Bad Medicine (45 page)

Authors: Aimée & David Thurlo

BOOK: Bad Medicine

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Ella sensed someone’s gaze on her. Hearing the children crying, she glanced up. Lee was staring right down at her. He’d herded all the kids to the edge and seen her when he looked down.

“I’ll throw them off this mesa two at a time if you come any closer,” he yelled, waving a revolver at her. He fired four times in rapid succession and she ducked, praying he’d somehow miss. None of the
bullets came close. Howard was obviously no marksman.

As the children screamed at the frightening noise, anger swept over her, mingling with frustration. Just then, she caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. It was only for an instant, but she knew Clifford was drawing near along the canyon top, hidden from Lee’s view.

Suddenly the wind rose, and the junipers shook with a
loud hissing sound that drew Lee’s attention to where Clifford was located.

Ella saw her brother freeze as Lee stared into the trees, searching. Taking advantage of her enemy’s distraction, Ella resumed her climb.

Then, over the desperate cries of the children, she heard her brother’s Song. It seemed mournful and terrible all at once. Goosebumps broke out over her flesh. Ella fervently hoped
the sound would rattle Lee all the way down to his socks.

Ella was halfway up when a cloud of dust rose high in the air, blasting against her, making it impossible to see more than a few feet ahead. The children started crying again, and in the next instant, she heard them running downhill toward the bus. Lee yelled frantically for them to stop. The clicking of his revolver told her Howard was
out of ammo.

If her vision was hampered, then so was Lee’s. Ella scrambled to the summit, the wind at her back spurring her forward.

As she reached the top, and crouched low behind a rock, the windstorm abruptly ceased. She could see the children running madly across the road along with her brother, who was urging them back onto the bus. She had only a moment to savor the sight.

Lee lunged
at Ella from behind a juniper, knocking her to the hard sandstone. She rolled to one side, avoiding a punch that would have broken her nose, had it connected. Lee’s fist hit solid rock, and he screamed from the pain.

“It’s over for me, but I’m taking you down with me,” he vowed.

Unable to reach for her pistol, Ella fought hard, delivering several blows to his face and head that would have incapacitated
most attackers. But Lee’s rage gave him strength and endurance. They rolled around on the ground, each trying to pin the other down. Lee’s struggles were deadly as he pulled her closer to the edge of the cliff. Something hard scraped across her ribs, and she vaguely noted the massive silver buckle on Lee’s new leather belt.

Ella saw the danger and tried to twist free. She grabbed for her pistol,
but fueled by desperation, Lee’s strength grew. In the distance she heard her brother’s Song. Each syllable seemed to resonate, filled with the power that came from The People’s history of survival.

Then another Song rose, an evil, harsh sound from a new direction, and Ella felt the earth slipping away beneath them. They were too close to the edge! “Let go. We’ll both die. The edge is about to
collapse.”

“Then so be it!” Lee raged.

Ella felt the deadly grip of Lee’s fingers as they clenched around her hair. Suddenly the rock they were on tipped over, and Lee slid over the edge, pulling her with him. Lee released his hold on her as he grabbed in vain for a bush growing out from between the rocks.

Ella, who was second to go over, had a heartbeat longer to reach out for the same bush.
As her fingers coiled around it, her descent stopped abruptly and her body slammed against the hard-packed cliff face. As Ella struggled to catch her breath, Lee’s final scream of rage surrounded her, drowning out the evil Song that had helped send them both over the edge.

In the silence that followed her enemy’s fall, Ella forced herself to remain calm. Somehow, she had to climb back up. She
reached upward trying to find another hold. Suddenly she felt a hand around her leg, pulling her down. With a cry, she wedged her fingers between rocks and glanced down. Nobody was there. Her adversary was gone, his broken body lay sprawled on the rocks below. Was another evil, the source of the second Song, working against her now?

She’d never been prone to hysterics, though if ever there had
been a time when they would have been justified, this was it. It was her imagination, it had to be. She forced herself to ignore the downward pressure on the lower half of her body. It was an illusion created by the steep drop beneath her and her uncertain footing.

As the ground crumbled beneath her one remaining foothold, she was left dangling. She struggled desperately to find a new toehold
without success.

Then she heard her brother’s voice from up above. “I’m here, little sister, but you need to come up to the next ledge before I can reach you. Keep going. You can do it.”

Ella’s hands were raw and bloody as she dug her fingers into what seemed impossibly tiny crevices in the crumbling sandstone. The pressure dragging her down increased, as did the temptation to stop fighting.
Pain racked her body. Finally she found a solid place to plant her right foot.

“Keep trying!” Her brother’s voice cracked through the air like a whip, encouraging her with his power.

Ella looked up. She was twenty feet or more from the top. She’d never make it. She searched for a higher handhold, but there were none. Tears of outrage and frustration poured down her face. Her body refused to
fight past the pain.

“Don’t give up!” her brother ordered, his will becoming part of hers.

As Ella tried to find a way to dig her fingers into the unyielding side of the cliff, she kept her body pressed to the wall of sandstone. The badger fetish around her neck dug into her skin, hard, yet warm with the blood and sweat that poured off her body.

Ella thought of the badger and its strength.
She focused on the indomitable will that had always been a part of her.

As she sucked in a ragged breath, the downward pressure abruptly disappeared, and Ella felt a surge of energy washing through her. She couldn’t give up. She’d come too far for that.

Ella forced herself not to look down as she pulled herself toward the ledge she knew was just above. Finally, she felt her brother’s strong
hands grasping her forearms.

“You’re safe now,” he said, pulling her the rest of the way to the top. “You’ve defeated the evil pulling you down.”

Ella sat on the ground, relief flooding over her. Hearing rushing footsteps, she looked over her brother’s shoulder. Help had finally arrived. She could see Sergeant Hobson and the children safely on the bus, and Justine was running up the hill toward
her.

Justine reached them a moment later. She went to Ella’s side, and helped her stand up. “Congratulations. The case has broken wide open. A warrant has been issued for Anderson’s arrest. Your canary has begun to sing.”

“Anderson won’t worm out of this one,” Ella said, walking back downhill toward the road with Justine and her brother.

As Justine took a statement from Clifford, Ella walked
to the truck. When she reached the edge of the road, she saw Carolyn taking care of the wounded bus driver. “What on earth are you doing here?”

“I was at the station going over the independent lab’s report with Big Ed when your report came in, so I caught a ride with Justine and Hobson when they headed out here. They didn’t want to bring me, but I wouldn’t take no for an answer. As the M.E., I
am
part of the police department.”

“Have you been reinstated?”

“You bet. Tolino backed the hospital board to the wall and forced them to do what was right. Your hunch about him was right on target.”

Ella leaned against the truck wearily as Justine came up. “It’s all wrapped up now,” her assistant said. “This case is in the hands of the courts.”

“Not quite,” Ella said. “We know a few of The
Brotherhood’s key players, but only time will tell if we’ve dealt that organization a death blow; and I’m afraid we haven’t heard the last of the Fierce Ones either.”

“Do cops ever win a complete victory?” Carolyn sighed.

Ella smiled at Clifford as he approached and joined them. “Evil always exists. It’s part of the balance, and only by accepting that, can we walk in beauty.”

Clifford smiled.
“There’s hope for you yet.”

As a police van pulled up, Clifford and Carolyn, went to help Sergeant Hobson calm down the children.

Over the excited voices of the young, the distant howl of a coyote rose, making her flesh crawl. Ella’s hand closed over her badger fetish. The sun was sinking fast behind Beautiful Mountain. Ella looked around, studying the adjacent ridges. In the fading light, she
thought she glimpsed an old woman with a cane on the opposite side of the canyon, making her way into the concealing shadows. But then she blinked, and the woman was gone, making her wonder if she’d really seen anyone there.

“The chief wants you back at the station,” Justine said, interrupting her thoughts.

“On my way.” Ella glanced around one last time, trying to push aside her uncertainties.
It was time to let go, at least for now, and wait for fate to make its next move.

By Aimée & David Thurlo

ELLA CLAH NOVELS

Blackening Song

Death Walker

Bad Medicine

Enemy Way

Shooting Chant

Red Mesa

Changing Woman

Tracking Bear

LEE NEZ NOVELS

Second Sunrise

Blood Retribution

SISTER AGATHA NOVELS

Bad Faith

Thief in Retreat

Plant Them Deep

Praise for the Ella Clah novels

“The Thurlos hit all the right notes: they have an intriguing, growing character at the center of a series that combines fast-moving plots and a wealth of fascinating cultural information.”

—
Booklist
on
Wind Spirit

“Combining American Indian lore and contemporary forensics and police techniques, the Thurlos have written yet another novel featuring the battle
between traditionalist and modernist Navajos. The questions of how a tribe can survive in contemporary America without losing its integrity or identity are compelling.”

—
The Dallas Morning News
on
Tracking Bear

“Cultural differences between the traditional and modern Navajo way of life show up in every description, from details of daily life to the science of forensics and uranium mining. Ella
and her family serve as major examples of this cultural push and pull. A skillfully mixed and expertly designed story.”

—
School Library Journal
on
Tracking Bear

“An absorbing, intricate story that gives the reader new insight into the character of Ella Clah.”

—
Romantic Times
on
Changing Woman

“The intelligent and sensitive Ella Clah makes a terrific guide into a complex world where nothing
is quite what it seems.
Red Mesa
is an engrossing mystery as intricately woven as a fine Navajo rug. It kept me guessing to the end.”

—Margaret Coel,
New York Times
bestselling author

“If it’s just too long between Tony Hillerman novels, the mysteries of Aimée and David Thurlo will help you bridge the canyons. If you prefer your mysteries with a little green chile and New Mexico grit, you’ll
want to add the Thurlos to your reading list.”

—
Rocky Mountain News
on
Shooting Chant

MEET THE AUTHORS

Aimée and David Thurlo are the authors of two other Ella Clah novels,
Blackening Song
and
Death Walker.
Aimée is a native of Havana, Cuba. David grew up on the Navajo Reservation in Shiprock, New Mexico.

The Thurlos have been married for more than twenty years and have been writing together for nearly that long. To date, they have published thirty-seven novels. Some of their
recent works are
Cisco’s Woman, Fatal Charm,
and
Her Destiny,
the first book in the Four Winds trilogy.

Aimée and David Thurlo live in Corrales, New Mexico, with a varied and ever-changing menagerie. They are a vital presence on the Internet, and can be contacted at their home page at
http://www.comet.net/writersm/thurlo/home.htm
. or via E-mail at [email protected].

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this novel are either fictitious or are used fictitiously.

BAD MEDICINE

A Forge Book

Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

175 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10010

www.tor.com

Forge
®
is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

Library of Congress
Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Thurlo, Aimée.

Bad medicine / Aimée and David Thurlo.

p. cm.