she shifted her gaze back to the cars, she caught another flicker of movement and saw the figure dash away from the parking lot. One of the officers still standing near the doors yelled for him to stop and aimed a powerful flashlightin his direction.
The elusive figure picked up speed instead, and Ella heard the thump of something hitting the pavement. The officers took off after him as Ella scrambled over to where the man had been to see what he’d dropped. Her breath caught in her throat as her worst suspicions were realized. Between two cars was the bundle of dynamite, held together with electrical tape. A digital timerwas connected to the primer and a flashlight battery with wires. She carefully lifted it so she could read the timer in the glare of the floodlight and was startled to see it was counting down. It had fifteen seconds to go.
“Bomb!” Ella yelled, in case any officers were still close by.
Holding her breath, she grabbed her folding pocketknife. With no time to decide if the bomb was booby-trapped,Ella quickly slashed the wires leading to the battery. The timer went blank.
Feeling shaky all over, she leaned against the nearest car. This shouldn’t have happened, not here on the Rez. This was a big-city-type crime. She stared at the disabled bomb still in her hand, then set it down gingerly, trying not to disturb it any more than necessary.
Hearing footsteps rushing up from behind her,she spun around and steadied her weapon against the hood of the car. The two Navajo cops stopped in their tracks.
“Sorry,” she muttered. “Did you get him?” She moved toward them, motioning for them to keep their distance from the bomb, while keeping it in sight.
“No. He knows the terrain around here really well. Even in the dark, at a run, he chose the shortest way back to the road. He had apickup waiting.” The sergeant was talking to her, but his eyes were on the bomb.
“License plate?” she prodded.
“Too dark to make out.”
“Make and color?”
“Ford, late 1980s, tan color or close, and covered in dust.”
“Just like practically every other vehicle around here.”
“Yeah,” the sergeant answered.
The patrol officer’s gaze shifted from Ella to the bomb. “What do you think he was aimingfor? The station?”
Ella hesitated. “No. He was going through the vehicles here. I guess he was searching for one in particular.”
“Whose Jeep is this?” the patrol officer asked, gesturing to the one beside Ella.
“Mine.” Not giving them time to engage in any more speculations, she said, “I’ll stay here. Go call whoever handles ordnance disposal and get them over here.”
* * *
An hour later,the bomb had been checked, photographed, and disassembled. Ella finished her report to Big Ed recommending security cameras be set up in the hallways leading to their offices and the evidence room. She’d also completed the carefully worded press release. With the bus accident, which had resulted in four deaths, the murder might get less attention, which would serve her purposes. For now she’dkeep the bone found in the victim’s eye a secret. The students probably had not taken a close enough look to have spotted it. Maybe later it would become her ace in the hole.
Ella sat back in her chair. She stared absently at a fly buzzing around the room. A moment later it landed on her shoulder. She stared at it, lost in thought. In ritual, Big Fly was said to have knowledge of many thingsand places, since he was free to travel everywhere. He was said to warn and inform Holy Man.
She stared at the iridescent green insect, remembering the way of the Dineh and trying to reconcile herself to her own past as part of the tribe. Skinwalkers, although they had been with the Dineh since the beginning of time, represented an evil that had no place in the present. It was up to her to useall the modern police techniques at her disposal to bring them, or whoever wanted to impersonate them, to
The elusive figure picked up speed instead, and Ella heard the thump of something hitting the pavement. The officers took off after him as Ella scrambled over to where the man had been to see what he’d dropped. Her breath caught in her throat as her worst suspicions were realized. Between two cars was the bundle of dynamite, held together with electrical tape. A digital timerwas connected to the primer and a flashlight battery with wires. She carefully lifted it so she could read the timer in the glare of the floodlight and was startled to see it was counting down. It had fifteen seconds to go.
“Bomb!” Ella yelled, in case any officers were still close by.
Holding her breath, she grabbed her folding pocketknife. With no time to decide if the bomb was booby-trapped,Ella quickly slashed the wires leading to the battery. The timer went blank.
Feeling shaky all over, she leaned against the nearest car. This shouldn’t have happened, not here on the Rez. This was a big-city-type crime. She stared at the disabled bomb still in her hand, then set it down gingerly, trying not to disturb it any more than necessary.
Hearing footsteps rushing up from behind her,she spun around and steadied her weapon against the hood of the car. The two Navajo cops stopped in their tracks.
“Sorry,” she muttered. “Did you get him?” She moved toward them, motioning for them to keep their distance from the bomb, while keeping it in sight.
“No. He knows the terrain around here really well. Even in the dark, at a run, he chose the shortest way back to the road. He had apickup waiting.” The sergeant was talking to her, but his eyes were on the bomb.
“License plate?” she prodded.
“Too dark to make out.”
“Make and color?”
“Ford, late 1980s, tan color or close, and covered in dust.”
“Just like practically every other vehicle around here.”
“Yeah,” the sergeant answered.
The patrol officer’s gaze shifted from Ella to the bomb. “What do you think he was aimingfor? The station?”
Ella hesitated. “No. He was going through the vehicles here. I guess he was searching for one in particular.”
“Whose Jeep is this?” the patrol officer asked, gesturing to the one beside Ella.
“Mine.” Not giving them time to engage in any more speculations, she said, “I’ll stay here. Go call whoever handles ordnance disposal and get them over here.”
* * *
An hour later,the bomb had been checked, photographed, and disassembled. Ella finished her report to Big Ed recommending security cameras be set up in the hallways leading to their offices and the evidence room. She’d also completed the carefully worded press release. With the bus accident, which had resulted in four deaths, the murder might get less attention, which would serve her purposes. For now she’dkeep the bone found in the victim’s eye a secret. The students probably had not taken a close enough look to have spotted it. Maybe later it would become her ace in the hole.
Ella sat back in her chair. She stared absently at a fly buzzing around the room. A moment later it landed on her shoulder. She stared at it, lost in thought. In ritual, Big Fly was said to have knowledge of many thingsand places, since he was free to travel everywhere. He was said to warn and inform Holy Man.
She stared at the iridescent green insect, remembering the way of the Dineh and trying to reconcile herself to her own past as part of the tribe. Skinwalkers, although they had been with the Dineh since the beginning of time, represented an evil that had no place in the present. It was up to her to useall the modern police techniques at her disposal to bring them, or whoever wanted to impersonate them, to
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