Ghost Medicine
Authors: Aimée and David Thurlo
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To Diana Norwood and Lilly Norwood, two of our favorite people
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
With special thanks to Steve Henry, attorney-at-law, for sharing his expertise, and Sergeant Ryan Tafoya, who’s always there for us. You guys are terrific.
CONTENTS
ONE
“Change is in the air, partner.” Ella Clah, Special Investigator for the Navajo Tribal Police, gazed at the steep, pastel layered walls of the sandstone mesa north of the valley. She and her partner were 10-7, out of service, having lunch, and she was staring out the window of the Totah Café, her favorite restaurant. Even the land itself changed. New arroyos appeared, and old ones faded
away under clouds of dust and sand, leaving fans of washed-out gravel, and sometimes even petrified shark teeth from an ancient sea.
“Every time we get a new politician out to make his bones, it’s the same thing,” Justine said. “The department gets screwed. From what I’ve heard, Safety Director Bidtah plans to get rid of nonessential officers and what his speechwriters called the ‘deadwood.’
Rumor has it that includes Police Chief Atcitty.”
“Bidtah is all flash and dash. He’s racing up the ladder, walking over anyone who gets in the way. Nothing good ever comes from that kind of ambition,” Ella said. “I understand he plans to cut costs by closing down our special investigations unit, and reducing the number of detectives at our station.”
“Big Ed was responsible for creating our
unit, so by phasing us out, he takes away one of Big Ed’s most successful operations.”
Ella took a bite of her red chile enchilada. The wonderful spicy taste improved her mood instantly.
“If Bidtah wants to disband something, I wish he’d cut those mandatory departmental training workshops,” Justine said. “They’re essentially useless. The last one I suffered through was on how to manage nonviolent
confrontations. The only new thing it offered was a segment on the impact of cell phones.”
“Instant communications can mean even more people involved in altercations, like a family dispute. Fortunately, officers also have that technology. Now, if we just had the manpower,” Ella said.
“I’m scheduled for a session on Saturday. This one is on utilizing nonlethal weapons. Nelson Natani, Bidtah’s
right-hand man, is teaching that one himself. Shall I take notes?”
Ella was about to answer when her cell phone rang. She spoke hurriedly, then looked at her partner. “We’ve got to roll. Finish up fast or get a doggie bag.”
Having already paid when they were served, a necessity when on call, they were out the door in minutes. As they crossed the parking lot, Ella filled Justine in. “We’ve got
a possible 10-27 several miles southwest of Rattlesnake,” Ella said, using the code for a homicide.
“I wish I hadn’t just wolfed down that enchilada. After all these years, I still get queasy around dead people.” Justine kept her eyes glued on the road as she raced off the old steel-trestle San Juan bridge and took the curve at sixty, emergency lights flashing. “Any details on the body?”
“A
girl out horseback riding found a gold pickup on a hill beside the road. She reported seeing a bloody man inside, slumped over the seat, not moving. That’s all we have except for the general location. If it checks out, we’ll bring in the crime scene team.”
“That poor kid,” Justine said. “Bet she remembers this for the rest of her life.”
“Images like that stay with you, no matter how many Sings
you have done,” Ella said in a quiet voice. “When my kid closes her eyes, she dreams of horses. Me? I get corpses. Good thing I’m not a Traditionalist or I’d have to hire a full-time
hataalii,
” she said, referring to their tribe’s medicine men.
“Maybe your brother, Clifford, could give you a ‘friends and family’ discount,” Justine teased.
“If my brother knew how often I have nightmares, he’d
conduct a month’s worth of Sings, but it still wouldn’t help. It’s just something that goes with the job,” Ella said.
Justine nodded as she turned right, continuing on Highway 64 west, passing Shiprock High, then the Phil, the performing arts center.
There were a few cars in the parking lot, probably belonging to kids and staff involved in the summer recreation program. At least today there
was no school zone to slow Justine down.
The route was familiar, rising west into the dry desert hills past the river valley and bosque on the north. Down to their right, farms lined both sides of the river. Water gave life, but except for a heavy rain the other day, there had been almost no moisture so far this year, and it was already mid-June. With so little snowpack last winter, the irrigation
ditches were barely flowing. When droughts came, life became even tougher on the Rez.
“Earth to Ella.”
Justine’s voice brought her back to the present. “Sorry. What did you say?”
“I was thinking of taking the old turnoff west of Rattlesnake,” Justine said. “The road’s rougher there, but I think we’ll reach the scene a few minutes faster. What do you think?”
“You’re driving, go for it,” Ella
said, sitting up straight and clearing her mind. As she tried to focus on the job ahead, her cell phone rang. The caller ID told her it was her fourteen-year-old daughter. “Hey, sweetie, what’s going on?”
“Bitsy just called, Mom. She was out riding her mare a while ago and found a dead man in a pickup less than ten minutes from her front door! She said his body was really messed up. Did you know?”
Dawn’s voice was an octave too high and it reminded Ella of the little girl her daughter had once been. She missed those days more than she’d ever admit.
“Yes, daughter, I heard the news. I didn’t realize until now it was your BFF who found the body. My partner and I are on the way to the site right now. It’s our case.”
“I thought so. I told her you’d probably have to stop by and talk to her.”
“How much did she tell you about what she saw?” Ella asked, hoping the teen hadn’t been busy calling or texting her friends with the news. Details often changed with the telling, and the notion of a body being “messed up” could be interpreted a hundred ways.
“Just what I told you. She would have told me more, but her mom made her get off the phone,” Dawn said. “So what’s going to happen to her
now? Will she have to go to the police station and everything?”
“Probably not, but don’t talk about this to anyone else. It’s a police matter now,” she said. “Just get on with your day. You have your riding lesson with Tonya this afternoon, right?”
“Yeah. I really hope someday I can barrel race like her, Mom. You should see all her trophies.”
“You’re learning from the best. Just be careful.”
Ella put her cell phone back in her pocket and looked around, trying to figure out exactly where they were.
As Justine turned off the highway, Ella had to grab on to the door handle. The road here was a jumble of ruts and potholes more suitable for an obstacle course than for their vehicle. It ran south, paralleling the foothills of the Carrizo Mountains beyond.
“Maybe it’ll just be a drunk
sleeping it off after taking a beating,” Justine said.
“Yeah. When a fight gets out of hand, blood makes it look a lot worse. I hope you’re right.”
Ella looked around cautiously as they topped the third in a series of low hills in the undulating terrain. “Nothing up ahead,” she said.
Justine gripped the wheel tightly. “It’s muddy in this stretch. It looks like they got a lot more rain here
yesterday than we did over at my place.”
They topped the next hill, and clearly visible in the road cut of the next ridge over was a dark gold pickup with the hood raised. Another, an older green pickup, was parked alongside it, and there were two men working on something in the gold pickup’s engine compartment.
“We’ve got company,” Justine said.
“Speed up,” Ella said. “Those aren’t our people
and they have no business going near that truck.”
Justine raced down the slope, siren and emergency lights on. The two men, both in jeans and straw Western hats, turned at the sound. The tallest one had what looked to be the pickup’s battery in his arms. He stared at them for a second, dropped his load, and raced around to the driver’s side. The other man jumped into the truck, barely making
it inside before the vehicle spun around in a tight turn.
“They’re making a run for it,” Ella said.
The green truck sped away, bouncing on the uneven ground as Justine remained in close pursuit, racing uphill.
“There’s nowhere to go, so just keep them in sight,” Ella said, holding on to her seat and trying to keep her balance. “I’ll call for backup.”
She reached down for the radio mike twice,
and each time got bounced away as Justine had to swerve to miss a pothole or encountered a stretch of washboard road that rattled their teeth.
Ella finally made a successful grab, and called it in. After several seconds of hurried conversation, she racked the mike. “Get that?”
Justine nodded, her eyes still on the green pickup, which was fishtailing back and forth across a dry, sandy wash, raising
clouds of dust. “Highway east and west will be covered. Meanwhile, we want to drive them south and cut them off. There’s no outlet south, right?”
“Right,” Ella said.
“Hang on!” Justine shouted as they hit another series of ripples in the hard dirt and gravel. The perps ahead had made it through, though their pickup was veering to the right, and slowing rapidly.
“He’s got tire trouble,” Ella
said. “Get ready for a foot chase.”
“You think they killed the driver?”
“Until we know otherwise … yes.”
The green pickup swung to the left, trying to spin around, do a 180, then slip past them as they entered a deep arroyo. The laws of physics, however, refused to cooperate with their tactics. Instead, their right front tire, flat as could be now, hugged the ground and the vehicle skidded,
lifting the driver’s side off the ground.
“They’re going to roll if they keep this up!” Justine yelled.
The pickup flew up another foot, then dropped back down hard, sliding to a stop, the rear end coming to rest against the steep side of the wash.
“Gotcha now.” Justine hit the brakes, trapping the truck between the canyon wall and the department SUV.
Ella jumped out the passenger-side door,
drew her Glock, and leaned across the hood, barrel pointed at the driver. “Police officers! Stay in the vehicle and show me your hands—both of you.”
Justine’s door was blocked by the front of the green pickup, so she ducked low and slid out Ella’s side. Running to the back of the Suburban, she aimed her weapon at the men.