Changing Woman (45 page)

“Okay, anytime you’re ready,” Blalock snapped.

Ella took a deep breath, then sprinted across the road, hoping she wouldn’t slip or trip over a rock. Just as she reached the trees, she heard three quick shots, one of them going wild somewhere over her head.

Ella, glad she’d
left her rifle behind so she could maneuver easier, kept her eyes on the tree line ahead, watching for Manuelito. As she’d expected, Manuelito was on the move again too, but he could only go downhill without coming into Blalock’s line of fire, or into the forest directly in her path.

Anticipating his attempt to flank Blalock, Ella moved into position where she could cover the FBI agent’s back,
and waited. Less than two minutes later, Manuelito appeared in shadows, crouched low and searching the trees ahead of him. Three steps later, she had the rogue cop in her sights.

“Drop your weapon or die.”

Manuelito froze in his tracks, looking around anxiously until he saw where she was crouched behind a fallen tree.

“Clah, have you flipped? I’m here to help you.” Slowly he moved his gun hand
in her direction.

“Set your weapon down,” Ella repeated very clearly. “And don’t move your hand another inch. You probably have a vest, but I’m close enough to double tap you in the head, and I’ve already taken up the slack on the trigger.”

Manuelito very slowly placed his weapon on the snow, then, following her orders, turned away from the pistol and went down on his knees, hands locked behind
his head.

“You’ve got nothing on me,” he spat out.

“I think you’ll be surprised just how much we do have. More than enough to put you behind bars for twenty years or more. You’re going to be an old man before you get out again.” As Ella handcuffed him, Blalock came up with a grim look on his face.

“Blueeyes?” she asked.

“Dead.”

She nodded once. “Help me pat down this lowlife for a backup
weapon or two, then he’s all yours. I want to get back to my daughter.”

By the time Ella and Blalock returned with their prisoner, the county’s police helicopter had arrived on the scene, bringing Sheriff Taylor and three tired but heavily armed Navajo cops, including Philip Cloud.

The wounded prisoners were given medical care, then left for the hospital in
Angel Hawk
with Officer Cloud guarding
them.

While Blalock and one of the tribal officers drove back with Manuelito in custody, Ella, Dawn, and Kevin caught a ride in the county chopper with Sheriff Taylor.

Ella, content to have her daughter safe, held her tightly, and it wasn’t long before Dawn went to sleep, bundled up in a blanket. Ella glanced over at Kevin, who was sitting beside Sheriff Taylor.

Her daughter’s father had shown
bravery and ingenuity and had kept their daughter safe. She’d always be grateful to him for what he’d done. “My mother’s in the hospital,” Ella said. “I’d like you and Dawn to pay her a visit as soon as we land.”

Kevin shook his head. “I’m the last human being she wants to see right now, especially after what’s happened.”

“Not after I tell her what you did for her granddaughter. She’s safe because
of you, and I have a feeling that’s going to cut you an enormous amount of slack for a while.”

He smiled wearily. “I’ll believe it when I see it, but I’m willing to give it a go.”

“It’s time, for Dawn’s sake, that there was peace between you and my mother.”

After they landed, Ella carried Dawn and together with Kevin went to Rose’s hospital room. The moment she saw Dawn, Rose’s entire face
lit up.

“Come here, little one!” Rose held out arms, oblivious to her bandaged hand.

“I wasn’t scared,
Shimasání”
she said. “You said I should never be scared.”

Rose hugged her. “That’s right.”

Ella told Rose about Kevin’s efforts briefly, couching the details because her daughter was present, but Rose was adept at reading between the lines.

Rose looked at Kevin and nodded once. “For what
you did, you have my respect and my thanks.”

“She’s my daughter,” Kevin replied quietly. “I would never let anyone harm her.”

Rose met his gaze and in the look that passed between them Ella saw a new understanding. They would never be friends, but there would no longer be open warfare between them.

As Dawn began playing with the vase of flowers by Rose’s bedside, Jennifer Clani came into the
room carrying a big potted plant. The minute Dawn saw her, she hurried over, holding out her arms, asking to be picked up.

Rose and Ella exchanged glances. There was nothing they could do about this now. As far as Dawn was concerned, Jennifer was family, too. And, in the long run, maybe that wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“Would you like me to take her home? I can give her a bath and something
to eat.” Jennifer asked Ella.

Ella nodded. “I need to go to the station for a bit, and Kevin will have to come with me to fill in some missing information and speak to the Colorado authorities about what happened up there. If you could look after her until I can get home, I’d appreciate it.”

As Jennifer carried Dawn out, Rose gave Ella a warm smile and took her hand, squeezing it gently. “I’ll
be home later this afternoon.”

“You’re being released?” Ella asked, relieved to hear it.

“Yes. I’ve already arranged for a ride.”

Ella nodded. She didn’t need to ask who was providing Rose with transportation. “I’m glad to know you’re going home, Mom.”

“Maybe we can give my granddaughter a little party tomorrow—a homecoming. It’ll be good for her. My granddaughter is growing up and needs to
be around other children.”

Ella nodded. “I’ve been thinking of sending her to day school for a few hours each morning. But I’d want our
home helper to go with her. I don’t want my daughter anywhere alone—at least not for some time.”

“This was frightening for all of us,” Kevin said. “But don’t start smothering her.”

“I wonder if I should take her to a doctor,” Ella mused, glancing at Kevin,
then at Rose. “I don’t want what she went through these last two days to haunt her for the rest of her life.”

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that,” Kevin said. “Even at the height of the chaos back in the cabin, the only thing that bothered her was the noise. I was worried as hell, but she took things calmly, as if it was just some big TV show. She said you’d come for us,” he told
Ella, “and that you’d bring her uncle too. She was absolutely certain we’d be fine.”

“She’s far from ordinary, isn’t she?” Ella said rhetorically, pride in her voice.

“Spoken like a proud mom,” Kevin said, and laughed.

Ella looked at Rose and knew that to her mother that statement had been more than a casual remark.

After saying good-bye to Rose, Ella and Kevin went to the elevator.

“Let
me meet you at the station later. I’d like to talk to some other councilmen and apprise them of everything that happened.”

“All right. I’ll see you then.”

Ella headed to the station feeling more at peace than she had in a long time. Manuelito was no longer a threat and her testimony along with that of Payestewa and the other officers would ensure that the former cop would be in prison for a
very long time.

On the way, Ella got a call from Dispatch. Justine had radioed from the cabin, where she’d remained to process the scene, and reported that a monitor to a listening device had been found on Blueeyes’s body. This suggested that a bug had been placed in Kevin’s office somewhere, and explained how the syndicate had initially known where Kevin had gone with Dawn for the weekend.

As Ella finally pulled into the station’s parking lot, she saw that it was nearly empty. She’d have to check the status of the PD’s situation with the bridges and the threat of explosives, then go wherever she was needed. On her way inside, she met up with Sergeant Joseph Neskahi, who was just coming out the door. His arm was in a sling.

“What happened to you?” Ella asked.

“I was helping search
the old Shiprock bridge when I slipped on a pipe and nearly fell into the river. I’m okay, but I’ll have a broken wing for a while.”

“So what happened with the explosives?”

“There were a few sticks on each of the bridges, way out in the middle and underneath at key structures. But it turns out they didn’t have any detonators. It was just another diversion to wear us down and keep us occupied
while they made their move on Councilman Tolino. Some of the officers have now finally been sent home to get a little rest, but I was on my way to find you. I’ve got a message for you from Big Ed. Harry Ute called him and said that he’s got some volunteers as backup and he’s closing in on Manyfarms.”

“Who’s backing him up?”

Before he could answer, a rifle went off somewhere close by, and a cinder
block in the station wall a few feet above them literally exploded, showering them with chunks of debris. Ella grabbed Neskahi roughly and pulled him down to the pavement behind her Jeep.

Neskahi groaned. “Damn, that hurt,” he said, rubbing his shoulder. “What was that? It blew a hole clear through the wall.”

Ella had her pistol in one hand, her radio in the other. “We’re taking fire from a
fifty-caliber rifle out here,” she yelled to Dispatch inside the station. “Keep everyone away from the west side of the building.” Ella looked around, trying to see where the sniper was without becoming a target again.

“Where the hell is he?” Neskahi looked around the
front tire, keeping below the silhouette of the vehicle.

“Across the road, and high enough to see us over the Jeep. Stay down,”
Ella answered. It was suddenly very quiet, and she could hear the engine of the Jeep ticking as it cooled.

Neskahi looked at where the round had struck. “I can see a light fixture on the ceiling inside the station. That bullet must have gone halfway through the building. Hope nobody was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Ella’s handheld suddenly squawked with static. “I’ve got Manyfarms.”
She recognized Harry Ute’s voice. “You can relax now. I’ll be the station with the prisoner in a few minutes.”

“Where was he?” Ella stood and looked at the houses across the street.

“On the roof of the green garage,” Harry replied. “The second house down the side street.”

Ella saw someone waving at her from the roof, which was about two hundred yards away, then the person disappeared down the
other side.

She waited in the parking lot along with the watch commander and Sergeant Neskahi. At least nobody had been hit in the station. Five minutes later two vehicles came up the street and pulled into the parking lot. Herman Cloud was driving the sedan. Harry Ute sat in the back with his prisoner, the tall, slender, Artie Manyfarms, who was lying against the car door, dazed, with his hands
cuffed together behind his back. A trickle of blood ran down the side of his face.

Herman’s faded green souped-up pickup pulled up next and Ella recognized two older men in the truck. They were contemporaries of Herman Cloud and oldguard traditionalists, and like Herman, were dressed in flannel shirts, bulky Levi’s jackets, and wearing worn felt cowboy hats.

“Thanks for helping us when we needed
you,” Ella said to Herman, then waved and smiled to the men in the pickup.

“The marshal did all the hard work,” Herman said, climbing slowly out of the car. “He crept up behind Skinny Legs there,” he added, gesturing to Manyfarms, “and stepped on his buffalo gun. The bullet went wild and the marshal was all over him after that. He grabbed the rifle and whacked the damned idiot on the side of
the head real good.”

As Herman opened the door, Harry half dragged Manyfarms, who was just starting to get back enough energy to resist. “I’m sorry that the gun went off before I could get to him. Was anyone hurt?”

“We’re fine,” Ella said. “How did you catch up to him?”

“I’ve been one step behind him, checking out every report of stolen vehicles since he fled from the power plant the other
day. When an officer in town spotted one of those vehicles, I was notified. Unfortunately, the officer lost sight of the stolen truck, but the last reported location was in the area around the station, and that sent off warning signals to me. I decided to hedge my bets, round up some volunteers to watch my back, and check out the neighborhood.

“After driving up and down each street, we finally
located the truck, which was on the hot sheet, all right. One of the guys decided to climb up a tree so he could see into the backyards without going door to door, and he spotted someone sitting on the garage roof right across from the station. We got close to the house, and I went up the ladder, not knowing if it was just somebody working on his TV antenna or snaking out a clogged drain.

“When
I saw that it was Manyfarms lining up on the station with that big rifle of his, I knew I had to act fast to neutralize him.”

“I’m glad you succeeded,” Ella said with a shaky smile.

“Yeah, thanks to us,” one of the old men who’d ridden
in the pickup said, laughing and making a muscle with his skinny arm.

Manyfarms eyes were now lit up with anger, but he still hadn’t said anything.

“I better
take him inside,” Harry said, cocking his head toward his prisoner. “He’s going to have a lot of years added to his prison time now, Ella. Count on it.”

Hours later, the station was almost back to normal manpower levels. The FBI agents, Ella, and Justine met in the chief’s office. “I managed to get a match on traces of blood I found on Manuelito’s night stick,” Justine said. “They belong to the
murdered councilman, and a security camera from a bar’s parking lot shows Manuelito’s vehicle was there briefly just before the councilman was beaten to death.”

“We’ll offer Manuelito a deal, and see if he’ll testify against the others,” Big Ed said. “Who knows, maybe we can get him a private cell. Cops don’t do well in prison.”

“I also got a clue concerning the selection of those particular
Anglos hired to do the vandalism,” Big Ed added. “The one named James Little had his lawyer give me a list of the ’Indians’ he and Smith did legitimate carpentry work for during the past few months. It turns out they built a porch for Jefferson Blueeyes.”