Coyote's Wife (29 page)

“I think what you need most is some uninterrupted sleep,”
Ella said. “And a lot less alcohol.”

“Booze is about the only thing that helps me relax when the pressure’s on. I could cut back, I guess. But it’s been impossible to get any sleep the past few days. We’re getting crank calls at all hours of the night, and every time I try to get some sleep during the day, a call from the office wakes me up. Besides, I need to try and stay awake during business
hours. We’re at a critical time in our operations.”

“Get an answering machine and monitor all your calls,” Ella said. “You’ll have a record of everything that way—voices and times that may help us catch whoever’s behind this.”

“Our business has always required a personal touch, but you’re right. It’s time to try something different.”

“What happens when Mrs. Benally answers the phone?” Blalock
asked.

“Nothing. We tried that. If it’s one of the troublemakers, they just hang up,” Ervin replied.

“And when you answer what do they say to you?” Blalock asked.

“It’s always the same voice speaking in Navajo. Loosely translated, the man says he’s coming for me and my life is in his hands,” Ervin answered.

“Is anything about the voice familiar to you?” Ella pressed.

“It’s not anyone I know,”
Ervin answered.

“We need this man’s calls recorded. 360 Plus will have the best monitoring equipment around. Get Mr. Little to install whatever’s necessary,” Ella suggested.

After Justine and her team arrived to work the crime scene, Blalock took Ella aside. “I vote we go talk to the crystal gazer tomorrow first thing.”

“A crystal gazer of his standing isn’t likely to be involved with skinwalkers.
I think we’ve got two very different things going on here. But Louis Etcitty is well connected, and may know something that can help us. Let’s see what he has to say.”

It was shortly after seven-thirty the following morning when Ella and Blalock set out in her tribal unit to Louis Etcitty’s home.

“This case gets more complicated every time we turn around,” Ella said. “Justine found some footprints around Ervin’s garage that appear to be from Nikes. We’ll know later this morning if they’re an exact match to the ones found
by the Dodge. Ervin appears to be at the center of what’s happening but I’m just not sure if StarTalk’s the reason. Maybe this is personal.”

“What about a jealous husband—or lover—out for revenge? The guy does—or did have—a promising future for an ambitious girlfriend.”

Ella shook her head. “I’ve ruled that out. Ervin would know where it was coming from and would be more angry than terrorized.”

“Okay, moving on. I’ve done background checks on Benally,” Blalock said. “He’s running a tight ship financially and he doesn’t have any creditors leaning on him. I even checked with area casinos. They’ve never heard of him, at least as a customer or client.”

“We’re being skillfully manipulated, just like Ervin, but I’m not sure by whom or to what end.”

They arrived at Louis Etcitty’s home, about
fifteen miles west of White Rock, forty-five minutes later. The country here was flat, dry, and desolate, with the closest standing water outside a stock tank more than twenty miles east at Lake Valley. An old green pickup was parked near an empty sheep pen, and smoke was coming from the chimney of the hogan-style building, which was constructed of stucco over a wood frame.

“Someone’s home,”
she said. “But, here, we should definitely wait to be invited before we approach. If we rush it, any hope of getting his cooperation goes out the window.”

Minutes ticked by. After ten minutes Blalock shifted. “Clah, maybe we should just go up to the door. He probably doesn’t even know we’re here.”

“He knows. Around here, you can hear a vehicle coming for miles. Listen.”

The only sound at all
came from a slight breeze stirring up the dust. There weren’t even any leaves to rattle across the hard ground.

“Okay, you’re right. It’s dead quiet. That means he’s ignoring us. Maybe he’s not even awake. Honk the horn.”

“No, Dwayne, he’s up. You should have learned this game by now. He’s making us wait. There’s a difference. Just sit tight and mellow out for a while. Questioning
Hosteen
Etcitty
will go a lot easier if we show some respect.”

“I don’t mind long stakeouts, Clah, but …”

“Hush, FB-Eyes,” she said with a tiny smile. “Wait.” Ella glanced over a minute later, and saw Blalock grinning.

“That’s the first time
you’ve
called me that, though I’ve heard it from plenty of others. I’m Anglo, not deaf,” he said.

“It’s just a nickname.”

“Like L.A. Woman? That’s yours, right?”

“Yeah,
years ago when I first returned to the Rez. Now hush.”

A full twenty minutes passed before Louis Etcitty came to the door and waved for them to come inside.

Ella led the way, trying to ignore Blalock’s grumbling about wasted time.

Louis gave Ella a nod as she stepped into his home. “What brings you here?” he asked, waving them to sit by the fire. “Do you need me to find something for you? I
helped your brother, the
hataalii,
once.”

“I know and he was very grateful,” Ella answered. “We came today to ask you about StarTalk, uncle. We’ve heard that you’re responsible for spray painting their posters and, sometimes, ripping them down.” Ella’s gaze settled on the spray paint can behind him on the bookshelf.

He smiled slowly. “That’s not me, and you can’t prove it was.”

“You have that
can of paint,” she said, pointing with her lips.

“I make little footstools, paint them in bright colors, then sell them to the tourists by the roadside.”

Ella walked around the room, forcing him to follow her with his gaze. She was walking past a card table in the corner when she spotted a torn, dark brown leather band. She recognized it instantly as the same kind worn around the wrists of the
Fierce Ones when they wanted to be identified.

Ella glanced back at Louis, but he didn’t react. As she returned to her chair, Ella looked through to the kitchen and saw two cereal bowls and two glasses in the drain rack. “Who else lives here?” she asked.

“My nephew,” he answered. “Is that against the law, too?”

“That’s not against the law, but there are plenty of people who are breaking the
law right now, people who
don’t like StarTalk. For example, did you know that skinwalker signs were left outside the home of StarTalk’s founder?” she said, then realized from his expression that she’d gone too far.

His eyes widened and a second later he stood up. “You will
not
discuss the evil ones here. Not now—not ever. Please leave. Even mentioning them can call them to you. Of all people,
you
should know better.”

It had been accidental, a slip of the tongue, but it was too late to take it back now. “We need you to answer some questions for us first,” Ella said.

“No more talk. You have to leave,” he said, his breathing ragged as he stepped back away from them. “What I predicted has come true. StarTalk’s founder brings evil—to himself and anyone around him. Stay away from him. If
you can’t because of your job, ask your brother to give you something that’ll protect you.”

It was clear that Louis wouldn’t cooperate any further, so Ella and Blalock went back to the car.

“So what do you make of that?” Ella asked.

“That guy was scared spitless, Ella. The minute you mentioned skinwalkers he couldn’t wait to get rid of us.”

“That’s my fault. I wasn’t thinking. I was too focused
on pushing him. But I want to find out more about his nephew,” she said, and explained about the leather wristband. “If nothing else, maybe he’s responsible for the crank calls.”

“I didn’t see any signs of a telephone in there,” Blalock said. “But maybe the nephew carries a cell phone. We should check.”

Ella nodded. “I’ll call Dispatch and have the information relayed to us. In the meantime,
let’s stop by my brother’s hogan. He may be able to fill in some gaps.”

Clifford’s place was on the way into town, and they arrived within a half hour. Judging from the old white pickup
parked nearby her brother was busy with a patient. Ella leaned back, and prepared to wait.

“Time always moves at its own speed here on the reservation,” Blalock said quietly. “Even now, after more than a decade,
I still find the interminable waiting the hardest to take.”

“Once you retire, I have a feeling you’ll miss the pace of life here more than you realize,” Ella said. Dwayne had spoken of early retirement many times, but he’d never actually made the move.

“These days I try not to think of retirement. When I was in my forties, I looked forward to it. I told myself I’d travel, go fishing up in Colorado,
and pass the day doing all the things I never had time to do. Then, as I got older, I realized I
am
doing what I want to do. I love law enforcement, it’s what keeps my heart beating. My wife discovered that many years ago, and that’s why she left me.”

“Do you regret the sacrifices you made to be where and what you are?”

Dwayne thought about it for a moment. “There are times I miss being married—having
someone to share my life with away from the job. But the thing is, I love this job and it has always come first to me. I never minded cutting a holiday dinner short, or skipping it altogether. What I hated was having to feel guilty about it. Now I come and go as I please, and that kind of freedom grows on you,” he said, then added, “What about you, Ella? Do you think you’ll remarry someday?”

“I have two loves. My daughter is the center of my life, then there’s police work. Obviously, both of those are round-the-clock commitments. I don’t think it would be fair to bring someone else into the picture. He’d always be number three, and that’s hard for anyone to live with.”

“What about someone like Ford—Reverend Tome? He’s dedicated his life to God so he’s got his own priorities.”

“There
are other problems I don’t think we’ll ever surmount.
I remember what Mom and Dad’s marriage was like. They loved each other, but they were complete opposites. At times it felt like a battlefield at home, and my brother and I would always get caught in the middle.” She shook her head. “I don’t want to put my kid through something like that. That’s not the legacy I want to hand down to my daughter.”

He nodded slowly. “I hear you. We’re all controlled to one extent or another by what we fear. You don’t really want to stay single for the rest of your life, but you’re afraid that choosing the wrong company will be even worse. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”

“Considering we’re talking about a relationship with a preacher, I couldn’t have said it better myself!” Ella said, laughing.

Moments later, an elderly man wearing denims, a flannel shirt, and a blue headband above his tired-looking eyes came out of Clifford’s medicine hogan. He went directly to the old pickup and drove off. Soon afterwards her brother came to the curtained doorway and waved, inviting them to approach.

Once inside, Ella sat on a blanket placed on the north side of the hogan while Blalock went to the
south side as was customary for an unmarried man.

“What brings you here?” Clifford asked, nodding first to Blalock, who knew not to shake hands, then to Ella.

She gave him the highlights, careful not to refer to Louis Etcitty by name or use the word skinwalkers. “Do you know if there are other crystal gazers who feel the same way—that StarTalk can hurt their abilities?”

“The crystal gazer you’re
talking about has complained about that many times, and believes it, but I haven’t heard anyone else express any concerns.”

“Is the crystal gazer a member of the Fierce Ones?” Ella asked him.

He looked at her in surprise. “I don’t think so. He and I have spoken about that group in the past and he’s always said that the Fierce Ones are endangering the very lifestyle they’re trying to protect.”

Ella thought about that statement. “He has a point. But I saw a link to the Fierce Ones at his place. Could his nephew be a member?”

He nodded slowly. “It’s very possible. He’s in his late thirties and, in my opinion, the man has never figured out who or what he is. In the old days, a man would prove himself by racing at dawn. It was said that Talking God and Calling God would then bless him
with good fortune. Disciplines like that helped define us. But, over time, and with the influence of the outside world, a lot of our younger men, like the crystal gazer’s nephew, have lost track of their real identity.”

“Do you know the nephew?” Ella asked her brother.

“Not well, no, but I believe he’s one of the custodians at your daughter’s school. It shouldn’t be very hard for you to find
him.”

By the time they left the hogan it was nine-thirty and the sun was high in an azure, cloudless sky. Ella glanced at Blalock. “Louis’ nephew wasn’t at the house when we were there. You want to pass by the school? They rent the gym out on weekend nights to local groups, so maybe he’s there cleaning up.”

Blalock looked at his watch, then shook his head. “I’ve got to make a stop by my office
first. It may be Sunday morning, but I’ve requested an agent be sent to me to help with the workload, and I’m hoping that a decision has been made. If not, I’ve got to rattle the cage.”