Coyote's Wife (31 page)

“The Fierce Ones go after specific targets, make
it very clear why they’re taking action, and leave little doubt what they expect the results to be. The attacks you and your team experienced—not unlike those directed against Ervin
Benally—are like buckshot scattering everywhere and hitting nothing in particular. Those tactics don’t fit the Fierce Ones. Even the flattening of my tires on that field trip in the mountains—that wasn’t like them
at all.”

Knowing that he’d been a cryptographer for the government, Ella wasn’t surprised Ford could analyze things so clearly and effortlessly.

“What’s knotting you up inside is not just that they’ve harassed me and your team, it’s that they endangered Dawn,” he added. “You’re not out solely for justice now. Whether or not you admit it, deep down, you want revenge.”

He was right again, but
she didn’t feel like admitting that out loud. No sense in giving that negative emotion even more power by voicing it.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You’ve reminded me of one of the old Navajo stories my mom taught me.” She paused thoughtfully then continued. “When Young Man went up against Gambler, he knew he’d need to do whatever he could to break Gambler’s game and shatter
his confidence. That was his only chance of success.” Ella stared at the coffee mug, then looked up. “Whoever it was knew how I was bound to react, and deliberately targeted my daughter to try and keep me from focusing.”

“That’s what I think, too,” he said. “You have an enemy who’s not as up front about it as the Fierce Ones.”

“At one point Justine suggested that the person behind all of this
might be a woman because of the apparent psychology involved. I’m beginning to think she’s right. The Fierce Ones have been involved at least peripherally, but I suspect they’re being manipulated, too. They’re being swept up into the events to muddy the water even more.”

She paused, then looked up at Ford. “You better start
watching your back. People know that we’re friends. That incident with
your tires could be just the beginning.”

He leaned back and regarded her thoughtfully. “Start looking for a different kind of enemy—one who likes mind games. That’s what you’re up against.”

“Agreed.” Ella petted Abednego absently, aware of how quiet Ford’s home always was. The silence almost resonated with a life of its own. She didn’t know how he could stand it. “You’re in a very public profession,
but you’re also a bit of a recluse. Are you aware of that, Reverend?”

He laughed out loud. “After working as a preacher all day, I need my downtime. In the quiet …” he started to say something, then shook his head.

“You what? Finish it,” she encouraged.

“It’s only in the quiet that the soul hears God,” he answered. “It’s part of my religious beliefs.”

“When I was living in the city, a lifetime
ago, I valued the silence—it was so rare. Now I look forward to the sounds of family around me. I thrive on it, in fact,” Ella said, standing up. “It’s time for me to get back to work. Thanks for giving me your slant on things,” she said, silently acknowledging more than one meaning in her words.

“Glad I was able to help,” he said, walking her to the door. “Come back soon. I miss our talks.”

As Ella left and headed toward Shiprock she called Blalock. “I’m heading your way. You ready to roll?”

“I have one more thing to handle here. How about I meet you at the station at noon?”

“Done.”

Ella drove through Shiprock and continued toward home, glad for a chance to spend a little more time with her kid. Before she’d given birth, she’d never really known just how deeply she could love.
Nothing had ever touched her
heart the way Dawn had. In her child, Ella saw glimpses of the hope and promise the future held.

After spending time around the horses with Dawn, Ella returned to the kitchen. She was reaching for the teapot when her cell phone rang. It was Justine.

“Blalock asked me to verify Franklin Etcitty’s whereabouts for you. He said you’d want to question him within the next
hour or so.”

“That’s right. Did you find him?”

“Yes. I made a few calls and found out that the school’s gym was rented out to a local basketball league today. Franklin had to be there with his keys no later than eight to open up, and after the games he’ll clean and lock up. The other school custodian doesn’t work on Sundays.”

“Good job, partner. If Blalock shows up at the station before I do,
update him and tell him I’m on my way.”

Ella arrived at the station twenty minutes later. Blalock was in the hallway by the vending machines, a bag of shoestring potatoes in his hand.

“Ugh, don’t tell me that’s lunch,” Ella said.

“Trans fats are a basic food group. What did you have, Ms. Nutrition?”

Ella smiled sheepishly. “Coffee, cookies, and tea.”

“Then I’ll share my ’strings,” he said.

Justine stepped out of her office holding two small plastic bowls with lids. “Here. This tastes better than those grease sticks,” she said.

Ella peered inside one and discovered some corn stew. The Navajo recipe called for mutton and hard roasted corn kennels, a variety different from sweet corn but loaded with flavor. “You sure?”

“Yeah. My mom brought a big batch over to my house last night.
Consider me fully carbo loaded.”

Ella laughed. After a quick lunch, Blalock, Ella, and Justine left the station in Blalock’s sedan. Ella shared Ford’s theory with them, then continued. “I think the reverend’s on the right track, but I’ve got no end of enemies. I don’t even know where to begin.”

“Let’s take this one step at a time,” Blalock said. “We’ll start by talking to Franklin Etcitty. Maybe
we’ll get something if we push hard enough.”

Ella nodded. “All right. Sounds like a good plan.”

“Did you lift any prints off that hydrometer we found in the Benally garage?” Blalock asked Justine, who was sitting in the back seat.

“Just smudges, nothing usable. But there were traces of brake fluid on the outside of the tube, up by the bulb,” Justine said.

“Could be that’s the same device used
to draw the brake fluid out of the reservoir of Ervin’s Dodge pickup,” Ella said.

“Now we have another piece of the puzzle,” Blalock said.

When they arrived at Dawn’s school, the parking lot around the gym was nearly full. Looking through the double doors that had been propped open, she could see people in gym shorts and t-shirts running back and forth. A game was underway.

After asking around
for Franklin, they left the gym and headed to the back of the building. As they came around the corner, Ella caught a glimpse of a man crouched by the cab of an older-model pickup. A big red plastic gas container was on the ground, and a hose led from it to the gasoline tank outlet.

“I bet that’s him—Franklin Atcitty,” Ella said, seeing he was wearing the school custodian’s green uniform shirt.
“Somebody must have run out of gas.”

“Out of gas, hell, Ella. The guy is siphoning gas, not adding it,” Blalock replied after a beat.

Just then the custodian looked up and saw them.

“Police officers, Mr. Etcitty. We need to talk to you,” Ella called out, picking up the pace and continuing toward him.

Etcitty yanked out the hose and tried to run away with the cumbersome gas container still
in his hand. After a dozen yards he gave up and dropped it, gas sloshing onto the pavement, and picked up speed. He sprinted across a field of weeds toward a narrow paved road. Beyond were thick brush and the cottonwood trees of the bosque, then the river.

“Get him, Clah,” Blalock said. “I’ll go for the car.”

Ella glanced at Justine. “Find his pickup and make sure he doesn’t circle back to it.”

Ella knew the area Etcitty was heading into almost by heart. When she’d gone to school here, centuries ago, the track team had trained by running along the sandy earth that lined the banks of the San Juan River. Little had changed since.

Ella paced herself as she entered the bosque, her strides long and steady. Once the brush thickened, it became harder to maintain visual contact. A short time
later, she lost sight of the custodian. Ella slowed down and listened. He couldn’t have run out on her. It would have taken someone in remarkable shape to cover this stretch of ground that rapidly.

Standing perfectly still, she soon heard the sounds of labored breathing coming from a thicket ahead. She also caught a whiff of gasoline fumes, the result of what he’d spilled on his clothes. “Franklin,
give it up, buddy. You can’t outrun me.” She reached into the tall stand of basket willows and pulled him out by the collar.

“Okay, okay, jeez!” he muttered.

“You’re under arrest,” Ella said, reciting his rights. As she placed the cuffs on his wrists she noticed he was wearing
one of the signature leather bands that identified him as a member of the Fierce Ones.

Ella was leading him down the
road that paralleled the bosque when Blalock pulled up in his sedan. She helped Etcitty into the backseat, then stood by the open door, blocking any escape.

“Look, you’ve already made your point, so how about letting me go? It’ll be more trouble and paperwork for you to book me on this little misdemeanor than it’s worth,” he said. “You and I both know it.”

“There’s more than your job and a fine
at stake here. You’re in a lot more trouble than you realize,” Ella said.

“Over a little gas worth what, fifteen bucks?” He gave her an incredulous stare.

“You weren’t just refusing to obey a police officer and resisting arrest. You were stealing from the
Diné.
The Fierce Ones won’t let that go unpunished. I know for a fact that they come down hard on their own, especially when you do something
that damages their integrity. When the news reaches Jimmy Levaldo or Delbert John, you’re in for a major beating, or worse,” Ella said. “You’re going to be a lot safer in a jail cell.”

Franklin said nothing for several moments. “Okay, you may have a point there. So, make me a deal. What do you need to make this go away?”

“Information. Who’s making a move against StarTalk and why?”

“It’s not
the Fierce Ones, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“What about you and your uncle? I know he believes satellites can keep him from having his visions.”

“He doesn’t believe that, not really. So don’t waste your time trying to pin this on either of us. We’re not behind it.”

“If your uncle’s not threatened by StarTalk, then what’s going on?” Ella demanded.

He paused for a long time.

“Shall we
go to the station?” Ella said, reminding him.

He answered her then. “There’s no love lost between my uncle and Abigail Yellowhair. Mrs. Yellowhair pressured the tribe into taking over a patch of good grazing land my father used for his sheep, so she and her son-in-law could put up that big StarTalk warehouse there. They claimed it was for the economic good of the tribe. But you know that’s just
bull.”

“And that’s Ervin Benally’s fault, how?” Ella asked.

“My uncle believes that Ervin’s just a front man for Abigail Yellowhair. He’s working against StarTalk because he wants her to lose something she cares about—her investment—just like he lost his grazing rights. At least that’s my guess,” he added with a shrug.

“You need to convince him to stop defacing posters. He can say whatever
he wants, that’s his right. But he’s got to cool it with the other stuff. Can you do that?”

“I’ll try. But in exchange, you can’t tell anyone I was siphoning gas. And you can’t arrest me, either.”

“Deal—providing you tell me one more thing. Am I being targeted by the Fierce Ones?” She brought out the key to the handcuffs, but held off unlocking them.

“You’re not on our list of friends, but
we’re not after you. You wouldn’t have to ask if we were—you’d know. But—” He suddenly stopped speaking and sat back in the seat, gazing up at the roof.

“Go on,” she urged. “I want the rest of the story. Cooperate, or our deal’s off.” She let him see her putting the key back into her pocket.

“Okay, but you didn’t get this from me. The Fierce Ones are thinking of taking credit for the things
that have been happening. It’s another way of letting The People think we’re the ones in control.”

“One last thing,” Ella said. “Has your uncle been making crank calls to my people?”

He gave her an incredulous look. “You’re not serious. He hasn’t used a telephone since he became a crystal gazer—before I was even born.”

Ella stepped back, letting Franklin climb out of the car. He walked across
the road, then broke into a jog, heading directly toward the school.

“Remember that Justine went to find Etcitty’s vehicle so he couldn’t sneak back to it,” Blalock said. “You’d better give her a call before she confronts him on school grounds.”

As she climbed into Blalock’s car, Ella called Justine and updated her, then slipped the phone into her shirt pocket.

“You played it well with Franklin,”
Blalock said, “but we just lost another lead.”

As they drove around to the campus to pick up Justine, Ella reviewed things in her mind, but instead of answers, all she came up with were more questions.

“By the way, Big Ed mentioned that he was having an office problem you needed to update me on as soon as possible,” Blalock said. “It came out of the blue as he was headed out the door, so I don’t
have any idea what he was taking about. Do you?”

Ella nodded and told Blalock about the leak Big Ed suspected was coming from inside their department. “Make sure you don’t discuss anything sensitive inside the building, not until he gives us the all clear.”

Blalock shook his head. “Weirder and weirder. This must really be getting under Big Ed’s skin.”

“Yeah, but he’s handling it. He’s got a
plan underway to catch whoever it is. We’ll know soon enough.”