Coyote's Wife by Aimée Thurlo

know?”
    “And she told you about him?” Ella pressed.
    “Yeah. She said that everyone was really upset that he got himself all sawed in half, and that if I’d stop drinking, I might be able to get my job back. But then
she
came in.”
    “She, who?” Justine asked.
    “Mrs. Yellowhair. Abby Crabby. That womanhas too good a memory. I’d been drinking a little last time we ran into each other, and I think I made some comment about her…girlish figure.”
    “So she didn’t want you back?” Justine said.
    “She threatened to have me arrested on the spot for trespassing, so I hightailed it out of there. Haven’t been back since. If I’d run into her daughter, Barbara, the human one, it would have been different.”

    Ella noticed how Patrick’s speech had suddenly cleared. She wondered if maybe he played drunk when it suited him. A way to avoid responsibility… She focused on him. “What makes you think Barbara would have treated you any differently than her mother?”
    “Barbara sits back, letting her husband take front stage, but she’s the
real
power there. Everyone knows that. Ervin likes to show off, givingpresentations and that kind ofthing. But Barbara
works
for a living. If it wasn’t for her, he’d be selling used cars in Farmington.”
    Ella leaned against the column on the porch, and regarded him thoughtfully. “Where does Mrs. Yellowhair fit in then?”
    “She’s got the cash,” he answered without missing a beat. “That’s what she uses to control the Benallys. Abby can’t boss Ervin around, so shepressures her daughter. But it doesn’t get her far, I don’t think.”
    “How come?” Ella asked.
    “Barbara lets Ervin do whatever he wants. Never argues, even when he bullies her around in front of everyone. She just takes it from him. I don’t know why.”
    Ella held his gaze. “One last question. Why did you pretend to be drunk when we first pulled up?”
    Patrick smiled at her. “It makes my life easierwhen people don’t expect too much. Mind you, I drink more than I should. But not now. Don’t have the bucks. I need a job.”
    Justine and Ella were on their way moments later. Justine glanced over at her. “What next?”
    “We’ll go back to the station. You can check out the Dodge in impound, then call it a day. I’m going to finish some paperwork and try to get home before Dawn’s bedtime. I need tohave a long talk with my kid. Roxanne Dixon worries me. From everything I’ve learned, that woman goes after whatever she wants without considering the consequences,” Ella said. “I need to make sure my kid doesn’t get caught up in one of her games.”
    “I hear you, but by notifying the school authorities, you’ve hopefully already taken care of that.”
    “Yeah, but I still worry. It goes with the territory.Wait till you become a mom someday. You’ll understand then.”
    By the time they parked at the station, Ella noticed that they were both yawning.
    “I think we should change our plans. There’s nothing like the cold nighttime desert air to give us an energy boost. Why don’t I help you check out the Dodge and take a look at George Charley’s pickup? His wife will be needing the vehicle and nobody’shad a chance to give it a once-over since it was transported from the StarTalk yard. After that we can both go home.”
    “Good idea. We’ll need keys to get into impound, but the watch commander will have a set. I don’t think the attendant will still be around this time of night and the shop is closed.”
    “Okay. I’ll go on ahead just in case somebody is still back there, and you swing by the frontdesk.”
    Ella went to the left of the station’s main building, and passed through the open gate that provided access to the rest of the yard. The impound area was past the shop, toward the rear of the property.
    As Ella approached impound’s six-foot-high fence, she heard a faint metallic rattling sound coming from the far end. She stopped and listened,