Changing Woman (34 page)

Ella heard Dawn laughing in the other room, and for one brief moment wished she could have been a full-time Mom. The quality time she could spend with Dawn was always at a premium.

Ella shook free of the thought, knowing it would lead nowhere. She had other duties, and it was time for her to get to work. After washing out her bowl, she said good-bye
to Rose, then stopped to give Dawn one last long hug before leaving. Unlike most children, Dawn never made a fuss when she was left. Even at this early age she was independent. Then again, having Rose with her at home had always helped, too. Dawn had never
had to feel that she was all alone in the company of strangers.

Ella watched Dawn for a moment longer, then putting on her jacket and bullet-resistant
vest, hurried out to her unit. It was in the single digits this morning and she shivered while scraping the frost off her windows.

At least when she got inside the Jeep, the heater was blowing warm air instead of cold. Ella had just turned onto the highway when she saw a large, four-wheel-drive pickup truck coming up from behind her, flashing its lights. Ella didn’t recognize the vehicle, but
she slowed down and pulled to one side of the road.

Unsnapping the strap of her holster, she glanced in the rearview mirror, trying to see who the driver was. The man pulled in behind her and, as he got out, she saw it was Harry.

“Sorry to come unannounced,” he told her, slipping inside the passenger’s seat of her unit. “I had to rent a bigger truck so I could get in and out of certain areas
of the Rez.”

Ella smiled. “Motor pool sedans and two-wheel-drive units aren’t much good out here off road, are they?”

He laughed. “That’s putting it diplomatically.” “What’s up?”

“I’ve been trying to get a handle on Manyfarms, following up on every lead, but he’s managed to drop out of sight. I was wondering if you’d heard anything.”

“All I know right now is that it’s possible Manyfarms has
associated himself with a progambling faction that’s been playing hardball and leaning on the Tribal Council,” Ella confided.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about the sniper incident, and something occurred to me. Have you checked out George Branch, that local talk radio guy? He has an extensive gun collection, if memory serves me right.”

“I know, but he lives outside my jurisdiction. I considered
stopping by and talking to him the other day, but I changed my mind at the last minute.” She remembered
losing Coyote and the men he was with near Branch’s home. “Branch needs careful handling. The last thing I need is for him to launch another the-cops-are-corrupt campaign on his radio talk show.”

“Ella—” Harry started to add something, then changed his mind.

“What? You don’t have to hold back
with me,” Ella said. “If you have something on your mind, just say it.”

“Just watch your back. Something feels wrong about this case. Call it cop instinct.”

“I know what you mean,” Ella said slowly. “Watch your own back as well. I received a tip that something big is about to go down, possibly an act of sabotage.”

“I overhear a lot of conversations here and there on the Rez,” Harry said. “If
I get anything you can use, I’ll pass it along.”

“I’ve got to tell you, Harry, I sure wouldn’t like your job very much,” she said. “You should be working with a partner on a case this dangerous.”

“I usually do, but on the Rez anyone but an Indian would stick out too much. That’s why I insisted on having a certain amount of time to work the case on my own.”

“That was probably not such a terrific
idea.”

Harry shrugged. “I have another two weeks to show concrete results. After that, more deputies will come.”

“More feds here?” Ella suppressed a groan. “Things are very tense of the Rez right now, Harry. Make sure they understand that.”

“I’ll try, but although they’ll hear the words, the message won’t carry that much impact. Outsiders seldom understand the subtleties of dealing with the
People.”

As Harry returned to his pickup, Ella’s cell phone rang. It was Kevin.

“I need to talk to you. Can you meet me someplace for coffee?” Kevin asked. Ella waved as Harry drove off ahead of her.

“Sure, I think I can swing that. How about the Totah Café?”

“Good enough.”

Ella arrived first, and sat at her favorite table in the corner. To her left were the mountains in the distance, fully
bathed in sunlight. They were like old friends now, steady and sure.

Kevin approached and joined her a short time later.

“Coffee,” he said, signaling the waitress.

“So what did you need to see me about?”

“I heard about the interview your mother gave the news station, and somebody sent me a tape of the network version. It was more than sound bites, which was what I’d expected, but she’s really
going out on a limb.”

Ella looked directly at him. “My mom does and says what she pleases, Kevin. You should know that by now.”

“You know what’s really strange? I think she and I are going to find ourselves on the same side.” He paused, then with a grin added, “She’ll think the world has ended for sure.”

“So you
have
decided,” Ella said, intrigued. “But what about the threats?”

“I’ll hire
a bodyguard if I have to, but I don’t think it’ll come to that. I’ve come up with a compromise that should appease both sides.”

“Be careful, Kevin. Sometimes compromises only double the number of enemies a politician has.”

“The need for money and jobs is at an all-time high, Ella, and this requires some big decisions and action from the tribal leaders. I’ve tried several times to get a majority
of the council to agree on a referendum, but I realize now that I’m not going to get the votes I need. What I intend to do instead is try passing a limited proposal approving gambling, but only at a test casino in To’hajiilee. That’s close to Albuquerque and a large metropolitan area, so a casino there has a greater chance of succeeding. And, more importantly, many of the people living in To’hajiilee
are really pushing for a casino.

“I’ll also argue in favor of setting up slot machines at shops across the Rez,” he continued. “Then we can give the entire program a trial period—say, three years. At the end of that time, we’ll review where things stand, then either renew the bill or let it die.”

Ella nodded slowly. “That’s not bad. I particularly like the fact that it’s all on a trial basis.”

“We’d also work to keep the overhead down so we can maximize profits. The casino we set up in To’hajiilee can be a remodeled building rather than a brand-new facility, too. I’ve already looked at a possible site. We’ll fancy up the place, of course, but we’ll have job openings right away, both in construction and in casino operations. Getting a bank to fund us initially shouldn’t be a problem
either because of the success the pueblos have had. Hopefully, we can pay down the loan within the first two years, then start pocketing the profits after that.”

“It’ll be quite an undertaking.”

“I know—both getting the proposal past the council and keeping an eye on everything so the tribe doesn’t get cheated.” He sat back. “Once things get rolling, I’m not going to have any time off. That’s
why I’d like to go away this weekend. And that brings me to the reason I wanted to see you.”

Kevin paused for a moment. “I’ve been thinking about what you said—that, basically, I need time to spend with my own kid. I really do want to get to know her, Ella. She’s my daughter, too. The thing is I can’t do that with you or your mother hovering over us.”

“We don’t hover over you,” Ella snapped.
“You’ve been free to take her to your home for visits whenever you’ve wanted. You’re the one who’s had problems finding the time.”

“I know,” he admitted. “And I’ve come up with a way to remedy that. I’ve rented a cabin near a ski lodge in southern Colorado, and I’d like to take Dawn with me.”

“Skiing? Have you lost your mind? She’s barely mastered walking.”

“I don’t ski either, Ella. I just
like the place, and I thought it would be a great chance for her and me to be together.”

Ella wanted to say no to the trip, but the fact was that Rose would be in the hospital this weekend, and she’d be working long hours. The decision she needed to make was whether to leave Dawn in Jennifer’s care, or with her father.

“Kevin, are you
very
sure you’re up to this? You’ll have to contend with
her potty training, feed her, bathe her, play with her, and never let her out of your sight. It’s not easy, trust me.”

“I know. That’s why I want to take Jennifer with me to help out. It’ll work, Ella.”

Ella once again struggled with the impulse to say no and simply be done with it, but she also wanted to be fair to both Dawn and Kevin. Her little girl adored her father, and it was undeniably
true that they got to spend very little time together. With Kevin’s involvement in the gaming issue, his time during the next few months would be at a premium. To deny them the opportunity now seemed wrong somehow.

“All right,” she said slowly. “But I’m only doing this for Dawn. She’s crazy about you. Personally, I’m not that thrilled with the idea of having Dawn so far away from me for so long.”

“I realize that you’ll miss her terribly but, if you want, you could come with us. We’d leave Jennifer here, then, and make it a special outing for the three of us.”

Ella shook her head. “You know I can’t, not now. There’s too much going on.”

“I understand,” he said, disappointment evident in his voice. “So shall I pick Dawn up tonight after dinner?”

“I’ll have to talk to Jennifer first. I
don’t know how she’ll feel about going up with you and Dawn to Colorado for the entire weekend.”

Kevin gave her a sheepish smile. “I do. I spoke to her—and her mother—about the idea two days ago.”

Ella’s eyes darkened. “Without telling me?”

“I was still in the planning stage. I wasn’t sure I could swing it. At that point all I was trying to do was anticipate your objections and see if the trip
was even feasible.”

“I’ll miss my little girl,” Ella said honestly, because she wanted him to know just how difficult this was for her. “A weekend can be a very long time.”

“She’ll be safe with me. You know that, don’t you?” “If I wasn’t positive of that, I wouldn’t have even considered the idea. But that still won’t keep me from worrying or from missing her.”

“I know. But Dawn and I really
need some time to share.”

She nodded slowly. “All right. But let me break the news to Mom,” Ella said. “She’s going to the hospital today for minor surgery, and if she finds out that I let you take Dawn without even telling her, there’ll be hell to pay.”

Kevin gave her a quick half smile. “Oh, yeah.”

As Ella’s cell phone rang, Kevin stood up and placed a few dollars on the table. Giving her
a wave, he left just as she answered the call.

“It’s me,” Justine said. “I’ve now gone to four different judges, including my grandfather. No one will give us a warrant to test that fifty-caliber rifle you saw at Arthur Benjamin’s place, not on what we have right now. If you’re serious about having a ballistics test done on it so we can have something on file, you’re going to have to find a way
to get him to voluntarily loan us the weapon.”

“Okay, but ask Blalock to give you the names of the other shooters in the gun club in Farmington who own fifty-caliber weapons, and ask if they’ll voluntarily surrender their weapons for a ballistics test, too, just to reduce our suspect list and clear themselves. There’s only a handful of them.”

“That group will probably say no—not without a warrant,”
Justine warned.

“Ask anyway, but make sure they understand it’s on a voluntary basis. If I’m going to tip my hand, I might as well cover my back while I’m at it. If we’re asking the same thing of everyone who owns a fifty-caliber weapon, Benjamin won’t be able to squawk discrimination or harassment. We’re just soliciting some cooperation in solving a crime.”

“All right. I’ll pass your request
to Blalock.” “There’s also the possibility George Branch has a weapon of that caliber. The man has quite an armory, as I recall. We’ll have to check into that. In the meantime, I’ll go pay the Benjamins another visit. I can be charming, when required.” But it made her stomach queasy to think of making nice to a rattler.

Ella drove to Arthur Benjamin’s house and knocked on the door.

Arthur, who’d apparently heard her drive up, answered the door immediately, and beamed Ella a cheerful smile. “Ah, the daughter of our national celebrity activist,” he said jovially.

Ella swallowed her irritation. “I’d like a chance to talk to you, Mr. Benjamin, if you have a moment.”

“I’m always glad to help the police,”
he said, and stepped back into the hall, waving for her to come inside. He led the way from the tastefully simple foyer into the distastefully decorated den. The turquoise-and-silver-painted steer skulls that stared back at her through hollow eyes gave her the creeps all over again.

He didn’t offer her a chair, but she didn’t want to sit down anyway, not here. “Several days ago there was an incident
where someone took a shot at me. I assume you read that in the paper?”

“The article didn’t say which officer was the target, if I recall.” Arthur tried unsuccessfully to look concerned. “But what does that have to do with me?”

“The weapon used was a fifty-caliber rifle. They’re relatively rare, but you have one here,” she said.

“That explains your interest in the weapon the other day. Do you
think
I
took a shot at you? Or perhaps my nephew? It’s really his rifle, you know.”

“I’m not accusing anyone. It’s possible that perhaps someone removed the weapon from this house and used it in a crime.”

“Again, what is it you want from me?”

“I’d like you and your nephew to voluntarily allow me to take the weapon in for a ballistics comparison and rule out that possibility. Or take it in yourself,
whichever you prefer. We recovered a bullet after the sniper incident, so a comparison is possible.” Ella didn’t need to tell him that the slug had been in very poor shape, and it was possible no link could ever be made except for caliber.