“What’s Mark’s last name?”
“Adakai. Nicky reminded me a little of him because they’re both smart with computers, but Nicky is more mature. Was. Nicky. I can’t believe he’s dead.” Ryana rested her forehead on the palms of her hands.
Johnson said, “Would you like a break?”
The young woman shook her head.
“Officer Manuelito, any more questions?”
“Just one.” Bernie waited until Ryana had regained her composure. “You indicated that you gave the blackmailer a letter along with the bolo. What did it say?”
“I wrote that I would tell Grandfather about the movies, and if the blackmailer tried to contact me again, I was going to the police. I let him know that I saved his first letter.”
“Did you?”
“Yes. I have it.”
Johnson made a note. “Manuelito, anything more?”
“Just one other topic. Ryana, tell me more about your relationship with Mark.”
The young woman’s eyes opened wider at the question. “Relationship? If you mean boyfriend and girlfriend, we never were that. He asked me out a few times and it was OK, but he wasn’t my type. I told him I liked him as a buddy.”
“How did he react?”
Ryana’s eyes opened wider. “Mark! He knew about the videos and he was angry with me. How could I have been so dense?”
Johnson reopened her notebook and looked at Bernie. “Any more questions?”
“Not right now.”
“Ryana, I want to talk to you about the man you knew as Nicky Jones, Michael Debois. Since you called him Nicky, I will use that name. Did Nicky’s behavior change recently?”
“Yes.” Ryana repeated what she’d told Berke, doing a good job of including the high points. “He acted nervous and withdrawn. Like there was something on his mind.”
“What did he mean in that note, that you would know what to do with the items in the trunk?”
“Agent Berke told me he had a bunch of jewelry and other stuff in there. Bernie thinks he was involved in our Chinle crime wave. If any of the items belonged to my clients at the senior center, Nicky knew I would make sure they got their possessions back.”
Johnson gave Ryana a stern look. “Really? Didn’t he mean that you could take over the business of selling the stolen items on the internet?”
“No. I didn’t know about that. I’m really not good at computers.”
Johnson made a note. “Tell me more about Nicky’s recent behavior.”
“Well, he got quiet. He didn’t sleep. I asked him if he was depressed. He said work wasn’t going well. Then he left without saying good-bye. He took his dog and his laptops. I can’t understand why he’s dead.”
Back at the substation, the surveillance footage from the parking lot, if it existed, hadn’t yet arrived. Bernie called the security chief, and he apologized. “I got busy. I’ll look to see if we have anything as soon as I’m done with my break.”
“Do it now.” Incompetence got under her skin. “I’ll call you in fifteen minutes.”
When she called back, no one answered.
Chee, who was in charge while Largo attended a meeting in Farmington, reminded her that she had the rest of the day off, and encouraged her to go home.
“I’ll keep an eye out for it, and I’ll take a look as soon as it gets here.”
“I don’t like being ignored.”
“I know the store manager and I’ll call him if we don’t hear back soon. Did you learn anything interesting from Ryana?”
“Yes. She thinks the guy who blackmailed her might be a man named Mark Adakai. But she says he would never try to kill her grandfather.”
Chee laughed. “Did I tell you that at first she blamed Arthur Green Yazzie? You know, the guy with that sister who keeps calling for Leaphorn? Turns out he’s in prison. Mark Adakai works at the Chinle station. That young woman has a flair for telling tall tales. There’s no way Adakai could have shot the old man. He was on the job. I saw him there at the station myself.”
Bernie sighed. “She really sounded believable. Any news on Mr. Natachi?”
“I called the hospital. The nurse said he’s about the same. If I could persuade him to talk, I know that would ease his mind and help him get better.”
She changed the subject. “Maybe I will go home, but let me know when you get that tape and I’ll come in to look at it. I keep thinking that the bolo and Nicky’s death must be connected. Maybe getting away from here will give me an idea. What’s on your schedule?”
“I’m doing my first mentor session with the rookie, unless he rejects me like he did the Lieutenant.”
“Good luck with that. Could you ask Black what he knows about a relationship between Mark Adakai and Ryana?”
“Sure. I’ll let you know.”
Although she couldn’t get Ryana and Nicky off her mind, Bernie looked forward to an afternoon away from the station. She had changed out of her uniform and was checking to see if there was a Coke in the refrigerator when her cell phone rang.
“Hi.” She recognized Darleen’s voice. “Are you working hard as a crime solver?”
“Believe it or not, I have an afternoon off.”
“Is the Cheeseburger still in Chinle?”
“No. He drove home last night. He had a meeting with a new officer, a mentoring session to help the man handle his job better.”
“That’s good. I could use someone like that.” Darleen said it in an offhanded way, but it rang true. “I’m in a jam, Sister.”
Bernie’s heart sank. “What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing life-threatening, don’t worry.”
Don’t worry. The words that foreshadow news of disaster. “What happened, girl?”
“Well, Ryana asked if I would drive her to see her grandfather. We started toward Chinle, but my car broke down and now we’re stranded. Could you pick us up?”
“Your insurance has emergency road service. They could help.”
“I sort of forgot to pay the bill. Stoop Man can tow me back home with his truck when he gets off work, but that’s not until tonight. Can you please come and get us?”
“Where are you, Sister?”
“Near Roof Butte.” Darleen laughed. “I’m surprised my phone works.”
Bernie sighed. “OK. I’m leaving now. Text me the closest mile marker.”
“Thanks. You are the best.”
She and Chee had talked about Darleen and agreed that they needed to let her solve her own problems. This time, apart from driving without insurance, it sounded like her sister had done her best.
It took forty-five hot minutes of driving along Indian Route 64 to find Darleen’s stranded car. Her sister had parked on the shoulder, and Bernie pulled in behind her. The two young women looked hot, bored, and discouraged.
Bernie leaned out the lowered window. “Get in back, you two. The seat up here is full of stuff.”
They silently complied.
“There’s some water there. Help yourselves.” Now that she’d found Darleen, Bernie noticed the tension in her shoulders relax.
“Thank you for coming. I’m sorry I’ve caused you two so much trouble.” Ryana’s voice sounded high and tight. “I have another favor to ask you.”
“Go ahead.”
“Can you take me to the hospital so I can see my grandfather?”
Bernie thought about the mysterious bolo salesman who, she hoped, would be on the footage Chee was acquiring. She needed to go back to Shiprock to follow up.
“I can’t right now.”
Ryana’s soft voice floated over the back seat. “I did some thinking after we talked. I need to explain about the bolo, to apologize to my grandfather, to tell him I was foolish and that I love him. What if the blackmailer sends him that picture of me while he’s in the hospital? What if the worst happens and I miss that chance to explain? Please, Bernie.” She said it again. “What if he dies before I have the chance to set things right? I called
the hospital and they said he was too weak to talk on the phone.”
Bernie took a breath. Chee had promised to look at the footage. She called the Shiprock station and talked to Sandra.
“Do you know if that parking lot footage came in?”
Sandra made a snorting sound. “No. Sergeant Chee stomped out of here, on his way to talk to the security guys over there. He’s seriously annoyed.”
“Tell him I went to Chinle and to call me on my cell, OK?”
“Chinle? I will. By the way . . . no baby yet.”
Darleen said, “Ryana and I were talking about something. She will have to have help with her grandfather once he gets out of the hospital, but she also needs to get back to the senior center. I could stay with him. You know my work-at-home job? I can take that with me. I can do those envelopes anywhere.”
Ryana said, “Darleen, that’s chump work. You’re good with elderlies—I’ve seen how sweet you are to your mother. You can stay at my house until my grandfather is better, and then you should try to get a job at the senior center here in Chinle.”
Bernie passed the turnoff for Lukachukai and saw a mileage sign for Chinle. “How far is your house from here, Ryana?”
“It’s about fifteen minutes.”
“You mentioned that you had saved that first blackmail letter.”
“Yeah. I thought it might be important.”
“Is it in a safe place at the house?”
“Yeah. Well, I guess.” She told Bernie the location.
“I want to stop there. You can get a change of clothes, a toothbrush, whatever else you need, and you can give me the letter. I will make sure it’s safe. After that, we’ll go to the hospital.”
“Uhm. I . . . I . . . I don’t want to see the place where my grandfather almost died. I just want to go to the hospital. I hid the letter really well. It’s safe.” Bernie heard the panic in her voice.
“Hold on. I’m going to make some calls.” She pulled onto the shoulder.
Agent Johnson answered on the second ring, and Bernie explained the situation with the blackmail letter. Johnson didn’t hesitate. “The letter is important, but not as crucial as the other things we’re working on. I’ll have Berke or someone get it tomorrow. Thanks for letting me know.”
Bernie pulled back onto the highway. “I’m dropping you both at the hospital. Then I’ll go out to your house, Ryana, get what you need, and come back to see how Mr. Natachi is doing. Then, Darleen, you and I will deal with your car.”
She heard relief in Ryana’s voice. “I have a black travel bag on the floor in my closet. Just put in some T-shirts, jeans, some underwear, whatever’s easy. And get my stuff from the bathroom.”
Darleen spoke up. “I could go with you to Ryana’s house. I mean, if you’d like some company.”
“No, you need to spend some time with Mr. Natachi and make sure that you’re comfortable with him if you are going to help later.” And, Bernie thought, I don’t know what I’ll be walking into at Ryana’s house. No need to put her sister at risk.
Since Ryana’s driveway was a crime scene, she called for Lieutenant Black. Black was out, so she identified herself as a police officer to the man at dispatch. “I know about the shooting at Ryana Florez’s house. I’m going over there to get some things for her. Thought I ought to let you let them know.”
“How far away from there are you, Officer?”
She thought the question odd. “I’m not sure. I plan to make a quick stop at the hospital first.”
“Is Ryana with you?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks for letting us know.”
She left the young women at the hospital entrance and found the house with no trouble using Ryana’s excellent directions. Bernie parked next to an old truck that looked like it hadn’t been driven or otherwise tinkered with in quite some time. She spotted the second, smaller house, Mr. Natachi’s place, but no other vehicles. She walked to the main house, noticing that the front door stood open.
The house had been ransacked—the couch cushions slit, rugs flipped, pictures ripped from the walls. Bernie drew her gun. “Hello. Navajo Police. Anyone here?”
A voice echoed from the bathroom. “Is that you, Manuelito? Chinle police back here. Looks like another burglary.”
“You’re the dispatcher I talked to, aren’t you?”
He paused. “Yeah. A neighbor called and said he heard a noise here and, well, someone sure made a mess. I didn’t have time to see if they hit the grandfather’s house.”
“Wow you got here fast. I didn’t see your vehicle.”
“I parked behind the house. Could you check the granddad’s place?”
“I’ll do it.”
“Be careful.”
She replaced her gun and jogged to Mr. Natachi’s house. Again, the door stood open.
“Police. Come out now. I have a gun.”
Silence answered her.
She could see that the living room and kitchen looked like a whirlwind had passed through. She noticed the same methodical destruction she’d seen at Ryana’s.
She radioed the Chinle station and a woman answered. Bernie identified herself. “The officer who responded to the burglary at Ryana Florez’s home asked me to check her grandfather’s place next door. Sign of an intruder here, too.”
“What? A burglary?”
“The officer who was working dispatch said he got the call from a neighbor and responded. He’s in the other building.”
“I don’t know what you’re trying to pull. Mark is the other dispatcher. He’s a civilian like me, and he went home with a migraine an hour ago.”
“Mark who?”
“Adakai.”
“Can you hold on?”
She remembered what Chee had said about the rodeo buckle and went to the bedroom. Someone had ransacked it, too, but the buckle and the precious bolo sat right where Chee said they’d be. Whatever had happened, she realized, was not a burglary.
Bernie reached for the phone again. “Let me speak to Lieutenant Black or whoever is in charge.”
“Who are you, again, ma’am?”
“Officer Manuelito. ASAP. It’s urgent.”
She left the old man’s house and ran back to Ryana’s. She almost tripped over the red plastic gasoline can in the front hallway. She heard a noise coming from the next room and moved inside toward the sound. “Hello? Mark?” She had her hand on her gun in the holster. “Stop what you’re doing and come out here. Now.”
A few more steps gave her a view of the kitchen. She saw the man rummaging through the freezer. He pushed the freezer door closed with his left elbow and gave her a look she’d seen before, the demeanor of a person confident to the point of arrogance.
“Mark, don’t . . .” As she went for her weapon, he threw something. She dodged, missing the brunt of the blow, but the box hit her right shoulder hard. In the split second it would have taken her to regain her equilibrium, he gave her a hard push to the floor. She saw his gun. Then she noticed the bags of vegetables and frozen dinners defrosting. The impact of their fall from the freezer had broken some of the boxes. That gave her an idea.
20
“Where’s Ryana?”
“What?”
“Re-ah-na?” He spoke more slowly. “On the phone, you said she was with you.”
“Mark, put the gun down before you get yourself in trouble.” Bernie kept her voice level. “Why are you asking about her?”
“You know. Chee told me about the letter, about the blackmail. He must have told you, too. I need it back. I know it’s here somewhere.”
That explained his rummaging in the freezer. “Ryana isn’t with me. Why would she give it to you after all the heartache you’ve caused her?”
“Two reasons. She saw what those guys did to Mr. Natachi. Him getting shot was her fault. They gave me more than I paid for, that’s how it goes.”
“I can’t hear you very well. What’s the second?”
He laughed and sp
oke louder. “She really wants to be with me. She plays hard to get because I’ve seen her in those movies. Everyone else thinks she’s a good girl, but I understand what a woman like that needs.”
Bernie noticed that the gun was pointed to the floor, not her chest, as he continued.
“All I ever asked was for her to be my girlfriend. I’d give her the money back; it wasn’t about that. Where is that beautiful devil?”
“What?” Bernie lowered her voice. “My head’s spinning from that box you hit me with. I can barely hear you. Come closer.”
“You lied about Ryana being with you.” He took another step toward her.
“Huh?”
“Did she tell you where the letter is?”
Bernie groaned. “My head hurts. I can’t hear you. Move closer.”
“Do you know where it is, Cupcake?” He was yelling now.
“What?”
“Stop it.” He kicked at her, missed, and when he tried again, Bernie clawed for his leg. Her grasp and her strength threw him off balance. He fell hard, dropping the gun. She rolled away and pulled her own weapon as she stood, pointing it at him as he tried to rise. She yelled, “Stay on the floor. Facedown.”
“Let’s talk this over.” He raised his head. “You don’t know the whole story. You’ve got it all wrong.”
She kept the gun aimed at his spine. “Down. Face on the floor. Now.”
Instead, he lurched for her. She kicked as he tried to rise, connecting firmly with his groin.
He yowled in pain and slumped back.
“So, Mark, what’s with the gasoline? If you didn’t find the letter, were you going to burn the place?”
“What else could I do?” he whimpered.
“Where did you come up with those overachievers to do your dirty work?”
“Why should I tell you? What’s in it for me?”
Bernie smiled, but kept the gun pointed at him. “I’m going to see Ryana next. I can let her know that you didn’t mean to hurt her grandfather. Or I can keep quiet.”
“I didn’t want that old guy shot.”
“Then tell me what happened.”
“One of those thugs came to the station. He had a cool tattoo, a thin snake around his wrist, and I asked him about it. We talked, and then he mentioned that he was looking for a guy named Nicky. He told me they were friends from California, but I knew there was more to it than that. I gave him the address. Tattoo Man said he owed me a favor, so when Ryana wasn’t paying anymore, I called him. I just wanted to scare her. I respect Mr. Natachi.”
The Tale Teller Page 26