CHAPTER TEN

Darkness surrounded Arthur Nakai as he felt a strange wind begin to blow across the shadowy world he found himself wandering through. He knew immediately it was Niłchʼi Diyin, the Holy Wind of the Dark World that he was taught about as a child. Soon he found himself standing, still and quiet, watching in sheer amazement as the Mist People, who had no certain form of their own, but could assume the shape of bird or beast or reptile, began to move over the Dark World. This is the time before the earth even existed, he told himself. Before the concept of man and woman had even transformed themselves into their present forms, away from simple male and female beings. It must be. He had heard the Creation story told to him by his paternal grandfather many times while growing up. But why was he here? Why should he be allowed to witness such a sacred event? Why would the Creator show him the vision of the beginning of his own people?

He bowed his head, feeling unworthy of this vision that was being bestowed upon him. When he lifted his head, he noticed he was now standing on a small island that floated in the center of four seas. The Mist People could not see him and were busy going about their work. He watched quietly as First Man and First Woman were formed. He saw First Man build a fire using only a crystal, while First Woman did the same using only a piece of turquoise. Arthur’s vision was like that of an eagle. He could see that both First Man and First Woman observed each other’s fires from a distance. He watched as First Man searched three times in the darkness for her turquoise flame but could not locate it. On his fourth journey, however, Arthur observed First Man tear a branch off the only pine tree he could see for miles and hold it up to indicate where the other light blazed. Arthur followed First Man through the darkness to a home where grayish smoke rose into the air. He fell to his knees as First Woman and First Man met for the first time, drawn to each other by their fire, just as he had been drawn to Sharon.

Soon afterward, several other beings arrived to populate the First World, including the Great-Coyote-Who-Was-Formed-in-the-Water, called First Angry, and the Wasp People along with a multitude of other creatures. They were followed by the beings known as spider ants and black ants. Soon came many other creatures to inhabit the land of the First World including Spider Man and Spider Woman and Salt Man and Salt Woman. As Arthur kept quiet and watched intently, he soon noticed that this world was beginning to be too small to maintain such a large number of creatures, and he watched in amazement as they began fighting amongst themselves. They fought so much that the creatures ended up crawling out of the darkness through a passageway that had been revealed to them in the east.

Arthur quickly followed.

When they emerged into the Second World, the Blue World, Arthur found himself mesmerized by the many creatures that appeared before him, the various blue-gray furry mammals and the many feathered beings, including the blue swallows. It did not take long, however, for the beings from the First World to offend Táshchózhii, the Swallow Chief, and there was more fighting and killing. So much so that the Swallow Chief banished them from the Blue World. Arthur watched as First Man created a wand using jet and other minerals so that the banished people could walk upon it to the next world using an opening created in the World of Blue Haze in the south.

Again, Arthur eagerly followed.

The bluebird was first to arrive in Niʼ Hałtsooí, the Third or Yellow World. In this world Arthur could see the two rivers that formed a cross upon the land and the Underwater People who lived along them. He saw the six sacred mountains and the Cave Dwellers, but noticed there was no sun in this world either, yet he was still able to see.

Arthur observed that more animal people lived here than in the first two worlds, and he could see the Kisa’ni, the ancient people of the pueblo. This time it was not disharmony that drove the people from this new world but rather a tremendous flood unleashed by Tééhoołtsódi, the Water Buffalo, after it was learned that Coyote had slipped across where the two rivers met and stolen her two children on behalf of First Woman.

You can never trust Coyote, Arthur remembered his grandfather saying as he recited the story. He is only out for himself and is the biggest trickster of all.

As the water swarmed in from all directions, swirling as it rose steadily and quickly, Arthur fled the great flood with the others and emerged into the Fourth World, the White World. As he looked out upon this new world, he saw that it also was covered in water and there were monsters inhabiting it. Still he was surprised that he could not be seen by anyone, not even the monsters. But there he was, as solid a man as he could be, watching life unfold before his very eyes. He saw himself as an imperceptible traveler who had been given the blessed gift of observing everything from the beginning of time.

He watched as the Sacred Mountains were molded into new majestic forms using soil from the original mountains in the Second World. He watched as First Man, First Woman, and the Holy People created the sun that shone brightly in the sky and gave life to all things. He watched them create the moon, the seasons, and the stars that filled the night sky. And he watched in awe as Water Buffalo appeared, her curly wet hair and black horns shining as the water ran from her head. She had come for her two children, the ones stolen from her by Coyote.

It was First Man who stood and asked her why she had followed them into the Fourth World since it was she who had started the great flood. He got no response. Coyote stepped forward and opened his coat to reveal the two stolen children. Water Buffalo snorted. Her eyes blazed. Coyote was given a basket laden with sacred pollens and a crystal. Everyone, including Arthur, watched as Coyote placed the basket between the horns of the great Water Buffalo, and as he did so he informed her that they would give back only the male child, who would be known as the Black Cloud or Male Rain. He would bring with him thunder and lightning. He also instructed Water Buffalo that they would keep the female child, and she would be known as the blue, yellow, and white clouds that would bring the gentle, soothing rains that would moisten the earth and make things grow so that they all might live.

It was here, as Arthur watched and listened, that First Man spoke of this new world being a small and barren land, a land which had been soaked and made useless by the flood of the lower worlds. Arthur hid and watched as First Man planted a large female reed that grew up to the roof of the Fourth World. First Man then tasked two beings to climb the reed and venture into the Fifth World. When they returned, they told great stories of powerful medicines and of a world that was dry. And so, First Man and First Woman then led the people into the Fifth World.

It was at this time Arthur began to feel something soft and familiar surrounding his right hand. He looked down but did not see anything that would make him feel such a sensation. Yet he felt it take hold of him and draw him farther away from the spectacle before him.

Soon a calming mist began to envelop him, and he could see nothing of his surroundings but began to feel every tingle and distinguish every sound. Along with this newfound awareness came a feeling coursing through his body—like tiny fires that had been unleashed to give him just enough pain to feel alive. Throughout this new awakening in the Fifth World, words were being spoken that were stirred into the soup of his brain, more stock to be added to the broth of his subconscious.

He was becoming more aware now the of strange sounds that were filtering into this consciousness, sounds that quickly became more annoying in their monotony, while others seemed comforting in their familiarity. He began to comprehend the warmth that seemed to surround his hand, and his olfactory senses were filled with the delicate aroma of a familiar fragrance. It was her fragrance. Sharon’s fragrance. And he recognized it instantly.

As he stepped from the mist, his eyes focused on the sterile white room and the perforated ceiling tiles that held the aluminum track of the curtain that had been pulled back against the wall to allow the nurse to perform her duties. She was changing the IV and smiled softly down at him, her blue eyes compassionate in the harshness of the overhead lighting. When he moved his eyes from the nurse, he saw Sharon sitting beside him, tears quietly streaming down her face, her hands clasped like a clamshell around his right hand. He smiled. She smiled, then rested a gentle hand against his wounded and bruised face. She stood carefully and leaned over him, pressed her sweet lips against his with a restrained passion that brought with it a sense of the promise that kept the tiny fires of pain in check. Her tears fell wet against his face, and all he could do was realize the purpose of his vision. It had all been placed there as the path to lead him back to her.

As if the repetitive tones of the EKG monitoring his heart weren’t steady and irritating enough, the bulky alligator clip clamped to his index finger added to his annoyance, and the electrodes stuck to his chest made him feel like a guinea pig in a science fiction movie. Sharon sniffled as her face drew away from his, and he saw her look across the room. Arthur turned his head as far as his aching neck would allow and saw Jake Bilagody and John Sykes standing to his left, looking like they were in a museum staring at an abstract painting they couldn’t quite figure out. They were also blocking his view of the clear blue sky. The concave design of the hospital seemed to capture the sun as it tried to penetrate his room through the multipaned window behind them.

Jake was the first to step up, his uniform crisp and sharp-edged as always, his gun belt polished and glistening of Kiwi black. In comparison, Arthur noted, Sykes looked like Lee Marvin’s stunt double from The Dirty Dozen. Arthur also noticed that the reassuring look on Jake’s face was trying to mask the hint of reservation that still lingered behind his middle-aged eyes.

“Glad you made it back to the land of the living,” Jake said.

Arthur half grinned, still groggy. “How did I get here?” He rolled his head over on the pillow and looked at Sharon again. She had pulled her long black hair into a ponytail that trailed down the back of her orange blouse with the white buttons. “The last thing I remember is being on the phone with you.”

“I didn’t know what was happening,” Sharon confided. “I heard the crash and then nothing. I called Jake the second I lost the call.” Sharon’s body quaked visibly. “I never want to hear that sound again.” She kissed the back of his bruised, alligator-­clipped hand softy. “I thought I’d lost you.”

Arthur squeezed her hand with the thumb and three free fingers of his right hand, leaving the alligator-clipped index finger extended. “Does Ak’is miss me?”

Sharon smiled. “Of course he does. He was following me all around the house last night before I left to come here. He’s probably still sitting on the back porch waiting for you.”

Arthur smiled and rolled his head back over to Jake. “How’s my truck?”

“The whole front end, radiator, and some other pertinent parts, along with some of the undercarriage, are toast,” he said. “The hardtop is beyond repair due to the bullet hole and you landing on it. Hosteen says the frame’s bent, and you broke a motor mount so there’s a lot of costly work coming your way. And the windshield will need to be replaced. He’ll have to order you a new hardtop and can get working on it as soon as we give it to him. Other than that, it’s in perfect shape.” Jake held up a hand, thwarting Arthur’s next question. “We’re holding it as evidence because we need to go over it thoroughly before any work gets done.”

“Evidence?” Arthur said. “Bullet holes?”

Jake’s eyes looked at Sharon, then gave a sideways look to Sykes before landing back on Arthur. “You didn’t just blow a tire, my friend. Someone shot at you. And not just to scare you off.”

Arthur could feel Sharon’s body bristling from the tendons in her hands clamping around his. “Looks like I got close to something, and someone doesn’t like it.”

“A little too close,” Jake agreed. “Forensics pulled the same kind of slug from your truck that we found at the Flat Iron. Whoever killed Tsela and Tahoma Tabaaha wanted to take you out too.”

The nurse finished her task with the IV and quietly left the room, closing the door behind her.

“Hard to believe they missed,” Arthur said, then looked at Sykes. “What are you doing here?”

“I have a scanner in my truck. I was visiting someone here in Farmington last night when I heard the call. I figured they’d be bringing you to San Juan Regional.” He walked to the foot of the bed and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. “Didn’t wanna be in the way last night, so I texted the guys and told them what happened after I got a room at the Travel Inn.”

“You stayed around town just to check on me?”

Sykes shrugged. “Forty bucks for a clean bed and a microwave. Besides, the guys are all worried and brothers always have each other’s six.”

Arthur fought the throbbing pain in his face and body and grimaced as it tried to take hold of him through the pain meds dripping from the bag above. He noticed Jake working on a thought while he stood there listening to the two men talk. It didn’t take him long to verbalize it.

“You two wouldn’t mind if I spoke with Arthur alone, would you?”

“Not at all,” Sykes said, lifting himself from the wall.

“Of course not,” Sharon agreed, letting go of her husband’s bruised hand. “John,” she offered, “you want to grab a coffee at Café La Ventana downstairs?”

“Why not,” he said, and followed Sharon out of the room.

Jake removed his hat, pulled a chair away from a wall, and slid it up beside Arthur’s bed. Arthur’s hand located the push button at the end of the white cord and raised the head of the bed thirty degrees. “Did you find the girls?”

“Right where you said.” Jake’s eyes bounced around the room. He rested his elbows on his knees and twirled his hat loosely in his fingers. “We scared the hell out of them though. I had a flatbed tow pick up their white Bronco II from the motel, and I’ve got the girls in protective custody now at the District.”

“Did they tell you anything?”

Jake sat up straight, still holding on to his hat, but no longer twirling it. “They left the boys about ten minutes before they were killed. Apparently, they were doing what young boys and girls do at night in places like that. When things got a little bit friskier than the girls liked, they put a stop to it and left. Just to teach them a lesson.”

Arthur said, “To pull a stunt like that the girls must have driven them out there and made them think they were leaving them to find their own way home. Did your guys turn up anything knocking on any of those doors around there? Did anyone say they saw or heard anything?” A jolt of pain shot through Arthur’s body, taking hold of him momentarily. He hoped whatever painkiller was in the new IV would get going and put a stop to that.

“The girls were going to drive away and come back in about twenty minutes,” Jake explained. “They drove off and parked out of sight down the road where that pumpjack is. They turned their lights off and just sat there.” Jake paused. “That’s when they say they heard a sound they’d never heard before. And they heard it twice. They got scared and high-tailed it outta there, down the road past that metal swing gate, and hid their truck among some junk cars by one of those houses. The resident of one of the houses confirmed they saw a white vehicle, but didn’t get a license number, and wasn’t too sure what type of vehicle it even was.” Jake pointed two spread fingers at his eyes and shook them. “She doesn’t see too good.”

“I still can’t believe they just left the boys.”

“They’re teenage girls, Arthur,” Jake said sympathetically. “They were scared. Anyway, they were parked close enough to the road to see some kind of pickup truck speed by before they left.”

“They tell you what kind it was? Get a license number?”

“Like I said, Arthur, they’re teenage girls. You’d have a better chance finding out what brand of eye shadow Katy Perry wears than finding out what kind of vehicle it was.”

Arthur let out of muffled laugh, which led to a cough that caused his body and head to ache.

“What?” Jake said. “You’re surprised I know who Katy Perry is?”

“No,” Arthur grinned, shaking his head. “I’m surprised you know anything about eye shadow.”

Jake chuckled and said, “Good one,” then looked at Arthur more seriously. “They did say the reason the boys may have been targeted was because of what they had seen.”

“And what was that?”

“You remember I told you about the guy who was beaten up by a bunch of roughnecks at a gas station?”

Arthur nodded.

“Apparently, the boys not only saw the beating but saw them toss his body into the back of their pickup—you know, the ones they all drive around in with those pennant flags on them. Anyway, the boys had Margaret’s old Dodge Diplomat that night and followed the truck from the station. They followed from a safe distance behind, and when they saw the truck pull off onto a dirt road, they killed their lights and used the moonlight to drive by. I checked with the weather service and there was a full moon that night.” Jake exhaled. “Long story short, Tsela and Tahoma saw the crew dump the guy’s body into a canyon and drive away. I’m guessing, or rather hoping, he was already dead before they threw him over the edge. According to Jennifer and Tiffany, the boys couldn’t tell. The boys thought no one had seen them, but someone must have, or they wouldn’t be dead now.”

Arthur shook his head. The pains in his body had begun to be suppressed by whatever was dripping from the IV, but the aching in his head continued to linger. He reminded himself not to shake it again.

“Could the girls tell you which canyon it was?” Arthur asked.

“Antelope,” Jake replied.

“You find the body yet?”

“Nope. But we’re still navigating it. It’s pretty steep and craggy through there, and the girls couldn’t tell us exactly where the body was dumped. I reached out to New Mexico Search and Rescue, and they’ve got a team moving through the canyon now.”

Arthur nodded, then said, “I had a talk with Elias Dayton yesterday afternoon.”

Jake’s eyes widened a bit and his brow rose slightly.
“No shit?”

“Yes, shit. And then I get mysteriously shot at last night on my way home. That tells you right there I’m onto something.”

“Could be just a coincidence,” Jake said.

“Coincidence, my ass!”

“Calm down, now,” Jake warned. “You don’t want your heart monitor to start spiking.”

“He must have called the shooter after I left,” Arthur said. “Someone who knew how to find me.” He paused, thinking. “Hell, maybe whoever it was tailed me from the compound?”

Jake shook his head. “I don’t see that happening. You’re a pretty intuitive fellow. You would have spotted someone on your tail. But, hell, even if it was Dayton, you don’t have any proof.”

Arthur quickly ran his conversation with Elias Dayton through his battered mind and located something clinging to his scrambled brain tissue.

“Jake,” he said, “whoever you have on it, make sure they go over every inch of my truck. Don’t leave anything unchecked.”

Jake’s face screwed up. “Why? What are you thinking?”

“The only way someone could have known where I was, is if they were tracking me.”

“Tracking you?” Jake snorted. “This isn’t Europe, and you’re sure as hell not Jason Bourne.”

“When I was in Dayton’s office, he got a call.” The hospital room door opened, and Sharon walked back in minus John Sykes in time to hear the last of the conversation. The door closed quietly behind her as she returned to her seat next to her husband’s bed. “It sounded like nothing at the time, but after last night, I’d bet he had someone tagging my truck while I was talking with him.” Arthur looked at Sharon and smiled, took her hand. “He’s running security for NMX, so I bet they have all sorts of high-tech crap they use. Hell, even I could buy a tracking device on the internet for about eighty bucks and track someone using my cell phone.”

Arthur noticed Jake glance over at Sharon and smile then stand up and turn his attention back to him. “I’ll make sure they loosen every bolt and check behind every piece of insulation. If something’s there, we’ll find it.” Jake frowned and half laughed. “But right now, I’ve got to get going and deal with a world-class horse thief.”

The muscles of Arthur’s face pulled up into a smile that made his head throb. “World class, huh?”

“Well, at least decent enough to take off with a fifteen-­thousand-dollar quarter horse at the Quick Stop right there on 64. The guy who was transporting the horse pulled in to take a leak and grab some pizza, so he let the horse out to kinda stretch his legs and tied him to the trailer.” Jake rested his hands on the bed rails. “Well, while the guy was inside, this kid walks up—we’ve got him on surveillance video. He unties the horse, and as sweet as you please, starts walking off with him. The guy comes out still gnawing at his pizza slice, sees the kid, drops the pizza, and chases after him. The kid hops on the horse and takes off heading west. He just about knocks over the transport guy as he gallops off, and before you know it, the kid’s taking the far turn by the Chat & Chew like Secretariat in the final leg at the Belmont Stakes.”

“You get an ID on the kid?” Sharon asked.

“Yeah,” Jake answered. “He’s a kid named Billy Begay. Because of the video camera at the Quick Stop we got a good look at him. We ran him through the system and found an address.” Jake stood up and stretched out his lower back, flexed his hands against the building arthritis pain. “We sent an officer to the house, but the kid’s grandmother didn’t know anything and claimed she hadn’t seen him since the day before. We spoke with some other people in the area who said they saw a kid riding the horse, but no one had any idea where he might have gone.” Jake nodded. “We’ll find him.”

Sharon smiled. “Thanks for everything, Jake.”

Jake smiled thoughtfully and walked toward the door of the hospital room, then turned to look back at Arthur. “Let’s not make getting shot at a habit, huh?”

Arthur smiled as Jake left the room, leaving Arthur alone with Sharon.

“So, when the hell am I getting out of here?” Arthur said. “Please tell me it’s soon.”

“I spoke with the doctor while your buddy Sykes and I were having coffee and discussing your military career.” She paused to cock her head slightly. “I never knew you were such a player back in the day.”

Arthur looked at her from under his bruised brow. “I plead the fifth.”

Sharon grinned.

“What other lies did he tell you about me, Chʼil bilátah hózhóón.”

Arthur saw his wife’s face light up instantly. “You haven’t called me flower in forever.”

“Not since we first started dating,” Arthur reminded her, holding her hand as firmly as his bruised and aching body would let him.

Sharon stood up and leaned over him, hovering briefly before kissing him passionately. Arthur winced at first, but her lips and tongue quickly sent a message to his brain that seemed to override the pain in his body. His eyes closed momentarily then opened and watched the green line of his heart rate hop across the screen of the monitor stationed above him. Below it he observed the yellow line representing his blood pressure as it peaked and dove smoothly along the other screen. When Sharon’s kiss ended, she sat back down and licked her lips as if she were savoring a forbidden delicacy.

“Damn, you taste good.”

“It’s the medication. Now, where are my clothes? I want to get the hell out of here.”

“Not so fast, Super Indian. Since you have no broken bones, and they’ve run all their tests for traumatic brain injury and found nothing, you’re supposed to be released by three o’clock, which means probably closer to four or five. You’re not going anywhere for a few more hours, and then you’re going straight home to rest.”

“Somebody tried to kill me,” Arthur said. “And I’ll take all bets at the Northern Edge Casino as to who it was. All I have to do is prove it.”

“You’re not proving anything to anyone today,” Sharon scolded. “You’re going home to rest tonight, and that’s that.” She stood and crossed her arms, a look of determination across her face. “Or do I have to break something to keep you here?”

Sometimes the better part of valor is knowing when to pick your battles, Arthur thought. But he also knew she was right, and given the degree of pain he was feeling, although tempered by the medication, he decided to acquiesce. Even though he had felt far worse in November 2001 when he had been part of the first Marine forces to strike al-Qaeda after the Twin Towers had fallen. This? This pain was nothing compared to what he had dealt with when that IED had exploded outside Kandahar. This he could shake off, unlike the ringing in his ears and the shock to his body that day on patrol when others hadn’t been so lucky.

Besides, he figured, if the slug that was pulled from the Bronco matched the ones that killed the boys, it meant two things: they were fired by the same person, and whoever it was had missed him intentionally. But why? A shooter with that kind of skill could certainly miss if they wanted to, but the chances of missing by accident were extremely slim. They would have had to calculate elevation, windage, humidity, the length of distance, the vehicle’s rate of speed, and how far ahead of the target they would have to be to hit the target.

It takes a skilled shooter to miss on purpose.