White Thunder Read online

  “All I have at the moment is hearsay. I spoke to one of the vendors over across from the high school.”

  The words ‘over, across’ were used frequently, but they could mean almost anything—across the street, or across the river.

  “Which vendor?” she asked.

  “He didn’t want me to say.”

  “Fair enough. What did he tell you?”

  “Not enough for you to follow up on, not yet. Let me work on this a while longer. I’ll contact you when I’ve got something. But since I’ve got you on the phone, I want to give you a heads-up. They’re starting to sell kneel-down bread again near the hospital. That used to be your favorite.”

  “Still is,” she said, smiling and surprised that he’d remembered.

  “Okay, then, that’s it.”

  “Wait—” she started, but he’d already hung up.

  Teeny’s memory of their high school days was surprisingly good. Kneel-down bread was made from freshly ground corn, a process done while kneeling, thus the name. It was cooked in pits dug into the ground and was a little smaller than a tamale. It was especially delicious with ground beef and chile. Kneel-down bread was a staple in autumn on the reservation and just thinking about it made her mouth water.

  Unfortunately, there was no time to stop for food now. It was late afternoon and she wanted to talk to Krause, the funeral home owner, but she would need some serious leverage to get anything from him.

  Ella called Justine next as she headed home to change clothes. “What have you found?”

  “I’m still at Blalock’s office going through Agent Thomas’s case files. But the only thing here that has any reference to the Mesa Vista Mortuary is a sheet from a memo pad that somehow missed the trash. It was behind the filing cabinet next to the baseboard.”

  “In your opinion, could someone have broken in and stolen the file?”

  “The window latch could be slipped loose, I guess, so it wouldn’t have taken an expert locksmith to get in,” she said after a pause. “Or the lock could have been picked. It’s not impossible, but if someone managed that, then we’re not dealing with an ordinary burglar.”

  “The more we get into it, the more I know there’s nothing ordinary at all about this case, partner,” Ella said. “Someone’s been holding us up every step of the way, and pulling our strings.” She told Justine what had happened when she’d gone to see Clifford. “Send Tache to the irrigation ditch to take photos of the tracks left by the vehicle that pulled up there.”

  “Okay. Where are you off to now?”

  “I’m wet—or at least my blouse and sleeves are. Thankfully, my cell phone didn’t fall into the drink. But I’ll need to get dry clothes, so I’m stopping by the house. After that, I’ve some things to do on my own.”

  “What are you up to?” Justine said immediately.

  “Nothing you want to get involved in,” Ella answered flatly.

  “I’ll meet you at your mother’s house.”

  Ella was about to say no, not wanting to let her partner in on what she was planning, but Justine beat her to the punch by hanging up.

  When Ella reached the lane leading to her house and looked up ahead, she groaned. There were about ten cars parked around the house. Her mother must be hosting one of the Plant Watchers meetings.

  As Ella pulled up, she saw Dawn running in her direction. She turned off the engine and stepped out just in time. Long black ponytail flying behind her, Dawn raced up and grabbed her, knocking her back on her heels as she squeezed a massive hug.

  “Yuk, Mom, you smell like ditch water, and you’re all wet. You didn’t find that guy in the river, did you?” Dawn stepped back, shaking her head. She was tall and lean for six and a half, and the older adults were constantly commenting on how much she looked like Ella at that age.

  “No, but I did get a rinse in the ditch.” Ella smiled. “Did you know you smell like a horse?”

  “Duh, Mom, I rode Wind for, like, two hours today.”

  “That figures. What’s your father doing here?” Ella had noticed Kevin walking in their direction.

  “He came for me. Mom, I’m going to spend the night at Dad’s. Shimsání said I could. It’s okay, right?”

  “Yes, Mom, how about it?” Kevin strolled up, looking as handsome as ever in his steel blue western suit, minus the striped tie and jacket at the moment. He was even taller than Ella, edging six feet, and had an ever-present sparkle in his eyes that few women were able to resist.

  Ella looked down at her daughter, and realized once again that Dawn had Kevin’s intense gaze and many of his personality quirks already. These past few months they’d grown closer, too. Lately Dawn had been spending more time with her father, though those visits were always limited to how long Dawn could bear to be away from Wind, her pony.

  “It’s fine,” she said, looking at Kevin, then back at Dawn. “But you’re still going to make sure Wind’s taken care of, right?” Ella tried to look stem, but Dawn was already ahead of her.

  “Dad promised Grandmother that he’d bring me by every morning and evening to feed both Wind and Chieftain. And if he gets called away to work, Boots will come and stay with me.” Dawn gave Kevin a special crinkly-nose grin she saved exclusively for him, and he winked back.

  “It’s all part of my deal with Rose, Ella. I’m a lawyer, remember? I have to figure every angle to get your mother’s approval. We just finished with the horses. You got time to drive over to my house with us?”

  Ella shook her head. “Sorry, but I promise to call when I get the chance, or maybe even stop by. It’s this missing-persons case, but I can’t really discuss it at the moment.”

  Kevin nodded. “Dawn told me something about that. But it’s our secret, right, Bright Eyes?” He reached down and put his hands on Dawn’s shoulders, and she leaned back into his chest, looking up and grinning.

  “Right, Dad.”

  Ella thought about how much she would have enjoyed going somewhere with them for a quiet family dinner, but it wasn’t to be. On the other hand, maybe that was for the best. Dawn still wanted her and Kevin to live together and she didn’t want to do anything that might get her hopes up. “I’ve got to change clothes and get back to work. You two be good, okay?”

  “You know me, Mom.” Dawn grinned, grabbing Kevin’s hand and pulling him in the direction of his pickup.

  Ella caught Kevin’s eye. “You two watch out for each other, okay?” She still remembered the all-too-recent incident involving an attempt to kill Kevin and kidnap Dawn—an event that still triggered her nightmares.

  Kevin recognized the look. “You can count on that, Ella.” He reached over and touched her arm, and she enjoyed the gesture for a second.

  “Good.” Ella broke contact. Kevin was too attractive for her to let the touch linger, and they both knew where that could lead. She took a step toward the house, turning her head as she walked. “‘Bye, pumpkin.”

  “‘Bye, Mom. You’ll find that guy.” Dawn pulled Kevin toward the truck impatiently.

  “I hope,” Ella said quietly to herself as the two climbed into his pickup.

  As Ella walked up to the door, she saw her horse, Chieftain, in the corral, his head down in the feeder, munching alfalfa. They’d constructed a stall area with an adjoining pen, but Chieftain, as they’d learned the hard way when he’d tried to kick his way out, wasn’t used to such amenities. Enclosed places bothered him and it would take time to train him. Wind, on the other hand, loved the stall, so that was his new home, while Chieftain took the corral.

  Spotting her, Chieftain whinnied, then went back to his feed. Ella smiled. Boots exercised him regularly, so he didn’t need to be ridden at the moment, but there was no time now to even stop and pet him. “Hello, boy. Not today, but soon, I hope.”

  Ella tried to sneak in through the kitchen, but the living room was adjacent to it, and most of the women turned to look when she came into the house. Several were dressed traditionally with long skirts and bright
ly colored blouses adorned with squashblossom necklaces.

  Although they greeted her cordially, Ella could sense that a very volatile discussion had been under way and Rose’s icy cold glare confirmed it.

  With a wave, Ella quickly passed through the living room into the hallway. Once inside her bedroom, she dried herself off and reached for warm, dry clothing. She’d just pulled on a shirt when Rose walked in. “Do you need anything from the living room or kitchen? This meeting is going to take a long time.”

  “No, I’m going right back out. I’m just here to change clothes.”

  “Shoes too. You tracked mud in everywhere.”

  “Sorry, Mom. I didn’t even notice. I was trying to rush through there without interrupting your meeting.”

  Rose nodded slowly. “The Plant Watchers need to settle some important issues today, so I called your daughter’s father and suggested that she might want to visit for a while. He invited her to stay over for a few days.”

  Ella nodded. “I managed to speak with them before they left. It’s a good idea, Mother.”

  “Do you need anything—maybe something to eat?”

  “No, I’m fine,” she said, reaching for a clean pair of boots. “I’ve really got to get going.” With luck, she’d be able to leave before Justine arrived. She didn’t want her to interfere with what she had planned and Rose didn’t need another interruption.

  Ella stopped and turned to face her. “Mom, I’ve been thinking. With all the meetings you’re hosting here at the house these days, and my need to come and go at all hours, maybe the time’s come for me to find a house of my own. We’re starting to get in each other’s way and things will get worse as Dawn grows up.” Ella watched her mother’s reaction carefully.

  Rose said nothing and stared at an indeterminate spot across the room for several moments. “We could add on, I suppose. But the construction’s bound to create even more chaos. There’s another option, though. Your daughter’s father has a nice, big, new house. Plenty of room for three or four people and a home office.”

  Her mother’s casual tone didn’t fool Ella. Dawn had been pushing for Ella and Kevin to move in together and weaving that into every possible conversation the past few months. Knowing that Ella wouldn’t even consider it, Rose was now trying to start an argument that would derail their conversation. Rose knew as well as she did that although the attraction between Kevin and her remained strong, it took more than that to make a marriage work. The truth was that, in the things that mattered, Kevin and she were poles apart.

  There was only one possible counter. “You’re absolutely right, Mom. Kevin’s house is huge,” she said seriously. “That’s certainly something to consider … .” Ella responded, turning her face away so she wouldn’t be caught grinning when her mother’s jaw dropped halfway to the floor. It was no secret that Kevin had never been Rose’s first, or even second choice as a husband for Ella, though Rose had finally begun to respect the man as a loving father to Dawn.

  “Let’s not rush this, daughter,” Rose said after a short, stunned silence. “Nothing has to be done right away. My granddaughter is still very young and, for now, things are working out just fine. Like Bizaadii likes to say, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.” Hearing two women arguing, and probably anxious for an excuse to end their conversation, Rose stood up quickly and hurried down the hall.

  Ella finished getting dressed, lost in thought. She’d managed to call Rose’s bluff—this time—but the problem lack of space posed for them wasn’t likely to just go away. As it was, whenever she had a visitor, even if it was Justine or Carolyn and not a date, Rose would have to discreetly vanish into the kitchen so as not to be underfoot, just as Ella did when Bizaadii came over.

  The simple fact was that they had no real privacy because someone was always in the next room. But it wasn’t just about their personal lives. With both of them working actively for the tribe—Rose with her consultant job concerning environmental issues and traditional herbs and Ella as a police officer—they both needed more workspace at home.

  Ella was checking her pistol when she heard footsteps at her door. Looking up, she saw Justine standing there.

  “Wherever you’re going, you’re taking your partner,” Justine said flatly.

  Ella shook her head. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

  Justine simply stared back at her.

  “Oh, crap,” Ella muttered. “Okay, okay. Just remember you insisted.”

  Ella looked through her notes to make sure she had Jack Krause’s address, then called Sheriff Taylor to see if he’d found out any information they could use as leverage against the funeral director.

  “I’ve got nothing. He was brought up on charges way back in 1972 for writing some bad checks. He got off by making restitution and apparently has been clean since. He has a black SUV registered to him, there are a couple of parking tickets on it. And that missing gold Ford Excursion was transferred to his wife’s name, so he’s not legally connected to it anymore. Apparently the two live apart.”

  Ella remembered the big vehicle tracks by the irrigation gate. They might have been made by an SUV. If a social security check scam was going on, Krause could turn out to be her direct route to Agent Thomas.

  Ella thanked Sheriff Taylor, then, after hanging up, turned her attention back to Justine. “I have no leverage and I’ll need it before I question Krause, Justine. We can’t wait around for a paper trail of circumstantial evidence that may eventually point to him for forging documents and scamming social security. We need to dig up something now that’ll force him into a corner.”

  “How about getting a sneak-and-peek warrant? This is a federal crime we’re checking into,” Justine said.

  “Our probable cause is pretty shaky, but maybe Simmons has the juice to make it happen,” Ella said. “The problem is that I can’t get hold of him. He’s flying back as we speak and cell phones have to be turned off during a flight. But let me give him a call anyway and see what happens.”

  Ella brought out her cell phone, but after three minutes of trying, all she could get was a message that the number was unavailable. Ella closed the phone in disgust. “Forget it. For now, he’s out of touch.”

  “So what do we do? Wait or try to get a warrant from someone else?” Justine asked.

  Ella looked at her watch. “See if you can get your grandfather.” Justine’s grandfather was a judge and could issue a warrant, Ella knew.

  Five minutes later, Justine hung up her phone in frustration. “He’ll have to call back. He’s in court.”

  “We can’t wait any longer, cuz,” Ella said flatly.

  “I agree. What do you want to do?”

  “What I have to—and I’d rather do it alone.”

  Justine looked at Ella and held her gaze. “I think I know what you’ve got in mind, Ella, but think carefully about this. If you’re planning to break into his home and check through his stuff without a warrant, you won’t be able to use anything you find as evidence. Is that really worth your career?”

  “I’m going to be looking for leads, not evidence—anything that’ll tell me where to look for Agent Thomas. A secondary goal is to find evidence that will hold up in court so I can go back later and grab it legally.” Ella took a deep, steadying breath. “I’ve thought this out. If going by the book means more to me than a man’s life, I’ve lost the essence of who I am and what I’m trying to do. I signed up to protect and serve people—not the rule book.”

  “All right. Then I’ll go and watch your back.”

  “I wish you wouldn’t. I’ve got to do this, but that doesn’t mean you have to put everything on the line too.”

  “All true, but I’m going with you anyway.”

  Ella chuckled. “Okay. Let’s get moving,” she said, then added quickly, “But we can’t take my unit—or yours. Mom’s truck is kind of unreliable, and I don’t want her involved even inadvertently. Any ideas on transport?”

  “We
can go to my place and take my little pickup. It’s about as generic as they come—tan, and no distinguishing marks. It’ll do.”

  Ella nodded. “We can muddy up your license plate, just in case, and the entire tailgate area, too, so it won’t look so obvious.”

  On the way over, Ella telephoned the mortuary and waited until Krause’s secretary put him on the line. “Good evening, Mr. Krause. Has Mr. Rainwater come back to work?”

  “No, and I’ve got to tell you, I’m none too happy about that. I’ve been thinking that it probably has something to do with that black face paint I asked him to wash off. He must be more religious than I thought. But, in either case, unless he’s got an amazing explanation, he’s going to find himself back on the job market tomorrow.”

  “We may need to talk to you within an hour or two. Can you tell us if you’ll be at home?”

  “Not until later this evening. I’m stuck here at the office, drowning in paperwork. But I may step out for dinner, so call first unless you want to take a chance on missing me.”

  “Will do. Thanks a lot,” Ella said, then hung up.

  “That was smooth,” Justine said.

  “Just covering all the bases,” Ella murmured, then shook her head. “I hate having to do this, Justine. But if I wade through channels on my own to get a court order, Krause might get wind of what I’m doing, know we’re onto him, and cover his tracks—and if he knows where Thomas is, he may just kill him. Or he may just keep stalling. Either way, Agent Thomas is a dead man.”

  “Then, in this particular case, we’re obeying a higher law and doing what’s necessary,” Justine said quietly.

  Ella nodded. “What worries me is that I know that this type of thinking is dangerous,” Ella said somberly. “Once a person starts believing that the law isn’t enough, a vigilante is born.”

  “You and I both know that if your back wasn’t to the wall, you—we—would have never taken this route. Simmons will send a troop of agents onto the Rez if we don’t get answers soon.”