Shooting Chant (11 page)

The man got back on the radio, and a minute later Landreth appeared. He shook Taylor’s hand first, then hers, disregarding Navajo customs.

As Ella took his hand, she wondered when she’d acquired the Navajo distaste for touching strangers.

“I hope you’ve come to give me the news
that the case has been closed and we can finally start putting this whole thing behind us.”

“I’m afraid not. The investigation is just beginning,” Ella said.

“That’s really disappointing. Hansen’s death has created no end of problems for us here, I’ve got to say. The latest is that none of the Navajo employees will use the parking lot. They insist on parking on the east side, on the fairgrounds
lot, and then walking in. It’s making the guards—and us—crazy.”

“Then it looks like you’ll have to adjust,” Ella said as they walked through the building’s entrance and to Landreth’s office. “The reason they’re doing that is all part of our beliefs, so don’t expect it to change.”

As they sat down, Ella’s and Landreth’s gazes locked. “Let’s cut to the chase. We want to access any private files
Hansen had on his computer.”

“I can’t allow that. I have no way of knowing how much personal stuff he’s got in there and how much is proprietary.”

“We’re not interested in your business’s secrets. We need to find everything we can about Kyle Hansen, and what’s stored in his computer might help,” Taylor said.

“His computer should have only things pertaining to his job. I doubt it’ll be much
help.”

“Then let us verify that, and we’ll be on our way.”

“What makes you think there’s anything you can use in there?”

“I spoke to another LabKote employee,” Taylor said, “and that worker assured me that Hansen often E-mailed personal friends from his terminal here.”

“If that’s the case, he probably has those files encrypted, or keyed to a special password.”

“We’ll have the police department’s
specialists take a look at that. If they can’t crack it, we’ll get somebody from the private sector.”

Dr. Landreth looked back and forth between the two officers. “I really can’t give you access to that computer until I’m certain that what’s in it won’t jeopardize our technology. Some of our procedures are strictly our own, and to have that information leave the facility could risk losing our
edge in business.”

“I’m talking about a murder.” Ella saw the look of surprise on his face. “Yes, we now know that your employee was murdered.”

Landreth cursed, then sat back and took a deep breath, letting it out again. “That’s just what we need. Okay, here’s what I can do. I’m going to go out on a limb here, so I hope that you appreciate this,” he added quickly. “I’m going to go into his computer
and give you a copy of all the files that clearly don’t have something to do with our sterilization procedures or with our plant operations. You can come with me and verify that, if you want.”

“Okay.”

Ella and Taylor followed him to a windowless office next to the warehouse section.

Taylor glanced at Ella and gave her a quick half smile acknowledging her victory.

As Landreth switched from
one computer program to another, they waited. Soon he accessed a special directory and found what they were looking for. “These appear to be his personal files, based upon the directory name he’s placed them in. They’re encrypted and he’s managed to block our override passwords that are designed to give access to supervisors. In other words, I can copy them, but you’ll have to figure out a way to
open them up and read them.”

“Fair enough,” Ella said.

Moments later, he handed them a disk. “There you go. I hope you appreciate the fact that we are cooperating with your agencies. I was under no obligation to give you this without a court order,” he said.

Ella nodded. “We know.” Somehow, she couldn’t quite muster up a thank-you. She had a strong feeling that this was one of the things they’d
had been prepared to give her all along as a gesture of good faith.

“I’ll have our security chief, Walter Morgan, see if he can find a way to decode those files for you. It may expedite your investigation.”

“That would be fine,” Ella said.

After they had the disk, Ella and Taylor walked out together. The second they passed through the barbwire-topped metal gate, the doors slammed shut behind
them. The sudden hum, and smell of ozone told her that electrical fencing was now in operation. It hadn’t been on before.

Taylor scowled as he looked back at the massive structure. “Why do I get the feeling that we’ve been handed a bone to keep quiet?”

“Yeah, I got that, too,” Ella nodded. “They’re playing games. But I think it’s corporate games in line with damage control. Having one of their
own employees murdered at work, and facing the possibility that another employee could be the killer, won’t result in good publicity and they know it. They’re going to need all the goodwill they can get from the tribe to weather the storm.”

“You’re probably right,” Taylor agreed. “By the way, many of LabKote’s employees live on the Rez and I don’t have any jurisdiction here, but I’d still like
to go with you when you question them. Is that okay with you?”

“Sure.” Ella thought of her brother, then of Kevin. She had to make sure that situation had been handled first. “I’ve got some business to take care of this morning before I can follow through on that,” she said. “But if you can, meet me at the Totah Cafe in about two hours—we’ll get started.”

“I’ll be there, or call you if I can’t
make it.”

As Ella drove back to the station, she felt guilty at having put Sheriff Taylor and the interviews off for what was clearly personal business. She couldn’t help but wonder if this would be only the first of many times the baby would interfere with her work. She pushed the thought aside. This was a special situation. Even cops had family business to attend to from time to time.

Her
thoughts shifted to Clifford and Kevin. Once she verified that Clifford had been released, she’d speak to Kevin. It was time he knew about the baby. To continue putting it off wasn’t her style, though after what her mother had told her, she was a little apprehensive about giving him the news. Admittedly, Kevin’s reaction didn’t worry her nearly as much as that of his clan’s. They were a wild card
she’d never figured she’d have to deal with.

Ella walked inside the station a short time later, and practically ran into Justine who was coming out of her lab. “You might want to hurry over to the south side of the building. Your brother’s just been released, and he’s leaving with his wife.”

“Here, take this. I’ll need it decoded,” she said explaining briefly.

“I’ll take care of it,” Justine
said.

Ella jogged to the back of the station and arrived in time to catch Loretta and Clifford halfway down the hall. Clifford gave her a nod, but Loretta wouldn’t even look at Ella.

“You should have been released hours ago. Are you okay?” Ella asked, keeping step as they continued down the hall together.

“It wasn’t a pleasant experience,” Clifford said, weariness evident on his face. “I can’t
believe I have you to thank for it.”

His voice was hard, and it carried. Ella felt the stares of those around her. “I did what I had to do. If it hadn’t been me, it would have been Sergeant Manuelito. You know that.”

“Maybe. But somehow I expected more from my sister. You could have at least stopped by to see me this morning.”

“I checked, but your lawyer didn’t want you talking to any more
cops. Have you forgotten?”

He stopped as they reached the exit and turned to face her. “Since when have you listened so carefully to other people’s rules?”

“We’re going home,” Loretta said bruskly, walking out the door. “We’ve had enough of this station to last a lifetime.”

Ella was watching Clifford and Loretta walking to the visitor’s parking area when she heard footsteps behind her. She
turned her head and saw Kevin approach.

“Did you catch Clifford?” he asked, then seeing her nod, added, “I hope he takes my advice and distances himself from the Fierce Ones. They certainly won’t do him any good, and it may end up costing him his credibility with The People.”

“I’ll try to reason with him once he has had a chance to rest.” Ella paused. They had to talk, and if she kept putting
it off, the baby would be in the third grade by the time she got around to it. “Are you going anywhere right now? I need to talk to you—in private.”

“Do you want to go get some coffee?” Kevin’s eyebrows rose slightly as he tried to guess what was on her mind. He adjusted his tie, probably a habit when he was trying to puzzle out a mystery.

She shook her head. “Let’s just drive down to the river
and take a little walk. It’s quiet under the cottonwood trees and it’ll help us both think some things through.”

“Sounds serious.” His expression softened into a smile, but his eyes gave away his concern.

“It is,” she said. “It’s going to mark the beginning of a whole new life for all of us.”

SEVEN

Ella stood beneath the shade of an old cottonwood, staring down at the river, which was narrow and shallow this time of year. It was time to tell Kevin, but she also had to make it clear that she expected nothing from him in return.

“It’s not like you to hesitate, Ella,” Kevin said softly. “What’s bothering you? You can tell me anything, you know. We may not be lovers anymore, but I’d
like to think we’re more than just friends.”

“That’s a good way to put it.” She took a deep breath then let it out slowly. “I guess there’s only one way to tell you this, and that’s straight out. I’m pregnant.”

He stared at her in stunned silence for several moments, then slowly a smile spread over his face. He tried to draw her into his arms, and she didn’t resist. They held each other for
a moment, but when he moved to kiss her, she pulled away.

“This changes nothing, Kevin, do you realize that?”

“What are you talking about? This changes everything.”

She sighed. “Yes, I guess in a way it does.”

He laughed. “So, now we get married?”

“No, that’s just it. We don’t. Kevin, we’ve got a pretty special relationship, but a baby isn’t enough to make a marriage work. You know as well
as I do that we’ve got two totally different outlooks on life. You’re on your way up, but I’m happy just where I am.”

“So, what are you saying, Ella? Remember that the child you’re carrying is mine as well as yours.”

She nodded. “I’ll never deny you time with the baby, I want you to know that, but I don’t think marriage is the right answer for us.”

He stared off toward Ute Mountain for a long
time. “I wouldn’t have picked this time in my life to have a child, I won’t lie to you about that. But nature took it’s own course. The question is, what do you want to do about it now? Marriage is the only answer I can see.”

“It might be for you, but not for me. I know you’re trying to do what’s best for the baby, and you’re also worried what this is going to do to your career. A lot of converted
Christian Navajos won’t vote for you if you’re known to have a child out of wedlock.”

“We can’t keep the fact that I’m the father a secret, you know. Things don’t work that way on the Rez. And this is bound to create trouble on another front, too. Your pregnancy is going to bring all the problems our clans have had with each other right to the surface, and we’re going to have to find a way to
deal with that. In my opinion it’ll be easier on everyone if we present a united front.”

Ella wasn’t surprised that Kevin knew about the past, but the realization that he’d chosen to begin a relationship with her in spite of that spoke well of his character. The notion that he thought so highly of her was pleasing. But it still didn’t change the way she felt.

“I can’t marry you, Kevin. And you
don’t really want me as your wife. We just don’t love each other that way.”

He pursed his lips. “It’s no longer a matter of what either of us wants. There’s our baby and our families to consider.”

“Your family will never accept my child.”

“They’ll have to, unless they want to sever their relationship with me.”

“It doesn’t have to come to that. The baby will be taken care of, you know that.
My mom will help me, and I make enough to support myself and the baby.”

“I’ll help you financially, and not just because it’s my responsibility. I want to do this. It’s my kid, too.” He gazed into her eyes for a long moment. “Are you really sure you don’t want to get married?”

“We wouldn’t be doing the baby a favor by getting married when we both know, deep down, that it would be a mistake.
The only real question is how do you want me to handle this? I can try to keep your name out of it. If I do that, there’s a chance many will assume Wilson is the baby’s father.”

He lapsed into a long silence, then finally spoke. “I don’t like that at all, but I need time to think things through. I want to make sure we’re doing the right thing for everyone involved.”

“There’s no rush, Kevin.
I’m only on my second month. People won’t know for a while yet.” Ella paused, then added. “Of course that doesn’t include my mother. I had hoped to tell you first, but she guessed.”

Kevin laughed. “It would be very hard to keep anything from her,” he conceded. “I’ve heard all about her gifts.”

Ella said nothing. Kevin’s casual way of bringing the subject up hadn’t fooled her.

“You know that’s
something else people will be speculating about once they know you’re pregnant,” he added slowly. “Your family’s legacy is practically legendary.”

“I expect any child of mine will have to go through the same thing I have,” Ella said. “People aren’t really sure how much of the legacy is real and how much isn’t and that makes them nervous around me and my family.”

“I wonder how people will react
to the knowledge that the father of your child is also a member of the same clan that historically created so many problems for yours,” he said, thoughtfully. “I have a feeling it’s going to give some in my clan a sleepless night or two.”

“As I said, I know there are many things you have to consider. You may find that the best thing will be for you not to claim the baby as your child.”