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Verato get the courage to move, but when she did, she stomped away quickly without looking back, her fists tightly clenched.
    One of the women who had been with her hung back. “Vera really didn’t mean to be rough or anything. She’s going through tough times like most of us, and sometimes she gets so frustrated she just lashes out.”
    “Then advise her to work off her frustrations at a job or by runningcross-country. Assaulting someone will land her in the tribal courts. Guaranteed, if I ever hear about it,” Ella said.
    Once they were alone again, Ella gave Rose a hard look. “You should have pressed charges, or at least let me haul her in for a few hours. I’ve dealt with young people like that before. The kindest thing you could have done for her was show her that actions have consequences.”
    Rose shook her head. “She’s a New Traditionalist,” Rose said, referring to the growing tribal faction who professed to believe in the old ways but strongly advocated using whatever modern means were available to improve the quality of life on the Rez. “She’s fighting for this tribe like I am—she just doesn’t know how to do that effectively yet.”
    Rose paused, then continued slowly. “I have a feelingthat she’ll be one of my strongest adversaries someday. She’s as passionate about moving the tribe forward as I am about forcing people to weigh everything before making any lasting decisions. These newly proposed tribal ventures—trial casinos and the nuclear power plant—may exact a great price from all of us in the long run.”
    Wilson came running up as they started walking again. “I saw whathappened from my office window. Are you two okay?” He glanced toward the group of young women, now some distance away.
    “Sure,” Ella said quickly. “That student, Vera Jim, is a hot-head, but she posed no serious threat.”
    He relaxed visibly. “I know who she is. Her husband works for one of the oil well service companies. He’s an engineer and a financial supporter of the NEED Project. I’ve heardrumors that they, and others like them, overextended themselves trying to get NEED off the ground. Many have taken out second mortgages and borrowed all the money they can.”
    “I think I’ll look into that some more,” Ella said slowly. She wanted to know everything she could about her mother’s enemies.
    “You could talk to Samuel Nakai. He was a close friend of the Jims—that is until this issue cameup. Samuel wouldn’t join in with them and invest in NEED. He was in favor of upgrading the technology at the coal-generated plants. Their differences ended up destroying their friendship.”
    “Thanks for the tip,” Ella said.
    As Wilson headed back to his office, Ella fell into step beside Rose, who was walking in the direction of the parking lot. “You need to be careful, Mom. I think this issueis going to be more volatile than any of us suspected.”
    “I agree with you, daughter,” Rose said.
    Ella helped her mother into the family’s pickup. She’d wanted to buy Rose a new car last year, something with power brakes and steering, but Rose had not allowed it, insisting that it was a waste of money. As long as her truck continued to start every morning, she’d use it.
    Saying good-bye, Ellawent to her tribal unit, which was in a special slot reserved for law enforcement vehicles. She’d speak to Samuel Nakai soon, but, right now, she needed to focus on Officer Franklin’s murder investigation.
    Ella checked in with Justine on the cell phone, then drove back to the station, lost in thought. Leads were few at the moment, so she’d start by trying to find any known enemies the officermight have had.
    When she walked back inside the station ten minutes later, she noticed the mood in the building was subdued. By now, everyone had learned about Jason’s Franklin’s death. Pressure to get answers would come not only from the Tribal Council and Navajo community, but from the rank-and-file