“Works for me,” she murmured as she reloaded her gun and holstered it again. She zipped up her vest, mindful to cover the harness. “What time do the boys get home?” she asked, thankful they hadn’t seen the gun. She knew how tempting a shiny weapon could be to young kids, especially boys.
“Pretty soon,” Sam said. “Speaking of that, I need to call my kids. We’ve been so busy, I haven’t talked to them in a couple days.”
“Yeah, I need to check my messages, too,” she said. “And I need to go to the store. I think I’ll do that now.” She got her purse and Roxanne’s list, then scooped up the car keys from the kitchen counter.
“You okay on your own with that?” he asked.
“Sure, no prob,” she said. She would stop by the police station as well and visit her buddy Officer Yazzie. She headed for the door.
“Lacey, wait.” She turned back, wondering if he had changed his mind. He pulled out his wallet and handed several bills to her. “My contribution,” he said.
She tucked the bills in her purse. “Thanks. Be back shortly.”
The trip to town was only a little surreal. Just a normal day, driving to the store with her gun under her arm and bullets blessed against witches. That was normal, right? She shook her head. Her weird shit-o-meter just grew a few new notches.
She pulled into the police station first. Very few cars; good. She went inside, mindful to keep her vest zipped. Officer Yazzie sat behind the front counter.
“Hi,” she called amiably as she walked up. “How are you doing today, Officer Yazzie?”
The kid looked up, seemed surprised to see her. “Uh, okay.”
“Great.” She parked herself at the counter expectantly. “Were you able to get those records for me? I sure hope so.”
He lumbered to his feet. “Um, no, I haven’t, um, had time.”
Lacey pouted. “Oh? That’s too bad. I really need them.” She glanced around. “So it’s a major process, I guess? Do you have to look through boxes of paper records?”
Yazzie shook his head. “No. All our records are on the computer.”
“Oh, really?” She brightened. “So how do you go about searching? Can I watch you do that?”
“Uh, watch me?”
“Yeah.” She smiled widely. “How do you do it? Do you have a big database you search? Just type in the name?”
He stared at her for a moment. She could almost see him weighing his options, his eyes shifting uncertainly.
“Yeah,” he said finally.
“So does it take the computer a long time to crunch all the data? You know, does it really have to chew on it for a while?”
He shifted from one foot to the other. “No, not long.”
“Oh, cool,” she said. “So could you do that for me? I can wait. I’ve got plenty of time.” She crossed her arms on the counter and settled in cheerfully.
Yazzie looked uncomfortable. He glanced down the hallway to his left, then behind him to the computer on the desk. Finally he unglued his feet from the floor and shuffled around to the computer. He sat heavily in the protesting office chair and clicked the mouse next to the computer.
“You’ve got the name, right?” Lacey asked. “Do you need me to write it out for you again?”
“No. I got it.”
I’ll bet you do, she thought. She guessed he wouldn’t have forgotten that name, or the case.
Yazzie typed on the keyboard slowly, using only two fingers. Lacey had to work to keep her impatience in check, reining in the impulse to tap her foot. When Yazzie glanced up at her, she smiled sweetly.
He returned his attention to the screen, clicked the mouse once, twice. Typed in something else. Another click. Finally he sat back. Lacey could see his eyes scanning the screen.
“How far back do you need?” he asked.
“How far back do you have?” she returned. “I’ll take all you got.”
He stared at her. “All of it?”
“Yes, please.” She kept her voice light. “Can you just print it all out? Everything you’ve got? How many pages is it?”
He scrolled with the mouse. “Three pages,” he said.
“Oh, well, that’s not so much, is it?” she said brightly. “Yeah, just print the whole thing out and that’ll be great.”
Yazzie clicked the mouse a few times, and then the printer began to hum. In seconds, it pulled a piece of paper in and began printing line by line.
“Have you got an envelope you can put that in?” Lacey asked. “You know, like a manila envelope?”
Yazzie hauled himself to his feet and rummaged in a metal supply cabinet. He pulled out an envelope and went to stand by the printer.
“Do you need me to sign a release?” she asked. She plucked a pen from a plastic cup on the counter.
Yazzie looked around at the counter, the desk, the supply cabinet. “Uh, no, that’s okay.”
“Cool,” Lacey said. “When I worked for the LAPD, we got a lot of requests for info. It’s a pain, I know, but it’s all part of the job, right?” She put the pen back. “You’ve been very kind,” she said sweetly. “I really appreciate your help.”
He stared at her, his eyes a little wider. “LAPD?”
“Yeah. Detective. Oh, I think the printer’s done.”
Yazzie tore his gaze from her and looked at the printer. It still hummed, but the papers sat neatly in the outgoing tray. He gathered them up and shoved them into the envelope, then handed the whole thing over to Lacey.
She pulled the papers up just enough so she could see the header and the first bit of information. Name: Harlan Firecloud. Perfect, she thought. She pushed the papers back down and folded over the flap of the envelope, then jammed it into her purse.
“Thanks so much, Officer Yazzie.” She stuck out her hand and smiled. “I really appreciate this.”
Yazzie regarded her hand warily, then finally took just her fingertips in a tepid grip. He released his hold as quickly as possible.
“Have a nice rest of your day.” She didn’t wait for a reply, just turned and walked out the door.
The store was next. She loaded up a cart with large economy-sized packs of paper plates, napkins, plastic ware, chips, sodas and anything else that caught her eye as she strolled down the aisles. Better to have too much than not enough, she figured. If they didn’t use it all tomorrow, she felt sure there would be other opportunities.
When she got back to the house, Sugar and Bear were there to greet her, tails wagging and tongues lolling. She grabbed two bags of groceries and pushed into the house and was immediately assailed by the beeps and boops of a video game. Sam and Carson were going head to head while Griff hooted and cheered.
“You got more out there?” Sam asked. “I’ll get it in just a minute.”
“No prob,” she said. “I’ve got it.” She went back for the last bags and set them all on the counter. As she began to unload, the game continued but Griff came to investigate.
“Whadya get?” he asked.
“Just stuff for tomorrow,” she said. “Napkins, paper plates.” She showed him a giant pack of paper plates.
“Oh.” Clearly disappointed, he returned to watch the game. Lacey smiled.
“You wanna play?” he called from the living room. “I get to play the winner next, but you could be after me.”
“That’s okay,” Lacey said. “I’ve got to check my messages. You guys go ahead. But thanks.”
She piled all the picnic supplies in a corner of the counter, then grabbed her phone and went outside. It’d be tough hearing any voice mail over the whooping and hollering, so she settled on the steps just outside the door.
Four voice mails and twenty-two e-mails. Could have been worse. Could have been 300 e-mails—or none. Several queries about prospective jobs: serving papers, keeping tabs on a cheating spouse, chasing down a runaway teenager. She took her time and crafted careful responses: currently out of town, would get back to them when she returned. She had no idea when that would be, s
o kept it vague. Next week? She and Sam had made progress, yes, but not enough. They needed a break. Keeping all that to herself, she replied to all the queries with measured responses.
When she went back inside, Carson and Griff were battling it out on the video controls. She sat in the chair nearest the couch to watch, amazed how adept the boys were. She had to admit, if video games did nothing else, they certainly taught dexterity.
“Lot of messages?” Sam asked her quietly. His eyes were still on the TV screen.
“Yeah, a few,” she said. “I’ll have some jobs waiting for me when we get home.”
He nodded.
“You talk to Daniel and Kenzie?” she asked.
“Yeah. They’re good. Not happy I won’t be there to have them for the weekend, but they’re okay. Said to say hi to you.”
“Aw, sweet,” she said. “They’re good kids.”
“Yes, they are,” he agreed.
Suddenly Griff squealed as Carson apparently delivered the death blow in the video game. Both boys flung themselves backward into the cushions of the couch, one in victory and one in disgust.
“You want to take a shot at it?” Sam asked Lacey.
She eyed the controls with trepidation. “I don’t know,” she said. “I’ve never…”
“It’s easy,” Carson said. “We’ll show you.”
“Come on.” Sam stood up and patted the couch cushion he’d just vacated. “Sit your butt right here. Griff, pass the controller.”
“Hmm.” Lacey took the offered seat and the video controller. She wondered how long it had been since she’d been humiliated by a twelve-year-old. Not long enough.
Having three males all trying to instruct her on the workings of the controller was severe overload. She absorbed what she could, but once they started the game, she found her video self jumping when she should have been shooting, and shooting when she should have been ducking. In less than thirty seconds, she was well and truly dead.
“Whoa!” said Griff.
“Cool.” Carson grinned.
“Try it again,” Sam said.
Lacey was perfectly willing to admit defeat and hand over the controller, but Sam pushed it back at her. Smiling weakly, she tried again. If anything, Carson blasted her brains out in fewer seconds than before.
She was saved from another half-hearted but doomed attempt by the arrival of Roxanne pushing through the front door.
“Hey, guys,” she called. “I could use some help bringing groceries in from the truck.”
Lacey was the first one on her feet, but the others followed more slowly. They each grabbed one or two bags from the bed of the truck and brought them to the kitchen counter. Duty done, the three males returned to the couch and the video game, but Lacey stayed to help in the kitchen.
“Oh, my God,” Roxanne said when she noticed the mass of supplies Lacey had bought. “You didn’t have to do that.”
Lacey shrugged. “I wanted to. Now what can I help you with for dinner?”
The two women worked well together, and Lacey was glad to have her mind occupied with the cooking preparation. Washing vegetables and cutting up chicken were such normal tasks; how could the world outside be so extraordinarily weird when everything inside was so staunchly normal?
“You two have any luck this morning?” Roxanne asked in a low voice. She started pasta boiling in a large pot, then took over the chicken preparation.
“Yeah.” Lacey thought about elaborating, but decided against it. They could wait until the boys weren’t listening.
Roxanne seemed to be of the same mind. “Good,” she said. “You want to set the table?”
“Sure.”
When Gabe got home from work, he had enough time to challenge his eldest son—and beat him—in a game at the video controls. By that time, Roxanne and Lacey had dinner on the table. Lacey realized how much she enjoyed sitting down to dinner with the family. She’d been on her own for over a year now, ever since her ex-cop boyfriend had gone to prison, and she’d actually forgotten how pleasant it was to reconnect with other human beings at the end of a busy day. Pleasant, yet wistful. She was content to let the conversation flow around her without much comment.
It was only after she and Roxanne had cleared the table and cleaned up the kitchen, and the boys had been sent to take their baths that the four adults were able to talk quietly about the morning’s revelations.
“A woman?” Gabe asked, shocked. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.” Sam nodded. He turned to Roxanne. “Who of our female relatives do you expect to show up tomorrow?”
Roxanne sat back in her chair and thought. “Let’s see; Felicity said she and Ray are coming. Modesto and Irene will be here, of course, and Sylvia and Mike. Neal and Andrea, and Carmen and Johnny. I think that’s all, except for all the kids, of course.”
“I’m pretty sure we can rule the kids out,” Sam said. “Unless you’ve heard of any of the teenagers getting into trouble, running with the wrong crowd.”
Roxanne and Gabe exchanged looks. Gabe shrugged.
“No, haven’t heard of any problems there,” Roxanne affirmed.
“So that leaves, what, five older females?” Lacey asked. “Hang on just a minute.”
Feeling slightly overwhelmed at all the names, she dug her trusty notebook and a pen out of her purse and returned to the table. She pawed through the notebook to find a blank page and sat with pen poised.
“Okay, can you tell me again who’s who? What the relationships are?”
Roxanne hunched forward. “Felicity is Modesto’s sister. They’re both siblings of… our other cousin.” Roxanne raised an eyebrow at Lacey to make sure she understood the unspoken name.
“Got it,” Lacey said. “There were just the three in that family?”
Roxanne nodded. “Modesto is the second oldest, and his wife is Irene. Felicity is the baby. She married Ray Tsosie. They live in Flagstaff, but come back to the res periodically.”
Lacey wrote herself quick notes, then nodded for Roxanne to continue.
“The next family is Sylvia and her brother Neal. Sylvia married Mike Begay. Neal’s wife is Andrea. There is another brother and another sister, but they moved away. One’s in Phoenix and one’s in Texas.”
Lacey jotted the names down and wondered how she was going to keep them all straight.
“The last one is Carmen. She married Johnny Dohi. There are other cousins, but they’ve moved away or haven’t really stayed in touch. We won’t see any of them.”
Lacey looked over the list. “What about Lou?” she asked. “Will she come?”
Roxanne shook her head. “I doubt it. After their divorce, she felt funny about coming to family get-togethers.”
Lacey made a note about that, as well. She still felt like Lou was hiding something.
“So four blood relatives and one in-law,” Lacey said. “Two in-laws if Lou comes.”
“That’s right,” Roxanne confirmed.
Lacey looked around at the three of them. “Any gut feelings about who it might be?”
She could see that the question rocked them. Up until now, this investigation had been more academic than personal. Now, putting a face and a name to the person who had killed their cousin and was terrorizing Lacey and Sam, gave it all a very different complexion. She could see the uncertainty in their eyes, the reluctance to accuse anyone without evidence.
“Okay,” Lacey said. “I understand. We’ll just all keep our eyes peeled tomorrow. Since I’ve never met any of them—except Modesto—it’ll be up to you guys to be aware of any unusual behavior or conversation.”
She watched them all exchange looks. This was going to be a very different get-together than this particular family had ever had before.
~~~
NINE
Preparations the next day kept them all busy. Gabe and Sam ringed a large round fire pit out back with concrete blocks, then chopped up enough dried juniper for a bonfire. Although the day was clear and
sunny, the air was still cold. The fire pit would be a popular place.
Lacey helped Roxanne make potato salad and deviled eggs. There would be hot dogs as well as the dishes brought by the cousins. Lacey felt sure there would be enough food for an army.
“Do you have a big family?” Roxanne asked as they worked.
“No, not at all,” Lacey said. “My folks retired to Florida and my brother lives up the coast in California. The couple cousins I have live in other states.”
“That seems lonely,” Roxanne said. Then she quickly backtracked. “I mean—”
“That’s okay,” Lacey said. “Actually it kind of is, although I tend to be an introvert and I’m okay with being alone most of the time. When I was with the LAPD, that was really my family. It was only after I quit the force that I realized that was most of my world. But to tell you the truth, I haven’t felt compelled to reach out to many people since then.”
“I think you and Sam are two peas in a pod,” Roxanne said. “He was always a loner, spending more time out walking the reservation than hanging around with friends. He can do this—family stuff—for a few short days, but then he has to go hide somewhere and recharge his batteries.”
Lacey nodded. She could relate. “I learned to do the extrovert thing while I was on the force, but yeah, I need down time afterward, too.”
“Why did you quit the force?” Roxanne asked. “If you don’t mind my asking.”
“No, it’s fine. The guy I’d been living with for five years was in Vice. I didn’t know it, but he was shaking down the dealers he was arresting, taking their drugs, then selling them back on the street himself. When he was arrested, it was only natural that I was considered a suspect as well. We both had our pictures plastered all over the papers and the news. I was cleared, but by then every time I went out on a case, I got mobbed by reporters. No one cared about whatever I was currently working on; they just wanted to know all the sordid details of Derrick’s operation. And how come I was so stupid that I didn’t realize what he was doing.” She shrugged. “It was better for everyone that I resign.”
Skin Walk (A Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud Mystery Book 2) Page 10
