Mourning Dove (23 page)

Unless he’d done it himself. It was possible the men had found themselves locked in a standoff, and one of them had started shooting. As a police officer, Samuel would have known the details of the
carjackings and could have manipulated the murder in a way that would mislead the investigation. But he probably hadn’t expected his brother to come in armed and ready to fight. Somebody had been shot in addition to Jimmy, too. It wasn’t Samuel, so if there had been a confrontation, someone else had been there as well.

“I can see it in your eyes,” Juanita said softly. “You’re thinking Samuel
might have killed his brother because of me, but that’s
not
what happened. If Samuel and Jimmy had met, there would have been busted noses and a black eye or two, but that’s about it. No guns, no knives, no sticks and stones, just fists and words. Deep down they loved each other. They were brothers.”

Ella didn’t comment. She knew brotherly love could go sour and turn into hate. Stories of it
abounded, dating all the way back to Cain and Abel. Times changed, but people did not.

As Ella drove back to the station, she reviewed what she’d learned, but the puzzle still refused to come together. What she needed most of all was evidence—hard facts that would point her conclusively in the right direction. The rest of Jimmy Blacksheep’s story might give her some direction, or even make sense
out of the part she had. But until she found it, she’d have to continue digging hard into Jimmy’s life—the last months of it, in particular.

The ringing cell phone interrupted her thoughts. Ella identified herself and heard Rose’s taut voice. “Can you come home?”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“Your daughter. She’s been suspended.”

“I’m sorry, Mom. Can you repeat that?” Ella asked, sure she’d heard
wrong.

“Your daughter punched another child in the nose.”

“Then she must have had a very good reason,” Ella said flatly. She knew her kid. Dawn wouldn’t have done something like that without being provoked. “I’ll be right there.”

Ella considered switching on the sirens but, because it wasn’t an official emergency, decided against it. She hurried home as quickly as the speed limit allowed.

When she stepped into the living room, Dawn and Rose were waiting. Kevin was around, too; she’d seen his pickup in the driveway. When he stepped into sight from the kitchen, she directed her first question at him.

“What—” she began.

“Mom, it wasn’t my fault!” Dawn interrupted and launched herself into Ella’s arms. “He kept pushing me!”

Ella hugged Dawn, then led her over to the couch. “Okay,
what’s up?” Ella asked, looking at Rose.

“Apparently she just started having a problem with a boy at school. He pushes her whenever the teachers aren’t looking. A real bully,” Rose said. “I didn’t tell you because I thought it had already been handled at school.”

“
Shimasání
, I told you he wouldn’t leave me alone, but you said not to worry about it. When you told my teacher, she talked to him.
But that just made him sneakier. Today he pushed me so hard I nearly fell. My books and notebooks were all over the hall. When I tried to pick them up, he pushed me again. That’s when I punched him in the nose and Mrs. Perkins came out.”

“Anytime anyone at school gives you a hard time, I want to hear about it. Understand?”

Dawn nodded.

“You shouldn’t have been suspended for defending yourself,”
Ella said flatly. “I’ll go talk to the principal.”

“I’ve already done that, explaining our daughter’s side of it,” Kevin said. “But the school has adopted a zero-tolerance policy on violence. When our daughter punched the boy, he fell back and
bumped his head on a locker. He’s all right, but the two-day suspension stands. The boy was suspended, too.”

Kevin motioned for Ella to come outside,
so they went out onto the front porch, alone. “What are you doing here?” she demanded. “How did you get involved in all of this?”

“Dawn’s principal tried to call you at the station, then she tried your mother. But neither one of you were available. I was her third choice, and her principal reached me immediately.”

“Why didn’t Dawn tell her to call me on my cell?” Ella asked, bringing out her
phone and then realizing that she’d shut it off at the hospital for a while to comply with their rules. “Never mind. It’s my fault.” Ella checked, but there were no messages. “So she didn’t?”

Kevin shook his head. “Dawn said she didn’t want to interrupt you at work. She’d heard about the dead soldier from other classmates, and knew you’d have the case. But it’s okay, I went down to the school
and handled it. So far, your mom has been here, ready to step in when you’re unreachable, but now that Rose is getting married, we’ll need to make some changes.”

“What do you mean,
changes
?” she countered.

“You can’t wish it away,” Kevin said quietly. “Face reality. Things are different now and Dawn needs a parent available full time. I’ve got my office at home. I handle the tribal legal affairs
from there. I’m on-call for trials, but we’re talking a few hours away at most, and my schedule is set days ahead, allowing for adjustments to be made.”

“What exactly are you saying?”

“I want you to consider granting me equal custody of Dawn. Half time.”

“That’s a bad idea,” Ella said flatly.

“Our daughter needs someone who’s
available
. I can give her that—and consistency. She needs a schedule
and a parent around when she’s at home.”

“You show up this one time, and all of a sudden
you’re
the responsible parent? Really, Kevin, what have you been smoking?”

“Ella, had Dawn been under
my
care, what happened today might have never occurred at all. I would have been at home to listen and offer help that might have kept things from escalating at school. Your mother can’t continue to do your
share of the parenting anymore. She’s not going to be around.”

“If you’re so convinced Dawn should be with
you
right now, why did you bring her home instead of to your office?”

“Well, I didn’t want to get you upset.”

“That worked out well, didn’t it? But there’s more, isn’t there, Kevin?” Ella saw the hesitation in his eyes.

“Yeah, well. I’ve got a lunch appointment in a while over at the
tribal offices. Dawn had to come here today.”

“But if it was
my
appointment, I’d be neglecting our daughter. Is that how it works?”

“We need to come to terms on stuff like this, Ella, before things get blown out of proportion. I’m serious.”

“So am I. Leave now.”

“This isn’t over,” he said, then strode off to his truck.

When Ella went back inside the house, Rose was the only one in the living
room. Sounds in the kitchen told her where Dawn had gone. “Mom, what happened today to bring all this on?” Ella whispered.

“I’d just come home from a Plant Watchers meeting when the phone rang. It was your child’s father. He was already at school and told me what had happened. So I asked him to bring her home—here. I instructed him to give the phone to the principal so I could make that clear.”

“Good!” Ella wondered how big of a fight Kevin would have started if he hadn’t had the meeting.

Rose sighed. “I think this incident will carry a price. I hadn’t realized until we talked about it awhile ago just how serious he
was about getting more time with your daughter. He’s a smart, powerful man and he
is
the father. That spells trouble.”

“He might be able to bring some pressure down, but
he can’t have her half the time. I’m not the only working mother in the world, and just because I wasn’t available today—”

“He didn’t tell you about the rest?”

Ella held her breath, then with great effort added, “Tell me what?”

“He’s been called in before on discipline issues. When she got into trouble for talking in class, she gave the teacher her father’s number and said they were supposed
to talk to him.”

Ella’s eyes narrowed. “The oldest kid trick in the book—choosing the parent who’s easier on them.” Without hesitation Ella stormed into the kitchen. Dawn was at the table, eating cookies.

“I understand that your father’s been called to school before because of your behavior. And you didn’t tell me. I want an explanation—now,” Ella demanded, her eyes blazing.

“Oh, that. My teacher
wanted to talk to
someone
right then, so I told her to talk to Daddy. I knew he would be at home, but you were working and
Shimasání
was on a day trip looking for plants. The teacher didn’t care.”

“And you didn’t remember to tell me?”

“It was just the one time, and I was already in trouble with Daddy. I didn’t want to be in trouble with you, too. I promised Daddy I wouldn’t do it again. I was
going to tell you . . . but then I forgot.”

“You
forgot
?”

“Mom, you got home late that night. It happens a lot of times! By then I was probably asleep!”

It might have been true, but it was obvious that Dawn was using it as a convenient excuse. Ella felt the familiar conflict hemming her in again. She had a job she loved and a child she adored, but there
were
times when a workday lasted twenty-four
hours or more.

“Do you think we’re too busy for you? Is that really the way you feel?” Ella asked, sitting down out of necessity, not choice.

“Sometimes . . . I guess.” Dawn shrugged, looked away, then absently took a sip of milk. “We still get to spend time together. It’s no big deal, Mom.”

But it was. She was about to answer Dawn, when her cell phone rang. “Hold that thought.” Ella took a
deep unsteady breath, changing from mother to police investigator in the blink of an eye, and answered.

Justine’s voice came through clearly. “The New Mexico State Police pulled over a pickup on the hot sheet—it was one that was carjacked a few weeks ago on the Rez up by Four Corners,” Justine said.

“Arrange for us to interview the driver.”

“Already done. They made the arrest south of Albuquerque
on the interstate, so they’re taking their prisoner and the vehicle there. We can meet them when we’re ready. But you’re going to have to come to the station first. We have someone from CID here waiting to talk to you.”

Ella knew the initials from her days in the Bureau. She’d been expecting someone from the Army’s Criminal Investigative Division to show up sooner or later. “Does he have any
information for us concerning the victim?”

“I couldn’t tell you. All I know is that he met with Big Ed first, then was told to wait for you.”

“Is Big Ed in now?”

“No, he had to attend a tribal meeting in Window Rock.”

“All right, I’ll be there as soon as possible—maybe twenty minutes.”

Ella hung up, and looked back at Dawn. “We’ll have to pick this up later. But I want you to think about
the decisions you’ve made, not telling me what’s going on at school, or about things that bother you. If you feel I’m not around enough, then we need to set aside time for us to talk each day. You have my telephone
number and, unless I’m involved in an emergency situation, you can speak to me at
any
time.”

“I know, Mom,” Dawn said softly. “It’s just easier to get Daddy. He’s at home more than
you now.”

The words stung. As a consulting attorney, Kevin could schedule his day far more easily than she could. “I’m only a phone call away, and you know that.” As she looked at her daughter’s face, she suddenly remembered what had occurred to her before she’d come into the kitchen. “Your father’s an easier touch, isn’t he? Lets you get away with things.”

Dawn winced, then added, “Well, he
doesn’t always get as mad as you do.”

“We
will
talk later,” Ella said, knowing she was going to have to deal with being manipulated by not only Kevin, but by her own daughter.

One glance at Rose’s face as she came into the kitchen told Ella that her mom understood precisely what was going on. As Ella walked outside to her SUV, Rose accompanied her.

“Her father’s laying down bribes and using
strategies that play on her emotions, but he doesn’t realize she’s way ahead of him.”

“You and I both know my daughter is playing him, Mom. Taking advantage because he’s soft on her. But even if I told him that, he’d never see it. Not yet, anyway, because he
hasn’t
been a full-time father.”

“He wants her to love him, so he forgives her bad behavior too easily. All reward and no punishment or
rules. He also buys her anything she wants, because it’s easier to win her over with bribes than tough love,” Rose said quietly.

“I can’t allow this to become a tug-of-war between him and me, with my daughter in the middle. If it does, we’ll all lose.” She thought of what she’d said, calling Dawn “her” daughter, not “our” daughter. But that’s the way it was on the Navajo Nation. Children were
considered the property of their mother. Unfortunately, Kevin
was a lawyer, and he knew the Navajo Nation was part of a larger nation, one where Anglo law ruled.

“You need to sit down and talk to him. And you might also remind him that although I’ll be living with
Bizaadii
once I’m married, I won’t be more than fifteen minutes away,” Rose said.

Ella’s gut tightened. Part of her felt like screaming
“Mommy!” and running into her mother’s arms. But the adult inside assured her that the time had come for all of them to carve out new paths. Kevin had been right about the need for changes.

“You and he will have to come to terms with the fact that neither one of you can be there for your daughter
all
the time. If you could work something out . . .”

“Mom, my daughter’s father is a tough lawyer.
He’s used to manipulating situations and people. I’ve got to watch my step around him,” Ella replied, slipping behind the wheel and putting the key in the ignition, then fastening her seat belt.

“If you take no action, you’ll remain at a standstill, and your daughter will continue to play you against each other.” Not giving Ella a chance to respond, Rose turned and went back into the house.