Spider Woman's Daughter by Anne Hillerman Read Free Book Online Page B

gives it out.”
    Bigman said, “Have you heard how he’s doing?” Sneeze.
    “Hanging in there.” She changed the subject. “I’ll check the messages. Maybe there’s one from Louisa.”
    “Or one from someone threatening to shoot him. Isn’t that how it works on TV?”
    Bernie pushed a button labeled “Listen.” She heard Bigman sneeze again. The tape in the old machine was scratchy, used and erased many times. When the talking started, she recognized Louisa’s voice, noted the lack of a simple hello.
    “I’ve been thinking about what we discussed.” Bernie heard emotion in her voice. Anger? Sadness? “I would have liked the chance to change your mind, but I guess we’re past that now. I don’t know what else to tell you—” The message clicked off. No good-bye.
    She studied the machine. It didn’t have a screen to display the caller’s name and number.
    “Was that Louisa?” Bigman asked. “Did she and Leaphorn get along?”
    “Whenever I was around them, they seemed fine.”
    “A lover’s quarrel?” he asked. Sneeze.
    “I don’t know if they are lovers,” Bernie said. “But I know they are friends. Or maybe were friends. What’s with the sneezing? Are you sick or something?”
    “It’s the cat,” he said. “I’m allergic. If I left a message like that, it would mean I wasn’t happy.” He removed the tape that held the messages with his gloved hands. Put it in a little bag.
    “What are you doing here, Bernie? I heard you were supposed to take some time off.”
    “Largo asked me to talk to Louisa. I was hoping she’d be here.” “I thought she’d be here when I came, and that I’d have to tell her what happened,” he said. “I was glad she wasn’t home.”
    “Did you see Leaphorn’s cell phone around here?” Bernie asked. “I’m sure her cell number is in it. I really need to call her, give her the news.”
    Bigman sneezed, shook his head. “Not in his truck?”
    “No.”
    “Then he probably had it with him.” Bigman leaned toward the floor, his ample belly limiting his flexibility. Sneezed again.
    “I’ve got to climb down under there, disconnect the computer so I can take it in and the techies can figure out how to access the data.” He motioned to the two cardboard boxes. “Those are ancient police cases he worked before the computer system went in. Most of those guys are probably gone now. I boxed his PI stuff, too. You never know.”
    Bigman sat up straight. Another sneeze. Grinned up at Bernie, “Hey, you wanna help? I won’t tell Largo.”
    Bernie crawled under the desk. “It’s an amazing mess down here. Cords everywhere.” She heard him sneeze.
    “Unplug everything,” Bigman said. “I bet Leaphorn found somebody to set this up, and never looked down here again.”
    The dark tight space beneath the desk and the patterns of the cords made her think of Spider Woman, for some reason. Spider Woman, the Holy Person who taught the Navajo to weave and gave the Hero Twins the weapons they needed to begin their quest to find their father the Sun and to rid the world of monsters. She looked at the way the cords came together. “I bet a woman set this up. Whoever did it must have been Spider Woman’s daughter,” Bernie said.
    “Who? I never heard Grandma talk about that one,” Bigman said.
    Bernie said, “She’s the one my mother always joked about when she had to redo a section of a rug. Mama told me she helps with life’s unexpected complications, untangling messy situations. When I start to tell her about some hairy case, Mama says, ‘Oh, you’ll figure out how to weave it all together. You’re like Spider Woman’s daughter.’ ”
    Bigman sneezed. Again. Again. Again.
    “Blasted cat,” he said. “I need to get out of here.”
    Bernie stood up, rolled her shoulders back. “All done. What cat?”
    Bigman used his lips to indicate the stuffed chair. “It was over there when I came in.” The chair was empty. “They know when you don’t