Shooting Chant (41 page)

“What about the lab equipment being shipped out?” Ella asked.

“It could have gone out for repairs, routine maintenance, or been returned at the end of a lease agreement. For all we know, other shipments have come in with new machines.”

There was a knock
at the door, and Big Ed’s secretary poked her head inside. “Something for Agent Blalock, Chief.” She held out a packet from a courier service.

Justine, closest to the door, took the packet and passed it over to Blalock, and the secretary left, closing the door.

Everyone watched Blalock as he opened the packet. “It’s the Marine Corps file on Walter Morgan. I asked that it be delivered here as
soon as it came in.” Blalock placed the faxed documents on the table in front of him so he could see them all at once. He picked up a photo and handed it to Ella. “So, this is what Morgan looks like?”

Ella looked at the photo and did a double take. “Damn!”

“What is it, Ella?” Justine strained to see.

“That’s not Morgan. Either the marines made a mistake, or our Morgan has stolen this man’s
identity.”

“Are your sure? Here’s another photo, glued to his service record.” Blalock slid another paper over.

Justine stood and looked over Ella’s shoulder. “The birth dates and social security numbers are correct, but I’ve seen the man at LabKote, and this is not him. A fingerprint check would just confirm it.”

Big Ed took a look, cleared his throat, and turned to Blalock. “I’m thinking
of the terrorist possibility now, as I think you all are.” He looked around the table, and the others nodded. “Can the FBI check to see if Interpol or the CIA might be able to put a name next to
our
Walter Morgan’s face?”

“We don’t have a photo of him, do we?” Justine asked.

“We can get one. Dwayne, can you ask the local media to give you a print of all the LabKote employees they filmed at the
demonstration by the Fierce Ones? I bet Morgan was in some of those shots, and Justine or I can point him out to you,” Ella said. “Both Channel Four and Thirteen were there.”

“Can do. I’ll get on it as soon as we leave.”

Justine’s cell phone rang, and she left the room for a moment. When she returned, she gave Ella a satisfied smile. “We have even more. Electric company records show that there
was a significant spike of short duration in the sector that incorporates LabKote’s facility on the day in question. Because their electrical demands are so high, LabKote is virtually by itself on that part of the system.”

“That’s still circumstantial,” Kevin said. “We have no proof anything actually went wrong, and the person at LabKote who could best answer our questions about that is dead.
The only solid evidence we have now is that Morgan has stolen someone else’s identity.”

Ella was about to argue that they could still get damning toxicology reports from Elisa Brownhat’s autopsy, backed up with Martha Gene’s testimony, when her cell phone rang. Hearing Loretta’s voice surprised her and sent a cold chill through her. She knew one thing—her sister-in-law had
never
called her at
work without a major reason. Excusing herself quickly, she stepped out of the room.

“I don’t know what to do,” Loretta said, panic in her voice.

“Calm down and tell me what’s wrong,” Ella said, using her most reassuring voice, though she was getting more alarmed by the minute. She’d never heard Loretta panic except when her family was in danger.

“My husband spent the day in the medicine hogan
working and wanted to be left alone. I did as he asked, but since he hadn’t eaten all day, I decided to take some dinner out to him.” She cleared her throat, then continued in a shaky voice. “When I went inside, he was gone, and everything was in shambles. The pots with his healing herbs were all shattered, and there was blood on the sheepskin he sits on. There was a terrible fight in there, Sister-in-law,
and someone was hurt.”

“That doesn’t mean it was Clifford. He’s very good at taking care of himself.”

“I don’t know how many men stood against him.”

“Less than came in,” Ella said. “Now try to stay calm and don’t touch anything. I’ll be right over.”

“But you can’t tell anyone what’s happened. The ones who took my husband left a note for you. They don’t want the police involved. If you disobey,
they’ll kill him. There’s more, but you can read it for yourself when you come.”

She heard Loretta’s voice harden. Though no one knew the whole story yet, Ella knew she was being blamed for what had happened to her brother. “Read the note to me now,” she said firmly.

Loretta cleared her throat, but she wasn’t totally successful in keeping her tone steady. “Investigator Clah, if you want to see
your brother alive again, disappear for a few days and don’t tell the department why. If the police get involved in a search for your brother, he’ll be left on your doorstep in pieces.”

Fear pried into her, hard and fast. She had no doubt who had taken Clifford. Worst of all, if her hunch was right, he was being held inside LabKote. Inside their well-guarded perimeter, LabKote was nearly impregnable
and the law, at least for now, protected the criminals and stood against her.

From this point on she was on her own. If her brother was to stay alive, she’d have to win using her own rules.

TWENTY-THREE

Ella went back into the room where the others were meeting. They’d made no progress. Legally, except for what they had on Morgan, their hands were tied until they had enough evidence to get a warrant to search the whole facility. If they went to pick up Morgan now, Landreth would still be free to cover up anything illegal that was going on. She considered telling the others what
had happened to her brother, but then decided against it. She knew what she had to do and the fewer people who knew, the less interference she’d get.

“I want you to pressure them, Ella,” Big Ed said. “Go over there, question them, harass them a bit. I want to rattle the cage. Let’s see what happens.”

She smiled. It wasn’t exactly what she had in mind, but it was close. “Consider it done.”

Ella stood up as their conference ended. As she walked to the door, Kevin accompanied her. “What was that call all about? You looked troubled when you got back.”

“It’s a family matter, nothing for you to be concerned about.”

He gave her a long look. “Are you sure?”

“Kevin, you’re going to have to cut me some slack, okay? I’ve been single for a long time, and it can be nothing short of irritating
to have someone watching over my shoulder all the time.” She paused, knowing that if she made him suspicious now, he’d never let her out of his sight. “How would you like it if, all of a sudden, I was there every time you turned around? I know you like your privacy as much as I do.”

He nodded slowly. “Yeah, I understand what you’re saying. I didn’t mean to crowd you.”

“We’ll talk again soon,
but right now I need to get back to work.”

Ella returned to her office alone. The situation with the kidnappings had cut all her options. There was only one way out. Her brother’s life hung in the balance, and it was up to her to take the next step.

She took off her badge, and placed it in her drawer. What she had to do now broke every rule she’d ever followed, but, for the next few hours, she
wouldn’t be a cop. It was the only way.

Ella drove out of the station and headed to Loretta’s. She checked her rearview mirror often, and although she couldn’t see anyone tailing her, she had a feeling that whoever had written the note wouldn’t be far away.

The minute she arrived at her brother’s home, Loretta came out the front door. Julian tried to come out, too, but Loretta forced him back
inside the house.

“I’m not staying here,” Loretta said, meeting Ella outside. “I’m afraid for Julian. I’m going to my mother’s.”

“Good idea. You’ll be safer with your family now.” They would protect her and the boy and it would be one less thing for her to worry about. “I’m going to take a look inside the medicine hogan.” Ella started walking off, then stopped in mid stride and looked back at
Loretta. “I
will
bring my brother back to you and his son.”

Loretta met her gaze and held it. “Yes, but at what cost to all of us? What have you dragged him into?”

She started to answer, then changed her mind. It wouldn’t do any good to argue now. “Have you told Mom about this?”

Loretta shook her head. “I knew it would frighten her and I was afraid she’d get sick. What about you? Have you told
the other cops you work with what’s happened?”

“No one knows—except you and me. Let’s keep it that way for now.”

As Loretta walked away, Ella sighed. She shouldn’t have expected anything different, but it still hurt. At a time when she needed her family’s support most, there was no one she could turn to.

Ella entered the hogan, flashlight in hand, and, as she looked around, understood the fear
that had gripped Loretta. The interior was in chaos. Her brother’s medicine pouch was on the ground, slashed open, and the sheepskin pelt he used as a blanket and cushion was spotted heavily with fresh blood.

Clifford had clearly gone up against a knife-wielding opponent but, without tests, there was no way for her to verify whose blood had been shed. As the last rays of the fading sun found
their way inside the hogan, a sliver of light played over something metallic on the ground.

Ella picked it up carefully. It was a lighter. The initials “K. H.” were engraved on it. Anger filled her as she realized it was Kyle Hansen’s missing lighter, and that her brother could have been implicated in his murder if she hadn’t come alone.

She crouched on the ground and studied the now-familiar
boot tracks she could make out. The evidence told her that her brother had only fought one man, and knowing her own brother’s capabilities, she knew that his opponent must have been highly trained in hand-to-hand. Clifford had always been able to take care of himself.

Landreth wouldn’t have been able to take him, not in a million years. But Morgan was another matter altogether. He’d been trained
with weapons somewhere, and if not in the military, possibly with a terrorist group. Morgan was linked to murder, attempted murder, and kidnapping—but only by an unproven boot-print.

Somehow, she had to get inside LabKote and search for her brother, and for evidence that would help her identify the other men responsible for the crimes that had been committed. Morgan was only one person, and he
couldn’t have done everything on his own. All the answers she needed were at LabKote and that was where she had to go.

Ella went home and changed into her darkest jeans and a black wool sweater. Since her mother was at a Plant Watchers meeting tonight, no explanations would be needed.

Patting Two on the head, Ella started to go out the front door, but then stopped. Two’s growls told her she
was being watched, but this time it was not by somebody’s grandmother. No one was in sight, but the dog’s senses matched her own instinct for danger, and Ella knew she’d have to use a little trickery.

Sticking her cell phone in her pocket, Ella slipped out of a window at the back of the house and jogged over to her brother’s place. It took her twenty minutes, but she was still in good shape even
though she hadn’t kept up her daily morning runs.

As soon as she cleared the canyon, Ella saw Clifford’s truck parked outside the hogan. Loretta’s vehicle was gone, which meant she’d already left with Julian. Thank goodness Clifford had finally taught his wife to drive.

Slipping inside her brother’s truck, and reaching for the spare keys she knew he always kept beneath the floor mat, she got
underway.

Ella drove to LabKote without a clear plan in mind. There was the electric fence, the guards, and the dog to contend with, but to get in successfully she would have to remain unnoticed. She parked the truck behind one of the fairgrounds buildings and moved to a clear vantage point beside a car in the parking lot.

Even though it was close to eight in the evening, the vehicle traffic
seemed to be at an all-time high. In the space of forty minutes, several large, delivery-type vans pulled into the covered dock, picked up cargo, and left.

Ella wrote down the times, truck numbers, and company names each time. Whatever was being shipped out at this odd time had aroused her curiosity.

The open garage-type doors allowed her to see into the building’s shipping warehouse which extended
outward onto the loading platforms. Observing a large truck approaching from the direction of the highway, Ella made her way carefully toward the gate, staying in the shadows.

Thankful that the moon was not out, she drew even closer. If she stayed on the other side of the truck, maybe she’d be able to slip in. Suddenly the dog, chained to a large stake, began barking furiously. As the guard turned
his head, Ella froze and ducked back into the shadows. After what seemed like an eternity, the guard shifted his focus back to the driver. “Blasted dog. He probably saw another cottontail.”

Ella stayed still, scarcely breathing. Hearing a soft rustle in the brush, she turned her head and saw a Navajo man come out of the shadows, crouching low. “You timed this really wrong,” he whispered. “Come
with me, and I can help you get inside.”

Even in the darkness, Ella recognized Jimmy Herder. “You’re the one who keeps an eye on things for the Fierce Ones, aren’t you?”

He nodded. “Something’s happening tonight. They’ve never shipped out anything after four
P.M.
What made me suspicious was when they gave me the night off with pay. They’ve always made a great big show out of hiring a Navajo
guard, but the fact is they’ve kept me on a real short leash. Tonight, I plan to do a little digging of my own. If anyone asks, I’ll say I came back to get my jacket.”

“How are we getting in?”

“There’s a new personnel gate that was just installed to allow the guards access to the parking lot from both ends. It’s kept locked with an electronic monitoring system. If you try to force it, you alert
the guards with an alarm, but I know the security code, and can get us in. After we’re inside, though, things are bound to get tougher. If we get caught, I’ll get fired, or worse.”