Never-ending-snake (39 page)

“Taking things a step further,
it’s possible that one or more of the Prickly Weed backers will end up bankrupt if the project’s shelved. If that’s so, the person behind the hit may have decided to push things and ruin his enemy. He may have thought that getting rid of Adam would be enough to kill the deal. He was the tribe’s contact with IFT. With him gone, Tribal Industries might have just called everything off rather
than throw somebody new into a deal that was already on shaky ground,” Justine said.

“What we need to do now is find out which of the Prickly Weed backers is on the edge financially, or has invested more than they should have. That means looking into the finances of the tribal president, of our attorney general Robert Buck, of Billy Garnenez, and Abigail Yellowhair, even Kevin,” Ella said.

“There are also a host of other smaller business people who are associated with the Prickly Weed Project,” Justine said.

“It’s not going to be an easy job. There could also be a strong backlash, especially from Abigail, once we start poking around, but we have to do this.” Ella picked up the phone, dialed Benny Pete, and filled him in. “Get Joe and Marianna’s help on this. I want everything we
can dig up on these people. And try to identify any enemies they’ve made along the way.”

“How soon will you need this? To go past the surface, we’re going to need time,” Benny answered.

“Start on it right away and do your best. Also make sure to keep this as quiet as possible. I don’t have any problems outing bad guys, but the department needs to avoid lawsuits.”

“About Kevin, do you want us
to dig into his background, too, or leave that part to you?”

“No. Dig away. Everyone gets the same treatment,” she answered.

As she hung up, Justine glanced over at her. “Have you
seriously considered the possibility that Kevin might be involved?”

“My personal opinion is that he’s not, but we’ll scrutinize him as closely as the others. I’ll be pushing him for more answers about his enemies,
too, but somehow, I doubt the Aspass brothers are behind the shooting. Instinct tells me this case isn’t about revenge. It’s about money and power,” Ella said. “We need to start thinking outside the box. For starters, I’m going to go with Blalock to pay Marie another visit. My gut tells me that she knows more than she realizes.”

“If I had a dime for every person who had held back information
just because they didn’t think it was important . . .”

“Yeah, exactly,” Ella said; then, seeing the Morgans’ home come into view, she shifted the focus of her attention.

Less than ten minutes later, they were seated inside the Morgans’ small living room. Trina eyes were red and swollen, her nose red, and she had a tissue box beside her. Ella might have attributed it to crying if she hadn’t seen
Chester’s equally swollen nose and witnessed his sneezing. Both had scratches on their wrists where the gloves hadn’t protected them completely.

“There are allergy pills for that,” Ella said, unexpectedly feeling sorry for them.

“We took them. Nothing happened,” Chester said. “Well, no, Trina stopped sneezing. I haven’t.”

“You know why I’m here,” Ella said.

Neither moved a muscle.

“The bank
across the street also had a camera.” As she said it, Ella saw alarm flash across Trina’s face, but Chester’s remained impassive. That told her that, despite everything, Trina didn’t want to be arrested.

“So what? We drive all around Shiprock,” Chester said with a smug smile.

“Try again,” Ella said. “You were in the staff parking
area of the tribal branch offices and that’s restricted to employees.
Why were you there?”

“You’re wasting your time—and ours. If you had something, we’d already be under arrest,” Chester said.

“What if I tell you that the camera across the street recorded you breaking the windows and putting all those tumbleweeds in Garnenez’s and Begaye’s cars?” Ella said.

He shook his head. “It can’t be all that clear-cut, or we would have been in handcuffs by now.”

“You’re
playing a game you can’t win. No amount of publicity is going to change the facts. That grazing permit—or lack of one—is going to be your downfall eventually,” Ella said. “Have you heard anything more from the tribe about the compromise I suggested?”

“No, but Garnenez doesn’t really plan to offer us a deal. One of our clan members overheard him talking to Frieda Beard last night. He told her
that he would have promised us a brick hogan with marble steps just to get out of there in one piece. He wants the tribe to kick us off the land and take it all.”

“Let me do some pushing of my own,” Ella answered. “An agreement is still possible—I think.”

Trina gave her a puzzled look. “Why would you do that for us—the people you came to arrest?”

“I work for the tribe, and that includes you
two, and your father.”

“If they agree to the compromise you suggested last night, there’s no more cause for trouble. We’d take the deal,” Trina said in a firm voice, then looked at her husband.

Chester shook his head. “You’re both dreaming. They want the land, the house, everything. They won’t settle. They don’t even want to discuss it. Their minds are already made up.”

“We’ll see about that,”
Ella said.

When they reached the house, Ella saw Rose entering through the back door, still wearing her gardening gloves. She’d probably been tending her new tumbleweeds, most already waist high. Even the sight made Ella’s nose itch. At least the patch was on the opposite end of the house past the corrals.

While Justine fiddled with something at the vehicle’s computer
terminal, Ella went ahead. As she stepped through the front door the first thing she noticed was Dawn’s absence. Whenever her kid was gone, even during school hours, the house seemed to hold its breath. Dawn gave it life with her constant activity and laughter.

Mack Kelewood had seen them arrive and gave her a nod from where he stood beside the curtain. Then Two, Rose’s dog, came up, tail wagging,
and Ella bent down to pet him. The dog was very protective of their household and had the uncanny ability to know friend from foe. Much to her mother’s chagrin, the dog still refused to stay in the same room with Abigail Yellowhair. He’d growl softly, then leave and watch her from the closest doorway.

When Justine came in, a moment later, Two greeted her enthusiastically and Justine also bent
down to pet him. “Do
you mind if I go into the kitchen and raid your fridge? I’m starving. I only had a tortilla with some butter on it for breakfast, and half of it had to be tossed ’cause it had something gray and kinda furry growing on it.”

Ella winced. “Gross, partner.”

Justine shrugged. “It was either that, or three-day-old slippery leaf salad.”

Rose poked her head out from the kitchen.
“You get in here right now, child. I’ll fix you something decent to eat.”

Leaving them, Ella went into Dawn’s bedroom, where Kevin was working with his daughter’s laptop.

“What brings you here in the middle of the day?” he asked looking up.

“I need a favor,” she said, and explained.

“This kind of thing usually works better in person, but I can make a few phone calls for you.”

“Phone work’s
good, but make sure nothing you say gives away your location.”

“I understand,” he said. “So how’s the case going? Have you found any connection between Adam and the casino? They’re the ones with the bucks, Ella. The Prickly Weed Project could—someday—make serious money for us, but at the moment, it just sucks it in. Think of it as a financial black hole.”

“Yet there’s that seventy-five thousand
in cash Adam was carrying,” she said.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’ve been giving that a lot of thought. Is it possible Adam was bringing that money back here to hire surveyors and support staff for IFT?”

“The deal wasn’t cinched until
after
you guys got back—after the shooting, that is. Under those circumstances, to hand someone—anyone—seventy-five thousand in cash . . .”

“You’re right. It doesn’t make much sense. You don’t pay contractors and white collar workers in cash—not in a
deal this big,” Kevin said. “When you hear about couriers who are carrying that much money, it’s usually related to drugs, bribes, or money laundering.”

“Drugs don’t apply and there’s no evidence to support money laundering. If there’d been any signs of that, we would have found out by
now. Blalock and the FBI have been checking into it.”

“You trust him?”

“Blalock?” she asked, surprised. “Yeah, with my life. He’s a professional who likes to close his cases. Dwayne works long hours to make sure that happens.”

“I’ll talk to different people and see what I can get once I’m up and about. And speaking of that, I think you should consider allowing me to go home now that I can walk
around a little better.” He paused, then added in a growl, “I hate hiding out, Ella.”

“You
cannot
leave. O’Riley’s still out there. Since we haven’t established who the primary target was, you’d be putting a bull’s-eye on yourself and hoping for the best.”

“I’d be careful.”

“I thought you liked it here,” she countered.

“I do, and that’s the problem,” Kevin said softly. “I’m getting used to
being here and having my daughter around every day. That sense of family—it feels . . . really good.”

“I hear you,” Ella said softly, “but leaving now is a bad strategy. If I have to worry about Dawn going off and trying to find you, and you at a less secure or remote location, I’ll be too distracted to give this case my undivided attention.”

“All right,” he answered after a momentary pause.

Ella stood. “I better get back to work.”

“Before you go, there’s something else we need to talk about. Dawn really wants to go to that private school in D.C., the one I mentioned, what, a lifetime ago? It’s the same school some of the presidents’ children have attended, Ella. We can’t even begin to imagine the opportunities that would
create for her. It’s not just the education, but the people
she’d meet. Those contacts could open doors and give her advantages neither one of us could ever provide.”

“Don’t try and pressure me. I haven’t decided yet whether I’m taking that job in D.C. or not.”

“Fair enough. But if you decide to take it, I’d like you to consider sharing the apartment the tribe leases for me there. I could move my office, and you could have your own room and Dawn hers.
It’s a large place.”

Ella heard far more than his words. He’d spoken like a dad who wanted to play a bigger role in his daughter’s life.

“Dawn’s torn between us, Ella. She wants her father
and
her mother. If you allow it, we could become a bigger part of each other’s lives—for her and for us.”

“Dawn’s fine. She doesn’t lack a thing,” Ella said.

“It’s not about lack, it’s about adding to what
she already has.”

“Nicely worded argument, Counselor,” Ella replied, “but we’ve had this discussion before and . . .”

Before she could continue, Justine poked her head in the room. “Your mom wants to know if you would like a stuffed burrito. I said that you did, okay? So if you don’t eat it, I will.”

Laughing, Ella stood. “On that note, I better get going.”

Ella and Justine were on their way
back to the station fifteen minutes later when her phone rang. It was Blalock.

“Big Ed’s about to call a meeting,” he said. “I thought you’d want to know.”

“I’m on my way in right now,” she said.

As soon as she hung up, the phone rang again. Ella wasn’t surprised when she heard Big Ed’s voice on the other end.

Moments later, as she put the phone away, Ella updated Justine. “The chief wants
answers, but I have none to give him.”

“Maybe once we’re all together, we’ll come up with
something,” Justine said, but her tone didn’t reflect the confidence needed to make her words convincing.

By the time they met in the chief’s office, Ella could feel the tension in the room. The chief wanted to hear that progress had been made, but none of them had anything solid to give him. All they could
do was report what steps they’d already taken to move the investigation forward.

“My team’s been doing background checks on everyone involved with the Prickly Weed Project. Specifically, we’ve been looking for anything that would link Adam, the money, and the shootings,” Ella said, then nodded to Blalock.

“My people have been checking Lonewolf’s contacts in D.C. We’ve searched for any signs
of money laundering or drug trafficking activity that might explain the cash, but got nowhere,” Blalock said. “Lonewolf’s contacts are clean—or at least none have any charges or indictments against them right now. Of course with big business or big government, that’s always subject to change.”

“What about Tolino? Adam was working for him, at least recently and while in D.C. Maybe he talked Adam
into carrying that board game, saying it was going to be a surprise for his daughter. It’s possible Lonewolf had no idea what was inside that box,” Big Ed suggested.

“If that had been Tolino’s money he would have carried it himself,” Blalock answered. “It’s a lot of cash. Besides, the Bureau looked in on what Tolino does in D.C. and who his contacts are. He meets with lawmakers concerning legal
issues that affect the tribe as a result of legislation and new government regulations. It’s not the kind of thing that opens itself to bribes. He’s an analyst who prepares reports and offers advice, none that have a direct tie to any particular business.”