Earthway (15 page)

Blalock stacked the pages neatly and added them to what was already inside a file folder on his desk. “I’ve been working on this since you called, and here’s everything I managed to get on Rowley. He’s a real gem. From the sounds of it, I think he’s got a judge or two in his
pocket.”

“What about Dr. Lee’s gun purchase. Is it legal?” she asked.

“No background check was ever made. So
if
Jane Lee bought the handgun from Rowley’s Pawn Shop, it was done illegally,” Blalock replied. “But she could have purchased the gun from a private owner, or even at a gun show with Rowley as the middleman. No background check would have been done under those circumstances.”

“If that
pistol’s crossed Rowley’s workbench he might
at least be able to confirm its existence. What we need now is his cooperation,” Ella said.

“We won’t get it without leverage,” Blalock said, placing a photo of Dr. Lee in the file as well.

Ella skimmed the contents of the file. “There may be another way,” she said slowly. “Let’s go. I’ve got an idea,” she added, hurrying back to the SUV.

E
lla drove in silence as she firmed up an idea in her mind. Blalock knew her well enough not to interrupt, but she could feel his curiosity working overtime.

“Here’s what I was thinking,” she said at last. “I read in the file that Rowley’s dating a Navajo woman by the name of Wilma Pete. I know who she is, and maybe that’s a way for us to get what we want
without a major confrontation.” She drew in a quick breath, then continued. “When Wilma’s mother got sick, my mother and the other Plant Watchers took care of her. Wilma knows my family and, more importantly, she trusts us.”

“I almost forgot that everyone knows everyone else here on the Rez—they’re either part of the same outfit or clan, or friends of friends.”

“Not always, but it does work
that way a lot of the time,” Ella conceded.

“So we’ll be playing on your connection to his girlfriend when you talk to Rowley?”

Ella shook her head. “No, we’re going to pay Wilma a visit first and ask her to come with us. I know where she lives.
I dropped off my mother at her place several times. But the Petes are Traditionalists, so this may entail a wait.”

Blalock nodded, used to the way
things worked on the Rez, despite his occasional grumble of impatience.

Within fifteen minutes they arrived at the wood-frame house just west of Hogback, the local name for the enormous geological formation that ran north and south near the eastern edge of the Rez.
Tsétaak’á
Generating Station, named after that spine-like ridge, lay barely visible farther south and across the river.

Ella saw
smoke coming out of the ceremonial hogan in the back, and her brother’s pickup parked nearby, along with two others. “There’s a ceremony going on, but it’s probably not one of the Sings that take several days, or I would have heard something about it. I’m guessing it’s a blessing of some sort.”

“How long do you think we’ll have to wait?” Blalock asked, leaning back.

“No telling,” Ella answered,
rolling down the window and making herself comfortable. She could hear her brother’s monotone chant. The sameness of it was soothing.

Fifteen minutes later her brother came out of the hogan followed by Wilma Pete, who was holding the arm of an elderly Navajo woman.

“If the senior citizen is your brother’s patient, whatever he did must have worked. Did you see that huge smile on her face?”

“Even simple
hozonjis
, songs of blessing, can accomplish remarkable things,” she said, speaking from experience.

Wilma Pete stopped and, shielding her eyes from the sun, looked at the SUV, trying to make out who was inside. When Ella and Blalock stepped out so they could be seen, Wilma relaxed. Waving, she took her mother into the main house, then came back outside a few minutes later and gestured
an invitation to them.

Noting that her brother had returned to the hogan to gather his things, Ella walked inside the house to meet Wilma.

“It’s good to see you. Why don’t you visit for a spell, or do you need to see your brother?” Wilma asked, waving them to the couch.

“Actually, we came to talk to you,” Ella said.

Wilma looked at them curiously, and waited.

“We understand that you’re seeing
a man from Farmington, the one who owns the pawn shop,” Ella said, avoiding names.

She nodded. “You’ve probably heard some bad things about him, but he’s been good to me and my family,” she answered, avoiding looking directly at Ella out of respect. “It’s thanks to him that my mother was able to hire your brother to do a blessing.”

Ella waited, but Wilma didn’t elaborate. Silence stretched out.
Ella caught a glimpse of Blalock’s expression and knew that he was getting impatient. Anglos, even ones who had lived on the Rez as long as he had, usually found it hard to deal with the long stretches of silence which often marked conversations with Navajos.

“The police in Farmington are out to get him,” she added at last. “But the judges aren’t fooled. They always let him go.”

Ella allowed
another lengthy silence to pass before she finally spoke. “Have you heard about the tribal police officer who was badly hurt while disarming a bomb at the college?”

Wilma nodded somberly. “Everyone has.”

“We believe your friend has information that can help us find the person responsible, but I’ve heard he doesn’t like talking to police officers.”

“It’s because he doesn’t trust them. They’re
always trying to blame him for something.”

“This time it’s not about him. It’s about our friend, an officer here on the
Dinétah
.”

“Then I’ll speak to him for you,” she said after a pause. “If I do that maybe he’ll help you.”

“Will you come with us now?” Ella asked.

“Let me make sure my mother’s okay, then I need to pay your brother for the Sing. After that, I can go.”

“Thank you,” Ella said.

Less than five minutes later, with Wilma riding in the backseat, they set out for Farmington—the largest city close to the eastern border of the Navajo Nation. The only thing that disturbed the silence inside the SUV were radio transmissions that would occasionally come over the speaker.

“Jake’s a good man. You’ll see,” Wilma said softly. “People just don’t understand him.”

Ella and Blalock
exchanged a look, but neither said anything.

When they arrived at the pawn shop, which was a few streets south of Main, the paved lot beside the establishment was nearly empty. Only two cars were parked near the back door.

“He’s alone right now, except for his clerk,” Wilma said. “Let me go inside first and talk to him. I’ll call you when he’s ready to see you.”

Ella and Blalock watched her
go inside, but remained in the SUV. Blalock checked his watch. “This is Anglo territory. If she doesn’t come out in five minutes, I’m going in.”

“Agreed,” Ella replied, sorting through the file.

Wilma came out a short while later and waved at Ella. As Blalock approached, Wilma moved to block him from going inside. “He’ll see her, but not you, FB-Eyes,” she told Blalock.

“That’s too bad,” Blalock
said, refusing to step back. Seeing Ella shake her head, he smirked, and moved away from the threshold. “You sure, Investigator Clah?”

“Yeah, I’ve got this covered.”

Wilma nodded in approval. “I’ll wait out here, too,” she
said, looking in Blalock’s direction. “This has to be between them.”

When Ella stepped inside, she recognized Jake Rowley immediately, from his mug shot. If anything, the
man looked even less appealing in person. He had a narrow face and frame, with weasel-looking eyes that were too close together. His blue chambray Western shirt, bolo tie, and jeans were a cut above, but weren’t enough to salvage his appeal. Love was definitely blind, Ella concluded.

“Ella Clah,” he said, giving her the once-over as she stepped up to the counter. “You’re well known even in this
‘burg. I understand you need information—and maybe a favor,” Jake added. “I’ll be happy to help you—but there’s something I want in return.”

“Let’s hear it.” Ella braced herself and hoped that he knew she had no jurisdiction in Farmington. If what he wanted was to cut a deal with the police here, there wouldn’t be much she could do to help him.

“Wilma’s brother, Joe Pete, was busted for DWI
over by Window Rock. He’s awaiting a court date, but he’s been busted twice before for drinking and driving and he’s going down hard this time. If you intercede for him and ask the court for leniency, I’ll guarantee that he goes into the top substance abuse program on the Rez. I’ll even cover all the costs.”

She blinked in surprise. Knowing Jake’s reputation, she’d expected something entirely
different.

“He’s family,” he added by way of an explanation. “Or will be after Wilma and I tie the knot.”

Ella nodded slowly. “That’s out of my district, you know. But I’ll do everything I can for you.”

“Good. Now what do you need?”

Ella brought out the photo of Dr. Lee, which Blalock had placed in the file. “Do you know this woman, and have you had any dealings with her?”

Taking a quick
look, Jake nodded. “She’s a professor at the community college who’s having problems with a stalker,” he answered. “I sold her a rifle and a .38 revolver I owned personally. It was a private transaction away from my business and didn’t require all that background crap. The .38’s trigger was stiff, really hard to pull, so I offered to do some custom work for her at the shop if she wanted to bring it
in. She did and went away happy with the results.”

Ella knew the sale was dubious and she could probably create problems for him, but right now she needed information. “It would be kind of hard to fire a rifle
and
a pistol at the same time unless you’re Rambo. Just how dangerous is this stalker?”

He shrugged. “I advised her to get a shotgun instead, but she said that the rifle wasn’t for her,
that she was planning to give it to a friend. I got the impression that the rifle was more of a bribe—a gift to one of the professors or maybe a neighbor in exchange for backup if it became necessary.”

“She should have reported this stalker to a tribal officer. If she returns, will you give me a call?” Ella said, handing him her card. “And keep this conversation between the two of us.”

“What
conversation? Just remember our deal.”

“You’ve got it,” Ella answered.

As she walked back outside, she found herself envying Wilma. She’d found a man who loved her enough to put her and her family first. Not a bad deal, even if he looked like a weasel.

Ella thought of her own life. No one except God would ever occupy the number one slot in Ford’s life, but she was happy being number two. In
an odd way, considering her own life, it made for a more balanced relationship between them. Whoever needed her most—Rose, Dawn, or Ford—usually got top priority for however long was necessary.

Ella joined Blalock, who was leaning against the tribal SUV. “If you hadn’t come out when you did, I would have gone in after you,” he said flatly.

Wilma gave him an exasperated look, then glanced at
Ella. “Were you able to help each other?”

Ella suddenly realized that their quid-pro-quo arrangement had probably been Wilma’s idea and she’d persuaded Jake to play along.

“I’ll be asking the tribal court for leniency for your brother,” Ella replied, studying her expression.

Wilma nodded, satisfied. “I thought it was a good idea. Without balance, nothing really works. I’m going to stay here,
so I won’t need a ride. You can get back to your work.”

Wilma went back inside the shop, and Ella brought Blalock back up to date as they climbed into her vehicle. “Let’s go over to Teeny’s and see what they’ve got,” she suggested, turning on the engine.

Blalock nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

“I don’t know if they’ve made any progress breaking the code, but maybe they can tell us who else is
working for, or with, Dr. Lee. I’d also like to find out what she’s done with the weapons she bought. I didn’t spot them earlier, during the sneak-and-peek.”

“One step at a time,” Blalock said.

As they got underway, Ella glanced over at Blalock. “I sure miss the days when crimes were crimes, and terrorism was something that happened only in the Middle East.”

“Amen to that,” Blalock said. “Speaking
of terrorism, Ella, how much has the Saytak—uh, forgive my pronunciation—Hogback Generating Station’s security been told about the situation regarding Dr. Lee?”

“They have her photo on file, and were asked to keep her under surveillance if she tried to approach again. Security’s on high alert because of all the publicity leading up to the reactor’s installation.”

“I haven’t been there since
the combined briefing the week before their staff training began,” Blalock said. “Wanna stop by and see how they’ve implemented all their security plans?”

Ella looked at her watch. “Good idea.”

Ten minutes later, they were seated in a small guard house, inside the second line of razor wire fencing, with Captain Henderson, the on-duty head of security. Henderson was ex-military and Navajo, like
most of the protection detail, and armed with a handgun, Taser, and a submachine gun slung over his shoulder. Ella doubted that even military bases around the country had such a high level of security personnel and training.