Tracking Bear by David Thurlo Page A

Bureau beforecoming here.”
    “Yes, I was given that information by the tribe. But it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
    Ella resisted the impulse to pitch her out the window. Bruno was tough and fit-looking, and it would have been a struggle, but at the moment, Ella would have enjoyed giving it a shot anyway.
    “When an officer is killed in the line of duty—it’s hard for the entire department, and the staff has troubleconcentrating on anything else,” Bruno said. “Mr. Shives and I both agree that due to special circumstances, postponing our first session is appropriate, but I’d like to set up a firm date with you as soon as possible.”
    “Sure,” Ella answered. In the meantime, she’d make an effort to get future sessions canceled. Funds were short—they didn’t need to be squandered when the first priority was puttingmore officers in the field and maintaining equipment. Hopefully the contract the tribe had with Bruno allowed for cancellations, and she’d only get paid for work already done.
    “I’ll be in touch, Investigator Clah,” Delbert Shives said, “and send you an e-mail reminder in a few days. Meanwhile, my, our thoughts are with the department and the family of the officer.” Shives knew enough not to shakehands, so he simply nodded. Bruno smiled and turned, walking away quickly.
    When the two were out of sight, Ella forced herself to forget about the misspending of scarce tribal resources. If she dwelled on that, it would just make her crazy.
    Bringing her thoughts back to the case, she concentrated on Kee Franklin. Using Professor Franklin’s Social Security number, she accessed his credit report.She’d just started looking it over for unusual activity when Sergeant Neskahi knocked on her open door.
    Joseph, a former wrestler in high school, had kept in shape over the years, thanks to regular workouts. He was built like a safe—all square and hard, something that seemed even more emphasized by his buzz-cut hairstyle. But there was a look about him these days that hadn’t been there in yearspast. It was the harshness officers acquired with experience, which often came to the surface during times of stress.
    “Sit down, Joseph,” she said, waving him to a chair.
    “What’s going on, Ella? Are you going to transfer me back to the SI Unit?”
    “Not right now. With the shortage of patrol cops, the department needs you out there more.”
    Neskahi nodded. “Things are getting pretty bad, aren’tthey? Half of us don’t even have vehicles we can depend upon. Do you think it’ll change now that an officer got killed because his radio was cutting out?”
    She’d hoped that news about Franklin’s faulty radio wouldn’t leak out so fast, though she should have known it would spread like wildfire. A flash of anger swept through her again as she thought of Bruno’s workshop and how the little fundingthey had was being misspent. Taking a deep breath, she focused on the sergeant. “I don’t understand anything the council does these days. Their priorities are backwards.”
    He nodded somberly. “As always. So tell me, what I can do for you?”
    “I need to know about Officer Franklin. Someone said that you two knew each other well.”
    “We knew each other professionally, but we weren’t friends. We wereon opposite sides of the NEED issue, and often debated against each other at Chapter House meetings,” he said, referring to the regular community meetings on the Rez.
    “You live in the same area then?”
    He nodded. “But philosophically we share very little common ground. I’m a pragmatist—always have been,” he said. “Refusing to go forward because of fear is a bad strategy.”
    “At those chapter meetings…howevenly divided on the NEED issue are the people who attend?”
    “I get the feeling that it’s almost fifty-fifty. The older ones who’ve seen what uranium has already done to the People are usually very close-minded about it. But those like me, who see we’re