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her scalp.“And a very lucky woman, it seems. I understand you were involved in that shootingat the airstrip, so I’m reporting that long furrow as a bullet graze. Your department will probably want copies. But it looks like you won’t need stitches,” he said at last. “I’ll give you a prescription for antibiotics, and I want you to come back in another day or so. I’ll take another look then to make sure everything’s healing the way it should.”
    “The wounded men who came in first,” Ellasaid. “Have you heard anything about their condition?”
    “I only attended, but the one with the shoulder wound—the pilot—is listed as stable now. The other two went straight into surgery. Sergeant Lonewolf is in critical condition, but his companion’s wounds were less serious and his prognosis is good. If you need more information, you’ll have to talk to the surgical team once the patients go intorecovery.”
    “Thanks.” Ella followed the doctor out of the room. The second she was in the hall, Dawn came rushing up, looking up at her head. “Mom?”
    Ella smiled at her. “I’m fine, and it looks like your dad will be, too.”
    “I know.
Shimasání
got one of her feelings and told me,” Dawn said.
    Ella smiled. Rose’s feelings on matters of this kind were as reliable as the rising sun. No one had everbeen able to explain it, but it was hard to argue with a track record like hers. “Your father’s still in surgery, and afterwards he’ll need to sleep for several hours. You won’t be able to talk to him, not for quite a while.”
    “Maybe I can see him when they take him to his room,” Dawn said in a whisper. “Will you stay with us, or do you have to go back to the crime scene?”
    Ella noticed she’dsaid “crime scene,” not airport. Dawn had learned the hard way about the demands of her mother’s work. “I’ll stick around for a bit.”
    While they waited, Ella noted that Rose sat on the edgeof her chair, never quite leaning back. Herman stood by his wife’s side, scarcely moving, his hand still on her shoulder, a gentle comfort and reminder of his presence.
    As the minutes passed, Ella kept checkingback with her team via cell phone. Just as she took another call, Dawn went back to the vending machine for the third time. So far, her daughter had eaten three bags of potato chips and drunk a can of soda. Dawn had a very healthy appetite, but never put on weight. Whatever she took in, she burned off almost as quickly. Ella smiled wistfully, remembering a time when the same had been said abouther. These days she had to work out hard or she’d pack on the pounds.
    Hearing the door to the emergency room open behind her, Ella turned and saw a tired, somber-looking, middle-aged doctor in surgical scrubs approaching.
    “Investigator Clah?” the Anglo doctor asked, looking directly at her. When she nodded, the man stepped forward. “I’m Dr. Sanderson.”
    From his age, Ella guessed he was oneof the few MDs who’d chosen to stay and continue his practice on the Rez.
    “I thought you’d want to know that Mr. Tolino has just been taken into the recovery room. He’s stable, his signs are good, and unless there are some unforeseen complications he should fully recover.”
    Ella saw her daughter leap into her grandmother’s arms. Reassured by Dawn’s response, Ella focused on the work at hand.“And the other patient, Adam Lonewolf?”
    Dr. Sanderson stepped closer and lowered his voice. “The next twenty-four will be critical for Sergeant Lonewolf. After that, we’ll see where we stand. Head trauma doesn’t always follow a predictable course. I wish I had better news.”
    Ella nodded somberly. “I’ll need the slugs and any foreign fragments recovered from the victims as well as their clothing.I’ll also want to question both men as soon as they regain consciousness. Can you give an idea of when that’ll be?”
    “I understand that you’re conducting a criminal investigation, but as I