Adios Angel by Mark Reps Page B

possible the plates had just been stolen. 
He claimed they were in the hands of the Tucson police and had been for over a
week.  The detective said the state was going to send an investigator down to
talk to me.  I’m sure they think it’s my truck.”
    “Did they explain why the police had the plates?  Did
they say what they wanted?”   
    “Not exactly.  They said they found them on a stolen
car that had been abandoned at a wayside rest.  They just said they were coming
down to the reservation today to have a little chat with me.”
    “Today?  When today?”
    “I imagine they’re out there waiting for me now.”  
    “Are you purposely trying to put a bee in their
bonnet?”
    “Hell, yes.”
    “You should show at least a modicum of respect.”
    “Why?  Let them wait.  We Apaches have been waiting
for over a hundred years for any kind of satisfaction from those scoundrels who
stole our land.  Why should I go out of my way to make their life easier?”    
    “It wasn’t the state highway department or the state police
who stole Apache land.  You know that.” 
    “It’s close enough.  Both of them work for the big
White machine in Washington.”
    Kate found Eskadi’s incorrigible, anti-establishment
behavior both charming and alarming.  As tribal chairman he knew working
cooperatively with the powers that be could prove beneficial.  If he angered
the wrong political people, the amount of hassle brought on the people of the
San Carlos Reservation could be significant.  Yet, when it came to dealing with
the bureaucracies, he was as stubborn as a mule and as troublesome as a wild
child.
    “What are you going to tell them?” she asked.
    “It depends on what they ask me.”
    “You’re going to be forthcoming with them, aren’t
you?”
    Did you ever meet an Indian that wasn’t honest?”
    Eskadi raised his hand, mimicking and mocking the
stereotypical pose of a cigar store Indian.
    “I swear, you are a little bit loco,” laughed Kate. 
“Promise me you’ll let me know what happens?”
    “Of course.  Why do you think I’m here right now?”
    “I thought maybe you just wanted to see me,” replied
Kate.
    “Then maybe after I talk with them, I’ll have a reason
to come back and see you again.  Or maybe you’ll have a reason to stop by and
see me.  It’s been a while since you’ve been up to the Rez.”
    Helen’s knock on the door interrupted what had become
a far too infrequent personal moment between the pair.
    “Deputy Steele, Josh Diamond is here. He’s asking to
talk with you.”
    “Tell him it will be just a minute.”
    “Official business, I presume?” asked Eskadi.
    “Don’t get jealous.  He is a very good man, but not
necessarily my type.”
    “Mmm-hmm.”
    “Besides, someone’s already got their designs on
me...or so I’ve been led to believe.”
    Eskadi’s deep ebony eyes smiled as broadly as his
lips.
    “I will call you.”
    Eskadi cast a stern expression in the direction of the
ruggedly handsome Josh Diamond as they passed.    
     
     

CHAPTER NINE
     
    “Josh, have a seat.”
    “Thank you, Deputy Steele.”
    “Call me Kate, please.”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    Josh Diamond’s soft southern accent puzzled her. 
Sheriff Hanks had mentioned that Josh had moved to Safford from Bisbee, a small
town near the Mexican border in central Arizona.  The sheriff had also said
they had served together as young men working for the border patrol.  Before
that, Josh had enlisted in the Marines and had served in Desert Storm, the
first Iraqi war. 
    In the few short months he had lived in town, rumors
about his past were plentiful.  He had allegedly been a member of the Special
Forces in Iraq and Kuwait, a military operative behind enemy lines in Bosnia,
and a Texas bounty hunter.  Most of them were just that, rumors.  The serenity
and calmness in his face deeply contrasted with the image of a man possibly
involved in such a vast array of human hunting