Coyote's Wife Read Online Free Page A

dropped into a chair onthe porch, shaking. “This can’t be happening.” She looked at Ella, not making eye contact—a Navajo taboo—but her expression held such defeat that it tugged at Ella’s heart.
    “This doesn’t seem possible.How could it end this way? And what do I do now?” Marilyn added softly, desperation tainting her words. “When we moved here, we left my family and friends in Arizona. I’m all alone.”
    Ella looked at her in disbelief. Respect for clans and extended family ties practically guaranteed a Navajo could find relatives almost anywhere. “What about your husband’s relatives?” Ella asked softly, remindingher.
    “We don’t get along.” She took a long, shuddering breath and looked up quickly. Although Ella had expected to see sorrow on her face, she hadn’t been prepared for the look of fear and dread mirrored there. “They don’t know…and they’ll have to be told. But I have no transportation. If my husband borrowed his boss’s truck as you said, then our pickup must still be in Shiprock somewhere, maybeat the StarTalk warehouse.”
    “It’s still there. I’ll want an officer to check it over first, but we’ll be releasing it soon, maybe tomorrow,” Ella said.
    “My husband’s relatives will have to be told before then. You have to help me,” she pleaded. “Can you take me over to see them now? I don’t want to do that alone.”
    Ella looked at Justine. This really wasn’t part of their job. Yet, whether realor imagined, the woman’s sense of alienation had touched her. Years ago, after she’d joined the FBI, she’d lived in many different cities far from the Rez. She’d learned then how someone could feel lonely even in the midst of a crowd.
    Ella nodded to Justine, and soon Marilyn Charley was on the rear bench of Justine’s truck.
    “My husband’s family doesn’t like me. They may make us wait a long time.”

    “Probably not when they see you pulling up with two police officers,” Justine said. “We’ll make sure they see our badges when we step out of the truck.”
    Marilyn almost smiled. “You’re right. They’ll probably come out quickly, hoping you’ve arrested me.”
    Justine glanced at Marilyn in the rearview mirror. “Don’t anticipate so much. Take things moment by moment. Sometimes I think that’s the onlyway to get through life.”
    Ella glanced at her partner. It was sound advice. She’d followed that philosophy herself once. Then she’d become a mother and her outlook had changed dramatically. Now she lived with one eye on today and another on tomorrow.

THREE

    Following Marilyn’s directions, it didn’t take long for them to arrive at another, larger wood frame house just off the main highway about a mile south of the community of Naschitti. Justine parked about halfway down the driveway, then got out and stood by the pickup, badge in plain sight. Ella joined her, making sure her shield was also visible beside theholster of her sidearm.
    “Someone just looked out the front room curtain,” Ella said to Marilyn. “They know we’re here.”
    “My husband’s uncle, Hoskie Charley, will come out—eventually,” Marilyn said, getting out to join them. “He never does anything quickly.”
    After ten minutes, a man in his seventies, wearing dark blue jeans and a red plaid flannel shirt, walked out onto the concrete step. Hetook a long look in their direction, then came toward them slowly. His hair was silver and tied at the nape of his neck. As he got closer, he looked at Ella and Justine, then finally at Marilyn.
    “You’ve come with the police. What do you want with us?” he asked Marilyn. His gaze was cold, almost accusing. “I have bad news, uncle of my husband,” she said.“Your nephew passed away in an accidentwhile cutting firewood.”
    His expression softened for a moment, and he looked at Ella, who nodded in confirmation.
    Hoskie stood rock still, staring at his boots. A thick and heavy silence stretched out