Turquoise Girl Read Online Free PDF Page B

doesn’t always exact justice. Whether you like itor not, you know that’s true.”
    “That may be, but do your best to keep her out of trouble, Mom. I’d really hate having to arrest her,” Ella said, then added, “but I will if I have no other choice.”
    “That’s to be expected,” Rose answered stiffly.
    As she walked back inside, Ella returned to her unit. This case was like a pebble tossed out into a pond. The ripples would travel far and wide. Worried,she drove back to the crime scene.
     
    Despite the late hour, the crime scene team was still hard at work. Ella joined her partner, who was inside processing evidence along with Officer Tache. Officer Talk, not part of the team, had been sent to give Boots the bad news about her mother. The young women were about the same age, and Ella hoped it might make it a bit easier, especially because bothhad traditionalist backgrounds. Marianna was also going to ask if Boots could provide any additional information on Valerie.
    Joe Neskahi was still outside, going over every inch of ground around the building and in the parking lot. Floodlights powered by a generator made his work a little easier but, clearly, it was going to be a long night.
    “I spoke to the diner’s owner,” Justine said fromthe kitchenette, standing beside a cardboard box already full of collected evidence. “He’ll be here shortly. Wanna help me out in the bedroom? I’m still going over the area where the body was left.”
    They’d worked for a half an hour searching for trace evidence that might have been overlooked when Ella heard the sound of a vehicle pulling up outside. “That’s probably the owner. I’ll go meet him,”she said.
    Sergeant Neskahi directed the big pickup to an adjacent parking spot, then pointed at Ella when she exited the building. A tall man in his early fifties climbed down from the oversize cab and went to meet her. The Anglo, who looked as if he worked out regularly, was dressed in a fitted Western style shirt and a turquoise and silver bolo tie. New-looking blue jeans and snakeskin bootssuggested he might have just come from an upscale country and Western bar.
    He didn’t offer his hand, maybe knowing Navajos as a people weren’t big on handshakes. “Sorry it took me so long to get here. I’ve been having trouble with my truck and it refused to start. I’m the owner of this place. My name’s Stan Brewster. I understand one of my employees, Valerie Tso, was killed here tonight.”
    “Inher apartment, we believe,” Ella responded, nodding and noting that the man appeared nervous, behavior typical of people called to a murder site by the police. If he’d been too cool or collected, then she would have been suspicious. “What I need you to do first is check out the café and make sure that nothing was taken, or is out of place. We need to start ruling out some of our theories.”
    “Let’sgo,” he said, leading the way.
    He unlocked the door and looked around the dining area carefully, but it was clear, even at first glance, that no one had come in. He checked the cash register next and showed her the bills inside. “There’s not much here, but that’s the way it should be. Every afternoon we make a deposit at the bank. There’s never any substantial amount left in the drawer overnight,only enough to begin the next business day.”
    Ella had taken a good look at the man’s hands while he’d operated the cash register. He had no obvious bruises or cuts. Of course, even if Brewster had been the killer, he could have easily worn gloves. The man looked strong and healthy and she wasn’t even close to ruling anyone out at the moment. “Do you have any idea who might have wanted ValerieTso dead?” Ella asked, studying his reaction.
    Stan stared across the room, lost in thought. He didn’t seemed to be particularly emotional about Valerie’s death, but then she didn’t know a thing about Brewster’s relationships with his employees.
    “Valerie had