Ghost Medicine (32 page)

“So where has Truman been getting all the Anasazi stuff? Digging it up? Buying it from someone?”

Eileen stayed very still and stared at the floor. “I don’t know. He wouldn’t tell me. I followed him one time, but he saw me and got really mad. That was the only time he threatened to hit me.”

Ella knew she was lying and was about to confront
her when Justine came in and whispered in Ella’s ear.

“We found her phone. There’s nothing there,” Justine said.

Ella glared at Eileen as Justine left the room. “You’ve lied to me, so I’m finished with you. My team checked your phone, and there’s nothing in the memory. Good luck in prison.”

“Wait. I wasn’t talking about the one in my purse,” she said quickly. “To make sure Truman never found
out what I was doing, I had two identical phones. Truman snooped through my phone from time to time to see who I talked to and what I was doing, so I hid the one with the stuff I needed.”

“Where’s that phone?”

“It’s in my locker at the Little Bear Café. Check it out. You’ll see.”

“You still haven’t told me why Truman killed O’Donnell with that revolver,” Ella said, letting Eileen assume she
already knew that’s what had happened. “Did O’Donnell figure out that Truman had killed the PI?”

“Yeah, and he was using that to pressure Truman into giving him a better deal on the Anasazi stuff,” Eileen said. “It was a standoff until Truman spoke to one of Billy’s cashiers, Cassie something. She told him that Billy was in trouble with the police.”

“Truman was worried that Billy would sell
him out,” Ella suggested.

“Oh, yeah. He drove to Billy’s house to find out what was going on. Billy said he was going to cut off his ankle bracelet, get rid of the evidence, then turn himself in. He promised to keep Truman out of it, but Truman wanted his pots back. Billy said that they’d all been sold, but Truman didn’t believe him. He followed Billy to his stash and shot him. Before he could
search the place, you guys showed up, so he had to take off.”

Ella said nothing for several long moments, then spoke slowly and deliberately. “You know exactly where the dig is, Eileen.” Ella stood and, with one hand on the back of Eileen’s chair, leaned over, invading her personal space. “So why are you still playing games with me, mixing in lies with the truth?”

Eileen remained rock-still.
“I’ve cooperated completely and told you everything I know. Now I want a tribal lawyer. I’m not saying another word.”

Ella met Victoria out in the hall. “What do you think?”

“She remained calm when you got in her face. That much control tells me she’s holding back,” Victoria said. “She knows exactly where the dig is.”

Ella stared at the floor for a second, gathering her thoughts, then looked
directly at Victoria. “My brother said that you have a remarkable gift.”

Victoria quickly held up one hand. “Don’t go there, Ella. I’m a good observer, and my police training is a real asset to any investigation. If you’re willing to accept my help on that basis, I’ll go back to Truman John’s home and help you find that dig site.”

“All right. Let’s do it.”

Blalock, standing by the coffee machine,
waved them over. “There’s nothing more we can do here until the tribal attorney arrives. Coffee, my treat?”

“Instead of coffee, why don’t you join us at Truman’s home and help us search? I’m convinced the dig is there,” Ella said, then looked at Justine, who was jogging over.

“Got some good news,” Justine said. “The patrolman we sent to the Little Bear Café found a phone in Eileen’s locker.
He’s bringing it in along with the rest of the locker contents, including a red wig and some sexy clothes. His words, not mine.”

“No surprise. Stay here and check out the phone, Justine. We need to know if Eileen was lying about the recording and the video. As soon as you know, call me,” Ella said.

By the time they arrived at the site, they were running out of daylight. With luck, they’d have
another hour, maybe a little more, before they’d need floodlights.

“Okay, everyone. Search the ground for new vegetation or plants that are different from the ones growing in the surrounding area. Keep your eyes open and trust your instincts.”

“It’s not here,” Blalock said after thirty minutes. “I think this is one secret Truman may take to his grave.”

Victoria shook her head. “It’s here.”
She stood completely still, facing away from the house.

As Ella waited, she saw Victoria playing absently with something in her hand. Curious, Ella watched for a second longer and caught a glimpse of the rock crystal bracelet that was now in Victoria’s palm. She wasn’t gazing at it; she was just holding it, as an Anglo might a good luck charm.

Victoria smiled slowly, then turned to look at the
property. “There’s one place we haven’t looked. I bet it’s there.”

Ella glanced around. “What are you talking about? We’ve looked everywhere.”

“No, not really.” Victoria pointed to the sixty or more bales of straw that had been stacked on large wooden pallets inside the loafing shed. “He doesn’t have animals that might use the straw for bedding, and his landscaping barely makes use of one bale.
Although he’s used straw for packing before, that amounts to maybe one more bale. So why does he have a stack that size, and why use pallets to keep them off the ground? They’re on a high spot, so it’s not a drainage issue.”

“Maybe he intends on reselling them off-season and making a little profit,” Blalock said.

“Alfalfa, maybe; straw, I don’t think so,” Victoria said. “I’m guessing those bales
are there to cover up something.”

“Doesn’t make much sense to me,” Blalock said. “Each time he wanted to excavate and search for artifacts, he would have had to move those bales. That’s a lot of hard work. Those pallets aren’t on rollers, and he doesn’t have a forklift to shuffle them around.”

“Okay, if we assume he’s hiding something below the pallets, here’s another idea. What if he’s booby-trapped
the bales?” Ella said. “This guy was a game player—for keeps.”

“We’ll keep an eye out, just in case, but there’s no way we’re moving those fifty-plus bales without some extra muscle. Call in reinforcements,” Blalock said.

Ella put out the call, then got hold of Big Ed and updated him. Once she hung up, she turned to the others. “Before we waste more energy on speculation, let’s take a closer
look at the bales and the area around them. Maybe we can find something that’ll tell us if we’re on the right track. And keep a sharp eye out for anything that doesn’t look right, like a trip wire or a pressure plate. I suggest we start with the corner pallet least visible from the road, then check every corner pallet before working toward the center of the stack. If it were me hiding something I
needed easy access to, I’d put it around the perimeter of the stack.”

It wasn’t long before Philip and Michael Cloud, who’d been off duty, arrived to help out. Ella worked alongside them while Tache, their explosives expert, checked out each bale on the corner pallet before they removed it. Several of the officers had horses of their own and were used to handling bales of alfalfa or grass. They
found these straw bales lighter than expected and easier to move, which led to them breaking a few open to look inside, just in case.

When they got down to the last two bales on the first pallet, Ella saw the wooden platform wobble slightly.

“Hold it, guys,” she said.

Working together, Blalock and Ella carefully lifted the two remaining bales and tipped the pallet on end.

“It scraped something
solid underneath,” Ella said, reaching down. After brushing away a layer of straw and sand, she exposed a thick sheet of plywood coated with sand-colored deck sealer.

They set the empty pallet completely aside, then lifted away the sheet of plywood, which had been reinforced on the bottom with rails of sealed pine. Beneath it was a space about four feet deep resembling a basement. It was supported
on top with an intricate wooden framework that also shored up the other pallets. A battery-powered lamp lay inside close by, and when Ella dropped down and turned it on, she saw a ladder leading into a vertical shaft.

Victoria jumped down beside Ella. “This is the dig site. My guess is that when he and Eileen were setting up her garden, they stumbled on a real treasure trove.”

“So they constructed
the loafing shed over the spot, and worked their way down, maybe covering the hole with that tarp at first,” Blalock said, joining them and pointing to a large, dusty canvas tarp rolled up against one side of the earthen enclosure. “Putting a roof over everything, then covering it with the bales, kept everything out of sight and safe.”

“The problem is, those artifacts were never theirs. They
belong to the tribe,” Victoria said.

“To make sure this discovery remains safely in the hands of the People, let’s clear more of the pallets away, take the tarp topside, and use it to cover and protect whatever remains below,” Ella said.

As soon as they were back on the surface, Ella pulled her cell phone out. “I’ll call the anthropology department at the tribal community college and have some
of their experts assist our crime scene people. They’ll know the best way to preserve the site. We’ll also need to leave a couple of officers out here tonight.” Before she could say more, Ella saw the plume of dust rising in the air.

“There’s Big Ed now,” Blalock said. “I got a text message saying he was on his way. The local reporters for the TV affiliates won’t be far behind.”

“Reporters?
How do they know about this place already?” Ella asked.

“Get with the program, Clah. The new tribal police motto is—never miss a photo op,” Blalock said. “Department Head Bidtah was in the office when you called the chief, and Big Ed told him what was going down.”

Ella groaned.

“Cheer up,” Victoria said with a smile. “It’s not that bad. The tribal police should share its successes with the
public. It generates trust and confidence.”

Ella saw the tribal public safety director’s special SUV following closely behind Big Ed’s. This wasn’t about sharing a victory; it was about taking credit—the wave of the future.

TWENTY-THREE

It was close to nine that night when Big Ed took Ella aside, away from the gathered crowd of reporters just outside the fenced-in enclosure. All the bales and pallets had been removed and stacked against one length of fence, exposing the entire dig, which was now illuminated by floodlights on stands. Bidtah was speaking to the members of the college anthropology staff and the
reporters gathered there.

“I know you hate this kind of grandstanding and so do I, but this is his game now,” Big Ed said.

“You’re still the chief,” Ella said.

“Not for long, so watch your back, Shorty,” Big Ed whispered in the dark.

“You’re retiring?” she asked, not surprised, but not happy to hear the news, either.

“I go on vacation starting tomorrow, then my retirement kicks in at the
end of the month,” he said with a nod. “Bidtah made me an offer and I took it. The DA won’t press charges against my brother for the purchase of stolen county property—providing full restitution is made. Basically, it’s a done deal, except for the paperwork. All parties have agreed to the terms, so this is my last official function.”

“Why did you let them force your hand like that? They didn’t
have that much of a case against Elroy. Proving that he’d actually known the merchandise was stolen would have been nearly impossible.”

“I know, but I didn’t want to drag my brother’s name through the mud. His wife’s cancer has progressed, and the guy needs a break.” He paused, then added, “I’ve been in this game long enough and made my mark, for what it’s worth. It’s time for me to move on.”

Ella nodded slowly. “Has Bidtah selected a new chief yet?”

“Yeah. Nelson Natani will be taking over tomorrow morning.”

“Crap.” Ella’s stomach sank. Today had been a roller coaster ride of emotions and events, and she felt back at the bottom again. Her eyes were suddenly moist, but the tears were for her old boss, not because of her new one. Ella wiped them away, glancing over at Big Ed, who was
also having eye problems at the moment.

Gerald Bidtah waved at them and called out. “Come over, team. Let’s get a photo of all who worked so hard to bring justice to the People.”

Big Ed forced a smile. “Come on, Shorty. One last time.”

*   *   *

Sunlight played on Ella’s pillow, nudging her awake. Judging from the stillness in the house and the high position of the sun outside, she’d overslept,
but it didn’t matter. She’d worked almost all night, wrapping up the case.

Hearing her cell phone ring, Ella picked it up with a groan and saw it was Justine calling.

“You better get over here, partner,” Justine said. “Things are happening fast. The new boss showed up early and has already hand-delivered letters and marching orders to every officer at the station. The biggest impact on us is,
quote, ‘outdated and no longer cost effective’ and is the reason we’re being eliminated. We’re all being reassigned. Benny and I are the only ones from the team who’ll be staying here in Shiprock as detectives, working homicide, burglary, or wherever we’re needed. We’ll answer directly to Natani.”

“And Ralph?” Ella asked, knowing he, too, was close to retirement.

“I don’t know, he won’t say,
but he wants to talk to you as soon as you come into the station.”

“I’ll be there in thirty,” Ella said, already heading toward the shower. She’d made her own career decision on the drive home last night. She knew what she had to do. For her, the hard part was over.

Ella met her mother in the kitchen fifteen minutes later. “Just coffee this morning, Mom.”

Rose studied her face. “Anything you
want to tell me, daughter?”

Ella smiled, suspecting her mother already knew what she’d decided. “I have to get going, Mom, but we’ll all talk tonight. I promise.” Ella gave her a quick hug, then hurried outside to her pickup.

*   *   *

When Ella walked through the front doors of the station, she could feel the tension in the air. It was a tangible presence evidenced in the hushed voices and
the flat, emotionless cop stares—a sure sign that emotions were deliberately being kept in check.