Chapter One
Officer Sky Nash might enjoy supervising the Navajo Open Market, a place where the local tribes sold their silver jewelry, woven blankets, and pottery to the public on the third Wednesday of every month, but it wouldn’t earn her any points toward becoming a detective. Neither would checking Earl Chee’s story about a UFO sighting last night, but at least it would give her a chance to check up on the old man.
Sky turned off Arizona’s route 98, a few miles past Savory’s town limits, onto the rutted dirt driveway to his farm. Rocks pinged off the undercarriage, and dust coated the newly washed cruiser.
Sky skidded to a stop in front of Earl’s house, sending a huge dust cloud into the air. Cutting the engine, she scanned the area to see if the reported UFO was in plain sight, though she didn’t expect to see anything.
As she waited for the air to clear, the front door opened, and Earl rolled his wheelchair down the wooden incline to the driveway and sent her a toothless grin. Sky eased out, trying not to sink too far into the powdery dirt.
While Earl had an open and imaginative mind, she wouldn’t call him a crackpot like her boss did. She believed in the possibility that life could exist elsewhere, but she wasn’t ready to say there were aliens walking around on the face of the earth.
Earl stopped in front of her. “Thanks for coming out so quickly.”
“No problem. I’ve been meaning to come by this week anyway. You need anything? Want me to pick up some feed for the animals?” Being handicapped made his life extra hard, especially since his wife’s death six months ago.
“Nah. I’m doin’ okay, considering.”
She pulled out her pad to show him she would take his report seriously. “So tell me what happened.” The sun beat down on her face, warming the chilly fifty-degree air.
He rubbed his thigh above the amputation. “Last night, I was getting ready for bed when the sky lit up on the north side of the property.”
“Uh-huh.” She glanced in the direction of his finger, but the wooden house blocked her view. There had been a lightning storm a little before midnight, so perhaps that was what he’d seen. “Go on.”
“When I seen this spacecraft, I got real excited thinking maybe my friends had come back for me.”
He’d previously told her that his friends, lived forty-seven light years away, so she doubted they’d come for a visit. “But it wasn’t them?” she asked.
Earl had also claimed he’d been to a far away planet, in some kind of exchange program with the aliens back in 1975. The extra dose of radiation on the trip back from the Zeta Reticuli solar system had caused him to get cancer and lose his leg—or so he believed.
“Afraid not. Anyway, I was about to check out the craft, when this big eighteen-wheeler pulls up next to the ship. I waited a bit to see what they were going to do and then these two guys jump out of the truck.”
“Were they human?” She could never tell when she spoke with Earl.
“Hell, yeah, they were human, and they had themselves some big rifles, so I decided it best to stay inside with the lights off.”
Sky jotted this down. “Smart. You saw the craft land?”
“No, dammit, I didn’t.” He hung his head. “I was looking for my special binoculars.”
“Could you tell what they were doing?” They could mean either the men or the supposed aliens.
“Not so good. They were probably waiting to see what the aliens would do before they made their move. Then someone else showed up. I didn’t see no other car, so maybe this new guy had been hidin’.”
She was surprised Earl didn’t conclude the third person was a passenger on the spacecraft or had beamed down. She glanced at the house and noted the spotlights mounted on the corners of the roof. “Then what?”
“Once the men were done, the three of them got into a whoppin’ shoutin’ match.”
“Could you hear what they said?” She almost forgot to take notes.
“They were too far away.”
“How far is too far?” she asked, as she swatted at her flyaway hair from a sudden gust of wind.
“’Bout fifty yards.”
Not close enough to hear but apparently near enough to see. “And then?”
“One of them knocked the newcomer down and leaned over him. The first guy grabs a shovel and starts digging a hole, but at the time I didn’t know why. Not wanting them there, I grabbed my shotgun just in case they decided to come in and take me. I got to the back bedroom, opened the window, and fired a few shots at them. I mentioned that when I called it in.”
“The Chief didn’t tell me.” No surprise there. She decided to refrain from saying it might not have been the smartest thing for Earl to draw attention to himself. She wasn’t convinced Earl’s eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. Two men fight with a third and start digging a hole, she noted. Earl fires shots. “Did they return fire?” If they did, she’d need to find the casings.
“Nope. They got back in the truck and took off. They didn’t seem to give a hog’s butt I was trying to take ’em down.” He shrugged. “Maybe they were wearing vests like on those crime shows.”
“Probably. Can I see where the craft landed?”
“Sure, lemme pull up the cart.”
As she turned to follow Earl, a burst of gunfire shattered the cruiser’s windows and put holes in the side panel. Holy shit. The crack of glass and metal was louder than Fourth of July fireworks. She shoved his wheelchair behind the cruiser, away from the spray of fire. “Duck down,” she shouted.
She did a tuck and roll to get out of the way, sucked in a breath, and dropped to all fours.
“Sky?”
She looked up. Flashes of light came from the rocky hills about five hundred yards away, and the sand in front of Earl’s house rippled. Damn. She drew her gun and took cover at the back of the cruiser, her breath caught in her throat. Her Glock 23 didn’t have the range to reach the attacker, but she needed to protect Earl somehow. Just as she leaned out into the open to take aim, a bullet grazed the back of her left arm. “Dammit.” The sharp burn made her jolt upright.
“Sky!”
The stinging ebbed as blood dripped down the inside of her sleeve. She holstered her weapon and crouched next to him. “I’m good.” An extra dose of adrenaline flooded her body and blocked some of the pain. “You okay?” she asked.
“Sure am. We need to get you inside.” He nodded to her arm.
“Let’s wait a minute.” She had to make sure he was safe. No telling who they were after—her or Earl. When no more gunfire sounded, her breathing slowed. She covered her wound with her right hand to stem the flow. Think. “Whoever is out there might be waiting to see our next move.” Her heart wouldn’t stop racing, and her fingers shook. “I need to call for backup. You have any idea who’s shooting at us?” Using her good arm, she fumbled for the cell phone in her top jacket pocket, and her bloody fingerprints smeared the screen. Crap.
“Could be the aliens,” Earl mumbled, his head nearly between his legs.
“I don’t think the aliens would have lasers on their guns. Only a sniper weapon could shoot that far with such accuracy.”
He twisted his face toward her. “You’re right. When I stayed on planet Serpo, I never saw a more peaceful civilization. They had no reason for guns.”
She refrained from rolling her eyes. “It’s clear our attacker or attackers are human. Keep low; I don’t want you to be next.” She called the office and got through—a rare event in this remote area of Arizona. “Hey, Harriet. It’s me.” She gritted her teeth against a quick blast of pain.
“Ask for medical help,” Earl whispered. “My skills are a might rusty.”
Sky covered the phone. She wouldn’t ask what kind of medical skills Earl had. He’d most likely tell her he’d gotten a medical degree somewhere in Zeta Reticuli. “It’s a scratch. I’ve had worse.” She told Harriet about the shots fired, but not that the cruiser was damaged or that she’d been injured. If the Chief found out about his precious vehicle, he’d be here faster than a missile warhead, and he’d somehow believe she was responsible.
The dispatcher assured her she’d send the best, but since the only other officer on the day shift was Harvey, she wouldn’t get any real help.
Sky disconnected but kept watch on the far hill where the shots had come from. “You piss anyone off lately?” she asked. The natives around here would never shoot at the law.
Earl shrugged. “It could be the two men from last night who killed their partner. Maybe they don’t want a witness.”
“What? Someone’s dead?” She stared at him.
“I told the Chief.”
She slapped the bumper and cursed. She and the Chief needed to have a talk about him keeping her in the loop. She couldn’t do her job properly if her boss didn’t give her all the information and show her the same respect he showed his male officers.
“On second thought, the men could have found out the aliens were trying to contact me,” Earl said.
“That must be it.” She lifted her hand from the wound. The bleeding was down to a trickle.
Earl wheeled backward. “We need to get you fixed up right quick.” He held up a finger and waved it. “And no arguing, young lady. I’ve seen enough infections in my time to kill a whole slew of pigs.” He smiled. “The barn animals, not—”
“I got it.” The distant rumble of an engine rolled over the mountains away from them. “Sounds like our snipers might be leaving.” The telltale sign of billowing dust added to her conclusion. Earl kept a long-handled grabber in the side pocket of his wheelchair. “Hand me that metal claw.” Sky slipped off her jacket, and using Earl’s extension rod, she waved the material in the open to see if she could draw fire, but no more shots rang out. She nodded at the cruiser. “You realize the Chief is going to kill me for this.”
“It’s not too bad. I bet Morton’s Garage can fix this up in no time. Come on inside. We’ll worry about the cruiser later.”
“Easy for you to say.” She stepped behind his chair and pushed him to the door, keeping an eye on the hills in case she’d been wrong about their attackers’ departure.
Inside, she checked her wound and the damage to her jacket while Earl located a small first aid kit. The hole ruined the wool coat, so she’d have to wear her slick leather coat to work for a few days until she ordered a new one.
He handed her a tin metal box. “Looks like you just got grazed.”
Needle pricks pulsated along her arm, and she sucked in a breath. The morning had started out so well, and now she’d been shot. “Yeah.”
Sky took out the iodine and cleaned the wound the best she could, but it stung like a bitch. Earl then helped her wrap the injury in gauze.
Gravel sounded on the driveway, and colored flashing lights speared the front window. “That was quick. Harvey must have been nearby.” She stood up so fast her vision blurred. Holding onto the top of the chair, she waited until her balance returned to normal then slipped on her coat. “Let’s hope we can get to the bottom of this.”
They both headed outside. At six-three and three hundred plus pounds, one hundred of which spilled over his waistband, Harvey Bonner huffed as he ambled up to them.
“You okay?” he asked, raking a gaze along the cruiser’s side.
At least his tone had been tinged with concern. “Better than my vehicle.” She pulled out her notepad and listed the events that led up to the shooting, including the fact Earl had found a body.
Harvey’s eyes widened. “Where is he?”
Earl moved toward them. “Out back. Let’s take the golf cart. It’s the only way I can get around out there with the stones and scrub brush. My wheelchair’s not built for the rough terrain.”
“I’ll walk,” Sky offered. The two-seater golf cart wouldn’t fit all three of them.
Harvey didn’t argue. She hurried behind them to make sure her coworker didn’t do anything stupid when he arrived out back. She’d heard he’d once been a great officer, but his zest for the job evaporated after his son overdosed.
They all reached the site three minutes later. With her mouth open, she stared at the corpse only half buried. “Dear God.”
It sure wasn’t what she’d expected. The person didn’t have a head.