The report made no mention of what had happened to the vehicles, but Leaphorn assumed they had been towed to the nearest impound lot. Before he went to the trouble of tracking that down, he’d use the old phone number and address to search for Rita Begaye. If he was fortunate enough to find her, he would see what she could tell him about the jewelry that might have been in the car the day of the accident.
It was too late to call her now. For the second time since taking the case, he felt like he was making progress. He wished Louisa had been there to share his delight at the breakthrough.
Jessica had included a note that Tiffany Benally had no criminal history.
Leaphorn headed toward his bedroom. Giddi followed.
“What are you doing here?” The cat’s green eyes studied him, and then she jumped on his bed. Giddi usually slept with Louisa. He let her stay.
11
As always, Jim Chee’s voice over the phone made Bernie smile.
Her day, she told him, had been routine and frustrating. Her efforts to track down the heavyset Navajo man she had observed before she realized her jogging path was also a crime scene had been futile. Now she faced paperwork, and then she was off to see her mother. “Did I tell you Sister is considering one of those work-from-home offers?”
“No. Did you try to talk her out of it?”
“Of course, but you know how hardheaded she can be.” Bernie laughed. “What’s new in Chinle?”
“I heard a rumor that Ryana used to work in the movies. I found proof that she had a fancy car in Phoenix, so maybe she used to be famous. But when I searched, nothing. And Mark, the tech expert here, couldn’t find any information on that either. I guess it’s another lie.”
“Did you ask her?”
“I haven’t had a chance.”
“Darleen might know. They spent time together over the weekend. I’ll see what Sister has to say.”
“Thanks, sweetheart.”
“Will you be home tonight?”
“You bet.” She heard his tone brighten. “I can’t wait to see you. Any news on the Bigman baby?”
“No. Sandra would have told me and everyone in the Shiprock chapter.”
After Chee hung up, Bernie recalled her first encounter with Ryana, back when Mr. Natachi and the girl came every weekend to visit at the house down the road. Ryana radiated happiness. She and Darleen played together. Later, when both girls were sneaking up on adolescence, they would race on the high school track. Ryana, with her longer legs, usually won. Then Ryana’s parents moved to start work in Chinle, the girls got involved with other friends, and they lost touch except when the family came back to see Mama’s neighbor Auntie Dolly.
Bernie called Darleen. Her sister sounded unusually perky for such a hot afternoon.
“Guess what? My envelopes just got here. I can start to work.”
“Sister, before you do, I could use your help with something, too. An investigation.”
“Whoa. Really? What is it?”
Bernie explained.
Darleen started talking as soon as Bernie stopped. “That is so, so cool. Ryana didn’t mention making movies. Maybe we could rent one or stream it on the computer.”
“Chee has been calling her, but she isn’t answering. Is there any way to find out what movies she made without asking her directly?”
“Yeah. I’ll check it out and call you back?”
“I’m going to visit Mama tonight. We can talk then.”
“Sure thing. Hey, I’ll show you the supplies for my job then, too.”
“I wish . . .” Bernie stopped. The deed, however foolish and ill-advised, was done. “I wish you good luck in finding out about Ryana’s life in the movies.”
“Maybe she was just a voice-over, you know, like in the Navajo Nemo or something. I’ll check on it right now, Sister. You know what else?”
“What?”
“This is the first time you’ve asked me to help with a case.”
Bernie had been at the substation about an hour when Sandra buzzed her.
“No baby yet. Darleen is on the phone. She sounds excited. Is everything OK with your mom?”
“I think so. I’ll let you know. Put her through.”
Darleen sounded breathless. “You won’t believe what I found, what kind of movies Ryana was making.”
“Tell me.” From the tone of her sister’s voice, Bernie guessed they weren’t preschool music videos.
“Naked movies of the triple-X kind. Gross. Is this stuff against the law or anything?”
“No. Ryana is an adult and as long as she did it without being coerced and the movies don’t show anyone getting killed or—”
“Don’t even go there.”
“I hope you’re not too upset.”
“This stuff is embarrassing, you know?” She heard Darleen exhale. “I can’t believe it.”
“Was there more than one movie?”
“I found three, then I decided to call you. I couldn’t look at any more. I called because I know you wouldn’t want to talk about this with Mama around.”
“How did you discover the movies?”
“It was tricky. I couldn’t find anything under Ryana’s name, and I was running out of ideas, and then I remembered how people in entertainment change their names, like that woman involved in the porno business who sued the president. I thought of how you can put up a photo of someone on a social network site, and the computer tells you who it is. I had a photo of Ryana from the weekend. I wasn’t sure how to do it, so I asked CS.”
CS, perhaps Bernie’s least favorite of Darleen’s male friends, was a would-be video artist. “Is CS there?”
“No, he’s in Santa Fe. He’ll never finish editing his movie. He helped me over the phone. A bunch of photos of Ryana came up with a different name, and when I searched that, her movie name, I found, well, what I found.”
“What’s Ryana’s movie name?”
“It’s Roxanne Dee.” Darleen spelled it. “I guess the Dee stands for Diné.”
Or delicious, Bernie thought, or devious. She asked Darleen to send her links to the videos. She wasn’t sure how or if Ryana’s movie career fit into Mr. Natachi’s stolen bolo. As she was thinking about that, Sandra buzzed her.
“Is everything good at home?”
“Yes.”
“Largo wants you to check out a place near Toadlena where a young woman Chee needs to interview may have gone.” Sandra gave her Ryana’s name, her cell number, and Mama’s neighbor’s address.
12
Sometimes Joe Leaphorn got lucky, and this was one of those times. He called the old number for Rita Begaye and found it still in service. He listened to the phone ring, and as he considered what sort of message would best prompt a call back, a person answered.
“Yá’át’ééh.” Leaphorn asked for Rita Begaye, fully expecting to learn that no one by that name lived there.
Instead, the young voice on the other end said, “Big Rita or Little Rita?”
Leaphorn considered the question. “Big.”