“Think back,” Ranger said. “Tell me everything you heard and saw once the drugs wore off.”
“I’ll be telling the police all of that very shortly. Don’t worry,” she answered.
“The medicine man who died meant a lot to me and to many other people, too,” he said, his voice suddenly hard. “I have to find out why this happened. To do that, I’ll need firsthand information from you while it’s still fresh in your mind. I’ve got some specialized training, and I intend to get involved in bringing these guys in. You want justice, don’t you?”
He watched her carefully. She was being too careful. The way she was weighing every word that came out of her mouth meant she had something to hide. Over the years he’d learned to trust his instincts. Pressing her now was the best way for him to get to the truth-before she had time to put up walls or make up pat answers.
“You told me that you heard the medicine man giving his interrogators some information. Think back. What kind of information?” he asked.
She hesitated. Hastiin Sani had died protecting the names on the list. Her best bet at the moment was to try and lie convincingly. “I don’t know. I was too groggy and upset at the time, and the door was closed. All I wanted to do was find a way to get us both out of there. I worked on trying to free my hands, which were tied behind my back. I was too scared to think of anything else,” she said and shuddered. At least that much was true.
“Think carefully. Is there anything else you can remember?”
“Why should I trust you?” she countered.
He swore under his breath. How was he supposed to explain to this Anglo schoolteacher how much was at stake? “You know I was his friend.”
“I don’t know that at all. All I know about you is that you came to pick him up. And someone told his kidnappers where he was. It may not have been you, but I can’t be sure of that.”
“I helped you get away.”
“True, but you appeared out of nowhere-armed to the nines. You shot back at the kidnappers, sure, but, under the circumstances you didn’t have much of a choice,” she said.
“I had a choice. I didn’t have to help you.”
She nodded slowly and thoughtfully. “You did help me stay alive.” She’d tell him enough to make him stop pressuring her. She’d already seen he was friends with the police, so he’d find out sooner or later what she was planning to tell them. “All I know was what the medicine man told me. A person named Ignacio Trujillo is behind the kidnapping and whatever they wanted with us. Trujillo intends to kill a group of people, according to Hast…my friend. That’s all I can tell you.”
“Yes, but is it all you know?” he pressed.
Dana rolled her eyes, but never did answer him. She was telling him enough to keep him off her back, but there was obviously more to the story. Her eyes were alive with secrets.
Out of the corner of his eye Ranger saw a van from one of the local TV stations arriving. Another car raced in right behind the van, one he recognized as belonging to a tribal newspaper reporter.
Knowing the reporters would bring cameras, he walked around to the other side of the police car, hoping to keep a low profile. He didn’t want to be spotted and, under no circumstances, could he allow his photo to make the news.
The way Dana followed his lead immediately piqued his interest. It was clear to him that she didn’t want to be seen or identified, either.
A dozen more questions popped into his mind. Who are you, schoolteacher? His next priority would be finding out everything he could about Dana Seles.
Chapter Three
It seemed to take forever before the two plainclothes officers, who’d arrived on the scene almost at the same time as the reporters, spotted them. To her surprise, no one seemed curious about why they’d taken steps to avoid being photographed. She knew why she’d done it. She didn’t want anyone to see her face in tomorrow’s newspaper. Yet Ranger’s reasons remained a mystery to her. Maybe he was an undercover tribal officer, or member of some other covert agency.
Ranger greeted one of the detectives like they were old friends. “Joe,” Ranger said, nodding to him. “What’s going on over there now? Have they found anything?”
Joe shrugged. “Not much. Seems the FBI’s going to be taking over the case, too. We’re just doing the grunt work. You know how it is. You do the work, the feds get the glory.”
He nodded. “Any ID on the dead perp?”
The detective shook his head. “His ID melted into a glob, but maybe dental records…Anyway, the bodies are going to be flown to Albuquerque for autopsies and such. Sure glad I’m not going to be there. The fire did a job on them. But we’ll get these punks. The medicine man was important to our community.”
“Any chance of an ID on the two that got away?” Ranger persisted.
“Maybe. Shell casings were found in addition to those from the forty-five and the carbine. If they have prints, we’ll find them,” he answered. “Or maybe we’ll get lucky and the injured one will have connections that lead us to the rest. Word is he’s expected to pull through. With a murder rap hanging over his head, he might give up his buddies.”
The detective then turned to look at Dana and gave her a polite nod. “Ma’am.” As was customary on the rez, he didn’t offer to shake hands. “I’m Detective Joe Nakai.”
She gave him her full name and answered his questions. “One of the four men in the van had a small curved scar on the back of his left hand, crescent-shaped. I noticed that before I passed out. They hardly spoke to each other, but I couldn’t detect any kind of accent, not even a southeast New Mexico twang.”
“After the drug wore off, what happened?”
“When I came to, they were questioning the medicine man, then they tossed him back into the room with me, the one at the north end. That’s when my friend told me that a man named Ignacio Trujillo was responsible and would be carrying out even more crimes unless he was stopped. He wanted me to know in case…” Her voice broke and she swallowed. After a moment she added, “In case he didn’t make it.”
“What kind of crimes?” Detective Nakai asked, looking over at Ranger for a second.
“He wasn’t specific but there wasn’t enough time.” After a pause to clear her throat, Dana continued. “I remember reading in the papers about a man with that same last name. He was the head of a local criminal organization. But he was killed by the police, wasn’t he?”
The detective nodded. “You’re thinking about Ernesto Trujillo, ma’am. His brother’s name is Ignacio.”
Ranger nodded somberly. He’d had a feeling that they hadn’t seen all the ramifications from that case play out yet. Now, Ignacio was after the Brotherhood of Warriors and its members, which, of course, included him. Yet Dana hadn’t reacted to his name. If she’d heard Hastiin Sani reveal the names of the brotherhood members, his would have been part of the group.
“Would you be able to recognize the ones in the van, or the ones who came after you?” the officer asked Dana.
“I only saw them for a moment, and not under the best circumstances,” she said, “but I can describe them, and I can pick them out of a lineup and probably from photos. I have a very good memory, detective.”
“That’s going to help us out a lot, Miss Seles. But the fact that you’re an eyewitness makes you a target now,” Nakai said, lost in thought.
“They never intended on letting you go, you know that, don’t you?” Ranger observed. “From the moment you saw their faces, it was all over.”
She said nothing. What more was there to say? She’d come to the same conclusion herself hours ago. Yet the terror she’d felt before had vanished and all she felt now was bone weary. “I know you’ll need me to sign a statement and for probably half a million other things, too, but will it be okay if I go home first? I want to take a shower and change clothes.” She could smell blood-death-on her clothes. Her head began spinning.