“How does your tribe honor that holy spot?”
“We don’t talk about that outside of our own people.” He put the rifle back in the gun rack and started the truck. The heater fan blew cold air onto Palmer’s legs. “Some of our folks are angry as hell about the development those Navajo big shots are talking about. They blame you, sir, because they think your meetings give the project life.”
Palmer thought about defending himself, arguing the point as they headed away from the house into the darkness. Instead, he thought about the story, the map, and the message from Ma’ii.
18
“You’re making me nervous.” Bernie muted the game on TV—the Arizona Cardinals playing some team on the football field. “You told the clerk at the desk to call you when Palmer shows up. You left a message in his hotel room. We drove around looking for him. What else can you do? Stop beating yourself up. What happens next is up to Palmer.”
He saw her eyeing his untouched half of the burger.
“Go ahead,” he said. “I’m not hungry.”
“You sure?”
He marveled at Bernie. She could live on Cokes and burgers, with an occasional break for her mom’s mutton stew and fry bread. She’d eat corn, squash, and green beans when he cooked them, but left to her own devices, she’d live vegetable-free. She was slim, he decided, because she had the same metabolism as her mother. Mama and the hummingbirds.
She took a bite of his dinner. “Don’t worry about Palmer. You’ve done all you could.”
“I’m not sure about that.” I’m longing for the day when I never have to think of Palmer again. Did you hear anything from the Lieutenant about the dead guy?”
“No. I sent him an e-mail, but he hasn’t responded yet. I hope that means he’s busy working on the case.” Bernie moved closer to Chee. “What would the Lieutenant do in a situation like yours?”
“He would have told Largo to find somebody else for bodyguard duty. Unlike me—the guy who gets the chump assignments.”
“Stop it. You’re a first-class cop. People take advantage of your good nature sometimes, but you don’t come in second to anyone. Largo appreciates you.”
“Yeah, because I’m easy to manipulate.”
“No, because you’re a kind man and a great officer.” She put down the burger. “You’ve had a long day with lots of stress and you’ve hardly slept since you started this assignment. Give yourself a break.”
He stared at the silent television, then sat up and slipped off his boots and stretched out on the bed next to her again.
“You’re right. Palmer manages to push all my buttons. To rattle my cage.”
“He’s a burr under your saddle.”
He grinned. “Yeah. A fly in the ointment.”
“An itch that needs scratching.”
“A thorn in my side.”
“An ant at the picnic.”
“A weed in the corn patch.”
“A sandstorm at a powwow.”
“A coyote in the sheep pen.”
“A bug in your ear.”
“He bursts my bubble.”
She laughed. “I can’t think of any more. You win.”
“So, do I get a prize?” He snuggled closer to her.
“Hmmmm. We’ll have to see about that.”
They heard a noise. A chime. Then again. Palmer’s phone.
Chee padded over to the desk, disgruntled. The screen said the call was from “UNKNOWN.” If it had been his own phone, he would have turned it off.
“Hello?”
He heard Palmer’s voice. “Chee, why are you answering my phone?”
“You left it in my motel room. Where are you? Bernie and I drove all over looking for you. We’ve been worried sick.”
“Calm down. I’m out in the parking lot. I thought I must have dropped my phone out here.”
“Come inside and I’ll meet you in the lobby. I’ve got a message for you, too.”
“I’ll be there in a minute,” Palmer said. “I just have to give my companion back his phone.”
Chee put his boots back on. Then he slid Palmer’s phone into his pants pocket.
“Want me to go with you?”
“No. This jerk is my personal headache.”
Bernie turned the television sound on. “You might want your jacket. You never know what will happen.”
“Right.”
He grabbed his gun from the dresser as he left.
Palmer wasn’t in the lobby, of course, so Chee went outside to look for him. The clouds, which could have kept the temperature at the frigid average for November in northern Arizona, were gone. What little heat the day had stored had disappeared into the pool of blackness. He zipped his jacket. The stars shone with exceptional brilliance and the cold air invigorated him.
Chee spotted Palmer standing against the building. He seemed to be studying the orange camper van.
Palmer glanced up. “I didn’t think you’d be so quick. Want one?”
He noticed Palmer’s half-consumed cigarette. “No.”
Palmer breathed out a cloud of smoke. “So you had a message for me?”
“Yeah. Your son called. He said it was urgent, and that was a while ago.”
“He ignores me for years and now everything is urgent. Anything else?”
“Yeah, I’ve got another message for you. Grow up. Get over yourself. No more of this cat-and-mouse stuff. I’m doing my best to do my job, which is to keep you alive for the mediation.”
Palmer took a long drag and stared at his cigarette. “I’ve quit dozens of times, but the old habit comes back. These things are more dangerous than anybody out there.” He stared out into the parking lot. “Chee, I know this started when Katie dropped me off at the station, but it should end now. The police presence at the mediation sends the wrong message—not just you but the whole posse. I’m calling the captain first thing in the morning to get him to call off the dogs. What’s his name?”
Chee told him. “You should call the chief, too. This was his idea.”
“I will.”
“Where did you go, anyway, without a car?”
Palmer took another drag on the cigarette. “A headman of the San Juan Paiutes picked me up. He came by in his pickup, said he had to show me something important. So I went with him. I explained that you had the bodyguard assignment, but he said you weren’t welcome.”
“Was he the one who called you?”
Palmer affirmed it with a nod. “Denny Duke. He took me to his mother’s house, and they showed me something beautiful they thought was relevant to the mediation. Then he brought me back here, no harm done. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“Did you really think it was a good idea to go off in secret with some guy who has something at stake in the outcome of the meeting?”
Before Palmer could respond, Chee heard a noise across the parking lot. He noticed the lights blazing inside the VW camper and Bebe Durango standing by the open door.
Durango noticed him noticing.
“Hey, Sarge, come here for a second.”