Red Mesa (44 page)

With only one road leading from the trailer park, Ella was able to catch up enough to follow her to the hospital.

Ella pulled in and parked a few spaces behind the woman. She waited until the nurse got out of her car, then moved to intercept her.
A moment later Ella cut her off, staring at her in surprise. “What the hell?”

TWENTY-SEVEN

It was Justine’s traditionalist aunt Lena, though it was obvious now that she’d been an imposter. Her hospital ID gave an entirely different name.

The woman’s eyes widened. “You!”

“Yeah, it’s me. But who are
you
?” Ella grasped her forearm and held her there. “You aren’t anyone’s aunt Lena, and you’re no more a traditionalist than I’m an Anglo. It should have occurred to me that
you didn’t live out at that hogan. Your hands are too soft and smooth to have ever chopped wood. And look at those rings. They’re the same ones you wore that day.”

“My name’s Lupe Dearman and that’s all I’m going to say. Not without a lawyer.” She stared defiantly at Ella.

“You’re better off talking to me now than to the police once they catch on to you. They may be a week old by now, but some
of your prints will be around the real Lena’s farm, if that’s what it really was. They’re probably all over the hogan.”

Lupe nodded. “So what? You can’t prove that I was the one who impersonated her. It would just be your word against mine. And right now your word probably isn’t worth much.”

“I’ll volunteer to take a lie detector test. Do you think you can pass one, too? Think hard, because
you’re looking at charges of being an accessory to murder.”

The woman’s face grew pale. “I haven’t killed anyone. I played the part of Lena Clani while the woman was away visiting relatives or something.”

“And what were you doing staying with Paul Natoni? I followed you from his trailer.”

“He’s my boyfriend, not that it’s any of your business.”

“Just how long has this been going on?”

She
smiled. “For months. Paul was just faking an interest in Justine. He was going to humiliate her and ruin her reputation with the police department. I was going to sneak in and take some photos of them in bed, then he’d spread them around. He wanted to strike back at the police department because of what happened to his stepbrother Carlton.”

“So where is the real Lena?”

“I have no idea. Jeremiah
told Paul that she was away visiting relatives. She probably never even knew we were there. We left it just the way we found it.”

“Then what about Justine? Did you help Paul kill her? And cut her up into pieces?”

“
Me?
Are you crazy? No way. Paul wanted to ruin her reputation, but that’s all. You were the one that killed her, not us.”

“Just how well do you know Jeremiah, Paul’s stepfather?”

“Paul and he are close, so I’ve seen him a bunch of times.”

“Has he ever asked you to do anything for him?”

Lupe shrugged. “Nothing like what Paul and I were doing to trash Justine’s reputation, if that’s what you mean. All I ever did was loan him some outdated, surplus medical supplies and tools.”

“What kind of supplies and tools?”

“A surgical saw, scalpels, painkillers, and bandages.”

Ella
felt a shudder touch her spine. “Why would he need all that?”

“Jeremiah told me that he needed to amputate the leg of a calf that had been caught in a trap. It had gotten infected. He’d received training on trauma and first aid in the military, so he knew what to do.”

Ella considered it for a moment. Those tools could have been used to cut up Justine’s body after she was killed, but then why
the bandages? Did they torture her first? “Did you provide him with any other drugs? And think hard on this,” she added.

She hesitated, then continued. “I gave him some phenmetrazine hydrochloride. It’s a diet aid used as an appetite suppressant. It has some bad side effects, making a person edgy and paranoid if they get an overdose, but I warned him about that.”

“Did he tell you what he wanted
it for?”

“No, but I didn’t ask. I trust him.”

Ella knew now why Natoni had met so often with Justine for breakfast. Jeremiah had passed the drug along to Paul, who’d probably given Justine a dose of the drug each morning in her food. By the time she got to work, she was ready for a confrontation. The question was, what else had their plans entailed?

“What did they have planned for Justine?”
Ella added. She needed to learn all she could, and quickly. Other cars were pulling into the parking lot now for the day shift, and several of the staff would recognize her.

“Nothing, except what I’ve already told you. All I did was pretend to be her shrewish aunt. Paul told me what I needed to know ahead of time. He didn’t get the chance to seduce her because she turned up dead. But you know
more about that than I do. You’re the suspect, not me.”

“You’re not out of this yet, Lupe. You’ll have to account for your time the night of the murder, and I hope you have a solid alibi.”

“Paul will back me up on this. We were together all that night.”

“Wrong answer. And you can forget about Paul saving your behind. Right now he’s probably running for his life. Every cop in the four-state
area is already on the lookout for him. Think about it. The drugs, the saw and surgical tools, Justine’s paranoid behavior. That was all part of their plan. Don’t you realize what kind of revenge they were really after, and how they went about trying to frame me for their crime? They were using you, too, just to get the tools they needed. Put the facts together and you’ll know who really killed my
cousin.”

Lupe stood there a moment, tears forming in her eyes as she finally realized what Ella was saying. “They’ll never catch Paul for any of this. He’s too smart.”

“Lupe, if you really care about him, you’ll tell me where to look. Once I tell the police what you’ve said, he and Jeremiah will go to the top of their list. The first time he shows his face anywhere, he’s liable to get shot.”

“You’re in the same boat. You’re still a murder suspect until you or the police can prove it was him or Jeremiah. And I’m not saying anything to anyone.”

“Too late. I’ve already gotten the testimony the police will need.” She pulled a tape recorder out of her pocket. “This is going straight to the FBI,” Ella said, switching it off. The small tape was nearly all used. “You’re guilty of conspiracy
in at least one murder, maybe more, if we can’t find Aunt Lena.”

Lupe’s jaw dropped, and she turned pale. “Oh no, you can’t do that to me. I’m not really part of any of this. I was just playacting to trick Justine, nothing more.”

“I doubt a judge will buy that. The best advice I can give you is to turn yourself in. Get an attorney and cut a deal. You’ve helped us with information, and that’s
worth something. Sign a statement and testify in court, and you’ll get a break. Now tell me where Paul is hiding, before he or Jeremiah have the chance to hurt someone else. I’ll try to take him alive, but I can’t promise how other officers will approach a cop killer.”

“Promise me that you won’t let anyone hurt him, or hurt him yourself. I’ve read about you in the past, with those terrorists
and before that. I don’t trust you. You’ve got the killer instinct.”

The words stung. Ella knew better than anyone else how many criminals she’d been forced to kill in the line of duty. Those memories would always haunt her dreams, and she didn’t want to add to her nightmares any more than Lupe did. “I’ll do everything in my power to see to it that he’s not harmed.”

Ella memorized the directions
Lupe gave her to a hogan in the mountains west of Shiprock. It was on land assigned to Jeremiah’s mother by the tribe. The hogan, Lupe explained, had been modernized. It even had electricity and had been equipped with remote video cameras and a monitor that maintained surveillance on the main path. Jeremiah was one of the New Traditionalists, Lupe reminded her, and he used technology to protect
himself and his family.

Ella knew that any place that well guarded meant trouble, and before she went out there she’d have to make sure Lupe couldn’t get to a phone and warn Paul and Jeremiah. Ella grabbed Lupe’s arm and, before she could react, handcuffed her to the door handle of her car.

Then Ella locked Lupe’s car with the keys inside, and searched Lupe’s pockets to rule out her having a
cell phone.

Apologizing but ignoring Lupe’s protests, Ella drove out of the parking lot, using her cell phone to place a call to the station. She left a short message for Big Ed on voice mail, telling him where a material witness was handcuffed to a car, and needed to be watched in case she changed her mind and tried to warn Justine’s killer that Ella was coming after him. She gave the woman’s
name and the exact location, then hung up.

Big Ed would want to know where she was going, but she needed to make sure she got there first. The easiest way to accomplish both was to see to it that the tape with Lupe’s statement found its way to Blalock or Big Ed, but mailing it would take too long.

By the time she’d finished the thought, Ella realized that she was also headed in the direction
of Wilson Joe’s home. Deciding to take a chance, she drove over there. The backyard of his home was open to the desert, and offered plenty of cover. With luck, he’d still be at home. If she could get him to drop the tape off, then she’d handle the rest.

Ella took the back roads south again, and parked near a dry arroyo. After looking around the entire area for any officers on stakeout, she quickly
ran the quarter-mile distance to Wilson’s home. Moments later, she knocked on his back door.

Wilson opened the door, cup of coffee in hand, and stared at her in surprise. “Get in.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the kitchen, closing the door behind her. “What on earth are you doing here? That idiot cop Manuelito has been watching me since late last night. I can’t even look out the window
without seeing him in the distance with his binoculars on the house.”

“Is he still out there?” Ella thought she’d checked the area thoroughly.

“No. Well, at least I didn’t see him.” He led her into the hall, away from the windows. “I’ve been really worried about you.”

“I couldn’t get in touch, it was just too risky. But now things are finally coming together.” She handed him the tape. “It’s
imperative that Big Ed or Blalock get this. This has evidence that will be substantiated once the PD picks up Lupe Dearman at the hospital and she makes a statement.”

“I’ll hand deliver it to them.”

“Be careful that you don’t get into trouble. Say that you found it in your mailbox this morning.”

“Where are you going?”

Ella hesitated. If she didn’t make it out in one piece, she wanted someone
else to know what she’d done and why. She told him the story as quickly as she could.

“You can’t be seriously considering going out there alone.”

“I don’t have a choice. I’m still a fugitive.”

“But the tape—”

“Is inadmissible. All it can do is give Big Ed and Blalock an edge they can use to pressure Lupe if she changes her mind about making a statement. Once Lupe signs her statement, it’ll
be a different story. But I’ve got to move out now. If Paul gets wind of this, he may decide to make a run for it. Of course, bringing Paul in will be easy in comparison to what I can expect from Jeremiah. He’s the mastermind, and a lot more dangerous.”

“Nothing can bring his boy back. Why is he doing this? It makes no sense.”

“Jeremiah wants revenge against the Navajo police. He blames us for
stirring up the gangs and getting his son killed. It’s that simple. Everything comes in second to that one goal. Even Paul’s expendable. I think Jeremiah’s going to go down fighting hard—if I find him at all.”

“Let the cops find Paul and Jeremiah then. You’re walking into a situation that could get you killed.”

“If I wait, and Lupe manages to warn Paul or Jeremiah, they’ll take off. Then, in
essence, they will have gotten away with what they’ve done, and continue to be a threat to me and my family. I can’t live with that. Take the tape in and talk to Big Ed. I left word for him already to pick up Lupe.”

“Let me tell him where you’re going. At least you’ll be able to get eventual help that way.”

“They’ll know when they hear the tape. But it’s imperative that I get there fast and
have time to work. If Lupe has lied, or I don’t have Paul in custody as well as enough evidence to convict him by the time they get there, they could end up trying to arrest me instead. In the confusion, Paul will get away. I need your word that you won’t say anything, Wilson. I’m counting on you.”

“All right.”

Ella headed back to the door. “Once this is over. I owe you the best dinner around.”

“Back to the fried-chicken place?”

She laughed. “Well, that
is
the best food around.” Ella stood at the window, checking out the area for several moments. “I better go,” she said at last. Moving quickly, she opened the door and raced back to her pickup.

Ella got under way, trying to swallow back the bitter taste of fear at the back of her throat. She wasn’t kidding herself. There was a lot of
risk in what she was doing. If Jeremiah happened to be with Paul when she arrived, there’d be shooting for sure. And Jeremiah, she suspected, would be armed to the hilt.

Ella worried about an officer pulling her over as she drove through the community of Shiprock again this time of the morning. She knew from the police scanner that Manuelito hadn’t be able to read the plate before, but he still
had a general description of the truck.

She decided to “low-ride” and drive slowly, throwing off suspicion by doing the opposite of a fugitive in a hurry. Using the directions given to her by Lupe, Ella headed west on Highway 64, hoping she wouldn’t encounter a patrol car at all before she left the main highway near Rattlesnake. A mile out of Shiprock she saw a tribal unit parked beside the road
ahead, so she assumed the scrunched-down driving position of a “low rider,” and slowed to under the speed limit. Rolling down the windows, she turned up the radio so the music blared.