Free Black Thunder by David Thurlo

may already have his next victim in mind.”
    “What about that shooting incident at the abandoned trading post? There’s no doubt the boy was the target?” Dan asked.
    “None,” Ella answered.
    “I also saw the red spot on the boy’s forehead just as my partner reacted,” Justine said.
    “Okay then. Does anyone know why the boy was attacked?”
    “He wouldn’tadmit it, but evidence indicates that he’s been playing near the grave sites,” Ella said. “Maybe he saw something he shouldn’t have. Our suspect doesn’t strike me as the type to leave loose ends.”
    “Where’s the kid now?” Dan asked.
    “The family’s staying with a relative,” Ella said. “I’ve got an officer watching them now. Tomorrow, I’m going back to see if I can get him to loosen up a bit.”
    Ella turned to Sergeant Neskahi, who’d been silent up to now. “Any word on today’s manhunt for the shooter?”
    “We had a dozen officers combing the area, both tribal and county but, somehow, he slipped past all of us.”
    “I turned the rounds we retrieved from Ella’s vest over to county because your department can handle things like that faster than we can,” Justine said looking at Dan. “Have thebullets been processed?”
    He nodded. “That’s one of the things I came to tell you. I’m having the results e-mailed to your lab, but here’s what it comes down to. All the bullets used on the vics and on Ella, including that pair of AP slugs, were fired by the same weapon—a nine-millimeter Glock. It looks to me that the snake-eyes killer was at the scene today.”
    “Snake-eyes killer?” Ella asked.
    “One of our county techs suggested the tag. The roll of the dice found near the graves, two shots in each skull—you get the idea,” Dan said, then shrugged.
    “Any way of tracking who bought those AP rounds?” Joe asked. “Maybe we could narrow down which local agency may have purchased some for their department, or see if there are any reports of thefts of that type of ammunition.”
    “That particularround was discontinued about five years ago, and the manufacturer recalled all unsold inventory,” Justine said. “Some kind of powder instability problem in a batch. But I’ll see who ordered locally, and check the crime reports and see if we can get any hits on stolen ordnance.”
    “Do that, then. But let’s also settle on a plan of action,” Ella said. “Our first priority is identifying the victims.Justine, I want you to get the best description Carolyn can give you of each of the victims—size, weight, age, anything that’ll narrow things down. Then I want you, Joe, and Benny to work together, and compare that to the list of missing whose time frames match. Pay particular attention to Kelewood—I’ve already suggested the name to Dr. Roanhorse.”
    “Not every Navajo who disappears is reportedmissing,” Benny said. “Even before the economy went south, people around here often dropped out of sight or drove off unannounced.”
    “We’ll have to work with what we have,” Ella said.
    When their meeting came to a close, Dan stepped out to meet with Police Chief Big Ed Atcitty, who was still at the station despite the late hour. Ella was about to join them when Justine approached.
    “Earlier todayI ran Chester Kelewood’s height and time of disappearance against that of the most recent murder victim,” Justine said. “They’re a match. Maybe we’ll get lucky and be able to make at least one positive ID.”
    “Do you think these people were killed so their identities could be stolen?” Ella asked her. “It sounds a little extreme, but that would fit with the check-cashing scam that started our day.”

    “Yeah, but why wait a year to try and pass a bad check?” Justine said.
    “Patience, stupidity, who knows?”
    “I’ll look into it and see how far I get.”
    As Justine walked away, Ella glanced around. Dan was gone now, but Big Ed had remained behind. “My office,” he said with a