Black Thunder (35 page)

“Later, maybe weeks after the body was buried, they returned at night to make sure the site looked as natural as possible. They moved around some plants growing close by, and restored the terrain,” Ella said.

“Sounds like a lot of work, but I guess they were motivated. Every act was another well-planned blow against their image of an injustice.”

“Ross also muddied up the trail while pretending
to look for the victims,” Ella said. “He’d pick up information on the status of the official investigation, and get some extra bucks from the vics’ families in the process. The irony of it all must have been very satisfying for them.”

“Okay. Now we have a probable scenario—something we never had with Romero and Bowman—but we still don’t have anything conclusive. It appears that the only living
witnesses to the crimes are the killers themselves,” Blalock said.

“At least we can cross another suspect off the list—Norman Ben. There was no hesitancy in his tone when he offered up his alibi, but let me check with Benny and see where that stands,” Ella said. After a moment she got her answer. “Norman’s alibi checked out.”

“If we’re right about Harrison and Talbot, we’ll need to nail them
before June first. I bet we could find damning evidence at their homes, and I’d sure like to check out that car, too, but we’d need a warrant for all that.”

“If we try to get one, we’ll tip them off for sure,” Ella said. “Harrison has contacts at the county courthouse, and maybe even at the district attorney’s office. The second they get wind of it they’ll get busy sanitizing their places and
walk away clean.”

When Ella’s cell phone rang, she saw it was Dan and picked it up before the second ring.

“I was staking out Harrison and had one of my detectives covering Talbot. I didn’t think I’d been spotted, but something obviously spooked Harrison. I think he must have been the one who called in a phony bomb threat on the house next door to his. When the fire department and the Farmington
police showed up, I ended up losing him in the chaos. Then I got a call from the deputy who’d been watching Bruce Talbot over at Kirtland. The guy managed to get the drop on my man with a Taser. He took the deputy’s weapon and keys, then tied him up and split. That was at least fifteen minutes ago.”

The next sound she heard over the phone was an explosion, filtered by the phone but unmistakable.
Then there was a confusing thud.

“Dan, you there? Detective Nez? You okay?” Ella called, looking at Blalock, who was clearly confused.

“What’s going on?” Blalock asked her quickly. “Is Nez in trouble?”

There was a rustling sound, then Dan came back on the line.

“Sorry, the blast knocked me down and I dropped the phone. Harrison blew up his own house,” Nez said, obviously shaken. “It
wasn’t
a phony bomb threat, just the wrong address. Fortunately, nobody was close. The firemen had just pulled away but they’re deploying again now.”

“Harrison and Talbot are destroying evidence. Quick, call the deputy at Talbot’s place. Warn him!” Ella said.

“I’ll call you back.”

Moments later, her phone rang again. “It’s Dan. Talbot’s place is still standing, and my officer is clear of the structure
and evacuating the neighbors. The fire department is sending another unit there, and I’m responding as well.”

“Blalock and I will meet you there. Do you have any idea what Ross is driving now?”

“His sedan is still here, but I got the plates off a truck I saw leaving the area. It’s the only vehicle that went by my position, so I think that was him. I’ll verify, then put out an ATL.”

As they
ran to Blalock’s car, Blalock’s phone rang, and he listened while climbing inside. “Hang on,” he said, then turned to Ella, who was fastening her seat belt.

“It’s county dispatch,” he said. “Their bomb squad and the Farmington unit have their hands full at Harrison’s residence. They want to borrow Ralph Tache as first responder over at Talbot’s place. Is he up to it?”

Ella hesitated. She knew
why Blalock was asking. When they’d made their move to take down Romero, Tache had dropped the ball at a critical time, hesitating to use his Taser. She’d been tempted to pull him from active duty right then, but just hadn’t had time to make it happen.

“I don’t know,” Ella finally said. “Maybe his Taser malfunctioned at the takedown,” she said, yet even as she spoke, she knew in her gut that
wasn’t what had really happened.

“Dispatch needs an answer
now
. Do you think Tache’s stable enough to search out and diffuse a bomb?” Blalock pressed.

“I’ll call and talk to him. If Ralph gives me bad vibes, county will have to find someone else.”

Five minutes later, as they were racing to Talbot’s home, Ella finally reached Ralph Tache.

“I’ll go,” Ralph said without hesitation after she briefed
him.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yeah. I blew it with Romero. If I can’t come through now, it’s time for me to turn in my badge.”

Ella hung up, then told Blalock what Tache had said. “After all these years I’ve come to one conclusion—police work either makes you stronger, or breaks you.”

“The badge is part of him, Ella. He doesn’t want to walk away from the job,” Blalock said. “And that’s
what will see him through this. Police work gets under your skin. It isn’t just what you do—it’s who you are. I remember a time when being a Bureau agent meant everything to me. As far as I was concerned nothing stacked up against it.”

“But not now?” Ella asked, following up on what he’d left unsaid.

“These days, it’s just one part of my life. What matters to me most is no longer connected to
my badge. Half of my future is at home painting watercolor flowers, and the other half is deployed overseas—in harm’s way.”

Ella noticed that when Dwayne referred to his wife and his son Andy, his voice gentled. He was a new man.

“I love my family more than I can ever put into words, but the job I do for the tribe has a piece of my heart, too,” Ella said. “I need both to feel complete.”

“Nothing’s
wrong with that. You make it work.”

“I’ve had to, so I did.” She was a mother, a daughter, and a cop. Each of those facets came with challenges at almost every turn, but in her heart she knew she was exactly where she belonged.

TWENTY-SEVEN

As Ella got out of Blalock’s car, Nez came over to meet them. “We haven’t searched Talbot’s house yet, but his landlord has given us access. Talbot’s also got a detached garage out back. One of his neighbors said that Talbot keeps one of his cars in there.”

“Which house is Talbot’s?” Ella asked, looking ahead.

“The one directly in the middle of the cul-de-sac,” Dan answered.

“We need to keep everyone away until Tache arrives,” Ella said.

“Someone call my name?”

Ella turned her head and saw Ralph step out of the bomb squad van. One of the department’s mechanics was behind the wheel, giving Tache time to get ready en route. He was suited up in his protective gear, but had the helmet visor flipped up. Ella filled him in. “Will you need backup as you search, or if there’s
a bomb to diffuse?”

“I might. I don’t know yet,” Tache said.

“Use your headset to stay in touch and let me know,” she said. “I’ll be as close as you allow.”

Tache walked toward Talbot’s front door slowly, his gaze on the ground, searching, perhaps, for trip wires. His visor was down now and she couldn’t see his expression, but Ella could almost feel the war going on inside him. He’d fought
so hard to stay alive. After all those months of recovering from nearly fatal injuries, would duty demand that he lay his life down today?

Ella thought of calling him back. There were other jobs within the P.D. and Ralph had paid his dues many times over. There was no reason to demand so much from one officer. She brought her handheld radio up to her mouth, then stopped and lowered it to her
waist again. This was his call—and his monster to face.

“There’s no one else who could do the job, at least not for the next few hours,” Blalock said, reading her correctly. “What’s inside may crack this case and he knows it as well as we do. Let Officer Tache do what he signed on for. He needs this just as much as we do.”

Ella saw Tache step onto the front porch gingerly despite the fact it
was a concrete slab. Then he studied the door and trim, his body perfectly immobile and his hands at his sides.

“Bomb,” came the verdict over the headset. “It’s crude, but effective. There’s fishing line fastened to a piece of wood that’s keeping two electrical contacts apart. The door isn’t quite shut, and if I’d have pulled it open, the line would have yanked out the wood, the circuit would
have closed, and … boom.”

Ella moved closer then stopped. “Do you need help?”

“No, I’m going to check the back door. If it’s clear, I’ll enter and deactivate the bomb from the inside,” he said.

He turned toward the firemen and his driver, who were standing by the road. “Make sure no one comes near the porch until I disconnect the bomb and give the all-clear.”

Hanging back, Ella followed Ralph
around to the rear door, which looked solid. Ralph examined the mechanism carefully, looked all the way around the trim, then reached up and turned the knob.

“Unlocked. I should have thought of it sooner. This is how Talbot got out, of course,” he said speaking into the headset. “Stay back, just in case.” Ralph opened the door very slowly.

Ella heard footsteps and saw Nez and Blalock behind
her, waiting.

Five minutes later, Ralph emerged carrying a big cardboard box, his visor flipped up. “It’s deactivated.” As Ralph looked at the detached garage, he added, “Let me check that building too before anyone moves in.”

Ella, Blalock, Nez watched Tache examine the overhead garage door. After a few minutes, he walked around to the side wall, then checked a metal access door. He brought
out a lock pick set, and thirty seconds later was inside.

The ensuing silence made Ella nervous. Ralph was on his own. She knew he’d come through … but at what cost?

An eternity later the big overhead door opened, revealing a sedan-sized vehicle covered by a big blue tarp. Tache walked out holding a flashlight and carrying a can of Coleman Fuel in his gloved hand. He set the fuel down about
twenty feet from the building, then flipped up his visor.

“All clear,” he said. “We got here just in time. There was an electric heater turned on high and aimed at this camp stove fuel. I unplugged the heater, so we’re okay now. Just don’t mess with the fuel for a while, the can’s still a little warm. I’m going to get some water to pour over the thing, just to be safe.”

As Ralph passed Ella,
he stopped for a second. “Thanks for giving me a second chance.”

“You’re welcome,” she said.

As Ralph continued to his van, Ella glanced at Dan and Blalock. “House first?”

“Sounds good to me,” Blalock said, and Dan nodded.

Ella leading the way, they went inside through the back door. The house, a small two-bedroom rental with a combination kitchen–dining room and living room, had an empty,
soulless feel. There were no photos on the wall and the scant furniture seemed utilitarian and completely impersonal. The living room furnishings consisted of two chairs placed in front of a particleboard stand that held a portable TV with rabbit ears.

“Anyone know how long he lived here?” she asked Nez and Blalock.

“Almost three years,” Dan said after checking his BlackBerry.

“This looks like
a crash pad—just a place to sleep,” Ella said, thinking out loud.

“Maybe that’s exactly what it is,” Dan said. “I’ve had apartments that looked like this.”

His words made Ella remember what it had been like for her a lifetime ago when she’d worked as a Bureau agent. “Come to think of it, I’ve had my share of crash pads, too. The younger you are, the less it matters, I think, but Talbot’s not
a young man. The transition from family life to this must have been rough.”

“Come look at all this reloading equipment,” Blalock said, calling their attention to the second bedroom. One wall held a sturdy wooden workbench equipped with an expensive-looking progressive reloading press, dies, powder measures, and all the rest, including an electronic scale. Plastic ammo boxes and bins on wooden
shelves held brass, bullets, and other components, including gunpowder.

“Hey Ella, I think I know who was sending you those text messages. Your name and cell phone number are written on a desk calendar,” Blalock said. “And mine, too. Where the hell did he get this?”

“Harrison and his police contacts,” Dan suggested. “I guess I’m not important enough to make his list.”

“No, yours is on the next
page, Nez,” Blalock added. “Along with every other agency I can think of.”

Ella saw an empty Taser box on the bench. “Any firearms?”

“Not that I’ve seen,” Dan said, still looking around. “But there’s a nine-millimeter pistol die still in the press.”

Ella went to the bedroom and opened the closet door. “We’ve got a county deputy’s uniform here,” she said. “Looks real.”

“It supports your theory,
Ella,” Blalock said, coming up. “They played cop and pulled the vics over.”

“I bet they added authentic-looking squad car markings along with everything else,” Nez said.

They went to the garage next. Working together, they pulled the tarp back and revealed what looked like an older model unmarked county deputy’s cruiser. A red emergency light was resting on the dashboard, the power cord dangling
down.

Peering into the backseat, Ella could see two vehicle-sized county gold stars, serial numbers, and unit numbers. “Magnetic stick-on signs, easily applied, easily removed. They could drive around without gathering attention, or pass as the real deal in a hurry. Unless you looked real close, you’d never know the difference.”

“We need to move fast if we’re going to catch these guys,” Dan
said. “Officers also need to know that there’s a chance that the two are armed with AP rounds. Conventional vests won’t provide much protection.”

“Good idea. As for tracking, maybe we can call in a state police helicopter to patrol state road 170? Five-fifty north is already covered, so the La Plata route is the only road leading to Colorado from this area,” Ella said. “They won’t be able to
avoid our east–west roadblocks, and the routes south have already been put on alert.”