Bad Medicine (34 page)

“What do you want to do with those?” Justine challenged. “They’re not evidence of anything you came here in search of, and legally they would be thrown out in a hearing. Those syringes are in sealed packets, so it’s highly unlikely they could be contaminated.”

“But they could be used to contaminate medications,” Slowman said.

Carolyn rolled her eyes. “So could anything else, even a regular
sewing needle, you nitwit! Use your brains. Surely you have some, after all you are the hospital administrator. Of course, it’s possible you got your job by kissing butts. Your lips do look a little chapped.”

Ella covered her face with one hand, took a deep breath, then diverted Slowman, who was giving Carolyn a venomous stare. “As the officer said, that’s not the kind of evidence you came here
to find. Your search has been unsuccessful. It’s time for you to leave.”

Andrew Slowman met Ella’s gaze. “I wasn’t aware that our tribal police department always fought so vehemently for the rights of suspects.”

“She’s not a suspect, not based on the information you have uncovered,” Ella answered, in a deceptively calm voice. “And remember, this is
not
a police matter—your words.”

“If she isn’t
currently the target of a police investigation, then maybe it is
she
who has friends open to persuasion,” Slowman baited.

Ella stared back at him, willing herself not to react. “You’re finished here, so it’s time you went back and made your report.” She gave him a puzzled look. “Which brings me to an interesting point. Who will you report to? Senator Yellowhair?”

Slowman’s face clouded. “He’s
one of many.”

“Yes, no doubt, at your actual level of authority. The higher your position, the fewer people you account to.”

Carolyn chuckled.

Slowman took the syringes from the bookshelf and dropped them into a paper sack. “We’ll be in touch, Dr. Roanhorse. Don’t bother coming back to work. Until this matter is settled, you may consider yourself on suspension.”

Ella and Justine walked outside
with them and waited until the men drove away.

“I’m going back to the office now,” Justine said when they were out of sight. “I’ll let Big Ed know what went down here.”

“Thanks.”

Carolyn was putting books back on the shelf when Ella went back inside.

“You should have kept your mouth shut,” Ella said.

“It wouldn’t have made any difference. Once they found those syringes, I knew they would
put me on suspension. Besides, Slowman’s an ass.”

“Maybe, but you really shouldn’t go out of your way to antagonize people. You need some friends right now.”

“I shouldn’t have to suck up to people in the hope that they’ll give me a fair shake. They won’t, and besides, I’ll hate myself afterward.”

As Ella drove back into town she listened to the news on the radio. More cases of bacterial infections
were popping up at all the sites Carolyn and her team had visited. Quarantines were being placed on affected areas.

Ella felt as though there was a hand squeezing her heart. Her best friend was being systematically destroyed, and there seemed to be nothing she could do to prevent it.

Then a thought dawned on her. Ella drove to the tribal newspaper’s local office. If she could convince them to
give Carolyn a fair shake, that would go a long way to helping her friend’s image.

Ella walked inside and asked to see the editor-in-chief, Jaime Beyale. After a few minutes, Ella was invited to her office.

As Jaime saw Ella approach, she frowned instead of greeting Ella with her usual smile. “What are you doing here?”

“I was hoping we could talk,” Ella said, wondering about her friend’s uncharacteristic
reaction. “What’s the matter?”

“I don’t want to be the piece of taffy the senator and you start pulling on.”

“What’s that mean? Is he pressuring you on something?”

“Of course. We’re all under the gun here. Senator Yellowhair has control over the funds that support this paper. He put pressure on the tribal council, and they put pressure on us.”

“The tribe is asking that you all take a position
against Carolyn Roanhorse?”

“No, of course not. They’d never do that directly. But we will be running an article about the M.E. and the claims that are being made against her competency. It’ll be fair, with criticism aimed at both sides. The piece will be out in tonight’s edition, if you want to read it.”

Ella studied her for a moment. “There’s more, isn’t there?”

Jaime sat back and gazed at
Ella pensively. “I’m working on another article right now. It’ll be out in a few days. I decided to look into the M.E.’s past, everything from her personal history to her professional record, and I’ve found some … shall we say, interesting things.”

“Don’t get coy. Give it to me straight,” Ella snapped.

“Carolyn Roanhorse had a twin sister. The girl died in a fire caused by a faulty heater at
their home. The children were alone when it happened, so only Carolyn knows why she was able to get her two brothers out—though their rooms were farther away—but not her sister.”

“What exactly are you implying?” Ella asked, spitting out the words as if they were a rotted piñon nut.

“I’m not implying anything. I’m stating a fact.”

“You know damn well what a story like that will do if you print
it.”

“Some people might, quite naturally, conclude that she’s a skinwalker who paid the price. And that
is
a possibility, you know. The evidence against her so far—”

“Is circumstantial. There is not an ounce of actual, physical evidence.” Ella spun Jaime’s chair around, forcing the woman to look directly at her. “I’m not in the least bit impressed by innuendo, or the games the press likes to
play with public figures. But Dr. Roanhorse is a private citizen, and I
will
make damn sure she knows she can sue you for libel if you step out of line. Clear?”

“Of course. But you realize that the way you’re acting just supports the senator’s allegations. Your friendship with Dr. Roanhorse clouds your judgment.”

A choking anger almost engulfed Ella, but she managed to keep a lid on it. It was
obvious that Jaime had already sold out to the senator. Wordlessly, she turned and went back out to her Jeep. Had she stayed, she knew she would have been far too tempted to do something that went along well with a charge of police brutality.

*   *   *

Ella drove down the highway, trying to gather her thoughts. Too many things were happening at once. Before she could figure out her next step,
a call came over the radio.

“Chief Atcitty wants you to investigate a ten-thirty-eight at the Medical Center. What’s your ETA?” the dispatcher asked.

The code for vandalism was clear enough, but what she couldn’t figure out was why the chief had specifically wanted her to respond. “Thirty minutes. Enroute now.”

“Ten-four.”

When her cellular rang, she wasn’t surprised to hear the chief’s voice.
“Tread carefully with this one, Shorty. Our M.E.’s personal car was vandalized at the center.”

“What was she doing there? She’s been suspended.”

“Ask her.”

“Count on it.”

“The evening paper’s out. Have you seen it?”

“No, but I was told that a story weighing the M.E.’s competency was coming out. I was assured it would be fair.”

“Yeah, that story was quite objective, but the sidebar on the
M.E.’s personal life wasn’t. And it’s only part one.”

“That wasn’t supposed to be appearing tonight—” Ella clamped her mouth shut. Jaime had obviously lied, suspecting that Ella had been in no mood to hear the truth. “The story about her brothers and sister. Is that there?”

“It tells briefly about a childhood fire that claimed the life of her twin, but not the circumstances. That is supposed
to be revealed in tomorrow’s edition.”

“Thanks for letting me know, Chief.”

Things were getting worse and worse. For the first time in a long time, she felt inadequate. Her best just wasn’t enough. No matter how hard she tried, she wasn’t uncovering the answers that so many were counting on her to find.

She brushed that thought aside firmly. This was no time to start feeling sorry for herself.
If Ella knew one thing about herself it was that she always got results because she never gave up on a case. That, more than her intuition, was what had made her such a good investigator.

Ella arrived at the medical center and drove to the back lot where Carolyn usually parked. She saw her friend there, leaning against her pickup door.

Ella parked, then approached. Carolyn gestured to the flat
tires and busted windshield. “Some farewell gift. Most people get a watch when they’re forced out. I get this.”

Ella studied the damage. There wasn’t much in the way of obvious clues. “When did this happen, and what were you doing here at the hospital?”

“I came to get some personal things from my desk, you know, poison, voodoo dolls, and black candles. I went in, picked up my stuff, and when
I came out this is what I found.”

“I can make out a report, but there’s not going to be much we can do about it. I’ll have an officer check with security to see if anyone saw or heard the vandal.”

“Thanks. I need this on the record so I can file a claim with my insurance.”

Ella wrote it up and took some photographs as documentation. “Let me give you a ride home, then you can call a garage and
have someone come over and fix the tires. You and I need to talk.”

“You mean about the newspaper story?”

“You’ve seen it, then?”

She nodded. “When I walked into the morgue, Howard Lee was reading it aloud to Nelson Yellowhair.”

“Who’s going to take your place as M.E?”

“Nobody, as far as I know. But that’s the tribe’s problem now.”

The weight of responsibility hung heavily on Ella’s shoulders.
“I’m going to find answers, but until I do you’re in danger.”

“Danger? Why? I’ve lost my job. I don’t pose a threat to anyone now.”

“Don’t kid yourself. That newspaper article is going to make people think you’re either a skinwalker, or have strong connections to them. You’re going to be an easy scapegoat.”

Carolyn leaned back against the headrest. “I hadn’t thought of that, but you may be
right. As I was walking down the hall at the hospital I heard my new nickname. I’m the
chindi
doctor now. Charming, don’t you think?”

Ella heard the pain in her friend’s voice, though the casual tone had been meant to disguise it. Sorrow wrapped itself around her. “I’m really sorry this is happening to you. I know how much your job means to you.”

Carolyn covered her face with one hand, then
stared out into the darkness. “It’s a real mess, I’ll say that.”

“There’s something that’s bugging me…” Ella said.

“Why I didn’t get my sister out?”

“No, of course not.”

“Admit it, you’re curious.”

“I wondered about it, but I know you must have had a good reason.”

“I did,” she said quietly. “I was only fifteen, but I remember it like yesterday. I’d been sitting at the kitchen table having
a late-night snack, waiting for my parents to return. They had gone to the trading post for groceries and were overdue. I saw smoke filling the hallway that led to the bedrooms. By the time I got out of my chair and started yelling, flames had erupted from the heater further down the hall. I got to the boys, since their room was on my side of the fire. But I was never able to reach Anna, who was
sleeping in the back room. The flames were in my way and there was no window where she was.”

Carolyn closed her eyes and said nothing for several long moments. “You know what they say about the bond between twins? It was that way for me and Anna. We were really close.”

“I’m sorry, Carolyn, I really am.”

Carolyn sat up and wiped a tear from her face. “It was a long time ago,” she said, her voice
firm. “What I resent is having people use it against me in this way.”

“If I could have stopped it I would have.”

“I know that.”

“But there’s something weird about the timing for this newspaper story,” Ella said. “The latest note I got from the person claiming to be Randall Clah was a warning that you had many secrets. That was only a little more than a day before this story came out in the
newspaper. My question is, who knew about your past?”

“It happened over twenty years ago, but everyone around knew back then. There are no secrets on the Rez. I’m just glad my brothers are in the military and not here. At least I don’t have to worry that they’ll be hurt by this.”

“If the story was common knowledge, it couldn’t have been easy for you as a kid growing up here.”

“It wasn’t. The
same rumors flew around then. But we lived in an isolated area. We didn’t have many neighbors and only rarely did we see other relatives and members of our clan.”

Ella parked the Jeep next to Carolyn’s trailer. “Did you go to the boarding school in Holbrook?”

“Yes. And as far as I was concerned it was a great place. Nobody knew me there.” Carolyn pushed open the door. “Hey, why don’t you come
in and have something cold to drink with me?”

Ella might have said no with all the work she had to do, except that she sensed how badly her friend needed company. “Sounds good.”

Ella walked inside. The room had been restored to order and a huge bouquet of flowers now adorned the desk at the far corner.

Carolyn smiled wryly. “I got them for myself. I needed a pick-me-up.”

“I was wondering if
Dr. Lavery had contacted you.”

Carolyn smiled widely. “How
do
you do that?”

Ella chuckled. “So, he has been in touch. I thought you two might have met before, being M.E.s and all.”

“Sometimes I wonder if you do have powers.”

“You’re evading.”

Carolyn laughed. “Yeah, he called. He’s been very nice and supportive, too. We met last year at a symposium.”

“Maybe he just likes you.”

“No, he’s
not interested in me in that way. But it feels good when there’s someone else in my own field who I can discuss business with.”