“Scroll down more. There’s a lot of information there,” she said, standing behind him and studying the entries.
It took them almost twenty minutes, but they finally found a separate accounting base and another entry that dated back ten months. “There you go. Del Archuleta,” she read off. “He’s a P.I., according to that. Have you ever heard of him?”
“No, but I can have him checked out.” Ranger dialed his brother, then waited. “I need some intel,” he said, then proceeded to tell him what they’d learned.
Hunter’s response was immediate. “I’ll get back to you. And Wind…? You’ll have to explain your choice of sanctuary to the brotherhood when all this is over.”
“Understood,” Ranger said and hung up. He’d known he was violating security by coming here with Dana and that would make him subject to disciplinary measures later. But, as always, he’d done what was necessary. “Let’s see what else these other accounts have to tell us,” he said, focusing back on the screen.
Another half hour passed, but they found nothing else they could use. “At least we have Del ’s full name,” Dana said. “That’ll help us narrow the search. I think we’ve made some solid progress. Maybe I’ll be able to meet with Hastiin Dííl soon.”
Before he could answer, his cell phone rang. He flicked it open and answered.
“Del Archuleta, according to a uniformed agency source, is a scumbag,” Hunter said. “He had his P.I. ticket pulled last year for playing both sides of the fence on a divorce case. I’ve got his last known address and two photos, and I’m uploading them now. Maybe the woman will recognize them.”
Ranger switched screens and picked up his e-mail. “Do either of these men look familiar to you?” he asked her.
As she leaned over him to take a closer look at the screen, he grew aware of every part of her. Though she’d given herself to him, it had been on her own terms. Her body had been his, but she’d held back a piece of her heart. That knowledge tugged hard at him. Next time, there would be no holding back, not by her, and not by him, either.
“The one on the left. He was one of the men who kidnapped us,” she said, interrupting his thoughts.
He had to struggle to refocus. “And the other one?”
“I haven’t seen him before.”
Reading his brother’s note, Ranger filled her in. “The one you recognized is Bruce-Del Archuleta’s brother. He used to work for the city of Farmington as an animal control officer.”
Ranger passed the news to Hunter, then hung up, avoiding what would have undoubtedly been his brother’s next question-what was next on their agenda.
“We need to find Bruce and Del, and we have Del ’s last known address. What do you say we go pay him a visit?” he said.
“I’m ready when you are,” she answered.
They drove to the address they had for Del and found he’d moved. The new tenant, a young, slim, college-aged woman, seemed to want Ranger to stick around, so she invited them in.
“I’ve forwarded a few pieces of mail to Del, and I’ve got his new address around here someplace,” she said, brushing back a strand of long, blond hair. “He lives with his creepy brother, Bruce.” She fished around a drawer for a few moments, then finally pulled out a small notepad. “Here it is,” she said, handing it to Ranger.
Dana tried not to feel ignored, but the woman hadn’t taken her eyes off Ranger since they’d come in.
Ranger gave the young woman one of his devastating smiles. “I appreciate your help.”
“Let me know if you need anything else. My casa is your casa, as they say around here.” She stepped closer and gazed up at him. “Good luck.”
As they drove to the address she’d given them, Dana laughed. “I felt like the invisible woman back there.”
“Jealous?” he teased, then shaking his head, added, “Nah, you’re way too secure for that.”
She thought about what he’d said. “It’s a funny thing about security. I spent most of my life trying to create it for myself-through my job, my friends, my lifestyle. But these past few days, as we fought just to stay alive, I learned that security isn’t a tangible thing, it’s a spiritual outlook. Security comes from courage, and faith, in yourself…and in those you trust.”
For the first time Ranger saw hope for them and not just for a few stolen moments here and there.
They reached the address a short time later. Ranger parked about half a block down the street from the small one-story house and waited. “They’re both in there, judging by the two cars in the driveway,” he said after a moment. “Unless one of them has a visitor.”
“No, Bruce is there. I just saw him pass by the window,” she said, her voice shaky as she handed him the binoculars. “I’ll never forget his face.”
“Don’t let him get to you,” he said. “He’s going down.”
“I just remember…him. He was one of the men who questioned the medicine man. When I see his face…I see death.”
“Stay here,” he said. “I’m moving in.”
“I’m going with you. There are two of them, and that’s not an even playing field. I can help balance the odds a bit.”
“All right then. I’ll watch your back and you watch mine.”
Ranger checked the pistol in his belt, then started the truck and drove down the street. He killed the engine as they got close, and coasted into the driveway silently, blocking both vehicles.
Ranger nodded to Dana, then climbed out of the pickup and walked over to the door. She stood behind him, and to the left as he knocked hard on the door four times. Then he pushed the doorbell, not taking his finger off.
“ Del, gotta talk to you, man. Business,” he yelled, faking a southern New Mexico accent.
As Del yanked open the door, Bruce reached around Del and slammed the door shut.
“Run!” they heard him yell.
Ranger kicked the door open instantly and the force of it knocked Del to the floor. Ranger was on him in a second. Grabbing him by the back of the collar, he swung Del around, bouncing him off the wall.
“If he tries to get up, shoot him wherever you want,” he said, handing Dana a small pistol pulled from his jacket pocket. “And grab that cell phone,” he added, pointing to a unit on the coffee table, an idea forming in his mind.
Ranger raced across the living room just as Bruce went out the back door, slamming it shut. By the time Ranger opened it again, the fugitive was already pulling himself up the cinder-block wall across the backyard.
Ranger jumped over the wall, landing in a crouch, his hand on the butt of his pistol. Bruce was nowhere in sight.
Ranger stood still and listened. Hollow footsteps came from his right. Taking three steps, Ranger jumped down into the dry irrigation ditch that bordered the property. Bruce was fifty feet ahead, sprinting around the curve in the dry channel that ran underneath the street about a hundred yards away.
Ranger pressed hard, gaining ground, but Bruce ran up the concrete apron lining the ditch at the bridge. A second later a woman screamed.
Running up the concrete, Ranger reached the street level just as a green pickup raced away, Bruce at the wheel. An elderly Navajo woman lay on her side on the asphalt. As Ranger ran over to help her, the woman rose to her knees, shaking her fist at the departing pickup and cursing colorfully.
Ranger thought of a few more pertinent words to add to the string of obscenities. He’d lost the race, and there was no way he’d catch up to Bruce anytime soon.
Ranger made a quick call to Agent Harris, updating him on all the events. Before Harris could go on a tirade, Ranger abruptly ended the call. There’d be hell to pay later, but for now, he had other business.
After making sure the woman was all right, he returned to Bruce’s duplex. Del was sitting on the floor, and Dana still had him at gunpoint.