Coyote's Wife (25 page)

“Well said. But remember that the ones you’re dealing with are only a faction within the Fierce Ones, not the whole group.”

“I need names,” Ella said
quietly.

“I was told to pass some of the names on to you, but I’m not sure how much good this’ll do. It doesn’t prove anything.”

“Give me the names. I’ll figure out how to use the information.”

Clifford began writing names down on the pad she’d handed him. Disappointment washed over her as she looked over and read Arthur Brownhat’s name, then Delbert John. She knew these names already.

“This
second name is their new leader,” Clifford said.

Ella nodded.

He then wrote “Rudy Manus” and, pausing momentarily, glanced up at her. “I’ve met this man a few times, and there’s a lot of anger inside him. Do you remember
that huge fight about a year ago that ended up closing down Honkers, that bar just outside the reservation?”

“I heard about it,” Ella said. “One guy tossed the place. Took
four deputies to bring him down. That was Rudy?”

“Yes,” Clifford said. “So be careful around him.”

“Of course. We’ll pay him a visit, and I’ll keep your name out of it.”

“Here’s something else I think you should know,” Clifford said, handing her the list. “StarTalk has enemies among the Fierce Ones. Some of the older members, like many critics within our tribe, consider a move to provide everyone
with phone service a misdirection of energy and resources. But those older members, by and large, also think it’s beneath them to target StarTalk. They feel it would give the business too much extra attention.”

“And the younger ones?” Ella asked.

“I’ve been told that they insist on behaving more like a neighborhood gang than protectors of The Way. A reliable communications system would make
it harder for them to exercise their brand of intimidation. If police or other help can be called easily, those they target may have enough lead time to grab that rifle from the corner, or just avoid them. Reliable phone service is the last thing they want.”

“Will they target the tribal council leaders who are pro StarTalk and approved the contracts?” Ella asked.

“I don’t think so. They’re just
not that sophisticated in their thinking. But I would expect them to put pressure on the individuals who work for StarTalk.”

“It’s a little late to oppose StarTalk at this point, don’t you think—like shutting the barn doors after the horses have escaped?” Ella countered.

“They’re hoping that StarTalk will be unable to deliver on their promises and the tribe will back off,” Clifford said.

“If
that happens, the Fierce Ones will gain both prestige and power. From that point on, no one who opposed them would be safe from retaliation,” Ella observed somberly.

As they headed out, Justine glanced over at Ella. “You want to pay Rudy a visit?”

Ella nodded slowly, but before she could say anything, her cell phone rang. Ella recognized her mother’s strained voice instantly.

“I just received
a phone call from a woman who lives south of the airport, right by the highway,” Rose said, her voice breaking. “The school bus …”

Ella’s heart froze and for a moment she forgot to breathe. Her daughter had left on her field trip in a school bus. “Dawn’s bus? What’s going on?” Her words came out in a rush, fear winding through every syllable.

Rose sobbed and, for a moment, Ella was sure she
was going to be sick. “Mom! Talk to me!” she screamed.

“There was a terrible accident and children were hurt. The woman said she spoke to a little girl with your daughter’s name. She was bleeding and asked her to call us. My husband and I are going to find her.”

There was a thud, and Ella could hear confused voices, then nothing. Her mom must have just set the phone down and left.

Ella hung
up, but her hand remained around the phone. “Head for the airport turnoff,” Ella said. There was only one route Dawn’s bus traveled, the former Highway 666, and Ella knew every inch of the way. The tiny airport, just an airstrip really, was around seven miles south of the junction in downtown Shiprock. They’d be there in less than ten minutes.

“What’s happening?” Justine asked quickly. “You mentioned
Dawn? But today’s Saturday.”

In a voice that didn’t sound like her own, Ella filled her
in. Then, as if she’d been standing miles away, Ella heard Justine calling Dispatch and asking for details of the accident.

When Justine hung up she gave Ella a puzzled look. “There’s been no report of an accident involving a school bus—not anywhere. Dispatch even called the airport office. Nobody could see
anything wrong. From their vantage point, traffic on the highway west looked normal.”

“It may have just happened,” Ella said, terror coiling around her and squeezing the air from her lungs.

“An officer has been sent from the station to follow the route. But Ella, it’s all open country, more or less. If this is legit, somebody should have seen
something
.”

Although they were racing north along
the highway, sirens on and the speedometer tipping ninety, to Ella it felt as if they were standing still. Fear battled against the indefatigable hope that it was all a mistake and her daughter was fine.

A few minutes later, they could see the airport off to their right and Justine eased off on the gas. “Up ahead,” Justine said. “Isn’t that Dawn’s school bus parked at the bus stop? And that looks
like Herman’s green pickup.”

“Yeah, and that’s one of the normal stops,” Ella said, sitting bolt upright, peering ahead. “The bus looks fine to me.”

Less than two minutes later, the bus passed by them, the driver waving, and they parked behind Herman’s pickup. Rose was hugging Dawn as Ella rushed out of their tribal unit to join her family.

“Are you okay?” Ella asked her daughter, looking Dawn
over quickly but thoroughly.

“Sure, Mom. But why is everyone so excited, and how come Grandma and you decided to pick me up, like four stops early? It was just a field trip to the water place.” Dawn turned, looking back at Rose, who was almost in tears, hanging on tightly to Herman’s hand. “Is it a surprise?”

Ella couldn’t afford an answer. All she cared about at the moment was that her daughter
was okay. Tears of relief filled her eyes, and she hugged Dawn tightly again. As she looked up at Rose, Ella realized that her mother looked as if she were about to faint. Herman had his arm around her now, giving support.

Ella took her mother’s hand. “Are you okay, Mom?”

“Sure, I’m fine,” she said in a weak voice.

Ella continued to hold on to her as Justine came over. “I want to find out who
phoned the report in,” Ella said, biting off every syllable. Her fear had now turned to cold, calculated rage. “Whoever called used our home number to contact you, right?” Ella asked, looking at Rose. “Did she give her name?”

“Yes, but I didn’t recognize it, or the voice, a young woman’s. If this was someone’s idea of a joke, it was a very poor one.”

Dawn, catching on, looked at her mom, then
at her grandmother. “This wasn’t a fun surprise, was it?”

Ella shook her head. “No, kid, it was not. It’s an adult thing.”

Dawn waved down the road at one of her friends, who was walking home now, then took her grandmother’s hand. “Time to go home,
Shimasání
?”

Ella looked at Dawn. “Go with your grandmother and stay close. I’ve got a call to make first, but I won’t be far behind you.” Ella glanced
at Rose and saw her nod.

“May I have a moment, uncle?” Ella said to Herman, using a term of respect. As Rose and Dawn climbed into his pickup, he came over to join Ella.

“Be on guard when you get home, just in case this was all a diversion meant to get us out of the house for a while,” Ella warned, her voice low.

“I’ll handle it—me and my Winchester,” Herman replied,
canting his head slightly
toward the truck. His Winchester was on the gun rack behind the seat.

“Take care. I’ll be home soon.” Ella smiled, knowing the sturdy old man could be trusted with the lives of her family—just as when she’d placed her own life in his hands almost fifteen years ago.

As Justine and Ella walked toward their own vehicle, Ella’s lips were pursed into a thin, white line. “This wasn’t just a sick prank.
This was terrorism—the kind guaranteed to rip out any mother’s soul. One way or another, I’m going to find out who did this. Consider it a guarantee.”

Ella climbed into the unit, then used the radio as Justine turned around, heading back south. Big Ed soon came on the line. “Shorty, for the time being, Michael Cloud will be watching over your home. He and his brother Phillip will take turns round
the clock.”

“Good. That’ll be one load off my mind. Right now I’m on my way back to check my home and make sure this wasn’t just a diversion to lure us away.”

As Ella hung up, Justine looked over at her. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Justine asked at last.

“Yeah. I’m just really pissed off, and I’ve got way too much adrenaline in my system.” Ella grew quiet, then, after a moment, continued, her
voice somber. “If
anything
had happened to my kid, I would have turned my badge in and gone after whoever was responsible.” Seeing the surprised look on Justine’s face, she added, “I believe in the system, but if anything had happened to my child, all the rules would have gone right out the window.”

Justine said nothing for several long moments. “Don’t lose it now, cuz. They wanted to rattle
you. Think about it. On the Navajo Nation, family is everything. This was deliberately done to undermine you—maybe even to make you question where your loyalties really lie.”

Ella looked at Justine. “I’ve had a million theories in the past fifteen minutes, but none that make as much sense as what you just said.” She shook her head slowly. “I’ve been played by experts, partner.”

“Somebody with
children of their own, Ella. How else could they have known what it would do to you?”

“Yeah. It takes a woman to know a woman.”

They arrived at Ella’s home just a few minutes behind the others. While her family waited outside, Ella searched the place from top to bottom with Justine’s help, but they found nothing out of the ordinary.

While Justine answered a phone call, Ella took the time to explain as much as she could to Dawn and ask her to stay close to Rose the rest of the day.
Soon thereafter, Dawn took Rose and Herman to see Wind, and Ella smiled. Dawn’s cure-all was always her pony.

After assuring her family that they’d have police protection, Ella checked in with Michael via radio. He was now in position to keep watch over the house. Justine joined Ella back at the vehicle moments later and they soon were underway, traveling toward Shiprock again.

“Your mom was
starting to come around by the time we left,” Justine said. “I was really worried about her for a while.”

“Me, too. Mom looked terrible when we arrived at the bus stop. Receiving a shock like that isn’t good for anyone, but it’s particularly dangerous for someone her age. If I catch the person who did this, she’s going to be gumming
her food for weeks.” She glanced over. “Were you able to trace
the number?”

“Yeah, but it didn’t do much good. It came from one of those disposable phones,” Justine said. “Which figures, really. They’re virtually untraceable. I wonder …”

Ella knew Justine too well not to recognize that tone of voice. “What’s up? Does it have anything to do with that phone call you took while I was talking to my family?”

“Yeah. My mom received a call telling her that my
sister Jayne had been struck by a hit-and-run driver while crossing the parking lot at the Sunrise Court where she works. Supposedly, Jayne got rushed to the hospital, but Mom couldn’t get anyone at the hospital to confirm it. When she called Jayne’s cell phone, all she got was Jayne’s voice asking her to leave a message.”

“Have you called the hospital?”

“I did, right after Mom called me. They
don’t have a record of any hit-and-run victim, or any other patient with Jayne’s name. I think it’s a hoax like the one you received, but I’d still like to track Jayne down. She wasn’t at the motel, but that doesn’t mean anything because today she’s off.”

“What about Teeny?” Ella asked. “Did you think of checking at his place?”

“Why would she be there?” Justine asked, surprised.

“She’s been
seeing him—very seriously. Didn’t you know?”

Justine blinked. “I knew they had a couple of dates, but with Jayne that usually doesn’t mean much. Is it really serious?”

“From Teeny’s perspective, it is,” Ella answered. “At least that’s what he told me a few months ago.”

“Do you know Teeny’s number offhand?” Justine asked.

Ella dialed it, then handed the phone to Justine. Based on Justine’s
side of the conversation, Jayne had answered.

Justine spoke to her sister for a few minutes, then hung up. “Jayne never was in any trouble. In fact, according to her, there’s no safer place on the planet than where she is right now.”

“I agree with that,” Ella said, reminding Justine of the security setup at Teeny’s.

“You’re right. That place is on par with Fort Knox,” Justine agreed. “So what
do you think is going on?”