Drums along the Fox

By Rick Church

Arizona based native American ex-cop and private investigator Noel Two Horses, agrees to accept a stolen vehicle public defender case at the urging of his partner Claire Blue Crow. However, the defendant may also be charged with murder because a body was in the trunk of the stolen car he was driving. When the defendant’s elderly brother st

• Language: English
• Publisher: Book Vine Press
• Release date: Nov 26, 2019
• ISBN: 9781951886059

Book preview

Preface

The Fox River is in eastern Wisconsin. It covers four Wisconsin counties out of the 72 counties that make up the state. It cuts along the banks of several Wisconsin cities with Indian names, Neenah, Menasha, Oconto, Kaukauna, Lake Winnebago. It touches the lives of Indian tribes that are still in Wisconsin and a few tribes that have left Wisconsin: The Sauk people, an Algonquian language tribe, and the Fox. These tribes moved from Wisconsin after the French and Indian Wars.

A dozen tribes live in Wisconsin. There are also tribes that are not recognized by the Federal government. Not all Indians live on reservations. Young people who do are exposed to an ill wind from outside their reservations. A wind that comes in waves like a storm. This wind is meth, cocaine and fentanyl. North Korea, Columbia, and Mexico share in the proceeds from illicit drug trafficking on these reservations. Some of these reservation people are being poisoned by others in their own tribe. Combined with alcohol abuse in some families, many young people on reservations turn to suicide as an answer. Stopping the generational abuse of alcohol and drugs is like trying to bury the wind.

Chapter 1

Arizona Daily Star Around the World July 12, 2018

Three judicial officials slain in rebel ambush

Bogota- Three Columbian judicial investigators were killed Wednesday when their vehicle was ambushed along the country’s border with Ecuador by a dissident rebel group, authorities said.

Officials said two of the men were incinerated when the car was torched by the holdout guerillas from the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia [FARC]. The same group has been behind a wave of drug related violence, including the March kidnapping of three Ecuadorian newspaper workers who were later found slain. It is led by a former FARC mid-level commander, Walter Arizala, better known by his alias Gaucho, who is the target of an intense military manhunt backed by the U.S.

Wire reports

Sunday morning in Tucson after a cool night rain cleaned the boulevard, a soft but very cool Tony Bennett song, The Way You Look Tonight, filled the interior of the car. The song was from a CD stolen from a dollar store. The car was an expensive-looking Cadillac sedan, driven by an older white male in gray slacks, light blue shirt and dark blue blazer. When he stepped from the car to steal a Sunday newspaper off the lawn of a neighborhood house, he could be seen wearing nice leather loafers. Those too were stolen from a big box store a week earlier. Before returning to the Cadillac he replaced the Sunday paper with an older edition he found in the trash at McDonalds. Louie Louis maintained his lifestyle on a consistent basis. So consistent his first and last names are almost identical. That was something that has bothered Louie since high school, his buddies always singing Louie Louie, ah baby! We gotta go! a song by the Kingsmen that was popular back then. When Louie remembered these buddies, his thought was a bunch of assholes.

This morning, the Tucson streets were almost deserted. Louie Louis signaled a left turn into a franchise burger restaurant. The power window quietly but quickly slid down just in time to hear

Welcome to Awesome Burger, can I help you? Want to try our new smash fried toast?

Ah…no but thank you anyway. How about a rubber sock and a free senior coffee, black, Louie said as he began to move the Cadillac toward the first window. There the minimum wage Awesome Burger worker told him as she handed him a small senior coffee in a Styrofoam cup, I am sorry, but I didn’t understand your order. I mean I heard Senior coffee but not the first part.

Louie raised his voice, I wouldn’t expect you to understand English! Why the hell you people don’t learn proper English is beyond me!

A young man in his late teenage years stepped in front of the worker and apologized to the older man driving the Cadillac telling him, The coffee is on the house.

When Louie began to drive away, hot coffee spilled onto his gray slacks at crotch level. With the tip of his penis burning beyond belief, Louie’s cheap grin turned into a scary cavern of false teeth and honestly, the huge wide eyes didn’t help.

But thank God, Louie knew a small gold mine when he saw one. Thinking about parlaying the hot crotch into a free meal compliments of Awesome Burger, he pulled the Cadillac forward into the carry-out parking spot and opened the car’s trunk from the inside with the trunk lift button to see if there might be a towel or rag inside of the trunk to clean the coffee spill.

Suddenly there was a scream of terror from inside the car that was behind the Cadillac in the drive-thru lane. Unfortunately for Louie that car’s window was also rolled down.

Jesus H. Christ! Call the police! That son of a bitch looks dead!

Without giving it a moment’s thought, Louie immediately looked into the Cadillac’s rearview mirror at his own reflection to check on his appearance.

Stepping out of the Cadillac, Louie walked around to the trunk and was greeted by a dead adult male approximately late thirties with bullet holes in his abdomen and head area. He was apparently dead. Real dead. Worst yet, he was in the trunk of the Cadillac Louie had stolen from a casino parking lot in Phoenix, Arizona. All Louie could do was bend over and vomit on his new loafers.

At 9:15 A.M. the last of a dozen or so marked police cars finished pulling up at Awesome Burger. At approximately 9:20 A.M. Louie was now in the back seat of one of the police cars, and the air conditioner is not running although the car’s engine is. With the outside speakers on some of the police cars, Louie couldn’t hear himself think. Nor could he breathe well with the smell of his own vomit on his shoes. A portion of his dentures were laying on the ground by the Cadillac. Every cop who showed up wanted to bet the dead guy was either Hispanic or Native American.

Finally, an unmarked police car with a detective in it arrived. The detective put on surgical gloves and took the wallet out of the dead guy’s pants pocket. The wallet contained a thousand dollars in large bills. The detective solved one mystery by announcing the dead guy’s I.D., for now anyway, as one Tony Tall Bear, a recently deceased male Indian from Wisconsin. Other than the fact this guy had been shot several times, he was wearing very expensive shoes and an expensive handmade shoulder holster. No weapon was discovered at the scene. Not your run of the mill gang banger shooting.

While waiting for the Crime Scene folks to arrive, the police radio operator continued to blare out police information on the various squad car speakers. One newsworthy item was that a check on the Cadillac indicated it had been reported as destroyed in a California forest fire this year. A few minutes later the police operator said it had been also reported stolen from a Wisconsin funeral home a week ago and that the officer who ran the requested information check on the Cadillac was instructed to call the police operator as soon as possible. Louie began to brighten up a little. He was not an attorney, but he was sure you can’t get charged with vehicle theft if the auto was stolen already. His real fear was that he would have a lot of time to research that one.

A half hour went by before the detective even spoke to Louie. During that time Louie was watching him as he used his cellphone and his car radio. The detective left his car and began to strip off his latex gloves as he walked toward the car where Louie waited. When he spoke, he told Louie his name was Detective Sal Tyson. No relation to Mike Tyson, Sal said as he smiled at Louie.

"Look, this is what we got. We have a stolen Cadillac from a Wisconsin funeral home, taken a week ago. It had been reported destroyed in a forest fire in California weeks before it was sold to the funeral home in Wisconsin.

Oh, I forgot, there is a body in the trunk of the Cadillac. Now you are driving it. How did you obtain possession of the Cadillac, Mr. Louis?

Louie sat up in the back seat of the police car and said, First Detective Tyson, if you don’t mind retrieving my dental work off of the ground over there?

Tyson turned around and reached into his pocket for another latex glove. At the Cadillac he picked up the partial bridge without looking at it and returned to the police car where Louie sat in the back seat. Reaching through the back window he dropped it into Louie’s lap and picked up where he left off.

How did you obtain possession of the Cadillac, Mr. Louis?

Louie was busy staring down into his lap at the dental partial knowing he cannot pick it up because of the handcuffs he was wearing behind his back. Instead he raised his head and stared straight into the front passenger headrest of the police car. Aren’t you required to cite me Miranda prior to interrogation, Detective Tyson? Why not just take these cuffs off of me so I can replace my dental prosthetic, for God’s sake man! I have never been treated so rudely in my life. I have half a mind to make a report of this rude treatment and your superior attitude.

Tyson smiled and said, I am not arresting you, Mr. Louis, so as you probably know Miranda is not needed, and please call me Sal.

Still smiling Tyson said, Here, slide out of the car and I will loosen the handcuffs, but you have to promise me you won’t run or attack me, Mr. Louis.

After a few minutes of cuff alignment and mouth repair Louie was seated again in the same police car, same rear seat. Well, that is so much better. Thank you, Sal.

Mr. Louis, I hate to bother you again but how did you obtain the Cadillac?

Oh that! Well of course I bought it, Louie offered.

Tyson looked at Louie and yelled, "Was the body optional or a standard from the factory package? Wake up, you little turd sniffer! I don’t give a damn about the Cadillac, I am a homicide detective, ya dumb shit!

Louie, you have two minutes to snap out of your cheap crap and talk to me. You’re looking at a murder beef here, not a grand theft auto beef.

Louie had a look of surprise on his face - not because of the possible charges but because Tyson knew and used his name.

Louie weighed the options and said, OK, I bought it from a guy at a casino in Phoenix who sold it to me because he needed the cash.

The hell with the Cadillac, Louie!

OK, OK Sal. Can I still call you Sal? I won it from a casino in Phoenix, I don’t know squat about the body. Louie added, Honest to God. You gotta believe me Sal.

Louie, normally no casino own Cadillacs unless it is a grand prize.

I am so sorry Sal; I stole it at a casino in Phoenix.

That is so much better Louie, thank you. The forensic guys should be done here in another half hour or so and we are going to go downtown and chat. You don’t mind do you, Louie? Just at that moment a local news van pulled up and started to extend the antenna.

Louie stared straight ahead into the passenger side headrest again and mumbled, Of course not, Sal.

Louie was not a stranger to the Tucson Police Department Headquarters building. He waited patiently in an interview room until Tyson arrived. Upon arrival, Tyson offered Louie a cigarette. Oh no. Vile, filthy habit. said Louie. I am so glad I never tried it.

Tyson just stared at Louie and kept the package of cigarettes at Louie’s eye level. Oh snap! Louie said and took one and waited for a light from Tyson.

Listen Louie, fill me in on the Cadillac before I read you Miranda and I will see to it that you go into the county lockup after dinner at Denny’s.

Well, like I said, I stole it in Phoenix at a casino. I saw an older couple pull up to the parking valet with it, and I jumped out and played like I was a casino valet. I took the Cadillac and left the parking area and came on down here to Tucson. I want to be honest here, I am afraid it was poor judgement and a bad mistake. I want to cooperate, and I want to help.

Thank you for being candid, Louie.

"I gotta tell ya Louie, there are a lot of questions we need answered here today and it is Sunday. I just spent the last half hour on the phone with a California Fire Marshall and he explained to me that the Cadillac was reported destroyed by fire, but when the burned out chassis was inspected it was discovered that the tires had been switched out prior to the fire.

"Ya know, Louie, they look at the burnt tires and rotate them to the part of the tire that normally sits on the ground. Course that part would not burn because the ground protects it from the flames. The Fire Marshall said the tires were mismatched on that new Cadillac.

"Imagine four old tires on a new Cadillac? They don’t come like that. Arson Louie. Oh, before I forget, the engine numbers and other vehicle numbers didn’t match. Probably insurance fraud.

Probably driven to Wisconsin and sold to that funeral home for 25 cents on the dollar. Then, bang, someone mysteriously gets mixed up thinking the Cadillac belongs to him and takes it from the funeral home and the funeral home collects insurance money. At this point Tyson slowly shakes his head in mock disgust.

Today you show up in Tucson with the Cadillac and it has a dead guy in the trunk.

Louie looks at Tyson and shrugs his shoulders like, Who knew?

Tyson cuts to the chase, "Louie when we started the booking phase of this crap you had a set of Cadillac keys in your pocket along with numerous prophylactics. That is why we stopped booking you and instead sent you in here.

I don’t want to pry into your private affairs, so I won’t ask about the rubbers, but the keys are still in the Cadillac ignition, Louie. Right where you left them. You didn’t steal the Cadillac, Louie. No one gives a parking valet two sets of car keys, Louie.

Louie didn’t say anything but instead elected to returned to his straight-ahead death stare while Tyson read him his Miranda rights.

Just prior to the part about do you understand these rights? Louie spoke up in his offended voice that he used to scam Awesome Burger employees and others with, OK! OK! I insist you stop. This is not necessary.

Tyson stopped in mid-sentence while Louie adjusted his seated position to tell Tyson he was paid to pick up the Cadillac and deliver it to a person in Nogales.

Who in Nogales, Louie?

Louie started his reply but stopped and began asking, Well, first, what is there in it for me? Remember this is just a stolen car. A nice Cadillac but nevertheless just a car.

Tyson could not believe this and just stared at Louie until Louie spoke up and said, A deal Sal, a deal, let’s make a deal.

Tyson yelled so loud that visitors in the elevator could hear him between floors. Arizona has the death penalty, Louie, death by gas chamber, there was a body in the Cadillac, ya dumb ass!

Louie Louis’ complexion turned pale and his lips turned a blue color from lack of oxygen as he passed out and slid from his plastic chair just as his partial plate fell out of his mouth again.

Noel Two Horses was deep into a telephone conversation with Claire Blue Crow. Claire had been feeling a little guilty about not holding up his end of the company bargain with Two Horses. Claire felt that he was not generating enough new cases in Tucson while Two Horses was running their investigative agency in Prescott. Two Horses at first thought maybe Claire was having domestic issues again. As the call continued Two Horses felt uncomfortable and wanted to hurry Blue Crow along. Uncomfortable in the sense he had to go to the bathroom, and he had one of the most beautiful people he has ever met in bed with him this morning. Noel interrupted Claire and said, Look, I have not had a good public defender case down there in Tucson in a while, why not contact your attorney buddy and tell him we are doing indigent defense investigations again?

Like a teenage kid getting his wish Claire Just said, You got it! and hung up.

Noel smiled as he quickly ran into the bathroom of his home. Two Horses’ house guest broke into a hysterical laugh as she watched him run into the bathroom. This was a good time in Noel Two Horses’ life. He was sharing it with a woman who just swept him off his feet every time she spoke to him with her beautiful voice and stunning smile. She was a woman who brought balance back into his life. Just a month ago he had walked into her Prescott restaurant and invited her out to dinner again. This time it was different; this time she declined and sat down in his booth and told him she was not going to go to dinner again because it was now time that the two of them stop the polite courting after a summer month of dining and small talk.

Noel experienced a very empty feeling and was afraid her next words would tear his heart apart. It would not be unusual for a woman as beautiful as she was to tell a suitor to hit the road. Noel believed things like that happen to adults in new relationships. He started to think of a way to handle her kissing him off. As a matter of fact, many thoughts hit him all at the same time. Noel had a true brain jam. He was staring at her waiting for her words of execution when she said, "I will be at your place at 7:00. Make damn sure you have a bottle of Merlot and some sexy music playing when I get there. But for