Bad Medicine (17 page)

“I know about the ‘Fierce
Ones who carry out vengeance’,” she said, translating the Navajo group’s name while watching Raymond carefully.

He smiled slowly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He glanced around at the crowd. “And I doubt anyone else here does either.”

The other men were trying hard not to look at her. In the Navajo culture it was considered impolite to look someone directly in the eyes, but Ella’s
gut told her that their avoidance had little to do with that. There was fear and mistrust here, two emotions that were almost guaranteed to create trouble.

Ella saw an Anglo worker separate himself from the other group and approach. She braced herself for more trouble. He was a tall, brown-haired, blue-eyed man with the look of authority. “I’m Randy Watson, Officer. I’m a supervisor here. How
can I help?”

“I need information and answers.”

He smiled. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Let’s talk inside. Could you find us a place?” Seeing him nod, Ella took Justine aside. “Call in and tell dispatch that things are under control here for the moment. Tempers appear to have cooled. I’d like you to stay outside and see what you can do to get us some information.” Knowing her assistant, it was
quite possible she’d get far more from the lingering workers than Ella herself would. Justine’s approach mingled genuine sweetness with a core of steel, and her Navajo was a lot better than Ella’s.

Ella strode inside the building, following Watson to one of the empty conference rooms. “This place is becoming a war zone. If trouble escalates, everyone loses. Do you agree?”

He nodded. “Of course.”

“Then tell me what you know about The Brotherhood.”

“I could say that I’ve never heard of them, but I won’t insult your intelligence.” Watson leaned back in the chair and stretched out his legs in front of him. “I’ve heard of the group, but I’m not a member. Personally, I don’t think it’s much of an organization. To my mind, if they counted any significant number of the Anglo workers as followers,
they would have flexed their muscles more. That type of organization is by nature made up of racist bullies and there’s nothing they like better than exercising their power.”

“You may have a point, but it only takes a few to stir things up and create a crisis situation.”

“I’m keeping a tight watch on the men under my supervision. If I find any of them deliberately creating division between the
miners, they’ll be fired on the spot.”

“But you can’t be everywhere at once.”

“There are other supervisors who, like me, are keeping their eyes open.”

Ella sensed the man was being honest with her. “If you discover who the members of The Brotherhood or the Navajo group are, will you call me?”

“I’ll fire them,
then
I’ll call you. I have a job to do here, too.”

“Fair enough.”

Ella stood up.
“One more thing. Does anyone here, Anglo or Navajo, have any grievance against state senator Yellowhair?”

“James Yellowhair?” he asked, surprised. “No, quite the opposite. He’s always supported the mine. Admittedly, he’s trying to get the company to train more Navajos to take over key positions but, hell, he’s an elected official whose funding for re-election comes mostly from the tribe. You’d
expect him to take that stand.”

“Do you think that gives The Brotherhood a gripe against him?”

He considered. “Maybe, but it’s like resenting a porcupine for having quills. It’s the nature of the beast. I really don’t see what other position they could expect him to take.”

She offered Watson her hand. Though like many Navajos she disliked touching strangers, she was making a concession she
felt certain this man would appreciate.

He shook her hand firmly and gave her a nod. “We’ll weed out the troublemakers. Just give us time.”

Ella left the building, once again feeling that her help was not wanted and wishing it wasn’t needed. As she joined Justine she saw most of the workers had left, but Raymond Nez was still there. His expression was no longer openly hostile, but Justine was
still holding the shotgun.

As Ella approached she saw Nez’s face grow taut. Justine turned, exchanged a few quick words with Nez, then hobbled over to the Jeep, stowing the shotgun.

“That’s one
interesting
man,” Justine said as they got underway.

Ella, alerted by her tone, glanced at her assistant. “Don’t tell me you’re attracted to him.”

Justine shrugged. “He’s good-looking and has a certain
charisma, I suppose, but I’m not about to forget he’s a suspect in our investigation. It’s strange how he comes on really strong about Navajo rights, but is not fanatical in any way. He’s loyal to the tribe and, as a supervisor, he claims he’s trying to look out for the men under him. I think he’s just trying to make sure our people get the breaks they deserve.”

“You’re basing all that on a ten-minute
conversation?”

“I’ve met men like him before. You’re going to have to trust my instincts on this one.”

Ella wanted to tell Justine that it wasn’t her instincts she was worried about. No matter how much Justine wanted to gloss over it, her experience in the field was limited. Inexperience, coupled with hormones, could color gut instincts. “You’re thinking you can turn this guy into an informant?”

“It’s worth a shot.”

“It could also be trouble.”

“I know I screwed up once before when our elders were being killed, but believe me, I learned my lesson.”

Ella considered her reply silently for several moments. She didn’t want to undermine her assistant’s confidence, but neither did she want to see her in a situation that was beyond her capabilities to handle. “I think that Nez is a very smart
cookie. If he’s part of the Fierce Ones, and I tend to think that’s a real good bet, chances are he’s learned to cover himself far better than you think. I’m not sure how dangerous he is. You’d have to be
very
careful.”

“I won’t lower my guard around him. I admit it was a mistake getting involved with the wrong man in those killings last year, but I seldom make the same mistake twice.”

“Make
sure you don’t then. I don’t want to worry about you,” Ella admitted at last.

“I’ll treat him just like I do my brother’s new stallion,” Justine said with a tiny grin. “I won’t be fooled into thinking he’s harmless just because he takes food from my hand when it’s offered.”

Ella smiled. “All right. See what you can do.” She had no right to hold her assistant back. Experience was gained in only
one way. Hoping she was making the right decision, Ella headed the Jeep back toward Shiprock.

They walked inside the station a short time later. At once, Ella could feel the tension in the air. People were speaking in hushed voices, and phones were ringing continually.

Justine glanced at Ella. “Something is not right,” she mumbled. “There are usually two or three uniforms hanging around, bringing
in reports or suspects, but everyone is on the phone. It feels weird in here.”

“I know.”

Big Ed leaned out of his office doorway and motioned to them. “I need to talk to you both. We’ve got a situation.”

Ella followed with Justine. When they stepped inside Big Ed’s office, he uncharacteristically asked them to close the door and sit down. “There’s been an outbreak of meningitis in the Newcomb
area south of here. It started with one child believed to have the flu, but the child got sicker and by the time they brought him up to the hospital and the diagnosis was made, it was too late. There was no real alarm until it was discovered that the child had been staying at a daycare center because it was sheep shearing time. Now other children from the center have shown up with symptoms after
they returned to their homes, some in Shiprock and eastern Arizona. We need to hold vaccination clinics for the entire New Mexico area of the Rez. Arizona officials will be dealing with everyone on their side of the state line.”

“It’s going to be a tough job getting everyone to come in. A lot of the rural families are traditionalists who would be more comfortable calling in a
hataalii
than working
with a doctor,” Ella said.

“No kidding,” Big Ed snapped. “That’s why I need you to go visit the hospital and see what kind of support we can give them. Talk to Dr. Natoni. He’s in charge of this. I’ve already got units lined up to help transfer medical supplies to the Chapter Houses, but there may be more we can do. Maybe your brother can offer some advice, too.”

“My brother is a
hataalii.
He
believes in the old ways. I can’t ask him to sanction vaccinations he doesn’t believe in.”

“Do your best. Maybe he can at least tell people what to look for in symptoms.”

“I’m working two major cases already, Chief,” Ella protested.

“Consider this your third one,” Big Ed shot back. “We’ll try to keep Justine out of this one, if possible, though.” He looked over at Justine, who nodded.

Ella
saw the determined look on his face and realized that no arguments, however logical, would be accepted. “I’ll go over to the hospital now.”

As they left Big Ed’s office, Justine remained quiet.

“What’s on your mind?” Ella asked.

“I’d like to do more background research on Raymond Nez,” Justine said.

“All right, but stay focused and work fast. Big Ed will be on our backs in a hurry if we don’t
crack these cases soon.”

*   *   *

Ella drove to the hospital. The chill spreading through her had nothing to do with the dry breeze that poured in through the window. She couldn’t shake the feeling that events were hurtling her toward an explosive confrontation, but against who or what? The Fierce Ones were no friends of hers, neither was The Brotherhood. Then there was the senator. Her enemies
were numerous and powerful.

Ella parked near the side of the hospital and walked in through the double doors. After asking directions, she found Dr. Natoni. To her surprise, two of the three medical teams assigned to the crisis had already left. Only one remained, having been organized at the last minute.

“How can I help you, Doctor?” Ella asked.

“I’m not sure you can,” Dr. Natoni said. “But
if you could persuade your brother to encourage families to come to the Chapter Houses, that would help.”

“I’ll tell him what’s going on, but it’s up to him to decide what kind of help, if any, he’s willing to give. Can the department help you somehow?”

“You can have units go out and spread the word about how dangerous the disease is if left untreated. Encourage everyone to come and be screened
for symptoms, and to get their shots. And have all your officers stop by here for immediate vaccinations.”

“Consider it done.”

“You might also want to catch Dr. Roanhorse before she leaves. She’ll be heading the last team. Share any insights you might have on the traditionalists with her. I’d be willing to bet it’s been a while since she dealt with any of them.”

“I’ll do that, but if you know
that about her why did you choose her to go out into the field?”

He exhaled softly. “We’re short of doctors and we need to keep our trauma team and some GPs here. What I’m counting on is that people further away from Shiprock won’t know anything about her duties as M.E.”

Ella went downstairs quickly. Carolyn placed the telephone receiver down and looked up as Ella came into her office.

“I don’t
have time to chat,” Carolyn said, “but I’ll vaccinate you now. Dr. Natoni told me to catch you before you leave. We’ve got the supplies already loaded into the medical van and we’ll be ready to roll in a few minutes.”

Ella looked at her friend then began to roll up her sleeve. As the only pathologist the tribe had, Carolyn’s workload had always been more than sufficient to keep her at the hospital
long hours. This extra duty was not going to make things easier for her. She only wished they’d heard something on the tissue samples that had gone to Santa Fe. Carolyn needed to be vindicated, and the sooner the better. “How on earth are you going to tackle this extra responsibility? There are only twenty-four hours in a day.”

“It wasn’t my idea. I haven’t practiced field medicine in years.
I was recruited.” She gave Ella a relatively painless injection, then lowered her voice. “If you want my opinion, I think the senator is behind this. There are other doctors who could have gone out into the outlying regions.”

“Why would the senator be involved? That doesn’t make any sense. He wants to prove you’re a liar, not make you seem indispensable.” Ella took the plastic bandage Carolyn
handed her and placed it over the puncture mark.

“It’s a strategy designed to overwork me. I’ll soon be exhausted and start making mistakes. Then he’ll either push for my resignation, or have me fired.”

Howard Lee came into the room. “We need more syringes, Doctor, but our supply is almost depleted.”

“Borrow some from any department in this hospital that has them. This emergency takes priority.”

Carolyn shifted her attention back to Ella. “I have another cross to bear. I’ve got to take Howard with me as part of my team, and that promises to be a real pain in the neck. I gave him a very poor grade on his lab work and he’s not at all happy. He’s getting his revenge by making me spell everything out when I give him a job to do.”

“Howard you can handle. But have you considered how to handle
the traditionalists you’re going to be dealing with? They don’t trust modern medicine.” Ella remembered to bring up Dr. Natoni’s concerns.

“There’s always someone who is suspicious of doctors and nurses, and our people are no different than them. I did my residency in Gallup, and got used to taking it slow with people. I found that a smile and a good simple explanation are your best allies in
dealing with skeptics. I’ll manage,” Carolyn assured her.

“So do you suppose going into the field will attract you to working in general practice again?” Ella asked.

Carolyn considered it, then shook her head. “I doubt it. I used to love dealing with patients one-to-one. But that’s no longer my job, and it’s not where I’m needed the most. I can’t go back to it so I don’t relish the thought of
reminding myself of things that might have been.” She picked up her medical bag. “Time for me to go.”