Ghost Medicine (25 page)

“If you’re right, the bullet may have struck one of those boxes or the wall on the far side. Let’s check it out,” Blalock said.

“Any sign of shell casings?” Justine asked.

“No,” Ella and Blalock replied at the same time.

They looked around carefully. Following the most likely trajectory based on the location of the body, Ella soon found a bullet embedded in the hollow concrete block wall.

“It traveled between the stacks,” Ella said.

“Looks like a .38, or maybe nine-millimeter,” Justine said, coming up for a closer look. “It’s hard for me to tell for sure in this condition, but I’ll confirm it in the lab. If
it’s a nine-millimeter, I’ll check to see if it might have come from Harry’s gun. It’s still missing, so you never know.”

“You’re saying that Harry’s killer kept the weapon and used it to kill O’Donnell?” Blalock asked, looking at Justine, then Ella.

“It’s only stupid if you get caught with it,” Justine said.

“With no shell casings around, though, I’m guessing this murder weapon was a .38,”
Ella said.

“You’re probably right,” Blalock said. “Okay, then, moving on—what’s next? Top-to-bottom search?”

“Yeah. Once the crime scene team arrives, we need to go through all these boxes,” Ella said. “I think the evidence O’Donnell was offering to trade is still here someplace.”

When the sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene, along with the OMI investigator, Ella, Justine, and Blalock stood
back while the newcomers unpacked their gear and set up a crime scene perimeter.

Blalock spoke to Sheriff Taylor on the phone, then joined Ella. “I’m working this crime in conjunction with county, so we have the go-ahead to search each box before it’s taken away. Plan on being here the rest of the night.”

Ella turned around, visually examining the storage unit. There were two small clusters
of what looked like white gravel in front of the garage-type overhead door. She looked up.

“The killer came over the fence, onto the roof, then dropped down here right in front of the open door,” she said, pointing to the ground. “This is gravel from the fiberglass roofing.”

“It makes sense,” Justine said. “If he’d have come in via the front gate, the guard would have seen him, and had he chosen
to enter by jumping over the back fence, he would have been seen by the couple working by their storage unit.”

“Exactly. He took O’Donnell by surprise, and when the vic tried to run, the killer shot him to keep him from getting away. His first shot missed, but the other brought O’Donnell down. When O’Donnell refused to hand over the evidence, the killer shot him at point-blank range,” Ella said.
“By then, we were here, so he had to make a run for it.”

“Makes sense to me,” Blalock said.

“From what O’Donnell told me, the killer was someone he’d done business with, someone he said was crazy. Once the man showed up here, O’Donnell must have known that his options were limited. Protecting the evidence meant moving away from it.” Ella studied the immediate area. “Look at those boxes. They’ve
been moved recently. See how the dust and sand beneath them has been disturbed?”

Justine opened the top box. “This one has ballistic vests, all with SJCSO labels.” Setting it aside, she looked inside the second box. “Office supplies in this one, everything from ink cartridges to external drives.” Justine tried to push the box at the bottom out of the way to make the most use of the limited light.
“It’s heavy,” she said, then opened it where it was. “Handcuffs and belts.”

“A full box of them? Those would have been hard to steal without anyone noticing.” Ella joined her and shone her flashlight inside. “Wait a sec. There’s something taped to the side of the box.” Ella reached in carefully and pulled out a small flash drive. “I think this may be what we’re looking for.”

“If that’s the backup,
where’s the original?” Justine said, thinking out loud. “Let me take a closer look at the other boxes.”

Justine first emptied the box with the office supplies. “There’s an ultra-thin laptop at the very bottom, beneath a layer of ink cartridges.” Justine pulled it out, then glanced at Ella. “No way this is surplus, it’s pretty new and top of the line. I’m guessing it was probably O’Donnell’s.
I could turn it on and take a look at the files, but if they’re encrypted—”

“Do what you can, but don’t risk losing the data,” Ella said. “We don’t know for sure that the flash drive
is
a backup.”

No one rushed Justine, and she booted up the laptop immediately. As she worked, they searched the other containers. One was a wooden crate that had been carefully sealed.

“There’s something in here,”
Blalock said, calling out to Ella. “It’s nailed shut, so we’re going to need something to pry it open.”

One of the crime scene people, a young Hispanic woman in her twenties, came over. “More than a big screwdriver?”

“Oh, yeah,” Blalock said.

The detective returned a moment later, holding a pry bar. Working carefully, they were able to pull away the lid. Inside were several Anasazi pots surrounded
by a heavy layer of packing materials. Most of the protection came from foam peanuts and wadded-up newspaper, though there was also some straw present.

“Can we narrow down the location of the dig site by identifying the plant matter inside and around those pots?” Ella asked Justine.

Justine left the laptop and came over. “Not all the plants around the Rez are cataloged. We’ll need an expert.”

“Like Mom,” Ella said. “She’s spent years cataloging plants for the Plant Watchers and identifying where various species are generally found. I’ll talk to her as soon as possible.”

“I have access to the research she did for the tribe. It’s up in a digital database, including identification keys. If I can take some of these samples to the lab, I can start working on that right away,” Justine said.

“Let me get an okay from county. They’re handling the evidence.” Blalock moved away to speak to the ranking detective, then returned. “Take a few samples, but make sure you sign off on it, and make sure you don’t lose anything.”

“Did you get anywhere with the laptop?” Ella asked as Justine collected what she’d need.

“I need more time. Any chance I can take it to my lab and finish up?”

“I doubt
it, but I’ll ask.” Blalock left to talk to the lead detective. He came back and shook his head. “No, they’ll handle that at the forensic lab in Aztec.”

“If they let me have a few hours with it, I could return it tomorrow morning, early.”

“No, sorry,” Blalock said.

Ella looked at Justine, puzzled by her insistence, but there was no time to ask her about it.

“Clah, I need your help with another
crate,” Blalock said.

They continued working for two more hours, but found nothing else that tied in to Harry’s murder.

After checking with county and making sure she’d still be able to access the scene if necessary, Ella joined Blalock over by the crime scene van.

“I’m beat, Dwayne. Let’s call it a night. With luck, we may be able to get a few hours of sleep before we have to get going again,”
Ella said, and waved to Justine, who was talking to one of the techs.

Blalock looked at his watch. “Yeah, I’m getting too old for this all-night crap.”

Ella smiled. “That’s attitude, not age.”

Blalock chuckled. “Maybe so, Clah, maybe so.”

Ten minutes later, Ella and Justine were on their way west toward Shiprock. “When are you planning to tell me what’s going on with that laptop?” Ella said,
interrupting the long silence that had settled between them.

Justine gave her a sideways look. “How did you—?”

“You have too many ‘tells,’ like rubbing your forehead with your index finger, or tugging at a strand of your hair. I know them all,” Ella said. “What’s going on?”

Justine took a long deep breath, her eyes on the road. “I’ve got to tell you, Ella, I’ve never been so tempted to delete
a file in all my life.”

Ella stared at Justine in surprise. “What on earth did you find?”

“A list of customers who bought Billy’s stolen merchandise and the dates each sale was made. Some of it, like the construction equipment, went to legitimate buyers who are now going to take a loss and maybe face some bad publicity.”

“How can people not know this stuff is illegal when the serial numbers
are altered?”

Justine almost winced.

“You recognized a name among the buyers, didn’t you?” Ella said, taking what she was sure was an accurate guess. She was starting to get a real bad feeling about this.

“Yeah, I did,” Justine said. “E. Atcitty Construction in Shiprock.”

Ella’s eyes widened. “
Elroy
Atcitty?”

“I don’t know of another one.”

Ella stared out the window. The endless expanse
of darkness matched her mood. Elroy Atcitty was Big Ed’s brother.

“Gerald Bidtah has been gunning for Big Ed ever since he took over the tribal agency. If news of this gets out, the scandal and allegations could finish off the chief’s career,” Ella said. “If Elroy somehow manages to avoid jail time or a crippling fine, accusations will be made that Big Ed got him off. Even if Elroy goes to jail,
the taint will remain, and pressure will build for Big Ed to resign.”

“I thought of deleting it, I really did. But if I did that, I don’t think I could have lived with myself.”

“We don’t withhold or hide evidence, cuz. That’s not our job,” Ella said.

“So what do we do next? Should we tell anyone, or just step back and let county figure things out on their own?” Justine asked.

“I’ll talk to
Big Ed first thing tomorrow,” Ella said. “Right now it’s county’s business, so it’s out of our hands. Don’t speak about this to anyone.”

“Including Blalock?” Justine asked.

Ella nodded. “For now.”

NINETEEN

Ella didn’t have much to say at the breakfast table the following morning. She was still processing last night, but her daughter was talking and she realized she had to focus.

“Mom, I’ve been thinking of what college I’d like to go to, and there are so many choices. If I stay in the advanced placement classes, I can get a scholarship to practically anywhere,” Dawn said, “not just
state colleges.”

“You’ll know what to do when the time comes,” Ella said, wondering why her daughter was in such a rush to decide. She was only fourteen, and there was lots of time.

“I wish I could be more like Bitsy. She knows
exactly
what she wants—which college and everything. She thinks we should both apply to Stanford.”

“California is so far from home,” Rose said.

Dawn nodded. “Sarah
says that big-name colleges open more doors once you graduate, and that if I want to get into the FBI Academy, I’ve got to have top credentials.”

Ella choked on her coffee. “You want to do
what
?”

Rose silently slipped away from the table, making herself scarce.

“Mom, I want to join the FBI just like you did. I thought of going to Cal State, since they offer a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal
justice. It’s supposed to be the best anywhere, but Bitsy says that a degree from a place like Stanford carries a lot more weight.”

“That’s true, but the impact a big-name college creates also depends on what career you choose,” Ella said, still trying wrap her head around Dawn’s new career plans.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right. At Stanford I’m going to need a lot more financial help, too.”

A car
honked outside.

“Gotta go. That’s Bitsy’s mom. She’s taking us to Durango for the day, shopping and stuff. I’ll tell you all about it tonight.” Dawn kissed her good-bye and rushed out.

Ella stared at the empty chair where Dawn had been sitting, then glanced at Rose as she walked back into the kitchen. “Law enforcement? Did you know about that, Mom?”

“She admires you, daughter. She wants to
do what you’ve done—only better,” Rose said, and smiled.

Ella laughed. “Yeah, that sounds like her.”

Rose brought Ella a piece of fry bread and a jar of honey.

“Eat something, daughter, and tell me what’s really bothering you.”

Ella smiled. Her mother’s favorite comfort had always been fry bread with honey. Considering that Rose’s recipe for fry bread was to die for, she heartily approved.

“Now, tell me what’s on your mind,” Rose pressed gently.

Ella lathered honey all over the bread and ate in silence for a while. “The department’s headed for some serious shake-ups, Mom,” she said at last.

“I’ve heard that some of the tribal leaders in Window Rock want you to work down there.” She gave Ella a long look. “But that’s not what’s worrying you, is it?”

“I can’t give you any details,
it’s police business, but there might be some serious trouble ahead for some people at our station.”

“Including you?” Rose asked.

“No, I have my own problems, but it’s nothing like what’s facing some others. I’m talking about having reputations ruined and careers destroyed.”

“Is there anything you can do?”

Ella shook her head. “Not really.”

“Then let things work out on their own. Eventually
harmony will be restored.”

Ella leaned back in her chair, idly glancing down at her hand. At least the cut was healed over now. “You’re right,” she finally said. “My focus has to remain on the case, and that brings me to a favor I’d like to ask you.” She told Rose about the unidentified Anasazi pottery.

“That’s somebody else’s history—their property. I don’t like to handle those things,” Rose
said.

“You won’t have to, Mom, but no one knows the Plant People like you do. I need you to help my second cousin. Come down to the station and see if you can recognize the seeds and the bits of plant debris we found on the pots. That may help us figure out where those pots might have been dug up.”

Rose considered it in silence, then finally nodded. “Will it be okay if I come in later this morning?”

“That’ll be perfect.”

*   *   *

Ella headed to the station. The first thing she’d have to do this morning was speak to Big Ed. Although this was a meeting she would have preferred to avoid altogether, he had to know what was going on.