would, not entirely. Donât tell anybody anything. They would think you lied. Just tell them your folks used to live around here, that you are part Indian.â
âI am all what you call âIndian,â I think.â
They were silent, and Mike Raglan watched the street. If âtheyâ had gone so far as to come into his condo in the night and to set fire to the café to destroy Erik and Kawasi, they would not hesitate to eliminate him. Dared he take her with him? But where could he leave her? The police had other duties, but this was a small town and they would not miss very much, if anything.
âI must go back to the mesa. I must be sure Erik is not there.â
âI go with you.â
âThis cowboy you know? The old man?â
âJohnny?â
âHow did he get over toâ¦to the âOther Sideâ? The kiva was not open then?â
âThere are sometime ways. It is a thingâ¦I do not understand. Sometimes open, sometimes closed. It has no what you callâ¦pattern? He tell me he chasing wild cow. What he speaks is âmaverick.â It run away, he chase it, go verâ fast down hillside with his rope swinging. The cow disappear, and then he charge after.â¦He is on Other Side. It just happen, and he cannot find the way back. Maybe it is closed. I do not know. He does not know. He never find way back.â
âWhat happened then?â
âThey know someone come. They come look. He hide. They no find.â She raised her eyes to Raglanâs. âThe land much wild where he is. Wild cow, sometime wild horse. He was young cowboy then. He old cowboy now. They never find him to live.â
âHe killed some of them?â
âI think maybe. He does not say, but I hear talk that men look for him, men die. Now nobody look. He has been there long time and nothing happen bad for them, so they no longer care. I think.â
âDo you know where he is?â
âOh, yes! He friendly to us. He
is
friendly to us.â
They were silent again and he considered the situation. He had an idea that Gallagher was doing the logical thing. He would be looking for the white van. It was the one bit of hard evidence he had, and it was something tangible that Gallagher himself had seen.
Certainly, if âtheyâ were to operate on this side they must have a base, a place to sleep, to keep the van when it was not in useâa place not too far from their way back, if they had to go back.
He was dealing with something of which he knew nothing at all, nor did he know with whom he was dealing. For all he knew, some of them had been living under cover on this side for years. There might even be one of them in this very restaurant. It would be a logical listening post. If they had a base on this side it might have been established many years ago. He would have to be very, very careful.
Where did they get the van, for example? And it must have a license. The driver must have a driverâs license. That implied a connection.
Did they have more than one vehicle?
âKawasi? Would you recognize one of the people from the Other Side if you saw one? I mean, there may be many over here.â
âI thinkâ¦maybe. I do not be sure. I think sometimes I know.â
He got up. âLetâs go.â At the cash register he paid his check, and she watched carefully.
Outside the restaurant he stopped, looking around. The street was empty. A pickup drove by, with two Navajos in front. He crossed the street to his car, glancing back as he opened the door. Nobody seemed to pay any attention.
Most of these people were Mormons and they knew each other. That might help Gallagher.
He drove to the nearest gas station and filled his tank. Thoughtfully, he watched the filling-station attendant. Another good place for a listening post; but the boy was paying no attention.
As they turned into the road, Raglan saw a car parked alongside the highway a good mile