Read Online Ghost Medicine by Aimée and David Thurlo - Free Book Online Page A

take the east road through Rattlesnake and missed seeing that truck. But please come in and sit down.” He led them into a small but well-furnished living room. At the back of the room was the entrance to the kitchen, where the pleasant scent of fresh fry bread originated.
    Ella took a seat on the comfortable-looking sofa while Truman chose the matchinglove seat across from a large flat-screen TV.
    “Nice place—entertainment and education at your fingertips,” Ella said, glancing at the bookcase below the window. It held at least a hundred reference books and novels, based on their titles, and a plastic rack of DVD and CDs.
    “You probably already know I’m a social studies teacher,” he said. “I’m not employed right now, but I’m trying to keep upin my field. I hope to return to the classroom once the district starts rehiring.”
    An attractive barefooted Navajo woman in her mid-twenties wearing a flowery, shapeless sundress appeared at the kitchen door. She wore only a trace of lipstick, and her long black hair was fastened at the nape of her neck with a silver barrette.
    “Hi,” she said with a hesitant smile. “I’m Eileen. I don’t mean tointerrupt, but I’ve just made some fry bread. I’m going to bring it in so we can all eat while you ask your questions, okay?”
    As Ella nodded, the woman stepped back out of view.
    Justine smiled. “The nose knows.”
    Ella looked back at Truman.
    “Eileen Tahoe is my girlfriend,” he said. “She works at the Little Bear Café up in Beclabito. Unfortunately, her boss is my idiot neighbor, Norman Yazzie,who also owns the café. As soon as she can, Eileen’s going to find another job, but at the moment she’s stuck. Work’s hard to find.”
    Ella made a mental note to find out some more about the neighbor he’d mentioned. “Did you see or hear anything unusual last Tuesday? I know it’s several miles, but maybe a gunshot?”
    “No, and I was here all day, working on future lesson plans and tweaking my résumé,”Truman said. “I never went outside, but I heard Mrs. Yazzie’s old pickup go by once or twice. Norman Yazzie’s grandmother lives down the road about a mile west from here.”
    “You’re not currently employed so you’re usually here at home?” Ella recalled reading in one of the reports that no vehicles had been parked by the house yesterday when Benny and Joe had come by.
    “Right now I’m actively lookingfor a job so, no, I’m not usually home. I spent most of the earlier part of the week in Shiprock and Kirtland, talking to some of my former coworkers. Networking, you might say. I may have to apply for an out-of-state job, so I’ve been picking up some handwritten recommendations.”
    Just then, Eileen came into the room holding a big plate of golden, puffy fry bread. “Anyone hungry?” She set thetray down on a glass-topped coffee table. I don’t have napkins, but will paper towels do?”
    Truman looked at Justine and Ella, who nodded.
    After Eileen returned, they began eating. Although she wasn’t particularly hungry, Ella had learned over the years that sharing food was a great way to set people at ease. Once they relaxed, it became much easier for them to remember important details.
    “Eileen,you work in Beclabito, right?” Justine asked offhandedly. “What are your hours?”
    The woman took a bite of fry bread, then held up her hand, not answering until she’d chewed and swallowed. “I work the seven-to-three shift, Monday through Wednesday, then I have Thursdays and Fridays off. Saturdays and Sundays are our busiest days.”
    “What route do you take from here to Rattlesnake and the mainhighway?” Justine asked.
    “The east road, always. The old way is too rough on my poor VW,” Eileen said.
    “During your drives to and from work,” Ella said, “have you ever noticed anything strange or unusual going on around here? We’ve heard some talk.” Ella purposely didn’t elaborate.
    Truman spoke first. “Ah, I