Coyote's Wife (9 page)

“I thought that the traditionalists had voiced their concerns when the satellite telephone proposal first came before the council,” Justine said.

“It was all vetted out. The traditionalists on the council were happy when they learned
none of the sacred sites were going to be affected. Everything is
way
above ground except for the actual phone units, and they’re only out when in use. You’ve seen how small they are,” Ella replied, “not much bigger than the original cell phones. But follow up on it anyway, Joe, and see if you can get anything more.”

Ella turned to Officer Tache. “Ralph, go with Joe and help out. You’re with
me,” Ella said to Justine. “We’ll interview company employees and any ex-employees. Although it seems like a long shot, we need to find out once and for all
if there’s any possible connection between George’s death and what’s happening to Ervin.”

Once the two men on their team left, Justine turned to Ella. “Something else is bugging you, boss. Is it Roxanne, or this case?”

“Both.” It didn’t
surprise her to see how well attuned Justine was to her moods. They’d known each other all their lives, and had worked together for the past ten.

“I’m still pressing for info on Roxanne,” Justine said. “I asked people I trust, but what I’ve found out is
very
second hand. You still want to know?”

“Yeah. Fill me in on our way to StarTalk. Let’s get moving.”

Moments later, after getting the address of the StarTalk offices, they were on the road, Justine behind the wheel.

“Tell me about Roxanne,” Ella said.

“Turns out she was with the department for three and a half years, two of those working out of Window Rock. She was constantly getting in trouble because she was overly aggressive and couldn’t follow orders.
Then she was transferred here. She was partnered with Henry Tso and developed a crush on the guy.”

Ella gave her a puzzled look. “Am I thinking of the right Henry? Short, very chunky—stubby arms and legs. He’s constantly knocking things over when he comes into the station. He’s married, too. Am I right?”

“That’s him. And, yeah, he’s married, and faithful, too, near as anyone can tell. But here’s
the deal. He’s kind to almost anyone and, from what I hear, Roxanne took that to heart. When he requested a new partner, she stalked him—I mean seriously. She also tried to scare off Henry’s wife. That’s when Henry went straight through the roof. He reported her to the watch commander and filed a formal complaint. I’m
not sure what happened next, but Big Ed got involved and the problem went away.”

“Is that when she quit?”

“No, she didn’t resign until six months later. Once Henry was out of the picture, she moved on to someone else. You’ll never guess who. Ready? Ralph Tache.”

Ella was having serious trouble envisioning the glum-faced officer as someone a woman would go nuts over. “Wasn’t he married back then?” Ella asked.

“Separated. He ended up getting divorced at about the same time
Roxanne left the force.”

“Direct cause?”

Justine shrugged. “I thought you’d have a better chance of getting that information from Ralph. He’s not exactly chatty, just in case you hadn’t noticed,” she added with a wry smile.

Ella laughed. Ralph didn’t speak unless it was absolutely necessary. “I can’t even begin to imagine what set her on Ralph.”

“Are you kidding?” Justine sounded surprised.

Curious now, Ella looked at Justine. “What do you know that I don’t?”

“Ralph has a real interesting reputation. It happened after he went out with Marlee Manuelito. She’s not much for keeping a secret.”

Ella knew the sergeant in booking. She was a hefty woman—not fat, but built like a linebacker.

“Marlee had it bad for Ralph, and word soon got out that he was something to see…you know, in the
bedroom.” She paused. “Haven’t you noticed how long his fingers are? And you
know
what they say about a guy with big hands.”

Ella made a face. “Aw, jeez! Thanks for that mental image. I could have done without it.”

“You asked.”

“Not about
that,
for pete’s sake!”

Justine laughed. “Well, Ralph is hot these days. Lots of single gals in the department are interested in finding out for themselves,
I guess.”

“What about Roxanne? Is she still interested in him?”

“According to what I heard, no. When Tache didn’t reciprocate, she moved on to Kevin. That’s about it. But how much of this is true, I can’t say.”

“The more I hear about Roxanne, the less I like the woman. I have to know if my kid’s in any danger from this loon. Keep digging, okay?”

“You bet.”

They arrived at the compound where
StarTalk was headquartered a short time later. The tall chain-link gate was open, and Justine drove through, stopping in front of the smallest of three buildings—a modern block and metal structure with large glass doors and a small sign that read, O
FFICE
. A large wooden sign in the xeroscaped area along the front wall displayed the StarTalk logo, a stylized version of a satellite above and between
two very traditional-looking hogans.

Justine parked in front of one of the concrete barriers labeled for visitors. As they went inside the office lobby, they could hear Native American-inspired New Age music—mostly drums and flutes at the moment—coming from hidden speakers. The colors and decor were simple but tasteful, Southwestern in style with turquoise and other desert hues. Beyond the foyer
was a large open room containing various-size cubicles where at least a dozen Navajo men and women were working. This work area was simply furnished, utilitarian at best.

A young Navajo woman in her late twenties looked up from the reception desk, which held a computer and multiline phone system. “Can I help you?”

Ella flashed her badge. “I need to talk to some of the employees. How about if
I start with you?”

The Navajo woman leaned back in her chair and nodded. “We were told to expect a visit from the tribal police today,” she said. “I’m Lucy Yabeny. Mrs. Yellowhair asked all of us to cooperate fully with you. So how can I help?”

It shouldn’t have taken Ella by surprise, but it did. It wasn’t so much that they’d been expected, but that Abigail had known she’d come by today. The
woman certainly didn’t underestimate the scope of her own influence.

“Someone’s been harassing Ervin Benally,” Ella said. “You’re in a good position to hear and know what’s going on. Who do you think is doing that?”

“It could be just about anyone,” she said in a whisper-soft voice. “Mr. Benally pushes people hard for results, not only company employees, but our vendors, suppliers, and tribal
officials.” Lucy looked toward the cubicles and, seeing that everyone seemed occupied with other things, continued. “He micromanages everything. He says it’s only because he’s got big plans for the tribe, but bullies are bullies, you know? He’s even hard on his wife, Barbara.”

“Is she here?” Justine asked.

Lucy nodded. “Walk down the center aisle, and turn to the left at the end. Her enclosed
office is back there, on the right. The bigger office beside it with the sign on the door that says ‘The Buck Stops Here’…”

“Is Ervin’s,” Justine finished for her.

“That’s it,” Lucy said.

“Is he there now?” Justine asked.

“Yeah, and he’s in a particularly foul mood at the moment. Some problem with the bank, I gather. I could hear him shouting over the phone when I went to the lunchroom on
break a little while ago.”

“We already have statements on record from Ervin and Barbara, so we’ll be focusing on the others,” Ella said.

“Go right ahead. Supervisors and management people
are in the four cubicles closest to the Benally offices, except for our marketing director. He’s got an office in the warehouse across the way. All the others here are working stiffs like me.”

While Justine
concentrated on the office supervisors, Ella spoke to several clerks. It soon became clear to her that despite Abigail’s orders, they were afraid for their jobs. She got nowhere.

Seeing Justine still talking to the supervisors, Ella walked out back to the warehouse building. Close to the loading dock she found a smaller door with a sign that read, Toby W
ALLACE
, M
ARKETING
. A man in a western-cut
jacket was just unlocking the door, so it was a good bet that Justine hadn’t spoken to him yet. She walked across the gravel yard and knocked on his door.

“Come on in,” he called. As she stepped into the room, Ella noted he was engaged in a conversation on his cell phone. The short, extremely round Navajo man was in his late forties as far as Ella could tell, and seemed imbued with a phenomenal
amount of energy. He gestured her to take a chair and smiled at her as he put the phone down.

“I’m Toby. You’re here on behalf of the tribal lumber mill, right?” he asked, then not waiting for an answer, continued. “I’m glad you came. I’m prepared to make you the deal of a lifetime. We have something to offer you that no other company in the Southwest—”

Ella held up her hand, interrupting him.
“I’m afraid you have me confused with someone else.” She brought out her badge and showed it to Mr. Wallace. His expression changed in the blink of an eye from hopeful to resigned. “I’d like to ask you a few questions about what’s been happening to Ervin Benally,” Ella added.

The man dropped down heavily into his chair. “I’ve heard about that, and I’ve got to tell you, it just doesn’t make
sense.
Ervin’s a man who deserves to be admired, not victimized, for what he’s trying to do for the tribe.”

From what she could tell, Toby meant every word. “You’re management. Have you ever been harassed?”

“No, and that’s what’s crazy about all this. Logically, I’m the one who should have made enemies. It’s my job to contact companies and organizations here on the Rez, and try to talk them into signing
up with StarTalk. You’d think that any Navajo who’s ever been stranded in his own home after a major snowstorm would be able to see the value of reliable phone service. But I come up to people all the time who just can’t accept progress of any kind. Emergency services and the police department are the only ones who were open to what we had to say from day one.”

“Has anyone ever threatened you?”
she pressed.

“I’ve had arguments with a few of the traditionalists at chapter house meetings, but that’s about it. Even then, all that ever amounted to was some raised voices and a dirty look or two.”

“Do you make presentations at the chapter houses? I thought Ervin was doing those.”

“The Navajo Nation is huge, so we have to share the load. I also do most of the follow-ups, especially with
those who’ve given us a positive response.”

“At those follow-ups, have you ever encountered any serious problems?”

“Once, yeah, but it wasn’t with the public. It was with one of our former warehousemen. I had the misfortune of running into Patrick Tsosie at a meeting, not long after he’d been fired. He shouted a few obscenities at me and was escorted outside. But when I went to my car, he jumped
me. He took me by surprise when he shoved me against the company car, but then I started pushing back. I’m twice his size, so I knocked him on his butt and embarrassed the hell
out of him. He swore he’d be suing me, too, but I never heard from him again.”

“Sue you, too?” Ella asked. “Who was the other person, Ervin?”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t for that incident. You see, Patrick drinks way too much,
so he was usually late to work, or just didn’t show up at all. He also has a mouth on him. One day he made some smart-alecky comment to Abigail when she was in the warehouse and she fired him on the spot. I think he’d been drinking, because instead of leaving, he just flipped her off, then sat down on the loading dock and refused to leave. That’s when Ervin came out, grabbed him in a hammerlock,
and forced him off the grounds. Patrick cussed Ervin all the way out, and, last I heard, he was suing the company, hoping to get some of the money he was docked.”

“Do you think he could be behind the trouble Ervin’s been having?” Ella asked.

Toby didn’t answer for several long moments, but Ella could see he was thinking it over and didn’t interrupt. Eventually, Toby looked up. “I’ll admit that
he seems to be the kind who might be out for revenge, but in this case I don’t buy it.”

“Why not?”

“The kind of things that have been happening to Ervin require two things—timing and planning. Patrick drinks, and until the booze kicks in, he doesn’t have the guts to act. And nothing he does in anger is planned. It’s all spontaneous.”

“But he still came after you at the chapter house.”

“Not
until he’d been thrown out and had stoked up his courage with that cheap fortified wine. Even then, he mostly just stumbled around and did a lot of cussing. It’s not the same thing. Look at what happened to the Ervin’s SUV at the chapter house. They changed the sign to StarCrock.
They also scratched up another of his company vehicles the week before and left the word
bilisaana
on it.”

Ella nodded
slowly, lost in thought. The word meant apple, but when used this way, it meant someone who was red on the outside and white on the inside.