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  “Let’s start with Agent Thomas. I understand he was at your Sing.”

  “Not by invitation,” he shot back. “That crazy redhead almost ruined everything.”

  “We know he was on your trail, and that he was getting ready to haul you in,” she bluffed, hoping that if he assumed she already knew everything he’d be less guarded about what he said. “But I want to hear your explanation of what was going on.”

  “You’ve got it all wrong. The FBI guy wanted to ask me more questions about a pickup I made around Beclabito a few weeks ago. One of my jobs here at Mesa Vista is to go onto the Rez and pick up unclaimed bodies. The mortuary has a contract with the tribe. A lot of our people don’t want anything to do with a corpse, so nobody comes forward to claim the body. You know what it’s like. That’s when we get called in. Sometimes I go with another Anglo worker here, Dan Bailey, but not always. I’ve gone alone too.”

  “What exactly did Agent Thomas want to know?”

  “He was sure that I’d picked up the body of a murder victim by mistake, one that should have been examined by the medical investigator. But I hadn’t. I did pick up a body west of Beclabito, but the tribal PD had checked it out and signed off on it. That’s why we were called in. I told him that, but Agent Thomas just couldn’t let it go. He’d had a report about a murder victim there.” He shook his head slowly. “Those guys think that if they ask you the same question fifty-two times, you’ll change your story, remember something you’re not telling them, or make their day and confess to a crime.”

  “Wait a minute. The FBI thought that there was a murder victim at Beclabito? That doesn’t add up. Our officers, and my office in particular, would have been notified. Are you sure that’s the story you want to stick to?”

  “That’s what the Anglo told me, so that’s all I know. After a while I started avoiding him but he wouldn’t let up. Then he showed up at the Sing the other night.”

  “What happened when he was spotted?”

  “My cousins ran him off and then we finished the ceremony.”

  “Who are your cousins?” Ella pressed.

  “Jim Joe and Eugene Franklin.”

  Ella had heard them called the Darwin rejects by some of the officers who insisted the pair was far too stupid to live—a definite contradiction of evolution. They roamed around at night together and seemed to have a knack for causing trouble.

  “Where can I find your cousins right now?”

  “They’re usually still at home this time of day. They don’t have day jobs so they sleep till noon or watch cartoons on TV.”

  Ella glanced at her partner, then focused back on Melvin. “Tell me something. Working here doesn’t seem to bother you, obviously. But if you’re that much of a modernist, why did you bother getting a Sing?”

  Melvin gave her a sheepish look. “My girlfriend is coming back to town. She’s been away at college in California. I made the mistake of telling her where I was working and she said she wouldn’t get anywhere near me unless I had the Sing done.”

  “But you’ve washed off the blackening,” Ella said. “The healing can’t take place unless you carry out every step of the ceremony”

  “Yeah, well, when I got called back to work, the people here were bummed out by my paint job. The boss said that it was bad for business, so I didn’t have a choice but to wash it off.” He stared at the garage floor and shifted from foot to foot. “But, hey, my girlfriend won’t know I didn’t leave it on the whole time, and I’m not stupid enough to tell her.”

  It was a plausible explanation but she had a strong feeling that there was more to it than that. Undoubtedly Melvin had also cleaned up because he hadn’t wanted to be associated with a ceremony that had been punctuated by a confrontation with a federal agent. He obviously was just going through the motions on the Sing anyway for his girlfriend.

  Ella handed him one of her cards. “Don’t leave the area without notifying us first.”

  “Why? Am I in trouble?” he asked immediately.

  “Oh, yeah. I’m just not sure how much yet,” Ella replied. “But well be seeing you again, I’m certain of that.”

  As they walked back to Justine’s vehicle, Ella glanced over at her partner. “I need my own unit back. We can’t keep going out together to question people. We’re wasting manpower and time. Which reminds me, I also need to call Big Ed and tell him we’ve found Rainwater and he can reassign whoever’s watching Melvin’s home.”

  Just then a pickup the size of a tour bus pulled up beside them, making it impossible for Justine to pull out from the curb. Justine tensed up immediately, but Ella placed a hand on her arm before she could reach for her weapon.

  “It’s Bruce Little. He’s okay.”

  “Okay?” She gave her an incredulous look. “He’s as big as a bear and just as strong. Are you sure he’s not still pissed about getting cut from the force?” Justine asked in a harsh whisper as Teeny rolled down the passenger’s window and called out to them.

  “Ella, I need to talk to you. Wait up,” he said, then maneuvered his monster vehicle toward a parking space.

  Justine glanced at Teeny’s truck, then back at Ella. “I’ve heard some officers say that if they weren’t cops, they’d probably be bad guys. They’re addicted to the danger and the rush. Are you sure this guy’s still on our side?”

  “Of course he is. In fact, my guess is that he’s probably getting paid a lot more now doing his computer consulting and security work than he ever did on the force. But make sure you don’t call him Teeny. Sergeant Begay, who’d gone to elementary school with him, made the mistake of doing that once.”

  “I never heard about it. What happened?”

  “Nobody said a word later, but I saw the tail end of it when I was passing by the squad room. Teeny picked Begay up by his belt and spun him around like a pinwheel. Begay almost fell over when Teeny finally set him back down on his feet again,” Ella answered. “I think I’m the only one who gets away with calling him Teeny but, even so, I try never to do that in front of anyone else.”

  “Wow. Begay must easily weigh a hundred and fifty pounds.” Justine shook her head. “Thanks for the heads-up.”

  “There’s one thing you have to remember about Teeny. He uses his size every once in a while, but he’s not a bully. He just wants respect and gets testy when he doesn’t think he’s getting it. He and I are friends and that cuts me a lot of slack. He’s nothing if not loyal, and he’s always looked out for me, for some reason. He and Clifford.”

  “And Wilson,” Justine shrugged, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Justine had broken up with Wilson Joe just last year, but knew Ella had always been special to him as well.

  Teeny came over to Ella’s side of the car and leaned in the window, grinning. “Hey, ladies. Looks like you beat me to the punch, at least by a few minutes. About an hour ago I discovered that Rainwater had made a lot of calls to this place, so I thought I’d come by and check it out. Imagine—a Navajo working at a funeral home.”

  Hacking into the phone company’s records was illegal, but Teeny hadn’t volunteered how he’d obtained the information, and Ella wasn’t planning to ask. At the moment she had more pressing matters on her mind.

  “Hey, since you’re here, can you give me a ride?” she asked him.

  “Sure. Where do you want to go?”

  Ella glanced over at Justine. “Which one of the cousins do you want?”

  “I’ll take Jim Joe. I know him. He’ll behave around me because one of my brothers beat the crap out of him once for giving me a hard time. But Eugene Franklin is a real hard case, so watch your back. Last year, he pulled a gun on Joe Neskahi when Joe went to question him about a hit-and-run. Gene spent some time in jail for that, but he’s a real slow learner.”

  “Ah, the Darwins. I can help you there,” Teeny said. “Eugene and I get along just fine.”

  “Great” It would save time—one commodity that was in short supply for Agent Thomas. “Drive me over so I can t
alk to Mr. Franklin.” Ella glanced back at Justine. “Give me the address.”

  Justine did, but gave her a worried look. “What if Big Ed …” Her words trailed off softly.

  “Bruce is already getting paid by the tribe, at least until I no longer need his services. Why don’t you call the chief and tell him about us finding Rainwater?” she asked as she got out of Justine’s unit. “And look for a report on a murder victim or suspicious death that corresponds with what Melvin told us. If he’s lying, we need to know ASAP.”

  “I’ll take care of it.”

  As Justine drove away, Ella looked up at Teeny. “This is a police investigation, so you’ve got to play it by the book. Clear?”

  “Sure. Like I said, Eugene and I go back a ways. He’ll be a pussycat. There’ll be no need to take him for a spin.”

  Ella smiled but didn’t comment.

  It was eight-thirty when they got under way. Her stomach ached from the tension, but she wasn’t tired—too much adrenaline coursing through her system. “How well do you know Eugene?”

  “Well enough. What do you need to know?” he asked over the deep-throated rumble of the souped-up engine. Teeny was heading south toward the truck bypass, a route she’d often taken when trying to avoid Farmington downtown traffic.

  “For starters, do you think he pitched Agent Thomas down a hole somewhere? Is he capable of that?”

  “Physically capable, sure. He outweighs Andy Thomas by fifty pounds, at least. But Gene’s a spineless wonder. If you looked up bully in the dictionary, you’d find his photo. He likes to throw his weight around ‘ause he thinks he’s big and bad. But when he meets someone who stands up to him, or is even meaner and tougher—not to mention larger—he’s a real sweetheart,” Teeny said, then paused before continuing. “But the bottom line is that assaulting a fed is bad trouble and I really don’t think Eugene has it in him to do something like that. Andy Thomas isn’t a big guy, but the gold badge adds to his weight and stature, if you know what I mean.”

  “I hear you,” she said with a nod. “Now let’s see what Mr. Franklin has to tell us.”

  Teeny looked over at her. “You’ve always had guts, Ella—but I’d hate to see them on the floor if he panics and grabs a gun. I should back you up when you go in there.”

  “I don’t need a bodyguard,” she warned, “but avoiding a confrontation will save me time, so you’re on.”

  After twenty-five minutes, they arrived at a small residential area dating back to the 1950s—former housing for uranium and, later, vanadium plant workers. The search for the house number took them to a house on a dead-end street.

  “Ironic, don’t you think?”

  Ella laughed. “Reminds me of a truck stop down South called The Terminal Café.”

  Teeny parked across the street and then walked with Ella to the front door of the house, an old white frame building with a pitched roof and tiny porch. As before, he circled around to cover the back while Ella paused a few seconds, then knocked. “Police, Mr. Franklin.”

  Hearing the sound of running footsteps inside, Ella tried the knob immediately and found that it was open.

  Ella ran through the simply furnished living room toward the kitchen, quickly verifying that nobody was going out the back door. Turning, she headed into the hall and heard the sound of a window opening. Ella pushed open a bedroom door and spotted Eugene halfway out the window, staring at Teeny, who was shaking his head slowly. Franklin turned his head and saw her standing in the doorway.

  “There’s nowhere for you to go, Eugene, so come back in here,” Ella said. “Let’s not make this ugly and messy.”

  Moving slowly and grudgingly, Eugene crawled back inside. “Okay Clah, so now what?”

  “Let’s go back into your living room and have a little chat,” Ella said, her tone making it clear that it wasn’t really a request.

  Ella stepped back as Eugene passed through the doorway, keeping her distance and watching his hands. He was barefoot and had no apparent weapon. From what she could see, his jeans and sports jersey didn’t seem to contain anything at all except himself.

  She followed him back into the living room and motioned him toward the couch. As Eugene sat down, Teeny came inside.

  “Does he have to be here?” Eugene asked, his face an ashen color.

  “You don’t like me?” Teeny asked in almost a purr.

  “Never mind. It’s cool.” Eugene looked back at Ella. “What’s going on, Officer? Did you come here to arrest me?”

  “That’ll depend on how honest you are with me. I understand that you ran Special Agent Thomas off when he showed up at your cousin’s Sing the night before last. Why don’t you tell me all about that.”

  “That guy is one dumb Anglo, you know that? He insulted all of us and the tribe, too, by spying on a ceremony. Me and Jim went to ask him to leave, but Mr. FBI waved his badge around and said he wasn’t going anywhere until he talked to our cousin. That’s when we told him he could either leave or we’d kick his sorry ass all the way back to Shiprock. He was disrespecting the People and we weren’t going to put up with that. Redheaded city boy thought about it for a while, and when he realized it was either back down, draw his gun, or take us both on, he decided to leave. We never saw him after that, but we did keep a close eye out for him.”

  “Did you actually see Agent Thomas drive off?”

  Eugene hesitated. “Well, we followed him until he reached his car and got in. Then we hurried back to the medicine hogan to let the others know that everything was okay.”

  “Did you actually hear the car drive off?” Ella pressed. Instinct told her that he was holding out on her. She knew that Agent Thomas’s car hadn’t left the area, so if he answered with a yes, she’d know for sure that he was lying.

  “Not really, but the chanting would have drowned it out.”

  “So it’s that simple, huh?” Ella challenged. “You were so sure you’d scared him off that you never even bothered to check.”

  Before Eugene could reply, Teeny cleared his throat and gave him a hard look.

  “We did scare him off,” he protested, then seeing Ella’s skeptical look, added, “Okay, okay, so it didn’t go down exactly the way I said. We didn’t really threaten to kick his ass. I kind of had my thirty-thirty rifle across my arm, and I told him he should have worn red. He was starting to look more and more like a deer every second.”

  “So when Agent Thomas walked off, you just figured that he wasn’t coming right back?”

  “I didn’t say that,” Eugene muttered. “Someone else was driving up. We could see headlights and figured he might have called for backup before we got there so we decided not to stick around. I was carrying my Winchester, and I already know what happens to any Rez Indians stupid enough to show a gun to a half dozen jumpy FBI agents.”

  “What kind of vehicle was coming up? A big SUV? A car? A Jeep? You can tell sometimes by the sound of the engine.”

  “Hey, it was dark, and all I saw were the headlights. The thing was in low gear and the only thing I can tell you is that it didn’t sound like a little car with a dinky engine. But like I said, we didn’t stick around. I got to thinking that they might have those night goggles and be able to see us in the dark.” He looked directly at her, and added, “That’s all of it, I swear.”

  “I’m sure it is,” Teeny said. “I’d hate to think you wasted my time … and hers.”

  “It is, man, really.”

  “Do you know why Agent Thomas wanted to talk to your cousin?” Ella pressed.

  “Something about picking up the wrong body.” Melvin grimaced. “Man, talk about a crazy job for a Navajo. But sometimes you do what you got to do. We all have to eat.”

  “Now tell me one more thing. Why did you run when I identified myself?” Ella demanded.

  “Yesterday my cousin called and said there were some Navajo cops looking for him, and that they might come looking for him here. I didn’t want to have to rat him out, saying where he wo
rked and lived and stuff.” Eugene looked at Teeny as if hoping for approval.

  “What time did your cousin call?”

  “Like four in the morning,” he said. “So I guess that really makes it today, not yesterday.”

  Ella held his gaze and watched him squirm, knowing that there had been plenty of time for Rainwater and the cousins to come up with a cover story. It was possible he was still holding out on her. “Stay out of trouble,” she said, then walked to the door with Teeny.

  “Where to now?” he asked, as they climbed up into his truck.

  “Back to the station. I need to pick up my own unit.”

  “Ten-four. And just so you know, I’ll be coming back here later to confirm he didn’t leave anything out.”

  “I never heard that,” Ella said, checking her watch, then looking down the highway in both directions as they left the neighborhood. “Can you step on it? Don’t worry about a ticket,” she added with a smile.

  She regretted her request almost instantly. Teeny stomped on the accelerator hard and the sudden burst of speed pushed her back into the seat like a space shuttle launch. Mercifully, he was a good driver with pursuit-driving training on his resume.

  “Slow down when we get into traffic,” she asked, gritting her teeth and seeing an intersection ahead.

  Teeny complied, but was still driving close to the edge, weaving in and out between cars like a slalom skier at the Olympics. The high-profile vehicle rolled like a rowboat in a hurricane, but Teeny seemed used to the motion. When they pulled up to the station five minutes later, Ella sighed. “Like a Disneyland ride. Remind me to keep my mouth shut next time.”

  “Anything else I can do to help?” Teeny asked. “I like working for the department without a keyboard in front of me. It’s like old times, before I became the department’s techno geek.”

  Ella considered the offer. They didn’t have the manpower to keep an eye on Melvin Rainwater, but her gut instinct was telling her that he’d bear watching. Opening the door, she climbed down out of the vehicle as she spoke. “You’re still on the payroll, so keep an eye on Rainwater for me, will you? I have a feeling he might bolt again.”