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Authors: Aimée & David Thurlo
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he hears about the problem over the animals that were part of the agriculturalsociety’s show.”
Ella climbed back inside her Jeep. She loved the excitement of searching for the leads that would solve a crime. It was like putting a vital puzzle together. Nothing could compare to fieldwork.
Of course, it wouldn’t be easy to remain a cop and raise a child, but other women cops had done it. She wouldn’t leave her job. The tribe needed her, and if she didn’t honor her duty,she wouldn’t be much of a mom. If there was one thing she wanted to teach her daughter, it was the value of responsibility and of being true to herself.
Once it became obvious she was pregnant, she’d have to fight not to be relegated to a desk. Fortunately, she didn’t also have to worry that any stigma would be attached to an unwed mother on the Rez. Here, sex wasn’t linked to morals. It wasjust a part of nature. Nature moved in harmony with its surroundings and what was part of nature was not to be condemned.
Still, the news was bound to have an effect on the baby’s father. Kevin Tolino was an extraordinary man, one who would do great things for the tribe if things went right for him. The problem was that his career ambitions included politics, and for that very reason she doubtedthat he’d meet the news that she was pregnant with much enthusiasm. His aspirations had been a large part of the reason why they’d broken up. She couldn’t see herself as a politician’s wife. Now, if he acknowledged that he was the father, people would wonder why they hadn’t married. It was precisely the type of thing that could become an issue all by itself and cost him votes.
With effort, shepushed aside those worries as she approached the Totah Cafe. Justine’s tribal unit was already parked outside. Ella went in and joined her at their favorite table on the south side, facing the mesa just above the river.
“What’s up?” Ella looked the menu over, hungry again. She was beginning to give new meaning to the phrase “eating for two.”
Ella ordered huevos rancheros, a mix of eggs and chile,and extra sopaipillas, a delicious fried bread often eaten with honey, then found herself having a craving for milk again. She’d drunk more milk in the past few days than in the last two years.
Justine looked at her in surprise. “Wow, I guess you’re starving. Skip breakfast again?”
“I ate breakfast,” Ella clipped, in no mood to explain. “So, tell me what’s going on? What did you find out thatexcited you so much?”
“I talked with Myrna for a long time this morning. It turned out that one of the staff here at the cafe found the clinic’s missing files in the Dumpster outside. They were in a plastic trash bag, and the only reason they were discovered is because the bag had been ripped open and the files were spilling out. Myrna thinks that they’re all there, but it may take a while tosort them out.”
“So if the thieves weren’t after the files, then why did they haul them away, then just throw them out? Something’s hinky about this whole thing. Did they break in to steal some minor prescription drugs and loot the cash drawer, then, on a whim, take the paperwork just to be malicious? I don’t buy that.”
“Myrna said that they also accessed the hard drive in the computer, yousaw that yourself, but the clinic’s programmer found no evidence of any computer virus or tampering with files.”
“Could they have copied files off the hard drive?” Ella asked, watching the waitress bringing their food.
“There’s no way to tell. The only hard fact we have to work with so far is that all the stolen files had just had recent lab work results inserted, and hadn’t been placed backwith the other patient records.”
“So what we have to do now is figure out who would be interested in those lab tests.”
“I’ve got another tidbit to add to the weirdness quotient of this case. I pulled out the slugs I found on the wall and ran a
Ella climbed back inside her Jeep. She loved the excitement of searching for the leads that would solve a crime. It was like putting a vital puzzle together. Nothing could compare to fieldwork.
Of course, it wouldn’t be easy to remain a cop and raise a child, but other women cops had done it. She wouldn’t leave her job. The tribe needed her, and if she didn’t honor her duty,she wouldn’t be much of a mom. If there was one thing she wanted to teach her daughter, it was the value of responsibility and of being true to herself.
Once it became obvious she was pregnant, she’d have to fight not to be relegated to a desk. Fortunately, she didn’t also have to worry that any stigma would be attached to an unwed mother on the Rez. Here, sex wasn’t linked to morals. It wasjust a part of nature. Nature moved in harmony with its surroundings and what was part of nature was not to be condemned.
Still, the news was bound to have an effect on the baby’s father. Kevin Tolino was an extraordinary man, one who would do great things for the tribe if things went right for him. The problem was that his career ambitions included politics, and for that very reason she doubtedthat he’d meet the news that she was pregnant with much enthusiasm. His aspirations had been a large part of the reason why they’d broken up. She couldn’t see herself as a politician’s wife. Now, if he acknowledged that he was the father, people would wonder why they hadn’t married. It was precisely the type of thing that could become an issue all by itself and cost him votes.
With effort, shepushed aside those worries as she approached the Totah Cafe. Justine’s tribal unit was already parked outside. Ella went in and joined her at their favorite table on the south side, facing the mesa just above the river.
“What’s up?” Ella looked the menu over, hungry again. She was beginning to give new meaning to the phrase “eating for two.”
Ella ordered huevos rancheros, a mix of eggs and chile,and extra sopaipillas, a delicious fried bread often eaten with honey, then found herself having a craving for milk again. She’d drunk more milk in the past few days than in the last two years.
Justine looked at her in surprise. “Wow, I guess you’re starving. Skip breakfast again?”
“I ate breakfast,” Ella clipped, in no mood to explain. “So, tell me what’s going on? What did you find out thatexcited you so much?”
“I talked with Myrna for a long time this morning. It turned out that one of the staff here at the cafe found the clinic’s missing files in the Dumpster outside. They were in a plastic trash bag, and the only reason they were discovered is because the bag had been ripped open and the files were spilling out. Myrna thinks that they’re all there, but it may take a while tosort them out.”
“So if the thieves weren’t after the files, then why did they haul them away, then just throw them out? Something’s hinky about this whole thing. Did they break in to steal some minor prescription drugs and loot the cash drawer, then, on a whim, take the paperwork just to be malicious? I don’t buy that.”
“Myrna said that they also accessed the hard drive in the computer, yousaw that yourself, but the clinic’s programmer found no evidence of any computer virus or tampering with files.”
“Could they have copied files off the hard drive?” Ella asked, watching the waitress bringing their food.
“There’s no way to tell. The only hard fact we have to work with so far is that all the stolen files had just had recent lab work results inserted, and hadn’t been placed backwith the other patient records.”
“So what we have to do now is figure out who would be interested in those lab tests.”
“I’ve got another tidbit to add to the weirdness quotient of this case. I pulled out the slugs I found on the wall and ran a
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