Earthway (39 page)

“If I ask for it, it’d be even worse,” Blalock answered.

Ella weighed her options, and, as a new thought occurred to her, smiled. “Emily. She can get one without raising questions. She’s in his department.”

“It’s around four in the morning,” Blalock reminded.

“Let me call her cell. It’s always on.”

Ella called Emily and learned that she’d been called in to work the graveyard shift. “I need a favor,” Ella said, and explained. “Even voice mail’s fine. Can you help?”

“Yeah, I think so. I’ll get back to you shortly.”

They fixed strong coffee, knowing that they’d all be pulling an all-nighter. Jane Lee took some, but from what Ella could see, she was wide awake already. Unable to sit still,
Jane was pacing around the room when Emily called back.

“I’ve got something,” Emily told Ella. “Should I play it over the phone or bring it to you? It’s just the message on his machine at home, and the one on his cell, but it’s his voice and it’s clear.”

“For quality purposes, I’d rather you bring it,” Ella said. “Can you get away?”

“I’ll have someone finish out my shift. I’ll say I’m not feeling
well.”

Ella gave her directions. “Let me know if there’s a problem.”

While they waited, Ella and Blalock questioned Jane and got the remaining code words the group had used, along with their security procedures. Jane also confessed to having bought weapons and ammunition which she’d then leave at a specific drop site in the bosque for the others.

Once it was clear that the professor had told
them all she knew, Blalock took Ella aside. “We need to anticipate
‘ak’is
and Baker’s next move.”

“I’ve been thinking about that myself. My guess is that Dr. Lee was a patsy—their source of money—and they never told her their real plans. Their next move, if they intend to do more than generate bad publicity, will be to interfere
with the delivery of the reactor vessel. That’s scheduled to be
trucked in two days. Since the public already knows where it’s coming from, the likely route is easy to surmise. A sniper attack or assault against the transfer vehicle seems the most likely method of attack.”

“You’ve got a man on Baker so we’ve got a good chance of stopping them,” Blalock said.

Ella checked in with Phillip Cloud next. “You’ve still got a fix on Baker, right?”

There was a pause.
“He hasn’t left the motel room for hours. I’ve been watching the front, but I can take a walk around the building, just in case. The bathroom windows look too small to climb out, so I haven’t been checking regularly in the back.”

“Go ahead, then call me ASAP.” Ella hung up, then waited.

Five minutes later, she got the bad news she’d feared.

“Ella, he’s not in his room. I walked by and looked
through the front window. The bed was torn apart, so that immediately caught my attention. Then I noticed that there was an open passage door—you know, for families renting adjacent rooms. Baker must have kicked it open and, while I was watching one room, left through another.”

“Crap. Any idea how long ago that was?”

“A big, heavy woman left that room about two hours ago, heading toward the
Totah Café. That must have been Baker in disguise. From what I can tell, he used sheets, blankets, and stuff in the rooms to fashion a scarf, shawl, and a wraparound dress. I blew it, Ella.”

“See if you can track him from the Totah,” Ella said. “Maybe he met someone there or stole a vehicle.”

Blalock cursed when Ella told him. “We’ve been outplayed again.”

“No, not yet,” she answered, seeing
Emily Marquez’s county vehicle arrive. “I’ll be back in a minute,” she said.

Ella met Emily at the door, and they stepped out where it was dark to talk. “I’m glad you were able to get away.”

“I got lucky. Two deputies were returned to patrol after their stakeout assignment was cancelled, so the manpower problem went away. So here I am,” Emily answered.

“If we get a positive ID on the voice,
will you stay with our informant? She needs protection right now. We’ll send backup, so you won’t be alone for long.”

“Sure, not a problem.”

“You’ve helped our department considerably, Em. If there’s ever anything we can do for you . . .”

“Don’t mention it. And I mean that, Ella.
Don’t
mention it. I’ve played fast and loose with the rules, and Sheriff Taylor would nail my hide to the wall if
he found out I hadn’t gone through channels.”

Ella chuckled softly. “You’ve got it. But we still owe you one.”

A
s Ella played the recording to Jane Lee, the professor closed her eyes and listened to the voice. After several long moments, she finally nodded. “That’s him.”

Ella turned the recording off. “All right. We’re going to keep you here under guard. The person you’ve been dealing with is in law enforcement, and we have to make sure you remain out of his
reach. Officer Marquez will stay with you, and backup will be arriving soon.”

Ella moved to a corner of the room with Blalock. “We need to figure out where and when Whitefeather intends to strike.”

“My guess is that Baker had someone, another player we still haven’t identified, pick him up somewhere in Shiprock. What we need now is someone with experience tracking a fugitive on Navajo turf.
One thing working for us is that Anglos should be easier to find—considering there aren’t that many living here,” Blalock said.

“Bruce isn’t the man for our hunt because we need him elsewhere, but he might know of someone. . . .” Ella called Teeny, then after explaining what she needed, added, “Can you recommend anyone?”

“Melvin Bidtah,” he answered. “He used to be a Federal Marshal. Melvin’s
a real bloodhound when it comes to jobs like this.”

“I remember Melvin. He got tired of all the travel and retired.”

“He works for me occasionally. Fewer rules, more money.”

“I can see how that would tempt him,” Ella said, remembering that she, too, now had the option to move on to greener pastures.

The drive back out of the mountains to Ella’s home took about forty minutes. The air was
clear and bright with stars and an occasional meteor flashed across the sky.

Eventually Blalock came to a stop in Ella’s driveway. “Try to get some rest, Ella. Some is better than none, if you intend to think clearly.”

Ella nodded, and slowly walked into the house. Undressing quickly, she lay down on her bed and within seconds was fast asleep.

Three hours later, as her watch alarm went off,
Ella groaned and opened her eyes. Rose was standing at the door.

“You work too hard, daughter,” she said. “It’s Saturday. You need a day off.”

Ella wasn’t about to deny it. Moving slowly, and reluctantly, she got to her feet. “I’ve got to get back to the station.”

Rose nodded. “First there’s something I wanted to tell you. Your brother and I have been asking about that man you were trying to
find out more about.”

Ella knew Rose meant Henderson Whitefeather. “What have you got for me?”

Rose motioned with her head toward the kitchen. “Your brother’s here right now. He’ll tell you what you need to know. I’ve put on a pot of coffee for both of you, but I have to get going.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked, accurately reading her mother’s worried frown.

“It’s my husband. We had a long talk
yesterday and I found out that he went to see a doctor because he was having chest pains. He didn’t mention it to me because he didn’t want me to worry until he knew more. The doctor has now told him that it wasn’t a heart attack, it’s something called angina, but his blood pressure and cholesterol are too high. The doctor wants to see him again today so we’re both going this time.”

“High blood
pressure and high cholesterol can be treated, Mom. Try not to worry too much.”

Rose nodded absently. “I know. I just wish he’d told me what was going on from the beginning instead of waiting.”

The hitch of helplessness in her mother’s voice revealed more than her words did. “And now that you know there are things he’ll keep from you, you’ll always worry.”

“Yes,” she said softly.

“Talk to him,
Mother.”

“It won’t do any good. That’s the way my husband is. When something scares him, he won’t voice it, because then it has even more power.”

Ella nodded slowly, realizing that was part of the Navajo way, and there were some things that would never change.

“For now, I’ll just be happy that we’re dealing with something that can be fixed.” Hearing Herman calling, Rose hurried out the bedroom
door.

Ella walked into the kitchen moments later and found her brother wolfing down a breakfast burrito.

“Mom made one for you, too. And there’s plenty of coffee,” he said. “Take time to eat, sister.”

“Good advice. I’m starving,” she said, sitting across from him.

“The deputy you’re looking for is engaged.” Clifford slipped her a piece of paper. “The top name is his woman’s, the bottom belongs
to her brother who lives with her. The
deputy can usually be found at her house. I’ve drawn a map to the woman’s place on the back.”

The brother’s name, Chester Tso, sounded familiar to her, but she couldn’t place it. The woman’s name she recognized immediately. Ella cursed herself for not having discovered the connection sooner. Mona Tso, Dr. Lee’s teaching assistant, was Whitefeather’s fiancée.
She’d been in the ideal position all along to keep a tight watch on Jane for her boyfriend. He’d probably been the man Marianna had seen sneaking into the classroom that day, to be with Mona. He’d been on campus, out of uniform, the day Jane had met a man in the cafeteria. “Thanks very much for this.”

Grabbing the burrito off the table, Ella ran out to her pickup and drove east toward the highway.
The tribal SUV she’d been assigned after her original had been shot up would be waiting for her at the station.

Once she was on her way, Ella called Justine on her cell phone. “I need everything you can get me on Mona and Chester Tso. I also need you to get an officer to watch their place,” she added, giving Justine the address. “There’s a chance Whitefeather’s there. Mona’s his girlfriend.”

“Got it.”

Justine met her at the side door fifteen minutes later, as Ella walked in. The look on her partner’s face told her that Justine had hit paydirt.

“Chester Tso does plumbing and electrical maintenance on tribal buildings—including the community college,” she said.

Now
Ella remembered where she’d met him. “He was there after the bombing. He said he was checking the electrical connections
and light fixtures, but I’ll bet he was trying to figure out how much damage the bomb had done.”

“He’s got a clear motive, too,” Justine said. “Turns out Tso’s father was a uranium miner who died of radiation
poisoning. Their mother died six months later of unrelated causes. Chester raised Mona, and though they’ve kept away from any public protests, they’re very opposed to the Hogback plant.
They believe that the tribe’s repeating the past, and other families will have to go through what they did.”

“Who’s your source?” Ella asked.

“One of our officers dated Mona Tso when she was in high school. He’s the one who filled me in on her background.”

“That’s good intel. Now we have to find Whitefeather. Any sightings?”

“None. Whitefeather’s not at home, nor is he at work. He called in
sick. We’ll have officers watching the Tso residence soon. Right now both Mona and Chester are at the community college, working.”

Big Ed came out into the hall. “Shorty, my office.”

Ella started down the hall, then stopped and turned to her partner. “Justine, get me a list of all upcoming ceremonies related to the installation of the reactor vessel and the opening of the plant.”

Ella joined
the chief in his office, sat down at his invitation, then proceeded to make her report.

Big Ed listened. “Time’s the enemy now, and it looks like they’ve gone to ground. Do you think you can get a bead on Whitefeather?”

“Either he or Baker will surface soon. They’ve gone this far, and experience tells me that they won’t cut and run until they finish what they set out to do.”

Justine came back
into the office and gave them each a copy of the schedule she’d printed out.

Big Ed glanced at the sheet, then back at Ella. “I’ll send plant security what we have on our suspects, and contact the officials in charge of the reactor vessel delivery. But there’s an army of security covering these events—not only private, but state, county, and tribal officers. I can’t see them targeting any of
these.”

“Convoy security should be checking for potential bombs at every bridge and possible bottleneck, and be on guard for a sniper attack.”

“Those truckers have DOE training, satellite communications systems, and a couple of carloads of heavily armed security,” Big Ed said. “Attacking them is practically suicidal. With the protection that’s in place it’s going to be nearly impossible for
anyone to stop the opening of the plant.”

“I know,” Ella admitted, “and that’s what bothers me about this. Whitefeather would know that, too. To stake months of planning on the hope that they’ll penetrate those kinds of defenses . . . and with what? Less than a half-dozen people with dubious training? We’re missing something, Chief.”