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."Page 25 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html"Did he come in the same way?""No," Chee said.The question had interested him."Tracks down along the bankof the river.""Past where this cat has its den.""Right," Chee said.Leaphorn waited.After a long silence, Chee said, "It seemed to me thatsomething might have happened there.To spook the cat out of his hiding place.So I looked around." He made a deprecatory gesture."Ground was scuffed.Ithink somebody had knelt there behind the juniper.It's not far from wherepeople dump their trash and there's always a lot of stuff blowing around.ButI found this." He got out his billfold, extracted a bit of yellow paper, andhanded it to Leaphorn."It's new," he said."It hadn't been out there in thedirt very long."It was the wrapper off a stick of Juicy Fruit gum."Not much," Chee said,looking embarrassed.It wasn't much.Leaphorn couldn't imagine how it would be useful.In fact, itseemed to symbolize just how little they had to work on in any of these cases."But it's something," he said.His imagination made the figure squattingbehind the juniper, watching the Chee trailer, a small figure holding a pumpshotgun in his right hand, reaching into his shirt pocket with his left hand,fishing out a package of gum.No furious emotion here.Calm.A man doing ajob, being careful, taking his time.And, as an accidental byproduct, givingthe cat crouched under the juniper a case of nerves, eroding its instinct tostay hidden until this human left, sending it into a panicky dash for a saferplace.Leaphorn smiled slightly, enjoying the irony."We know he chews gum.Or she does," Chee said."And what kind he sometimeschews.And that he's." Chee searched for the right word."Cool."And I know, Leaphorn thought, that Jim Chee is smart enough to think aboutwhat might have spooked the cat.He glanced at the animal, which was stillcrouched by the flap, its blue eyes fixed on him.The glance was enough totilt the decision.Two humans in a closed place were too many.The cat flickedthrough the flap, clack-clack, and was gone.Loud enough to wake a lightsleeper, especially if he was nervous.Did Chee have something to be nervousabout? Leaphorn shifted in the chair, trying for a more comfortable position."You read the report on Wilson Sam," Leaphorn said."And you went out there.When? Let's go over that again."They went over it.Chee had visited the site four days after the killing andhe'd found nothing to add significant data to the original report.And thattold little enough.A ground-water pond where Wilson Sam's sheep drank wasgoing dry.Sam had been out looking for a way to solve that problem-checkingon his flock.He hadn't returned with nightfall.The next morning some of theYazzie outfit into which Sam was married had gone out to look for him.A sonof his sister-in-law had remembered hearing a dog howling.They found the dogwatching the body in an arroyo that runs into Tyende Creek south of theGreasewood Flats.The investigating officers from Chinle had arrived a littlebefore noon.The back of Sam's head had been crushed, just above where headand neck join.The subsequent autopsy confirmed that he'd been struck with ashovel that was found at the scene.Relatives agreed that it wasn't Sam'sshovel.The body apparently had fallen, or had rolled, down the bank and theassailant had climbed down after it.The nephew had driven directly out to theDennehotso Trading Post, called the police, and then followed instructions toPage 26 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlkeep everybody away from the body until they arrived."There were still some pretty good tracks when I got there," Chee said."Beena little shower there the day before the killing and a little runoff down thearroyo bottom.Cowboy boots, both heels worn, size ten, pointed toes.Heavyman, probably two hundred pounds or over, or he was carrying something heavy.He walked around the body, squatted beside it." Chee paused, face thoughtful."He got down on both knees beside the body.Spent a little time, judging fromthe scuff marks and so forth.I thought maybe they were made by our peoplewhen they picked up the body.But I asked Gorman, and he said no.They werethere when he'd checked originally.""Gorman?""He's back with us now," Chee said."But he was loaned out to Chinle back inJune.Vacation relief.He was that guy who was walking out in the parking lotwith me at noon.Gorman and Benaly.Gorman is the sort of fat one.""Was the killer a Navajo?" Leaphorn asked.Chee hesitated, surprised."Yes," he said."Navajo.""You sound sure," Leaphorn said."Why Navajo?""Funny.I knew he was Navajo.But I didn't think about why," Chee said.Hecounted it off on his fingers
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