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Overview
Navajo Police Special Investigator Ella Clah is on the run. Justine, Ella's cousin and fellow officer, disappeared after the two women argued publicly over Justine's new boyfriend. Human bones are discovered at the spot where the younger woman had told her family she and Ella were to meet late one night. Suddenly Ella Clah, cop, is Ella Clah, murder suspect.
Stunned by Justine's death, Ella has no time to mourn. Her former allies in the Navajo Police Department and the FBI are hot on her trail, using techniques she taught them to hunt her down. Ella has to find the real killers--and fast--before the Dineh act on a growing belief that Ella's mother, brother, and young daughter have become evil.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781466841949 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Tor Publishing Group |
| Publication date: | 02/18/2002 |
| Series: | Ella Clah Series , #6 |
| Sold by: | Macmillan |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 352 |
| Sales rank: | 554,582 |
| File size: | 1 MB |
About the Author
Aimée Thurlo is co-author of the Ella Clah series, the Lee Nez series of Navajo vampire mysteries, and the Sister Agatha novels. Her other works, co-written with her husband, David, include Plant Them Deep, a novel featuring Rose Destea, the mother of Ella Clah, and The Spirit Line, a young adult novel. Aimée, a native of Cuba, lived in the US for many years. She died in 2014.
David Thurlo, is co-author of the Ella Clah series, the Lee Nez series of Navajo vampire mysteries, and the Sister Agatha novels. His other works, co-written with his wife Aimée, include Plant Them Deep, a novel featuring Rose Destea, the mother of Ella Clah, and The Spirit Line, a young adult novel.
David was raised on the Navajo Reservation and taught school there until his recent retirement. He lives in Corrales, New Mexico, and often makes appearances at area bookstores.
Read an Excerpt
Chapter One
It was already dark before SpecialInvestigator Ella Clah, head of the major crimes unit for theNavajo Tribal Police, was able to call it a day. As she stepped outthe main entrance of the Shiprock station, the cool September airmade her realize how stuffy her office had been.
A relatively uneventful afternoon working on reports hadmade the passage of time excruciatingly slow, and Ella was lookingforward to seeing her daughter and playing with her tonight. Thetime she spent with Dawn was always the best part of any day.
Ella shook her long black hair loose from the confining silverbarrette and looked across the cobalt blue sky to Ute Mountainnorthwest of Shiprock. The image was said to be that of a sleepingwarrior, and tonight, in the light of a bright full moon, it appearedpeaceful. Yet, as the wind blew a gust of cold air against her, Ellacouldn't quite rid herself of the feeling that the Rez was due for achange.
Adjusting her dark brown leather jacket, Ella walked down thesteps toward her vehicle. Her young assistant and cousin, OfficerJustine Goodluck, had just pulled out of the station's parking lot.Justine had only recently started dating again after a failed relationship,and from her rush, and the scent of her perfume still lingeringin the station lobby, was apparently going out again tonight.They'd not even crossed paths today because Ella had been wadingthrough paperwork, and Justine had been in her small crime lab,conducting tests and writing reports.
It was probably a good thing that they hadn't spent anytimetogether today, because Justine had been a bit testy lately. The factthat they were shorthanded was a major cause of the stress, undoubtedly.Justine had been forced to do a lot more of the workformerly done by Harry Ute, who had resigned the department tobecome a federal marshal. Cutbacks had prevented the departmentfrom finding a replacement.
Ella settled into her dark blue Jeep and backed out of the parkingspace. She always had a slot close to the entrance because shewas one of the first cops at the station every morning. Of course,with all the funding problems, and the closure of their only branchstation, there were fewer cops these days. Even the last officer toarrive had a close space available in Shiprock.
As she drove through the small reservation community, thelights of the supermarket's parking lot shone on her hands. It suddenlyoccurred to her how much they looked like her mother's, notold, but familiar and strong.
Families. They were at the core of everything she valued thesedays, though as a single, working mother she couldn't say thatmuch else about her lifestyle was traditional. Yet, despite that, shestill felt strongly connected to everything on the Rez. All thingswere interrelated, particularly here. Justine, for example, was hersecond cousin as well as her assistant at work. That family connectionwas why Ella couldn't help but feel a little protective abouther at times.
Admittedly she also saw a bit of herself in Justine. That driveto succeed, to become better at her job and make a difference toher people, also defined Ella's years in law enforcement.
Ella thought about Justine and the endless possibilities still beforeher. A woman needed more in her life than her job. In thatrespect, she was glad that Justine was dating again.
Ella remembered the last time she'd been on a date. It waswhen she'd told Kevin that she didn't want to go out with himanymore, that their relationship had been a mistake. She hadn'tknown she was carrying his child at the time. Of course, whenshe'd told him she was pregnant, Kevin had asked her to marryhim, but she'd refused, knowing that they were too different in theways that mattered to make a marriage work. Kevin had acceptedher decision, but had been faithful about coming to see his daughter,a right Ella would never deny him.
Although Kevin was a good weekend father to Dawn, Ella wasglad his interest in Dawn was limited. She wanted to follow theNavajo tradition that said children were the mother's property, ina very loose sense of the term, and belonged with her. She had agut feeling that Kevin's ambitions and his desire for success wouldsomeday create no end of trouble for him and everyone who wasa part of his life.
Ella brushed those thoughts aside and instead focused on seeingher eighteen-month-old daughter's smiling face when she gothome. Dawn was growing like a weed, and Rose, her grandmother,was the most loving sitter Ella could have found. Rose still disapprovedof Ella's job and would have rather seen her married andsettled, but for the most part, the three of them had become atightly knit family.
Ella passed the new housing area where the old helium plantemployee houses had once stood, and now Ship Rock was visibleto her right, standing several miles from the highway.
Hearing her radio crackle and her call sign coming through,Ella focused on the transmission.
"This is dispatch, requesting assistance for Officer Goodluck atthe Cortez Highway Food N' Fuel. A 2-11 is in progress. Go CodeOne. Be advised that the officer reports one perp armed with ahandgun. Perp is wearing a stocking mask, jeans, and a dark leatherjacket."
"Dispatch. This is SI One. I'll respond to the 2-11. ETA fiveminutes." An armed robbery was in progress and the PD wanteda silent approach. Ella clicked on her high beams and glancedahead and then into the rearview mirror, verifying that no vehicleswere close. Braking with a practiced amount of pressure, she turnedthe steering wheel with the skills honed on FBI training coursesand spun the Jeep around in a one-eighty. With another officer andcivilians at the store in danger, she couldn't afford a wasted motionor a second's delay. Keeping her siren off but switching on theflashers, Ella raced back north again
Fortunately most of the traffic was heading her way, so shewas able to pass through town quickly. Turning off her flashers,Ella drove another mile across the top of the mesa. The conveniencestore was only a bit farther up the road. Ella purposely held off onusing her radio, not wanting to compromise Justine's position ifher partner was still undetected by the suspect.
Suddenly a frantic radio call broke her concentration. "Tenthirty-seven at the Food N' Fuel! Officer needs help. Ella, what'skeeping you?" Justine's voice came in loud and strong.
Shots had been fired. Ella could now see the convenience storeahead on her right, and she turned on her flashers and siren, lettingboth Justine and the perp know that more cops were approaching.The element of surprise had already been lost.
"I'm almost there, Justine. What is your 10-10?"
"I'm heading around the building in pursuit of the suspect.Leather jacket, jeans. Tall, with long hair and a stocking mask, accordingto the clerk. I haven't gotten close enough to see his faceyet. He headed around the back. Ten-four?"
"Hold your position, Justine. Which side of the building areyou on, north or south?" Ella didn't want the perp to get away,but she also didn't want any confusion in the dark. Any officerwould be on edge and quick to fire after being fired upon. Ellawaited for a response, but all she got was static on the radio.
"Justine? Confirm your location." Ella looked ahead anxiouslyas she pulled into the dimly lit parking lot. The sides of the buildingwere cloaked in shadows as black as velvet. Ella tried to raise Justineagain, but the static was even louder than before.
Ella looked around and saw that Justine's car was parked in aspace to the left of the entrance, a strategy most of their officersused when approaching a convenience store during peak robberyhours, usually from dusk to dawn. When exiting the vehicle, officerswould have their own car for protection in case they encounteredan emerging, armed robber.
Ella pulled up directly behind the only other vehicle there, abeat-up pickup. If this was the perp's transportation, her positionwould deny the driver a getaway.
Slipping out the driver's side, keeping her car's engine blockbetween her and the gunman in the building for protection, Ellagave the scene a quick survey—from left to right there was an icemachine, double-door entrance, and newspaper rack. Inside thestore, no heads or bodies were visible. If the clerk was alive, he orshe was staying on the floor. She listened for the sound of footsteps,but the night was silent.
Ella tried her radio again, but heavy static still prevented herfrom reaching dispatch or contacting Justine. Pistol in hand, sheran to the store entrance and crouched down low, peeking aroundthe doorframe and listening.
On the floor beside the dairy case was a clerk in the store'sstandard red shirt. "Police officer. Are you alone?" she whispered,watching for movement elsewhere in the store.
"The guy's gone. The other officer ran after him. He took a shotat her, but I think he missed."
"Which direction did they go?" Ella half tamed and looked outtoward the ice machine.
"To your left out into the dark. That's all I saw." The manstarted to sit up.
"Stay down till we catch this guy, but get behind the counter.More help is on its way." Ella heard footsteps on the cement outside.She looked out and saw someone in a stocking mask peeringaround the right side of the store. Seeing the barrel of the person'sgun from where she stood, she dove flat and brought her ownpistol up and around, but by then her target had disappeared. Rollingquickly to her right, Ella sprinted out, using Justine's car forcover, and looked in the direction the perp had gone.
Not knowing if her partner was lying wounded somewhere outin the darkness, Ella hurried quickly to the corner of the buildingand looked down the side wall. The perp disappeared around thecorner just as she came into view.
Fearing an ambush, Ella moved away from the building andcircled wide, slowing to move as silently as possible through thedarkness and across the rocky ground. The perp would probablyassume she'd hug the wall, and her approach from farther outmight throw him. She kept her pistol trained on the corner as sheinched forward, the faint radioactive glow of her special tritiumsights giving her an edge in the darkness
As she approached the rear of the store, Ella caught sight ofthe perp flattened against the side of a Dumpster by the backdoor, underneath a single dim, flickering light. She took aimand walked slowly forward, hoping he wouldn't notice her untilshe was close enough to guarantee a hit in the uncertain lightif she needed to fire.
Suddenly Ella heard a familiar voice. "Police Officer! Drop thegun!" Justine's voice was hard and sharp.
Startled, Ella turned her head to verify Justine's position andsaw a figure approaching from the darkness on the far side of theDumpster. Instinctively she turned, her aim shifting slightly towardthe approaching shape as she did.
"Drop it!" Justine ordered.
Realizing that Justine was mistaking her for the perp, she instantlyshifted her aim back squarely on the perp in front of herand called out loudly, "Justine, it's me!"
But it was too little, too late. Warned by instinct, Ella spunaway and dove to the ground just as a muzzle flashed. A bulletpassed inches from her right shoulder.
"No!" Justine cried out, realizing her mistake and running towardElla.
Ella rolled and came up to a shooting stance to bring her aimback on the perp's position, but he'd already taken advantage ofJustine's misidentification and raced back into the store through therear entrance.
"I'm okay, Justine. Circle around front and cut him off if hetries to get out that way." When Justine didn't respond, Ellaturned and saw the frightened look in her partner's eyes. "Really,I'm okay. You missed me by a mile. Get moving. I'll follow himthrough the back door. We don't want a hostage situation."
As Justine ran off, Ella hurried to the back door, flinging it openwhile hugging the doorjamb. The clerk was on the floor beside thecounter, his hands clasped over his head as if he were expectingan artillery attack, or immediate arrest.
"He ran right out the front! Get that SOB!" the man yelled, hisvoice an octave higher than before.
Hearing another two shots out front, Ella raced down the aisletoward the front entrance. Before she could get there, headlightsblinded her and she heard the loud squeal of tires. Knowing thiswas one battle she couldn't win, Ella dodged to the left. Sliding onthe waxed floor, she crashed into a display rack, causing dozens ofpaperbacks to rain down upon her.
A heartbeat later, glass flew everywhere as the old pickup she'dparked behind came up on the sidewalk and crashed through theconvenience store's glass front wall. The building shook and thesmell of car exhaust filled the store. In a frenzy of screaming tires,the vehicle veered into a hard turn and raced away.
Ella raised her head and looked up at the chaos. The perp,unable to back out of the parking lot because Ella had blocked hisvehicle, had gone forward instead, jumped the concrete barrier, andplowed through the glass front of the store to gain the space heneeded to turn and flee.
Ella heard Justine yelling and cursing outside. Picking her wayout of the store across broken glass and scattered merchandise, Ellamanaged to reach the sidewalk. "Which way did he go?"
The static that had disrupted communications earlier was goneand Justine was on her handheld radio now, calling dispatch torequest additional units to handle the pursuit. After a few seconds,she put the radio into the pocket of her blue athletic jacket. "Lookwhat that sack of manure did to our units." Justine pointed out aflat tire on her own vehicle, and on Ella's Jeep.
Her voice was as unsteady as her hands, and Ella considered,as she often did, how young her cousin looked. Maybe it was herpetite size and delicate features, but if it hadn't been for the oversized-lookinghandgun in the holster high on her hip, Justine couldeasily be mistaken for a high school student. "Jeez, how manythings can go wrong in one night?"
Ella knew that Justine was still shaken by the realization of howcostly her earlier mistake could have been. It was a miracle thatElla had escaped serious injury, despite wearing a bullet-resistantvest beneath her blouse. But all that had to wait. "Since we can'tfollow the perp, we need to question the store owner while everything'sstill fresh in his mind."
Ella turned and looked back at the damage done to the storeThe clerk was standing up now, on the phone to someone, perhapshis boss. He was staring at the debris, rubbing the back of his neckand shaking his head as he spoke.
After they went inside, Ella looked around and realized thatthe small family-run store had no videotape security. She askedthe clerk about it anyway, hoping she'd missed something.
"Nope, never got around to it. Except for the alarm, my dadcan't afford any of that fancy stuff. And to be honest, it hasn't beenneeded, not in the thirty years he's run this place." The clerk, aman in his early twenties, looked around and cursed. "Look at themess they made."
"Do you have insurance?" Justine asked.
The young man shrugged. "My dad will know. We've neverspoken about that."
"What's your name, and what happened here tonight?"
"I'm Juan Benally. The guy came in and the second I saw themask and gun, I reached down and hit the silent alarm. Then hecame right up to me, aimed the gun at my head, and told me toempty the cash register into a paper bag he handed me."
"The suspect was working alone? There wasn't anyone waitingin the truck?" Ella prodded.
"I don't think so, but I can't be sure. I only saw the one whoheld me up."
"Describe him."
Juan gave her a long look. "He was about your height, hadlong hair, too. Shoulder length." He scowled. "Heck, he was evendressed like you. A dark brown leather jacket and jeans. Of course,he had a mask, but from the voice, I knew it was a guy."
Justine pressed the clerk for more answers, but after a fewminutes, it became obvious that there was nothing further he couldtell them, except how much money had been stolen.
After warning him that he'd have to stop by the station andsign a statement, they walked back out to the parking lot. Ella wentto her Jeep, opened up the back, and started to bring out the jackand spare tire.
Justine went with her. "Ella, about what happened ..."
"It was just an accident. These things happen. It was dark, youwere expecting someone with a gun, and there I was," she saidquietly. "But from now on, make sure to get a positive ID beforeusing deadly force. That's basic, Justine."
"I know, but I had every reason to believe you were the suspect.I'd pursued him out into the scrub brush beside the store andlost sight of him for a moment. When I heard someone in back ofthe store, I headed that way. Then I came around the corner, sawa figure who looked like the person I'd been chasing. He turnedand pointed a weapon in my direction. I fired just like I'd beentrained to do.
"Ella, you know that it's not just an excuse, it's a conditionedresponse. I'd chased the perp to that spot, then the next thing I sawwas a gun aimed at me. I hadn't lost sight of him for more than afew seconds, and in the dark you looked just like him."
"You knew I was around."
"Yes, but I didn't expect to run into you back there, or haveyou point a gun at me."
"Justine, how long had it been since you'd lost sight of theperp?"
She considered the question carefully before answering, ignoringa strand of shiny black hair that drifted back and forth acrossher face in the breeze. "Less than ten seconds. When I saw you, !thought it was him," Justine replied. "Or maybe it was you I sawall along."
Ella shook her head slowly. "Something's not right aboutthis. He couldn't have moved that fast. I'd been chasing him formore than ten seconds before he went to ground beside theDumpster. He couldn't have gotten away from you and all theway around to the front of the store before I spotted him in thatsmall amount of time, much less gone all the way to the back ofthe store where we met. Are you sure we're talking about thesame guy?"
"The only way to explain this otherwise is if we say that therewere two perps involved, who looked and dressed the same andalso happened to be wearing clothing similar to yours. Do yourealize how ridiculous that sounds? And nobody saw more thanone perp" Justine shook her head "But something is definitelyfishy. Several minutes passed between the time I responded andyou arrived on the scene. Why didn't the guy make a run for itsooner?"
Ella nodded. "Good point. Yeah, something about this entirething stinks. We'll have to keep going over it until we can figurethis out." She looked directly at Justine. "But look, let's not makea big deal about the near accident, okay? As long as we're bothcareful that it doesn't happen again, we'd be better off moving onto the real issue here, which is catching the perp."
Ella knew an incident like this one could cost Justine plenty ifit went in her permanent file, and she wanted to give her cousin abreak. Justine had worked hard to get to where she was in thedepartment, and a mistake like this would follow her for the durationof her career. Whatever had almost happened, when it camedown to it, Ella still trusted Justine's abilities as a cop.
"Tone down that part of what happened today in your report,"Ella continued. "Otherwise Big Ed's going to have a bazillion questionsand it's going to divert everyone from the work we have todo. All things considered, I'd rather focus on the crime, and I thinkyou would, too."
"All right. And, Ella, it will never happen again."
"I know."
"How about if I start by asking around about the robbery andthe damaged pickup? Someone out there knows this perp. Therearen't many secrets here on the Rez, and if the robber is a local, weshould hear some talk right away."
"Go for it. By the way, I noticed your radio is working now.What happened before? When I got here I couldn't hear a thingthrough the static," Ella asked.
"It just quit for a while. As far as I know, it's okay now."
"I can't figure out where all the static came from. Reception isnot usually a problem in this area, and we were pretty close to eachother."
"That's true. And I could barely hear you."
"Walk around the side of the building and let's see if that'swhat was causing the interference." Ella got into her car andtried calling Justine. This time Justine's voice came through crystalclear Ella then did a radio check with dispatch, which alsocame through as normal. The inconsistency just added anotherlevel to the puzzle.
Ella put her radio away and shifted her attention to changingher damaged tire, weighing what was the most likely explanationfor the radio problems, and not liking it one bit.
Justine came back around to the front of the store, then leanedover, resting her elbows on Ella's driver's-side window. "You realizewhat this means, don't you?" She continued, not waiting foran answer. "Somehow, the perp must have jammed our radio signals.I sure don't like any of the other questions that raises, likehow he did it, and why he went to all that trouble. This wholething comes across as more than just a 2-11 if you accept that as apossibility."
Ella nodded slowly. "It's getting late. Give me a hand with mytire, and I'll help with yours, then let's both go home. We can fillout the reports first thing tomorrow. Maybe things will be clearerthen."
"Don't worry about my flat. Let's get you on the road. Maybeyou can still see Dawn before she's put to bed."
"It's too late already," Ella said, checking her watch and tryingto hide her disappointment. "She'll be asleep by the time I get there.It's always that way when we get a call around the end of the shift."
Justine started to say something, then changed her mind.
"What's on your mind?"
"I just wondered ... I've been avoiding serious relationshipsbecause I've been afraid they'd add too many complications to mylife. But is it a lot harder for you these days, now that you haveDawn?"
"Yes and no. I love my daughter more than I ever thought waspossible. But being a single mom with a full-time career is reallyfrustrating. I try to spend as much time as I can with Dawn, butit's never enough. It can tear you in two."
Justine nodded slowly. "I had a feeling that's the way thingswould work." She stood up and moved around to help Ella get herspare into position and secured.
A few minutes later, Ella pulled out onto highway, notifyingdispatch of her status as she headed south. The events tonight hadunsettled her far more than she'd allowed Justine to see Deliberatejamming of police radio transmissions spoke of an operation farmore complicated and deadly than a simple armed robbery of aconvenience store.
Although experience told her that her questions would be answeredas the investigation took its course, instinct warned her thatthings would get a lot worse before they got better, unless theyfound those answers in a hurry.
Excerpted from RED MESA by AIMEE & DAVID THURLO. Copyright © 2001 by Aimée and David Thurlo. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
What People are Saying About This
"Mystery readers who like their murders solved by applied intelligence will love Ella Clah."
"Mystery readers who like their murders solved by applied intelligence will love Ella Clah."—Tony Hillerman
"Red Mesa is an engrossing mystery as intricately woven as a fine Navajo rug. It kept me guessing to the end."—Margaret Coel, New York Times bestselling author
"Fans of Tony Hillerman and Jean Hager should appreciate the way the Thurlos mix Native American lore with modern situations and forensics technique. Even readers unfamiliar with the Native American subgenre will be intrigued by the richly complex Ella and her fight to bring integrity to her work and personal life."--Booklist
The authors know and love the Navajo world to the great benefit of their readers.