“That’s right.”
“I told Chee I’d call him on this. I’ve been putting it off. Can you give me his cell number?” Bernie thought she saw a touch of worry on Johnson’s face.
She told the agent the number and Johnson put it in her phone. She looked at the empty soda can, then picked it up, crushed it, and tossed it in the wastebasket. A perfect throw.
Bernie watched. “Nice.”
Johnson smiled. “That was an easy shot. I was on the team in high school and played for fun after that. How about you? You play basketball?”
“Our Lady Chieftains got to the regionals before we went home. I wasn’t exactly indispensable on the court in high school, but I had my moments.”
“How are the college teams out here in desert country?”
“The Lobos can be good, but you have to go to Albuquerque. Watching the high school ball is fun.” Bernie thought about saying they ought to go to a game together when the season started up again. But she didn’t.
After the agent left, Bernie drove out to a call about shoplifting at the old Toadlena Trading Post and, after she took the report, decided to swing by Ryana’s aunt’s place to see if the young woman was there. Her cell phone buzzed.
“Hey there.” Chee sounded tired. “I need your help. And don’t worry, Largo has already approved it.”
“Darn, I was hoping it was something personal. You know, like getting a bag of charcoal so you could grill some of your burgers for dinner. Or even more personal than that.”
“Sorry, sweetheart. This is police work. But I’ll make it up to you.”
“What can I do?”
“Two things. Ryana’s ignoring my calls and I need to talk to her about the shooting. I think she might have gone back to her aunt’s house.”
“Largo mentioned that, too. I’m headed over that way.”
“Secondly, can you send me the information that Darleen found?”
Bernie knew both her sister and cell service in Mama’s area were unreliable. “Sure, but not until I get a better signal. Do you think it ties in to the burglaries?”
“Maybe. Ryana asked me for two thousand dollars. I think she’s being blackmailed. That might give her a motive to steal.”
“Are you sure she wasn’t joking about the money?”
“The more I learn about this, the less sure I am of anything.”
Bernie had to drive by Mama’s house to reach the auntie’s place, so she stopped there first. Her mother was in the kitchen, washing some radishes, another of those vegetables Bernie never ate unless Mama made her.
“Daughter, I’m glad to see you.” Mama dried her hands as she spoke. “Stay for dinner. Look at these. Beautiful, aren’t they?”
“I can’t stay, Mama. I have to go down the street to look for Ryana. But I need to tell you something first.”
“What?”
Bernie hesitated. “Mr. Natachi got shot at his house in Chinle. He’s in the hospital. The police are looking for the ones who did it.”
Mama didn’t speak for a while. Then she said, “Ryana came back here. I waved at her, but she didn’t wave back. She was driving fast.”
Bernie put herself in the mind of the young woman. Her grandfather is abducted and shot. She tells a law officer it’s her fault. She flees, even though she’s clearly devoted to the old man. It added up to big trouble.
Mama watched her think. “Your sister walked over to talk to her. Her auntie isn’t home yet.”
“I’m going down there. I’ll stop by later.”
Mama frowned. “If the granddaughter is afraid of something, I don’t want your sister to get involved. Tell that girl I need her to help me right now. And you be careful.”
Bernie could have walked, but not knowing what to expect, she took the police unit.
The front door stood open, and Bernie saw the girls sitting at the dining table. She walked right in. “Hi there, you two.” Ryana looked pale, nervous.
Darleen smiled as she spoke. “Hi. What are you doing here?”
“Sister, Mama needs you to help with supper. She sounded serious about it, so you should go now.”
Darleen, who liked to argue, didn’t. “Take care, Ryana. See you later.”
“Thanks for coming by.” Ryana rested her chin in her hands. “I really needed someone to talk to.”
Bernie sat next to the young woman in a spot where she could see out the window. Ryana had dark circles under her eyes and wore no makeup. She seemed exhausted.
“I heard about your grandfather. I’m sorry that happened.”
Ryana stared straight ahead.
“The officer who talked to you, Sergeant Chee, asked me to find you. He wanted me to make sure you were safe.”
Bernie noticed Ryana’s silent tears.
“Whatever it is you’re afraid of, Chee and I can help. But we have to know where to start.”
Ryana glanced at Bernie’s uniform. “I wanted to kill myself, you know, when I came back to Chinle. There was nothing there for me except my grandfather. But then I got that job working with the elderlies and that really helped. And I met Nicky, and he made me feel better. He didn’t ask about my past, he accepted me as I am now. But lately . . . everything started going bad again.”
“What happened?”
“Nicky left. Just took his computers and the dog and poof.” She raised both arms like a conductor. “And this morning, my grandfather almost died. It was my fault. I’m doing the best I can, but I can’t undo the past.”
Bernie wasn’t sure what that meant. “You can’t change the past. But if you could, what would you change? I mean besides your grandfather getting shot.”
“That’s easy. When I got that letter, asking me for money and threatening to tell my grandfather about the movies, I would have talked to my shicheii. Told him everything.”
“What letter?”
The sound of a car on the road distracted them. A new large white SUV pulled into the driveway. A man in a suit strutted to the door, another man behind him. They were either FBI, Bernie thought, or former military. In any case, they brought bad news for Ryana. She was glad she wore her uniform and had her weapon.
She turned to Ryana. “Do you know these guys?”
“No.”
Bernie rose to meet them. She relaxed a little when she recognized one of the men as Berke, the FBI agent who had been with the ERT where she’d found the body.
The men showed her their credentials; then Berke stepped toward the young woman. “Are you Ryana Florez?”
“Yeah.”
“Is that tan sedan yours?”
“No.”
“Then why is it here?” Berke seemed to notice Bernie for the first time. “And why are you here, Manuelito?”
“This is my neighborhood.”
“I thought you lived near the trail where you found that body.”
“I do. That’s my neighborhood, too.”
Berke made a sound between a laugh and a grunt. “So it’s just coincidence that you found Ryana?”
“My mother noticed her drive up and I came by to say hi. And you guys, why are you curious about the car?”