Black Thunder by David Thurlo Read Free Book Online

working a case, not keeping score,” Ella said.
    “Yeah, and when I grow up I’m going to be tall and blond like Emily.”
    Ella smirked. “You’re being annoying. Focus.”
    Justine chuckled.
    When they walkedback up the driveway, Ella spotted a house a few hundred yards from the Hogback and farther to the north, in the opposite direction they were going. It was hidden beneath a cluster of cottonwoods, which explained why she hadn’t noticed it before.
    “Let’s go there first. I can see a truck out front,” Ella said.
    Justine drove back east and they found a narrow gravel lane that led straight to thehouse. A minute later they pulled in front of a sand-colored stucco home and parked beside a blue pickup.
    As Ella looked around she spotted a hogan constructed of pine logs out in the back.
    “Do you think they’re Traditionalists?” Ella asked.
    Justine shrugged. “Call dispatch and see what you can get.”
    Since there were no street names out here and they hadn’t seen a mailbox, Ella had to describethe location, which was situated right along the tribal–county border. “Is there a resident’s name on record?”
    “I know them,” the dispatcher said without skipping a beat. “That’s Jennifer and Billie Blackhat’s home. They’re in their late sixties, or maybe older. They’ve lived there forever. He used to work at one of the coal mines farther to the north.”
    “Are they Traditionalists?” Ella asked.

    “Very much so.”
    “Thanks, Melanie,” Ella said, then racked the mike. “We’ll wait out here, Justine. They heard us pull up, I’m sure.”
    Ella rolled down the window on her side, and Justine did the same. It was late in the afternoon, and the heat was at its peak.
    Several minutes passed, then a woman with white hair tied into a bun, a long broomstick skirt, and a loose white blouse opened the door.She stepped out onto the covered porch and waved an invitation for them to approach.
    “I saw all the police over a ways when I was coming home from the grocery store in Waterflow,” she said, walking into the small but cozy living room. “Please sit down, officers.”
    She motioned them to a well-worn sofa. Opposite that was a love seat with the same blue and yellow floral fabric. A large potbelliedstove stood in one corner, and there was a small TV atop a plain wooden table. Yet what caught their attention and held it was the wonderful scent of freshly baked bread wafting in from the adjacent kitchen.
    “What’s the trouble? Is it those kids partying again?” the woman asked, easing into the love seat.
    “What kids?” Ella asked instantly, reaching for her pocket notebook and pen.
    “The highschool kids. It happens every year at this time. Graduation’s close, and they start to go a little crazy.” She sighed and reached for a cushion for her back. “They usually leave beer bottles all up and down the highway, and sometimes even come up our driveway. We only call the police when they go completely wild, but since school isn’t out yet they’re still being careful.”
    “You say they go wild,”Ella said. “How wild?”
    “Parties, and fights, too. When I’m passing by in the truck, I don’t stop or say anything, I just keep my eyes on the road. If I see or hear a fight, I call the police.”
    “Have you ever heard gunshots?”
    Her eyes grew wide. “No, not at all. The kids come to cut loose and celebrate, but it’s mostly just drinking and loud music.”
    “Thanks. Is your husband here? If he is,we’d like to talk to him, too,” Ella said, looking around.
    “He’s at work right now and won’t be back till much later. He retired from the mine, but can’t sit still. That’s why he works till midnight at the Speedy Mart. I dropped him off, then did my shopping.”
    “One more thing. Have you seen anyone besides the kids hanging around the area—not a regular resident, maybe a transient?”
    “There’s anaashii living at the old trading post. I’ve seen a