a while if you had set me up, you know.”
“Why would I do that?” He shook his head. “We heard rumors that The Brotherhood wanted you sidelined, but we also knew that they couldn’t touch you. You’ve got ways of knowing things. Most Navajos around here have heard of your family’s skills.”
“In my case, it’s called cop training.”
He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter what you call it, does it? You’re okay, just like we knew you would be.”
She pulled back the lift tab, and leaned against a boulder. “Okay. So you guys figured I didn’t need a warning. What else is happening. Why did you call me?”
“We’ve got trouble. One of our Navajo drivers at the mine broke his leg working a green horse. That alone wouldn’t have mattered much, except that they replaced him with an Anglo.”
“Why not a Navajo? Surely they had plenty of applicants for that job.”
“They did, but the mine people claim that Joe Bragg had his application on record for the longest time, and that he was qualified. They hired him. He’s been on the job only two days, and is already creating a ton of trouble. He’s siding with the Anglos, and holds to The Brotherhood’s party line that the tribe shouldn’t give preferential treatment based on race for reservation jobs.”
Ella considered what he was saying. “You’re saying that Joe Bragg is a candidate for The Brotherhood, and our one lead to identifying the others?”
“Yes, if you can keep up with him. We’ve tried, but he’s lost us every time. He’s good, which makes us suspect he’s got some kind of training. Maybe he was in Special Forces or something.”
“I’ll look into it.”
Billy glanced around. “You know, you’re lucky to have Tolino as a neighbor. Nobody will harm your place or your mom with him around.”
“Why do you say that? You mentioned he was well connected. What exactly did you mean?”
Billy looked incredulously at her. “You know Tolino is from the same clan as our Tribal President. He’s also one of the top defense attorneys our tribe has, maybe the best. Nobody wants him as an enemy. Who knows when we’ll need him?”
“Is that all?” She had a feeling Billy was holding something back.
Billy frowned. “That’s all I know for sure.”
“Okay. What else do you suspect?”
He shook his head and walked to his truck. “Forget it, I’ve said enough. You don’t speculate when you’re talking about Kevin Tolino.”
Ella wasn’t sure what to make of Tolino now. Instinct told her that anything that would deter troublemakers was a plus. But the question Billy Pete had raised preyed on her mind.
As Billy Pete sped away, Ella stared at the trail of dust rising in the air. The air smelled of sand, not sagebrush or damp soil. They needed rain desperately, but the weather forecasts were still predicting more sun and heat.
Ella got back into her Jeep and headed to the hospital, certain Carolyn would still be there. Carolyn would be trying hard to find an answer to why so many people were getting sick.
When Ella entered the morgue, she found Carolyn studying some medicine vials. “Hello there.”
Carolyn turned around, resignation in her eyes. “You here to arrest me?”
“Don’t be a jerk.”
“It’s not so far-fetched. Tribal public health people, pressured by Yellowhair I’m sure, came in to test my supplies of medicines. They suspected I’d contaminated them somehow. They found nothing, of course, but random samples are being sent to the CDC in Atlanta for further examination.”
The afternoon newspaper lay open on Carolyn’s desk. Senator Yellowhair had gone on record saying that Dr. Roanhorse should be suspended, pending a full investigation.
“Remember I told you that I was welcome in the outlying regions?” She saw Ella nod, and continued. “Well, these mysterious illnesses have changed all that. I’m now the Death Doctor out there, too, particularly since the illnesses only crop up after inoculation clinics I head. The other teams haven’t had this problem. Of course, our senator is using this crisis to blast me out of everything I love.”
&
nbsp; “Why does he hate you so much? This fight is really getting nasty. Your personal life is now part of the case, and I have to know.”
Carolyn moved away from the cabinet and sat down wearily in her leather chair. “You’re not going to give up on this, are you?” Seeing Ella shake her head, she continued. “I met James many, many years ago back in college. He was hot stuff back then, so charismatic and all. He sure could turn heads.”
Ella stared at her friend. To think of Carolyn as a lovestruck girl was a stretch even her imagination had difficulty with.
“I liked him a lot at first, but I always sensed there was something wrong about him. When he asked me out, I turned him down. He didn’t take no for an answer, even back then, so he didn’t give up easily. But, finally, he decided I wasn’t worth the aggravation. Then, through a twist of fate, we ended up running against each other in the college senate election. At first, he treated it like a joke, but when I won things got nasty. He took every opportunity to make my term absolute hell. He undermined everything I tried to do. I used his own dirty tactics against him and managed to make him look like a jerk in front of a real public meeting. He’s never forgiven me for that. It wasn’t until recently, however, when our paths crossed again, that the resentment was rekindled.”
“Tell me more about this problem at the inoculation clinics.”
“It’s not the vaccinations, per se, or the classic reactions a few people always have. Those meds are clean. And after the clinics, the ones who get sick don’t all come down with the same thing. Some have flu symptoms, at other times we’ve seen some really nasty bacterial infections, unexplained fevers, and the like.”
“When do the illnesses start?”
“Usually a day or two after we leave. At first there were just a few cases, here and there. We had one nasty bacterial infection that resulted in a death a while back, too, but nobody connected it to me or my team. Well, almost nobody. John Tso, that elderly medicine man, always claimed that it had something to do with us.”
Ella remembered. “How do you explain what’s happening? Why are people getting sick?”
“I don’t know. But I can tell you this: If people stop coming to the inoculation clinics, things are going to get a lot worse. I’m really worried, not for myself as much as I am for those members of the tribe who will stay away from the med teams out of fear. Meningitis is a really nasty, dangerous illness.” Carolyn paused, staring down at the floor, lost in thought. “I need your help, and they need your help.”
Ella nodded slowly. “There’s got to be a way to make people understand what’s at stake if they don’t get the shots.”
“I have to leave tomorrow first thing. I’ll be at the Chapter House near Standing Rock. We have a batch of vaccines that are certified clean of any kind of contamination. Why don’t you come by? My team will hopefully be too busy to keep an eye out for whatever’s behind this trouble, but maybe you could spot something. But check your E-Mail before you set out. I have a feeling that I’m going to be taken off active duty any day now. I’ve heard rumors about that around the hospital.”
“How can they do that? There’s no real evidence against you.”
“I could have weathered this, had it not been in conjunction with the mess surrounding Angelina’s tissue samples and Neskahi’s poisoning.”
Ella told her about the test results with Neskahi’s coffee cup. “Do you have any idea how the furosemide got into that cup?” she had to ask.
Carolyn shook her head slowly. “I poured the coffee for both of us, then he got the urge to buy some cookies from the vending machine outside the pharmacy. While we went upstairs, I went to the storeroom to get some more cups. We’d used the last two.”
“Did he take his coffee with him?” Ella asked.
“No, I don’t think so. I left my cup there, too, after taking a sip.”
“And you knew it was your cup later, because of the lipstick marks.”
Carolyn nodded. “And so did the person who added the poison. I bet that’s when it was done.”
“Was Howard Lee around or Nelson Yellowhair?”
“Probably, but I don’t recall for sure. There were others here, too, passing through. It was the end of a shift, and the elevator was constantly opening and closing. I have no idea who could have done it.”
“Don’t worry. The truth will come out. Then you’ll have the satisfaction of seeing certain people eat their words.”
“I’ll look forward to that.”
Ella drove home slowly, for a change. It had been a long, long day, but she still wasn’t finished. She turned off at the road leading to her brother’s home, and shifted down, avoiding the major holes that dotted the dirt track like craters on the surface of the moon.
As she approached Ella saw her sister-in-law bringing in their small herd of sheep. She waved to Loretta and continued to the house, hoping to catch Clifford. As she parked by his old pickup, she saw him talking to Kevin Tolino.
The two men were both tall and lean. Each had his own brand of charisma but were different in other ways. She met Kevin’s gaze, acknowledging him with a nod as she approached.
“I’d better be walking back,” Kevin said, holding his bandaged hand close to his side.
“Let me get you the herbs you need for that cut,” Clifford said. “I’ll be just a minute.”
As Clifford disappeared inside the hogan he’d constructed beside his home, Ella studied Kevin. “I hope you’re not leaving on my account.”
He smiled slowly. “No,” he said softly. “If anything, you tempt me to stay. But I have work to do.”
Ella felt a stirring she scarcely recognized, but was impossible to mistake. She glanced away and suppressed it. “Yeah, I know all about work responsibilities.”
“So I’ve heard. Your brother says you work way too hard.”
The realization that Clifford had been speaking to this man about her made Ella nervous both personally and professionally. She wasn’t sure about Kevin, and she certainly didn’t want her brother giving away information.
Clifford appeared before she could answer and handed Kevin the herbs. “Soak them first, then apply them as a poultice, held in place with a clean bandage. It’ll take care of the pain. By tomorrow, the cut should be well on its way to being healed.”
“I thank you.” Kevin nodded to Ella, then walked back in the direction of his home.
“What happened?”
“He was trying to work on his home in the dark and slipped with a chisel. He’ll be okay. It wasn’t a serious injury. What brings you by, little sister?”
“First, tell me. Did he ask you about me, or did you volunteer information?”
Clifford’s eyebrows rose and he smiled. “You’re interested in him?”
“It’s not that.”
Clifford continued to smile. “Yes, it is.”
“Stuff it. Answer my question.”
“Kevin asked about you. He wanted to know how you liked living on the reservation after being on the outside. That’s what he’s facing now, that transition.”
“What did you say?”
“The truth. You bury yourself in work so you never have time to think.”
“Is that really how you see me?”
“I see you’re a beautiful woman who tries very much to hide her femininity. To you, wanting or needing another is a sure sign of weakness.”
“No, that’s not true. I keep to myself because I’ve made my choice of a life’s path, and I want to honor it. Not every road is open to us.”
“This is an old argument and not why you’re here,” Clifford answered, deliberately not conceding.
Ella swallowed back her irritation. “I have an idea, and a favor I need to ask of you.”
He waved her inside the hogan. “We can talk there while I mix some herbs for another patient.”
Ella followed him inside, then sat down on the ground while he worked. “You know my friend, the doctor.” Normally, she didn’t he
sitate to use names but, in here, it seemed out of place.
He nodded. “She’s in a great deal of trouble.”
“It’s not just her anymore. She’s being used, but in the end it’s going to hurt a lot of people.” She explained about the rash of illnesses.
“I don’t know very much about the medical sciences. I don’t believe in that way of healing. It seems to me that their failures are as spectacular as their triumphs.”
“I’m not asking you to change your views, and nobody’s forcing people to go to the inoculation clinics. But they shouldn’t stay away because they fear that Carolyn or the med teams will bring illnesses.”
“The illnesses are there, though. You said so yourself.”
“It’s not the medication, that was checked, and the ones that will be taken to Standing Rock tomorrow have been checked very carefully. Something is going on, something that is a very real threat. If people are getting sick it’s not just coincidence. I don’t know how it’s being done, but I do know Carolyn isn’t responsible.”
“You think someone else is causing those illnesses.”
“Yes, but I don’t know how. That’s why I want you there. If there’s a contaminant someone is bringing in, that person is not just an enemy of Carolyn’s, he’s an enemy of the tribe.”
“Like a skinwalker?”
“Maybe. If so, you’re needed. If not, if it’s strictly a matter of criminal activity, I’ll handle it. But I need you there with me. People who go to the inoculation clinics are ones who have elected not to practice the Navajo way exclusively. They are caught in the middle between the old and the new. It would be a shame if we both let them down.”
Clifford stared pensively at the bowl he was using to prepare an herbal mixture. Ella didn’t interrupt him. She knew what she’d asked would be difficult for him.
“I don’t like what is being done to your friend. And I will stand against anyone who uses fear to control our people. I’ll be there and Loretta will come with me. We’ll bring food. I won’t take part in anything to do with their medicines or medications, but my presence there will show our people that they shouldn’t be afraid.”
