Yellow Lies

by Susan Slater

  “For starters, we know why he was abducted,” Ben said as he pulled onto the highway that would take them back to the boarding house.

  “True. We have the motive. Now, if I could just think like Hannah ...”

  “I’m kinda glad you don’t.”

  “Be serious. Maybe, I can figure out where he is.”

  “.22, or Carl, said Sal wouldn’t see the light of day. Believe it or not, that supports what Sal’s wife says. She thinks Hannah buried him alive,” Ben said.

  “Underground? Wait. That’s it.” Julie was bouncing up and down. “Remember what Tommy’s mother said about Hannah leaving .22 different places—she left him so many times in the root cellar under the pantry that Ed Rawlings had it boarded up?” She was almost shrieking with excitement. “I knew if I could just think like she does. When I burst into the pantry yesterday, Hannah had a ham sandwich. Obviously, we know now that she wasn’t disciplining .22 like she said. Ben, that sandwich had to have been for Sal. .22 was on the floor getting ready to open a trapdoor—and the floor had just been carpeted. The carpet was thick and new so that it would mask sound. I wondered who would carpet a pantry.” She was beside herself now. “Ben, hurry. We’ve got to get Sal out.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Julie jumped from the truck as it rolled to the curb in front of the house and raced up the brick steps, Ben close behind.

  “What’s going on?” Dr. Lee yelled out his car window.

  “We may know where Sal is,” Ben called back.

  “What if we’re not in time?” Julie said out loud but didn’t want an answer. She hadn’t even put that into words before. They had to be in time. She simply couldn’t think otherwise. But what if Hannah had killed Sal first and simply hidden the body in the cellar? No, Carl had sounded like Sal was still alive, and they were about to feed him just yesterday. He was alive.

  The two policemen stood by the front door reluctant to let Ben and Julie by but after being briefed, one pulled his revolver and led the way to the kitchen.

  “Stand back.” The younger of the two policemen had opened the pantry. The thick new carpet was already pushed to the side to reveal a steel reinforced door. He gave a tug to the ring and the door lifted easily. “It must be spring loaded. I can’t see a thing, though, is there a light switch anywhere?”

  “The lights aren’t working,” Julie said.

  “Who’s got a flashlight?” Ben asked.

  “I do. It’s in the car. I’ll be right back.” The first policeman hurriedly left.

  “Hello. Anybody down there?” The second policeman leaned over the opening.

  “Oh, for God’s sake, there’s no one down there. Who’d you expect to find?” Dr. Lee pushed to the front and, striking a match, started down the steps.

  “Wait, I’m coming, too.” The policeman descended and was quickly swallowed by darkness.

  “She’s got a gun.” The voice was Sal’s, weak, wavering as it carried up the stairs, but Sal’s nonetheless. They were in time. But it was too soon to feel relief.

  “Hannah. Oh, my God, Hannah’s hiding in the pantry.” Julie couldn’t stop Ben as he bounded down the steps. She didn’t have to think before following him. Sal. She had to reach Sal.

  The beam of Sal’s flashlight was dim, but Julie could see Hannah in front of Sal, the gun pointing at the group on the stairs.

  “Hannah. There’s been some error. This is absurd. Put down that gun.” Dr. Lee took another step downward.

  “Stop right there. I’ll kill all of you if I have to. Where’s Carl? You killed Carl.”

  Julie felt a shiver. Hannah was losing it, waving the gun toward them. She was on the edge. And the policeman was frozen, his gun now in his holster, his hands in the air.

  “We had to, Hannah. He went a little crazy when he knew we’d found him out,” Ben called out.

  “You bastards.”

  The shot exploded around them. Dr. Lee’s scream was the only indication that someone had been hit. The basement flared into blackness and a tangle of movement. Julie saw Sal’s flashlight careen off the cot and hit the floor as the cop on the stairs dropped to a crouch to rush forward. Then there was the sound of a scuffle. Hannah screamed and Sal yelled, “I got her.

  “What the ...?” The second policeman appeared with a flashlight, stumbled down the stairs, gun pulled. “Hold it right there. No one move.”

  “It’s okay. There won’t be any more shooting. Here’s her gun. But somebody needs to call an ambulance,” Sal said.

  + + +

  “Is there any more coffee?” Sal held his cup out, and Julie didn’t mind waiting on him. It was a miracle he was sitting at the kitchen table. He was weak but had found the strength to tackle Hannah after she’d shot Dr. Lee.

  “More scrambled eggs, too?” she asked. He’d just eaten a half dozen with diced ham and four slices of whole wheat toast. He’d refused to go to the clinic when the ambulance came for Dr. Lee. He just said good food and sunlight would fix him up. Maybe he was right.

  “What are you running out here? A soup kitchen for just any old Indian we happen to dig up?” Tommy crossed the room and scooted a chair up to the table. It was obvious he was pleased to see Sal.

  Sal grinned and returned to his eggs.

  “Any word on Dr. Lee?” Ben asked.

  “Bullet shattered the femur. He’ll be hobbled for awhile. But so will his ego, I’d imagine. Self-centered little prick. Oops, sorry.” Tommy looked over at Julie.

  “And Hannah?” she asked.

  “Already on her way to Albuquerque with an escort. Armed, I might add. But I don’t think she’s going to give anyone any trouble. She was pretty torn up about .22, or Carl what’s his name, her nephew,” Tommy said.

  “Their plan could have worked. Came that close.” Tommy held his two hands about a half inch apart in front of his face. “Pinning Ahmed’s murder on Sal, the scalping and all—that was ingenious. After I got that knife with your prints on it, I knew for sure you were out tearing around the badlands, old man.”

  “She knew what my reaction would be,” Sal added. “Right down to watching her wash that scalp. I believe she’d decided to lock me up a long time back or make me go crazy from seeing Atoshle. She knew I wouldn’t give up the notebook. So, making sure I was implicated in a murder and setting it up to look like I’d run really covered her tracks.”

  “Remember when .22 told us the masked man did it? He even showed me where the mask was buried. It was a pretty clever way to confuse the issue,” Ben said.

  “What will happen to Hannah now, Tommy?” Julie asked.

  “She was more than an accomplice to a murder—”

  “And an attempted one,” Sal added, “but I won’t press charges.”

  “Why not?” Julie couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

  “I don’t know legal terms, but it seems to me there were ‘special’ circumstances. She was cornered, about to lose everything she’d ever worked for. She was pressured into the situation. Old Ed had her by the throat—even from the grave. You can’t blame an animal for taking care of itself, lashing out in order to escape.”

  “I’d call it a little more than ‘lashing out.’ You’re forgetting she aimed a gun at two police officers and shot Dr. Lee,” Tommy said.

  Julie could tell he was getting irked with Sal.

  “She could have done more. Should we just forget that? And the fact you were being killed so she’d get rich? That doesn’t fit your animal analogy. The law might be limited in what can be chalked up in the poor-wronged-widow category.”

  Tommy paused, and his voice was gruff when he added, “The sex couldn’t have been that good.”

  Sal carefully placed his fork on the table and stared at Tommy. Julie thought if a room could hold its collective breath that was what was happening now. No one moved.

  “If I were you, I wouldn’t pass judgement on something unless I’d been there myself.” Sal struggled to hold his dead-pan expression, but
couldn’t. He grinned and broke into a laugh.

  Male posturing ... that’s all it was; the tension melted. But she knew she wasn’t the only one who sighed in relief.

  “You know, I agree a little with each of you,” Ben said. “On one hand a case can be made for Hannah’s being cornered— yet, it can’t be an excuse. I’d like to see her get psychiatric help. I’ve recommended she be sent to the state hospital in Las Vegas for evaluation. If she’s found competent, she’ll stand trial. Even for a first-time offense, the charges are serious. One way or the other, she’ll be locked up for life.”

  Sal shrugged and took a drink of coffee. What would he do if he were called to testify? Julie didn’t know, but she was curious about his future. “What are you going to do now, Sal?” she asked.

  “Move back to the village. Maybe buy the trailer from the new owners. Put it at Daisy’s.”

  “Guess the only loose end is this amber thing. Got any ideas on how we can make that right?” Tommy had turned to Sal.

  “Report it. Call the authorities. Then see if we can find a list of Hannah’s buyers, put out a statement of content. I’ll offer to make restitution.” Sal didn’t flinch.

  “Under the circumstances, that may be enough. Carved pieces would have a value because of the art. So, we’d mostly be talking about the raw stuff.” Tommy looked over at Sal. “You know your fake stuff was damned good.”

  “Too good.” Sal returned to his eggs.

  “You the acting Clinic Director until Dr. Lee gets back?” Tommy turned to Ben.

  “Not until Monday. In the meantime, I’m taking a little well-earned R and R in Santa Fe for the next four days.” Grinning, he pulled Julie onto his lap.

  Thank you for taking the time to read Yellow Lies. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or posting a short review. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend

  and is much appreciated.

  Thank you,

  Susan Slater

  Watch for Thunderbird, coming up next! Ben Pecos finds himself working on the Navajo reservation, where a fiery crash in the middle of the night, and the disappearance of a young Navajo woman, have him teaming up with tribal police officer Tommy Spottedhorse to follow a sinister trail into the world of military cover-ups and other bizarre events. Tribal authorities lock horns with air force personnel for the right to investigate a murder on their own land. Ben and Tommy race to piece together the clues and find Brenda Begay before it’s too late to save her life.

  + + +

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