by Aimée
Neskahi exhaled softly. “That’s what I figured you’d be up against. I’ve heard a lot about this kid from a uniform who knows him and his family. He’s about as far gone as a kid his age can get. Even his family doesn’t want to have anything to do with him. They’re afraid of him, and he knows it.”
As Neskahi started back to his vehicle, Justine turned to follow, but Ella called her back. “Ride back with me. I have some work to do at the station, but I’d like you to find Thomas one way or the other, and get him to identify Shopper, our John Doe. I know you’ve been trying, but I suspect his mother may be covering for him. If he’s not at home, have someone stake out the place and detain him if he shows up.”
Ella and Justine were back at the station in ten minutes. Justine got on the phone, trying to locate her cousin Thomas, while Ella stopped by the booking desk. It only took a quick look at the photo in Gladys Bekis’ file to bring a smile to Ella’s face. The image, a sharp close-up, failed to reveal any marks on her face at all. After making arrangements to have the photo enlarged and a copy faxed to Kevin Tolino, Ella went searching for Justine. Just as Ella spotted her assistant near the front desk, hanging up the phone, she received a call on her hand held.
The call was from Neskahi. “Can you switch to channel six?”
“Ten-four.” Ella switched frequencies. “Whatcha need?”
“I heard from Principal Duran at the high school. One of the teachers overheard that the Many Devils have called out the North Siders this afternoon. Ahe says he wants to hold a council, but nobody is buying it. They know it’s his way of calling for a final showdown. All available officers have been ordered on duty or standby, but even so, there won’t be enough of us. Additional units have been requested. The problem is that it’ll take time for some of them to get here from Window Rock and farther west.”
“Then the Siders are really going to show?” Ella asked.
“Yeah, it looks that way, and you can bet they’ll come ready for a fight.”
“Okay—when and where?”
“The fair grounds, sometime today—maybe after dark. That time is only a guess, though. The way I’m figuring it is that the Many Devils are outnumbered so they’ll want to hide that fact from the Siders, and they can do that best at night.”
Justine, having walked up during the conversation, shifted, facing Ella. “Should we go over there and take a look?”
Ella nodded, her body tensing. She knew trouble was coming, she could feel it with every beat of her heart. Ahe was into power, and he’d use anything at his disposal to create the tension needed for a confrontation. He didn’t care about the boys in his gang, nor about the cost of his actions.
“Why don’t we just stake out the entire area? If they see us there, they’ll back off,” Justine said as they ran to her Jeep.
Ella shook her head. “If we do that, they’ll just switch the location or the time of the fight, and then we may not find out about it until it’s over. We have to take them by surprise after everyone is on the scene, and arrest as many as we can before they start shooting. If we can fill up our jail for a day or two, that will buy us and them some time. With luck, some of the boys will have the chance to reconsider their actions.”
Less than five minutes later, as Ella pulled into the fairgrounds, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure by the rodeo arena, talking to two men working on a fence. “Billy Pete! I’ve been trying to find that guy ever since we had that cryptic phone conversation.” She pulled to a stop, and hurried over to the group.
Billy saw her and leaned back against the wooden railing, regarding her with polite disinterest. “It’s good to see you, Ella.”
“Don’t give me that.” Ella said, gesturing for him to leave the others so they could talk privately. “The Fierce Ones got wind of what the gangs were planning, right?”
“I’m here because I knew you would be come, too, eventually. I’d like to talk to you.”
“What about?” Her skin was prickling. Billy was acting way too cool, too controlled, and it made her nervous because it wasn’t like him.
“I heard something interesting—that there’s a chance the skin … evil ones are involved in the murders of those last two boys. Is this true?”
Ella considered her words carefully, knowing that, despite all his evasions, Billy Pete was here on behalf of the Fierce Ones. “We have some evidence that indicates Navajo witches are involved. But the gangs are still responsible for a lot of the trouble that’s been going on.”
“The Fierce Ones can handle the kids and their parents. They could also protect your family. You and your particular skills are needed to take care of the tribe’s old enemies.”
Ella shook her head. “The Fierce Ones can’t help with the gangs, not without interfering in police business,” Ella said, struggling to keep her temper, “and that will only muddy the waters more.”
“You don’t see it, do you?” Billy said, also exasperated. “The police department doesn’t have a chance to stop the gangs. You don’t have the manpower, and the law prevents you from making them see the light.”
“You think the Fierce Ones can do all that?”
“We have more options, and more ways of controlling them. We can put pressure on the community, because we are part of it. The problems won’t be solved overnight though.”
Ella met his gaze. “All societies have ways of putting pressure on individuals, I know that. But when that involves using fear and intimidation against others to achieve a goal, the solution starts becoming part of the problem.”
“Groups that are a threat to our tribe have already declared war on the Dineh. Gangs of kids, or more ancient foes—it doesn’t really matter which source we’re talking about. Either way, The People have to take care of it. The Navajo police can do just so much and, so far, that hasn’t been very much at all,” Billy commented.
“The Fierce Ones can help us, but not by taking matters into their own hands. Let us know when you hear of trouble and keep your eyes open. Pass us whatever information you uncover that might help us identify the kids behind the burglaries or solve the murders. Peer pressure is one thing, threats are another.”
“What about the other threat? The one we both know exists but will never make the evening news? Who will deal with the evil ones?”
“People like my family, and the others who have fought them before. But first I have to identify our old enemies and find out what they have to do with all this.” Ella exhaled softly. “Now tell me, will the Fierce Ones help by keeping clear of the trouble, or will we have to keep looking over both shoulders?”
“I’m sure your words will be considered, but I can’t speak for anyone. Who knows what will happen?”
Ella heard her call sign come over the radio at her belt. Picking up the call, she spoke to Justine.
“There’s no sign of any kids yet. Neskahi is at the highway turnoff and, although several cars have gone by, the gangs are nowhere in sight. Get my binoculars out and keep a sharp watch.
“We’ll look on it as luck turning our way. Now we have time for our extra officers to arrive and position themselves.” Ella looked around and, except for a half dozen empty cars and pickups and the old fairgrounds dump truck and backhoe, the vast parking area was empty.
Ella focused on Billy Pete as he turned and walked away, heading toward the exhibit hall. “Take my message to the others,” she called out, “and do your best to sway them.”
Ella was walking back to her Jeep when Justine stuck her head out the window, binoculars in one hand, and yelled. “I think its about to happen. One car is coming in on a back road, and another is moving toward it from across country. Both vehicles are full of teenagers. The cars should meet just north of the main exhibit building unless they veer off. I’ve called in all available local backup from the station, and Neskahi is coming our way.”
Ella jumped into the Jeep, gunned the engine, and raced across the parking lot to intercept the incoming vehicle
s. Suddenly the dump truck roared to life, and swung out in front of her. She swerved to avoid a collision, and rammed a large plastic waste bin, sending it tumbling across the gravel lot.
The dump truck picked up speed, moving away from Ella and Justine with black smoke billowing from the twin stacks like dragon’s breath. Two vehicles full of kids turned parallel to each other, oblivious to the approaching dump truck. It was apparent that they intended on pulling up alongside and blazing away at each other.
Ella raced toward the action, but she was too far away to interfere with what happened next.
The massive truck skidded around, crunching into the rear fender of the closest vehicle. The car spun like a top, then rolled slowly over onto its side as it slipped into a shallow drainage ditch.
The truck circled, turning toward the remaining car like a bull going after a farmhand who’d wandered into the wrong pasture.
“Who’s driving that dump truck? He’s using it like a battering ram!” Justine’s fingers clutched the edge of her seat as Ella sped toward the action.
“We’ve got to stop that truck first. Then we’ll worry about the rest.”
The kids in the second car did their best to get out of the way, heading out across the desert. One boy stuck a handgun out the window to fire at the approaching truck, but the weapon bounced out of his hand as the car fishtailed and pitched across the uneven ground.
“Neskahi. Where are you?” Ella called out into the mike.
“Coming around the exhibit hall from the south. Is the dump truck chasing that car?”
“He’s trying to ram them. See if you can cut off the car before it reaches the highway, but stay away from that truck. He’ll squash you like an old beer can.”
Just then the fleeing car reached the fairgrounds road. It quickly increased the distance between it and the slower, lumbering dump truck, which continued its relentless pursuit, undeterred.
The gang car reached the highway and swung out onto the pavement right in front of an oncoming pickup, which skidded off onto the shoulder, fortunately remaining upright. The dump truck slowed down and, instead of following, veered in the opposite direction, driving into the parking lot of the Stop and Shop. There, it came to a stop.
“Break off pursuit, Sergeant,” Ella ordered Neskahi over the radio. “Call the paramedics and go back to the rollover. Just be careful when you approach. I think the kids inside are armed.”
By the time Ella reached the highway, the other gang car was out of sight, heading across the bridge. Calling for a unit to try and cut them off, Ella pulled into the Stop and Shop parking lot.
A quick check confirmed that the dump truck, still running, had been abandoned. While Justine reached in to turn off the engine, Ella checked the two cars parked next to the front sidewalk of the market. They were both unoccupied.
No one in the store would say if the driver had entered, so, after taking the names of all the shoppers and employees, Ella and Justine left to check on the gang car that had been struck by the truck.
Neskahi and another arriving officer had eight young men facedown on the ground. The kids, whose colors suggested they were North Siders, were bruised and scratched, but otherwise appeared unhurt. In the open trunk of Neskahi’s unit were three pistols and a sawed-off shotgun, plus ammunition and a collection of knives and clubs.
“Where’s the rescue unit?” Ella asked.
“It’s on it’s way.”
Ella felt the air around her grow heavier. Her worst nightmare had come true. The kids were carrying guns now, and it would only be a matter of time before innocent bystanders were caught up in the lawlessness of the gangs. Today, they’d made some arrests but, unless any had previous records, they’d all be out on bail within a day or so.
Ella took another look at the weapons in the back of Neskahi’s unit, then slammed the trunk in disgust. Then she heard the paramedics approaching.
* * *
Ten minutes later Ella was able to talk to one of the EMTs. “What’s the story on these kids? Do any seem seriously hurt?”
“No, they’ll live. They’re bruised, mostly, and a few have some minor cuts. None will require a hospital visit, it appears. They were packed in like sardines in that car, and that must have kept them from being bounced around too much.”
“Maybe we can squeeze one of them and find out where they got the firearms,” Justine said.
Ella doubted it, but she didn’t say anything. No sense in letting her own frustration dampen her assistant’s optimism.
Ella turned the scene over to another arriving team of officers, then returned to the Jeep with Justine. “I have to stop for gasoline before we head back to the station.”
“While we’re there, I think I’ll get a cup of coffee for myself. I’m freezing. Can I get something for you?”
“Yeah, some hot chocolate. It beats that place’s coffee hands down.”
While Ella pumped the gasoline, Justine went inside. She returned a short time later and handed Ella her styrofoam cup of chocolate and a tribal newspaper. “The press is giving us a break finally.”
Finished filling the tank, Ella read the headlines. “Secret Society Brings New Era of Hate.” The article that followed linked both the bank robbery and the assassination attempt to The Brotherhood. “Oh, those boys are going to have fits when they find out their secret organization is front page news.”
“The Farmington and Albuquerque papers also ran the story.”
“Which means the local TV stations won’t be far behind. This publicity will not only discredit The Brotherhood, it will make them well known to the public.” Ella smiled mirthlessly. “Of course they’ll blame me for this, and will strike out somehow. Only now, they can’t hide behind a cloak of secrecy. Things are going to change. We’ll just have to see if it’s for the better.”
FIFTEEN
Ella arrived at her office at dusk, harboring the hope that today she’d get out in time to visit her mom. But as she walked in, the phone was ringing. Grumbling under her breath, she picked it up. It was her attorney, Kevin Tolino.
“Thanks for the photo. This will be very helpful in blowing the Gladys Bekis suit clear out of the water. I plan to use it wisely. And in return, I’ve got interesting news for you,” he said.
“I like good news, but I’m not so sure about ‘interesting.’ What’s up?”
“I’ve been told by one of the Bekis attorneys, Robert Kauley, that they are calling a press conference in about an hour concerning the accusations both have made against you and the department. I’ll be there personally, of course, and you may want to catch it on Channel Thirteen, if you can grab a free moment.”
Ella thanked Kevin, then hung up and dialed the hospital. She hadn’t checked on her mother since this morning, and even though she felt terribly guilty about it, she simply hadn’t been able to find five minutes to call her all day. On a hunch, Ella asked for Carolyn Roanhorse’s extension. The ME’s tone was definitely cheery.
“Have I got great news for you!”
“I sure could use some. What’s going on?”
“I’ve been making sure to stop in on your mother as often as I can. The nurse there calls me whenever Rose has company. This morning as I was about to interrupt a visit, I heard Mrs. Pioche telling your mom that the Plant Watchers wouldn’t be back, but that they would visit her often once she was home. She said that the women from the Weavers Guild felt the same way.”
Ella smiled wryly. “So Mom’s working those legs and using the crutches?”
“Better. She made a bargain with Dr. Natoni. If she’s allowed to go home, she’ll come back for therapy as often as he wants.”
Ella sucked in her breath. She hadn’t counted on this, and wasn’t at all sure how she could swing it on her work schedule.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Carolyn continued. “You’re scared to death that you won’t be able to drive her in for the therapy. Well, get this. Dr. Natoni thinks she’ll be able to dr
ive herself if she gets a vehicle with an automatic transmission.”
“That’s great. Leo Bekis’ insurance company hasn’t settled yet, but when they do, I’ll make sure mom gets a car or truck with automatic. In the meantime, her own insurance provides for a rental car, and hardly any of them are standard. Things just might work out. My schedule’s been crazy, and Clifford has patients all over the Rez.”
“If Rose can’t drive, how about your sister-in-law, Loretta? Isn’t she still at home with the baby?”
“Yes, but she doesn’t drive at all. Never learned.” Ella leaned back in her seat. “I’d like to know I’d be around to bring Mom in whenever she needs, but criminals refuse to follow a set schedule. Certainly I’ll try.”
“I’ve noticed the same with patients at the hospital. Nobody seems to get sick or injured at convenient times. Fortunately, those I work with personally aren’t ever in a hurry But don’t worry, I have an idea. Alice Willie is the social worker, and they have drivers who transport patients who don’t have vehicles or can’t drive. All Rose would have to do is schedule a hospital visit a day ahead. And if she’s able to drive herself, that won’t even be necessary. Do you want me to catch Alice and ask if she can put your mother on her list?”
“Yes, do that. I’d really appreciate it. I’ll be there in another thirty minutes or so. Then I can give Mom the good news.”
Ella told Justine where she could be reached, then set out for the hospital. Ella drove into the hospital parking lot, and after checking her watch, walked quickly into the building.
As she reached her mother’s room, Ella saw that Rose had already packed. She was sitting with her crutches beside her and a paper sack of belongings on her lap. “I’m ready to leave as soon as you are.”
“Did Dr. Natoni release you already?”
“Well, not exactly. I mean, not in so many words. He agreed to my plan for therapy, and I’m getting around fine on the crutches now, so I figure it’ll be okay if I leave.”
“Let me have him paged. I can’t just take you out of here, then find out that there’s been a misunderstanding.” Ella looked at her watch again.