Ghost Medicine (11 page)

“Yeah, get a warrant to look at all of Harry’s phone calls. Maybe his ‘date’ has his number. We’ll also want to seize any mail that arrives at his apartment.
We need a solid lead.”

“What about the skinwalker angle? Have you been able to talk to Clifford about possible suspects?”

“Not yet, but I’ll keep trying to reach him,” Ella said.

*   *   *

It was five thirty in the afternoon and still in the high eighties outside when Ella left work for the day and headed home. She drove at a leisurely pace, welcoming a little time to herself.

She passed
the scattered houses and businesses lining both sides of the long hill rising to the south. To the west, the volcanic cone of Ship Rock rose from its base in the dry sand. Off to her left, Cathedral Mesa stood alone, like an enormous bench rising in the desert.

She soon reached the turnoff that led to her home and, beyond that, her brother Clifford’s place. After a five-minute drive down the
dusty road, she pulled up by her large wooden frame house.

As Ella stepped out of the vehicle, the wonderful aroma of freshly baked pinto beans, fry bread, and roasted green chile filled the air. Rose’s cooking was second to none.

Rose appeared at the kitchen screen door a moment later. “Daughter, you’re just in time for dinner.”

“Navajo tacos?” Ella said, suddenly very hungry.

“How did you—?
Oh, of course,” Rose replied with a wide smile, sniffing the air.

“Mom, I wouldn’t be much of a detective if I couldn’t pick up the trail of freshly cooked pinto beans.” Ella held the screen open while her mother went inside. Dawn, still in her riding clothes, was already at the table eating. Her mouth full, she waved with a twittering of her fingers. Herman, seated at the end of the table, stood
as they came in.

“It’s good to have you home for dinner,” he said. “You’re planning to join us, right?”

“Yes, but I have to work later tonight, so I won’t be able to stay for long.” She still had to talk to Clifford, then meet Dan at that Farmington bar so they could try to track down Harry’s mystery date. If they ended up having to go bar hopping in order to find her, she might not make it
home until after the local bars closed.

“Here, eat,” Herman said, offering her a serving. The large plate was filled with a saucer-sized piece of puffy fry bread, pinto beans, spicy salsa, shredded lettuce, green chile, and the whole thing was sprinkled with grated cheddar cheese.

“Thanks,” she said, realizing suddenly how hungry she was. Ella took the plate.

“So, where are you going tonight,
Mom? Do you already have a suspect?” Dawn said, then seeing Rose’s stern look, cringed and stared at her plate.

Ella, knowing her mother didn’t like that kind of talk at the table, lowered her voice and leaned closer to her daughter. “Let’s not discuss that right now, okay, beanstalk?” Dawn was growing by leaps and bounds, and was nearly five foot seven and a half now. In another year, she’d
be wearing Ella’s jeans.

Dawn laughed. “You managed to find a nickname even worse than ‘pumpkin.’”

“You’re growing like a weed, but I thought you’d resent being called ‘tumbleweed,’” Ella said, grabbing her fork and digging in to her meal.

Rose joined them at the table with her own plate and looked at Dawn. “I’m glad that you finally emptied the trash in your bathroom, but you haven’t cleaned
in there yet. No more excuses, granddaughter. It gets done before you go to bed tonight.”

“But tonight’s—,” Dawn began.

“You heard your
shimasání,
daughter,” Ella said firmly. “Now, eat your food while it’s warm.”

About twenty minutes later, while sipping the last of her iced tea with her family, Ella’s cell phone rang. Seeing it was from Clifford, she excused herself and answered the call
in the living room.

Ella spoke to her brother quickly and, in hushed tones, agreed to meet him at his home in a few minutes rather than talk over the phone. Though she hated to leave the family dinner early, she took her plate and utensils to the sink and said good-bye, giving Dawn’s shoulder a quick squeeze.

Five minutes later, she was in her pickup driving west to Clifford’s home. The drive
was short and as she pulled up, she saw him attaching a windshield wiper blade to his pickup on the passenger side. He waved, then walked over to meet her.

“Hey, brother, how’s your family doing up at the sheep camp?” Ella greeted.

“My son’s a much better camper than my wife. She’s supposed to be a Traditionalist, but she’s lost without her gas stove. Cooking in a Dutch oven over an outdoor
grill makes her nervous. She’s too much of a perfectionist these days.”

Ella smiled. She and Loretta had never gotten along. Though Loretta had turned out to be the perfect wife for her brother and a good mother to Julian, Ella felt no sympathy for her sister-in-law, who had a tendency to act superior at times.

“How is your son’s
hataalii
training going these days?” Ella asked. Though only sixteen,
Julian continued to express an interest in continuing his father’s work.

“He’s just now realizing how much time and work it’s going to take to become a Singer. He also knows that in today’s world, he’s going to need a second job if he wants to be able to provide for a family. Not many Navajos are still following the Way. That means learning a trade or attending college, and probably leaving the
reservation for some time at least. You walked the same path, sister.”

“True, but your kid’s more grounded than I was at his age. He knows what he wants. My primary goal back then was to get away from what I didn’t want.”

“Or thought you didn’t want,” he said. “Now, here you are, doing some of the tribe’s most valuable work. I’m glad you came back when you did. The People needed you.”

“Police
work is never-ending,” she said with a nod. “Did word reach you up at the sheep camp about my friend’s murder?”

“Yes and I got your messages, too. The minute you mentioned where you’d found your friend’s body, I knew why you needed to talk to me.”

“So you’ve also heard stories about evil ones in that area? Is there any truth to those rumors?” Ella said, careful not to voice words like “skinwalkers”
and “Navajo witches.” Although Clifford was one of the most powerful Singers on the Navajo Nation, he still regarded them as highly dangerous and avoided doing anything that might call them to him.

“What kind of signs have you found?” Clifford asked.

Ella described the removal of Harry’s fingertips, the backward footprints, the dead crow, and, lastly, the charcoal drypainting Truman John and
his girlfriend claimed to have seen.

“Those backward steps aren’t inconsistent with what I’ve seen or heard regarding their trickery. They want to generate confusion. As for the rest, that’s certainly part of their MO, if you will. Do you have any suspects?”

“Two individuals tried to set fire to my department SUV, but there’s no way I can link either to the evil ones. I’ve spoken to the area
residents, too, but if anyone has actually seen the one or ones responsible, they aren’t talking. What I can tell you is that most of the people our officers have interviewed so far are really frightened.”

“You and your team need to carry protection at all times.” He glanced down at the medicine bag Ella had fastened to her belt. “If you need more of those, let me know.”

“I will, and thanks,”
she said. “There’s another way you can help. I need a list of suspects, people you think might have been drawn to this evil. Word always gets around, even if it’s only spoken in whispers, and people do talk to you about things like that.”

“All right. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thanks,” Ella said. “Will you be staying for a while, or are you going back up to join your family?”

“Looks like I’ll
be sticking around for a few more days. I’ve had several calls from patients, and with this new danger, there’ll be others who’ll need me. I’ll give you a call before I leave again.”

“Good, I appreciate that. If I come across any more physical evidence like ritual items or ceremonial sites, would you be willing to come take a look for yourself? I’d like you to verify that it’s legitimate and
not just someone out to scare people.”

“If I can, I’ll come,” he said. “Just be careful when you handle any artifacts. Keep your protection with you at all times.”

“Okay. I’ll be in touch,” Ella said, and walked to her truck.

“Stay safe,” Clifford called.

“You, too,” she said, and waved.

As she climbed into the vehicle, she saw that Clifford had already disappeared into his medicine hogan.
Though their careers were worlds—and centuries—apart, they were both Navajos who believed in the
Diné
. They still joined forces whenever necessary to protect their families and the tribe. She’d never have a more dependable or stronger ally than Clifford, especially when things got tough.

Seeing a cottontail dart out in front of her on the road, Ella slammed on the brakes. As she came to a stop,
successfully avoiding the animal, she heard something tumbling in the bed of her truck. She looked back through the rear cab window, but didn’t see a thing. Curious, she unfastened her seat belt, deciding to take a closer look. Normally, unless she was hauling hay, there was nothing back there.

Ella walked to the tailgate, wondering if something had come loose. A second later, she saw a white
object several inches long resting on the truck bed close to the cab.

Rather than climb in, Ella went around to reach in. The second she picked it up, she realized what it was. The bleached-out animal jawbone still held a tooth—a canine. Scratched into the bone were two crude letters—“CE,” her initials—written backward. There was something on the bone, too. She looked down at her hand. What she’d
thought was sand was too finely ground. It was bits of gray ash.

The implied threat was clear. Cars and trucks could be witched. The skinwalker had meant for her to have a fatal accident.

Yet that didn’t bother her nearly so much as the knowledge that her truck had been parked at home when this … thing … had been added to it.

Nothing had been sliding back there, or rolling around when she’d
left the station. At Clifford’s, both she and her brother had been in full view of her pickup the entire time.

Anger swelled inside her. The skinwalker had wanted her to know that she wasn’t out of his reach, no matter where she was.

She tried to calm down and clear her thoughts. Although he’d hoped to scare her, what he’d actually done was really piss her off. The skinwalker probably didn’t
realize it yet, but he’d made a big mistake—and a bad enemy. By coming to her home, he’d made it personal. She wouldn’t rest until the slimeball was behind bars.

Ella placed the jawbone into a school-lunch-sized paper bag. She always kept a few of these around to collect and contain evidence. Being on call virtually 24/7 meant that sometimes she’d arrive at a crime scene in her personal vehicle.

Ella headed to the station next and called Justine on the way, giving her a quick rundown. When she walked through the doors a short time later, Ella saw Justine waiting for her in the hall, Big Ed a few feet behind her. Like everyone else, he was working late today—no surprise, considering the publicity the murder had generated in the community.

“You told him?” Ella asked Justine quickly after
Big Ed cocked his head toward his office and disappeared from view.

“It was the only way I could get a larger police presence around your house, effective immediately.”

“You called for more units to actively patrol the area?” Ella asked.

“Yeah.”

“Thanks, partner,” Ella said, and handed Justine the paper bag. “See what you can get from this thing.”

“You’ve got it.”

“I’ll catch you later.”
Ella went to the chief’s office next.

“Tell me what happened,” Big Ed said, and waved her to a chair.

Ella gave him the highlights. “Chief, if this crazy thinks I’m going to run away screaming, he’s in for one helluva surprise. All he’s done is guarantee that I’ll go after him with everything I’ve got.”

“He’s trying to rattle you, to divert your focus away from the homicide investigation. Don’t
get sucked in,” Big Ed said. “I’ve already arranged for Phillip and Michael Cloud to alternate patrols around your home and that of your brother’s. One of them will be in the immediate area at all times.”

When she heard him mention Herman’s nephews, she nearly cringed. “Those guys are top-notch officers, but once they tell their uncle, my mother will find out. Knowing that a skinwalker was that
close to our home is really going to scare her.”

“Maybe so, but you can’t keep your family in the dark about this. This perp left the jawbone in your truck, but how do you know there’s not another surprise waiting around the house?”

“Good point.”

“Do you still have a family dog?” Seeing Ella nod, he added, “So how come he didn’t bark when a stranger approached?” Big Ed asked.

“Two’s getting
old. He can sleep through a thunderstorm. I think his hearing’s nearly gone.”

“Consider getting a second dog.”

“Before I go, Chief, I’d like to request that you speak to Sheriff Taylor and ask for his cooperation. I think Harry’s murder was linked to the theft of county property, a case he was investigating,” she said, giving him the information. “I can really use an official liaison.”

“I’ll
handle that for you, but keep me updated.”

“I will,” she said, and soon afterwards left the station.

By the time she pulled up to the house and parked, Herman was outside, waiting for her. Judging from the look on his face, he already knew, and that meant that the ones inside probably did, too.

Ella braced herself. As she walked up to the front door, Rose came out to the porch. “We’ve searched
everywhere, daughter, but there are no hidden warnings or evils waiting for us here. Just to make sure, your brother came by immediately and offered prayers for our protection. He also added a few things to our medicine bundles.”

Ella stared at her mother. She’d expected hysteria, or maybe anger, but not this calmness. She glanced at Herman, hoping for an explanation.