Tracking Bear (5 page)

“I’ll be in touch, Investigator Clah,” Delbert Shives said, “and send you an e-mail reminder in a few days. Meanwhile, my,
our
thoughts are with the department and the family of the officer.” Shives knew enough not to shake
hands, so he simply nodded. Bruno smiled and turned, walking away quickly.

When the two were out of sight, Ella forced herself to forget about the misspending of scarce tribal resources. If she dwelled on that, it would just make her crazy.

Bringing her thoughts back to the case, she concentrated on Kee Franklin. Using Professor Franklin’s Social Security number, she accessed his credit report.
She’d just started looking it over for unusual activity when Sergeant Neskahi knocked on her open door.

Joseph, a former wrestler in high school, had kept in shape over the years, thanks to regular workouts. He was built like a safe—all square and hard, something that seemed even more emphasized by his buzz-cut hairstyle. But there was a look about him these days that hadn’t been there in years
past. It was the harshness officers acquired with experience, which often came to the surface during times of stress.

“Sit down, Joseph,” she said, waving him to a chair.

“What’s going on, Ella? Are you going to transfer me back to the SI Unit?”

“Not right now. With the shortage of patrol cops, the department needs you out there more.”

Neskahi nodded. “Things are getting pretty bad, aren’t
they? Half of us don’t even have vehicles we can depend upon. Do you think it’ll change now that an officer got killed because his radio was cutting out?”

She’d hoped that news about Franklin’s faulty radio wouldn’t leak out so fast, though she should have known it would spread like wildfire. A flash of anger swept through her again as she thought of Bruno’s workshop and how the little funding
they had was being misspent. Taking a deep breath, she focused on the sergeant. “I don’t understand anything the council does these days. Their priorities are backwards.”

He nodded somberly. “As always. So tell me, what I can do for you?”

“I need to know about Officer Franklin. Someone said that you two knew each other well.”

“We knew each other professionally, but we weren’t friends. We were
on opposite sides of the NEED issue, and often debated against each other at Chapter House meetings,” he said, referring to the regular community meetings on the Rez.

“You live in the same area then?”

He nodded. “But philosophically we share very little common ground. I’m a pragmatist—always have been,” he said. “Refusing to go forward because of fear is a bad strategy.”

“At those chapter meetings…how
evenly divided on the NEED issue are the people who attend?”

“I get the feeling that it’s almost fifty-fifty. The older ones who’ve seen what uranium has already done to the People are usually very close-minded about it. But those like me, who see we’re running out of choices, consider it a viable option, if it’s done safely.”

“As far as you know, did Officer Franklin make any real enemies at
these meetings?”

“Jason did make a lot of people angry when he spoke against NEED, particularly me. But I didn’t have anything to do with his death, and I very much doubt he was killed because of his views on the NEED proposal. He fought hard to present his position clearly and unemotionally, and we all knew his first concern was for the tribe. Everyone respected him. The only ones I know the
Dineh
there couldn’t stand were the outsiders, mostly big-company Anglos, who came with their optimistic speeches and empty promises. Experience tells most of us that the energy industry promoters can’t be trusted. They don’t have to live with their mistakes—we do.”

“Yeah, good point.”

“I’ve only seen one Anglo at the meetings who seems to know what he’s talking about and tries to present the
issue squarely, addressing both pros and cons. You know him. Delbert Shives, the guy who was just here with the leggy blonde. The Tribal Council has been sending him to Chapter meetings to give everyone an overview of how the new nuclear power plant would work. The man’s quick and to the point, then leaves. He doesn’t try to take part in any discussions.”

“I guess I’ll hear his speech sooner
or later,” Ella said.

“I’d say you can pretty much count on it if you go to Chapter House meetings. Is there anything else?”

“No, just keep your eyes and ears open. If Officer Franklin made enemies because of his position concerning NEED, or for any other reason, I want to know about it.”

“You’ve got it.” Neskahi stood up. “In my opinion, a good cop got killed because he interrupted a crime.
I’ll try to find out if any of the known perps in my area have it in for cops.”

She watched him leave, lost in thought. Something told her that troubles on the Rez were only beginning.

The next morning, Ella joined the members of her Special Investigations Unit in Chief Big Ed Atcitty’s office. Justine had spent most of the previous day following up on every crime report filed within the past six months in officer Franklin’s patrol area, but had turned up nothing useful.

Justine spoke first,
reporting what they’d received from the ME. “Dr. Roanhorse-Lavery recovered a .380 hollow point from the victim. It’s disfigured, but obviously didn’t come from the victim’s own nine-millimeter, nor his backup weapon, which was a thirty-eight. Neither had been fired.”

“How about rifling and ballistics characteristics?” Ella asked. “Is the slug in good enough shape to allow us to get a match if
we recover a weapon?”

“I’ve got enough on the lands and grooves to say the weapon was probably a Colt Mustang, which has a real short barrel. It’s a pocket gun, basically. I should have more later.”

“Sounds like a backup weapon,” Ella commented.

“That Colt is a semiauto, so unless the shell casing has been overlooked, the killer picked it up and took it with him. Pretty cool customer,” Tache
added.

“So until we come across the murder weapon, we’re nowhere,” Big Ed said, rocking back and forth in his office chair slowly.

“I’m now planning to go back three years and check any felony arrests Officer Franklin made, paying close attention to any cases where his testimony helped send someone to prison,” Justine said. “But, for now, all we really have as physical evidence is that bullet,
a footprint, and the hairs.”

“Anyone else have something to add?”

Ella glanced at Ralph Tache, Justine, then back at Big Ed. “I think someone tailed me yesterday when I went to visit Professor Franklin to give him the news about his son.”

“You
think
?” Big Ed asked. He stopped rocking and leaned forward.

“Yeah. I didn’t see any vehicle I could check on, but I had a strong feeling that I was
being followed. I realize that’s vague, but I’m sure of it. Someone was there.”

“Any theories?” Big Ed asked.

“Maybe someone wants to see what direction our investigation is taking. Or it might be an old enemy of mine working on his own agenda. There’s no shortage of those.”

Justine gave her a worried look. “Sometimes your enemies can devise complex conspiracies,” she said, looking down at
her trigger finger, which was cut off at the knuckle, and remembering. “Watch yourself.”

“I want the Special Investigations team to get this cop killer ASAP. This crime goes to the top of all our lists. Am I making myself clear?” Chief Atcitty said.

“Understood,” Ella answered. “I’ll be doing a complete background check on Officer Franklin’s family next. Maybe a motive will turn up that’ll lead
the case away from the apparent burglar overreaction—which I really have a hard time buying.”

As Ella returned to her office, she saw Kevin Tolino, Dawn’s father, waiting for her. Kevin was dressed in a dark blue silk sports jacket and turquoise-and-silver bolo tie. There was no denying that Kevin was one of the best-looking Navajo men she’d ever met. His natural charisma coupled with that tall,
lanky, broad-shouldered build was a powerful combination. “This is a surprise,” she said. “What brings you here today?”

“I needed to talk to you, Ella.”

Ella sat down, studying Kevin’s expression. He sat, too, but looked apprehensive and ill at ease. That was unusual for him. As an attorney and member of the Tribal Council, he was used to guarding his emotions and demeanor.

“What’s going on,
Kevin?”

“George Branch, the A.M. radio hit man, is what’s going on. You know how, in the past, he’s singled you and the police department out for his diatribes? Well, his last four programs have been no-holds-barred attacks on me.”

“Kevin, you know that I can’t do anything about that. Freedom of speech is protected, even for pompous, self-important media personalities, as long as they don’t
slander anyone outright. And now that you’re a member of the Tribal Council, you get to climb up and serve as a shooting gallery target with the rest of the politicians and public servants.”

“I’m an attorney, Ella. I know precisely what you can and can’t do, but he’s stepped over the line. Get a tape recorder, because I want to file a complaint. Once someone types it up, I’ll sign it and make
it official.”

Ella placed a small tape recorder on the desk before her and waited.

“Thanks to those broadcasts by George Branch, I’m being harassed, perhaps stalked is a better description, and I’ve just about had it.”

“Who’s harassing you, and what have they done?”

“It all began four days ago when Branch came after me on his program. He referred to me as a Navajo yo-yo.”

“Why?”

“Because
I changed my mind about gambling on the Rez and limited the casino to one location only, on a trial basis. For that reason alone, that half-Navajo nitwit accused me of having no principles and turning my back on my political supporters and the tribe.” He paused. “It’s true that I altered my position on the gambling issue, but I had a very good reason to do that, and you
know
I’ve never turned
my back on the tribe.”

Ella nodded, and waited.

“After that broadcast aired the trouble began. I started getting phone calls at two or three in the morning, and when I’d pick up the phone, whoever it was hung up. The calls came from public phones all over the county, according to my caller ID system. Then I decided to leave my phone off the hook at night. The day after that, I found my new car
vandalized—the windshield was broken and the headlights were busted.” He paused and took a breath. “I want the police to look into this.”

“The only thing we could do is contact the phone company and start monitoring your calls. But that means we’d tap your line and you’d have absolutely no privacy. Make sure you realize all the implications of what you’re asking us to do.”

“Tracing the calls
is not going to work. He doesn’t call from a private number, and your chances of catching him at whatever public phone he uses are slim.” He leaned back in the chair and regarded her thoughtfully. “What I want is for the police to come and take fingerprints next time my property is vandalized. I’ll make sure someone is there to meet the officer if I can’t be there for some reason.”

“If there’s
anything we can lift prints from, we’ll do it. But listen, Kevin, until the person who’s after you is caught, I don’t want you to pick up Dawn and take her out with you. Come visit her at my mother’s house, okay? I won’t have her exposed to any more potentially dangerous situations. I know you haven’t forgotten how close she came to being kidnapped just last year.”

“How could I? Don’t worry,
I’ve already made the decision to stay away altogether for a while. Neither one of us wants a repeat of what happened before,” he said. “Does she still have nightmares about the gunshots and hiding down in the cellar?”

“No, she’s adjusted remarkably well.”

“I’m glad. I wish mine would go away.” Kevin glanced at his watch. “Since I’m not going to be seeing Dawn for a while, I bought her a present.
I’d appreciate it if you could stop by the house and pick it up for her. I’ll be there after three. I’m going to work mostly from home the rest of the day.”

“All right. I’ll come by before I go home. Just remember, Kevin, if the vandal strikes again, it may take us a while to respond. We
are
dangerously low on manpower and funds to maintain our routine patrols. That’s what led to Officer Franklin’s
death. His radio malfunctioned. He had submitted repair orders on it before, but no money was available, and he had to use what he had. When Kee Franklin finds out, he’s probably going to sue the department and the tribe, and my guess is he’ll win.”

“I hope the officer’s father doesn’t do that. We’re insured, but I don’t think the tribe could afford any higher liability rates,” he said quietly.
“I’ll bring the police funding issue up again before the appropriate committees. The tribal government is doing their best with practically no funds beyond a skeleton budget.”

Ella held up her hand. “Spare me.” She told him about Bruno. “The tribe spent money on that, but not on manpower or equipment maintenance? Where are your priorities?”

“They have to be a little different from those of line
officers, you know that. We have to look at everything at once. We also know how important training is, so at least a small amount had to be budgeted for that purpose. We certainly couldn’t afford the continuing funding a new officer would require, and this was much less expensive. Besides, the way the budget is set up, we can’t take training money and move it to another category.” He pursed his
lips. “Things are pretty crazy right now, Ella, even in Window Rock.”

“Yeah, no kidding. At least give Dawn a call or two if you can.”

He nodded, then stood up. “I’ll miss her, you know.” Without waiting for an answer, Kevin strode out of her office.

Ella sighed. She knew how hard it would be for him to stay away from his daughter. He doted on her, and in the past several months had visited
Dawn regularly. But their little girl’s safety came first.

Getting back to business, Ella settled down in front of her computer monitor. A lot of the initial leg work in an investigation was done this way now. Cop shows that existed primarily on a fare of car chases and shoot-outs were far removed from the reality of the job. The truth of it was that police work was hours and hours of boring,
mind-numbing work, endless interviews, with minutes of sheer terror randomly applied.

Ella spent hours going over the details of the crime and double-checking everything that could possibly become a lead. She was so engrossed in what she was doing that she wasn’t aware Justine had come in until her partner cleared her throat. Ella jumped.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” Justine said quickly.

“No problem. I just go into a mild semitrance whenever I’m chasing leads on the computer. Do you have something for me?”

“I’ve checked Officer Franklin’s current finances—but he was as clean as a whistle. I’ve also spoken to several officers, and nobody has anything bad to say about him. Of course no one wants to say something bad about someone who just died—whether they believe in the
chindi
or not.”

“Everything in life has two sides, and that includes people,” Ella answered, echoing the Navajo beliefs Rose had taught her. “We need to find the darker side of this officer if he had one. Did he have any bad relationships? Secrets that he kept from his fellow officers and friends? Exploring things like that could lead us to his killer.”

“If it wasn’t just a burglar who decided to go
homicidal,” Justine countered.

Ella stood up and reached for her keys on top of the file cabinet. “I’m going to take off now to take care of some business.”

“Should I come with you?”

“Not this time.” She told her partner about Rose’s encounter with Vera Jim at the college. “I want to talk to Samuel Nakai and find out more about Vera for personal reasons—but while I’m there, I’ll make it a point
to learn more about NEED.”

“Are you thinking that someone in NEED wanted to silence Officer Franklin? He was a critic, I know.”

“It’s a possibility I want to check into, though I can’t find any reason yet for his being singled out. There are a lot of other critics, including my mother, that have certainly gotten attention. I’ll let you know if I find out anything useful.” Ella waved good-bye.

As she headed out the station door to the parking lot, Ella checked the address she’d written down from police records. Four months ago, Samuel Nakai had been arrested and charged for driving while intoxicated. Although no liquor was allowed on the Rez, it always found its way within its borders.

Forty minutes later, Ella arrived at Samuel Nakai’s home. He lived in a modern housing section recently
built by the tribe on the west side of town, across the river and north of the high school. The single-story houses with carports looked identical to each other, and similar to another, older development on the east end of Shiprock.

As she pulled up beside the curb, a middle-aged Navajo man in a blue flannel shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots came out and waved, inviting her to come inside. It was
Samuel, apparently.

He leaned against a support beam on the porch and waited for her to approach. “
Yáat’ééh
,” he greeted.

“Hello, uncle,” she said, surprised that someone living in this modernist setting would greet her in Navajo.

“Do you know who I am?” she asked, suspecting that he already did, though she hadn’t identified herself to him yet.

“The policewoman, sister to the
hataalii
.”

Ella noted immediately that he hadn’t used proper names. Maybe he was a New Traditionalist or a recent convert to traditionalist ways despite his age. “I need to ask you a few questions about a woman I met at the community college today and about the NEED project.”

He nodded. “I already heard about that from my niece, who’s a student at the college. I suspected you’d come.” He showed her into
his home.