Red Mesa (21 page)

But that left her with no other real suspects, unless Begaye had recruited one of his relatives for the job. But that seemed unlikely. Begaye wasn’t a team player. Not willing to overlook any possibility, however, Ella checked the names she’d collected from the officers against the information she had on the fugitive’s relatives and known associates.
There were no leads there.

Ella then made a list of prisoners and suspects who had been brought to the station, and decided to check and determine who was related to those individuals. Unfortunately, the only prisoner on hand, besides a few in the drunk tank who had already been released, was Zah. But he hadn’t been allowed any visitors except for his attorney because of the earlier incident
at Window Rock.

Ella had just sat down, going over the lists one more time, when Big Ed showed up at her door. “Ella, you probably already know about this, but just in case you don’t, there’s going to be a memorial service for your cousin at one this afternoon, over at St. John’s Chapel. The Christian side of her family will have the remains interred privately, but they want this service done
right away. They notified the department and asked that the officers all be informed so those who don’t find it offensive can attend.”

“I’d really like to be there, but I wasn’t invited, and I’m not sure how her family will feel about that.” She told the chief how Angela and her daughters had reacted when they learned of Justine’s death.

Big Ed seemed to consider the matter for an eternity.
“Okay, it’s probably a good idea for you to lay low then, maybe sit in the back. But I think you should still attend. You’ve done nothing wrong, and you shouldn’t let innuendo and rumor wear away at your reputation or the reputation of this department.”

Ella nodded once. Though she wanted to attend, she wondered if Big Ed was wrong to pressure her into going. Harsh words and bad feelings would
have no place at that service, out of respect for Justine if for no one else.

Ella spent the next few hours filling out reports on her most recent activities. It seemed like an incredible waste of time now with everything she was facing, and so much left to be done on Justine’s murder investigation. But there was no escaping the bureaucracy.

Later, in the parking lot, as she was unlocking her
car door to leave for the church, Ella heard her call sign come over her handheld radio.

“We have a situation,” the dispatcher said. “Gladys Zah, the wife of the prisoner you transported, is at the Desert Moon Motel. She’s been threatening to kill her two children and then commit suicide. Management called us when she refused to let housekeeping inside her room and threatened to shoot whoever
bothered her. They saw a rifle.”

The Desert Moon was a rough place known for attracting trouble because of its cheap rates and reputation for illegal alcohol. “How old are the kids?” Ella asked in a taut voice.

“There’s a five-month-old girl and a four-year-old boy.”

Ella knew that the kids’ presence pretty much ruled out tear gas. It would be mostly negotiation. “I’m on my way to my partner’s
memorial service. Is there someone else you can send?” Ella turned around in the parking lot, looking for other police units. There were none at all except for the car assigned to the watch officer.

“Not on this. And you should know that Gladys Zah asked for you specifically. She claims you destroyed her family when you arrested her husband, and said she wants you to see the harm you’ve done.”

Frustration and anger made her body shake. It was truly amazing how quickly people blamed the arresting officers when their relatives broke the law. “I’ll take the call. Send backup if you can find any, even if you have to get the county sheriff.”

“I’m trying to get hold of Sergeant Neskahi. He’s on his way in from Teece Nos Pos,” the dispatcher said.

“Ten-four.”

Ella switched on her flashers,
then sped down the highway toward the motel.

FOURTEEN

Trying to stay focused, Ella reached Neskahi on the radio. After verifying that he would arrive at approximately the same time she would, she called dispatch and asked the woman to tell Big Ed she might have to miss the memorial service for Justine.

Then Ella mentally began to review hostage procedures. In these situations what was needed most was clear thinking and a lot of luck. The
obvious danger to the children terrified her.

She arrived at the scene within twenty minutes, and saw Neskahi waiting outside one of the motel rooms, standing behind his patrol vehicle. People were milling about the doorway of the main entrance, watching curiously.

Ella approached cautiously, noting someone peering through the curtain of the motel room window in front of the sergeant’s vehicle.
“What’s the situation?” she asked.

“I tried to open negotiations, but Mrs. Zah demanded to speak to you. Her speech is slurred, so I suspect she’s been drinking. I wouldn’t trust her not to try and shoot you, and maybe her children, too. The motel manager said that when he went to talk to her he saw that she’s got a hunting rifle, a Winchester lever action. That’ll penetrate everything but the
real heavy SWAT vests.”

Joseph offered to let her use the speaker system on his car radio, but she decided just to shout. It might be less frightening to the woman and her children if she didn’t magnify her voice. “This is Special Investigator Ella Clah, ma’am. Why don’t you set the rifle down and come out now. We can talk.”

“No, you come in here,” Gladys shouted back.

“If you come out unarmed
and stand by the door where we can see you, I’ll approach.”

“You’ll just arrest me, just like you did my husband. You won’t listen or even try to understand.”

“I can help you, ma’am. I know this is a difficult time for you, but think of your children and their safety. I’ll make sure they have someone to take care of them while you get the help you need. There are counselors and lawyers that
will listen to you, too,” Ella said, trying her best to reason with her.

“You lie. That’s all the Tribal Police has ever done,” Gladys yelled.

“We don’t want anyone to get hurt, including you. Your children need their mother. Why don’t you at least send the kids out and show us you’re thinking of their safety?”

“No. They stay with me.” Mrs. Zah said something to one of the children that Ella
couldn’t hear.

“If you want me to cooperate with you, you have to meet me halfway on this,” Ella insisted. “Send the kids out and the sergeant can watch them.”

“Will you talk to me then?”

“If your son and daughter come out safely, I’ll come and talk to you. But you’ll have to do exactly as I say.”

“Like what?”

“I’ll leave my weapon with the sergeant, but you have to place your rifle on the
ground outside the door before I walk any closer. I won’t talk until we’re both unarmed.”

“You’re not serious, are you?” Neskahi whispered.

“I’ll have my backup, but if I can get her to surrender her rifle, the biggest problem will be solved.”

“We don’t know if she’s got just the one rifle.”

“It’s risky, I’m not denying it. But we can’t fire off tear gas, or try to take her out, without the
risk of hurting the kids. Do you have a better plan?”

Neskahi said nothing for several long moments. “No,” he said finally. “But leave your radio on so I can hear what she’s saying to you. If you spot another gun, say something about the chief. If she has a different kind of weapon, mention my name. I’ll at least know what you’re up against. Okay?”

“Fair enough.” Ella turned and shouted toward
the window again. “So what’s it going to be, Mrs. Zah?”

“I can’t send the baby out. She’s sick. But you can see my boy.”

“Both kids, or I’m not coming any closer. I have to know they’re both safe.”

“No. Robert can’t carry Kellie, and she’s really sick.”

“Then we should get Kellie to a doctor. The PHS clinic near the river has a good staff. But we need to speed things up if your baby needs
help. Send Robert out now. You can keep Kellie in your arms, but you’ll still have to set the rifle on the ground when you get to the door. Deal?”

“All right.”

“You’re thinking that there’s no way she can fire a rifle as long as she’s holding the little girl?” Neskahi whispered.

Ella nodded, speaking quietly. “That’s exactly what I’m counting on. If the baby’s as sick as she said, frustration
may have been what sent her over the edge. Although medical help is free, a lot of our people are still afraid of hospitals because people die there. Many think the place is filled with the
chindi.
What I have to do somehow is get her attention focused back on her baby instead of on her personal situation.”

Gladys appeared with the infant just moments after the little boy walked timidly out the
door. After the woman set the rifle down on the ground, Ella placed her pistol on the hood of Neskahi’s car, then walked up slowly, her hands out, showing she was unarmed.

Neskahi watched from behind the car, then as soon as the little boy was close, went out to get him. Moving quickly, he picked him up and hustled him inside the squad car.

Ella stepped closer, nodding and smiling at Mrs. Zah,
but watching her carefully for signs that she had a knife or other concealed weapon.

As Ella stood before her, she glanced down at the baby in the woman’s arms. The moment she saw the infant’s face clearly, her heart froze. She’d seen this before. Fetal alcohol syndrome was high among native people. The infant’s head seemed much too small in proportion to the rest of her body. Her eyes were small
as well, and the mid portion of her face was flattened. Her expression seemed vacant somehow, indicating poor brain development. Ella could tell that the baby was also badly malnourished.

The incidence of child mortality was high in New Mexico’s rural areas, more so than in the rest of country, but it was especially bad on the Navajo Nation.

“I had a Sing done for her, but she kept getting worse.”

“Has Kellie been to the clinic or to the hospital?”

“Yes, but they wanted to keep her for tests and treatment. They wanted me to leave my little girl with them, but there was no way I could do that. My husband had been helping me before he got arrested, giving her pollen and water to drink and some herbs, but you took him to jail. I was all alone then. My family lives too far away, and my husband’s
clan isn’t much help.”

Ella tried to control her fear. The child needed medical help right away. She was barely moving. “You know why your husband was arrested. But your child has done nothing to deserve what’s happening to her and she needs more help than you can give her. You’ve got to trust the clinic doctors because they’re her only chance now.”

“The
hataalii
said she’s sick because we don’t
live in harmony. That wine and whiskey have put our lives out of balance, so sickness has come. The clinic can’t do anything to help us or my child. We don’t walk in beauty.”

“It’s true that you’ll have to get your own life back in balance. Getting alcohol out of your lives takes a lot of hard work. But there are clinics and programs that can help you. That will all take time, but right now you
need to accept the help the doctors can give your child. Your baby is counting on you. Don’t take away her only chance. She doesn’t deserve to die.”

Gladys broke down into tears. “Please save my daughter. I just can’t help her anymore.”

“Come with us, then. We’ll take Kellie to the hospital, and talk about getting help for your family while the doctors see her. You can have another Sing done
for her there. Our hospital allows that.”

“I haven’t got any more money for a Sing. I can’t even buy food for my children.”

“No
hataalii
will turn you down on that basis. You know that.”

Gladys looked down at the infant. “Do you think Anglo medicine can help her?”

Ella hesitated, unwilling to lie to her now. “I don’t know, but we owe it to Kellie to give them a chance.”

Ella knew that the
child’s future wasn’t good. Many of their people, in an attempt to avoid death, would leave the infirm at the hospital, then go back to their lives. She had no doubt that this was why Mrs. Zah had been so afraid to leave her daughter at the hospital. It had been tantamount to accepting that her daughter would die. “You can stay with her for as long as you like at the hospital, too. No one will run
you out.”

Gladys looked at her child, then back up at Ella. “She’s so small…”

Ella bit back the response she wanted to shout—that it wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t been drinking all through her pregnancy—but instead, she took her to the Jeep, leaving Neskahi to deal with the weapon.

“What will happen to my son?”

“The sergeant will take him to a safe place. The tribe has people who will
look after him while you’re in the hospital with the baby. He’ll be just fine, and safe.” And probably better off, Ella thought grimly. At least he’d get some balanced meals, and he’d be away from the danger an alcoholic mother always posed.

Ella drove the woman and her child to the hospital and remained with her throughout the process of admission. Mrs. Zah stayed with the baby as the emergency
room doctor examined the child. The nurse spoke Navajo, and that helped Gladys relax.

Hearing her call sign on the radio, Ella picked it up, wondering if this would be another delay. At this rate she’d never make it to the memorial service.

“The motel has decided not to press charges,” dispatch said. “So it’s up to you whether you want to bring her in or not.”

“She’s needed here more,” Ella
said, then ended the transmission.

Gladys looked back at Ella, who gave her a nod as the staff members led her to the hospital’s nursery. She could see that Mrs. Zah was more comfortable now with the decision she’d made to bring the baby here.

Ella exhaled softly and started down the hall to the elevators, but before she could step inside, she heard her name being called.

Turning her head,
she saw Carolyn Roanhorse. “I didn’t want Gladys Zah to see me and become frightened, but I overheard the conversation the doctor had with the nurse in the ER and thought you’d want to know. The baby is badly dehydrated and obviously undernourished. She’s got an ear infection and a lot of other problems, but she should make it.”