by Aimée
Slowman walked out of the office, then returned a short time later. “Here they are. Anything else?”
Ella smiled slowly. “There is one thing. Could you check and see if anyone has been brought in suffering from a drug overdose, specifically hallucinogenic drugs, within the last three months?”
He gave her a wary look. “Patient records are strictly confidential. I could lose my job if I give you that.”
“I don’t need a patient’s name. Just tell me if anyone has been brought in. If you don’t, I’ll have to ask the ER nurses, and that’s guaranteed to start some bad rumors. The press would also eventually want to know why I was asking, and they’d likely start an investigation on their own, which could end up on page one. With your help, we could avoid all that.”
“That’s blackmail.”
“Sort of, but at least you’re getting to make a choice.” She shrugged. “What option will you choose?”
“I’ll get the information for you.”
While she was waiting, Ella studied Lee’s records and those of the other two; but there was nothing exceptional or noteworthy about any of them. She was about to give up and consider the trip wasted, when Slowman came back to the office.
“One girl was admitted suffering from an overdose of psilocybin, a mushroom that causes hallucinations.”
“Okay. Can you tell me who signed her admittance papers?”
“That I can do. It was Angelina Yellowhair.”
Ella sat upright. “And the name of the patient and attending hospital staff?” she prodded.
“Sorry. I can only give you the names of our people, not the patient. And if you try to interview our staff nurses while they’re on hospital time, I’ll have you removed by our security.”
“Understood.”
Ella wrote down the names of the hospital personnel who had treated the girl, then left the center, pleased she had managed to get as much as she had. Now the drug connection seemed clearer, and pointed toward Howard Lee. Who better to know about herbs, dosages, and drugs in general than a medical professional?
Bitah had worked at the mine, so Howard Lee could have easily known him, and even belonged to the Navajo Justice Church. Bitah and Angelina had both taken peyote. If Lee turned out to be Angelina’s boyfriend, it was possible Bitah had supplied the man with drugs for his girlfriend.
Ella got Justine on the cell phone. “If the waitress IDs Lee later tonight, run that photo by Judy Lujan, Bitah’s old girlfriend tomorrow. She might remember if Bitah and Lee associated with each other.”
“You’re hoping to cement that drug connection?” Justine speculated.
“Yeah.”
The next step would be talking to Wilson Joe about student absences. The thought of seeing him left her feeling empty inside.
Telling herself sternly that self pity didn’t become her, Ella drove to the college. By the time she arrived, Ella had gotten her feelings under control. She was determined to put up a good front. There was no way she would let her friend see how she felt: That much she could do for herself as well as for him.
Ella found Wilson entering grades at his computer terminal. “Hey, Professor. How about helping a cop do her job?”
Wilson looked up and smiled. “You know I’m always willing to help the law, particularly when they ask nicely.”
Ella sat across from his desk and declined the can of soda he offered. “I need you to check which one of Angelina’s friends showed the most absences this past semester. Also, if there’s a record of any of them missing class with a medical excuse, like hospitalization.”
“I’ll look into it. How soon do you need the information?”
“Yesterday?” she answered with a sheepish smile.
“I’ll see what I can do, and give you a call as soon as I have something.” He was about to say more when a petite Navajo woman came into the office, distracting him. She glanced at Ella, then beamed Wilson an affectionate smile. “Hello, Husband-to-be.”
The soft words hurt Ella much more than a yellow jacket’s sting, but she kept it hidden.
Wilson looked completely happy as he took his fiancée’s hand affectionately. “Ella, this is Lisa,” Wilson introduced.
The pretty young woman smiled at Ella coldly. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Ella, and how dedicated you are to your job.”
“It’s my first and best love,” Ella admitted. It was at that moment that she realized what she was mourning. Wilson was building a future, while her whole life had been dedicated to safeguarding the present so that others could see their futures unfold. She knew she was doing precisely what she was meant to do, yet she envied her friend his happiness and peace.
Noting it was time to get ready to backup Agent Blalock, Ella excused herself quietly and left the building. She found herself looking forward to the rugged climb that would keep them concealed from anyone tailing Bragg.
Restless, Ella fingered the badger fetish around her neck wondering about this meeting tonight. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. There was no sense in making too many plans now. She’d have to take things as they came.
Ella met Justine at the station. Hard plastic rifle cases and two pairs of powerful-looking binoculars lay on top of Ella’s desk.
“The rifles have night-vision scopes,” Justine said, “and it took some wrangling to get them. They’re extras from SWAT, and are sighted in to be dead-on at two hundred yards. Ammunition is in each case. We also have low-light binoculars, since it’ll be more comfortable looking through those than trying to survey the area with a rifle.”
The way she felt now, Ella knew she was going to be using the rifle scope most of the time. There was going to be trouble tonight. She could feel it as clearly as she could the blast of air from the fan that cooled her office.
“You want to ride together, I assume?” Justine asked.
“Yes. The fewer vehicles, the better. We’re going to have to be extremely careful. The weather’s been dry, and that makes for highly visible dust trails.”
“We better take your Jeep then. It’s better suited to the terrain than my sedan,” she said.
“My Jeep it is.”
Ella drove out to the site, choosing a roundabout approach from the north that would make it difficult for anyone to follow. It made the most out of the sparse cover the land provided them.
On the way, they speculated about Howard Lee and his possible involvement in their investigations. Although they reached no conclusions, it was clear they were in agreement about one thing—the medical student merited a much closer check.
After twenty-five miles of driving, the last five cross country, they approached the site. Blue Hill stood as a silent sentinel overlooking the surrounding arid terrain. Further south was another sentinel, White Hill, and to the northwest a long mesa faded into the twilight. Ella glanced around, trying to find a suitable place to leave the Jeep before darkness arrived. It wouldn’t make it up the steep, rocky sides of the hill.
“What about that arroyo?” Justine suggested, pointing by pursing her lips, Navajo style. “You could drive the Jeep down inside and we could break up its silhouette with some brush.”
“Good idea. Once we get it covered we can hike up to our observation point.”
Finding thick enough brush for the purpose wasn’t easy but, fortunately, the Jeep was almost hidden by the arroyo itself. In an hour, when it was completely dark, it wouldn’t be noticeable at all.
After unpacking their gear and loading the rifles, Ella led the way slowly up the hill, cautioning her assistant to avoid presenting herself as a target against the horizon. About halfway up, they crouched low and circled around to a point to their right where they could look south. Finding a good spot, they sank to the ground and waited.
“I told you we could see the entire area from here,” Ella said. “I remember some fun parties here. We could keep a lookout for any parents wanting to crash the scene.”
“I didn’t think you had suc
h a wild past,” Justine said with a trace of a smile.
“I didn’t. And don’t get me wrong, I would have liked one, but my brother never let me get away with anything. Believe me, there’s nothing more humiliating to a teenager than having a big brother show up and spoil the fun.” Ella shrugged, then smiled. “Nowadays he doesn’t bug me. He knows I can arrest him,” she added with a chuckle.
“Now I know the real reason you got into law enforcement.”
“We all have our secrets.” Ella laughed.
As darkness descended, shrouding the land, Ella surveyed the junction of the power line and the dirt road through the scope of her rifle. “There are two vehicles coming up. The first one’s Blalock. My guess is the second, about a hundred yards behind him, is probably his contact.”
“Looks like we have one car too many,” Justine warned, looking through her binoculars. “There’s a pickup approaching slowly from the south, driving on the access road parallel to the power line.”
TWENTY-THREE
Using the rifle scope, Ella zeroed in on the third vehicle, which had stopped. “Neither your binoculars nor this rifle scope is powerful enough to give me a clear look at that driver. With everything tinted green on this scope, it’s hard to make out details.”
“How do you want to play this?”
“We wait for Blalock to meet his contact. You watch them, and in the meantime, I’ll keep my rifle trained on the guy who took the back way in. He may only be there to eavesdrop.” Ella watched the third driver get out of his truck and head up the line of transmission poles. “He’s got at least two hundred yards between him and Blalock, but he’s narrowing the gap fast. And forget the eavesdrop theory. He’s carrying either a rifle or shotgun. There’s no scope.”
“Blalock’s just met Joe Bragg,” Justine confirmed.
“I wish I knew who this third guy is. He’s staying low and he keeps his face and silhouette in the shadows of the poles, like a pro,” Ella said. “I should have pressured Dwayne to carry his radio anyway.”
“Blalock is staying near his vehicle. Good move. Now if he can just keep his man from walking out into the open between the vehicles.”
“We’ve got trouble,” Ella said. “My man just stopped by a pole and is using it to support his rifle. He’s going to go for it.” Ella took aim. “I have to take him out.”
“It’s well over two hundred yards, and he’s halfway behind that pole. Maybe you should fire into the air. That’ll warn Blalock.”
“No. The sniper could still take his shot.” Ella focused on the shadowy figure. As the man’s head lowered so he could sight down the barrel, Ella squeezed the trigger.
The crack of her rifle shattered the stillness. Ella saw the man drop like a sack of flour as the bullet sliced through him. Quickly glancing over at Blalock and Bragg, she saw that they’d hit the dirt and taken cover. “He’s down and our guys are safe. Here are my keys. Go get the Jeep and call it in. I’m going over on foot.”
Ella half slid down the hill, then jogged toward the power line. As she approached the sniper’s position, she stopped behind a pole, waiting for Justine. Her assistant drove up five minutes later, illuminating the scene with the Jeep’s headlights. “I’m covering you,” Justine shouted, and Ella could see her behind the Jeep’s door, pistol ready.
As Ella moved forward, the figure bathed in blood remained motionless on the ground. Kneeling down by his side, she felt for the pulse point at his neck. “He’s dead.”
She rolled the man over and recognized Truman. “I’m not surprised,” she whispered, then moved away.
Blalock pulled to a stop in his own vehicle, showering the area with dust which drifted across the headlight beams like mist in a horror movie. “You fired, so I assume he was about to take one of us out?”
“Yes.”
He studied the body. “Truman, you should have stayed in jail where you belonged. Where were you, Ella?”
Ella pointed to the hill.
Blalock’s eyebrows rose. “That must be three hundred yards.”
Ella said nothing.
“Wish you’d have clipped him in the shoulder. We could have questioned him then.”
Ella glared at FB-Eyes.
“Don’t get hostile. It’s just an observation.”
“Next time I see someone aiming at you, I’ll just pop a paper bag to shake him up. Who knows? He might miss.”
“Point taken,” Blalock said, standing up.
“Where’d your informant go?”
“Away. He’s from out of state and he thought now would be the perfect time to head home. He told me that he’d just found out they’d made him for sure. That was before either of us knew about the sniper.”
“And The Brotherhood?”
“Remains unidentified, except for Truman, of course. You might have better luck finding a Navajo informer.”
Ella shook her head. “It’s not that simple. People are not only scared of the other side, they’re afraid of one another. The atmosphere is poisoned by mistrust.”
Blalock bagged the sniper’s weapon. “The stock on this rifle is brand new, and looks hand-carved and fitted. From the yellow-gold finish, I’d say its French Walnut. Wasn’t that the same wood used to bash in Bitah’s skull?”
Ella’s eyebrows rose. “It was.”
“He’s Anglo, so I’ll do the follow-up on the weapon, and also have our lab try to match the wood with those splinters Dr. Roanhorse collected. Truman might turn out to be Bitah’s killer.”
“That would be a break.”
Ella waited with Justine until a coroner’s van came from Farmington to recover the body. Since the reservation morgue was no longer fully operable, and because Truman was not a member of the tribe, his body would be taken off the reservation and turned over to the county.
Ella finished signing the papers releasing the body to the county authorities as Justine came up to her. She’d been in the Jeep working on her report.
“Are you going to be okay?” Justine asked as they walked back to the Jeep.
“Yeah, unfortunately this isn’t the first time I’ve had to shoot to kill,” Ella said quietly.
“Does experience make it any easier to handle?”
Ella sighed softly. “No, not really. There’s always a sense of failure that goes hand in hand with it, and lots of second-guessing on how you might have handled it differently and avoided taking a life.”
“Do you want to go straight home? I can get a patrol to give me a ride back to the station.”
“No, you still have a waitress to see about a boyfriend. I can handle this. Let’s go back to the station.”
Ella concentrated on the driving, and her assistant said nothing for a long time. Finally Justine spoke again. “I’ll give you a call if your hunch plays out.”
* * *
Ella arrived home tired and depressed. In trying to take a life, Truman had forfeited his own. She had nothing to feel guilty or sorry about. It could have just as easily been Blalock’s body or Joe Bragg’s they’d zipped up in the bag tonight.
As she walked into the kitchen, she saw Kevin Tolino seated there along with her mother. Ella paused, surprised to see him.
“He came to visit,” Rose said, obviously sensing her reaction.
Tolino stood up and came toward her. “You’ve had a long, tiring day. It’s in your eyes. Perhaps my visit is ill-timed.”
“Not at all,” Ella said, wondering how much he knew. “Was there a specific reason you came?”
“I thought you’d like to know I’ve accepted the doctor’s case. I’m forcing a hearing at the hospital. I’ll have her reinstated soon. They don’t have a leg to stand on.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Ella studied the man before her. He was undeniably handsome, but a pretty face didn’t say much about the person inside. Still, he had helped her escape the harassment of the van the other day, and he was preparing to defend her friend Carolyn, despite the doctor’s current controve
rsial position. That said something about his character.
“Take a walk with me?”
Ella hesitated, wondering what he had in mind. Then she glanced at her mother, who was busy cooking. If Tolino was going to create any problems, then it was best she find that out away from her mom.
“Sure. Let’s go.”
Ella matched his pace, trying to figure out from his body language what he wanted with her. As before, he didn’t give much away.
“I heard what happened to you today.”
“What are you referring to? Many things happened today,” Ella answered.
“The shooting tonight.”
“How could you know about that? It wasn’t reported on the radio. The press doesn’t know about it yet.”
“I’m a lawyer for the tribe. Many trust me, even a few police officers. My clan also has considerable influence. That’s why Billy Pete asked you to meet him on my property. He knew danger wouldn’t follow him there, at least not from Navajos. Because of that, I believe the person in the van was an Anglo.”
Ella stopped and turned to face Kevin. “Are you saying you’re part of the Fierce Ones?”
He shook his head. “You misunderstood me. I have neither the time nor the desire to get involved with pressure groups like that. But knowing about them is another matter.”
“Do you know who the members of The Brotherhood are? Perhaps the name of the person who was driving that van that almost ran me down?”
Kevin shook his head. “No.”
Ella met his gaze with an unwavering one of her own. “Instinct tells me that you’re a man of many secrets.”
“I have as many secrets as you, I’d be willing to bet. That makes for balance,” Kevin answered with a half smile. “I will tell you this. If you come to me for help, you’ll get it, and there won’t be any strings attached. Except, of course, next time we chase someone cross country, you drive.”
He smiled, then said good-night. In seconds, he had disappeared into the darkness.
As Ella walked back into the house, her mother came out of the kitchen. “What’s wrong? What happened to you today? And don’t tell me nothing. It was written all over your face when you came home.” She studied her daughter’s expression and smiled. “But it seems your new friend has managed to get your mind focused on something else.”