Changing Woman

by Thurlo, David

  It took nearly two hours to find John and Claudia Yabeni’s house. Henry’s mother then gave them directions to the designated area where the men had gone to gather firewood. Her directions had sounded good, but when it came time to actually carry them through, they realized how many dirt tracks wandered through the Chuska Mountains. Turn west on the main path, then north before you get to the canyon left a lot of room for interpretation when all the tracks looked the same and the canyons ran nearly side by side for miles between the ridges coming off the mountains.

  They got lost twice. Finally, as they drove through a meadow surrounded by tall pines, they heard the distinctive roar of a chain saw up ahead.

  “If we have any luck at all, that’ll be them,” Ella said.

  They parked at a clearing about twenty yards from an elderly man and a younger one who were busy cutting down a gnarly old pine.

  Seeing Ella’s vehicle, the men stopped their work and turned off the chain saw, waiting for them to approach.

  “This is legal, Officers,” the elderly man said, obviously noting the weapons at Ella and Justine’s waists. “The tribal forestry people set this area for people gathering firewood. We’re just not allowed to take young, healthy trees.”

  “And I have a Forestry Department permit for a full pickup load,” the younger man added, coming up to Ella and reaching into his jacket pocket.

  Seeing that the elder man had remained behind, Ella felt free to use proper names.

  “Henry?” Ella asked softly.

  He nodded. “Your partner looks familiar, but do I know you?”

  “No, we’ve never met,” she said. “I’m Investigator Clah. I spoke to Lea earlier today.”

  “Is she okay? Is something wrong?” he asked quickly.

  “Not that I know of. I just need you to verify a few things concerning Lea and some stories we’ve been hearing about the bank.”

  “It’s been like a war zone there lately,” he mumbled.

  Henry’s father, John Yabeni, joined them a moment later. “If you don’t mind, Officer, may I continue my work while you’re speaking with my son?”

  “Go right ahead.”

  Justine watched the elder Yabeni for a moment as he walked back to the now fallen tree. “Why don’t I give him a hand?” she asked Ella. “He doesn’t seem very comfortable with that chain saw.”

  “He’s not. That was my idea so we could finish faster.”

  “Go help him,” Ella said. One-to-one questioning always worked better for her anyway. She walked a safe distance away from where they’d been sawing, and Henry followed. First, Ella had him verify Lea’s alibi.

  “Yeah, I remember that. It was my birthday and we went to one of the pueblo casinos near Bernalillo to celebrate. We didn’t get back to the Rez until early the next morning.”

  Ella glanced over at Justine and saw she’d taken the chain saw from John and was helping him cut up the tree trunk.

  “Does Ranelle have a problem with anyone else at the bank?”

  “Not that I’ve seen. Normally, she gets along with everyone. But for some reason, Ranelle took a dislike to Lea from day one.” Henry paused giving her a long, thoughtful look. “But you’re not really worried about the bank. I bet what you’re really investigating is the incident that left her precious car without a windshield.”

  “Yes, and I need to see if there’s a connection between that instance of vandalism and some of the other incidents we’ve had,” Ella said.

  “Well, if there is, Lea’s no part of it. She’s just not like that. If she has a problem, she’ll stew about it for a while, then get into somebody’s face, that’s all.”

  Ella allowed the silence to stretch out between them and watched Justine sawing off the branches before tackling the tree trunk. John Yabeni was hauling the branches to the truck.

  “If what you want are the guys who’ve been stirring up trouble around here,” Henry said slowly, “you’re looking in the wrong direction. You’re thinking it’s a disgruntled worker, someone working out his anger. But I don’t believe that’s what it’s all about. I listen to people talking all the time, and my guess is that you should be keeping an eye out for a group of troublemakers who have decided to wage war on the tribe. It’s the type of thing one would assume modernists might do, as opposed to the traditionalists, but that doesn’t make sense either because the modernists have been the targets, by and large.”

  “Any idea why someone would want to wage war on the tribe?” Ella pressed, curious to find out more of what he’d learned.

  “See, that’s just what makes it tricky. Considering the targets, it would be easy to blame a traditionalist group like the Fierce Ones, but this isn’t their doing because they wouldn’t use these methods. So that leaves us with the modernists. But, as I said, that makes even less sense. Maybe it’s some Anglos.”

  Ella was about to comment when the chain saw made a strange, labored, high-pitched squeal, then snapped. As she turned her head, she saw John Yabeni stagger back, blood pouring down his chest, then fall to the ground.

  “Dad!” Henry ran toward him, then looked at Justine in confusion. “What happened?”

  “The chain hit something real hard and just snapped before I could pull it loose,” Justine stammered, dropping the saw, which had stopped running.

  John moaned as Ella lifted his sweater. A piece of metal chain was imbedded in his chest. There was so much blood already she couldn’t tell if he was injured anywhere else, but that was enough for her to know he was in trouble.

  Henry took off his jacket and placed it over his father. “We need an emergency medical team out here.”

  Ella shook her head. “It would take them forever to find us, even in the helicopter. We’ll transport him to a location where they can meet us and pick him up.” She knew that before long, John Yabeni would go into shock.

  “Justine, make as much room as you can in the back of our Jeep. Flip down the backseat.” She then looked at Henry. “You’ll need to keep your father as calm and motionless as possible.”

  Using a blanket as a stretcher, they carried the injured man to the Jeep. As they walked past the tree they’d been cutting into sections Ella saw the cause of the accident clearly. A section of the saw’s cutting chain had snagged on a large nail that had been pounded into the trunk at an angle.

  For a moment her mind went back to an incident she’d heard about during her days with the FBI in California. An environmentalist group had used a similar tactic when they’d tried to prevent a logging company from clear-cutting a grove of old-growth forest. But why was this happening here? It didn’t make sense.

  A few minutes later, they were on their way. Henry was beside his father in the back, comforting him as best as he could, and Justine was at the wheel. Ella, sitting beside her, noted that Justine’s hands were shaking.

  “Do you want me to drive?” Ella asked.

  “No, let me do this. I know it’s your unit, but I need to do something right now.”

  Ella didn’t argue. “You’re not blaming yourself, are you?” she asked quietly.

  “Don’t, it wasn’t your fault,” Henry added, hearing what Ella had said. “I’d been warned that somebody was spiking trees out here, but I forgot to tell you and Dad when you took over for me and started cutting up the trunk. The truth is I got distracted and he paid the price.”

  “This has happened before?” Ella asked surprised.

  “Twice, that I know of, not counting now,” Henry replied. “The first was when old man Benally was out chopping firewood, but he was using an ax so all he got was a nicked blade and a shoulder ache. The next time was with Wallace Curtis, the high school principal. He was in this area gathering wood, using a chain saw like us. He grazed a huge nail, but all it did was dull the chain.”

  “Didn’t anyone report this?”

  Henry shrugged. “Most of those who’ve been gathering firewood heard about it, and the forestry department told everyone who applied for a
cutting permit. Apparently Mr. Curtis reported it right away.”

  Ella suppressed her frustration. If the forestry people didn’t notify the police, there was no way to look for suspects unless a ranger just happened to catch someone in the act. The lack of communication between tribal agencies was nothing new, and it wasn’t something that required funding to improve.

  Ella tried the radio and managed to reach the station, relaying the emergency to the hospital.

  Ella glanced back at Henry. “How’s your father?”

  Henry looked down at his father. “I don’t think he can hear us, but he’s breathing,” he said, fear making his voice shake.

  “He may be in shock. Keep the blanket and jacket over him,” Ella said, then glanced at Justine. “We need to make it to Sheep Springs. The mecdivac helicopter won’t be able to find us among these canyons, but they’re going to meet us there.”

  Ella took out a geological survey map from the glove compartment, searching for shortcuts. “But first we need to find the fastest way to the paved road. Any ideas?” Ella looked back at the young man.

  “No. Dad always insisted on driving around here, and I never paid much attention to which direction we were going.”

  “Call it in and let Dispatch find someone who knows this area,” Justine suggested. “I don’t dare try going as the crow flies because it’ll just be too rough a ride.”

  As Ella looked back at John, she saw that he was either asleep or unconscious now. They had to move fast. His life depended on it. Snow flurries began to fall as Ella called in for help. Based on their current surroundings and her map, she gave Dispatch her approximate location and direction of travel.

  Ella waited as Dispatch called on area experts. Finally, Big Ed came on the radio. “Shorty, my uncle Raymond lives in Crystal. He thinks he knows where you’re at, and is going to meet you. Just stay with the road you’re on now, and keep heading south. He knows a shortcut to the highway.”

  “Ten-four, Chief.”

  A thick, heavy silence fell over them as they kept an eye out for Raymond Atcitty’s truck. Less than five minutes later, Justine spotted the gunmetal gray truck coming their direction. “Wherever that old truck can go, we can follow,” Justine said flatly.

  Justine kept pace with the chief’s uncle, following less than a hundred yards behind him. Raymond had found an old fire break, a clear-cut area between stands of trees, that wound downhill quickly.

  Aware that they hadn’t heard a sound from John for at least five minutes, Justine turned her head for a quick look. The sight didn’t do much to calm her.

  “Stay focused on your driving,” Ella ordered.

  Justine nodded once, but she looked physically ill.

  Following Raymond’s lead, they managed to reach the paved road, Highway 134, in fifteen minutes. Five minutes later, heading east at a fast clip, they encountered the helicopter coming west to meet them. John and Henry were airborne within two minutes, and quickly disappeared into the northern sky.

  Forty minutes later Ella and Justine arrived at the hospital. By then, every single muscle in Ella’s body was cramping with nervous tension, and Justine looked about to explode.

  They found Henry, who was pacing in the ER lobby. Seeing them, he shrugged. “Still no news, but he was alive when we arrived.”

  “We’ll catch whoever did this, Henry,” Justine said.

  Henry nodded absently, but his gaze remained glued on the ER doors, and it was easy to see that his thoughts were only on his father.

  “We’ll check back later,” Ella said.

  Justine followed Ella outside. “You realize that this is the coldest winter the Rez has had since we were kids. People need firewood more than ever. If there are other trees . . .”

  “I know,” Ella answered. “Stop by the tribal newspaper offices. I want to talk to Jaime Beyale. She’ll help us spread the warning.”

  “Leaking the news might create more trouble. It’s going to shake people’s confidence in the authorities even more.”

  “They’ve forced our hand, Justine. We don’t have a choice. We have to warn as many people as we can of the danger. Our first duty is to the tribe. If we fail at that, then we deserve all the barbs aimed our way.”

  NINE

  They arrived at the tribal newspaper’s offices in Window Rock about an hour and a half later. The threat of snow had ended as quickly as it had begun, and the rough, red sandstone mesas were bathed in late afternoon sunshine. Ella went into the newsroom while Justine stopped by the vending machines in the lobby for something to eat.

  As Ella knocked on Jaime’s open office door, Jaime looked up. She’d cut her hair short since Ella had last seen her, and wore thick reading glasses that made her look like an intellectual. Seeing it was Ella, she smiled. “Hey, Ella, come on in. What’s up?”

  “I need your help. I’d like the paper to run a story warning the Dineh of a problem,” she said, then filled her in on the spiked trees and the accidents.

  “We already heard about the two earlier instances you mentioned, and we ran a short piece you probably missed,” Jaime said. “But I’ll tell you what. This time I’ll make sure it makes the front page. There’s supposed to be a big polar air mass dropping down from the north in few days, and I know people will be out there trying to top off their woodpiles. I hear that even the LP gas trucks are getting behind on their Rez deliveries.”

  “Times are tougher for the Dineh than they’ve ever been.”

  “Yet at a time when money’s scarce, we have people driving around, wasting gas, and creating problems for the tribe. How do you account for all the vandalism that’s been going on, Jaime? Have you heard any rumors?”

  Jaime took a deep breath. “I’m working on a story right now, Ella. You can read it in the next edition of the paper.”

  “I’d rather not be surprised,” Ella said seriously. “Would you cut me some slack this time and fill me in on your conclusions.”

  Jaime met her gaze with a level one of her own. “I don’t have to do that, you know.”

  “Yeah, but I’m still asking.”

  “You’ll owe me, Ella. Understood?” Seeing Ella nod, she continued. “I have a source who claims that most of the incidents around the Shiprock area are directed toward one goal. Someone hates Chief Ed Atcitty, and wants him replaced. They’re trying to make him look incompetent so enough pressure will be put on the council to have him fired as Shiprock police chief.”

  Though the news had taken her by surprise, Ella tried not to let it show. “How good is your source?”

  “Truthfully? I’m not sure. But I won’t run the story until I can confirm it with two independent sources. Otherwise, it’ll seem as if I’m trying to make excuses for Big Ed and cover for his incompetence. But I have to tell you, from my initial research, I think this story’s on target. When Big Ed was appointed, he beat out another candidate for the job—Carl Benjamin, from the BIA. Remember him?”

  “Sure, but he passed away from a heart attack last year, didn’t he?”

  “True, but his brother, Arthur, is lobbying for the job on the basis that he’s better qualified than Big Ed to handle the current crisis.”

  “What are his credentials—besides ego?”

  Jaime grinned. “He’s got a degree in criminology from the University of New Mexico and he worked for the state police for fifteen years. Ten of those, by the way, were at a desk job, with no great responsibility.”

  “And someone claims Arthur Benjamin is behind all this?”

  “No, the talk is that someone is trying to make it easy for him by discrediting Big Ed.”

  “Who?”

  “Rumor is it’s some of the backroom boys from the progaming faction. Arthur is a strong advocate for gaming, unlike Big Ed.”

  Ella nodded. “Politics and big money have always been friends. If you hear anything we can use, will you call me?”

  “I’m a reporter, Ella. I don’t work for the Tribal police.”

>   “If you have knowledge of a specific crime—”

  Jaime held up her hand. “You know I don’t.” She paused. “But I will tell you this much. Even if someone is working actively to make Big Ed and the police look like fools, you have the power to stop it. Catch whoever’s behind the vandalism and now the problem with the trees, and Big Ed could be off the hook.”

  “We need a name. Who’s your source?”

  “I can’t tell you that.”

  “How do you know this isn’t just someone’s active imagination, or another troublemaker?”

  “Instinct.”

  Ella nodded. She couldn’t argue with that. Intuition and instinct had been her most faithful guides throughout her years in law enforcement. “Just remember, Jaime, if you pursue this story and it’s true, you’ll be challenging some dangerous people when you go to press. You may even be risking your life.”

  “I’ll be careful, and you do the same.”

  “You can bank on it.”

  As soon as they reached the station, Ella hurried to her office, shut the door, and called home. Jennifer answered immediately.

  The first observation that hit her was that Jennifer actually sounded cheerful. Or maybe, by now, Jennifer was delirious. “How are things over there?” Ella asked her quickly.

  “Fine. It has been quiet all day. Right now your daughter and your mother are in the living room playing see-and-say. I’ve been catching up on the laundry.”

  Ella wanted to let out a cheer.

  “Oh, your mother asked me to say hello to you. She knew it was you when the phone rang. She said that you have a tendency to worry too much.”

  Ella almost choked. “Tell Mom and my daughter I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

  “Don’t worry if you’re a little late. I can stay as long as I’m needed.”

  “You’re wonderful,” Ella told her, totally relieved.

  Ella hung up and stretched out in her chair, relaxing for the first time in hours.

  “Hey, boss,” Justine said, walking in. “I’ve got some good news.”