| |
Dela texted Marty as soon as the door closed.
“I’m getting dressed. You can use my car to run home and get some clean clothes and come back,” she said, pushing up onto her crutches. “We have work to do. I want to have a talk with Mrs. Swan.”
“We’ll have to be careful. After Quinn’s comment, I wouldn’t put it past him to have someone watching her house to see if you try to talk to her.” Heath picked up the dishes on the table and placed them in the sink.
“Do we know who her family is? And maybe her habits? We could talk to her someplace other than her house.” Dela had wanted to check on the woman’s mental state from the beginning. The time frame didn’t work. Winter had to have been killed a good twenty minutes to a half-hour after she’d left him for it to have happened after Heath had driven out to check on him and been called away.
“I do know who her daughter is. She works at the travel center. After Marty gets here, we can go talk to her.” Heath headed to the front door. “I’ll be back in thirty minutes.”
“I’ll be dressed by then.” Dela heard the front door close as she swung into her room.
♠ ♣ ♥ ♦
When Marty arrived, he was followed by Molly. Dela and Marty stood watching Molly check over Jethro.
“He seems to be in good condition. I’d say he’s about ten. You’ll have him for a good twenty more years if Mrs. Winter doesn’t take him back.” Molly released Jethro’s lips after looking at his teeth.
“Twenty years? I hope she or her son does. I’m not sure I want to have an animal I can’t take with me on trips.” Dela patted Mugshot’s head as they watched the donkey’s check-up.
The sound of another vehicle arriving had to be Heath.
“We’re in the backyard,” Dela called out.
The gate opened and Detective Dick stepped through.
Mugshot growled and Jethro’s ears went back.
Her home had become a magnet for law enforcement. “Can I help you?” she asked the detective who stared at the donkey and then Marty and Molly.
“I have some more questions. What is going on here?” Detective Dick asked.
“This is Jethro, the donkey Mrs. Winter asked me to get because he had run out of food and her husband wasn’t there to take care of the animal.”
“But her husband was there. Did he think you were stealing his donkey?” Dick pointed to Jethro.
“I don’t know what he thought. He attacked me before I could say anything. Once he was no longer a threat—”
“Dead.” Dick peered at her.
“No, not dead, holding his crotch. I haltered Jethro and walked him back here. Molly is checking his medical condition.” She decided to see if she could get anything out of the man. “Did you talk to the neighbor? Get times when things supposedly happened?” Dela watched Molly look at the donkey’s hooves rather than look at the detective.
“Mrs. Swan has given her statement.”
She glanced up. He was smiling. He wasn’t going to give her more than that. “What questions did you have for me?”
“We can go inside.” He motioned to the French doors leading into the dining area.
“I’d rather talk to you out here where I have witnesses.” She smiled.
Detective Dick frowned. “I want to know why Officer Seaver didn’t bring in the clothes you were wearing during the attack? FBI Special Agent Pierce had to make an extra trip to get the clothing from you.”
“Because you sent Officer Seaver here to collect clothing with blood on them, which he didn’t find in my house because I didn’t kill Mr. Winter. And while he was searching my house, I was sitting in your interview room, wearing some of the clothes I had on during the attack, talking to you.” She stared at him. He didn’t flinch at her being sarcastic about the clothes being in front of his face the whole time.
“Did Special Agent Pierce tell you about the person who tried to break into my house last night?” She studied the man. His eyebrows rose and the sneer on his lips puckered. “I see by the surprise on your face he didn’t. I called him last night and told him. Agent Pierce came by here first thing this morning for my statement. You might want to work more closely with the FBI.”
“Tell me about this supposed break-in?” He pulled out a book.
“I’m not going through it again. You can look at Special Agent Pierce’s notes.” She heard another vehicle. She hoped Heath didn’t come back here. It would only give this man more reason to keep him off the case.
It was several minutes before the gate opened and Travis walked through carrying some posts. “Hey! I didn’t know you were having a party.” He and Melvin carried the posts into the backyard and set them down.
“It’s not a party. Your mom is checking out Jethro. Marty came with her. And Detective Jones was just leaving,” Dela said.
The man glared at all of them and pointed at her. “Just because you have these people fooled into thinking you aren’t a killer, doesn’t mean I’ll fall for your innocent act.” He stomped over to the gate and disappeared.
She let out a deep sigh. “I wish that man would go away and let someone who is more open-minded take over the case.”
“Like Heath?” Molly asked.
“I’m glad he believes in me, but they would never let him take on this case because of our past.” Dela was happy for that past and his belief in her.
“What about Quinn?” Marty asked.
Dela humphed. “He has a more open mind than Dick, but he isn’t happy that Heath and I are spending so much time together, which could taint his motivations. And he believes the eye witness.” Focusing on the posts the young men had dropped in her yard, she asked, “What are you doing with those? I thought the fence was finished.”
“It is. But we need to build the gate from the backyard to the pasture and the gate from the pasture to the driveway.” Travis walked to the backyard fence. “I thought we’d put it here in the middle. We’ll make it in what’s called Dutch door fashion. You’ll be able to open the top and let Jethro look over into the yard and see Mugshot, or Mugshot can look over and see Jethro. Or you can close both the top and bottom.”
“Where do you come up with these great ideas?” Dela asked. The young man had impressed her with his insights into her remodel, the dog house, and now this gate.
Travis’s face reddened. “I like reading online building blogs.”
Dela faced Molly. “You should be very proud of this young man.”
“I am.” Molly’s face glowed with pride.
Heath walked into the yard from the house.
“Dick was just here,” Dela said.
“I know. I spotted the car and went around the corner. I waited for him to leave. I didn’t expect all of you would be outside.” He stood with his hands on his hips. “We need to get some backyard chairs and a barbeque.”
“We?” Molly said, studying Dela.
These were her friends and they’d learn soon enough. “When I’m cleared of this murder, Heath is moving in as a roommate.”
“Is that what you old people call it these days?” Travis asked while he was bent over measuring the back fence.
Molly and Marty burst out laughing. Heath grinned, and Dela was happy her friends didn’t seem to think it was strange.
Molly finished with Jethro’s check-up and left.
Dela, Heath, and Marty decided to all go in one car and see if they could learn more about Mrs. Swan from her daughter.
At the travel center, they stopped inside the door. Dela had been here on various occasions for one or two grocery items on her way home from work. It also had a gift shop of sorts for the interstate travelers who came in for snacks and drinks and everything a truck driver would need while traveling across the country.
Heath walked over to a woman stocking shelves. “Hi, Ruth.”
The woman in her early fifties glanced up. “What do you want, Heath? I have work to do.” She continued putting boxes of cereal on the shelf, ignoring him.
“I was wondering where I could find your mom. I have some questions for her.”
Ruth straightened, shoving her hands on her hips. “You police have been harassing her enough. She did her duty by calling you when she found Paul. Leave her alone.”
Dela stepped forward. “If you don’t want your mom bothered, maybe you could answer our questions.”
Ruth studied Dela. “Who are you?”
“A neighbor who is concerned about Ina.” Dela didn’t think the woman would answer questions if Ruth knew she was the woman her mother said killed her neighbor.
“Ina? She’s living on another reservation. She wasn’t even home when Paul was killed.” Ruth continued to study Dela.
“Had Paul been staying at the house?” Heath asked.
The woman shifted her gaze to him. “I don’t know. I visit my mom once a week when I take her to her doctor appointments. My nephew, Levi, takes her shopping every other week and visits her in between. You could ask him.”
“Where can I find Levi?” Heath asked.
“He works at Yellowhawk. He is in behavioral health. It is Pyaxí.”
Dela shook her head. She didn’t know what the word pyaxί meant.
Heath said. “Thank you for your help.”
Dela and Marty followed Heath out of the travel center. “We’ll find him in the green department at the health center. Pyaxί means bitterroot which is green,”
When they were all seated in Dela’s car, Heath said, “Three of us walking in and asking Levi questions might make him nervous. Marty, why don’t you walk around and visit with people in public health, and ask about Mrs. Swan’s living conditions. It’s wίwnu, it means huckleberry and reflects the purple department.”
At the main entrance to the building, they split up. Marty followed the signs to public health and Dela and Heath followed the green signs to behavioral health.
A receptionist looked up from where she was typing on a keyboard. “May I help you?”
“We’re looking for Levi?” Heath said.
Dela hoped there was only one Levi in this department because they hadn’t asked his aunt for a last name.
“He is in a session at the moment. If you want to wait, he’ll be finished in fifteen minutes.” The woman indicated a row of padded chairs.
She had nowhere to be and it was Heath’s day off.
They sat.
They couldn’t discuss what they would ask the man, since the receptionist was sitting only twelve feet away.
Dela leaned toward Heath. “You need to be careful,” she whispered. “Detective Dick is out to get you.”
“I’ve had a target on my back since I returned and took this job. Even though he’s retiring, he’s not happy to have me take over. And there were two other locals who had applied for the position of MDI. They weren’t happy to not be picked.” He’d said all of this as a whisper in her ear.
She leaned back and studied him. “I didn’t even know there were that many Medicolegal Death Investigators in the area.”
“Ever since the implementing of the ‘Safe Trails Task Force’ which brings all the local law enforcement together on a reservation when there is trouble, many of the tribal police officers have taken the MDI training.” Heath leaned back. “I took the training when I was in South Dakota.”
Dela was impressed with the man Heath had become. In high school he hadn’t known what he wanted to do after he graduated. That and feeling it was her fault Robin had been killed, Dela had pushed him away and set off for the Army.
A dozen men of varying ages sauntered down the hallway toward the lobby where she and Heath waited. From the look of the men, they had been at a sobering meeting. They all stared down at the multi-colored carpet. They didn’t talk. They kept their distance from one another. When the last man had walked out into the main hall, the receptionist picked up her phone.
“Levi, there is a couple out here waiting to talk to you.” She replaced the phone. “He’ll be out in a few minutes.”
Dela glanced at Heath to see what he thought of the woman thinking they were a couple.
He just winked at her.
A man in his early thirties walked down the hall toward them. He wore his dark hair long, flowing over his shoulders. He was dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and athletic shoes.
Dela wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but it wasn’t this man who looked like he’d just stepped out of a pickup game at a basketball court.
He walked up to Heath and held out his hand. “I’m Levi Murdoch. How can I help you?”
Heath stood, shook hands, and motioned to Dela. “We’d like to ask you some questions about your grandmother.”
The man’s gaze roamed over both their faces. “I thought you were here for a marital consultation.” He glanced over at the receptionist.
She shrugged. “They just said they wanted to talk to you.”
“Come back to my office. I’m not sure why you are worried about my grandmother. She still has all her faculties and gets around well.” Levi led them down the hall to a small room without any windows.
He sat down on a chair and motioned for them to take what her mom called a love seat. It was like a couch but smaller. She and Heath sat touching shoulders.
“Now, what did you really want to come see me about?” Levi asked, his gaze bouncing back and forth between her and Heath.
“We aren’t a couple and we don’t need counseling.” Dela had a brief glimpse of Levi Murdoch’s Master’s diploma for couples counseling hanging on the wall.
The man younger than both she and Heath studied them. “You are at ease with one another. Are you work partners?”
Heath shook his head. “I’m with the tribal police, and Ms. Alvaro is head of security at the casino.”
Levi’s eyebrows rose. “Why are you wanting to talk to me about my grandmother? She doesn’t believe in gambling.”
“We’re here to ask you if she’s talked to you about what happened Tuesday. Her finding Mr. Winter.” Heath pulled out a notepad as if he were on duty.
The man’s gaze flicked to Dela. “I don’t understand. What does that have to do with the casino?”
“We have reason to believe Mr. Winter was conducting unlawful dealings at the casino,” Dela said, not looking at Heath to see what he thought of her half-truth.
“I see. Well, she talked to me after finding the body. She was upset. I had Barbara cancel my appointments for the rest of the day and stayed with my grandmother until she calmed down and felt safe.”
“Why didn’t she feel safe?” Heath asked.
“She was afraid the woman who killed Mr. Winter would come after her. She saw them fighting and thought the woman might have seen her.” Levi narrowed his eyes. “I heard the woman worked at the casino.” He glared at Heath. “Why aren’t you in uniform if you’re really with the tribal police?”
Heath pulled his badge from a pocket and showed the man. “I am with the police. Can you tell me where I could catch up with your grandmother today? She wasn’t at home when I went by.”
Levi appeared skeptical even though Heath had shown his badge.
Dela hoped the man would cooperate.
“It’s Thursday. She meets friends at the museum coffee shop in the morning and will be home later. But she has nothing more to tell you than what she already did.” He stood. “I have an appointment in five minutes.”
“Thank you for your time,” Heath said, walking to the door.
Dela wanted to ask so many more questions but it was evident the man had shut that down as skillfully as he ushered them out of his office.
“Why do you think he’s being so protective of his grandmother?” Dela asked. “I would think if she feared for her life, he would want to do everything he could to make her less fearful.”
“Have you ever met Mrs. Swan?” Heath asked as they walked out of the building and spotted Marty leaning against her car.
“No. I’ve waved to her a time or two when I’d see her out in her yard as Mugshot and I jogged by.” She sighed. “I’d like to talk to her and find out if she’s the one who told Ina her husband wasn’t at the house anymore.”
Heath stopped at the car. He glanced at Marty. “I think you and Marty need to go to Colville and talk to Ina. Face to face. That way you can tell if she is telling you the truth.”
Dela was up for the road trip. She glanced at Marty. “You want to go?”
He shrugged. “I don’t have anything else to do since I’m on vacation.”
Once they were all in the car, Marty told them what he’d learned. “Mrs. Swan and her “hunky” grandson. Not my words, that was from Lucy Farr. Spend Wednesday afternoons together. He takes her shopping. He also visits her a couple times a week in the evening. Since his sister died, he spends a lot of time with his grandmother.”
“Doesn’t he have other siblings or a mother or father?” Dela asked, driving back to her house.
“It seems his grandmother raised Levi and his younger sister. I don’t know the whole story.”
Dela glanced over at Heath. “I think we should ask Grandfather Thunder about Mrs. Swan and her grandchildren.”
He nodded. “Drive by her house and let’s see if she’s home now.”
Dela drove past the road she usually turned on. It was a straighter shot to her house. To go by Mrs. Swan’s and the Winter house, she continued to the second right turn and then followed that road down to the corner that was the start of the Winter property. Mrs. Swan’s house sat across the road from the pasture where Jethro had been.
“I don’t see a car,” Dela said, checking to make sure there weren’t any law enforcement officers at the Winter residence before turning into Mrs. Swan’s driveway.
“I’ll go see if she’s in.” Heath slid out of the passenger seat of her car and walked up to the front door.
“Did Lucy ask you why you wanted to know about Mrs. Swan?” Dela asked Marty, peering at him in the rearview mirror.
“Not really. I just said I was asking for a friend who wanted to visit with Mrs. Swan.” He shrugged. “She didn’t seem to care about sharing information. It wasn’t like I was asking anything confidential.”
Heath returned. “She’s not home.”
Dela backed up and headed to her driveway. As soon as she turned off the engine, the barking and braying could be heard. “I think they are happy I’ve returned,” she said, smiling. It was nice to come home to someone, even if it was animals that were happy to see her.
“It looks like Travis finished the gates,” Marty said, staring at the one in the fence beside where she’d parked. “Want to give me a ride home? Or I can call Molly to come get me.”
Dela glanced at the two men. They both needed rides home. “Let me feed Mugshot and Jethro and I’ll take you both home.”
“I’ll toss the hay over if you want to take care of Mugshot,” Heath said.
She unlocked the front door and crossed the living room to the dining room where she opened the door to the backyard. Mugshot shoved his head through the opening, waiting for his usual ear scratching. Dela scratched his ears and told him he was a good boy. Then she filled his dish with food and carried it to the yard.
“You have a lot of cleanup to do back here,” Heath said, kicking at a pile of donkey droppings.
“Tomorrow, I can put them both out in the pasture and pick up the piles.” She noticed that Travis had left the top half of the gate open. “I wonder if Jethro has been looking out?”
“If so, he would probably rather have the fresh green grass peeking out of the dried last year’s grass than this dry hay.” Heath walked to the back door. “I can hang out here longer if you want?”
She shook her head. “I might as well drop you both off at the same time.” After a short discussion in her head, with herself, she said. “If you want to grab a pizza and come back about seven, I’d be ready for dinner.”
Heath’s face lit up. “I can do that.”
They walked through the house and out the front door. Heath made sure both doors were locked. On the drive to drop Heath off at his mom’s and then Marty at his place in Pendleton, they had come up with the questions Dela and Marty needed to ask Ina the following day.
Driving back to Tutuilla, Dela hoped Ina would cooperate when she was questioned. It bothered her that the woman hadn’t returned her call from yesterday.
