Tracking Bear (7 page)

“Let me help you carry it out,”
he said.

“Thanks,” she replied, opening the front door for him. “By the way, I intend to let the officer who’s assigned to this area know about the problem here tonight. He may be able to make additional passes during his patrols,” she said, as he put the tricycle in the back of her SUV.

“That would be Philip Cloud,” he said with a nod. “I’ve seen him around.”

“Is there a problem between you
two?” she asked, noting his tone. Whenever Kevin’s voice became too neutral, that usually meant he was trying to cover his feelings.

“The Clouds—Philip, Michael, and Herman—are all against anything that will cause the uranium mines to be opened again.”

“I wasn’t aware of that.” She couldn’t help but wonder if her mother’s stand on the issue had been influenced by Herman.

“Okay, you’re ready
to go,” Kevin said, once the box was secure.

“Dawn’s going to flip when she sees this present,” Ella said. “I’ll put her on the phone for you tomorrow after she opens it.”

“You’re not going to give it to her tonight?”

“Are you out of your mind? She’ll probably be asleep when I get home. And even if she’s not, I’m not going to give her something that will get her so excited she won’t go to sleep
at all. Riding a tricycle around the house at midnight? No thanks. Tomorrow will come soon enough.”

Ella drove home, troubled. Knowing that her mother had been interviewed on the air by George Branch had unsettled her. Ella knew Branch was no fan of hers, and she didn’t doubt for one minute that he was capable of going after Rose as a form of payback.

As she pulled up to her house and parked,
she pushed the thought from her mind. She’d take things one step at a time.

The next morning, Ella sat in the kitchen drinking coffee with Rose. Dawn was already outside, bundled up in warm clothes, playing with the tricycle Kevin had given her, though it would soon be time for her to go off to day school.

Dawn had been undeniably disappointed that her father hadn’t come to give her the
present personally, but Ella had done her best to explain that, for now, her father couldn’t visit, but she could talk to him anytime on the phone. That prospect had soothed Dawn somewhat, particularly after Ella had called Kevin up so Dawn could talk to him.

Rose kept a sharp eye on Dawn as she drove the yellow-and-blue tricycle up the hard-packed gravel driveway. “She’s too young for that thing.”

“She’s fine. She can’t go very fast in the gravel anyway.”

“But if it tips over—”

“Mom, she’s fine. That cycle is so low to the ground her coat drags along behind her like a lizard’s tail. Let’s get back to what we were talking about. I want to know what happened with that self-promoting windbag—Branch.”

“I had no plans to be interviewed, but that windbag, as you correctly name him, called
me here at home and asked me to go on his radio program. I said no at first, but from his questions, I got the feeling he was still trying to make up his own mind on the issue, and that tempted me. I knew I could help him, and others like him, by explaining the counterarguments and the dangers. But what really got me to agree was when he asked if I was afraid to face him on the air. There was no way
I’d ever allow him, or anyone else, to think that, so I consented.”

She met her daughter’s gaze. “You know all the pros and cons, daughter. You’ve heard the talk, read the papers, and listened to our professor friend. Where do you stand on this?”

“I honestly haven’t decided. But I do know that the police department needs funds badly. We can’t operate safely and effectively without reliable equipment,
and we can’t overwork the officers we do have to the point of exhaustion because of a lack of manpower.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “That’s one of the reasons I’ve tried hard to keep an open mind about the power plant.”

“I heard that your close friend and his two sons are against it.”

“
Bizaadii
lost his brother to Red Lung. It was a long, difficult death. Now
Bizaadii
worries about his brother’s
children, and the long-term effects it would have on them. Back when the mines were open, his brother would often bring home big chunks of uranium ore into the house so his kids could see the rock glow—fluoresce—after they turned out the lights. They didn’t know that he was exposing his family to radiation. No one can say what harm that has already done, or what will show up in the future. For
that reason, I can assure you that he’ll fight the power plant and anything that will reopen the uranium mines with his last breath.”

“But you would consider it, if the tribe addressed the safety issues?” Ella asked. Seeing her mom nod, she added, “That must be creating problems between you two.”

Rose nodded. “He wants me to feel the same way he does, but I don’t. If I’m convinced that this
new technology can be made safe, as they say, I won’t fight the power plant.”

“What will it take to convince you?”

“I want scientists who are not attached to this project to come and explain the things that might go wrong. I want to understand the dangers clearly, and how they are going to be prevented. More importantly, I want everyone in the tribe to understand all that, too, so no one goes
into this blindly. The Gods warned us not to take certain rocks out of the earth or it would cause devastation. Before, we didn’t know they meant uranium, but we do now. We have to be extremely careful.”

“If you feel the Gods are against it, why are you even considering a nuclear power plant?”

“The Gods warned us of the dangers so we would be prepared. If the knowledge of the Anglo scientists
can help us, and we could use uranium without harming ourselves, the Gods would know we’ve respected their warning and are being cautious. Then they’d work with the
Dineh
and make good things happen.”

Ella nodded slowly. “I think you’ve got a good handle on this, Mom.” She glanced at her watch and stood up. “I’ll be listening to the early-morning segment of Branch’s radio program as I go into
work,” Ella said.

“So will I.”

Ella went outside to say good-bye to Dawn, and found that the air was bitterly cold. Although Dawn seemed perfectly comfortable, Ella took her back into the house, tricycle in tow. After making her daughter promise not to ride in the house, Ella gave her a kiss, then headed back out to her unit.

As she drove to work, Ella brought her thoughts back to the case.
Today she’d concentrate on trying to learn more about Kee Franklin’s relationship with his son. With luck, she’d be able to turn up a lead that would help her solve the patrolman’s murder.

Ella had just sat down behind her desk when Justine came to the door. “Officer Franklin’s friend, Belinda Johns, is at the campus today teaching an early morning class. If we leave right now, we can catch her when the class lets out.”

“Then let’s go.”

With Justine driving, Ella allowed her thoughts to circle
around the facts she knew. “I’m still trying to come up with a motive besides an interrupted burglary. When you spoke to other officers about Jason, did you pick up any indication at all that there was a problem between him and his father?”

“No, but I did learn that his father wasn’t really a part of Jason’s life when he was young. His parents separated when he was ten years old, and Jason was
raised from that point on by his mother.

“That’s hardly unusual, particularly here on the Rez. Kids are the property of their mothers, at least from a cultural and traditional standpoint.”

“Yeah, but there was more to it than that. Jason never went to visit his dad, even during summer break or holidays. From what I gathered, Jason grew up with the impression that his dad had abandoned him.”

“Who gave you that information?”

“I overheard Professor Franklin talking to a woman friend of his at the memorial service. He was saying that he regretted what he called ‘all those lost years.’”

“Who was the woman? Did you recognize her?”

“Sure. Officer Judy Musket.”

Ella’s eyebrows rose. “Did you get the impression that they’re close?”

Justine paused, then answered. “He was speaking very
freely to her, and most men generally don’t do that with casual acquaintances. But there is a big age difference between the two of them. Judy is almost young enough to be his daughter.”

“To some, that’s not an issue. We’ll have to make it a point to speak to her.”

“Big Ed called the military again, trying to locate Officer Franklin’s mother, and learned that she and her Air Force husband are
on vacation ‘somewhere’ in Germany, or perhaps France. He has thirty days’ leave, and they hadn’t given their travel plans to his superiors. The military is trying not to look bad, according to Big Ed, because not only did the mother miss her son’s funeral, but the military is embarrassed they can’t find their officer.” Justine shrugged.

“Is there any hint that something happened to them?” Ella’s
eyebrows furrowed.

“If there had been, I think Big Ed would have passed that information on to us. He thinks that the couple are just avoiding the big cities where the military has been checking hotels and such,” Justine added. “The chief promised to keep pressuring the base commander until they find Jason’s mother.”

They arrived on campus twenty minutes later. Ella and Justine walked to
the science building, then headed to Professor Belinda Johns’s office. To their surprise, Kevin was there talking to the professor.

As Ella knocked lightly on the open door, Kevin turned his head and, seeing her, smiled.

Belinda invited them in with a casual wave of her hand.

“I’m just finishing here, so don’t let me hold you up,” Kevin said, coming toward them.

As Justine went past him into
Belinda’s office, Ella excused herself for a moment and accompanied Kevin out into the hall. “What brings you here, Kevin?” She kept her voice low so no one in the office could hear.

“I’m trying to get more information on NEED. Dr. Johns’s credentials are impressive. She attended an Ivy League college and graduated ‘cum laude.’ You should have heard her debating with Kee Franklin at the Chapter
House meeting. Since they’re on opposite sides of the issue, I thought I’d speak to each separately.”

“Did she help you decide where you stand?”

“I haven’t made up my mind yet. But I have to tell you, Ella, if we decide as a people not to open a power plant or a mine, I hope that it’s a decision our people made based on something other than fear.”

Glancing over Kevin’s shoulder, Ella saw an
athletic nonecked Navajo man in casual clothes standing beside the main entrance to the building. Where he was standing he could watch the halls and see anyone entering the building by simply turning his head. It was Ernest Ration, a young ex–Army Ranger she knew casually.

Following her gaze, Kevin smiled. “Ernest is my bodyguard. He stays close while I take care of business during the day.”

“And at night?”

“A cousin of his who also served in the Rangers, Eugene Frazier, keeps an eye on me and the house till morning. Hopefully, this will discourage any other vandals.”

“I don’t know Eugene, but I think Ernest may be a bad choice,” Ella said softly.

“Why? He’s got excellent qualifications and special training.”

“As a soldier, not a bodyguard. There’s a huge difference. A soldier,
especially from a special unit like the Rangers, is highly trained in active aggression. His job is more to seek out the enemy and destroy him, not defend a potential target. A bodyguard should keep you
away
from danger, not seek it out. His instincts and training make him unsuitable for the job you want done.”

She remembered when Ernest had worked at a convenience store on the Rez. He’d kept
a carbine with him, just hoping someone would try and rob the place while he was on the job. Ernest obviously loved a fight, and that was precisely the one quality a bodyguard didn’t need.

Ella watched him approach. “Is Ernest armed?”

“Of course he is. The new state law allows anyone with training and a permit to carry a concealed weapon these days.”

That was one of her least favorite laws.
It was an invitation to disaster because it just begged for an armed confrontation among civilians.

“I carry a firearm now, too,” Kevin said.

She hated the thought, or more precisely, she hated the need for the father of her child to be armed. But there was nothing she could do about it, and she was still grateful that Kevin had worked so hard to keep Dawn safe during the threats against her
not too many months earlier. “I heard Sergeant Neskahi gave you some private instruction, and that’s good. Just remember to make sure of your target, Kevin, and don’t do anything that could injure innocent bystanders when a confrontation can be avoided.”

“That was the topic of my first lesson. I’m always very careful.”

As he strode off behind Ernest, who led the way outdoors, Justine called
to her. Ella joined her inside Belinda’s office. “Sorry for the delay. I had a question for the council member.”

“Would you tell her what you just told me?” Justine asked Belinda as Ella sat down.

“Investigator Clah, I was just telling your partner that although Mr. Franklin and Jason were on the same side when it came to NEED, they really weren’t close as father and son. Jason never could lower
his guard around his father. Jason had been hurt too much in the past, and there were still issues between them.”

“Like what?” Ella asked.

“Professor Franklin left Jason’s mom when Jason was ten. But he never asked for visiting rights, and he remained off the Rez for most of Jason’s life. Although he provided child support, Jason never heard from him. Jason knew his dad was an important physicist,
so he spent his boyhood fantasizing about him. Then, shortly after he graduated from high school, Jason found out that his dad was teaching at a branch college in Los Alamos. He saved his money and took a bus over there. When he met with his dad, the professor refused to explain why he’d never kept in touch, and he never apologized either. He simply asked that Jason let the past rest.”

“And did
he?”

Belinda shook her head. “Jason was very hurt. He wanted answers, but he couldn’t get them from his father, so he decided to bide his time. After Jason became a cop, and he had more resources available to him, he found out everything he could about his father’s life. But he never told me what he’d learned. My guess is that he was disappointed. He spent many years thinking his dad was some
sort of Einstein, working on earth-shattering research. That had been his way of coping with a dad that never kept in touch. Then, when he learned the truth, he was forced to give up his idealized images. I think that probably broke his heart.”

“If they weren’t close, why did the professor move back here?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure. Maybe Professor Franklin finally realized what he’d given
up by forsaking his son. Or, more than likely, he heard about the NEED project and decided he should come back and speak his mind.”

“So you think Dr. Franklin returned primarily to fight against NEED, and Jason was just a secondary interest?” Ella said.

“Yes, but it’s all speculation on my part. Navajos are taught not to speak for others, so maybe I should just keep my mouth shut. It’s possible
I’m being too hard on him.”

“It seems to me that being on the same side of the NEED issue would have brought father and son closer together,” Justine said.

“I think it did, to some degree. Opposing the development meant that they were of one mind. But in almost every other way, they were still miles apart. Look at it objectively. The professor is a gifted physicist whose field of preference
is quantum mechanics. In that area, you deal with concepts and probabilities. It’s a field of science where nothing can be observed directly. By contrast, Jason’s mind-set, and his profession, is one where he acts based on what he can see and therefore prove. Their ways of thinking ran along two totally different wavelengths.”

Ella nodded slowly. She could sympathize with that. She’d traveled
that same path with Rose. The way Rose viewed life—her adherence to the Navajo Way—had put them on a collision course many times.

Yet, despite the differences between Kee and Jason, Ella believed in the bond between father and son. Her own father and brother had held completely different religious beliefs, but Clifford had risked his own life to help find their father’s killer, and Ella knew
they’d loved each other in spite of everything. The importance of family, of respect for the clan, was as much a part of most Navajos as was breathing.

After taking several pamphlets Belinda had offered them that explained and described the NEED project, Justine and Ella left. “What’s your take on Professor Johns?” Ella asked once they were outside the main building.

“I think Belinda’s playing
it straight, but I really wish I could get a better feel for Jason. I did speak to Mike Kodaseet last night, and he said that Jason had always searched for purpose in his life, but it wasn’t until he became a cop that he got himself together. I gathered from our brief conversation that Jason got himself into trouble frequently as a kid,” Justine said.

“So maybe that was why he helped Albert Washburn.”

“I also did a quick background check on Washburn. Albert’s on parole and doesn’t have a job. I spoke to his parole officer, and he said that Albert spends most of his day at home. He lives with his mom, who works as a hospice care nurse in Farmington.”

“Do you have his address?”

Justine read it off from the pad she kept in her jacket pocket, and they set out in that direction. A half hour later,
they pulled up in front of Albert’s home. The area was along the river northeast of the bridges, and was occupied mostly with worn mobile homes. The lots were small, and some were fenced off with barriers ranging from railroad ties to chicken wire. Many poor people lived in Shiprock, and this was one of the poorest neighborhoods. Trash littered many of the yards, though a few were cleaned up
and weedless.

They stopped in front of one of the latter trailers. The clean white mailbox showcased the address, hand-painted in turquoise blue.

As they parked in the graveled slot wide enough for one vehicle, a young man, around seventeen, wearing jeans and a thick pullover sweater, came out and stood on the small wooden porch. Something in his gaze told Ella that he already knew who they
were. Of course, that wasn’t at all remarkable. Virtually every teenager in the community was aware that Investigator Ella had one of the few unmarked police units, and that it was a blue Jeep.

Ella reached the porch a step ahead of Justine and pulled out her badge. “We need to ask you a few questions.”

“I don’t know what more I can tell the police. I know you’re after Officer Franklin’s killer,
and I’d sure like to help with that, but I have no idea who did it.”

“Can we come inside?” Ella asked, uncomfortably aware of the brisk wind that had kicked up. Down here by the river it could really get cold. A flock of migrating ducks flew across the levee behind the trailer, and she wondered for the hundredth time how they could swim in that icy water so easily. Just the thought made her shiver.

“Sure. Come inside where it’s warm.”

Ella and Justine were both pleasantly surprised by how orderly and clean the interior of the mobile home was. The sofa was old and worn, but neatly arranged with two throw pillows. Facing the sofa were two folding chairs with torn cushions that had been repaired with matching vinyl tape. At the end of the living area were a simple wooden chair and an inexpensive
particleboard computer desk that held a desktop computer and inkjet printer. Several open books were arranged around the keyboard.